#maybe i'll tinker around with them more and make them better

[octyfish]

The feeling when you finally think you're going to see Clown without his makeup...only for him to show up to the party as a different kind of Klown...

An extra thank you to @silverxcristal for helping me with some of the backgrounds and text so I could get this done. Even if it still unfortunately ended up being late.

[leo-interactive-fiction]

ROs being teleported to the past and finding MC as a cute child

Haha, let's see...

E: Your wide, saucer like eyes look up at the smiling figure as they squat down to your level.

"Hey MC... It's been a while... since I've seen you like this..."

"You look familiar..." you murmur quizzically.

"I know... you don't have to recognize me now, but always know..." They envelop your small hands in theirs, "I'll always be by your side, so please don't forget me... okay...?"

------

R: You see them brush a strand of golden hair from their face as they stoop down.

"Well, I wasn't expecting this..."

"Who are you...?" You tilt your head obliviously.

"Oh, me? You don't have to worry about it for now," R looks into your eyes for a moment, finding something in it that makes them chuckle before standing back up and turning away, "Yeah... just forget about me for now, okay? I want our first meeting to be just as it is..."

------

You have to crane your neck to look up at the towering figure before you.

"A-Ah, that must be uncomfortable... my apologies," They awkwardly move to sit on the floor with you, "My curiosity got the better of me, and I wished to see..."

"Who are you...?" You ask, still having to tilt your head slightly to look at them.

"I am, um..." L tinkers with the small silver hairpin that catches your youthful fascination, "Oh! Would you like to see? Be careful though... it's important to me..."

As you grasp the elegantly crafted spiral shaped hairpin, you sense a vague, foreign feeling welling up within you.

L continues softly, "Maybe... you would like to keep it? I truly believe that someday... it will find it's way back to me..."

------

You watch as the silver haired figure sits down next to you, taking in the world around them.

"This is... where you came from..." They draw their legs to their knees, as if trying to shield themselves, "There's no gunshots... no smoke... no death..."

"Who are you...?" You ask hesitantly.

"I will tell you... next time..." They look at you for a fleeting moment before turning away, continuing quietly, "When you see me again... tell me that I'll be okay..."

------

You gaze up at the brutish redhead standing before you.

"So it's actually you, huh...?"

"Do you know me...?" You wonder aloud.

"Yeah, something like that..." They huff and crouch low to look you in the eyes, "Don't worry too much about it. Eventually we'll see each other again."

"When?"

"I don't know, but when we do... try to ignore what I tell you."

------

Your attention is taken by the humming redhead crouching in front of you, wearing an amused smile.

"Oh... you're so... adorable... as a kid..."

"Do you know me...?" You wonder aloud.

M taps a finger to your lips, hushing you playfully, "You shouldn't... ruin... the surprise... Just look forward... to when... you're ready for it... okay...?

------

K: You feel a sense of overwhelming unease as the unkempt stranger reaches towards you, gripping you by your shoulders in a tight claim as they look deep in your eyes.

"You are important. Do you understand? So very important..."

"W-Who are you...?"

"Me? You want to know... me?" A strangely sharp smile creeps onto the strangers face, "I am... the only one you need... Promise me... that you will remember me..."

------

S: You yelp as the homely stranger suddenly picks you up.

"What! Ya got so small! I could throw ya!"

"W-wha-- AH!" You scream in fright as S does a small practice toss of you up in the air, nearly dropping you onto the hard floor below before finally catching you.

"Oop! That could'a been bad! Nearly pancaked your head there!" S merely laughs it off as you are striken with unrecoverable childhood trauma.

-------

You instinctively shudder under the frigid gaze of the stranger before you, even as they bend over to look at you more closely.

"Oh...? How wholly unremarkable... to think you would grow to be..." They pause, seeming to silently berate themselves.

"Do you know me?" You murmur hesitantly.

"That is correct... though it appears you do not know me... rest assured, though, that will not be the case for long..." A devilish smile creases the thin line on their face as they pat your head, "Perhaps if I start feeding you information from a developmental stage, it may expedite our process later... I look forward to seeing how you internalize this..."

F chuckles darkly and settles in as you are subjected to everlasting mental trauma.

-------

Thank you for the ask! I had a lot of fun with it haha

[roosterforme]

Here's a fluffy blurb for the nonny with the new Bronco neighbor. May you enjoy every happiness in life.

Ouchie

Bradley looked at his wife laying next to him in bed. Her hand was resting on his chest, and her lip was a little bit puffy from being overworked by his mustache, but she was smiling softly, eyes closed and lashes brushing her cheeks. 

"I'm still shocked that you agreed to go out with me, let alone marry me," he muttered, leaning down to kiss your forehead. "I must have looked like an idiot that first day we met."

Your soft laughter left him grinning as you ran your fingers through his chest hair. "No, you didn't look like an idiot. You were sweet."

Another uhaul truck. The cute little rental house across the street from yours seemed to have a new tenant every other month. As soon as you took a freshly baked treat over to meet your new neighbor, it felt like they were moving out again. Maybe this one would stay longer?

"Sweet Lord," you muttered when you set eyes on him. He was tinkering around under the hood of his vintage Ford Bronco on the driveway next to the uhaul, and he looked up to smile at you as you parked in your own driveway. You wouldn't mind if this one stuck around longer.

When you climbed out of your car, his soft eyes were still looking your way, and you saw that he had a mustache too. Well, you didn't have any fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies for him, but you definitely wanted to get a closer look.

"Hi," he called out with a smile that just made him look even more handsome, and he waved the wrench in his right hand in greeting.

"Hi," you replied, walking toward the street, and he looked so happy that you were coming his way. You felt giddy inside, and somehow your feet got tangled up at the curb. 

"Oh, no," you gasped, falling as if in slow motion. Your palms hit the pavement first followed by your knees. And yeah, the scrapes hurt, but the sting of mortification washed over you just as fast. You wanted to disappear and reappear in your bed which you were never going to leave again after this. Because your hot new neighbor was rushing over to get to you as you scrambled to your feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, skidding to a halt in the middle of the street. Why was he stopping in the middle of the street? You looked down at your hands as the small cuts started to bleed, and you just held your palms up for him to see like some sort of weirdo.

"I'm fine," you replied sheepishly. But he winced and started your way again as a car pulled down the street. 

He slipped his wrench into the pocket of his jeans and reached for your hands. His thumb stroked gently along your wrist, and then he glanced up at you. "Ouchie."

And you couldn't help but smile at his sweet expression of concern. "Yeah. Ouchie."

Then he blushed, probably realizing what he had said, but he didn't stop stroking your wrist. "If it makes you feel any better, I actually hit myself in the face with my wrench earlier while trying to change my oil."

You laughed at that. "You know... that does somehow make me feel a little bit better." 

"I'm Bradley," he said, giving your wrist a little squeeze.

You told him your name and then asked, "Do you like chocolate chip cookies?"

"I like all cookies," he replied easily.

"Perfect," you said softly. "I always make some for my new neighbors. Maybe after I get my hands cleaned up, I'll bake them for you."

Bradley nodded once, gently lacing his fingers with yours, but still careful not to bump your palm at all. "Want me to give you a hand?"

"No," Bradley disagreed. "I looked like an idiot. The first thing I said to you was 'Ouchie'. Who even says that?"

You laughed and rolled on top of him. "That wasn't the first thing you said. It was like the second or third. And you were so sweet, and I was already mesmerized by your mustache, so it didn't really even matter."

"And then I almost burned down your kitchen."

You pressed your lips together to try to stifle your laughter. "Okay, yes. That's true."

"And you still agreed to go out to dinner with me," he said, kissing the tip of your nose.

"I sure did. There's just something about you." You slid up a little further and kissed his lips as you whispered, "Ouchie."

[precious-little-scoundrel]

|| Apologies III | An Ode to Nipples

Warnings: 18+ explicitly written accounts of sex acts and male masturbation, John Egan going on too long about nipples to make up for Julie doubting he liked hers, a joke about their censor wanting to harm himself.

Previous Letter 💌

Full co-authored with my baby @stylespresleyhearted …in fact, majorly authored by her with me only tinkering, she has these two down to a science and let’s all make her take a bow

My dearest,

In trying to be a gentleman it seems I have offended you and for that I must once again apologize. I never meant to make you doubt yourself or that lovely photograph

-I swear to you I sleep with it in my fist, clutched to my chest every night. So no, you see, you can’t have it back. I've already warned everyone else I'll kill them if they ever even try to peek. Balls are on the line for even coming within a yard of my foot locker. I am your virtue’s most valiant defender. Lucky for us, my bunkmate Lt. John Brady is a good man. No threats needed from me to ensure he keeps a wide berth from my new possessions. He’s a good kid - looks up to me according to Buck and that’s a scary thought in itself.

Oh Jean this just all feels like a dream and I’d be heartbroken upon waking up. Buck convinced me to try to be better, that a woman of your status and money and loveliness deserved someone who wouldn’t ramble about giving you babies and A.C.O.R.N but be assured I’ve smacked Buck around the head since because his advice made me hurt you.

It was gut instinct to first write you, and it wasn’t pretty when I did, but if it matched yours, then maybe our guts belong together, no sprucing up needed. I’ll try to keep it that way, I’ll try to keep spilling my guts to you, if that's what you want.

Since receiving your photograph I find myself unable to be satisfied by my doing or anyone else’s. It may interest you to know I went to the bar last Thursday and strenuously chatted up a girl there who had the largest breasts around, but still they and she did not compare to you.

I found myself thinking yours would bounce and hit your chin, and I’d be a gentleman and hold them for you.

Don’t take me wrong, the dame was a good time and she took real good care of me. Let me slip in between her beautiful pair and let me call her by your name.

But she was not you, Acorn, and so I was still left hard as rod and needing more. Needing you. My hand does nothing for me either anymore and all my thoughts are only of you and your magnificent pair that you deemed me worthy enough to look at. And oh Julie, how I look at you! I wonder if you’d blush or just be pleased.

I wrap my hand around myself and I squeeze and I tug and I pull and it takes about three rounds before the little major goes down. Buck tells me I’m going to start chafing soon enough if I keep it up. I’m telling you this in pure honesty and because thinking of you believing for a second that you aren’t the epitome of the dream girl for me kills me. It hurts, Julie Jean and I’ve never hurt for a girl before. Maybe for girls back during my school days but nothing like this and it’s been so long now I can barely remember it.

Women now, as beautiful and charming and smart as they are, they do just to pass the time but you are different. And I promise here and now Miss Turner, that I vow to never try to impress you or be any more of a gentleman than I am. I will be honest with my desires regarding you like telling you I had a dream you took me in that pouty mouth of yours and you were making the most obscene sounds but I knew you were only asking for more. You don’t remember meeting me at the canteen but I remember how tiny you are compared to me and it’d be a struggle to fit all of me in you but we would make it work. Neither of us are ones to give up.

This dream was the first night since my first mission that I haven’t had a nightmare without having to drink.

You’re a goddamn tonic, baby cakes.

I dream of those large nipples of yours and of being able to take them in my mouth. Of tugging on them until they become tiny and angry and pointy. I could entertain myself with them for hours. Since receiving your letter and reading your insecurities on paper that I left you with, I've hated myself every day and I fear I will hate myself until I hear from you again. I hope to hear from you again, Julie. I really do. In this lifestyle it’s frightening for me to think about getting to have a future but you are the light at the end of all this fucked up tragedy I’m surrounded by. Don’t give up on me, Julie Jean, my heart couldn’t bear it. It’s become unalterably attached to you, I swear it. The only gal whose arms I want to come home to are yours. It’d be an immeasurable dream come true; the sweetest reward after the war.

Until I hear from you again my loveliest, favorite lady.

Your fool only,

John

P.S. attached is a photo of me and another one of me and Buck taken by one of our fellow men. I’ve never been one to shy away from anything in life so I’m not afraid to embarrass myself for you and let you know that big, doofus smile on my face (one that usually only a call from my mother or a snarky remark from Buck can illicit) is because the boys were ribbing me about you, Jean. It’s what thinking of you does to me; it brings me happiness during these trying times. Don’t mind Buck. He’s blushing because I’m reminding him he also took great interest in the photograph you gifted me. I’m sorry for that acorn, it fell out of the envelope and he picked it up but it isn’t something I'm sharing with anyone as I’ve assured you. Goodbye for now, sweetest, prettiest, favoritest of ladies -because it is just for now, you’ll hear from me again if I don’t hear from ya first, and with that I fear we’ve just committed our poor censor to the noose.

💋 Hope you enjoyed! Feedback is a writer’s lifeblood, please feel free to scream in comments or the inbox, I love it and wanna hear it all. Trust me, nothing is “too dumb”. Your thoughts mean the world to me.

MOTA taglist, I only have one so ignore if this is not the universe you signed up for:

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@claireelizabeth85

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@piastrinho

@sapienti0sat

@atrophyingaphrodite

[mantisgodsart]

@bug-oc... round ONE! Finally! Still counting this as "round one" of transmutations because of the blog round numbers despite the fact that we've already done a round of like two bugs! We... didn't realize how many of these characters were yellow until it was actually time to draw them. It's like we went in with a theme, and then stuck to it. Except for with Holly, who presumably lost the dress code along with their head. Please vote for our cool dune cricket in the handful of hours before this round ends, and thank you!

Individual characters and transmutation notes below cut.

[...though I briefly considered another form, limiting surface area relative to the size of the entity is crucial for stability in ectoplasmic entities, and I don't currently intend to attempt to form a "swarm", as similar entities often form in the wild - a more simple, and thus more stable, form is better. The energy pack in the subject's possession upon intake appears to be either nearly or fully impossible to reclaim, unfortunately - ghosts can be hard to separate from things with sentimental value, so it's likely a lost cause. I'll continue obsevation...]

Beera by @longeth-dayv. An actual design, this time, rather than our fucking-around-with-maybes! This one, we think, does a lot more for the actual character, though from our understanding of Luigi's Mansion the species choice might be slightly more "generic". We particularly enjoyed tinkering with the wire of the power pack - ghosts and transparent things are VERY fun to draw, and we liked working out where that wire would go in the areas normally hidden by the body. Long, winding lines are very fun to draw sometimes. Hopefully this one works better for you, too!

[...successful partial isolation of the fungal element proves both that it can be isolated and that transmutation of cordyceps symbiotes may be less of a barrier than previously thought. Results appear similar to "Moka" back in the first year of experiments, where the cordyceps remains untransmuted within the new body - is this a quirk unique to vertebrate physiology? The failed transmutation with Fulminis pulled from a largely bug pool, whilst both successful cordyceps transmutations have been with beasts.]

[The avian physiology doesn't seem to have produced much difference from reptilian, minus some differences in visible fungal growth, but the subjects started with varying quantities of visible fungal growth to begin with, and the magic present in both of the previous round's subjects presents an additional variable... at the very least, I know that the fungus on its own is either resistant or immune to conventional transmutation, considering Mop, though I still need to work out how the host-symbiote synthesis alters things...]

[I'll have to do further testing- I dearly wish that these subjects were easier to get my hands on, but I don't know where I would be able to source them in my own universe, much less if they even exist there, since I'm no longer certain if the time portal event through which I met Holly Holiyxeiul was from the past of my universe, the past of another universe, or the present of somewhere else. Omelette's successful transmutation proves that I can manufacture them, but I won't be certain as to the limits of this until I can collect samples...]

Butterscotch from @w-krajobrazie-zapomnienia. The wings on this took... FOREVER. Deciding to make Butterscotch a bird with individual "charring" on the feathers was an act of monumental hubris, and EASILY the most labor-intensive part of this page. Doing this in watercolor would have been easier, probably. Alas, if we want to be capable of using a marker, we must put effort into marker drawing. At the very least, we think the effect came out fairly well! We like the sort of "scorched" effect that Butterscotch's base design has, and though difficult to recreate in marker form, we think we pulled it off! Hope this works decently well for you.

[...expanding lizard experiments from the ones found in the former grounds of Five Pebbles to their closest resemblances in the fleshbeasts of our world, I found quite a few points of similarity. Though for obvious reasons, I haven't had the opportunity to observe any specimens of the original species, given that most vertebrate beasts have been extinct since before I was hatched, the underlying biology is similar enough that I could carry through a significant amount of understanding forward.]

[Though majority of traits seem typical for what I can observe from preserved specimens, I am noting some minor divergences - typical for the lizards of RW9089-1, but not, as far as I know, typical for the reptiles that once roamed the wastes. The subject has developed sensory whiskers, narrower than those observed on Black Lizards but seeming to serve a similar function of detecting scent and motion in the air.]

[Additionally, the subject has developed a short coat of setae across the back, with a similar texture to the subject's former ruff - some surface-level similarities have been found to the hair on the pelts of Northern Moths, particularly those found in areas where significant quantities of water make leviathans a dietary staple. Though fur "coats" can be found in RW-9089-1 specimens such as Strawberry Lizards, this trait is, as far as I can tell, unique to this specimen.]

[When following up, I'll want to examine the dorsal frills to be certain that former shape's traits are not overwriting the end shape's traits to too significant of a degree - this is not an unknown trait in salamanders, but I'll need to be certain the structure isn't too similar to insect wing structure, as this many traits carrying over may indicate mid-point speciesation, which will mean any parts harvested will have wholly different traits from the originally sourced...]

Lote from @fallenvoidhere! We went through a handful of design iterations on this, mostly trying to home in on making it clear that it's the character - we sort of underestimated how much blue we'd need to add, but when you're turning into a lizard several times your normal size, it's probably understandable to lose a lot of your accessories…? Since the black on the design, respectively, is mostly accessories, most of these markings are improvised - we based our placement at least partially off of an orca whale, after going through a lot of markings from IRL salamanders. Originally, we planned to make the wing further in to the body a bit more transparent, but… well, as it turns out, we're probably a bit too used to watercolors for our own good, and working with markers is a bit of a different beast. We still think it came out pretty decent!

[...previously noted properties of fireflies appear to ease the rougher edges of this, though it will still need some refining before it's ready to go to market. A working prototype is better than I've gotten with previous generations of this recipe. I'll have to spend some time going over the readings to work out how to route things on anything that isn't a firefly.]

[With the way that most of these particular transmutations have gone, forming a "chamber" for the light before the light-producing compound itself is produced appears to be key for the survivablity of the subject. I suspect that there's a reason that the gas compound found in the component-introduction artefact hasn't been found in natural beings; despite the multitude of uses it has in charmcraft, mercury tends to be quite toxic with continual exposure, and mercury vapor in particular can be deadly. Another reason to stick to proper PPE..]

Nox from @erijuice! This one's quite a dramatic modification to the body plan. We may have gotten a bit carried away with things here, but... okay listen we will be fully honest with you this is just an elaborate plan on "glow wyrm". We based this one heavily off of tatzulwurms and similar creatures, and from there mostly just went into "having fun with it". The wings might grow in more later, or they might not - this was one of our personal favorite designs to draw, and though we sort of wish we tinkered with the pose a bit more, it's a bit hard to do here without running into issues with... space. Such is the consequence of making a big page o' transmuted bugs.

[...more experimental brews have their pros and cons, and with this one, it's a bit hard to define which is more present. On the plus side, the resulting form seems stable; lack of mandibles aside, it's standing and walking, and seems in fine health from the readings that I can see. Subject is alert and appears to have either full or very close to full former cognitive capacity, as shown by the multiple attempts at escape via manipulating the lock. It's just that I don't have the slightest clue what it is, or how its biology... works.]

[I intend to collect samples once the transmutation settles enough for properties to solidify. From initial testing, I think that its digestive system may rely partially on the fur-like... appendages, on its ventral side, but it's presently somewhat unclear. Upon coming into contact with some spare biological waste (see: Vessel project, Voidless transmutation attempts), the material appeared to "tangle" in the ventral fur, and was gradually dissolved over the course of about eighteen hours. From what I can gather of the data, this appears to have given off similar readings to a more conventional being having eaten a large meal? Will test with other forms of biological material once I can gather enough material to recreate the end organism if existing subject is lost.]

Yasmine from @darth-moth - and this is one that was very fun to do! The lines in this were very, VERY fun to work with, and we had quite a lot of fun just banging this out! - the design here is, probably fairly obviously, based heavily on Rain World's Rain Deer, as well as the multitude of "creepy deer" type stories that are practically everywhere on the internet. We were tinkering, if vaguely, with the concept of something like a terrestrial filter feeder, or similar - did you know that some whales have begun hunting behavior of pretending to be shelter so that fish will hide in their mouths and, thus, be eaten?

We'd picture that this, whatever it is, wanders places and passively snags prey with the dangling "fur", avoiding any sort of need for energy-intensive chases while keeping itself fed on whatever it walks over. A passive scavenger, probably with not a lot in terms of personal self defense. The vents on the sides, though they might be slightly unclear as is, are just about the only active method of offense - releasing toxic gas or something similar in an attempt to choke out predators. Our greatest desire in life is to design enemies for a soulslike poison swamp and we think that Yasmine is an excellent poison swamp candidate. We hope that this is a normal and usual motivation and ambition to have, we had a lot of fun with it.

[...uncontrolled crystal growth took over before the transmutation had completed, at roughly 4 days, 8 hours after the initial administration of the formula. I was lucky to be awake at the time - the remote monitor that I imbedded appears to have been consumed by the same phenomenon shortly before my arrival. I can only assume that this is due to pre-existing contamination - if not accounted for, Crystals can react very unpredictably to transmutations, and I didn't account for contamination of this assumed level.]

[Though I've observed this sort of effect before, it's been years since I've experienced a bloom of nearly this extent. What really surprises me is that the subject appears to still be moving, despite the extensive damage to... everything. The head appeared to have been fully destroyed at the time of arrival, and the crystals sprouting from the back have to have gone right through the ganglia - the weave of the transmutation has been fully destroyed, so it can't be sustaining itself on the former body's imprint, so I can only assume that the crystals captured some of the host body's mind during the overgrowth event and are attempting to continue to run the same old patterns of behavior.]

[I am currently unclear on how much of the former bug remains. What scans that I've taken suggest that the new crystals may have linked up with their companion Warden, though to what degree is still unclear. If I want to properly analyze this, I'll need to take it back to the lab. From there... diagnosis work, and maybe trying to work out how poor Snakemouth Den's lab security is, really.]

Holly from @thetroupemaster! Our first transmutation failure of the tournament! Holly, unfortunately, fell victim to poor lab safety - a more open-ended formula intended to gather a form from environmental factors, combined with some unfortunate lab contamination. This actually links in to a few personal headcanons on how Crystals work, though we don't think we've posted them before.

A crystal is a colonial organism, much like coral, storing both data and magical energy. Generally gathering energy from the sun to power itself, it grows so slowly as to be unnoticeable to the bug eye, but it does grow, and when exposed to, say, a charm engineered to allow for rapid change of a physical form, it has the potential to rapidly grow and consume that energy, stopping its growth either when it grows out of magical energy or when the handful of elements present in the original weave to let it change and grow are consumed.

Some people in external kingdoms do this to avoid having to constantly ship in Crystals from Bugaria, but it's not particularly common, as this method of growing Crystals tends to consume things like your other projects, or the lab shielding you probably want to keep intact, or yourself if you have the poor foresight to not properly protect yourself against contamination. Under control conditions, the chances of this happening are nearly zero! Under these conditions... well.

Crystals are very, very good at preserving memories. The rest of Holly's body, on the other hand, might be a bit of a lost cause at this point. You can work in a lab without seeing things, right...?

...yeah, we aren't counting on it, either.

Bonus: for those who scrolled down this far, a quick compilation of labels. As well as, of course, a teaser for what's yet to come.

[...the most complimentary thing that I can say about Mal, I think, is that Hobbes would get along well with xir. Terrible lab safety protocols. AWFUL cross-contamination protocols. Just looking at this bug's methodology is giving me hives. Venus give me strength. I suspect that any brew that I attempt to use will suffer from enough unknown, uncontrollable outside variables that none of the data I get will be even remotely applicable to any other situation. "Edge case" is generous - I struggle to call this sort of tampering anything less than an utter abomination of science.]

[I will be using one of the more heavily conceptual brews for this. The REMW-19 formula is reasonably stable enough that the weave shouldn't just collapse in on itself, but it has been remarkably poor at producing organisms capable of surviving on their own once the transformation has set enough that they don't have enough former anatomy to "fall back" on - I suspect, currently, that the survival of targets afflicted with the effect I am attempting to recreate relies the support on some sort of internal magic system, and if so, the sheer amount of lingering cross-contamination likely seeped into every ounce of aer chitin might actually boost survivability. I have no positive expectations for this, however.]

In spending ingredients on this, I hope to assemble an encyclopedic list of all of the ways that a charm's effects can go stupidly, horribly wrong. Venus willing, it will not double as a list of ways that my lab can be destroyed, or a list of ways that tampering with Charmcraft can go wrong. I have had enough recent trouble with repairing the lab's seals after the Vessel experiments - I have no particular desire to replace anything else now.]

[eluxcastar]

The little brotherfication of Pierro

── ୨୧：pierro & reader

୨୧﹑synopsis :: little siblingfication second last instalment lets gooooo

୨୧﹑genre :: fluff

୨୧﹑content :: gn reader, child pierro, back to fluff this time guys it's ok, not proofread

୨୧﹑words :: 1.1k

there has been interest in regards to either expansions of these or a sister series of older siblingfications after this concludes and I think that would be interesting. I would love to do an older siblingfication series. I don't know the order of those posts yet maybe I'll do a poll later or just leave it to people in my inbox and I'll do them in order of whose shows up first

all little siblingification posts

Life was never easy in Khaenri'ah, a nation devoid of a god and built on flesh and blood, but such was the way of the world when no alternative existed in his mind. It is strange how something so constant could so quickly become foreign once the world became bigger. Teyvat was a continent fought for by the gods rather than the hands of humans and their machines.

The land was never to be tilled with farming tools but rather was to be fought for with iron and blood. That principle doesn't apply anywhere else.

It was not so violent when you spoke those words to him, despite having watched you try to tinker with one of those machines before. You got your hands on the first thing you saw and promptly took to tearing it apart in search of what makes it tick. Watching you is mesmerising.

First, it was alchemy, as you tried in vain to teach him the art. He just didn't have the touch for it, but you assured him it was fine and left it at that, allowing him to watch you fumble your way through whatever your latest interest happened to be. If not alchemy, then it became mechanics; if not mechanics, then it was life itself and its creation. Neither of you thought to question your childhood spent in a wasteland so long as you had life at your fingertips.

You were something he thought he might never be.

The future where he grew into being anything like you felt to him was a dream and nothing more. He'd calculate the years and imagine they'd never come because, at the time, they felt like they wouldn't.

More than anything, you sought to haul him up to the top with you. You were not by any means leaps and bounds ahead of him, a comfortable gap of power between you; however, you saw merit in teaching him anything you learned. Wherever you were going in life, you were going to make sure your little brother got there with you, and to such end, Pierro spent his years as a toddler being carried on your shoulders when he didn't want to walk to see the husk of a field tiller you found, or up the hill that was so high he could see the palace over the rooftops.

At the time, it was, to you, the consequence of your parents forcing you to watch him when he wanted to play outside. To him, the forming of cherished memories that would lead him to linger at your side for as long as they were at the forefront of his mind.

The luxury of being carried around on your shoulder died as he outgrew it. He was too heavy for you not to tire yourself out in the first minute of walking, and it hurt more than it used to. It didn't stop him from fussing until you'd flick his forehead and call him some mean name.

He found his calling in the idea of becoming a mage. He's not sure where it came from, perhaps something you'd shown him sparking as thought that settled in his brain and never got around to leaving. Either way, it seems to be the one thing that doesn't absorb your undivided attention through your ever-changing interests. Nonetheless, through enough begging, whining and irritating you, he managed to convince you to at least try to learn with him.

Someone was always better than him, and you were no exception. You could easily outclass him in many facets of life, yet you preferred to help him despite it all, even in this which bored you to tears. He supposes it came from the fact that you had grown up with your parents shoving him at you and telling you both to work it out.

You were older than him, stronger than him, wiser than him—though only barely—and had more expectations than him. Your parents asked things of you because you were the oldest and the one who would be their legacy. He had less responsibility regarding the things they wanted, though it never kept him from yearning for approval. Yours, theirs, he wanted what felt like the greatest gift—the chance to make you happy.

If you could look at him and smile and tell him that you were proud of him and liked what he could do, then it didn't matter who was better than him. There would always be someone, but your shows of admiration could make him feel like the strongest boy Khaenri'ah could offer.

You should have resented him for being forced to tolerate him as a child, but there remained a soft spot for him all your life that you couldn't shake no matter how willing you were to fight with him. It makes it easier for him to practically dangle off you in search of the things he wants, down to asking you to go scare some kids he didn't get along with or read him bedtime stories under a blanket on his bed well past the time both of you were supposed to be asleep.

You make exceptions for him in his eyes because you love him enough.

At some point, you convinced yourself that the only reason you were willing to keep doing the things he begged of you was because Pierro was annoying and needy, but you were unable to say no to him. It was not for a lack of trying. You tried over and over to shake him off when he'd run up behind you and beg for you to carry him home or shove him away and shoo him to bed when he shook you in the night with a book in his hands.

On nights he was emboldened by disregard, he'd try to sleaze his way into your bed and wriggle under the covers to sleep soundly by your side. Pierro was convinced that no matter what existed out there, you could somehow protect him from all of that, and the safest place available was asleep under your arm.

You drew the line at his audacity to try and crawl into your bed and threw him out.

You had not fallen asleep by his side since winter when you agreed to read stories to him when the cold kept him restless, though your eyes would try to close, and he would feel your head relaxing beside him. It wasn't uncommon for him to witness and take advantage of your exhaustion rather than wake you, snuggling by your side and under your arm. It was more comfortable there than anywhere else.

He spent his youth by your side like you were salvation.

He wants nothing more than to find his way back to your loving arms, where you will spoil him with the luxury of ignorance.

CROSSPOSTED ON AO3

[punkeccentricenigma]

Hey so can I get a scenario with rottmnt donnie who is genuinely excited over something and s/o stares at him for a moment and they snap out of it when they’re name is called and they’re like, no teasing, genuine love struck vibes from s/o, ”Oh. Sorry. I was admiring how cute you were being”?

DONATELLO X READER "How cute you look right now."

relationship status: Romantic

Reader prounouns: They/Them

Words: 1066

TW: some grammatical errors because english is not my first language.

Author's note: The first version of this request, in my opinion, was better, but due to my phone breaking, I lost all the finished work, so I had to rewrite it again. I hope you like it.

I also wanted to convey an important message. Due to the lost work, I lack the inspiration and energy to rewrite the rest. THEREFORE, IF SOMEONE HAS ALREADY REQUESTED ANYTHING AND HASN'T RECEIVED IT, PLEASE ORDER SOMETHING NEW BECAUSE I DON'T INTEND TO COMPLETE OLD ORDERS. I'M SORRY

The gentle scent of fuel irritated the nose of the [COLOR]-eyed teenager as they swayed lightly in the black chair. They were currently in Donatello's new workshop, which at the moment resembled a regular empty space with a few screens, half of them turned off. Their gaze shifted from their phone screen to a younger boy who had been sitting on the cold floor for hours, tinkering with one of the devices meant to refine the computers salvaged from the previous Lair.

"Get up," [Y.N] spoke, taking a soft pillow from her knees and standing up. Donatello looked at his _friend with a surprised look from beneath his two-colored goggles.

"What?" His voice slightly cracked, probably due to the dryness in his throat from neglecting such needs. The person rolled their eyes and lightly nudged his thigh with their foot, signaling him to move, and he did; he sat on the pillow.

"Better," a warm smile played on the teenager's lips as they gently stroked his head, causing a slight fondness within the turtle. He felt a bit embarrassed that someone else had to take care of him due to his neglect, but he desired to feel that tenderness, especially from his life partner. "How's the work going?" Their question snapped him out of his thoughts; his gaze returned to the colorful cables tangled in chaos.

Donnie sighed heavily, briefly taking off his half-mystical glasses. "There was progress at the beginning; I thought I'd finish it before lunch," he started, grabbing his phone on which he had drawn all the plans. "But something's not right! A little more, and I'll be asking for help on Reddit." The person immediately burst into quiet laughter, causing a lowering of the ninja's drawn eyebrows. Annoying, but he wouldn't trade this moment for anything.

"Well, unfortunately, I'm not savvy in electronics, especially as advanced as this," They declared, pointing their hand at the scene before them. "The only way I can help is by bringing you food and drink; you're going to collapse here, Cutie Patootie." The boy snorted when [Y.N] stood up.

"You really shouldn't call me that!" The [COLOR]eyed shrugged in a mocking way, leaving the room. If he could tease them at times, why couldn't they take advantage of such situations? Maybe that's why their relationship lasted so long? Who knows.

"Woah!" They had to squat immediately to avoid being hit by a rubber chicken. "What the heck, Angelo?"

"Oh, sorry [Y.N], work accident!" Mikey spoke from behind the counter, wearing a pinkish apron. The teenager's eyes expressed shock and disbelief as they approached the kitchen.

"What are you doing, Angelo?"

"Chicken soup!"

"Chicken soup from a rubber toy chicken?!" [COLOR]-eyed elbows touched the wood as they leaned against the counter. Michelangelo furrowed his eyebrows, apparently offended.

"Excuse me! I'm making soup from normal ingredients!" his lips formed a curve. "This toy was for entertainment."

"…"

"…"

"Your pot is burning."

"NO!"

The boy immediately turned around, wanting to fix the situation, but after a moment, resignation was visible in his shoulder movements. "Well…" his voice didn't sound like he was pleased. "No lunch today?"

"Don't worry, my younger brother, we've got this covered!" [Y.N]'s gaze fell on the older ninja brothers entering the room; Leo held a box full of pepperoni pizza.

"Thank goodness," the teenager muttered quietly, grabbing a cup to pour regular cola into it. No matter how much they liked Michelangelo, they absolutely didn't want to try anything he cooked. With another swift move, they took two slices of pizza and left the kitchen, avoiding another whimsical situation created by those idiots.

"I'm back," the person skillfully pushed aside the curtain serving as makeshift doors. Without further words, they sat next to their boyfriend, lightly poking him in the side to finally get him away from the cables and take a piece of round food from them.

"Pizza?" Donatello completely removed his two-colored goggles, looking at the slice of dough in his hand with a surprised gaze. "Wasn't it supposed to be some kind of soup?"

"There was a little accident," the person bit into the edge of pepperoni, feeling a slightly prickly taste on their tongue. "I don't know if you want to know."

"Nah, I'll survive," he mumbled.

"How's the progress on that? Any breakthroughs?"

His black eyes suddenly brightened, as if his mind had been refreshed. "Oh, you wouldn't believe it! I finally figured out what was wrong! Quite strange that it took me so long, considering my recent notes…" as Soft-shell chaotically scrolled through his phone screen, eating a piece of pizza in the meantime, his voice faded into the background of [Y.N]'s mind as they increasingly focused on his face and movements.

A light pink blush appeared on the teenager's cheeks, along with a warm smile. They felt a tingling sensation, not causing them pain or anything of the sort, but rather stimulating their adrenaline, accelerating their heartbeat. No matter what Donatello was saying, [Y.N] eagerly listened, especially when he showed that positive energy and excitement—there's nothing more beautiful than seeing your loved one in that state.

"Hey, everything okay?" the person blinked a few times, seeing a slight concern on the young genius's face. Oh, apparently, they interrupted his monologue. "You seem a bit absent." Oh no, [COLOR]-haired knew that this might look like a simple act of ignorance; they had to fix it!

"S-sorry, D, I just…" a slight bite on their lip, it might sound cheesy. "I was just admiring how cute you look right now."

Donatello's mouth opened for a moment, as if he wanted to fend off some verbal attack, but his brain, for the first time in many years, didn't know what to think. It was… frustrating! He didn't expect something like this; he wasn't yet so accustomed to such sweet words and statements; he felt helpless.

He felt butterflies in his stomach, and a similar blush appeared on the dark green skin as on the person in front of him. "Is everything okay?" his dark eyes rested on his partner's counterpart, who asked a very similar question earlier. After a moment of silence, he chuckled softly, smiling gently.

"Thanks, I-it's nice to hear that." He averted his gaze, unable to hold it, and exclaimed loudly, "So, as I was saying…!"

[imashoe69420]

Can you do a donnie x female reader, that reader has a crush on donnie but was worried that he might not feel the same or might reject reader or maybe wasnt interested on relationships. But little did reader know donnie felt the same but doesnt know how to confessed, he might asked april (or mikey) to asked reader what do they think of donnie or if reader like like him. (he also hid a small camera on april or mikey to listen their convo)

reader would rambled what they love about donnie and they suddenly said been like " I do like- no, love him, but I'm afraid he might not feel the same or reject me, If he doesnt feel the same then I'll respect it and move on already" what would donnie react what reader said?

The Perfect Apprentice

Rise!Donnie X Fem!Reader

Pronouns: Feminine (she/her)

Timeline: Post-Movie

Warnings ⚠️: Mild language

===================================

Things started out innocently.

April volunteered to be a tutor to high school student (Y/N) in order to obtain more credits. Soon, the young women learned that they had a lot more in common than they thought. Even after they completed their tutoring, the two would hang out frequently; (Y/N) eventually becoming an aid to April in exposing corrupt and unethical organizations.

Soon enough, though, the four-eyed teen revealed one of her biggest secrets to her partner in crime: April’s “foreign exchange student” friends. If someone had told (Y/N) that she was going to meet a bunch of walking, talking crime-fighting ninja turtles, she’d laugh in their face before questioning their sanity.

But now that she knew it was real, the girl couldn’t stop herself from asking the mutants question after question:

Who created you? What’s your diet like? Do you even need food? Why choose Martial Arts over another fighting style? (Y/N) wanted to know everything about each and every one of them.

Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo didn’t really know how to answer most of her questions, but the purple clad turtle, Donatello, was very helpful.

The two of them became fast friends. (Y/N) would often help him in his lab, spending hours sometimes days tinkering away at whatever Donnie had been working on. During their downtime, the two would play video games or think about other inventions that would better society over a cup of coffee.

Eventually, something other than admiration began to consume their minds. And neither knew how to process it.

~~~

(Y/N) threw herself on her bed and sighed exasperatedly. Donnie was on her mind and she couldn’t shake him. He hadn’t even texted her and he still ran rampant in her head, consuming all the thoughts she had throughout the school day, the walk home, and now while she tried to rest.

It had been happening for the last two weeks. She noticed when she would practically sprint to her phone whenever a notification sounded off, hoping it was the mutant turtle genius asking her to come into the lair to help with another invention. Or (Y/N) would be making dinner and wonder if Donnie was hungry; maybe she could bring some food down to him.

Honestly, the teen questioned her sanity. Donnie was someone she almost idolized. He was extremely intelligent, always having a new plausible idea that (Y/N)’s peers just didn’t—no couldn’t—come up with. Not only that, but he enjoyed talking to her. She almost never had to ask him to work on a project. The turtle would text her nearly every day requesting her presence.

Donnie made (Y/N) feel wanted, and that’s what she liked the most about him.

So why did she feel so guilty about liking him? In general, it was because she didn’t want to ruin the friendship she cherished more than life itself. She felt like Donnie would have no problem cutting her —a human—out of his life.

(Y/N) could’ve have been more wrong.

~~~

Donnie was ten times the mess you were. The turtle caught himself pacing around his lab, fantasizing about his lab partner. Not dirty fantasies, but ones were he confessed to her and she received it well. But who was he kidding? Although he knew he was brilliant and probably one of the best scientists/engineers to every exist, he had to face the music:

(Y/N) was a human girl and he was a giant talking, bipedal turtle. A mutant. A freak of nature. What he was wasn’t natural; not even from Earth. There was no way (Y/N) would like someone like himself. On top of that, he wasn’t very physical and kind of emotionally inept. The purple turtle was also too caught up in his projects and experiments, and there were times where he would barely speak to (Y/N) when she was in the lab. Maybe the occasional “coffee?” or “did I leave the wrench over here?”, but besides that, no words were exchanged.

It made him almost angry. He knew he had to stop these feelings; tell that little voice in his head to pipe down and appreciate the girl as just a lab partner and no more. But every time he would shut the voice up, it would come back louder and louder, practically screaming at him to pursue his desires.

So Donnie conducted an experiment.

He knew April was the only one he could trust with this information, so the turtle recruited her. At first, she adamantly refused to do it, feeling like it was a set up.

“Look, I get you’re nervous and all, but don’t you think it’s a little weird to hook me up to a microphone so you can listen in?” April cocked an eyebrow at him. “Why can’t you just talk to her?”

Donnie gave the college student a pleading look. “It’s not that easy. It’s different for you, for humans.”

April sighed and shook her head. “Yeah, I get that. But it’s not like she doesn’t know you already, and she’s comfortable being around you. I don’t think it’s gonna be a bigger deal just because you’re a mutant.”

The purple clad turtle took a few seconds to process what his friend had said. It was somewhat true. When him and (Y/N) first met, she was more fascinated than frightened. She wanted to know more about him and his brothers, not run away from them.

But Donnie also knew he couldn’t risk this. He had to at least know if you were interested or not, then he could decide what face to put on from there. It took a bit of coaxing, but April finally agreed to do it.

~~~

(Y/N) softly hummed to herself as she fiddled with some wires connected the SHELDON when she heard quiet footsteps enter the lab. The girl spun around under the pretense that the purple turtle was to make an appearance, but was soon relaxed when she saw April instead.

“Oh, hey!” (Y/N) smiled. “What’s up?”

The college student shrugs slightly with an awkward laugh. “Nothin’ much. Whatchu workin’ on?”

(Y/N) gestured to the motherboard she was reprogramming on SHELDON. “Just some minor fixes to SHELDON’s programming. His artificial ocular system has been glitching lately.”

Man, maybe they are meant for each other, April thought.

“Aw, cool, cool… but I had a question about something. About Donnie.”

The high school student nearly dropped her soldering iron into the robot when April revealed her true intentions in talking to her. “Uh, what—what about him?”

A smirk creeping on her face nearly gave April away. “It’s just… you guys’ve been hanging out for a few months now and y’all seem really close. I was just wondering if you, like… y’know… liked him?”

(Y/N)’s heart thumped loudly in her chest as she attempted to avoid the older teen’s gaze. Had she been that obvious? There was no way! She always tried her best to stay calm, cool, and collected when hanging out with Donnie. How could she have known about her feelings towards him?

“I-I—well, not like anything crazy—er, it’s not like… well… uhm…” she stuttered beyond belief. “I mean… I just… admire him, I guess? He’s really smart and there aren’t a lot of people like that at my school. It’s—well—almost like my dream to work in a lab and stuff so…”

April tried her best to hide her smug grin once again. This was the best day of her life. “Oh, yeah, I feel you. Well, I was just wondering—”

“Please don’t tell him.” (Y/N) spoke quickly.

Suddenly, the college student broke out in a cold sweat. Shit shit shit…! Hopefully she doesn’t take this “spy business” personally.

“Y’know… I kinda have a feeling you won’t have to.”

~~~

Donnie slowly placed the headset he’d been using to listen to April and (Y/N)‘s conversation with.

“Holy shit… holy shit…!” He whispered to himself.

No one had ever talked about him like that, not even close. She admired him. She thought he was brilliant. Smart. From what he had gathered, (Y/N) liked him in the same way he liked her.

Was this all really real? Did (Y/N) actually like him? Thoughts bounced around in the turtle’s head. Although it had seemed to like him, she never said it verbatim. But despite this, Donnie enacted his plan.

~~~

“(Y/N).” The scientist greeted the girl as he took a seat next to her in his lab, noticing she was still tinkering away on SHELDON.

“O-oh, hey, Dee!” She stumbled over her words. “You missed April. She was here not too long ago.”

Donnie hummed in response before gently taking the soldering iron out of her hands and attempted to do what (Y/N) had been struggling on for the last two hours or so. SHELDON soon booted back up with a “sup dudes!” before flying off deeper into the lab.

(Y/N) giggled, hovering a hand over his shoulder in gratitude. “Thanks!”

After another hum, Donnie slightly opened his mouth getting ready to say something. But when the girl gazed up at him with a curious expression on her face, his words were caught in the back of his throat. The two stayed a few seconds like this until the purple turtle sighed.

“I won’t beat around the bush: I knew April was here earlier.” He admitted. “I… I was listening.”

The high school student suddenly groaned before covering her face with her hands. “Oh my god, I knew it…! I knew she said that for a reason.”

“I’m sorry.” Donnie quickly apologized. “I just wanted to know if you… felt the same.”

Bugged eyes protruded out of her head when he revealed his true feelings. There was absolutely no way he really felt the same way she did. This must be a prank.

But the almost pleading look on Donnie’s face told (Y/N) otherwise. “I… I mean—I do, but… no, no, I do. I really do. You’re amazing,Dee. And I like spending time with you.”

The giant turtle’s shoulders finally relaxed as he exhaled. Without much warning, (Y/N) leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his cheek. Before Donnie could react, the girl quickly stood to her feet and speed walked out of the lab.

Donnie couldn’t help but smile at her flustered form as he yelled after her, promising to text her soon.

[corishadowfang]

How do you generally plan out your fics? Because Fallen Stars seems to incredibly well planned I want to attempt to write something that is just as intricate 😂

Ooooh, man, I'm not sure how good my planning actually is (I say, staring at my many, many outline documents), but I'll explain things as well as I can? And hopefully at least some of it'll be useful.

(General writing advice disclaimer: What works for me might not work for everyone, so take everything with a grain of salt, and feel free to toss out anything that you don't like, haha.)

I...think I'll break this down into stages, maybe? Just to hopefully keep things more organized. (And also throw this under a cut, since I have a feeling this'll get long...)

Pre-Planning

So, uh...everything is very freeform to start off with, haha. The earliest stages are less, "What would make a good story?" and more, "What's fun about this concept?" So there's not a lot of structure to this part! I might write pages and pages of worldbuilding; I might just tinker around with a punch of different scenarios in my head; I might write snippets of concepts that I think would be fun--whatever! I tend to do this for a couple of reasons:

There are a lot of times where I get struck with an idea when I'm already working on a big project, so like...I don't really have a lot of time to actually plan out a story right at that moment, haha. So it goes on the backburner to marinate for a little while!

It kind of lets me figure out if this is something I'd actually like to write, or just something I'd like to play around with in my head.

Even with fanfic (which is generally a low-stress hobby), I can still sometimes...kind of get into "perfectionist" mode. Just messing around with things, focusing purely on what I find fun without worrying about whether it works narratively, with no expectation that I have to write the story, kind of gives me the freedom to figure out what I actually like about the idea and really hone into that. It helps fuel excitement for the project if I do decide to write it, and can give me a lot of cool ideas that I might not have given myself the freedom to think of otherwise!

Planning

So there's...no real timeline for anything, aha. Usually at some point, something will click over, and I'll go, "Yeah, okay, I do really, really want to write this story." At which point, I start taking some of the random ideas I have and trying to get them a bit more organized. This usually ends up being broken down into three broad categories.

The Characters

This is probably the biggest thing in regards to actually developing the story. Before writing, I generally like to have at least some basics down:

What is the character like at the beginning of the story, and why?

What sorts of things have caused them the most problems, and what would it take for them to resolve those problems?

What is the end goal for them in the story? (Do they get better? Worse? Learn how to live with the hand they've been dealt?)

What sorts of things would need to happen to get them to that point?

The main character(s)' arcs generally affect the direction the story goes in--essentially, I'll tailor events around what would help to push them toward their arc's end (ideally, with some interesting emotional conflicts for them to grapple with)--so I want to at least have a pretty solid idea of the main characters' overall arcs before I begin writing.

Uh, I guess just for an example, here's some of my early notes on Skuld and Brain for Fallen Stars:

Skuld: She’s still…she’s still reeling a little.  She hasn’t stopped to examine what the end meant for her, but she’s grieving the loss of her home, of people close to her, and she’s…in a lot of ways, Scala feels alien.  She wants to stay here, but she doesn’t, because it’s not home.  She’s also…just very tired of being in a position of authority that she doesn’t feel prepared for.  She was put into the position of Union Leader, and with her friends, she managed that fine, but now she…well, she’s tired.  She wants to be a kid again.  She wants someone else to worry about the world, and she’s angry over the fact that her childhood was basically stolen from her and that she’s been put into this position she didn’t want.  She’s angry because a part of her feels like if she hadn’t been put in charge, maybe she would’ve been able to make the most of her time with her friends.  (She also has very complicated feelings about Scala in general.  She wants to stay, but she also wants to leave.  It’s hard.  Mostly what she wants is just to run away for a while and not have to deal with any of this.  She’s tired.) Brain: The boy basically repressed all of his feelings about the end, but they’re all coming back baby.  As usual, he threw himself into his work—and now he’s throwing himself into this, too, working himself to the bone because the sooner he can find the others, the sooner he can stop grieving them.  (He’s totally fine!  No trauma at all, definitely.)  That said, he’s also tired.  He feels extra responsible for the end of the world because he had the Book of Prophecies; he’s trying not to think about it, but it’s the reason he won’t ask for Master’s Defender again.  He thinks he doesn’t deserve it.  He has complicated feelings about Scala, too, but tries to hide them a lot.  He also…he’s not quite as set on the ability to change fate anymore.  After his failure, he doesn’t really feel like it’s possible, so mostly he just wants to leave and spend time with his friends; worry about the things he can control.  (Skuld and him fight over it later, I think; probably after they find the Book of Prophecies and learn about Darkness.)

The World

I...quite often go overboard with worldbuilding, haha. It's a lot of fun! That said, a lot of worldbuilding ends up popping up organically during writing, too.

Before I start, though, I at least like to know the basics. I find it helps to like...sit down and go, "Okay, what sorts of things might trip me up when writing if I don't know them?" If all else fails, I'll usually take the time to sit down and think about:

Basic culture and how the society functions. What sorts of things are important to this society? What sorts of myths do they tell? How do they interact with other societies? Do they have trade? What's their governing system like? Things like that.

What sort of history does the world have? This can be very basic, but a couple of small notes can still help inform what it's like.

If there's magic--how does it function? Are there any consequences or limitations? What lets people use it?

If there are important non-human characters or creatures: how do they work? What's their basic biology like? How do they intersect with society?

For Fallen Stars, I ended up:

Determining some very basic stuff about how Scala functioned--essentially, stuff like, "They have a lot of trade," and, "they're run by a council," and, "because of the Keyblade wielder thing, they have a lot of stories focused around light/darkness."

Creating a very basic breakdown of the council--who was one it and what the individual roles did.

Getting a basic idea of what Ephemer's family's role in the society was (both previously, and in the current day).

Building up some ideas about legends--specifically, ones about the Union Leaders, and how Scalans would think about them in the modern day.

The Plot

The plot is...probably the least fleshed-out of the three, aha--for me, at least. That's because, no matter how much planning I do, the story almost always goes off the rails eventually. (Sometimes as soon as the first chapter, depending on what the characters do...)

That said, I do like to at least make sure I know two or three key things about it. Generally, these are either a) a major plot twist, or b) a major event. I generally call these "pillar points"; essentially, these will be spaced out across the story, and are the things that I'm working toward. Unlike a lot of the finer details of the story, these remain relatively stable; they're what help me stay on track, even if how we get there ends up changing.

Fallen Stars ended up having three pillar points:

Brain exploring the abandoned town and finding out about Darkness.

The whole crew going to confront Darkness, with Darkness appearing fully for the first time.

The end of chapter 39 all the way through the end of chapter 41. (Which...I can't explain exactly what some of those points are yet because of spoilers, aha.)

The pillar points are the main things, but I will sometimes do a brief outline or summary of the story--just with the knowledge that the details may change later.

Writing

And...after that, I'll usually start writing! That said, I still, like...adjust things as I work, haha. A big thing I'll do while writing is to like...think about the specific purpose of each chapter? Like, what sorts of character and plot points do I want to hit to move things along, etc. Sometimes I'll build out a general outline of chapters between the beginning and the first pillar point, then between one pillar point and another, etc. These are all really flexible, haha, but they can at least help get me thinking about what needs to happen.

And, uh...I think that covers the basics? (Don't look at the size of this post, it's fine--) Hopefully that's at least somewhat helpful--even if it's just to kickstart ideas for your writing process, haha! Good luck, and I hope you have fun with your story!

[imauthicktic]

Hi! How are you? Hope you are doing good

The “Raphael (bayverse) x gn!crush!reader” was 🥲 so sweet, could you make do one with the other boys? Separately please, doesn’t have to be the same prompt, maybe one the reader got only a “warning” and decided to sleep with the fav turtle, other could be more fluffy, they had an nightmare over a situation like this and asked for the turtle to visit them, stuff like it? I hope I made sense

I love confession scenarios and yours were so cute! Hope you have a great day ♥️

Hi! I'm doing better than I was this morning 🤪

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you like my writing! I was def gonna switch it up for the next two boys, I'll make it more like what your requested

I hope you have an awesome day! Plus I hope you like the ones coming up! 🥰

Here's Donatello's!

Donatello x gn!crush!reader

Description: Still a one-bed trope, but Donnie gets a panicked call and he's there in an instant.

Donnie was working on something in his lab, as always, but today he was falling asleep as he was tinkering. He was moments away from knocking out and slamming his head on his work table, when all of a sudden his alarms were going off. He immediately recognized the sound to be your caller ID. He never wanted to miss a call from you so he also set several alarms to go off when you called him specifically. He was frantically searching for his phone to stop the alarms and to get his chance to talk to you. He nearly smacked himself in the head when he found his phone right next to his gadget he was tinkering with earlier.

He took a deep breath when he looked at your contact photo on his phone and hit the answer button. “Heyy, (N/N). What’s up?” he said confidently. “H-Hey, Donnie. Uh. Are you doing anything right now?” He heard the hesitance in your voice and he instantly knew something was wrong. “I’m not doing anything now. Need me to grab something for you before I get to your place?” he asked knowing there’s no way he’s not coming over. “Uhm. No, just you is fine. Just be safe,” you said softly. “Always.”

Donnie grabbed all of his gear and headed up to the surface and to your place. He was trying to think of things that could’ve possibly happened and all he wanted to do was make sure you were ok. 

You turned to your porch when you heard the tapping and you quickly opened it for Donnie. As he stepped past you and walked into the room making sure the parameter was clear, “Hey, is everything ok, dove?” you locked your porch and pulled the blinds and turned to face him and raised your arms up for him to hug you. He quickly leaned down and picked you up with your arms securing around his neck and his arms going behind your back and under your knees. He walked you guys over to the couch and sat down with you in his lap. 

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. We can just sit here and I’ll hold you.” He said as you snuggled your head into the crook of his neck. “It was just a bad day and I had a bad dream,” you said softly.

His arms are wrapped securely around you and you place your hand on the arm in front of you, messing with the fabric of the band on his arm. “Hey, Donnie?” “Hmm?” “You’ll never leave me right?” you ask softly as you look up into his eyes with small tears forming in yours. “What? N-No. Never. I’d never leave you, (Y/N),” he cleared his throat a little before continuing, “I adore you too much. Youretooclosetomyheart,” he rambled quickly. You smiled at his words with tears falling down your cheeks and Donnie was quick to wipe them away. “I have always adored you, Donnie. I-... I really love you, D,” you said as you leaned into his hand that was wiping your cheek. You felt the heat rush to your face when he had a small shocked face on, his jaw hanging loosely as his mouth was open, not expecting you to outright say you love him. You couldn’t help but giggle at his expression and he immediately steels his face and looks at you with such seriousness. 

His eyes flicking from your eyes to your lips and you don’t notice until your lips are a hair apart. You close the gap and you swear he’s holding his breath. You pulled away and laughed at the fact that his eyes were closed and his lips still pursed. He slowly opened his eyes and licked his lips nervously. “Wow. I think I need to practice kissing. Um. You mind… if I try again?” Donnie asked as he leaned in, kissing your lips over and over in little pecks and then finally one sweet, longer kiss. You both pulled away gasping lightly for air. You smiled up at him and he smiled down at you then leaned in to rub his nose against yours. You pressed your forehead against his with your noses still brushing lightly against each other. 

“Donnie? Will you please stay the night?” you ask softly. “Of course, my dove,” he kissed your forehead and then your lips and picked you up carrying you to your room. He lays you down gently onto your bed and then climbs in behind you. Donnie spooned you tightly but didn’t realize how tired he was until he was knocked out. You following close behind him to dream world.

Lmk what yall think!

Requests are open!

[cutiecorner]

Hehehe static shock brainrot go brrrr. I have waaay more thpughts about this than i thought, so this'll be part one! Most of it it setup, I'll star ☆ where the fluffy headcanons start! Also, trigger warning for the discussion of death.

Virgil regresses first because. You know. trauma.

I think he's been inclined to regress his whole life but it started to happen involuntarily after his mom passed away, especially late at night after he had dreams about her.

He didn't really know what it was until his dad brought it up in relation to one of the teens he was working with. He mentioned o Virgil they needed to be handled with care because they regress involuntarily due to trauma, and Virgil was like Whoops I Do That

He still didn't tell his dad, at first he felt really embarrassed about it. He tried as hard as he could to repress and avoid it, but it would come back stronger

After spending more time around the kid, he got used to it and decided maybe it wasn't so bad.

So he at least didn't try to fight it any more, now that he knew what it was. He wasn't super active about it though. It only happened at night, so the most he'd do about it was sleep with his favorite beanie baby dog, Pluto, or maybe ask to sleep in his dad's room if he felt really bad.

The first time it happened during the day was at the beginning of high school, when Francis started to bully him. Francis was a really intense bully, and Virgil had never been beat up before. He had a went back home and just couldn't stop crying, he felt so scared.

That's when Richie came in

It wasn't out of the ordinary for Richie to just go up to Virgil's room whenever he felt like it, they were just like that. It was especially expected when Virgil didn't meet up with him after school as usually.

When he got in Virgil was curled up around his dog plush, crying a lot. He had been beat up pretty bad and everything hurt.

Richie rushed to help him, getting him first aid and ice packs and trying to calm him down. It did work a little, though he was still crying, he felt a little better with Richie there

Until he realized... Richie was there

This was not something he intended to share with anyone, not even Richie. What would he think? That he's a total weirdo? Who would wanna hang around a teenager who still acts like a toddler? Counterintuitively, the thought only made him cry more.

Richie didn't notice anything weird, not the crying, not even Pluto, I mean, who wouldn't want to curl up and cry after getting roughed up?

After Virgil calmed down enough, Richie went to go tell Mr. Hawkins. Virgil wasn't opposed, his dad always made him feel safe.

After Mr. Hawkins helped Virgil, he pulled Richie aside to explain why Virgil was so scared.

Virgil tried to interject, that this wasn't Richie's problem, but Richie wanted to know. All he wanted to do was help his best friend, he didn't care what the circumstance was. Plus, Mr. Hawkins insisted it was a trauma response, nothing to be ashamed of.

Richie took the news really well. He reassured Virgil he didn't think any less of him and they were best friends no matter what.

Richie was actually the one who brought up they may be able to turn it into a fun thing. If you feel like a kid, why not act like a kid? There's tons of fun stuff they got 'too old for' to dig up.

☆ Rich really stepped up to help Virgil feel better about regression. He took him to the arcade, the museum, the aquarium - anything to make Virgil smile.

Virgil goes from 3-8 age wise

He looooves video games. He's usually pretty good at them, but he gets a little clumsy when regressed. Richie let's him win on purpose and helps him with all the tough levels

Virgil also loves tinkering! Any kind of building toys, he's all over it - especially legos. He can build so much cool stuff with legos, he's one of those guys who has shelves dedicated to his Lego creations.

Just generally, the Hawkins have a treasure trove of 90s/early 2000s nostalgia. Nerf guns, bayblades, whatever pogs are, they even have an easy bake oven.

Virgil’s dad is very supportive, and very happy Richie is so keen to take care of him. He always makes time for Virgil when he needs him.

Virgil loves to watch cartoons, Richie loves them too. They go crazy for Spongebob

Sharon doesn't fully understand what's going on with Virgil, but she doesn't mind going big sister mode sometimes. He's always her baby brother, after all.

They call him little vee or vee-vee :]

[unholyplumpprincess]

Falls on my knees,,, Peach can I please request nsft Junker Queen with a smol fem s/o who comes from a rich family and is kinda sheltered? Like, sneaks out to go see her Junker wife, maybe a bit of a corruption kink if that's okay? Ty ty in advance! And if the request isn't to your liking, that's totally alright too! <3

Now, I don't normally do gendered readers. BUT I couldn't get the idea of Junker Queen calling reader her Lil Princess soooooo I'll make a self indulgent exception this time. Also accidentally got carried away and wrote more than intended lmaooo

Reblogs > Likes. Please Reblog if you hit like/heart to keep more writers like me alive and to see more content! :D

Ao3 link: Here

Fandom: Overwatch

Relationship: Junker Queen x Reader

Warnings: R18+/NSFT, Reader explicitly uses she/her pronouns + has a vulva + is called a good girl/princess/wife/etc, I'd say fem reader but as a femme nb Id be okay with those terms sooo, There's a public scene so like- pda but make it horny?, Possessive Junker Queen

Words: 3.2k

_____

Would it really surprise anyone nowadays?

You always had a luxurious life- yet, very strict. You were raised under the intention of taking over your father's company, being the only child in line for it. You were to be someone else's legacy. Your feelings and opinions never mattered- not even your hobbies.

Your father ran a tight ship, one that limited you greatly even into your adult life. He worked closely with Vishkar, working on a program that would better life for humans and use omnics as either scrap metal or servants.

You never liked it, always having immense empathy for those around you. Omnics or otherwise. It left a poor taste in your mouth at the thought of having to take over such a company.

But. It did mean you had to learn the tricks of the trade. Meaning trading with other people, companies, and sometimes even faux kingdoms.

And that's where you met her.

~Rest under the cut~

Odessa was not a woman of unreasoning, but she definitely wasn't one you bullshitted with either. She could sniff out a lie like a bloodhound; No exception to your father either when he tried to underhand her.

She laughed in his face when he proposed helping with the feral omnics around and using them as scrap metal. Offering to clean out her Wasteland just for parts. But she knew better and had leaned down from her imposing throne, using her axe to tip his chin up as she crooned; "And what's in it for me, old man?"

Whilst looking directly at you.

He tried offering money for the scraps, but in the end they had reached an agreement of some kind. You would come to her faux kingdom and help her with financials and factions that she couldn't seem to get right. And of course, he'd still pay handsomely for the scrap he took. But, if he overstepped his bounds or went against his word, he could kiss his scraps goodbye.

And judging by how she had looked at your during this dealing, you expected you'd be scooped up as well as 'aid for the salt in her wounds'.

It's how you two get close. Odessa- or Dez, as you find she liked to be called instead- keeps to her word and uses your knowledge for her own gain. And in turn, you get to see parts of the world you know you'd never be allowed to.

She takes to calling you Princess, and at first you scoff at it. But soon it turned into a fond pet name, something that made you feel pretty and cherished.

Your interests start to show again, an old love of engineering and tinkering coming into play on one of the weeks she has you. She finds you late at night in her very own workshop, using pieces of scrap found around to make a makeshift sculpture of her Champion. A little ball that when a button was pressed, popping open into the sculpture to form the little hamster inside.

After that, she'd come and watch you instead.

Her keen eyes on you as she straddled a chair backwards, resting her chin over the top of it as her honey eyes burned holes into you.

Then more watching as you got to stay for longer periods of time. Dez was interested in your routines, how you lotioned your skin, patting lipgloss on your lips and doing your hair. Softer things she was unfamiliar with, just like the rougher things you too didn't understand.

Tension built between the two of you. You couldn't look her in the eye without feeling flustered. And it seemed like she caught on quickly, trying to do everything to impress you.

She was like a puppy some days.

Some times you caught her making a struggle sound when lifting something heavy, only to act like it was no big deal when you walked in the room. Or how some days she'd try to cook something more elaborate with spices like you did, but it would be too much and inedible.

It's the thought that counted.

It wasn't until she shows up in your room in her wing with flowers does it occur to you this silly queen had been trying to court you.

From there, you…try not to go home too often.

Your father doesn't like that you're enjoying time away. It all becomes too much one day when he tries to tell her he's breaking off the arrangement to the Queen. To which Dez laughs in his face and reminds him that she's not against taking his only child.

Not that you would be against it either.

When your relationship starts, she's all chivalry. She's loud, huge, and isn't scared to get into fights with people who even look at you sideways.

She holds your hand in public, grabs your ass, presses a hand on your lower back- you name it. She says it's to 'Give that lot something to really look at' and 'Let em know what's the Queen's property'.

It makes you feel…wanted.

But Dez also grabs your hand to guide you gently down the steps, or helps you tie your dresses up in the back. She'll sit with you while you take a bath, watching you with all your fancy bubbles and soft lotions with curiosity.

And then hunger when you offer for her to join you.

In turn, you learn to get a little dirty. The basics of self defense and standing up for yourself. Learning how to say No with certainty and getting into hobbies you'd long since forgotten.

It's one day after one of your baths does she make her move. She's upset about something, frustrated, looking to blow off steam. She tells you you smell so good, that you're so soft.

That she wants to tear you apart.

You go that night sore and bruised with bite marks lining every inch of you. With a snoring girlfriend lain across you and holding you like a stuffie.

Princess becomes more than a pet name after that.

One final night, you have a fight with your father and sneak out that night. Your private dropship already knows where to take you, the built in AI taking you there.

It's dark out, but Dez is already waiting for you. As if she got wind of it before you even showed up. You don't question it or try to make sense of it, just taking her hand silently as she escorts you off your ship.

"Rough night?" Are her first words that break the silence as she leads you inside her bedroom. You laugh dryly, wiping at the mascara trails under your eyes silently as she hands you a tissue.

"S'alright, love. You can stay here as long as ya need, yeah? Been in my fair share of spats with my old man too back in the day." Dez comforts you, opening her large arms as you come towards her to rest your head on her.

Your head reaches below her chest. Her hands are warm and rough as they rub across your back, focusing on the exposed part of your upper back where your dress dips down. Her short nails soothingly rub across your skin as you breathe in her scent slowly.

"Got any positions available in your kingdom, Your Highness?" You murmur as a jab to be humorous, but it comes out quietly.

In turn, Dez spares you a little chuckle. She pulls away briefly, grabbing your chin to tip it up to her with a cocksure smirk playing on her lips. "Could use someone to help me keep documentation on things." Her thumb then rubs across your bottom lip, watching as you close your eyes and peck a kiss to it. "Could also use a lil' wife to keep me in line too."

"Wife, huh?" You tease back at her, reaching up to grab her hand and press a kiss to her palm. But when she doesn't laugh at first, you glance back up to her face to see she's looking at you expectantly.

It clicks.

"Dez you're not seriously proposing like that, are you?" Your tone is full of mirth, flattered even. Your smile breaks her as she starts to smile in turn, leaning down to kiss your forehead and then your nose.

"Nah, nah. Just a thought, Princess. Would wanna find ya a big ole ring. Somethin' that screams 'Queen', ya know? Maybe we'll even getcha a lil tiara, aye?" All the while she speaks, gesturing to your head and forming a circle with her fingers like she's measuring you.

"Are you going to bring fireworks for the occasion?"

"Of course, doll! Would do it in public too. Maybe after pulverizing some bloke in the Reckoning." Dez hums thoughtfully, cupping her cheek and letting her eyes flick over your now smiling face. "Though, worry it'll make 'em think you're part of that prize. The title and the bride up for grabs."

"I'd poison them in their sleep and get you your title back."

A grin splits across her face, her big, booming laugh echoing in the room as she scoops you up into her arms to squeeze you tightly. "Now THAT'S my girl!"

--

You stay there afterwards. Carefully bundled in her bed with her night after night. Most nights she's not there, busy with handling things. And in turn, you learn to stay up late with her. You write down all her words, keeping documentation on factions and any upsets that went around town.

It feels like a domestic lifestyle. She's even started teasingly calling you her bride and wife, much to your embarrassment.

Dez treats you gently, the utmost gentleman that she is- per her own words.

But one time, when you go to the bar with her, someone gets a bit too bold with you. Knocking shoulders with you, poking at you. You can see her from across the table slowly looking murderous. But the cherry on top is when the person beside you implies they could treat you better.

You're surprised they don't end up a bloody pulp. But you quickly learn why when Dez croons at them, "Oh, ya do, aye? And would you happen to know what little spots make her tick, hm?" In this venomous tone as she stalks around the table to come toward you.

You squeak as you're lifted off the chair by her, your body turned towards that person as her hands slide down your shoulders. Down to your waist where she grabs you tight and makes you gasp, a heavy flush covering your face.

You try to turn your head, but she grabs your chin, turning your head towards the person to make sure they're looking just as you are.

"See how her legs shake?" Dez continues, her free hand trailing up to your chest and making you tremble. "See how she melts at my touch?" Her hand on your chin slides down, and you automatically move to make room for it to wrap loosely around your throat.

Your lashes begin to flutter, your breath shaking.

"You wanna know what sounds she makes for me in the night? Screaming my name? Ya think you could do that? Mate, I can make her scream for me without ever bein' inside her." Her words are harsh and heavy, but you're so distracted by her hand trailing down to the bottom of your dress. Her hand slides underneath, over your thigh, bending you over with her height only.

"Doll," She directs to you, her tone so sweet and kind. You hardly have time to breathe. "Remind this poor, blubbering fool who you belong to?"

"M-my Queen."

"And who only gets the utmost pleasure in having you?"

"You, my Queen."

"Now. Be a good girl and tell this bloke to fuck off." Her tone is sweet to you, so kind. You're shaking at the feeling of her body heat behind you as she stands to allow you to stand.

Her hand catches your chin again, directing you to open your eyes and look at the poor son of a bitch avoiding eye contact with you as the whole bar stares.

"Fuck off."

You don't get to finish your time at the bar. From there, Dez tells everyone to get back to what they were doing and have a good night. Said with a big slap on the back to the person who had been flirting with you.

You barely make it to the bedroom before Dez is snarling and slamming you into the nearest surface- but of course with a hand behind your head to avoid impact.

You whimper as she captures your lips in hers, bending down to do so. Her hand grabs your hair, her other one quickly shuffling up your skirts to fit her large thigh between yours to cause a moan to gasp from you.

"My pretty girl," She snarls against your lips, kissing down your neck as she pulls your hair. Forcing you to expose your neck as you gasp out. Her thigh presses up harder into you, feeling how wet you are already and making her breathlessly chuckle. "Oh? My sweet Princess liked that, hm?"

You try to nod, but can't move a muscle when she sucks a bruise into your neck with a cry from your own lips. "D-Dez-"

"Yeah, keep sayin' my name, angel. Gonna make you scream it real soon." She promises, her voice sounding like a growl as she scoops you up to deposit you on the bed.

You hardly get one bounce in before she's grabbing your hips and tugging you to the end of the bed where she gets down on her knees in front of you. Your dress is shuffled up where you quickly hold the skirts in place to watch her helplessly.

She moans at the sight of you, her finger trailing over the wet spot on your panties and pressing with just enough pressure over your clit to make you squirm. "My poor baby. A queen should never let her bride be wanting, hm? How selfish of me."

Your panties are ripped off, tucked into her back pocket before Dez is quickly yanking you close to bury her face into you. Her tongue knows exactly what you like best, licking flat over your whole cunt before her lips seal over your clit.

You scream out, your hands finding her braids and grabbing onto them for support. Your legs quake as she presses forward, forcing your feet to press to her shoulders and effectively pressing you into a better, open position.

It works to her favor, as she quickly introduces a thick finger pressing inside of you just like you like.

You cry out when her tongue flicks across your clit, back and forth nice and slow before taking you back between her lips again to suckle. She presses in a second finger, curling them upwards just as she moans helplessly into you when you pull her hair.

You cum quickly like that, with her fingers pumping into you shallowly and her tongue flicking across your clit nice and slow as if savoring you.

"Dez- D-Dez, fuck, baby, please, f-fuck-" Your cries are all her name like a prayer, fucking your hips into her face as she growls into you again.

It's only then does she pull from you, not giving you anytime to think as she forces you onto all fours.

Two fingers slide into you again, her other hand coming below you to sandwich your clit between two fingers to massage it in time with her fingers fucking you.

You scream her name into the mattress as your fingers claw for support in the sheets. Your face buries into them, desperate to muffle your pathetic whines as your eyes roll back into your head.

You're over sensitive, but you can still make out her words behind you. Each one more claiming than the next.

"No one else gets to see you like this."

"What a pretty Princess for her Queen, hm? Not such a good little girl now, are you? Just look at how well you take me now."

Then finally, her hand leaves your clit, giving her enough space to lean over you as her fingers fuck into you still. Spoken as she nips your shoulder and murmurs behind your ear, "Beg. Beg to cum around my fingers, pretty girl. Let 'em hear ya all over the wasteland, yeah?"

Then Dez moves. Moving to lay on her back under you, keeping her fingers sunk into you and using her free hand to grab one of your hips bruisingly.

She yanks you down to her awaiting mouth, moaning into you just as you sob out and start to hump into her face and back into her fingers.

You know Dez doesn't need to wait for you to beg, pleas already slipping from your lips in a higher pitch with each swipe of her tongue. Each curl of her lips sloppily kissing over your clit in open mouthed, messy kisses with a brush of her tongue on each kiss.

You scream for her. Screaming her name loud enough to be heard outside the open window for sure as you cum on her tongue and fingers.

Your back arches, twisting your fingers in the sheet as your eyes roll back into your head. You don't even realize you're kicking your legs and squirming too much until both her hands take a hold of your hips.

Dez's strength in her very fingertips makes you shiver, sobs racking your frame as overstimulation winds into your bones. Tears bubble in your eyes, your body shaking as you whine her name quietly.

It's then that she slides out from under you, wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand before readjusting you.

She pulls your trembling form into her arms, cradling you bridal style and fixing your dress into place. You cling to her tightly, burying your face into her neck as she rubs over your back crooning to you gently.

"You did a good job, love. Not hurt, are ya?" Her voice is gentle, using her cheek to nuzzle at the top of your head. You shake your head quietly, humming to let her know that your reply is no.

"Good. Cause I ain't done with ya yet." Dez chuckles softly, kissing the top of your head with a turn of her head. Your reply is a soft whine, feeling how one of her hands cheekily slides under your dress to squeeze at your thigh.

"What? Haven't even properly bruised ya up yet. After a slight like that, I'm itchin' to tear you apart." Her words are a promise, despite her soft tone. "'Sides, we know you can take more than just that."

"You're going to kill me." You groan back to her, lifting your head finally just in time to catch her gaze. Your cheeks flush at how dark her eyes are.

How hungrily she looks at you.

"Not gonna kill ya," She promises, leaning in to kiss your forehead tenderly. "Just gonna make sure ya can't walk tomorrow."

And you know Dez. Her promises?

They're not ever broken.

---

Reblogs > Likes. Please Reblog if you hit like/heart to keep more writers like me alive and to see more content! :D

[the-nocturnal-writer]

Dev Log 5

By goodness, it’s been a while since I could just sit down and post about any progression. Life is still keeping me busy thanks to personal matters. However, I’ve been chipping away and doing stuff when I can. I’ve been more or less creating stuff here and there that I can post, though most of the free time I managed to get went into writing and completing tasks. 

Finally have some time to get a dev log written out, I’m hoping to update everybody on what I’ve been up to and have planned since my radio silence (and here’s to hoping the next dev log isn’t forever away…)

One of the bigger changes I’ve planned is turning Evenfall Grove into a Choicescript game rather then Twine. This decision was made to help shorten the time a bit, I don’t get as often as hoped to do what I like, so using Choicescript was a good workaround due to it being a little more simple to use. 

I still hope to make a game with Twine, maybe in the future when i have more financial stability and time to just still and put my full heart into it, but until then, I can say that making Evenfall Grove using Choicescript won’t change anything story or choice wise. I do need to figure out how to work the whole “you can die or get injured when exploring at night” thing, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out…

Next on my list of things to update everyone about is a few changes to my profile, I wanted to make it easier to access information and stuff, as well as easier to read. I might need to tinker with the colouring, but so far I think it’s better. Which leads to me saying that RO profiles have been taken down for the moment. 

I’ve been writing A LOT whenever I could. A lot of rewrites since the ending became more and more clear as I wrote, and a bunch of short stories about the characters. Thanks to this, my brain is forcing me to do another redesign to make them all feel… Well, more them. 

Constantin is the first (and only one even close to done) and has gotten a lot of love, I brought back some stuff from both his older design drafts and made him feel and look more like a man who has been beaten down by life over and over. Exactly what I’m going for.

Another change is the title banner! I still have a few more things to mess with, but for now it less of a priority over writing. I love it more though and the font is real pretty!

Aside from more redesigns, I mentioned character short stories, I might edit and post them if the need calls for it, but it did really help develop each of their backgrounds and helps decide how I want them to be and act, especially around MC! 

It has made me need to rewrite a lot and pace out how MC will first meet each of the characters (as well as how romancing them will go about), in the end it’s helped me decide how I want the ending to go and how I want each character to end up by the end. It’s not just MC going on a journey of power and character development. Each romance option has their own unique way of growing throughout the story.

While I’m mentioning characters, MC’s Familiar has been narrowed down to four animals; Squirrel, Owl, Badger or Fox. Feel free to make more suggestions, my only tip is smaller forest dwelling animals, since familiars size and shape are based on the power of their witch and the environment they're in! MC isn’t the powerhouse they are capable of becoming quite yet.

That is all for now, not as much as I hoped to update everyone with, but I like to try and get a word out when I can so no one is left wondering if this interactive fiction is no longer being made. Still fully intend to make Evenfall, it’s just at a busy snails pace.

Thank you all again for sticking around and having such patience with me, you’re all lovely and I couldn’t ask for better readers! (I need to get to answering asks, I apologise so much for the delay and I'll do my best to dedicate some point next week to answering them!)

Have a good day/evening, witches!

-Red

[some-pers0n]

The Sound Between Notes

Fandom: TF2

Characters: Medic, Engineer

CW: Needles, injection (I swear to god it's not bad but still there's a warning for it--)

Summary: Engie, sleep deprived and exhausted as can be, hears the gentle sound of a violin playing through the base. Curiosity gets the better of him and he investigates.

Word Count: 2.6K

A/N: The idea of this oneshot has been haunting me for months and I finally had the motivation to write it. Fingers crossed that I'll still have the motivation to write the next chapter of my fic soon. I really wanna get back to that... Oh, I also crossposted this onto Ao3 last night. If you'd like to read it there instead (or ya know swing by and read my other stuff), that'd be really nice of you. Anywho, enough rambling, here's the silly oneshot.

The Engineer would say he was pretty used to the madness of his teammates. I mean, he'd already been here a couple of months now, so surely he must have adjusted to it. Anywhere from Sniper and his collection of piss jars to Pyro just...being himself, it was obvious that none of them were exactly 'normal'.

But, what he didn't expect to hear was the sound of music echoing through the halls.

He had been tinkering around with his designs for the dispenser, trying to finalize it and get a good grip on building it, when he heard it. At first, he thought it was just his mind playing tricks. It was quite late and the effects of getting little-to-no sleep over the course of several days was getting to him. Who would've thunk that was not the smartest idea?

But, as time passed, it became clear that it wasn't just in his head. He could hear it. It was traveling through the vents. While it was just barely audible, he could still vividly hear the notes. Someone was playing music. Not just any old music either. It wasn't Demo playing a little tune on the piano or Scout playing his Tom Jones record.

Rather, Engie could make out the very distinct sound of it. The shrill, yet elegant melody it produced. There was no doubt in his mind: that was a violin.

Naturally, he was curious. What could compel somebody to get up at whatever time it is right now and play such...admittedly beautiful music. Even if Engie was more of a countryman, preferring his guitars, banjos, and fiddles, it'd be a lie to say he didn't appreciate the grandeur of other instruments. So, he caved in. He placed down his wrench and walked out of the door.

Now in the halls, he just wandered around. There was no way that this went unnoticed by the others. Perhaps they were asleep or were simply not bothered enough to investigate. Either way, it was somewhat eerie. The empty labyrinth of the base before him, with only the sounds of his footsteps and breathing to duet the violin. He followed the sound, guided towards it like a moth to a flame. He had to see who was making it now. As he did however, it became more and more appropriate just who exactly this mystery musician was.

The music was getting louder as he went further in. He turned the corner, peeping down another hallway. This time he was met with a pair of doors, with a dull neon red sign displaying the words 'INFIRMARY' positioned above. The frosted glass made it impossible to see through clearly, but he could see a dim light from the inside.

There was no doubt in Engie's mind that this is where the source of it was. He chuckled lightly, smiling to himself. Of course. It should've been his first thought to assume it was Medic.

Yet, he didn't want to go back to the shop. He came out all this way just to see what this was about. He couldn't just not go in. He carefully walked towards the door, hesitating for a moment. He listened to the notes, now being able to hear them much clearer. The somber, yet hauntingly peaceful melody that came forth from it. But, despite this, he knocked, interrupting the piece.

Instantly, the violin stopped. Engie felt his stomach drop a fair bit. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to intrude on the Medic of all people, even if they are partners.

Moments later, he heard rushed footsteps approach the door. It unlocked and opened up, revealing the man himself.

"Mein Gott, can't you people see that I'm–" Medic cut himself off upon seeing Engie. He wasn't wearing his work uniform, but rather his light brown waistcoat and white dress shirt. A bright red tie that was ever so slightly wrinkled was tied around his neck. His eyes, bright and blue as they may be, held a tiredness to them. The oddest thing about him however was how his hands were uncovered. His precious scarlet red gloves were removed, showing his delicate hands.

"Hey, doc." Engie tipped his hard hat. "What are you doing up so late?"

Medic glanced back into his room. "I'll assume that you came because you heard that, no?"

"Nah, just wanted to drop by in the middle of the night and watch you sleep. What else?"

He paused. "...that was a joke, ja?" he asked, genuine confusion in his voice.

"Yeah, just messing with you. I was working when I heard your...violin? It's a violin, correct? So many of these darn stringed instruments."

Medic smiled back. "I was playing my violin, that's correct. I couldn't exactly sleep and neither could the birds. So, I figured why not play a few songs to tire both of us out? They love the music and I get some peace of mind."

"They ain't the only ones who're fans of your violin either," Engie said. "Honestly, I thought I was in some orchestra with you playing. Even through the vents, it sounds just amazing." He looked up at his partner. "You don't mind if I stay and listen for a minute, do ya?"

Medic's eyes perked up. "No, not at all!" He grabbed Engineer by the hand, practically pulling him inside. The nice thing about Medic is that you can always tell when he's happy about something. It was cute and endearing, making him almost forget how he was staring at a deranged lunatic.

"Thanks, doc." Engie grabbed a chair and sat down. "I didn't know you played music."

"I haven't quite found an excuse to break out my violin yet," he answered, fidgeting with the tuning pegs. "Neither with my piano or accordion."

"Accordion?" He echoed. "How the hell you managed to learn that?"

"Tradition. My mother insisted I learn these instruments as soon as I could. I was a prodigy that outclassed several adults by the age of six."

"Gee, aren't you special?"

Medic gave a playful smirk in return. "I've been on and off since then. I prefer the classics as opposed to ragtime and blues, as many would prefer. I know you'll like those better as well. I simply don't care."

"Pff, no?" Engie snickered. "I've just never quite got a chance with classical music. Sounds...different. Should be obvious though, considerin' how it's...ya know."

"You don't have to explain yourself, mein Partner," he said. "It's already flattering to have you sit and enjoy my music, despite me being rusty."

"You call that rusty? That was great, doc! Of course I'd have to swing by after hearing that."

Medic's smile shifted into a smug grin. "Well then..." he muttered, clearly enjoying the admiration and praise.

"What song were you just playing then?" Engineer asked, trying to steer things back on the right track.

"Oh, this?" He brushed his bow across the strings, hastily playing a couple of notes. "Just some Paganini."

"...who?" he asked. "Never heard of him."

Medic scoffed. "I'm not surprised." He slowed down, readjusting himself. He rested the violin on his shoulder and arm, going back to playing a slow tune. "Niccolò Paganini was an Italian musician. He's written quite a number of works, most of which are impossible."

"How can a piece be 'impossible' though?"

"He had exceptionally large fingers that allowed him to–rather absurdly in my opinion–play three octaves over four strings in a single draw of the bow."

The Engineer's expression must have been confused as Medic quickly chuckled. "It means that he wrote music that only he could play." He rocked on his feet. "Quite an impressive artist as well. Though, he's known mostly for his deal with the devil."

Engie leaned back in the chair. "So, he made some deal with the devil? What for? Already had big hands, what more could a guy want?"

Medic's expression shifted. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, genuine confusion in his voice. He shook his head and continued before the Engineer could answer. "I wouldn't know the validity of the claim. I recall once asking a demon about it when I was sacrificing some poor sod. They just brushed it off. Quite rude, don't you think?"

"Weren't you talking to an actual demon?" Engie inquired. "Be surprisin' if they were actually...well, concerned about your question."

"Mh, good point. Still, if a man has a question, it should be answered. Nutzloser Dämon..." he cursed. "But, that is his tale. A man who played with such skill and talent that others believed him to have dealt with the devil."

"Can see why you like him then," he said.

"Hm? Oh, well, yes. I do suppose there's an aspect of that to him I can relate to. Although, I'm unsure if he was a mercenary." He laughed. "But, I still do find his pieces to be quite beautiful. This was one of his more energetic pieces: a revision of Liszt's 'La Campanella'."

Medic took a small inhale and drew his bow. In an instant, his fingers darted across the instrument. Engie looked in awe as he graciously played the instrument. In his left hand, the bow glided on the strings, quickly making sharp, yet dainty notes. In his right, it supported the violin, with his fingers pressing down on the right strings to form the correct chords.

It was beyond words, most because Engie's sleep-deprived brain couldn't quite fathom making any up to describe it. The melody was just about hypnotic, despite the intense speed. He could listen to it forever. Just a heavenly melody, a blessing upon his ears that've heard nothing but gunfire and screaming for weeks. He closed his eyes for what was only supposed to be a moment, but found the darkness comforting. He kicked his legs up on the table and folded his arms in. He let out a deep exhale before finally allowing sleep to take him away.

----------------------------------

At last, he was finished with the piece. Five or however many minutes of just nonstop playing a very challenging song. But, he survived.

He bowed. "Thank you, my hard hatted friend. Deine Anwesenheit war sehr notwendig."

To his surprise, no response. A disappointing considering how much effort he put into that. Did the Engineer just not find it that entertaining?

He looked at his partner, awaiting some sort of feedback. Anything from him clapping or even a simple remark. Yet, nothing. It wasn't until Medic looked a little closer that he saw what was happening. Engie's breathing was deeper and more relaxed. He was...snoring.

"Ah, you've fallen asleep," he said, walking over to inspect him. "Well, at least my music did something, even if it was to lull you to sleep."

He quietly watched him, contemplating things a bit. For one, even if he looked comfortable, a chair is certainly not a place to sleep. Maybe it was how he came to his 'concert' of sorts, but Medic didn't want to leave him asleep on a chair. How he was set up, with his legs kicked up on the table, didn't exactly look the most comfortable.

...fine. Maybe Medic could do something.

His first instinct was to sedate him. Then again, his immediate thought upon seeing anybody asleep is to sedate them so that they're–for lack of a better term–easier to work with. For one, he could pick up Engie and not have to worry about waking him up. It would also ensure that he'd have a nap longer than half an hour. If anything, shooting him with god-knows-what would be a favor.

He walked over to one of his trays, picking up a bottle. It was hard to see in the dark, but he was sure that it was one of his anmestics. Well, it could also be lethal poison, but let's not think about that. It probably is the correct vial. He took a possibly clean syringe and plunged it in, taking a healthy dose of the toxin.

"Now then..." he muttered turning back to the Engineer. "This will help you, mein Partner," he said, giving Engie a little pat on his hard hat before sticking the needle straight into his neck.

No reaction from the Engineer as he did so. Not even a slight change in breathing. Still breathing. That's a good sign. Means he's not dead. Being dead is bad, correct?

Medic hovered around the Engineer in silence, waiting a minute or two just to see if he was fine. After deeming that, yes, he didn't seem to be dying, he smiled. "Alright, now what?"

Truth be told, he didn't think this far. Usually when he sedates a person who's asleep, it's to then experiment and steal their organs. He couldn't quite do that with Engie, mostly because he was out of organs and...quite frankly didn't feel like rearranging his small intestine for the hell of it.

But, he couldn't just leave Engie on a chair. That's uncomfortable. Medic had slept in quite a number of them in his life. He was familiar with the back pain that would come in the morning.

Then, he realized something. The most obvious solution: carry him to a bed.

Medic smacked himself in the head. "Of course! Why had I not thought of that already?" he laughed to himself. He wedged his hands under the Engineer. One to support his back, the other to carry his legs.

"Eins, zwei, drei!" On three, he scooped him up. An easier feat than he thought, seeing as Engie was only around two hundred pounds. His body was warm and almost...comfortable to hold.

"Alright, now..." He was about to head to the door, ready to carry him across the entire base and back to the workshop before stopping himself. He had a bed right in this infirmary. A week ago, he cleared out an old storage room and remade it into a bedroom.

It was close and Medic knew it was cozy in there. A king-size bed with heavy blankets and a heavenly soft mattress. However, it was his bed. He didn't want to give it up, at least not without seriously considering it. Medic valued comfort. He liked his bed.

But...maybe just this once, Engie could sleep in it.

He swallowed his pride and walked towards the room. He bumped into the door, opening it up. He approached the bed and plopped the Engineer right down on it. He then pulled the blankets over him, tucking him in.

"I swear to god if you even so much as tell a single soul about this..." he whispered. "Just this one time, ja? And only because you fell asleep to my violin."

No response. Engie was peacefully snoring away without a care in the world. Medic couldn't help but feel a smile stretch across his face. He knelt to Engie's level and caressed his face. He then patted him lightly. "Gute Nacht, Herr Engineer."

He stood back up and walked to the door. Taking one last looked before closing the door. He was still somewhat confused, mostly by his own feelings and emotions. He was partners with this man, yes, but he never...cared about another human being this much.

It was definitely odd. But, that was a thought for another night. He's tired, and now he'll have to sleep on one of the operating tables. A small price to pay for Engie to get a decent sleep. Just this once though.

[lesbiamano]

AN INTRODUCTION TO "The Loving River", AKA Nazya's story!!

this story takes place in a historic setting in iraq, no specific years (for now) so everything here is subject to some change in the future.

this post is just an introduction to the main stuff and characters in the story! (all under cut, and fair warning, its a lot)

Shanya Al-Malaika:

shanya is a 29 year old poet, going by the pen name "Ta'abata Sharan" and taking on the image of a man so she can comfortably write about her love for nazik, and to be taken more seriously in the world of poetry. she is the mortal daughter of the goddess shaahida, also referred to as "The Witness", and ill be explaining more about her and her lore later.

to make a long story short, shaahida never wanted a child, and so shanya's coming into the world was a complete accident, and to shaahida, a shameful mistake. with that, she sends off newborn shanya to live with her aunt, saabira, another goddess, this one referred to as "Patience". saabira had a mortal husband and five mortal children with him, so the choice to send shanya there was easy. shaahida was sure saabira, with all her patience and knowledge of children, would be able to take care of shanya better than shaahida ever could. but of course, if she was going to give away shanya like this, shed have to gain something out of it too. she slashed baby shanya across the mouth with her divine nails, drawing blood, and leaving a scar. a tie between them both, stronger than their familial connection. wherever shanya was, shaahida would be able to keep watch, and when the time comes, shaahida would be able to use shanya as the vessel for her plan (which i'll discuss later,, maybe.)

shanya lives with saabira's family for most of her life in dhi qar, where she meets nazik, a girl around her age, and eventually, falls for her. the two are worlds apart though, for while saabira prefers to live humble and poor despite her divinity, making shanya live as a young sheep herder, nazik came from a wealthy family. middle upper class, to be exact. one day, however, nazik leaves dhi qar suddenly, and without much explanation, leaving shanya all alone. what made it all worse was this coming directly after a major fight/argument between the two. (this is insanely simplified, for a lot of stuff happens between them here.)

shanya continues to live with saabira, until the age of 16. when one day, as she on the carriage of saabira's oldest son, shaheen, she began to tinker with the oud guitar he always had with him. she strummed a few notes and smiled to herself, preparing to play a small tune. the carriage soon hit a bump, and the oud, with all its heaviness, slipped out of shanyas hands and fell off the carriage, tumbling down into the nearby river, and breaking. shaheen went off the rails at this, screaming at shanya about how expensive the oud was, and going as far as slap her and push her out of the carriage, telling her to walk home instead. its then, when shes trying to walk home, in the most vaguest in terms, she ends up dying. very unfortunate, and a horrible look for shaheen.

shaahida oversaw all of this. she was angered, not as a mother would be for a daughter, but a creator to a vessel. she transforms her own body to shanyas likeness, and makes it, in a way, a vessel for shanyas spirit to reside in for the time being. making daughter and mother, one and the same.

after saabira realizes what had happened, shanya's death, shaahida's work, she is frightened, and she does not tell shanya of what had truly happened to her. instead she grabs her and takes her towards kirkuk, where hashim, her uncle, and saabira and shaahidas brother, resides. hashim the god, also referred to as "The Punisher". after learning of what had happened to shanya, hashim takes her in, almost like his own daughter, and he is the one who teaches her of poetry and art and whatnot.

it is also hashim who sends 29 year old shanya out of kirkuk and to baghdad, along with her cousins, the twins jamil and jameela (also saabira's children), to gain more knowledge and more inspiration after she finds herself in a writing block. and that is where shanya meets nazik again after so long, which kickstarts the main story.

Nazik Al-Khafaji:

nazik is the 30 year old eldest daughter to jasim al-khafaji and his university sweetheart, nadeen. young nazik worked in a library with her mother until she was 14, before becoming a 'healer' or a doctor later into her adulthood. she has a younger brother, azra, only 4 years younger. nazik's mother had been a worshipper of saabira, one of the saabiroon, and as such, nazik aligned herself with that sect of worship too. and when push comes to shove, as an adult, nazik realizes she had been blessed by saabira with the power of healing. specifically, healing people with her own blood, something she couldve used much, much earlier.

jasim's family was quite a rich one, and yet, he distanced himself from them and went against his own family's wishes by marrying nadeen, and as such he did not inherit much of their wealth at all, and all the wealth naziks family did have came entirely from his own hard work and businesses in gold selling and jewelry making. nazik's family was originally from baghdad, however after jasim's falling out with his family, they packed their bags and moved to dhi qar when nazik was 6 and azra was 2, which is, of course, where nazik met shanya.

nazik quickly found herself enjoying shanya's company, and even introducing shanya to her brother, for a chance to get the girl to step out of her shell and meet new people, for nazik had noticed how lonely shanya seemed to be, with how all of her cousins were decades upon decades older than her, and having no free time to spend with her at all. nazik found herself skipping many of her classes to be with shanya, almost getting caught by her father many times, but she simply could not get away from her. in her free time she brought shanya books to read with her, though most of the time she sat by and listened to shanya play the oud, yes, the one she often borrowed from shaheen. nazik hadnt realized it, but she had fallen for shanya, hard and deep. one day, after returning home later than she should, after spending a night with shanya, she came back to find her mother dead. nadeen had been sick for years now, but nobody had expected her to die so suddenly. naziks life changed overnight. in the morning, she went to visit shanya one last time, a meeting which resulted in a huge useless argument, before nazik ran off, going home to finish her packing. that night, her, her brother, and her father took a carriage all the way to baghdad. she left shanya with no last goodbye, no last hug, and that is her one regret, though she does not blame herself.

jasim never quite made up with his family, his parents however begrudgingly gave him an estate to own in baghdad, which they settled in. as an adult, nazik was practically the only one working in the house. jasim had given up on life and on fatherhood after nadeen's death, forcing nazik to mother her own brother, and to grow up faster than she shouldve. and while jasim was useless, azra picked up traveling as a hobby, untied and free of all burdens, he was almost never home, and always off doing his own thing outside of iraq, leaving nazik to labor on her own, completely oblivious to the exhaustion she was facing, for she hid it all from him.

nazik, of course, has her own set of people in baghdad, and one of them was a pen pal, jameela, who she did not recognize as shanyas cousin, and whom she had urged to come to baghdad to meet. jameela had of course come to baghdad with her twin brother jamil and her cousin shanya. however, shanya and nazik would not stumble upon eachother until much, much later after shanyas coming to baghdad.

Shaahida (Al-Malaika):

shaahida, the witness, was the second born goddess from "The Creator", coming only after her eldest sister, huda, "The Gift". sources speculate she was born from The Creator's left eye, to bear witness over humanity, and to help her brother, hashim, the punisher, who was born right behind her, in trials, so he may adequately punish both mortals and their divine siblings alike.

of course it must be explained that The Creator is the one true god of the universe, having created it all with humans and all. in their divine eternalness, they split themselves into 99 different pieces, and the one last 100th piece would be created when all 99 pieces set aside their differences and finish their business on earth, and come together to create a new "creator". which is to say, the 99 lesser gods created were much weaker in comparison to The Creator, having a limited set of skills, and being very close to human like with their feuds and problems and personalities. some say there is no way all 99 of them would ever come together to become whole again, for each of them held such wildly different ideologies, and often butted heads with eachother. sometimes mortals wonder if they truly did come from one beings.

each god has their own set of followers that follow certain rules for worship. some gods have easier rules than others, some want all the worship, some want none. while, worshipping one god means you believe in the existence of the 98 remaining, it does not necessarily mean you believe in their coming together again to be one, and it does not mean you believe in them coming from one being. those beliefs depend on the individual and the family they hail from. there is however another religion made from these using all these factors (believing in all gods, their coming from one being and their eventual unity) called "Istiqbal", in the way that its followers await the future for the 'inevitable' unity of these gods.

that being said, shaahida was never one to love her job. as the witness for the punisher, she did not last long. she kept it up merely 3 millennia before giving it up, opting to wander the world meaninglessly for a few couple of centuries, before settling in a temple and watching people worship at her feet all day. along the way, she found herself obsessing with a mortal girl, a girl named batool, and a worshipper of hers. she possessive as much as she was obsessive, and batool did not by any means hate the attention. until one day, when she revealed to shaahida that was to get married to a man soon. of course, that angered shaahida greatly, and with her anger came eyes on them, and the public soon found out about their situation. it was not homosexuality itself that was forbidden, but the act of mingling with mortals at the time was. hashim came, with his divine punishment, and stoned them, though whether he truly wanted to or not was debated. some even said he had someone else come and punish them in his stead. shaahida was hung up and stoned for a whole year, before her mortal lover which of course died before her. after her punishment, shaahidas reputation was tainted forever. humans misunderstood the punishment, thinking it for homosexuality, and quickly forbid it. which, in turn, made shaahida a symbol for homosexuality, and specifically, lesbian love. she would gain a few followers for this, though not many, and all worshipped her in secret. for the next few centuries or millennia, shaahida wandered aimlessly amongst the earth in a disguise, though she did not dare get close to any mortal during that time.

until one day, it suddenly became allowed to get with mortals. a lot of time had passed, and most of her siblings had slowly but surely been becoming more lax on many things. it was frustrating, to think that if her and batool's love was delayed a few mere centuries, it wouldve blossomed to fruition.

shaahida let herself out again, and began to mingle once more with the mortals. she met a writer one day, a man who calls himself abd al sahib. without knowing of her divinity, he spoke to her of his want to write a book about the witness. she smiled, thinking it was flattering. the two got closer, though she did not love him in the way she loved batool, nor in the way lovers loved eachother. he however, was obviously in love and head over heels. and he was not stupid, he soon learned of her divinity and her being the subject of his book, which only made him get closer to her. a series of events unfolds, many that were out of shaahidas control, and she finds herself bearing a child, a mortal child, shanya. for the first few months she had not truly processed it, until one day abd al sahib pointed it out, grinning with pride at the fact that he had impregnated her. her actions next had been a long time coming, she had enough. she killed abd al sahib, which, of course, was a sin. for gods could not murder their subjects and humans in general. it was fine however, for she hid all the clues. and when she brought shanya into the world, she was disgusted. not specifically by shanya, but the events that led up to her birth.

she sends shanya away and goes into hiding, hoping hashim would not find this out.

she loses herself completely in this loneliness and new found hopelessness she has dug herself into, and thinks the only way to get out of it and to be free is to simply become the new creator, to end the world prematurely. and maybe shanya was simply a tool given to her by the world to achieve this.

with that, her loneliness is broken only slightly, and only briefly by her meeting a new woman. nadeen. they got close over a short period of time in baghdad, before shaahida realized nadeen was already married, and already had a few month old daughter. it was shortly after this realization did nadeen leave for dhi qar with her husband and daughter, and shaahida never had much of a chance to see her again. and there she returns to solitude.

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and thats all for now! this is barely even half of the story, but again, its just intros, and it's already so long so i dont want to add more. i know not many will read all of this anyway so ive only written this for myself so its easier for me to see the info of my own story here. anyway! heres some art for the characters mentioned!

nadeen (left) and batool (right)! this is all i have for now! if youve made it this far, tysm for reading!

[mantisgodsdomain]

Once again we return to Old Faithful Format (discord conversation transfer so we don't have to write things out in a post in a more coherent manner). This time about Scarlet. Transcript below cut.

Mantis God: Problems on purpose!!! Problems on purpose!!! Mildly off topic but we think Scarlet's the kind of guy where, like. He'll say or do Literally Anything if he thinks that it'll benefit him or get him out of a situation and it'll absolutely bite him in the ass if he hangs around somewhere for too long because that setup means he's absolutely willing to, like. Flip sides on a whim and eternally denounce something he was singing the praises of five minutes ago if he thinks it'll get him somewhere

Lavender: Yeahhh He's such a guy

Mantis God: He's a good actor but he's the sort of chameleon that personalizes his persona to whoever he's dealing with and it gets really obvious if he ever gets put in a situation where he has to juggle conflicting personas Guy of all time tbh we love him very much

Lavender: Yeeeee If I ever write him I'm sure I'll have a grand time In a similar vein to how I'm writing Hunter rn like "would he fucking say that?? no. no surely not. …but maybe???"

Mantis God: Scarlet is so fun to write But admittedly we're biased He's great because he has. Literally seven lines of dialogue total in the game and he chameleons enough in those seven lines that as long as you get the right cadence he'll, like. Always scan correctly.

Lavender: Whereas Hunter has probably more samples of his character voice than probably any other character in Hollowed Aight and we get plenty of his perspective on prey but no examples of him talking TO prey so I'm struggling

Mantis God: Antisocial

Lavender: I feel like I'm making him sound too much like a stereotypical villain

Mantis God: Tilt him around a bit rewrite the scene We suggest trying, like. Write it bad then go over it and see where it comes apart Then do it again better

Lavender: Probably a good idea

Mantis God: …it's how we pull like half of our fic & scenarios fhdkfjdf We're very good at figuring out where failure points are and we then just try and avoid them in our own work He's great because he has. Literally seven lines of dialogue total in the game and he chameleons enough in those seven lines that as long as you get the right cadence he'll, like. Always scan correctly.

Mantis God: We've seen some really badass and skilled and, like. Actually Malicious And Predatory Scarlets out there but honestly that doesn't scan super well to us specifically if only because, like. Scarlet has VERY little in means of motivation for killing people, so if you don't fill that gap he'll feel flat, and a lot of people who do Genuinely Malicious Scarlet don't… do that? He's not killing people for a reason, per se, he's just, like, a Semi-Generic serial killer dude, and generally if they go into him needing to gather life force it's more treated as, like. Stores? He's got a decent supply and just kills to supplement that or, like, save up, without really going into anything like "what happens when he runs out" we are ofc superior in this regard because we like cornering him like an animal

Lavender: Make him quite literally fight for his got damb life

Mantis God: But, uhh, the general cadence usually swings more towards confidence and security in his skills, giving him that aura of, like. Distinct Power, if that makes sense? Same set of tools that often get used for people like the Wasp King. A power fantasy sort of cadence. He's in charge and he knows it and he could beat your ass And though that's all well and good, we like to tinker more with… resourcefulness, we suppose? He's smart and strong and cunning, because he kind of needs to be to keep himself out of range of the cops for that long, but we don't tend to have that… security? We mean, the guy lives in a cave with no worldly possessions but the clothes on his back and One (1) book. He doesn't exactly have a safety net to… allow for that sort of confidence?

Lavender: Lmao yeah He's sure good a Faking Everything though !

Mantis God: He's REALLY good at faking everything, and it fools the audience as well. But he's still, uhh. He's living in a cave and hiding behind a stick. Not really the finest of accommodations and definitely not the sort of thing that gives that self-assurance. It's a persona, almost definitely, and the way he turns on a dime from faux-nice to faux-confidence kind of just… hammers that in?

Lavender: He's a guy with nothing to lose! Except his life. And he would really quite like to keep that please and thank you- And freedom I suppose

Mantis God: Though the actually confident and self-assured Scarlets are fun to toy with having to scavenge to survive and live paycheck-to-paycheck can have some VERY long-lasting effects on your brain especially when it comes to, like, budgeting resources and such, and a lot of the depictions here act like… a guy who has fallbacks? And he doesn't, really. It's plan A or nothing because if he's caught, he's done for.

Lavender: Hhhh yep

Mantis God: Something something class gap or whatever we're very conscious of this because we have eight hundred thousand hours research looking into shit and as it turns out your circumstances impact your mindset and you will act differently depending on external positions Unfortunately it's also really hard to articulate this without either Eight Trillion Words or saying shit like "he acts like someone with a house and a refrigerator but he has neither of those things"

Lavender: The latter does articulate it very well Note that I am reading all this in fascination and also agreement I just don't know how to express that much

Mantis God: Scarlet's an incredibly fun character to handle because he's got that specific set of circumstances where changing things even a bit can dramatically change his circumstances but the people writing him do him very, uhh. Middle-class? Which strikes as off to us, because a lot of what draws us to Scarlet is the fact that he very much has the motivation to lie and cheat and do anything he damn well can to end up on top, because pretty much anything he tries is gonna wind up being a zero-sum game.

Lavender: He comes pre-packaged with Circumstances and you can Do Things to these circumstances to see how be reacts

Mantis God: It just feels a bit… more dull, we suppose? To make him someone who can simply stop and chooses not to, because if you play him as, like, someone who could simply Not Do That at any time and is just evil for fun, then it feels like you lose a bit of something.

Lavender: Yeah, makes him more two-dimensional …..in a metaphorical sense of course One-dimensional

Mantis God: You've got a character here who could be brought to care for someone so deeply it hurts and still have to leave them behind and betray them because his very life depends on his capacity to stab people in the back for the sake of his own skin

Lavender: Ah yes, the Painge

Mantis God: Selfish means very different things if you have Something compared to having Nothing, is what we're saying. And Scarlet's very, very selfish, but in the very specific way that you get when you grow up having few enough resources to need to hoard.

Lavender: No yeah exactly Not for fun, debatably for profit, mostly just for survival

Mantis God: We know he's got like no canonical motivation besides "he kills people" but given canon evidence there's only like two possibilities for the Reason for that because unlike almost everyone else who Kills People he has no special cause or conviction or even, like, firm code of conduct, he just goes for. Literally anyone who answers his requests. Either he's Like That For No Reason or he's doing the exact same thing any other hungry ambush predator does and honestly the second one is far more interesting

Lavender: Love to give him motivations and depth!! Take this paper binch and make his actions comprehensible!!

Mantis God: We are holding him like a purse dog and making him grapple with horrors

Lavender: It is far more interesting than just another villain who exists for you to fight and get rewarded for it put him through the horrors

Mantis God: MORE horrors He's very fun to tinker with bc like all of his motivation can be boiled down to the same handful of Needs Of Life you see on, like, those goddamn basic needs pyramids And as such we can put him in basically any situation ever because he'll do fucking to slightly extend his life