#i want to try to get begonias next

[sunshineram]

more plant updates!

theyre goin nuts :)

[aealzx]

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Prologue | AO3

Previous Next

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“You came all the way out here to ask me to identify a plant?” Pamela was understandably incredulous as she blocked Tim from entering her current residence.

“Weeelll,” Tim drawled, shrugging with one shoulder. “Spoiler and Orphan said you’d be the best to contact. We could go elsewhere, but then I’d have to find somewhere else for these bacon and egg sandwiches,” he explained, revealing the hand that was behind his back to be holding a paper bag for a local food joint. It was a bribe. Or payment for services rendered if one wanted to be posh about it. But he was fine calling it a bribe.

“Aw hell yeah!” Harleen’s voice came from further in the establishment, and Tim caught just the faintest hint of a smile twitching Pamela’s mouth. She tried to resist, but Tim held his ground with a decidedly innocent smile, the bag of egg sandwiches still held in offering.

Eventually Pamela sighed and held out her hand. “Fine. What identifiers do you have for it?” she relented, letting Tim set the bag of food on her palm.

“Not much honestly. The locals call it a blood blossom, but I doubt it’s a haemanthus coccineus. We don’t have a picture, but we’re told it looks like a red rose bud with black leaves,” Tim answered. He’d done his own research already while waiting for the food to be made, and that was part of the reason he didn’t feel bad for following through with the others’ idea to ask Pamela. He had a few guesses already, but it would be nice to get a second opinion.

“A rose with black leaves?” Pamela repeated, her disappointed expression becoming thoughtful. “That’s it? Nothing else?” she asked soon after, frowning deeper if possible.

“Nothing else,” Tim confirmed, both disappointed and pleased that Pamela also didn’t seem able to come up with an answer.

“Sounds made up,” Pamela answered bluntly, shifting to move back into the building. “There aren’t any roses with black leaves unless they’re mutilated. The closest you’ll get is a begonia switzerland if you’re just going by appearance.”

“Oh…. that’s what I thought too,” Tim hummed, raising a curled finger to his chin.

Pamela’s eye twitched. “Then why did you-.... Goodbye,” she stammered, then figured it wasn’t worth her time to deal with Tim further, and closed the door on him.

Tim could only snort in amusement, raising his voice for just a moment. “Thanks for the info! Enjoy the food!” he called, grinning as he turned to grapple himself back to the rooftops.

So the blood blossoms were either an extremely obscure name for some other plant, or they didn’t actually exist. And if they didn’t exist, then what had poisoned Danny? At least Dick and Damian were heading straight to the manor to follow up with Alfred about meals, and bring the tissue sample with the plant based poison to where Bruce could use their tech to better analyze it. And Barbara had already mentioned she’d meet them there, so while they might not have a good start on two of the three questions they should at least be able to figure out who these kids were exactly.

—----------

“They don’t exist,” Barbara’s conclusion about the five Phantom kids they had custody of was short, but did little to answer any questions the others had. After spending a few hours gathering her data she had decided to join the others at the manor, the three who had returned from the rescue mission, Bruce, and her now gathered in the Bat Cave by the computer. Admittedly that hadn’t been something they fully expected to hear, so there were sagging shoulders from both Dick and Tim at the announcement.

“You ran the search in all of the databases, yeah?” Tim asked, immediately trying to figure out what they had missed. Barbara was usually extremely thorough. It was hard to believe she came up with nothing on a group of five people. Especially when two of them had superhuman abilities.

“Yes, Tim,” Barbara responded quickly. “If you’ll let me continue before you try to solve the problem yourself I’ll save you some steps,” she added, getting a mildly teasing smile. When Tim relented with a mild shrug Barbara turned her chair back to the computer, pulling her reports up on the huge monitor.

“The DNA samples came up with no results. Amity Park doesn’t exist on any map. There’s no social media posts about any combination of their names. And the photo Jason sent of Jazz’s ID also has no results. It doesn’t even resemble the official driver’s license format of Illinois or any of the other states, so it’s not hard to see why the bank teller would call it a fake,” she listed, bringing up the reports from her data scouring as she mentioned them. “The only activity I can track from them is here in Gotham, starting 72 days ago. I believe that’s when they first arrived here.”

The date caused Bruce to shift, breaking out of his silence once it seemed Barbara had finished summarizing her findings and drawing a connection to a separate report he’d gotten more than a month ago. “72 days ago is when the Justice League got readings of an anomaly on the outskirts of Gotham. Investigations revealed some remains of unknown technology, but no one was there with it.”

“...What kind of anomaly?” Dick asked, tensing slightly at a thought that crossed his mind. Unknown DNA, unusable bank and ID cards, two of them claiming to be beings that were never heard of before now.

“Please don’t say multiverse breach,” Tim whined, revealing that he’d had the same thoughts as Dick.

Instead of answering them Bruce just opened a different report, having been locating it as his sons had been speaking. When the data appeared on screen both Dick and Tim let out extended groans, their forms sagging even more as Barbara chuckled softly.

“It had to be dimension garbage,” Tim whined more, squinting at the report confirming suspected multiverse breach residue in the affected area.

“That explains all the missing data,” Barbara commented, just glad to have an explanation for why all her research was coming up blank prior to the anomaly. It was because they literally had nothing on this earth before then, and not because they were some sort of geniuses that could manage such an extensive data wipe to make even her systems come up with blanks.

“That also explains why Dr. Isley was unfamiliar with the blood blossoms,” Damian added, seeming unfazed by the revelation.

“And literally everything else that was weird about them,” Tim encompassed, frustration bleeding into his tone. What kind of puzzle didn’t even have answers in this world? He felt like that was cheating.

“Do they seem aware that they are no longer in their dimension? We’re sure this wasn’t a deliberate transport?” Bruce asked, masking his growing concern for the dislocated children by suggesting they might still be hiding something.

“Please, these kids can’t hide anything that well,” Tim huffed, giving a wry smile. “The only reason they’re able to hide anything is because they’re also oblivious. Otherwise it’s way too easy to tell they’re keeping something a secret.”

Bruce only frowned more at the response, and Barbara couldn’t help add her own support of the idea that the Phantoms had no idea they weren’t even close to home. “They seemed to have had enough to deal with, I don’t think they had time to consider it. Almost 80% of their activity ties back to them looking for ectoplasm. The other 20% is just general medical care and necessities of living.”

“Ectoplasm is the stuff they said Danny needed,” Dick added unnecessarily.

“I remember,” Bruce responded, though he could also understand why the kids had such a hard time tracking down a source. Most of Gotham didn’t even believe in ghosts, and the only people he or his family knew that matched the category were Boston and Greta. “Their search led them to a Lazarus water exchange.”

“Yeah. But apparently even though it’s similar enough, the Lazarus water is ‘freaky’ and they don’t want to use it according to Danielle,” Dick confirmed, using air quotes for what the small girl had said.

“All five of them have traces of another substance I’ve never seen before that seems similar to residue from Lazarus water as well,” Barbara spoke up to add, reaching over to the computer once more as she once again had their attention. The DNA analysis reports were enlarged, and she used a screen sketch app to mark the unusual traces. “It’s most prominent in Danielle and Danny, though Danny’s levels read a lot lower. But the other three have small traces as well.”

“The one called Danielle made mention of Danny having expended a significant amount of energy, to the point his accelerated healing ability has been hindered. And that there was a lack of locations with an abundance of said energy for them to absorb,” Damian recalled, ignoring the face Tim pulled as he slowly turned to look at him.

“You made that sound way more complicated than she did,” Tim grimaced.

“Silence Drake,” Damian retorted simply.

Dick could only snicker while keeping his gaze on the reports like Bruce was doing. “This will make it easier to track some of the substance down. I’ll see if I can create a collection device to make it easier for us to get larger amounts, and work on a way to neutralize the residual plant material,” Bruce commented, already making plans for the next course of action.

“After dinner,” Dick enforced, resting his hands on the back of Bruce’s chair.

Bruce seemed to consider it, falling silent and keeping his gaze on the monitor, giving no answer other than a short grunt after a long stretch of quiet.

Dick only leaned on the chair more, pulling it back slightly. “Aaaaafter dinner, Bruce. Thirty minutes isn’t going to be that big of a loss,” he prodded.

“...Alfred put you up to this, didn’t he,” Bruce pointed out instead of responding to the request.

“He did,” Dick confirmed, admitting to being requested to make sure Bruce got at least one hearty meal before getting lost in his work once again.

Bruce considered it longer, and by then the rest of his children were already on their way back upstairs. Did he really want Alfred hassling him again? “... Very well. After dinner,” he relented, getting to his feet with a slight sigh and locking the computer screen.

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Dimension hopping confirmed~ And I just realized I now have 2 fanfics that involve dimension hopping X'D that was unintentional.

Questions for the people following/interested: because I'm not familiar with most of DC or really DP's canon and fanon content and there's so freaking much of it out there, which characters would you like to see involved? No guarantees that they'll be in if I can't figure out how to get them to fit, but I need somewhere to start researching stuff X'DD. Also there's essentially 2 goals, wake Danny up, and get Team Phantom back home. How difficult should these tasks be, and which one would people rather have more focus on?

This fic originated from a prompt I found, so I think it might be fun to kind of keep that going? A different kind of writing exercise than what I'm used to. So that's why the questions instead of me just going heheh have a cliffhanger.

Though I will say I'm still of the opinion of no romance, so please don't suggest pairings |D

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Tag list: @galaxy-sharks-and-bottled-ships, @starscreamlover, @nerdynonnativenarnian, @dragongoblet, @zeestarfishalien, @bellathecatastrophe, @cj-ghostemoji-destielpie, @asexual-insomniac, @wolfeyedwitch, @tkiesai, @fanaroff, @raven1508, @nebulainajar, @serasvictoria02, @oliocelottafanfics, @honeysuckletook, @omniithe-deer, @wolf-under-the-stars, @gingernutcalo, @that-random-fangirl

[averywiseanimatedcat]

Plant shelf ineffable husbands update. AKA-the south downs garden of my house

I counted and I have 24 plants in a 1 bedroom apartment, they’re not all pictured here. I did have 20 but then made the mistake of going to the plant shop clearance section and bought 4 more half dead plants to rehabilitate…

The Angel wing begonia (spotty one in the middle) is growing up towards the husbands which is cute.

The Ficus black knight (next to Crowley) is currently sulking due to the lack of winter sunlight (mood) and has no red tips

My clumsy ass broke a snake plant leaf (top right) so she’s currently zip tied together and moved up where I can’t walk into it and break it some more

I absolutely did not leave my Green pothos (top left) sitting in water for a week because I was watering it and forgot to take it out so all the roots rotted away but it’s still alive by some miracle

If anyone knows how to get peace lilies to flower please tell me your secrets. This bitch (massive ass in the white pot) just wants to chuck out leaves 3x the size of my hand and has only given me one flower in the 3ish years I’ve owned it. None of the methods I found on google work just made her more leafy…

The try hard Marble Pothos trailing down the shelf has been promoted from the bedroom to the shelf because clearly they’re a superstar who wants to be seen

Can’t see her much but messy bitch behind the peace lily drops so many leaves (healthy asf just grows allot) so been shoved in the darkest place as punishment for doing to much

There is a resident spider inside my terrarium

Bookshelf husband update: they’re just chilling, having some ice cream. Waiting until I move one day and can put the book shelf into a more well lit area and they can have their own garden to

[lucajc]

My take on the "infection" au, basically back to the original zombie apocalypse vibe uwu I'm not a fan of the creepy infection stuff its a little much but I saw an artist making angsty trolls next gen stuff and I wanted to do somethings similar ^^

The first character is a broppy child.

Basically the idea is the bergens get sick and star eating trolls again and act liked zombies, they are completely mindless. Broppy have an egg and it hatches and Bridget doesn't come to the shower so they go to see her and realise she sick, Poppy is the first victim ^^

After losing Poppy Branch as the king (through marriage) gets all the trolls into the bunker and they live there for years. The broppy child is called Begonia, begonias are a flower that mean warming and danger is coming heh but they also mean good communication which is something very important to broppy since poppy sucks at communication in the second movie ans then its branch in the third movie. They both learn and over come it so I believe the name suit their kid for this au well.

After years of living in the bunker begonia gets tired of it and when she turns 14 she snaps at branch who never talks about poppy or the outside ans she sneaks out. Alarms go off and branch goes to find her, he get to her just as she's about to get eaten. History repeats ans Branch saves her at the coast of his own life. Just like his grandma rip ^^

Begonia escapes back to the bunker and has to step up as queen now, unprepared Creek helps her. Creek is good and has actually been helpful, he put his differences aside with Branch and helped him a lot now he helps Begonia.

Somewhere else in mount rageon floyd is living in the sewers with the few trolls who also lived there. Only trolls don't get infected because of their magic ( they seem to have some special magical abilities when they sing no other creatures posses) some of the mount rageons get infected and those that don't flee to the sewers with the trolls because they are in the big city there underground would be the sewers. Some mount rageons notice the trolls are completely unaffected and ask if they can run COMPLETELY human experiments and with the consent they work together to try and come up with a cure.

Floyd also became popular after the scandal with v and v and thats why he returned to mount rageon to finally succeed in his solo career but it was short lived.

Floyd is now a sewer troll and Creek and Begonia are Bunker trolls ^_^

Begonia if she wasn't grey and all the important details uwu

Also creeks hair drooped because he's saaaaad this is something I've noticed in the first movie ? Or it might have been tbgo series, I remember it was am old detail i loved

[grimalkinmessor]

HOLD UP I'm reversing my stance because actually actually actually L having Hanahaki would be uniquely interesting especially in the context of falling in love with someone who already wants him dead 👀 L has limited options if he wants to win live.

1. Again, get it removed. He wouldn't do so until he'd proved Light as Kira, because (if we're going the removing flowers removes memories route) he'd see it as too big of a gamble. He'd wait and pray that he solved the case before the flowers killed him.

There's also the option of L locking Light up somewhere until he recovers from the removal enough to review all of in-love-L's notes and footage on him, but this runs the very high risk of L just falling right back in love with him all over again. No bueno.

2. Make Light fall in love with him. THIS is a unique option simply because L would need to do so in a manner that never displays weakness—no soft conversations for him, no earnest heart-felt wooing. L could confess to Light, but that brings on a whole string of other problems. Light would be delighted by the turn of events, would likely (again assuming that we're going the 'Hanahaki has an emotional/psychological component in how it progresses' route) immediately start acting as if he were also in love with L so as to 'save' him, while also knowing that L would know he was pretending and thus it would not work. There's also the chance that Light would use Misa as an excuse to outright reject him without seeming cold, therefore hastening the disease's progression so that L dies faster. So, those avenues closed to L, he'd have to get creative.

(I do not believe L would ever die quietly in this scenario. It's not happening. He wants to live and he wants to win.)

Forcing Light to fall in love with him through underhanded tactics is going to be his best bet. L would pull out every mental trick in the book to get Light to start seeing him as less of a threat and more of an Option™—Pavlov's dogs would shudder in fear at the shit L would pull. And if L takes this route, he also has to figure out what the fuck he's gonna do with Light after he's cured himself, because again, if it's a psychological component he can't just lock Light up somewhere or he risks the flowers coming right back. It'd be an interesting time for everyone involved :D

The complications of Light realizing what L's doing or even why he's doing it would also be fun. Light wouldn't go quietly into that loving good night if he figured out that L was basically baiting him into falling in love with him, especially not if he realized that L was doing it to save his own skin. He'd find some way to manipulate it in his favor—maybe even by trying to sway L to his side? Would L be tempted to join Kira if the option was there, when his life was on the line and hemmed in from multiple angles? Or even just pretend to join Kira and sabotage him on the side, cuddling up next to him while sending off messages to Anti-Kira groups. Something to think about 💕

Oh, and the flowers L could be afflicted with are endless. Red roses, blue roses, spider lilies, fire lilies, cowslips, aspens, asphodels, begonias, black-eyed susans, coltsfoot, diphylleia, hollyhock, lavender, hydrangeas—I could go ON.

[hyacinthoideshispanica]

Elucien tattoo artist au

Lucien is a tattoo artist, and one day, Elain quietly walks into his shop and shyly asks about getting a small tattoo.

They have a consultation, and by the end of it, Lucien is absolutely smitten.

The day of the appointment arrives, and Elain does much better than she expected and ends up walking out with a small rose on her right hip.

That night, she shows her fiance, and to her shock, he demands they end their engagement immediately. Graysen sees tattoos as something vulgar and hates the idea of Elain letting a male tattoo artist see a more intimate area of her body. He tells her the only way he'll take her back is if she gets the tattoo removed.

When Elain tells her sisters about the whole thing, Nesta asks her if she's made a tattoo removal appointment yet and confused, Elain asks her what she means. Nesta shrugs and says that Elain is always bending over backward to make Graysen happy, even at the cost of her own happiness. Elain realizes Nesta is right, and instead of booking a tattoo removal, she books another appointment with Lucien.

Lucien has been praying that Elain would come back in and is overjoyed when she does, but he also notices that she seems different, less cheerful.

During the consultation, Lucien asks if there's anything wrong, and Elain tells him everything. Hating Graysen, but also not wanting her to regret anything, Lucien asks Elain if she's 100% certain she wants more tattoos. Elain is adamant that she does. She thinks Lucien's work is beautiful and would have gotten more eventually, the satisfaction of flaunting her autonomy before her ex is just an added bonus.

Elain ends up deciding on more flowers, and it ends up being a huge piece that takes months. With each session, Elain and Lucien talk and get more comfortable with each other. Lucien is fairly certain he's falling in love, and Elain is pretty sure she has a crush.

After countless hours and months of work, they're finally done, and Elain has spindly roots along her thigh that grow into flourishing and vibrant bunches of roses, begonias, and irises climbing up her hip, over her ribcage and curving over the back of her shoulder and ending on her collarbone.

Elain is ecstatic with it and won't stop thanking Lucien for giving her an everblooming garden. Lucien says that's his best work, and he will never be able to surpass it.

Elain promises to come back for something else, and Lucien promises himself that the next time he sees her, he's asking her out because he's pretty sure she likes him back. However, weeks and then months go by, and Elain still hasn't been back. Lucien convinces himself that Elain doesn't like him and it was all in his head, but then they happen to run into each other a random day and start talking. Lucien, trying to be casual, makes a comment about how she hasn't been at the shop, and Elain says something about trying to give him space since he was probably sick of her.

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, you saw me regularly for months, I just thought you'd want a break from me for a bit."

"Elain, I could see you every single day for the rest of my life, and it still wouldn't be enough."

They end up dating, and on their one year anniversary, Lucien gives her another tattoo, a beautiful fawn on her back left shoulder.

Then, after they get engaged, Elain gets a fox over her heart.

Ideas for Lucien's tattoos: a fox on his back left shoulder, a fawn over his heart, a jasmine and dripping honey/honeycomb design on his bicep, a sun on his neck, a small "Band of Exiles" on his inner arm.

As always, consider this prompt up for grabs.

[maskedlotus65]

I'm bored, so here's some relationship, family, and random Smurf head canons I have.

~

I like to think Hefty and Handy are brothers, with Hefty being the older brother. Their light competition displayed in some of the episodes in both the old and current series gave me a bit of siblings vibe. IDK

~

One friend group I have as a ead canon is Jokey, GUTSY, and Grouchy.

Grouchy is mainly friends with Jokey because Jokey doesn't really stop bugging him but he enjoys at least some type of company, even if it's annoying. Jokey does try to make Grouchy smile, and even succeeds sometimes. This is based on their many interactions in the current series.

Though, Gutsy and Grouchy are more likely closer, based on the interactions I saw during a rewatch I did on the first movie. They're both stubborn and don't like Brainy that much, obviously, so their friendship is pretty solid.

(also I'm headcanoning that Grouchy sometimes sends letters to Big Mouth and vice versa. THAT EPISODE HAD NO RIGHT BEING THAT DARN CUTE!)

~

This next one is still a little shaky.

Storm and Begonia being related, purely based on their similar hairstyles. Either cousins or sisters, though I'm leaning towards cousins.

~

Vanity is a drag queen. I can just see it. IDK

~

Hackus is surprisingly introverted, due to being not too bright and only having Vexy for company before becoming a real Smurf. So, while he is still loud and chaotic, he has a hard time making friends. Thankfully, Clumsy and Dimwitty let him hang around when Vexy's busy.

~

Vexy hangs out with the members of the Smurf band on occasion, mostly Meteorite. Other than them, she also hangs with Smurfette mostly, and has a bit of a friendship with Vanity and Blossom, surprisingly.

I chose Blossom because I wrote a fan written episode where Blossom tried to be more like Vexy to seem cooler, even putting black streaks in he blue hair. I might share it, but it's still unfinished and rocky.

~

Greedy has a small crush on Vexy, but it doesn't go any further than that because of the death glares he gets from Grouchy from a distance every time Greedy talks to her.

Vexy is either oblivious or doesn't know how to let Greedy down gently.

~

Gargamel is Aromantic.

~

These are just some of my own headcanons I wanted to share. 💙

[fumikomiyasaki]

Sweet Escape

Cw: mostly fluff and ship content, OC x Canon, Fumi not being a professional writer

Even if to many Heartslabyul students it seemed like the two were dating already... even after Treys sweet confession with a cake she couldn't really believe this was real... that they were a thing now... in itself it made Carol nervous but excited as well... and she knew... she wanted to make it something special.

And so for her first date with him she decided to make room when it comes to tutoring... her schedule was always a busy one but she didn't want anything to get in the way of this special day. Especially cause those last days with her students wore her down... as she wrote some notes and made up some ideas between classes she noticed a hand laying a muffin on the table that was all too familiar as she turned her head and smiled.

"Punctual as usual, Sweetcake."

"Someone seems excited."

"After all I look forward to our meeting later. I did plan some things."

He put a hand on her shoulder and winked. "Knowing you it probably will be nice, just don't overdo it, Carol. Or else I need to carry you there later."

Her cheeks grew a little red. "I will make sure to watch out for that."

He placed a kiss on her cheek and moved on... she couldn't help but stare after him as Lyla next to her snapped her out of it.

"Guess you still need to finish your plan right? Girl, I know what you think right now but-"

"Don't mind it... I do have that dress Mythra recommended... it is a good day today so might as well try that summer dress. And I think I just got the place I can invite him to."

Lyla gave her a nod. "Just loosen up and have fun, will you. You always try to work hard to make a good impression on others so, relax."

"Thank you Lyla."

"And what about me, are you two not going to ask me how I got this wound?" Leroy scoffed at them as Carol looked in concern and plastered a bandaid on the spot. "With your dorm... its no wonder it happens. But If there is anything I can get you, do tell Lee."

"Better listen to Lyla, I am fine, don't worry about others and think of yourself."

With a smile the tutor got up and moved on after finishing her lunch.. the day went exhausting as usual. Eventually she went back to Ramshackle, changed her clothes and texted Trey where to meet up... with a smile she looked up at his face lighting up seeing her... she even could spot a blush on it... noticing the picnic basket in his hands.

He opened his arms to hug her a little before they looked at another.

"You look... really pretty in this."

"Thank you. I see you also did take my request to heart."

"If you chose a nice place might as well provide with something nice to eat as well. I hope a warm apple pie will be to your liking."

He pulled an arm around her as she chuckled. "You know me well already."

The nervous feeling she had was lifted just seeing his smirk... she held her hand to his while they walked, accepting his arm in an half embrace... the wind slowly drifted across them on this sunny day... a perfect day for a stroll to the flower fields and a picnic...

The sweet smell of Begonias and Lilies drew near as Carol started to hold Treys hand calmly guiding him through the flower garden she found... a fountain gave a calm breeze in this heat before they both settled down on a blanket and packed out their lunches.

"To think people thought we been dating so long and this is our actual first date... its kinda silly."

"I must say... its probably cause many were jealous... "

"Hm?"

"Being with such a pretty tutor and spending a lot time with her... I feel I had many sharp gazes at me."

She twirled her hair a bit red.

"I am sorry for the obvious annoyances following me...I do hope they will stop now that I am in a relationship."

"Even then... I wouldn't mind dealing with them."

He put a hand firmly on hers scooting closer to her as if the calm her.

"I know... I feel good when I am with you, Trey. And not only cause of the treats."

He laughed slightly before looking into her eyes.

"I think there is something sweeter than my treats."

"And what would that be?" Her tone was teasing a little but she got caught of guard that he actually did lean forward to kiss her... she welcomed it however... it was a sweet taste... probably from baking earlier there was still some of the sugar lingering on his lips... with a blush she withdrew again.

"You are right... your kisses are almost addicting." She smiled softly.

"I can only give that back... but for now... lets enjoy this view a little."

The two set the food aside and looked up at the sky, as Carol snuggled in his embrace...

"I am glad... you decided to confess to me... I been having those feelings for a while but now... it feels like I am finally free... open to show you how often I thougth about hugging you like this."

He looked down at her in his arms and squeezed her tighter.

"And I don't mind if you want any more affections, I welcome them, my dear Apple."

It was just the rest she needed... just her... the soothing smell, the warmth of him holding her... this was all to forget her worries... her stress... she just felt happy. She could talk about her worries, her stress, share fun stories from tutoring.

Eventually the Sun was setting, the two packed their food in and rolled the blanket up.

"So shall I take you back or-"

"Actually...Trey, I want to still spend time with you... could we.... "

She put her fingers together as he put his hands on hers.

"I know a nice way to stroll around and chat. And I will bring you to your dorm too once we are done."

"Thank you so much."

"However~ What if we go to a Karaoke bar?"

"W-what makes you choose that?"

He smirked at her. "You friends told me you have a nice singing voice but are not confident in it."

"They are correct... so you do wanna hear it."

"The best way to face a worry is to confront it. So how about we do that."

"Okay... I will try then. Lead the way."

In the end... eventually the night passed and they both walked hand in hand to the Ramshackle dormitory... at the door step Carol turned around... her hair flowing with the wind of the night... as she put her hands on his shoulders...

"Can I get a good nights kiss, sweetcake?"

"Of couse."

With one lean down she wanted to take it all in... keep this mind in memory... get into bed with a good feeling.... she knew this was the start of something she would be looking forward to each day. Even if it meant having to deal with her bothersome students more. She was glad to have Trey at her side.

[magicalrocketships]

Doing a little digital spring cleaning tonight and I found the beginning of a Harry/Louis fic I swear I've never seen before in my life but I absolutely wrote, so it's definitely time to share. A shameless rip-off of the plot of Jilly Cooper's The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, which is an entire novel about a hot dude being paid by women with cheating husbands to make them jealous and stop cheating. Except in this one, Louis's masterminding the whole thing. Probably. I don't actually remember writing it.

The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (would have been Harry/Louis in the end, if I'd ever written more than... this).

"We're broke," Louis says flatly, dropping down onto the sofa next to Harry and showing him his bank statement.

"We're not," Harry says, putting down his iPad. He's been playing online bingo again, which occasionally brings in enough money to cover going to Sainsbury's and putting stuff in the cupboards. He glances at the bank statement. "Are we?"

"Broke," Louis says, and he puts his feet in Harry's lap. "We've got ten days to have enough money in my account before the rent goes out. Any ideas?"

"None," Harry says.

Time was, they could have tapped Harry's parents for a loan, but there had been a small misunderstanding and for now, that was off the table. It was no use trying to get money out of Louis's mum; she hadn't got it and Louis wouldn't ask if she did. He was utterly devoted to her and wouldn't take a penny. "What happened to that TV work that Ben was talking about?"

"Still happening, I think. Just not right now. Not in the next ten days."

"Do you remember when we didn't care about this stuff, and we just partied and spent what we wanted?"

"You're still like that," Louis pokes him in the thigh with his toes. "Since when has an overdraft stopped you going out?" He dropped a crumpled envelope in Harry's lap. "That came for you, by the way."

"This crumpled?" Harry asks mildly.

"It may have had a small fight with the letterbox," Louis says, since the return address says R. Maddox, and Louis has always hated Ruby, right from the moment they'd met and she'd made an immediate play for Harry, right under her husband's nose.

"Invitation to a party on Saturday," Harry says, tossing it towards Louis. "Do you want to come?"

"Pretty certain it won't say my name on that invite."

"It doesn't. I'll sweet-talk you in. There's probably going to be a free bar, her husband's loaded."

"Won't say no to that," Louis says, and that's that.

~*~

The flat Louis and Harry lived in was a cramped, tiny attic space in Kentish Town, only cheap enough for them to live in because the landlady's mum lived downstairs and bullied her daughter into not putting up the rent because Harry was so charming and would spend ages with her in the kitchen, drinking tea and flirting. Louis she had no time for, but that was mostly because the first time she'd met him, he'd been so drunk he couldn't see straight, and he'd fallen over her bin and vomited in the begonias.

It was also close enough to Primrose Hill that they could lie when asked where they lived, and frankly that was helpful when it came to explaining why they were worth knowing at parties. They had, at one point, been on the cusp of hosting these parties themselves. They'd failed to win X Factor a few years ago, and been promised a record contract anyway. They'd done the cycle of parties, the five of them that had had a band together back then, but had never truly broken past the outside perimeter. The others had faded out of London after a time, leaving Harry and Louis to continue sharing a flat and jumping from job to job.

When Harry got up on Sunday, naked underneath his dressing gown, Louis was sitting at the little table in the kitchen with his laptop.

"Have you been to bed?" Harry asks, putting the kettle on.

"For a bit," Louis says. "I've found us a way to make money."

"It's too early for money," Harry says, which is his usual approach. He'd grown up having it, so he's never tempered his lifestyle to reflect the fact that right now, they don't have it.

"Never," Louis says. "So I got talking to Ruby Maddox last night."

"You hate each other."

"We were drunk. She credits you with saving her marriage, you know."

"She slept with me while her husband was in Paris. Funny way of saving her marriage."

"Made him so jealous he stopped screwing his PR girl," Louis says. "How'd you fancy doing it again?"

"Sleeping with Ruby Maddox?" Harry looks perplexed. "Could do, I suppose."

"No," Louis says. "Her friend Georgina Meadows."

"Could I sleep with Georgina Meadows?"

"Actively not sleep with Georgina Meadows," Louis says. "Her husband's left her for his PA."

"Do I know Georgina Meadows?"

"Not yet. But you will."

"I need a cup of coffee," Harry says. "And then another one."

~*~

They take Louis's beaten-up old Golf to meet Georgina Meadows that afternoon. It barely scraped through its last MOT, so come the next one, unless money comes from somewhere, they'll be car-less again.

"Who is she?" Harry asks. "Why am I meeting her?"

"She's going to pay you to flirt with her to make her husband jealous," Louis explains. "And let me do the business side of things, you'll go in easy because she's crying or something, and she's loaded and we're broke.”

“All right,” Harry says. “Let’s do it.”

[secretwonderlandtimetravel]

New Cookie Run Oc :D

Weeping Begonia Cookie

Relationship Charts (She doesn't know that many Cookies):

Back Story/Lore:

White Begonia Cookie, sister of White Lily Cookie, was concerned because she hasn't seen her sister in a year after the Dark Flour War ended. So, she sent her a note saying,

My Dear Sister White Lily Cookie...

Please come and meet me in the forest we always go to after your long days of research.

P.S. From your loving sister, White Begonia Cookie ~♡

After sending her the letter, she followed the path to the forest her and her sister met every day they could. Now that she was in the forest she needed to look for her sister.

"Hm... There is a usual amount of toxic flowers in here..."

White Begonia Cookie said, noting the sudden increase of toxic flowers. Other then that, she wasn't very successful in her search and was now on the verge of having a panic attack. She eventually ended up in front of a pond, water lilies floating ontop of it. Suddenly a voice called her name, but it was one that she have never heard of before.

"So... White Begonia Cookie, is it-? I know you, you're my sister-!"

They said, White Begonia Cookie turning around to meet her face

"You're... You're not my sister. My sister's name is White Lily Cookie and-"

"Oh no need to continue."

They cut her off.

"I'm your sister, White Lily Cookie. But now I'm rebaked into something better, something stronger... I am Dark Enchantress Cookie-!"

She cheered, but White Begonia Cookie just wasn't getting the message.

"H- How do I know that you're telling me the truth-? Show me proof..."

"Ah yes, proof..."

Dark Enchantress sighed, pulling out a crooked and cursed soul jam that somehow shaped itself into what seems to be White Lily's soul jam... That soul jam alone shook White Begonia to the core.

"T- that's my sister's... So you're really her-? What have you been doing for all that time you've been gone...?"

"Heh heh heh..."

She chuckled, giving her sister a uncomfortable aurora.

"I plan to take the soul jams of the mighty ancients heroes, gain their power... And rule over Earthbread-!"

She said proudly in a loud voice, holding her fist up in the air. Her statement leaving White Begonia shocked.

"That's... horrible, White Lily Cookie. You would never do such a thing, would you-?!"

The other Cookie whined, not on board with the plan at all. Then for the next couple of minutes the sisters bickered and back at forth with each other. White Begonia holding up an argument that Earthbread should not be ruled with such bad intentions, while Dark Enchantress thought otherwise. Eventually Dark Enchantress sighed, fed up with how whiny her sister sounded.

"Arg-! If you side with me I have no other choice but to do it my way...!"

She shouted, clearly annoyed. And with just one tap of her staff on the ground she casted a curse on her sister White Begonia Cookie...

"Wait, White Lily Cookie...! Pleas-"

She cried, swimming towards her to get out but was cut off by the sudden strength of the roots preventing her from leaving. Suddenly, tears flowed out of her eyes and they seemed to be endless...

"White Lily, what type of spell have you-"

"Ha Ha-! You want to know sis?~ Well... you shall be stuck in this pond for all eternity and weep for the rest of your life-! No one, and I mean no one, will ever know that you're here. So you'll be stuck in a pond with no one to accompany you... No one-! Hah hahaha...!"

She laughed cruelly, watching as White Begonia weeped and sobbed.

"Wait no- Please-!..."

She begged, trying her hardest to escape but no matter how hard she tried the roots wouldn't let her. Dark Enchantress Cookie watched it all go down, turning around and leaving with her staff in hand as her sister continued to whine and beg.

"Wait please come back-! We can talk this out, just please!- Cooperate with me and-"

She cried, pulling out the grass and scratching the ground desperate for a way out... Now she was stuck, watching as 'White Lily Cookie' faded away and leaving her to suffer.

《~~~~~~~~~~~~~~◇-•○•-◇~~~~~~~~~~~~~~��

Weeping Begonia Cookie, resting in the middle of her pond... Endlessly sobbing into her gloved hands with no one there to comfort her as she cannot leave from this horrible life. She is forever rooted to the bottom of the pond as she watches water lilies float by and all around her. If she were granted a wish and just one, it would be to see her sister once more, White Lily Cookie...

Extra info:

Uses She/Her/Hers pronouns

She is the younger sister of White Lily Cookie

Has and always will refer to her sister as White Lily Cookie

Her original name was White Begonia Cookie that was later changed to Weeping Begonia Cookie because of a curse

Isn't really considered a ancient but holds the power of one (She doesn't have a soul jam.)

Very timid of other Cookies but can easily warm up to them just because they give her some type of comfort

Has been cursed for a thousand years now...

Mini Bonus Comic :3 -

[lifewithchronicpain]

I did it, I got my new flowers planted!

For the first time I actually have a before:

And now the after:

Two impatien plants on the sides and white begonias in the front and back. I accidentally dug up some of my crocus bulbs, oops. That's why there's such a space between the kitty gravestone and the front begonias.

My kitty Bella isn't buried in the garden, she's buried just outside it between the garden and bird bath. You can see my whole bird feeder and bath setup in the last picture. I made sure to put fresh water and feed in place. Also, my childhood cat Teddy is buried next to her. So yeah that corner is very special to me.

I want to try to take some of the forsythia above and weave it into the chain link fence above the retaining wall. I want to try and get the forsythia to fall in a blanket across the wall and cover that ugly hole.

Bonus pic, my pot plants are doing nice and spending the day in the wind to build up those stems:

[catchyhuh]

LOVE YOUR HEADCANONS SO MUCH YOU ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT ALL OF THEM. very curious, what do you think each of their favorite flowers are? thank you, have a nice day 👍

if there’s one thing i like more than talking for hours on end only semi-comprehensibly, it’s being right about the bullshit i'm talking about! so thank you!! i did no research for this whatsoever! i’ve never actually thought about this before, so i just thought about basic flowers i knew, checked my animal crossing shit, and this is what we have now!

lupin: insists it’s some grandiose shit like some highly symbolic rare orchid or chocolate cosmos but really he just likes forget-me-nots. they’re cute, and he usually favors such intense colors that their soft blue is really eye catching just by NOT being eye catching, if that makes sense. that said he’s kind of a sap about flowers in general. knows flower language and shit, but men rarely receive flowers, so when he gets them he doesn’t give a shit what they are, he’s just happy to have them. the meaning could be “i’m going to fucking kill you” and he’d be like “oh wow, what a lovely shade of yellow!! jigen clear off the windowsill by the counter these need a special sunny spot”

jigen: not a flower per se but i think people put it in bouquets so. rex begonias (disclaimer i did have to do a little research here because i could not for the life of me understand why the fucked up leaves weren’t popping up for me when i was JUST searching for begonias) because these things look prickly and even scary at a glance but when put next to the right stuff they just enhance the whole ordeal. plus he likes unconventional shit. symbolic cough

fujiko: tells people its roses to seem uncomplicated, really prefers dahlias. the poof is nice. honestly, she probably is sick of roses by this point in her life, and any other type of flower seems sweeter and more genuine, and honestly, just better to smell and look at. roses have so much associated with them, both in general romance and not to mention the whole different colors mean different things and she hates having to overthink receiving a pretty gift. so just… do anything else! but really, if you really wanted to make her smile, some fluffy pink dahlias would do the trick

goemon: if you asked, i don’t think he’d say he didn’t have an opinion, but he’d really have to think about it, and almost struggles trying to find an answer because he’s WAY overthinking this. i think he likes lilies. you know? he seems like a lily guy. specifically water lilies, just kinda floating along the river. they’re pretty! and despite what he says about the sanctity of training or whatever, it’s nice to have something pretty to look at, just slowly swaying against the water.

zenigata: honeysuckles :) the color sticks out, and it’s such an easy but memorable name that he can actually REMEMBER what they’re called. maybe some of them like. grew by his house when he was a kid or something. some personal attachment. cuz you know you can sip the nectar out of those and honestly it’s NOT bad honestly. it’s not something he’s constantly thinking about, or even thinks about every month. but when he passes some hes like oh! honeysuckles! that’s nice

[fandomunsexyman]

TWISTOBER DAY 22 - ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

I love AUs and this one is a role-swap between Malleus and Yuu! I wanted to do something with the fairies in Twisted Wonderland so in this AU Yuu is a fey but they’re closer to the Tinkerbell movies instead of Briar Valley.

More under the cut!

In this AU Yuu’s powers are based around mimicking that of a dragon over actual dragon powers. Their wings look like a dragon’s maw and their fire is hot enough to pass as dragon fire without doing as much damage.

For this AU Yuu is the next Queen Clarion/ Lord Milori figure. They have a somewhat intimidating reputation as one of the next leaders of the fae and being the person who will bring springtime/winter to the mainland. Due to this Yuu goes Night Raven College in order to experience more of the world around them before they have to accept their duties and remain stuck in Pixie Hollow.

However at NRC Yuu is somewhat ostracized because of their position. They’re kind but most people are hesitant to interact with them because of the whole “future person who controls the seasons” thing. They want to make a genuine friend on the mainland and have a few, but maybe that transfer student from another universe can help them make more!

Within this AU Malleus is the Ramshackle Prefect and an ex-deeply isolated rich kid. Within his universe he was the heir to a powerful company and rich family and is taking his unplanned vacation for all its worth. He gets to interact with people who have no idea about his past and explore some really interesting architecture! Of course another benefit is the mysterious person who he meets along his nightly walks!

For the art the flowers around Yuu are begonias and cyclamens. Begonias mean beware and reference their fake predator nature and cyclamens are resignation. The cyclamens acknowledge the fact that Yuu may never see Twisted Wonderland again once they take up their position or will outlive some of their friends.

On a lighter note for the rest of this roleswap the rest of the first years are fairies!

For the purposes of this AU the first years are all human-sized because why not. Jack is a garden fairy who has animal ears because he was born from the laugh of a beastman child and stays fighting the Animal Fairy allegations. They’ve all come along with Yuu to learn more about the mainland and help protect their future leader.

I’m still debating whether or not Grim and Lilia switch places but if they do I imagine that Lilia was trying to sneak Silver into the school and got caught. Sebek was caught helping them and all three of them get sent to Ramshackle Dorm with Malleus. Malleus and Sebek share a student ticket and Lilia and Silver share a student ticket.

[aceouttatime]

Short-Lived: .02 Dinner With Archie Next Chapter: (Coming Soon) Previous Chapter: .01 The Humdrums and The Noteworthy 3040 words TW: Alcohol use, (potential) drug use, grotesque imagery, depression Also, heads up, this chapter is intended to be vague!

Synopsis:

I left for home that night with quite a lot on my mind. I left for home every night with quite a lot on my mind. And by the time the week caught up to me, there was nothing left to rationalize.

I left for home that night with quite a lot on my mind. I left for home every night with quite a lot on my mind. And by the time the week caught up to me, there was nothing left to rationalize.

“What am I doing, Arch?”

I set down my half-read book–it was some heavier novel I couldn’t get myself to focus on. It was partially because the protagonist was the blandest and most predictable character I’d tried to relate to in a long while. Excruciatingly so, really. I wasn’t sure why I kept picking it up at all.

It was getting to be late evening, just warm enough to be outside in my hammock with a very fancy bowl of ramen noodles with cheese and spinach. Tonight was one of those in which I hadn’t the energy to make anything more than a microwave meal for myself. And I certainly didn’t need to dirty the table when the weather was finally getting to that pleasant, spring-ish temperature where I could don a sweater and slacks without worrying I’d catch a cold.

Shooting a glance at my partner in crime, Mister Archibald himself, I cracked a pursed-lipped smile. He was a regal fellow, sitting all prim and proper on the balcony rail like he owned the place. He tilted his head amongst the begonias and hydrangeas, clearly off in his own little world.  And those olive eyes of his that almost matched my own lowered sleepily.

Of course, Archie said nothing in return, as he was a cat.

“Grand advice. You should write that down.” I chuckled, polishing off the rest of my lukewarm dinner.

The past week had been difficult. Tamia was quiet. And when she got quiet, she was the sort to get lost in her own head and focus on anything but the task at hand. I didn’t have the heart to bring it up to her when she forgot to water the plants on her desk–they were starting to look wilted, so I gave them some water for the next couple of days. I’d seen a few other folks comfort her throughout the week, knowing better than to offer their console to me. She seemed grateful enough, though her hands still shook when she wrote on the whiteboard in the lobby.

I busied myself with my job again, researching a few things about another, more minor case’s suspects. It kept me occupied, other than yesterday when I’d finally given in and visited the graveyard by the park with some oats for the ducks. Archie wasn’t much one for adventure, but I didn’t mind being by my lonesome. I was glad for the company now, though.

“Sweet boy–how’d I get so lucky, hm?” When I reached my arm out, Archie sniffed at my fingers, little whiskers tickling the faded, dark freckles on the back of my hand. He was a ginger cat, and as all ginger cats were known to be, he was the sole cause of chaos in my tiny home. Lord knew my side of things was a lot calmer.

“Careful-” Heavy paws forced a cough out of me as he landed square on my windpipe, purring loud and droning as a car engine. “Do you think I should call Tam? Do you think she’d just try to get me to talk? I haven’t heard from her in a while, and part of me wonders whether she wants an apology.”

I scratched between his triangle ears as he curled up like a honey bun, chirping as I hit a good spot. I took that as a yes. “She does deserve one.”

Later. I’d deal with that later.

…

While I typically made a point to avoid the bar on busy Fridays, I had an old acquaintance who’d invited me. I’d tidied up, setting Arch back on his favorite rug and giving him one last scritch before I grabbed my jacket. The thing was, these days, I didn’t mind a drink at all.

“Well, now, if it isn’t Mister Sylvan Okeanoú himself.”

“That’s Lieutenant Detective Sylvan Okeanoú to you, Ms. Vidia Donelle.”

She smirked something sinister, skimpy violet dress accentuating how she popped her hip to the side in jest, her hair even longer than mine had I kept it down. Life and time had been kind to her over the past eight years or so–she looked more alive than I’d ever seen her. Part of me envied it.

I pulled my coat closer to my collar, giving a brief roll of my eyes as I followed her into the hole-in-the-wall spot that was The Odyssey. It was built back when dance clubs were in their prime and hadn’t been updated much since, rafters still dusty and couches still whispering of old cigarettes. It had been a popular spot back when the two of us were still kids floundering in university; well, one of us was floundering, and I was inclined to believe it wasn’t me. I did wonder what became of her after she dropped out of our program to ‘pursue her passion.’

I supposed I would find out soon enough.

“You always did know how to be a gentleman, hm?” We sat down on barstools I mentally noted were maybe a touch too tall–I wasn’t the most vertically gifted of men, and my ‘date’ practically towered over me with those heels of hers. Vidia ordered something fruity, and I figured I’d start with whatever the house special was these days, to which the tender and owner, Rick, politely clued me in was a cinnamon something or other.

I was relieved to see him still around. He was a big, burly bear of a man with a well-trimmed beard and cheeks hard as stone. There was, from what I could recall, usually a cigar clamped between his teeth, and he hadn’t given up the pleasure tonight. It still shocked me he worked the bar, but his hands were as steady as ever with the spirits, dusting the rim of mine with cinnamon. He and Vidia shared a glance.

“Glad to see you finally got what you wanted, Lieutenant,” she mused with a roll of her eyes.

“Yes, yes, I know, how dare I correct you on my title. It’s not as if it took me a degree to earn,” I prodded, nodding thanks to Rick.

Vidia and I made short of small talk, exchanging a few choice words about my work and her Uber driver and the odd men in the corner of the bar that didn’t quite seem to know how to speak to one another. For as difficult as I’d thought it would be to talk to her, my anxiety was quelled in a matter of minutes. But, as I’d learned of myself, I couldn’t let good things last long. She became serious when I addressed the elephant in the room.

Vidia had always been quick to switch in that manner.

Taking a swig of my shot, I clicked my tongue at how it burned my throat. “Not to be terribly blunt, but what’s the occasion? I was under the impression you had forgotten we’d been close all those years ago.”

Vidia just shook her head, pinching the stem of her drink’s cherry between her fingers. It was a brilliant red that matched the windflower pinned up in her hair. A little crease formed between her brows, eyes downcast as she stirred her drink with a well-manicured nail.

“Oh, no. I just got caught up in the atmosphere of it all, you know?”

Truthfully, I didn’t. And when I raised my own brow, she heaved a sigh.

“The nightlife. The city. I mean, you know I came from nothing. That was, like, practically the only thing we had in common,” she laughed, and I felt myself ease into the melody of it. “After I dropped out, I got a job at Chuck’s place down the way.”

Vidia’s dark eyes got darker, a long silence of slow music and distant chattering filling the little gap between her lips.

“I, God, I’m going to be painfully honest here, but I felt guilty, y’know? Both about the things I said to you and about quitting. My parents had given up a lot for me to move up here and get my education. And, really, I ended up throwing that away because, for the first time in my life, I felt free.”

When she finally looked at me, her eyes seemed hollow and glassy. Maybe, behind her makeup artistry and harsh smile was that same exhaustion I felt.

“I didn’t know how to tell you, Sylvan. And after the awful things I said to you after you…told me about yourself, well, I wasn’t sure if you’d care,” she admitted. “I should’ve just apologized instead of disappearing off the goddamn map. And I missed out on keeping one of the only friends I knew I could trust to be brutally blunt with me. So, that’s why I invited you. To apologize.”

I sat in stunned silence. Vidia passed me another glass, cinnamon sticking to her fingers like sawdust and glitter in the lowlights. I had trouble thinking back to the end of my first semester. It was a lifetime ago, back when I was a bit more open and a bit more immature. I’d trusted Vidia with something I shouldn’t have. I had trusted my parents with those same feelings years before–I no longer spoke with them afterward, as was the same with Vidia. I hadn’t expected her cruelty. I couldn’t have.

After a moment, I took the shot. In the reflection of the glass, I noted the stillness of the suited men in the corner.

“I owe you, Sylvan.”

She did, but I was owed a lot of things. Enjoying the flavor past the fire, the hearth in her voice kept me warm the rest of the night. I lost track of time. I lost track of how much I drank, but it was enough to ease my nerves and then some. Heat flushed on my cheeks and over the bridge of my nose when she brought up the personal and unforeseen topic that was my love life, or lack thereof. I figured she’d probably already reckoned I’d no interest.

Vidia, however, was a viper who struck best on the unexpecting.

“You’re telling me that, in all the time you’ve been moving up through the system, you still haven’t found that special someone?”

Drink long abandoned, she gaped at me in the glow of the blacklights, hand slapping the bar as she leaned closer yet, inches away from brushing a slip of paper to the ground. Jesus. I’d brought up the odd little love note I’d found in one of my files, considering it had quite nearly fallen out of my jacket. Vidia was under the impression that it was an actual, if not childish, means of interest. I hadn’t pondered that possibility, quite literally because it was preposterous. If someone wanted me like that, they would simply ask. I wasn’t the most approachable of sorts, sure, but really. No self-respecting person sends a post-it note with illegible handwriting to their coworker, or anyone, for that matter, as a form of affection.

Plus, it was quite clear I wasn’t searching for that sort of thing. Picking up the stupid thing, I scoffed, pointing it in her direction accusingly. “That’s an off-topic question, Miss Vidia. If my mind serves me right, we were discussing the very-professional subject of unexplained evidence I’d found on my desk. Do its placement and contents not raise any questions to you?”

“Oh, you prude. Mister Okeanoú, you are still no fun,” she droned, head falling back in faux defeat. “Let me have a little fun, hm? We didn’t come here to talk business, my dear friend.”

“Mhm. And, yet, I didn’t come here to talk about my romantic pursuits.”

Blatantly ignoring that, she snatched the yellow slip from between my fingers, the heat of her proximity causing my brow to furrow. The pressed flower’s dust left a residue on my fingers.

“So. Sexual pursuits it is.”

“Vidia Donelle-”

She stopped me there, my glasses a touch foggy. “You’d think, considering what I was like back in uni, you’d have at least expected this sort of ‘uncouth behavior’ from me.” She gave a pout, eyes large and drunk. “I’m sure with that gorgeous…face of yours, you get at least a few offers every now and again.”

“Please,” I groaned, pinching the sleeve of my sweater. She snickered, the hiss of it all slurred-like, and I suddenly recalled why I stopped inviting her out alone. “No. I have no time for frivolous flings and certainly not for anything more. The work I do is more important than those sorts of interests.”

“You’re lying.”

“You have no reason to believe that.”

“You’re avoiding the question, sweetheart.”

“I quite literally just answered you.”

She laughed through the bass of a particularly grating song, my head aching and stomach ripe with unspat bile. Following her gaze back, I noticed how she eyed up a tall, handsome stranger at the pool table, lip bit at the way his back arched over the edge. It was a picturesque, half-dim open sign framing his strong jaw like an incomplete halo.

It was then I found it high time I left for some air.

Finding my footing, I bid her farewell, finding a hasty set of numbers scrawled on that post-it after I’d snatched it back. They weren’t hers. The floorboards were more uneven tonight than they’d been a decade back, the mirrors bright and rusty. The balcony door, half-hidden behind the edge of the traditional bar area, seemed a reprieve from the heat and haze and sinking disgust in my gut.

Rick tipped his head at me, flicking ash off the end of his cigar. There was cinnamon on his lips, and I wondered if he’d been drinking too. His eyes were bloodshot behind seas of shining cerulean–it took me a moment to notice the old home phone off the wall and teetering on his shoulder. Past him, Vidia was already gone.

I left The Odyssey, brushing shoulders with an odd, suited man as I did. The corner he and his associates had overtaken when the night was younger was empty, and catching the light of those empty seats made something in my chest clench like my fists at my sides. I heard a muffled grumble. His face was grim and ashy, sunken-in like yellow-papered decay.

I made certain to let the foggy glass door click shut behind me, hollow eyes on my back.

Out in the fresh air of the night, I leaned against the rail, grateful for the lack of company yet feeling lonesome anyhow. Beyond my perch lay mostly-barren avenues and alleyways lit only by the pollution of streetlights. If I had better vision, perhaps I could see the lights of my old university–the very tallest of its buildings, at least. With a long drawl of a sigh, my head and stomach protested again, now-felt heartbeat linking the two as if I’d upset them both.

I took a sip of my shot. Strange, as I didn’t recall having brought another with me out here.

Vidia was a fool for forcing herself out onto the streets of this worn-out carcass of a place. There wasn’t beauty in the booze and sex and drugs she found so freeing; there was an immense sadness to it all, a longing for something fulfilling. How many Fridays would it take before she found this repetitive? How many Fridays would it take for her to realize that she’d fucked up?

I missed university. I missed the way Vidia and I used to huddle close in those beat-up dorms when it rained, back before we’d learned anything at all. Before she’d known who I was and why I always wore high-collared sweaters–before I’d known why she kept her hair loose and lips looser.

The years had been kind to her. Too kind.

I almost poured the rest of my beverage out into a potted tree in the corner, old leaves wilted from neglect and the season. But I thought better of it, letting the few drops of liquor dribble through the nooks and crannies of the vintage floor planks to who-knows-where. It was getting colder, the longer I pondered things, the hues of things a little off in my peripheral vision.

Maybe I had missed out on things back in my younger days. Still, I was here, and she was there, and I still had a fighting chance to be successful, courted or not. Love note or not. Vidia or Tamia or Archie or not. I trembled. There was a sun-bleached ashtray near the pathetic plant.

The man was there, too. His eyes were missing, and his sockets were darker than the sky.

I blinked, and he was gone.

I knocked the ashtray to the ground. On accident. On purpose.

My head hurt.

Was I…still scared?

The bar was a blur of color as I passed back through it. Pool man was gone. Vidia was gone. The men in the corner were gone. Rick was pacing and polishing that same goddamned glass he’d been fiddling with when I’d stepped away.

I didn’t think much after that.

…

Somehow I’d made it home, body all sprawled out on the couch and damp from a shower I surely must’ve taken. The television was off, and my head was cold from my hair and aching like a particularly nasty hangover. Whatever I’d consumed to do this to me was grounds for suing.

Across the room, Archie sat like a grotesque atop a pulled-out dining chair, royal and angry as if my being on the couch rather than in my bedroom upset him. He did not climb to my chest to sleep as he always has, instead gazing at me from beyond. The balcony door was still open, night just as dark as it’d been when I’d stepped foot in here, and I’d not the mind nor body to close it.

When exhaustion had finally pulled my weary mind under, I heard the distant cry of Archie’s yowling.

...

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[theheartbrokensystem]

GUESS WHO'S BACK? I AM! SO HERE'S A NEW REF OF LAMB FOR Y'ALL! THIS IS A LONGASS POST BTW! (MY BABY HAS A MUSTACHE NOW :D)

Lamb Begonias reference sheet (V2)

Real name: Lamb Begonias

Boxer name: “Delicate Lamb”

Nicknames: Loverboy (Disco), Honeypie (Bob), "Little Lamb" (Jana)

He/They, Transgender man, Questioning

Has Autism, Depression, and PTSD 

Age: 22

Bio parents: Havika Keomany (father) and Kalea Vongsay (mother)

Adoptive mother: Jana "Begonias" Albacete

Languages he knows: English (Primary), Spanish (Secondary), Laos, and Vietnamese (Speaks neither, but knows a bit of both.)

Voice claim: Fujin (Mortal Kombat series) voiced by Matthew Yang King

Jobs: Boxer and Sex worker

Nationality: Asian (Laos and Vietnamese)

Rank: Minor Circuit, #2

Record: 23 (Total fights), 17 (Wins), 5 (Wins by KO), 10 (Losses)

Stance: Southpaw

Height: 5'5

Weight: 139 lbs (63 kg)

Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA, USA

Birthday: February 6th, 1917

Bio: Lamb's a timid, compassionate, and easygoing man who loves socializing in contrast to his timid nature. He's always kind towards everyone, even to those who treat him horribly. But he does have a limit, and won't hesitate to be assertive. When it comes to other aspects of his life; he prefers to keep quiet about it, in fear of being ridiculed.

Likes:

Plushies

Sweets

The color pink

Cold weather

Tea

Quiet areas

The smell of essential oils

His pet Baba named "Sweetie" (seen here)

Dislikes:

Receiving physical contact w/o permission

Loud noises

Bright lights

Creeps/Pervs

Bland food (taste wise)

Strong perfume (sensory issue)

Clowns (phobia)

Paparazzi (sensory issue and they genuinely make him mad.)

Hobbies:

Drawing

Ballet

Crochet

Writing poetry

Boxer (started out as a hobby, became a job kinda.)

Heavy Metal singer

(OLD REFERENCE SHEET HERE)

{Regular moves}

Right jab: Lamb shakes his right hand before taking a jab at Little Mac.

Left jab: Lamb shakes his left hand before taking a jab at Little Mac.

Left hook: Lamb winds up his left arm counter clockwise before throwing a left hook at Little Mac.

Right hook: Lamb winds up his right arm counter clockwise before throwing a right hook at Little Mac.

Uppercut: Lamb stretches his arms before uppercutting Little Mac.

Taunt: Lamb awkwardly laughs and waves to the crowd. Then throws a left hook, right hook, and an uppercut; Little Mac can dodge all of these moves.

{Signature Moves}

Soft Flurry (Contender): Lamb takes a deep breath then unleashes slow yet powerful punches, Little Mac can dodge this move.

Wistful Fury (Title defense): Lamb sighs before unleashing all of his regular moves twice, and does two overheads at the end. Little Mac can dodge this move.

{Quotes}

When selected (Contender)

“Oh. Alright.“

“I’ll try my best.“

“It’s... my turn?“

When selected (Title Defense)

“I feel… bad about this.”

“I don’t want to do this, but I have to.”

“As you wish.“

{When attacking}

“Watch ya self!“ (Left jab)

“Try and keep up!“ (Right jab)

“C’mon! Step it up!“ (Left hook)

“C'mere!“ (Right hook)

“Gonna get cha!” (Uppercut)

{If Mac is hit}

“Did I hit too hard?”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry-”

“Sorry for hurting you!“

{If Little Mac’s attack misses}

“What?“ (Left/right jab)

“C'mon Mac, you're better than this!“ (Left hook)

“Don’t loose focus now!“ (Right hook)

“Huh?“ (Uppercut)

“What.” (Soft Flurry)

“You tried.“ (Wistful Fury)

{If Little Mac dodges}

“Good timing!“ (left/right jab)

“Great job!“ (Left/right hook)

“Smooth like butter, Mac!” (Left uppercut)

"What? How?" (Right uppercut)

Impressive, Mac!“ (Soft Flurry)

“You got a hawk’s eyes.“ (Wistful Fury)

{If hit by Little Mac}

“Good job, Mac!“

“You hit hard!“

“Caught me off guard!“

{Star Punch}

“Damn Mac!“

“That’s how you throw a punch!“

“Damn! You ain’t playing around!”

{If Star Punch is missed}

“You tried!“

“Better luck next time, Mac!“

“You lagged there, man!“

{Performing signature moves}

“Feel my flurry!“ (Soft Flurry)

“One flurry coming right up!“ (Soft Flurry)

“This will hurt me more than it’ll hurt you.“ (Wistful Fury)

“I promise I’ll make this quick.“ (Wistful Fury)

{If Little Mac is down}

“…Sorry about that Mac!“

“That look like it hurt… Ouch.“

“C’mon Mac! Up!“

“Don’t let me stop you Mac, c’mon!“

{KO/TKO Animations}

KO Animation: He slumps onto the ropes and gives Mac a thumbs up.

TKO Animation: He stumbles around before falling straight on his face.

{Victory Animations}

Contender Animation: He awkwardly laughs and stands there, while also looking back at Little Mac because he feels bad for him. 

Title Defense: He doesn’t even say anything, he just stares at a defeated Little Mac and sadly sighs with his head down.

{Punch-Out!! Theme}

Lamb’s theme would be lo-fi, to fit his timid personality.

{Intermission}

Contender

“…Good fight Mac.”

“You got guts! I like that!”

“I like a challenge!”

“Doc Louis taught you good Mac, be proud of yourself!“

Title Defense

He won’t say anything during Title Defense, cause he’s stressed out, so he’ll just snuggle Sweetie.

{Doc Louis tips}

Contender

“He throws slow but powerful punches, careful kid!”

“Lamb spaces out from time to time, use that to your advantage!”

“His ‘Soft Flurry’ ain’t soft at all, remember that Mac!”

“He may be goin’ soft on you, don’t let that stop ya though!”

“What’s that fuzzy thing? Ya know what it is Mac?”

“Lamb’s knows what’s up! I taught you good, didn’t I Mac?“

Title Defense

“Something ain’t right Mac, you probably should go easy on him?”

“Careful of his 'Wistful Fury’ kid, dodge it whenever you can!”

“They still goin’ soft on you, guessing they really don’t wanna hurt ya.”

“At least that fuzzy thing is there to help them.”

“I think he feels bad for going up against you, kid.“

Relationships with the other boxers + Doc Louis

(Sorry if the relationship chart looks weird, I tried to squeeze all of the boxers in there. - Joey)

Punch-Out!! (Wii)

Little Mac: He treats Mac like a little brother, tends to spoil him a lot.

Doc Louis: Lamb sees him as a father figure, since his bio father wasn't there for him as a kid.

Glass Joe: They're train together often, even if Lamb doesn't understand French. He tries his best to make Joe happy.

Von Kaiser: They're best friends, as they've bonded over their traumatic experiences, and helped one another; when they were at their lowest points of their life.

Disco Kid: They're dating each other, so Lamb is lovey dovey with him. Disco is open about the relationship; he's cool with PDA from Lamb and Bob.

King Hippo: Lamb treats him with high respect cause of his "King" status. Though Hippo speaks in his native tongue, Lamb is learning to understand him.

Piston Hondo: Hondo and Lamb barely talk, but respect each other enough to have each others back.

Bear Hugger: Bear treats Lamb like a son, after Don told him about Lamb's past. Bear took upon himself to be there for Lamb whenever he can.

Great Tiger: Tiger helps Lamb with his memory problems, since Lamb suffers from memory loss due to his PTSD. Lamb helps Tiger with errands in return.

Don Flamenco: Don feels bad for Lamb after finding out about Lamb's past through gossip. Which is why Don tones down his ego around Lamb; so that Lamb doesn't feel self-conscious around him.

Aran Ryan: Lamb has a love/hate with Aran cause of Aran's teasing, however Aran grew to like Lamb. After Lamb admitted to enjoying Aran's antics.

Soda Popinski: Lamb does errands for him and spoils him with free drinks. Soda does the same in return.

Bald Bull: Like Hondo, they barely talk. but respect each other enough to have each others back. Since they both hate the paparazzi.

Super Macho Man: They're friends, since Lamb sponsors Macho's stuff. But their relationship became complicated; as Macho caught feelings for Lamb. On the other hand, Lamb is aware. But prefers if they'd stay friends.

Mr. Sandman: They're friends, Sandy's unaware of Lamb's crush on him. So whenever Sandy looks at or speaks to him, Lamb gets all shy.

Punch-Out!! (SNES)

Birdie Mac: Like Mac, he also spoils Birdie and treats him like a little brother.

Gabby Jay: They're friends, Gabby gives advice to Lamb whenever he needs it.

Piston Hurricane: Piston and Lamb are friends, as they met through Lamb's other job place. Piston works as a body guard there. (Lamb's a sex worker.)

Bob Charlie: Like Disco, they're also dating. Lamb is lovey dovey with him too; Bob doesn't mind PDA from Lamb or Disco. Bob on the other hand; is quiet about the relationship, but likes dropping hints just to tease people.

Dragon Chan: They're friends, but sometimes Dragon's competitive spirit makes Lamb doubt himself a lot. In which, Dragon isn't aware of.

Masked Muscle: They barely talk, but they're chill with each other.

Heike Kagero: Lamb and him are best friends, Heike met Lamb through Disco and got along quick. Since Disco and Heike were friends before Lamb came around.

Mad Clown: Lamb stays away from him, due to his fear of clowns.

Narcis Prince: Lamb and Narcis are exes on good terms, yet Narcis misses being with him though. But he's happy for Lamb either way.

Hoy Quarlow: They have a grandfather/son relationship, Hoy spoils Lamb cause he feels guilty. As Hoy knows Lamb's bio parents and is aware that they aren't great.

Rick Bruiser: They're gym buddies who train together sometimes, nothing more than that.

Nick Bruiser: Like Narcis, they're exes on good terms too. But nobody knows how they even got together, not even Rick knows. (Forgot to add this to Lamb's relationship chart.)

What others think of him

Punch-Out!! (Wii)

Little Mac: "I like him, he's super nice."

Doc Louis: "He may be shy, but once you get to know him, he's a great guy!"

Glass Joe: "Lamb est un bon ami, il est toujours si attentionné envers tout le monde. Même si je ne comprends pas très bien l'anglais."

(Translation: "Lamb is a good friend, he's always so caring towards everyone. Even if I don't understand English that well.")

Von Kaiser: "We've bonded over our experiences with PTSD and comforts me whenever I experience an episode, I think he's a nice guy."

Disco Kid: "Lamb's sweet like honey and people immediately stick to him, that's what I love about him!"

King Hippo: "He is worthy of respect, for his compassion soothes those around him."

Piston Hondo: "I respect him and he respects me, that is all."

Bear Hugger: "He's always so friendly! How can you not like him?"

Great Tiger: "Lamb has a pure heart, people continue to wound his heart. Yet, he manages to stand strong"

Don Flamenco: "Lamb? Oh, I think he's nice. Poor boy been through a lot though."

Aran Ryan: "Lamby boy? He's a wimp, he's too nice! But a lil' kindness won't kill me though. Don't tell em' I said that!"

Soda Popinski: "Lamb's a kind lad, I like him."

Bald Bull: "He has my back, I have his."

Super Macho Man: "That Lamb dude? Oh, he's radical!"

Mr. Sandman: "Lamb's a nice guy, I don't understand why he gets all flustered around me though."

Punch-Out!! (SNES)

Birdie Mac: "Lamb always spoils me and Mac cause we're like his lil brothers, I don't mind it though."

Gabby Jay: "Lamb's a nice lad, always manages to make anyone smile."

Piston Hurricane: "He's cool, I hate how people take advantage of him for being too nice though."

Bob Charlie: "Lamb's such a sweetheart, he's always lookin' out for those he cares about."

Dragon Chan: "He may be timid, but I know he has potential in his heart."

Masked Muscle: "Lamb's a cool guy."

Heike Kagero: "He's an angel, I don't understand how some people can be so mean to him."

Mad Clown: "I get why he's scared of me? But like, Lamb bursts into tears whenever he sees me. Geez."

Narcis Prince: "Lamb's a nice fellow, but I miss what we had all those months ago..."

Hoy Quarlow: "He's a kind soul. Yet, he masks his sadness and pain."

Rick Bruiser: "He's kind of a wuss, but he means well."

Nick Bruiser: "Lamb's nice and cute."

Going into depth about Lamb's Autism, Depression and PTSD

[Lamb's Autism]

Lamb was diagnosed with Autism by the age of 4, Lamb in his childhood was selectively mute and preferred to be alone. But as he grew older he had to adapt with living with his needs not being met, so he had to leave his comfort zone a lot; such as being forced to go to places w/ bright lights and constant noise.

Lamb's stims: Flapping hands, rocking back and forth, humming, and feeling his clothes. Lamb likes: Compression, doughy textures (food), soft textures (clothing) and cold places. Lamb's triggers: Loud noises, bright lights, crowds, tight clothes, and unwanted physical touch (If you wanna hug him, ask first.) What are Lamb's meltdowns like?: Lamb cries uncontrollably, pulls his hair a lot, and hates confrontation. So he runs away to find a place to isolate himself.

[Lamb's Depression]

Lamb was diagnosed with Depression at the age of 14, after his bio mother kept complaining about his outbursts and how he always isolated himself from his parents.

What's Lamb like when depressed?: Lamb becomes numb (as in emotionally blunt kinda numb), more irritable, tends to zone out, and seems distant when people try to talk to him. When he's experiencing a depressive episode, he's in this constant state of like "the things that make him happy can't even cheer him up" kinda sad; and Lamb has no energy to do anything. Including eating and bathing, his depressive episodes can last up to 3 to 5 weeks.

[Lamb's PTSD]

Lamb was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at the age of 14, after experiencing neglect from his bio parents and an traumatic incident that happened to him when he was 7.

The cause of Lamb's PTSD: Neglect from his bio parents and the incident. What triggers his PTSD episodes?: The word "gentle" used around him w/o context. Coping mechanisms: Laughing in uncomfy situations, isolating himself, and sleeping a lot.

More info about Lamb

Lamb's presence calms animals.

He collects rocks for fun, he thinks they're neat.

Lamb likes to rearrange things by color.

He has a fascination with cheese, he knows all about cheese.

Lamb daydreams to cope with stress, besides sleeping.

He has a high pain tolerance, but has a bad immune system so he gets sick easily.

[thessalian]

Faerun!Alisaie vs This Underdark Bullshit

After a somewhat mad party and some reassurances for Lae'zel that "we will get there, I promise"...

Gale: And even though we've cleared a side path, now we're taking the front door. Now when they all know to hate us.

Alisaie: Do you really think this is going to be that hard?

Gale: ...Probably not, no, but there'll be more further in and saving energy feels like a thing--

Alisaie: They are leaderless goblins and bugbears.

Wyll: And one ogre.

Alisaie: Okay, yes, and one ogre. We can deal with this. We have taken shits scarier than them!

Gale: ...Collectively, or--?

Shadowheart: Stop bringing nit-pick logic into her motivational speech.

Some fairly easy hacking through goblins and bugbears (and two humans and an ogre) later, in the Shattered Sanctum

Gale: What are you doing?!? The spiders are in there!

Alisaie: I got this. *chugs a Potion of Speaks With Animals*

Spider: Yum!

Alisaie: There are goblins out there and they're way yummier than us. Go eat them.

Spider: Okay!

Wyll: I can't decide if that's briliant or brutal.

Alisaie: Eh, I gave them corpses to chew on and they'll live in the ruins lest anyone decide to try moving back in--

Goblins: *screaming in the distance*

Spiders: Yay! Live prey! Finally some enrichment!

Alisaie: *snorts laughter*

Wyll: ...What? What did it say?

Alisaie: They were bored. They are no longer bored. But I don't really want them to die so... *shoots an arrow at the goblin being eaten by spider*

Goblin: *dies*

Spider: Thanks. Matriarch said I shouldn't play with my food.

Alisaie: *heads for Priestess Gut's chambers, laughing her ass off*

Wyll: What? What?!? What did it say?!?

Gale: Maybe we should all gargle those concoctions of hers. I think we miss some of the best jokes.

Alisaie: Oh, that reminds me; I should ask if Halsin found a mate for Tusk. Or was a mate for Tusk, whatever; I don't judge with druids.

Gale; Wyll; Shadowheart: Excuse you?!?

Alisaie: Later! I promise! I-- *walks into Priestess Gut's chambers; runs into ogre handmaiden/bodyguard* Oh. Hi there.

Ogre Handmaiden/Bodyguard: *looks unimpressed*

Alisaie: Hey, it's cool; we're just passing through. You won't even know we're here.

Ogre Handmaiden/Bodyguard: *grunts assent*

Gale: You could sell firelighting kits in hell, you know that?

Alisaie: Probably, but speaking of hell, let's get the hell out of here before she wises up and figures out I killed her boss yesterday.

Shadowheart: Well, much as I'm not entirely keen on performing rites to Selune, I suppose beating Her worshippers' little floor puzzle would be worth doing...

Alisaie: Or we can doubly flag up how ridiculous they were with their entrance-hiding and use the proverbial key they left under the metaphorical pot of begonias.

Shadowheart: What?

Alisaie: *disengages lock on Emergency 'We-Locked-Ourselves-Out' Lever; pulls lever*

Door to Underdark: *opens*

Shadowheart: ...Or we could do it that way too, I suppose.

Alisaie: Tell you what; I will totally do the next bit of ritual bullshit. Just for you. Okay?

Shadowheart: *only half-joking* You're so good to me.