#scrap booking? my other friend is the boss at that

[cyberr-v0id]

I don’t have ‘a thing’, I have several things that everyone else is better at

[dannyricsmirrorball]

1989 • dr3 ੈ✩‧₊˚

ੈ✩‧₊˚ pairing || daniel ricciardo x singer!reader

ੈ✩‧₊˚ genre || social media au

ੈ✩‧₊˚ summary || y/n is releasing a new album!

ੈ✩‧₊˚ a/n || daniel is in the red bull 2023 seat in this btw! ahhh this was so fun, i’m so excited for 1989 tv and obsessed w daniel x 1989 edits so i had to make this.

liked by danielricciardo, scottyjames31, and 420,781 others

yourusername welcome to new york

tagged danielricciardo

username1 daniel.jpg in action

danielricciardo it’s been waiting for u 😉

username2 best couple back at it

username3 WE NEED NEW MUSIC

charles_leclerc that is so unsafe y/n!

⤷ yourusername ok grandpa lame

⤷ danielricciardo yeah grandpa

⤷ charles_leclerc look who’s talking 🤨

carmenmmundt pretty girl 😍

dianasilverss new york loves u

⤷ yourusername i love u

username19 patiently waiting for more music

georgerussell63 rogue australian w a camera

⤷ yourusername do u know him? he won’t stop following me!

liked by jackdoohan, jensonbutton, and 1,161,630 others

danielricciardo you can hear it in the silence

tagged yourusername

username23 y/n and danny in new york supremacy

scottyjames31 lookin fresh DR

⤷ danielricciardo just for u 😘

⤷ yourusername yeah ok.

yourusername you can hear it on the way home

⤷ danielricciardo can u see it w the lights out?

⤷ username41 um… are these… lyrics?!

username56 in love w their love

username43 smth bout danny is that he will ALWAYS be repping his own merch

marcusmumford sexy man

⤷ yourusername very 😮‍💨

⤷ danielricciardo i’m blushing 😘

liked by aarondessner, sukiwaterhouse, and 192,428 others

yourusername the best people in life are free

username11 guys i think we are entering a new era

username12 i’m calling it. new album coming.

lilymhe i miss u. come see me.

⤷ yourusername come see me!!!!

⤷ lilymhe nyc girls night out?? 👯‍♀️

⤷yourusername alex_albon make it happen

⤷ alex_albon booking flights 😐

username13 guys do we think that this is a lyric…

⤷ username14 we’re so starved

francisca.cgomes 🌟 girl

⤷ yourusername loml 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

⤷ danielricciardo 🤨

⤷ pierregasly 🤨

gracieabrams in love w you

⤷ yourusername in love w YOU

username42 LIVING for ny y/n

liked by landonorris, wearephoenix, and 342,093 others

yourusername kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats

tagged danielricciardo, landonorris, lilymhe, alex_albon, georgerussell63, charles_leclerc

username34 obsessed w her being friends w the grid

landonorris cute danielricciardo

⤷ yourusername lay off my bf 🙄

username83 y/n’s obsession w new york lately has to mean smth

⤷ username45 RIGHT like even danny is posting so much of new york

⤷ username83 and the weird captions… like lyrics??

⤷ username72 or they’re just enjoying being in new york during the off season?

⤷ username83 ur no fun 🙄

lilymhe u + me 4eva 🤭

⤷ yourusername umm yes? 🤭🤭

⤷ danielricciardo ??

⤷ lilymhe what abt it?

⤷ alex_albon ??

⤷ yourusername square up albono

⤷ alex_albon it’s ok i’ll just shake it off

⤷ yourusername 😳

charles_leclerc i don’t remember what we were looking at

⤷ georgerussell63 🎤🎤

⤷ charles_leclerc ohhhhh yes!!

⤷ alex_albon i’m sure she admires ur subtlety george

⤷ yourusername yeah thanks guys 😐

⤷ username62 UMMMM GUYS?? MUSIC???

liked by mickschumacher, enchante, and 183,801 others

daniel3.jpg been getting down to this sick beat 🎧

tagged yourusername

username87 WHAT SICK BEAT DANIEL?!

yourusername 👏👏👏

⤷ daniel3.jpg ❌🙋‍♂️🎁👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨💁‍♀️😱

⤷ username53 um ok…

username72 eating up any scraps of hints to new music

username91 obsessed bf talented gf peak

lando.jpg tell y/n to let me play 🥁 on the album

⤷ yourusername what album??

⤷ lando.jpg oh yk just like whatever one comes next yk like lollollol

⤷ daniel.jpg not looking likely mate

⤷ username57 uhhhh album???!??!!

username82 she’s so girl boss

username73 their matching ugly shoes 🥹🥹

⤷ username88 LMFAO they make it work

liked by sam_fender, chloestroll, and 980,284 others

yourusername tangled up with you all night 🪩

username56 OMFG SHES IN THE STUDIO

username98 NEW MUSIC NEW MUSIC NEW MUSIC

username92 WE WERE RIGHT ODNFHRUEJ

username24 NEW FUCKING MUSIC LFG

landonorris OMGOMGOMG

⤷ yourusername 😐

⤷ landonorris 🤷‍♀️

isahernaez that skirt 😍😍

⤷ yourusername omg complimented by the fashion god 🤭

username3 another lyric caption fs

scottyjames31 does he go anywhere without that damn camera

⤷ yourusername no.

⤷ danielricciardo photography is my passion 😍

liked by landonorris, chloestroll, and 342,510 others

daniel3.jpg high tide came and brought you in 🌊

username56 ok now the captions are just obviously lyrics

username92 he’s so obsessed 🙄 i love them 🥹

landonorris enough of the y/n dedicated jpg posts. mine next??

⤷ yourusername in your wildest dreams

⤷ daniel.jpg ofc 😚

⤷ yourusername oh.

⤷ daniel.jpg oh… 😳

⤷ landonorris AHAHHAA owneddddd yourusername

username72 the way he captures her. they’re so perfect.

username46 the seagulls on the beach??? like y/n’s post as well… this means smth

⤷ username81 someone’s getting delirious

liked by danielricciardo, gracieabrams, and 2,309,451 others

yourusername new album out 01/03/23 🌟

tagged jackantonoff

username63 OH MY FUCKING GOD

landonorris LFG

username12 WHAT WHAT WHAT

username23 IM NOT READY. MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.

carlossainz55 ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

username46 she used the pics danny took of her. im so fragile rn 🥹

lilymhe THE MUSIC INDUSTRY EVERYBODY

⤷ yourusername i love u w my whole heart

georgerussell63 mega mate!!

francisca.cgomes so excited lovey!!! 💖💖

⤷ yourusername ily kika baby 💘

pierregasly let’s goooo

charles_leclerc congrats y/n 👏👏 can’t wait for evryone to see!

⤷ yourusername 🤍🤍 thanku for ur help charlie 😉

⤷ username16 no way…

⤷ username5 are we getting y/n ft charles OMFG WE ARE SO BACK

username3 AHHH SO EXCITED but also why’s it called 1989?

⤷ username78 this is just a guess but im 99% sure it’s bc that’s the year danny was born

⤷ username3 omg a y/n album named after/dedicated to danny, my heart can’t take this

username63 why is no one else talking abt the fact that the release date is daniel’s bday?!

⤷ username3 OH MY GOD IT IS

maxverstappen1 congrats y/n/n 💙

jackantonoff let’s goooo

⤷ yourusername absolute legend

danielricciardo so proud of u baby ❤️

⤷ yourusername i love u forever

lewishamilton 💜

gracieabrams proud asf

f1 ready for 1989 era

danielricciardo random release date 🤔

liked by arthurleclerc, gangofyouths, and 390,647 others

yourusername nice dresses, sunsets

username12 ugh i need to raid her closet

danielricciardo more of this 😍

lilymhe my girl 🤤😍😘💖💘

⤷ danielricciardo i’m sure u meant MY girl

⤷ lilymhe get ur own girl

⤷ danielricciardo i HAVE my own girl

⤷ alex_albon and SO DO U

⤷ yourusername calm down ladies, there’s enough of me to go around for the both of u 😘

⤷ username23 alex is lily’s bitch confirmed

jackantonoff red lips and rosy cheeks?

liked by danielricciardo, enchante, and 5,609,183 others

yourinstagram celebrating my person today! danny, thanku for being my rock, my heart, my everything. happy birthday my love, i am yours forever and always.

my new album 1989 is now yours! i am so proud of this album, thank you to everyone involved in creating my newest baby. most importantly, thank you to my most special muse. this album is about life, love, friendship, and everything in between.

daniel this one is for you 🤍

enchante x

tagged danielricciardo

danielricciardo the best present i could ask for ❤️

⤷ username41 nobody speak to me

danielricciardo so so proud of u, forever my girl

⤷ yourinstagram forever ❤️

landonorris hbd lover 😍😍 oh yeah and congrats y/n 🙄 so extremely proud 🧡

⤷ yourinstagram stop tryna bust the moves on my boyfriend - thankuu landini 🩷

jackantonoff PROUDEST

⤷ yourinstagram my partner in musical crime 🤍

maxvertsappen1 WOOOH LETS GO Y/N!!! happy birthday daniel 😘

⤷ yourusername thanku maxxie 🩷

⤷ danielricciardo love ya maxxie

lilymhe ALBUM OF THE YEAR IS OUT

lilymhe THATS MY BEST FRIEND!!!

⤷ yourinstagram I LOVE U

alex_albon absolute LEGEND

⤷ yourinstagram so sweet albono

username42 THIS ALBUM IS ACTUAL POP PERFECTION

username43 WE WERE RIGHT, MOST OF THE CAPTIONS WERE LYRICS

christianhorner congrats y/n 👏👏 happy birthday daniel 😊😊

francisca.cgomes so proud of u my talented sweet amazing girl 💘💘 (happy birthday danny!)

⤷ yourinstagram 🥹 love u sm kika

username63 THEY NEVER GO OUT OF STYLE!

ausgp it’s y/n and danny’s world, we’re just living in it 👏🥰

username13 how u get the girl??? floored by her genius

charles_leclerc congrats mate!! proud 🖤 happy birthday daniel 😘

⤷ danielricciardo thanku charlie 🥰🥰

⤷ username16 um ig we were wrong abt the charles x y/n song

⤷ yourusername 🤔

⤷ username16 oh?

oliviarodrigo masterclass in pop perfection 😍

⤷ yourinstagram 🥹

marcusmumford two absolute legends!!

joshallenqb hbd danny 🤤 congrats y/n!

scottyjames31 YES MATE! love ya y/n so proud ❤️ happy birthday danny boy 😘

⤷ yourusername thanku scotty 💘

⤷ danielricciardo see ya soon mate love ya

oscarpiastri congratulations y/n!

⤷ yourusername thanku oscar 🤍🤍

redbullracing happy birthday to our honey badger ❤️ and congrats y/n!

liked by yourusername, jackdoohan, and 1,927,038 others

f1 you’re looking at your australian gp pole sitter 🔥 for the first time in formula 1, the honey badger takes pole position at his home race.

tagged danielricciardo, redbullracing

username63 LFGGGGGG

username82 back where he belongs 👏👏

username9 he went back home and got that shine back

yourusername let’s gooo baby

redbullracing back on top 📣

ausgp 🍯🦡 is back baby

username47 i just know he was listening 1989 in those fuck ass beats the entire lead up to quali

aussiegrit 👏👏

scottyjames31 bring it home danny boyyy

username52 he was defs singing shake it off to zak beige in his head

username13 love to see it 🇦🇺🦘

liked by charles_leclerc, lorenzotl, and 1,209,839 others

yourusername it’s our home gp. it’s race day. danny’s on pole. 1989 deluxe is out.

after all the love for the album, i’m so excited for you guys to hear these three new tracks; wonderland, you are in love, and new romantics.

big love to my big bro jackantonoff for your inspiring dedication to your craft and being a masterclass act.

a huge thanks to my favourite pianist charles_leclerc for playing piano for the most special track - you are in love.

i hope you guys love it 🤍 big ups dannyric today everybody! 🇦🇺🇦🇺

username92 the best wag ever

username02 her releasing the album on his birthday and then the deluxe version on his home gp, she’s so in love.

danielricciardo i am in love, with you, forever and ever and always. thanku baby, my best good luck charm.

⤷ yourusername 🥹

redbullracing on repeat in the garage y/n!!

⤷ mercedesamgf1 same

⤷ scuderiaferrari same

⤷ alpinef1team same

⤷ alphataurif1 same

⤷ astonmartinf1 same

⤷ williamsracing same

⤷ haasf1team same

⤷ alfaromeostake same

⤷ mclaren same

⤷ username3 who invited them 😒

username13 AND YOU UNDERSTAND NOW WHY THEY LOST THEIR MINDS AND FOUGHT THE WARS AND WHY I’VE SPENT MY WHOLE LIFE TRYNA PUT IT INTO WORDS

⤷ username3 YOU’RE IN LOVE TRUE LOVE

⤷ username85 their love is one of a kind

⤷ username93 a forever kind of love

⤷ username2 her pen goes fucking crazy but it goes even crazier when it’s abt daniel

charles_leclerc it’s finally out! so grateful to work with you y/n/n, thanku for trusting me w this special special song. so proud to be even a small part of this brilliant project. see u tonight!

⤷ yourusername charlie 🥹 thanku thanku thanku! i couldn’t think of anyone more perfect to collaborate with for such a special song. good luck out there today!!

⤷ username16 i’m so not okay

lilymhe daniel is so lucky (don’t tell him yail is actually abt me)

⤷ yourusername 🤫🤫

⤷ danielricciardo i wanna be mad but im too happy rn

landonorris BABY WE’RE THE NEW ROMANTICS COME ON COME ALONG WITH ME HEART BREAK IS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM WE SING IT PROUDLY WE ARE TOO BUSY DANCING TO GET KNOCKED OFF OUR FEET BABY WE’RE THE NEW ROMANTICS THE BEST PEOPLE IN LIFE ARE FREE

⤷ yourusername i’m glad u liked it lan 😭

⤷ mclaren he’s blasting it in the garage

⤷ oscarpiastri can confirm (not complaining)

⤷ username81 he’s just like me fr

liked by christianhorner, yourusername, and 9,025,727 others

f1 DANIEL RICCIARDO WINS THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 🇦🇺

for the first time in his career, home hero, daniel ricciardo wins the australian gp!

for the first time in formula 1 history, an australian driver stands on the podium at the australian gp!

for the first time in formula 1 history, an australian driver wins on home soil, at the australian gp!

big congrats to the honey badger as well as red bull for their legendary 1-2 at this years australian grand prix.

tagged danielricciardo, redbullracing

username82 say australian gp one more time

username92 LETS GO DR

username2 DANNY RIC IS BACKKKKK

yourusername LETS GOOOOOOO

yourusername BIG UPS BIG RIC

yourusername HISTORY MAKER

yourusername OHHHH DANIEL RICCIARDO OHHHH DANIEL RICCIARDO

yourusername LOML

yourusername HE NEVER LEFT BITCHES

username94 y/n going feral in the comments is so me coded. she’s down so bad for that man.

redbullracing the honey badger is back baby

jackdoohan yeah brotherrrr 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

ausgp YES WOOHOO DR3

scottyjames31 LFG DR! BIG MOVES BROTHER ❤️

christianhorner that’s our driver! congrats daniel, big moves 👏👏

landonorris ricky bobby is back

georgerussell63 yesss dannyric 👏👏

daxshepard let’s go danielllll

jensonbutton good job danny 👏

aussiegrit brought it home 🇦🇺🇦🇺

liked by danielricciardo, f1, and 14,092,283 others

yourusername race winner. history maker. legend. my boy. he won’t apologise. prouder than imaginable.

tagged danielricciardo

danielricciardo no one id rather do it w by my side ❤️

danielricciardo the best people in life are free 😉

comments on this post are limited

hope you enjoyed 🤍🤍

[starrclown]

Random things in my Hazbin Hotel rewrite that I added for lore, character, or because I think it's cool

(I might do this for my Helluva Boss rewrite because these take up alot of brain space and I wanna infodump so Tumblr is my bitc-)

Triggerwarning: Talks of death, suicide, murder, other nasty stuff.

Angel has a daughter named Isabella. (This is Angel Dust. I took the Dust out of his name because in my rewrite Angel is ashamed of his drug addiction. I wanna clarify incase someone gets confused.)

Angel and Husk were born in the same year, 1891. Angel died at 56 while Husk died at 86.

Husk and Valerie (Vaggie)are probably the most innocent at the Hotel.

Angel, Alastor, and Nifty have all killed people. Nifty has only killed one person, her husband.

Both Angel and Nifty were married when they were alive.

Sir Pentious is now a girl. She is now Madame Pentious.

Husk is Transgender.

Husk has a Russian background. He also knows Russian.

Angel and his family are not from America. His family are immigrants from Italy. They came to America when he was about 7.

Alastor is black. He's not mixed anymore.

Cherrie is almost deaf. She can hear somewhat but she is almost excessively deaf from being around explosions all her life.

Angel is blind in his right eye. Things... happened to it.

Since Cherrie is hard hearing and Angel has only one eye, they help each other alot. Angel learned sign language to talk to Cherrie if she's having a hard hearing day. Cherrie usually walks around with Angel if he's in a unfamiliar area.

Both Alastor and Angel are overlords. (I'm gonna have to work out what makes a overlord a overlord )

Charlie is a doll. Litteraly. Her parents made her with demonic magic. (More like a puppet but you get it.)

Charlie has a bad relationship with Lucifer. Lilith on the other hand is a loving an attentive mother.

Valerie even though she doesn't look like it, is very good with certain weapons. Not good with hands on though.

Mimzy and Angel are good friends.

Vox and Velvette don't like Valentino. They stick it out with him because their territories are objectively smaller than Valentinos. They are both weaker than Valentino.

Vox and Valerie have the biggest inferiority complex out if the main cast.

Tom Trench has had a crush on Katie Killjoy for about 20 years now. Katie is aware of it. She toys him along all the time.

Valerie can't speak.

Vox and Angel have a brother like relationship. Velvette shares the same thing with Angel. Only Velvette likes it.

Nifty was the youngest to die. She's 18.

Husk was the oldest to die.

Considering Nifty died so young she often can revert to a teenage life mindset. When someone (Mostly Angel) treats her like a child because that's what she is, she gets upset. Really upset. She doesn't understand why everyone treats her diffrently.

Nifty also tries to argue that she's grown up because she not only had a husband, she has to be bad like a adult because she's in hell.

Alastor shows blantent favoritism when it comes to the treatment of Husk and Nifty. (Hint: Husk ain't the favorite.)

Alastor is actually pretty nice. Despite how evil his is he is genuinely kind to most people. He was raised to be a gentlemen so he never really let that go as a adult.

When you die, after a significant amount of time, you can recive objects from your human life. There is two ways you can obtain objects from your human life. You either have it on you when you die or someone gives it to you as you die. Like being buried with a object or a object being set on your grave. This is how Angel has some memories of his family, someone set a scrap book on his grave. He has his necklace cause he was wearing it when he died.

Angel killed himself. He intentionally overdosed.

Charlie has biased when it comes to sinners. She's unaware of it but it's there. Charlie shows favoritism to younger sinners and to sinners who died from unnatural causes or to wronged sinners. This is demonstrated in the main cast. Charlie treats Nifty, Valerie, and Alastor better than Angel and Husk. She doesn't treat them hostility by any means but she gives alot more leeway to those three then Angel and Husk. She treats Angel objectively worse. If something bad happens and Angel has a part in it, then Angel will most likely take blame. She treats them worse for diffrent reasons. Angel because he killed himself and Husk because of how long he lived.

While Charlie doesn't like killing sinners, she will if pushed far enough.

Angel hides what he actually looks like. He didn't come down to hell looking as he does currently.

Valerie will do almost anything to get validation. Her self hatred is that big.

I have more but this is getting long.

Ask questions if you want. If your curious.

- ⭐️StarClown⭐️

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

I have leveled up after another trip around the sun!

Plans we had made for the day are mostly scrapped because it's raining, and I did a lot two days ago. We're still going to the GF bakery though. I get a free drink and a discount on a treat.

It's 5AM, I'm done sleeping (I rarely sleep more than six hours), and Bubby will be I'm bed another four hours. Looks like breakfast (in an hour because adhd med) and gaming to start my morning. I finished a mug rug top yesterday, so machine quilting that in an hour or two.

If you wanna give me a good day, please consider making a purchase from my shop. Use BDAY24 for a 25% discount on your purchase. It applies to everything, including the original paintings. If you do purchase my paintings, I will be ecstatic!!!

If a gift is something you would rather send, I have a Throne wishlist here. What I need is a printer. I also have a quilting frame there, batting, watercolor paint, books, and an XBox Series X but that thing is a gift for my husband. He turn 50 in a couple months and his console is an original XBox One. If you order anything and the total is $150+ USD, I'll apply it as a credit towards a future commission from me.

As for what we're gonna do today...I'll likely spend it it sewing. I need to finish commissions and have quite the To Do List for the summer. If we didn't need the money, I would keep commissions closed until next year. Alas, that's not a viable option until Bubby finds employment. He's been denied unemployment assistance because his former boss lied. The check he receives from the state for being my caregiver, plus my monthly SSDI payment, covers our mortgage and most of our bills. We greed-flation makes groceries expensive, plus other necessities are overpriced. I have a single pair of shoes and would like to get a second pair, I need new underwear because several of mine are getting threadbare, new pants for sleeping in because two pairs of my pajama pants are also very threadbare, and yeah...

If you would like to send money:

Mark money sent directly to my PayPal as a gift. I will otherwise need to return it because PayPal will demand a tracking number.

We will likely need around $800 to get through the month.

Thank you!

[loodgack]

recently I've read one of my original stories, and realized, how much stories I have ongoing at the same time.

here's a list of JUST the HN alternate universes I wrote fics for. (the list isn't full)

I'll tell about a few au's in this post, but only about the finished / scrapped ones will be entirely revealed.

💜 means no reveal. the story is either ongoing, or will be expanding in the future.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

🩵 adult au - simple. I draw a ton of art for it. everyone's the same age, including Player/Nicky and they're a gang.

🩵 boss au - Hello Guest, but Smith is the boss of the guards. mostly smentin.

💜 teen au - they're teens lol. Beatrix, Theodore, Smith and Quentin / Ike are a gang. it takes place in the 60's.

💜 Engineer au - it takes place at the Hello Engineer park. Neighbor is living on his own, in a small cave. tortured by the kids from time to time. on the edge of going insane from them. one day, he meets a young man (Nicky) in his thirties, but the thing is..he could've sworn they know each other from somewhere. 

🩵 ESS - aka Endless Smith Story. this one was a project name. I had to scrap this story, simply because the beta version of HN2 retconned it. and because my friend said it's the plot of Re:Zero and I had no idea about it(I didn't know the anime at all during that time..wait..idk it still). Smith, slowly going from HG, to HN2 alphas, sees HG Quentin dying and he wants to save him. the only person who can help, is Neighbor, who controls the Mayak, which can travel through time and space and builds. soon, it'll be clear that they're in a game, and that this game resets. but how can Smith save Quentin from certain death, if everything resets...and someone else is really against them? 

🩵 family au - speaks for itself. Neighbor and Player are related, like in beta 3. sometimes I like writing / drawing in this topic, because I really like this idea. this Neighbor and Player are entirely separate characters from my other au's.

it's still crazy to me, that people used to make fanart for different storylines and the old fandom exactly knew which art is for what...and nowadays people just endlessly accuse the other for things that aren't even there.

🩵 guard au - a Hello Guest au. Theodore is a guard, Quentin too. Beatrix is their boss iirc. Smith remained a detective. One day, Theodore catches the leader of the vandals, who's Nicky, an orphan, who was adopted by the gang and became their leader. the guards try to make a better person from Nicholas. in this au, the vandals are in their twenties. the guards are in their thirties.

🩵 journalist Nicky au - that was my first ever au. Nicky was a journalist and Theodore was his neighbor. it's up on ao3, but I think only registered users can see it.

I didn't like the way I wrote the - imo brutal - end, that's when I kinda decided I'll lean towards happier endings. oh, and ignore the books, except the Ike plot.

🩵 journalist Quentin au - this is from 2020 summer. the Quentin we know in HN2 today wasn't revealed yet! we only saw him being redesigned.

Quentin's a journalist. Smith is a very famous other journalist, who really likes...Quentin's shape. this story had 2-3 parts...and it had a sad ending, so I never finished it.

💜 kri origins - it's based on beta 3, so Neighbor and Player are a family. partly based on HG, but not entirely. Smith is a journalist here, and Quentin's his sidekick. they're looking for little Guest creatures in the woods, named "kri".

it's ongoing, first chapters are here

🩵 Nicky and the neighbors au - this au is strictly only available for my patrons. the base story is about the SN Neighbors - they all exist, they're different Neighbors from different universes and different personalities (like Spider-verse, but I started writing it before it came out...bruh) Nicky is an adult man, who suddenly finds himself between all of these men. they love him and would do anything for him. Nicky slowly discovers, how the hell did so many Neighbors end up in the SN mansion (I liked the mansion from SN, so they live there. nothing else from SN matches)

💜 pioneer au - everyone's little and they go to pioneer camp. it's a wip!

🩵 police au - Smith and Quentin are two policemen in RB. and stuff happens. and ofc it's a smentin fic, so...

🩵 prealpha au - this is the story, where 90% of my artworks belong to. almost every single Neighbor x Player art, at least. I love how simple the setup of early HN was. you move to a neighborhood and this guy with a giant house is there. and he's hiding something. and you want to know what is it.

and yes, I'm calling them Nicky and Theodore. cry a river.

🩵 The return - this is based on the final release of HN. it's a "what if" au, Nicky doesn't fight and win against his traumas, because Neighbor appears in his life again. this au has fanservice and since it's from 2019, ship. if I wrote it today, it wouldn't be ship, just a messed up family without sexual desire. but its from 2019! 

I made a few modifications which are listed on the page, I think neither of my stories have ever exactly matched the original HN stories.

💜 time traveler au - Theodore and Nicky are time travelers. Nicky is a young traveler, who one day accidentally lands in Theodore's bathroom. the man's so bored, he joins Nicky on his adventures, who can't stop repeating that he's straight (he isn't). 

most of my au's put their ages near each other, so they're usually 30--32--35--47 at max. 

💖 smaller au's - seen on my ao3 pages. small au's which take some elements from the original source, but I freely modify the rest. 

There's many au's that are great for experimenting. I'm a writer after all.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

and it's barely the surface, I have much more au's...I can't even keep track of them!😭

I'm currently writing the metallurgist au for example...so this post might be reblogged later and I'll expand it! 

[hugsandchaos]

Chapter 2 of Caregiver N, everyone!

I think I did a pretty good job with this one!

“How dare you!!” James shouted. He stood up from his chair and angrily marched up to one of the guests attending the family dinner. J took a few steps back as her boss put himself between her and his very rude relative.”I’m kind enough to invite scum like you into this manor and you treat my worker drones like this?! J is doing her job wonderfully, unlike you, who just slacks off and snaps whenever someone points it out!” He yelled.

As the shouting grew, Tessa leaned over and put a hand on J’s shoulder as her father argued with his cousin.”Maybe you should go look for V? I’ll find you as soon as I can go.” She whispered, having noticed the pink blush on her friend’s screen. J nodded and did her best to hold back the tears that had formed while the rude guest was shouting at her. Tessa patted her head and smiled.”You’ll be okay.” She said in a hushed tone. J smiled a bit and began walking out of the room with the dishes.

She planned to clean the dishes already in her hands and then go find V. She wiped the tears away as she walked down the long halls. As she entered the kitchen, she saw V working on putting away the newly cleaned plates and eating utensils.”V?” She called out, although it was more of a mumble. V turned around almost instantly hearing her tone of voice, knowing what it could mean, and put the last mug in the cabinet.

“Here, let me take those off your hands, sweetie.” She said. She took the dishes from J’s arms and walked over to the sink to wash them for her. J knew she couldn’t win the argument even if she tried to say no, so she didn’t.“Thank you.” She said. She took a temporary seat on the nearby step stool and watched V rinse and was the dishes by hand.

V was always surprisingly good at cleaning the dishes and always managed to do it quickly and efficiently.“No problem. Do you wanna head to Tessa’s room after I’m done?” She asked. J usually said yes right away, but this time, she paused to think for a moment. She did want to go to Tessa’s room and calm down, but she also wanted something else.“...Actually, can we go see Cyn and N first? I want to be near them too.” She asked quietly. V smiled and washed her hands, already done with the dishes.”Of course, anything you need.” She replied with a soft smile.

The first place they looked was the library. It was right next to the entrance to the basement, which Cyn usually occupied as her living quarters. The two usually hid there when there were guests since Cyn might potentially get scrapped and N was terrified of adult humans. Surprisingly, they saw Cyn right as they turned the corner of the restricted area.

She was sitting on the floor and staring up at the higher shelves. Once she saw them, she waved at them.”Wave. Hello, J. Hello, V. What brings you here?” Cyn greeted. As the two walked closer, Cyn noticed the pink blush just as V and Tessa did.

“We were wondering if you and N would mind coming with us to hang out in Tessa’s room.” V asked. She looked around, but she didn’t see the other drone anywhere.”Where is N anyway?” She asked.

“He is behind you.” Cyn replied. V and J turned around to see N climb down from the bookshelves without the use of a ladder holding a book by wrapping his tail around it. He hopped down the last two shelves and walked over to them.”Need anything?” He asked, having overheard the short conversation. He moved the book to his arms and glanced at the pink blush on J’s screen. She looked at him and the book in his hands.

“Could you please read to us?” She asked. A smile quickly appeared on N’s face.“I’d love to!” He replied.

A few minutes later, the group was hanging out in Tessa’s room and listening to N read a children’s book about lizards. In front of him, J, V, and Cyn sat beside each other.

“The basilisk lizard, which unfortunately went extinct in 2051, was an incredible reptile. What made them so special? Their ability to run on water, of course!” He read aloud. V let out a small “Ooooo!” and J leaned in closer to listen.“The way they accomplished this unbelievable feat was thanks to their long toes on their rear feet with fringes of skin that unfurl in the water, increasing the water surface area. As they churn their legs, they slap their splayed feet hard against the water, creating a tiny air pocket that keeps the from sinking, provided they maintain their speed.” N continued.

Suddenly, he stopped reading and turned to face the door with a scared expression. He dropped the book and dove under Tessa’s bed just as someone grabbed the doorknob and twisted it from the other side.

The trio glanced at the door and saw Tessa walk in with her mother, Louisa, holding the door open. Louisa looked at J as Tessa rushed to her side.”J, are you alright, honey?” Louisa asked. Tessa sat next to J, who smiled and accepted the hug while still holding her whale plushie.“Yes, I’m feeling a little better.” She replied. Louisa smiled.“That’s good to hear. Would you like me to let you four know when the family leaves?” She asked. They hadn’t heard the arguing, but then again, they weren’t close to the dinning room. Unless the fight had died down and now things were just uncomfortable and tense.

“Yes, please.” V replied politely.

“Alright. I’ll leave you four to play now, but remember that bedtime is in an hour.” Louisa said before shutting the door. After a few seconds, V looked over at Tessa’s bed.

“You can come out, N.” She said. N lifted the large blanket that dangled over the bed frame a bit and peeked out. After seeing for himself that it was only Tessa who stayed, he came out and stared at the door nervously for a bit. Now that he was coming out more to see his new friends and not just Cyn, avoiding adult humans — specifically Tessa’s parents since they owned the place — had become slightly more difficult. N looked over at Tessa and walked over to pick up the book.”Hey, Tessa!” He said.

“Hey, N! Oooooo, are we listening to a story?” Tessa asked. She enjoyed listening to him read just as much as their other three friends. Except maybe Cyn, she often fell asleep hearing her big brother read children’s story books.“Not really, I’m reading about basilisk lizards to everyone in here. Wanna join?” N offered, sitting back down where he was earlier. Tessa nodded and sat down next to J.“Yes, please!” She replied. N flipped back to the page he was on and cleared his throat to continue.

“The common basilisk originally lived in what was once Central and South America, which were connected to North America at the time. They were found near rivers and streams in lush rainforests, where they could escape large birds by jumping onto the water and sprinting to safety...”

[im-s0rry]

hey

what would your secret boss OCs think of Roti, my secret boss, if you don't mind me asking

Here on Tumblr: Behold! My attempt at creating a Deltarune secret boss, with art by @creepa-b0t-inc (thanks for that) This is Roti, whose name...

Why hello Follower! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance and for Roti to be my first "What Would your Secret Bosses Think Of My Secret Boss"! I absolutely adore Roti and it's an honor for them to meet my characters! Speaking of. . .

Sketchit! I think Roti would be freaked out by her. She's got a couple screws loose and is desperately trying to find them but I can see a situation where they meet and Sketchit starts to try to find the "hidden lore" of the really really bad creepypasta Roti was in the light world.

Fredde-E! I cannot describe in words how amazing these two little gremlins would be as friends. They'd be so funny together.

Tumbal! Oho! Another target for Tumbal to trick and eventually kill for sport! I think Roti might even find him scary. Because he is.

Snake-Eyes! Eyes would be very friendly to Roti and I can see them forming a slight friendship. Not really that big of a friendship, just two people who mutually respect each other really. On the other hand, Snake would see Roti as another darker wishing for glory that will never come. A hopeless cause that will unleash a great burden on the world. A warning of disaster.

Hattyr! Hattyr ain't exactly the nicest person around and would probably act how he usually does, cold and only really using Roti to try and get himself back to his full power.

Inkwel! A new friend! Though Inkwel may be a bit beaten and maybe a but off-putting, he'd still try to make friends with Roti. After all, I'm like 90% sure that Roti is a child, and Inkwel was a kid's TV show host. He'd be kind and try to not scare them, maybe even bake some bagels or something? Who knows.

Rustflare! A fellow Darkner from The Scraps I see. . .wait, you don't know The Scraps is? Anywho, Rustflare would probably scare Roti away. Rustflare be like that. Maybe he'd even think that they're an enemy and try to attack them, which would not end well at all.

Funn! I think she'd scare them off. She'd probably invite them for tea and at the first instance of screaming Roti would turn tail and book it.

Sadedown! Same old trickster. Not much to say.

[thepedanticbohemian]

By

Adria Goetz

This has been a very interesting year in the publishing industry and I thought I’d share some thoughts on the trends I’ve noticed this year.

Push for finding the next “Big Book”

Every editor is looking for the next “Big Book.” This has always been true but it’s especially true now and I hear editors often say that this is what they’re looking for and this is what their bosses are pushing them to find. They’re looking for books that will breakout, become big bestsellers. If only we could all snap our fingers and churn out the next Big Book, right? 

Contracts Bottleneck

Publishing is notoriously slow, but this year has been extreme when it comes to contract negotiations. The bottleneck has become a bit excruciating for all parties. From my perspective, this seems to be a result of understaffed, overworked, overwhelmed contracts departments. When I receive a contract, I immediately read through and redline it. When I send it back to publishers, I often have to wait weeks and sometimes months before I hear back from them. I recently wrapped up a picture book contract that took seven months to negotiate. Sigh.

AI 

AI has been a hot topic this year as both agents and publishers are scrambling to find contract language about AI protections that all parties are happy with. It’s just the beginning of a long, complex conversation that we’ll be having for years to come. Publishers Weekly is hosting an upcoming virtual conference about AI that I'll be attending to learn more about the ins and outs of this very nuanced issue. 

Shorter Books

Because of rising paper costs, publishers are favoring shorter books right now—this is a trend I'm seeing in nearly every genre and format of book out there. (Picture books, novels, graphic novels, etc.) In the picture book space, publishers are favoring the 32-page layout. In novels, publishers are beginning to ask writers to cut down their word count in order to cut down on production costs. 

Escapism

Readers want escapism. Editors and readers are moving away from serious issue books, now everyone wants fun. This is a trend that began when COVID hit but continues to be a common request I hear. Fiction that feels too close to our real lives and the issues we face is not appealing to readers right now. 

I’m not sharing this with you so that you scrap whatever you’re working on and try to write to the trends. Not at all. I just want to give some context for why this year has been so tough for so many writers and explain what the market is currently favoring. The industry will eventually swing back but right now people want fun, they want upbeat, they want humor. They also want magic. They want fantasy, magical realism, cozy stories with low stakes. This is very fortunate for me because I love magical stories and a lot of the books I’ve sold recently are books that are grounded in the real world but have light touches of magic, which is my favorite kind of book. Readers want books with so much heart that they feel like a warm hug or a cup of tea for the soul.

And on the flip side, I’ve heard some editors say, “I want escapism, but for me escapism is horror or thrillers.” We all cope in different ways! We all escape in different ways.

Change

People are making moves this year. Editors are moving to different imprints, agents are moving to different agencies, authors are switching agents. Change is most certainly in the air!

Anger 

I’ve noticed so much anger this year. Every agent expects to receive the occasional angry email from a querying writer, but this year it seems like I get one all the time for no reason. Querying writers are mad at agents for closing to submissions, authors are mad at their agents because their books aren’t selling, editors are mad at agents for following up on submissions so soon. People are biting each other’s heads off on Twitter. Everyone’s cranky. Whenever I have an agent friend call me up to vent or ask for advice I tell them, "There's something in the water this year, it's not just you." My hope is that 2024 will be a year filled with more patience, gratitude, and kindness.

[do-you-think-im-spoopy]

If you're an Aelin stan feel free to correct me here but I just finished The Assasin's Blade before I start reading Kingdom of Ash. I've hated Aelin since the end of the second book for how she treated Chaol. And everything I've read since has only shown me more what a horrible protagonist she is. And the prequel book cemented it for me fully.

So she hates Chaol and can never ever love or forgive him because he: didn't warn her and her friend died. When a. He didn't think there was any actual danger and b. Her friend knew she was going to die and sacrificed herself willingly.

She physically attacked a man that had made a simple mistake, permanently scarring him and making him feel worthless when he's already a victim of abuse from his father. And this obviously infuriated me at the time but after reading the prequel book I'm even angrier bc she's such a hypocrite! She killed innocent people under orders all the time. She could have looked into who she was killing or thought for herself at any time since she fancies herself such a good person and judge of character but she didn't. She just killed on command. So how does that make her such a better person than Chaol who would never kill an innocent person. And how does that put her in any position to ever judge him??

Furthermore, she lets Sam go alone to kill the crime boss which results in his death. But she has the audacity to judge Chaol for leaving Dorian in the castle. When Dorian was begging Chaol to leave. It's the same situation but only Chaol is a horrible person? Chaol had to leave in order to help. Him dying there too would have done no good.

Ohh and what's up with how jealous and petty she is to Lysandra?? She's a child sold into s*xual slavery and you're not only going to throw that in her face but you're jealous of her relationship to two different men in your life?? That's disgusting! I can't believe anyone could like Aelin after that.

Not to mention that this is now Aelin's THIRD enemies to lovers story. Like I'm sorry Sam but you're even more boring than Rowan and I thought I'd never meet a more boring male love interest than him, certainly not so soon. At any rate he was as annoying as Aelin and they should have just both died.

I'd love to see yall try to explain to me how anything Chaol did was worse than what Aelin has done. She's a cold-blooded murderer with barely a scrap of guilt, a misogynistic spoiled b*tch, an absolute raging hypocrite. Just the worst FMC I've ever read in my life. I'm finishing this series solely for the other characters and stories at this point. I already know she gets a happy ending but I honestly wish she wouldn't.

[cariantha]

Bad Dream

Book: Open Heart, Book 2 Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Sawyer Brooks) Rating: General Category: Fluff Word count: 1.2K Summary: Sawyer has a nightmare while Ethan is out of town and despite the distance he is able to bring her comfort in the sweetest way.

A/N: To the anon who sent this ask, I’m sorry for taking so long to follow up. I had promised “Coming Soon” content, but the original idea for this fic was not working. So, I scrapped it and ended up going another direction, inspired by the song Bracelet by Lauv. Hope you like it!

Almost three months had passed since the attempted attack on the senator and Sawyer was doing fairly well. Finally back to work full-time, going to counseling, and taking medication as needed. Despite the positive prognosis, Ethan knew there could still be setbacks. Nor was he over his own fear of losing her. So he continued to keep a watchful eye. And being this far away caused stress and constant worry. 

It was supposed to be a quick turnaround trip. The plan was to fly to Cleveland with Baz, consult on a case, and return home as quickly as possible. But nothing had gone according to plan. A diverted flight, lab work delays, and a challenging diagnosis kept him in Ohio three days longer than originally anticipated.

2:00 P.M.

8:30 P.M.

“You were right, Ethan,” Baz announced as he returned to the conference room with updated lab results. “It’s POEMS syndrome.”

A couple hours later, Ethan and Baz had drafted a detailed treatment plan to present to the patient's physician of record.  

“Baz, we’ve been in Ohio much longer than I anticipated. I need to get back to Boston. Do you think you can wrap up this consultation on your own? There’s a flight back to Boston leaving at 5 a.m. that I’d like to catch.”

“I got this, Boss.”

“Thank you.”

1:00 A.M.

After booking the flight and packing his things, Ethan laid on the hotel bed intending to catch a nap before his ride to the airport arrived. Eyes closed but far from sleep, his phone buzzed and vibrated on the nightstand, Sawyer’s name flashing on the screen.  

“Rookie?”

“E-Ethan.”

He sat up and turned on the lamp when he heard his whimpered name. “Hey,” he said delicately, “what’s wrong?” His heart started to beat faster and harder, mind suddenly racing with all of the possible reasons for the broken voice on the other end of the line.  

Trying to stop herself from crying, Sawyer snuffled, “I just needed to hear your voice. Will you talk with me for a little bit?”

“I’m here,” he assured her, “whatever you need.”

With that specific request he understood the cause of her distress. Though not as frequent several weeks later, Sawyer continued to have nightmares about the poison attack. This one likely the result of whatever triggered her anxiety earlier in the day. “Was it another nightmare?”

“Yeah, it was a bad one,” her voice was still shaking.  

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really. Is that okay?”

“Of course.” 

“I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“No need to be sorry. I wasn’t asleep. I was actually lying awake thinking of you.”

“You were? What were you thinking about?”

One night after a particularly upsetting dream, Ethan brought comfort by revealing one of the moments when he started to realize he had feelings for her. Since then, whenever they were together and Sawyer woke up from a bad dream, he soothed her back to sleep with another endearing memory. 

“Do you remember the leather wrist band you bought for me at the farmer’s market last year?” he recalled.

“You mean the friendship bracelet I gave you? Because you were being stubborn and wouldn’t admit that we were friends?” she wise-offed.  

“Can you hear my eyes rolling?” he came back with, earning a light chuckle from the other end of the line. “Yes, that’s the one.” His voice now gentle, “I don’t remember if I ever told you, but I took it with me when I left for the Amazon. You know that I convinced myself that it would be best for us to try and move on… but that didn’t mean I was ready to let you go right away. With a foot already out the door, I realized that I needed to take a piece of you with me, so I went back for it. I figured I’d wear it until enough time passed that I didn’t need to anymore. I was so busy and distracted when I was working that I sometimes fooled myself into thinking I was finally getting over you... but at night when I was alone with my thoughts…” he exhaled softly, “well, they always drifted to you and I’d wake up missing you even more.” Sawyer sniffed back sentimental tears as he continued. “The day that I didn’t need it anymore never came. I wore that leather band every day until I came home.”  

“Thank you for telling me that,” she whispered.  “Want to know something?”

“What’s that?”

“When you first told me about the W.H.O. mission, I started following their Pictagram account. After you had been gone for a few weeks, they posted a picture of you and you were wearing the bracelet. And the night you came back, when we were talking in the beer garden, I saw it around your wrist. Just under the sleeve of your jacket,” she explained. “It’s the reason I kissed you that night. You’d never wear something like that unless it meant something important to you.”

“I see you’ve mastered the art of observation,” he joked before getting serious again. “And it did. It still does.” 

Sawyer’s phone vibrated in her hand as a notification alerted her to a new text message.

“Ethannnnn, you’re wearing it now?” touched by the gesture.

“This time it was the first thing I grabbed when packing for this trip. I wanted a piece of you with me while I was away.”

“I love…” she caught herself. It’s not that she didn’t want to say it, she just didn’t want to pressure Ethan to say it back if he wasn’t ready. “I love that. It’s so sweet.”

“And far less creepy than pocketing a pair of your panties,” trying and successfully making her laugh.

“Well, I should probably confess that I’ve raided your closet and will be spooning your pillow so I can feel close to you too.” 

He laughed heartily at the mental image. “Are you feeling better?”

“Much.”

“I’m glad. Go have a cup of tea and try to get back to sleep,” he encouraged.

“Any chance I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.

“We’ll see, but I think the odds are looking good,” he replied knowing full well he’d be boarding a plane and on his way home to her in just a couple of hours.  

“Well, fingers crossed. And Ethan?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” she said most sincerely.

“Only good dreams now, okay? Goodnight, Rookie.”

“Bye, babe.”

9:00 A.M.

Ethan entered the still apartment, leaving his coat and suitcase in the entryway. Seeing no sign of life yet, he quietly made his way to the master bedroom. Head just barely poking out from under the comforter, he found her just as she said, spooning his king size pillow.  

He carefully toed off his shoes and parted with his shirt and pants.  He removed his watch, placing it on the top of the dresser, but left his other accessory on.

Lifting the comforter, Ethan climbed into bed scooting up against her backside and wrapped his arm tightly around her. Though jarring her from sleep, the familiar touch and scent instantly quieted her alarm.  

“Surprise,” he breathed into her ear before kissing her cheek and trailing down her neck.

With a raspy morning voice she uttered “Hiiiii” while her hands hugged his arm, the feel of braided leather under one of her palms.  

“Did you have better dreams after we talked?” he mumbled against the skin of her exposed shoulder.

Rolling over, she nudged him flat onto his back and slowly straddled his hips. “Mhmmm, the best. And it looks like they’re about to become reality,” she smirked before leaning down and kissing him deeply.  

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @potionsprefect @jamespotterthefirst @annfg8 @peonierose @socalwriterbee @tessa-liam @jerzwriter @quixoticdreamer16 @mysticalgalaxysstuff @inlocusmads @txemrn @trappedinfanfiction @mvalentine @takemyopenheart @ofmischiefandmedicine @openheartforeverinmyheart @doriopenheart @coffeeheartaddict2 @genevievemd @starrystarrytrouble

[doubleddenden]

Enough time has passed that I think I can do an accurate full scale review for Indigo Disk.

My initial first impressions review of 6/10 was spot on, even with the post game mechanics and additional story.

More under the cut, beware of major spoilers

Story

What's here is fine, but flawed. It is way too short, even with the extra doodads, and not enough time and energy went into it.

Since this is a continuation of Teal Mask, I was expecting to run into some of Kieran's former bullies or to meet a certain Pokémon on his team, or at least see more instances of him being a jerk to other students, but besides a couple of instances there's not really a lot going on here to build him up.

Same with Carmine. You battle her once and that's it. I was hoping to have some kind of introspection with her, maybe she's a victim of a Mean Girls scenario and that's why she became a tad bitchy, but at best she's just worried about her brother and along for the ride.

Terapagos is supposed to be the star of the DLC- literally named The Treasure of Area Zero, but he barely had screen time besides 1 very amazing boss battle. I fear this is another anime Zygarde situation.

Briar basically did nothing besides be a little reckless. Literally if she were removed from the plot, nothing of value would have been lost. She's essentially just a red herring they through out thinking they were clever for tricking us into thinking she was the big bad or at least a bit more important, but in actuality she was just a let down all around. I can't help but feel like they had something bigger planned but scrapped it.

Not to mention the loose ends still left behind regarding Area Zero and the book. Yes I did that extra scene, and honestly it just confuses me further, so I assume we have to wait until the "epilog" is released.

Still, a half assed "paradoxes are from other timelines" was the only answer we got about how Paradox Pokémon got to Area Zero before the time machine. Not the professor or someone else bootstrap looping by sending Pokémon to the past to purposely plant seeds to ensure they come to AZ, just a very tissue paper strength answer.

We still get nothing about the mysterious symbols, the strange metals, the crystal tree, nothing is really answered and it's probably just the result of a room of writers at Game Freak patting themselves on the back and saying "we like mystery :) we did good!" Well, sorry, no you didn't.

This gives me Lost vibes and The Promised Nederland vibes. The Promised Nederland vibes in the sense they built this amazing potential in the base game- season 1 of you will- filled with mystery and intrigue, but then tried to either ignore or half ass things in Season 2- The dlc. Lost comes into play because I honestly think they had no intention of truly explaining anything and had no real clear cut end game in mind except to get people hooked. Like I'm nor asking for a Legends Paldea where we explore the depths with Heath- okay I do want that but I'm not asking right now- I would have been very, very satisfied if there were at least more journals and entries or pages that explained things. As it is now, though, it just won't happen.

And maybe I'm wrong and the epilog will fix everything and give us the answers I seek, but I sincerely doubt it.

At least what's here is passable enough. I like the BBE4 and Drayton is a loveable piece of shit. I still hate that Lacey confirms Clay fucked though. No Elesa is not her mom, that's fake info.

I miss Carmine and Kieran and hate that they're just gone as of now.

BBQ quests

Tedious. Tedious and monotonous. I don't want to play multi-player and I don't have friends with Nintendo Online and DLC to play with, nor the bandwidth. Why am I being punished for that? The quests are fine but you have to do them for several fucking hours to get anything worth it out of the deal.

Coaches

I like the idea and love all the different interactions here and there. The rematch teams are updated, too, but unfortunately remain single battles, so they're pretty easy in comparison to the rest of Indigo Disk. I did have trouble with some after changing out my party for weaker pokemon, but it was never a critical danger moment except for Hassel.

I will say, I love the implications of some of the dialog. Tulip and the school nurse are just very lesbians for Dendra, Saguro and Kofu radiate General Armstrong and Sig handshake energy, and Geeta is trying to recruit everything with a pulse to join the Elite 4.

It's this level of heart I wish they bothered to put into the base DLC.

What I hate is that it costs so much to rotate them around to get gold borders. It's necessary to do something special apparently- but btw the last 3 slots are story locked until the Epilog drops. Yaya future content, boo withholding content.

Oh and they fixed Geeta's team. Her new ace is actually terrifying.

New Pokémon

Fantastic all around. Archaludon is fun af to use, Hydrapplin fixes what I dislike about Dipplin, the paradoxes are all neat, Terapagos's Stellar form is beautiful and powerful as hell, great all around.

Music

I think we're in Sonic territory where the quality of games goes down but the music just keeps getting better and better. No flaws, love the Unova love! It even fixes Ed Sheeran's Celestial imo- a song kinda shoved in that has nothing to do with Pokémon except maybe to trigger content flags on YouTube.

The remix by Toby Fox actually has elements of music from Scarlet and Violet, it's chill overall, and the lyrics actually sort of kinda have context now? Rinse and Repeat makes it sound relevant to the cycles of bullying and the paradox plots as a whole, and Kieran's spiral actually fits it. Overall a vast improvement.

Difficulty

Guys, it is refreshingly difficult. It's like a dip into Colosseum again with the strategies the BBE4 uses. Drayton actually beat me TWICE. I NEVER lose. The rest were easier, but still required a bit more thinking than "press A to win."

The only downside is that it is sort of a snowball effect. Initially it might be difficult to overcome, but you will gain levels very quickly, which of course diminishes challenge. I'm not joking when I say that the team I went in with, roughly late 60s to 70 by the time I caught them all, are now ALL level 100, which is the quickest I've ever gotten a completely fresh team to it.

Customization

I said it before but it's just lacking. The new uniforms look better than most of the others, come in more varieties, and I'll be honest? Feel less fetishy in the l*li and sh*ta direction. I'm still not completely satisfied but I can make it work. New hair still sucks but I do like the new Star glasses and uniform.

I'm just going to say it though, this was definitely a way to cut corners on customization and they should just let us dress how we want again. Too much limitation makes me look like everyone else playing the game. It was dumb but excusable this time, but it won't fly again in the future. Just saying.

Graphics and performance

Let's do it like this:

The good: graphics in some areas, when loaded in, genuinely look up to date and beautiful to look at. The tropical area, savanna, and under depths are very beautiful locations, the classrooms look extremely polished, lots of gorgeous visuals all around, and even older Pokémon have some updated visuals.

I'll also say the Terrarium is just better visually than Kitakami and Paldea.

The bad: performance still sucks ass and Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Game Freak should all be fucking ashamed for charging $95 for what is essentially a stuttering mess that struggles not to shit itself at times. Like the GAUL to leave in map flickering in the first cutscene meant to show you how beautiful and vast the Terarium is is astounding. Give back your Award for Excellence until you actually deserve it, you're no longer an indie company and it's time you behaved like it, Game Freak. Absolute shame on you. You've had over a year to fix this and still haven't.

World's richest franchise, people.

Overall

There's plenty to salvage here that makes it fun and engaging, but the same issues have yet to be fixed and the story just refuses to tie up some loose ends that NEEDED to be explored. It's also just CRIMINALLY short, and I actually took my time. What we got is okay but it's not the same quality of story we got for Arven or Team Star, and honestly I feel like it would have been better to save these characters for another game. They padded it out with tedious quests that just get annoying after a while and feel like a punishment, especially for single players.

While I love the idea of old style event Pokémon coming back, I hate that we have to wait to experience something that- heads up- is ALREADY IN THE GAME. That's just stupid imo and would have really helped keep things going.

So yeah, just barely passing at 6/10. Depending on the epilog, that may go between a 4 or 7.

[kittttycakes]

Because I am a hopeless addict for your writing and the wonderful world and relationship you have created between Morpheus and Grace and Hob, can I beg any scraps of thoughts or head canons for these three?

Don’t need specific answers to the following questions required, but these are some things I’m just (selfishly) craving to know more about them…

- Who likes to be the the biggest/littlest spoon?

- What sort of music/food/books do they prefer?

- What sections of Lucienne’s library would Grace and Hob visit first or spend the most time browsing?

- Hob and Grace’s parts of the Dreaming?

- Favourite places to travel in the waking world?

- What sort of relationships do Hob and Grace have with their coworkers?

- Do any of their coworkers or friends get a sense that there’s something a little different about Morpheus (other than his propensity to wear a wooden coat in the middle of summer)?

And of course, this wouldn’t be an ask from the cave of shame without some kind of brain filth…

- Is there room for an extra one or two people on that marble throne? Is that something one of them has ever considered before (imagining some naughty and very distracting daydreams coming from Grace or Hob for Morpheus to ‘overhear’)

- Could or would Grace ever pinch any of Morpheus’ clothing to wear (picturing her recreating that photo she took for the ex, but in one of Morpheus’ coats…)

- What is something that will immediately get each of them going?

- Have any of the Dreaming’s main residents been an accidental witness to something they’d rather not picture their boss and his partners doing?

Feel free to share your thoughts or none at all, I just needed to get these down and hopefully out of my head for a while!

You can always ask for headcanons!! I love talking about these three, just fully will not shut up about them. I’m putting this under the cut because otherwise this is going to be obnoxious on the dash:

Grace is often the littlest spoon, with Morpheus in the middle (both spooning and being spooned), and Hob on the outer edge as the biggest of spoons. All three are switches at heart, though, and this is no different, so Grace is sometimes the biggest spoon with Hob or Dream in the middle. Hob or Morpheus is, however, always closest to the door, in the waking world, putting Grace either closest to the interior of the room or safely between them.

I’ve talked a little bit before about romance novel enjoyer Grace, and that is a good chunk of what she reads in her free time for fun. Think historical romance, a bit of romantasy, and some light monster romance that she definitely hides from Hob. She’s a big fan of fiction, broadly, and she always digs a fairytale retelling or fairytale adjacent fantasy novel. Definitely likes Angela Carter.

I’m pondering what I think Hob would like reading in particular. My gut is saying classic mysteries (Agatha Christie, anyone?) and maybe some P.G. Wodehouse for fun. I wonder if Morpheus has much of a concept of reading for pleasure? That said, I like to think he might enjoy The Picture of Dorian Gray, for obvious reasons, and I would love to see how he’d feel about E.M. Forster’s Maurice.

Grace’s Spotify would be an absolute horror show. She’s a mood listener, so you’ve got 80s pop side by side with folksy alternative rubbing elbows with top 40s hits right next to classic oldies. She’s a menace to society and must be stopped. Probably quite likes Hozier.

Both Hob and Grace love the library (and Lucienne!) and spend a good portion of their time in the Dreaming there. Grace is all over the place: she’s checking out lost works that are referenced in other works that we do have, but that have no surviving copies; she’s reading (with permission) some of Hob’s love letters from the 18th century; she’s finding the never written but dreamt about sequel to her favorite novel growing up. Hob is finding that book he read once a hundred years ago that he could never remember the name of and reading work that Marlowe never had the chance to write and, very occasionally, reading a dream from the book of someone he knew and loved but lost.

Grace and Hob’s most favorite part of the Dreaming is debuting next chapter, but besides that, Grace really, truly, genuinely loves the Nightmare Sea. She likes to visit Leviathan and she likes to walk along the beach and wade out into the water a bit. She also really loves Fiddler’s Green and spends a lot of time visiting with him. Hob also is a big fan of Fiddler’s Green, and he likes the gardens. There’s also an armory that he’s surprisingly fond of.

Hob wants to take Grace everywhere that he possibly can, now that they have all the time in the world, everywhere that he’s been and quite a few places that he hasn’t besides. Hob likes to travel to certain parts of America, and Grace’s favorite is actually probably Scotland.

Both of them get on quite well with their co-workers! Hob has quite a few friends in his own department and others, as does Grace, minus her professional nemesis. They’ve been to a few co-workers weddings and other events, along with the occasional after work drink and, of course, the staff holiday parties. We haven’t had much of a chance to see them in the WIP, but Grace has a solid handful of friends, a few of whom are old school friends, a few more from her doctoral program, and then another handful from her job at the university. They’ll go out for a bit of a girls’ night occasionally or just have lunch, and overall, Grace really likes where she’s at.

The friendly and well meaning rumor mill surrounding who, exactly, Morpheus is to the two of them is absolutely thriving. Their friends and the staff at the New Inn are mostly just…bemused. Here’s this man who carries himself like a model, who dresses in unseasonable black, who pops up at the oddest hours, who isn’t exactly rude but who exudes that sort of distant politeness that makes you think he’s either very snobby or very shy, who both Hob and Grace just cannot seem to get enough of. He’s been introduced when needed as Hob’s friend and a sort of vague colleague if pressed, but there’s just something about the way he looks at the two of them…Their mutual friends who have met him have independently decided that he must be some sort of generationally wealthy artist who has some kind of psychosexual muse/artist relationship with them both because it’s easier than trying to explain why they all feel that there’s just something that isn’t quite right about him. He’s human enough, it’s just sort of at the edges…

I got your other ask too but I am always down to talk about the throne again because that absolutely is not the only time the throne has been used as a prop. It’s just something about the power, the location…Hob wants to kneel in front of it, Grace wants to sit on it, and honestly I think that says a lot about both of them, in a way! Morpheus just wants to cover them both in gold and ruby jewelry and systematically take them both to pieces on it. Hob and Grace are both incredibly distracting daydreamers and neither of them will apologize for it. I also think Grace would quite like to have Morpheus on his knees in front of it, too, but that’s something they can work up to.

Grace sees her partner’s wardrobe and immediately goes, “No, our wardrobe.” She steals Hob’s clothes frequently. T-shirts, sweaters, cardigans, any and all are fair game. She likes feeling close to him when he’s not around, she likes the ghost of his cologne on the collars, and most importantly, she likes driving Hob just a little bit insane. The same is naturally extended to Morpheus once they get to that level and she can convince him to stop just…disappearing…his clothes in the waking world. It’s the t-shirts, mostly, but she’s absolutely taken the coat again, once she saw the reaction she got from him the first time.

Hob and Morpheus both have a thing for Grace with her glasses on. She has them for reading and for screens, and she only occasionally remembers them, but when she does…both of them get a little hot under the collar for a look over the rim of her glasses at them. Hob also very much has a thing for stockings with the seam up the back. Grace really, really likes it when Hob rolls the sleeves of his button downs up his forearms, and he knows this, and shamelessly uses it to his advantage. She also goes a bit feral when Morpheus finally lets his guard down and starts wearing lower necked shirts. It’s the neck and the collarbones and the hollow of his throat, it’s intimate and vulnerable and she’s into it. All of them have a hand thing: anything to do with using the hands conspicuously, the movement of them, it’s just a bit of a turn on.

Matthew has absolutely flown in on them kissing, but that was enough for him, he’d rather not picture his boss that way, thank you very much! The residents of the Dreaming take closed doors very seriously, especially to the throne room…or Morpheus’s private rooms…or any of the towers…and also maybe avoid the gardens…

[youllallriseintheink]

Accretion, chapter 3

Accretion is a story that follows the rise and fall of Galactic Boss Cyrus and the fate of Team Galactic and the lives of those affected by it after its reformation under Saturn. It will be about 8 chapters in length. I hope you all enjoy this.

Saturn walked through the dorm halls, clutching his abra, Betty, like a ragdoll as the Pokémon levitated his luggage behind him. Maybe choosing to stay in men’s dorms hadn’t been a good idea. Not that he was exactly comfortable living with a stranger of any gender given how shy he was, but since he hadn’t transitioned at all or even used a non-feminine his name on any of the paperwork, this was starting to feel like a mistake. He got to the room with his number- 108- took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door.

Saturn’s roommate, a young man with sharp eyes and frosty blue hair, was already there, bags unpacked and nose in a book. If the stranger had noticed that someone had come in, he didn’t show it.

Saturn signed for Betty put his bags down in front of his bed. They dropped loudly, prompting Saturn to cringe as the stranger peered up at him.

“Hey. My name is Venus,” Saturn managed.

The other man put down his book and looked him over, dull-eyed and surely thinking that ‘Venus’ was a strange name for someone in the men’s dorms.  “I don’t want to call you that,” the man said.

“…What?”

“That name makes you uncomfortable. Give me one that won’t make you uncomfortable.” The man waited a moment as Saturn attempted to gather himself and respond. “Or, I could call you nothing at all. It seems that neither of us are enthused about sharing space. Perhaps we’d prefer to ignore eachother entirely.” The man’s tone wasn’t annoyed- he sounded like he was just stating dry facts.

“No, it’s not that, I just- well, I don’t quite have a name picked out. I mean, I’m not out to my parents, so…”

“You don’t need to tell them the truth. Tell them you don’t want to be named ‘Venus’ because Venus is a lousy planet. The less you care about others, the more ability you will have to live as you see fit.”

“Um. Okay.” Saturn turned away, opened up his suitcase, and set to unpacking. Once the initial agitation wore off, Saturn wondered where on earth this man got so much nerve and where he could find some of it. He might as well try to find out. It wasn’t like they were off to a great start as roommates, so what did he have to lose?

“Some of my friends call me Saturn,” Saturn explained, “It started as a placeholder, but I’m getting used to it. What’s your name?”

“Cyrus.”

“Cool. I’m going to take a look at the bar across the street from campus. Do you want to join me?”

“Sure,” Cyrus answered, with some hesitation.

Saturn would give Canalave one thing- their university knew how to throw a welcome week. Unfortunately, since it was nearly five, most of the booths for campus clubs and other features were currently being packed up for the day. It might have been interesting to check them out together since he didn’t have anyone else to go with.

“So, what are you here for?” Saturn asked as they passed through the various stands.

“My scholarships are in engineering, so that will be the majority of my classes,” Cyrus explained, not sounding especially excited. “You?”

“Well, uh. I don’t know. I mean, my goal up until a month ago was basically just to distract myself until I die. But my family scrapped together the cash to send me here, so I’m vaguely obligated to do something. Pretty sure they’re mostly just hoping this’ll keep me out of prison, though.”

“Prison?”

Saturn held up the floral-printed purse he’d snatched from a booth while its owner’s back was turned. He took 3000 poké from it, then snapped his fingers. On cue, Betty teleported it back.

“I... see,” Cyrus said, looking at Saturn with more alertness than before.

“Yeah. Betty here has been my partner in crime for, well, a long time,” Saturn explained, rubbing the Pokémon between the ears as it floated beside him. “So, you don’t seem that interested in engineering. What do want to do with your life?”

Cyrus looked forward as they walked, his face serious. “It’s not that I’m uninterested in engineering. It’s that millions upon millions of people are born, suffer, and die and the world remains incomplete no matter how many of them attempt to change it for the better. Something has to radically change and it won’t be through technology alone. My goal is to figure out how to change it.”

“Oh. Wow. You sound like a real visionary.”

“I suppose so. But you’re the one who’s actually taken risks. You must have some interesting stories about your criminal exploits.”

Saturn laughed. “That makes it sound like I robbed a bank. But yeah, I have stories.”

It was a short walk to the bar. Unsurprisingly, given the number of students that had arrived that day, the bar was packed despite it barely being evening. The music blared and several dozen people attempted to yell over it and each other. Why humans willingly put themselves in locations like this, let alone managed to do something as nuanced as socialize in them, was beyond Cyrus. But he could manage this. He needed to learn more about people to decide how to change the world, and Saturn was a good start, given his willingness to spend time with him.

They were seated. Saturn asked questions Cyrus could barely make out. Cyrus gave short answers. It was better not to attempt anything more complicated than that while most of his cognitive resources were focused on filtering out the noise.

“Want to have them move us to the patio so it’s quieter?” Saturn asked after a few minutes of conversation, his tone leaving no question that he’d noticed Cyrus’ discomfort.

“If you’d prefer it,” Cyrus replied, taking care to sound indifferent, as though that would save face.

Wonderful. Now Saturn would think he was strange and inadequate and want nothing to do with him. He’d lost the respect of a compliant human being because a bar was loud.

And yet, Saturn hadn’t rushed to leave that night. In fact, after they got going, they’d talked for hours. And strangely enough, the next day Saturn invited him out to look at the booths for various clubs. And Cyrus agreed to it.

Saturn dragged him to the first meetings of various clubs so he’d have a sturdy wall of confidence to cling to if things got awkward. They played video games together. They stayed up late exchanging jokes and stories on nights they couldn’t sleep. They discussed each other’s classes to the point where Saturn majored in engineering because he’d found Cyrus’ rambles on the subject so interesting. And Saturn was good at it. Saturn transitioned. He gained confidence. He gained other friends. And yet for some reason he chose to spend time with Cyrus. Every time Cyrus was sure he’d acted a bit too strange, been a bit too much or too weak, or that Saturn would leave him for better options, Saturn didn’t lose interest in him. It was baffling but pleasant.

---

“Thanks for agreeing to look over this, especially on such short notice,” Saturn said, logging into the library computer. It was a bit past 1 am and finals were still a few weeks away, so they were the only ones there.

“It’s fine,” Cyrus answered. “This is about what I’d be doing at this hour anyhow.” It was true. While Saturn being up at this hour was rare and usually meant he was upset, Cyrus frequently spent the early morning hours researching whatever his current interest was.

“Right.” Saturn opened up his presentation on the Celestica people. “Alright. Here it is. I made sure to follow the syllabus, but it’s on a pretty complicated subject, so I thought I’d make sure. It’s on the evidence for and against whether the Celestica people actually met with Arceus and received blessings from him.”

“That is a complicated subject,” Cyrus said, looking over the first few slides. “They did seem like God’s chosen for a while- long-lived and able to thrive in a land others struggled in. People use the fact that they were wiped out as counter-evidence, but personally, I think that Arceus left them because it didn’t want to be near the Diamond and Pearl clans. People tend to forget that, while He may have created the universe, He is ultimately just a Pokémon with His own desires.”

Cyrus continued looking through the slides. It was flawless, not that he expected any less of Saturn. At some point in the past few years, Saturn had stopped stealing and started taking his schoolwork seriously, and the effort showed.

“It looks as though you’ve gone above and beyond on this. There is nothing to worry about.”

“Okay. Sorry, I just... kind of wanted this presentation to impress someone.”

That got more of Cyrus’ attention than he would have liked. “There’s no need to worry about that. It’s a first-year class. Most people in it won’t know a fantastic presentation from a mediocre one. Who is it?”

“Oh, believe me, he’d be able to tell. And it’s just... someone. A crush from some of my classes. He’s way smarter than me, and I guess I wanted to show him that I could get really knowledgeable about something too, or teach him something, or... y’know, it sounds stupid now that I say it out loud. Let’s go back to our room.”

And so they did. Neither of them wanted to go to bed yet, so they ended up sitting on Saturn’s bed and talking, Betty curled up against Cyrus’ chest.

“Want to hear a story?” Cyrus asked.

“Sure,” Saturn said, stroking Betty as she purred.

“When I was seventeen, my family tried to pair me off with a girl from another prestigious family,” Cyrus started. There was no need to give context. Saturn knew that Cyrus’ mom had chased after the acceptance of his wealthy relatives and eventually gotten it. He hadn’t spoken of the abuse of course, just the context needed for stories. “I was a few months away from escaping to the other side of Sinnoh and cutting all ties with them, so she wasn’t in my plans. They had her over for dinner so we could meet. I did the bare minimum expected of me. But then they left us alone in the living room. She had ideas of what we should do together, so to increase her chances of a shotgun wedding. If the fact they’d left us wine was any indication, my family had similar ideas.”

Saturn smirked. He had a good idea of where this was going. “So... how did you protect your virginity?”

“I ‘accidentally’ drenched her dress in red wine and told her she’d best go home and put it in the wash before the stains set in. But that isn’t the end of it. She made a show of removing all her clothing, handed it to me, and told me that she’d be ready for me when I came back. When I came back from putting her dress in the wash, I brought her a towel to cover up with. I still remember the look on her face. There were several, actually. One right after the other.” In imitation of her, Cyrus contorted his face into shock and then anger and then defeat.

"Oh my God. What did she say after that? Must have been a real interesting evening for you.”

“Very little. And it wasn’t. I had my pokétch to keep me entertained, but it grew repetitive after the first hour and I couldn’t focus while she was making repeated attempts at conversation.”

“That poor girl. Well, I guess it’s what she gets for not taking no for an answer.”

Cyrus smiled. “Yes, well, I don’t blame her. Humans are in a constant struggle to fill these voids inside of us. It’s natural that we hurt each other- or attempt to, in this case- in the process. You know, Arceus could change that with a figurative snap of His fingers. I wonder why He doesn’t.”

“Free will, probably?

“If we lived in a world where everyone was constantly intoxicated, would it be a violation of free will to make us sober? Or would it increase our free will, allow us to make clear-headed decisions?”

“That’s a good point. Actually, I think I get what you’re saying.” Saturn opened his arms and let Betty float into his gentle embrace. “I used to be able to talk to Betty telepathically. Just Betty, no one else yet. Everyone thought I was going to be a psychic gym leader. But the more pressure people put on me, the more static there was, until I couldn’t hear her anymore. My psychic abilities were gone and they never came back. I had a mediocre Pokémon journey, I started having feelings about my body, I started stealing because why not at that point, and yeah… I just kept getting further from the person I’m supposed to be. It would be nice if someone could just take away all the static, you know?” Saturn was shaking a little. Betty clung to his chest to keep him calm.

“You understand,” Cyrus stated. He’d tried to explain his philosophy to others- people he considered intelligent, or simply whoever would listen. They’d called his ideas things like “ridiculous,” or “depressing” and one had even suggested he get his head checked. None had ever truly considered them before. Cyrus got up and started pacing. “Excellent. I have a lot to explain to you. You see, the human spirit is-”

Saturn’s sad eyes met Cyrus’, and it suddenly occurred to Cyrus that this was not the time.  He sat back down next to him. “Ahem. I think that clearing up the… ‘static’ would change less about you than you think. Further, if we could complete the spirits of others, they would be able to see that as well.” Cyrus paused, looking at Saturn’s face to gauge if he’d said enough. “I like the person you’ve become.”

“Thanks,” Saturn replied. “Want to play some video games?”

Cyrus moved to speak, but Saturn cut him off “Don’t lecture me on staying up. You’re staying up. I know you don’t sleep until you crash.”

“That is correct,” Cyrus admitted.

Saturn started up a fighting game and they began playing together. As per usual, Saturn came in quickly with a volley of attacks that Cyrus was nearly helpless to.

“Could I tell you about my philosophy now?” Cyrus asked.

“Yeah. It sounds interesting,” Saturn replied, only half-focused as he performed a combo move worthy of tournaments.

Cyrus sat forward, intensely focused on wording this the best he could. “The human spirit is incomplete. People live in pursuit of love, acceptance, and a general sense of wellbeing. We hurt each other for it, and that makes our victims hungrier for it, and for power and revenge. There are many factors to this, but for now that’s the best way I can summarize it. The only way to break the cycle is to learn to live without love and happiness, and to learn not to be hurt by the cruelty of others.”

“So... basically learn to be satisfied no matter what?”

“Something like that.” If Cyrus told Saturn that he thought complete emotionlessness was ideal, he’d probably react the same way everyone else had. Cyrus grit his teeth at the thought and mashed buttons furiously. Saturn struggled to keep up. “The problem is that no one wants to learn. They prefer their lives of wanting, pain, and tearing each other apart for relief. Increasingly, it seems as though only the Gods could cleanse this world!” Cyrus dealt Saturn a finishing blow. He realized then that he’d lost his cool, said things that were too close to what he’d told others.

Thankfully, Saturn didn’t seem to be reacting too strongly to it as he set up the next round. Perhaps he thought Cyrus had just gotten heated over the game. “Huh. That makes sense. A lot of bad comes from being greedy and hurting people for what we don’t have. You know, that reminds me. There’s a legend that we learned about in class that a member of the Galaxy Team took control of Dialga and Palkia once.” 

The round began. More attacks. Cyrus allowed his character to be pummeled. This myth sounded interesting.

“I don’t believe it,” Saturn continued, “I think if it had happened, we would have known, you know? Something would have changed. If you did that, you could literally change anything.”

“...That legend... do you think there would be information on it in the library?”

“Well, yeah, presumably.”

Cyrus put down the controller and got up. “I have some research to do,” he explained as he left.

The next day, Cyrus found himself wandering into the lecture hall for Saturn’s Sinnoh myths and history class. There were enough people in the lecture hall that he wasn’t noticed. He couldn’t have told you why he’d come. The presentations were amateurish. Cyrus could be learning far more had he gone to the library.

It wasn’t as though he cared that Saturn had a romantic interest. Saturn had proven to be a loyal friend, and even if he wasn’t, Cyrus had lived without friends before and could do it again. Sure, Saturn made his life more pleasant, and sure, Cyrus felt and acted more human around him than he would have liked, but it wasn’t as though he needed him. And if anything, it was good that Saturn had someone to fulfill a role he couldn’t. Cyrus was above lust. Men, women, they could be pleasant to look at, but it was no different to him than paintings or flowers or Pokémon or any other source of beauty. He’d never experienced the kind of disgusting emotions that would lead a man to betray his family or worse. Not that anyone he’d seen presenting seemed particularly suitable for Saturn, either.

Finally, it was Saturn’s turn to present. Saturn spotted Cyrus in the audience. He smiled at him, and Cyrus’ stomach flipped.

Oh, no… this… this won’t do.

Not with what he had planned. Not with what he must do.

Finals came and passed. Cyrus and Saturn spent a lovely winter break together. Cyrus was remarkably close-mouthed about what classes he would take next semester, but otherwise everything seemed normal. And then, three days into the next semester, Saturn came to their room and all of Cyrus’ things were gone. He couldn’t get ahold of Cyrus by phone, either. He didn’t hear from Cyrus again until mid-May, after Saturn’s final semester was completed.

It was the middle of the day when Saturn received the phone call from that familiar number. He picked up the phone.

“Cyrus?”

“Saturn. Are your classes finished?” Cyrus asked, his tone business-like.

“Um… yeah? It’s great to hear from you.”

“Good. Would you like a job at my energy company?”

“Your what? How did you…?”

“That can be answered in time. I’m willing to pay you as though you have ten years of experience. We’re located in Eterna. If you’d like, you could stay with me until you find other arrangements.”

Saturn stayed silent for a while. This was all very strange. It was also a deal that no fresh-from-school professional would refuse, assuming there wasn’t a catch. And he did want to see Cyrus again.

“I’ll take it,” Saturn said. Hopefully he’d feel better about this once he reached Eterna.

[weekend-whip]

*slams hands on table* what was the inspiration behind Olivia’s character and how did you develop her/how has she changed over time

Once upon a time there was this seemingly unnamed yet intricately designed character in The Lego Ninjago Movie that I had always felt could’ve used a little extra polish, especially when it came to making the Shark Army much more of a threat. Upon doing a little research for Book 1 of Legacyverse (as I wanted to incorporate as much movie!DNA as possible, which is also why Jesse is now a whole thing come Book 2) and then learning she had a name, I knew I immediately wanted to use her. 

She would be perfect—a way to have an inside man on the opposite team even with Garmadon’s absence, a middle man to showcase the other side of the story, someone to actually give some heft to the Shark Army’s existence as a whole...

But how? For starters, how do you create a character out of someone who only has scraps of a personality made from about six lines of movie dialogue, one lil’ boss battle in a licensed video game, a love for smoothies/slushies, a penchant for being kinda lazy at a job you’re otherwise pretty passionate about, being somewhat sympathetic, yet still scarily dangerous, sinister, and borderline psychopathic when pushed too close to edge? 

...you turn her into Nya’s best friend, I guess. 

When I was first trying to incorporate Olivia into the world, there was the dilemma of how old to make her. She originally started as an adult (roughly around Tox’s age), but then I couldn’t come up with a non-generic, not necessarily Garmadon-ordered (and not-creepy) reason for why she would’ve been so focused on Nya in the first place, and it would’ve made it harder to make her sympathetic later on. 

So I bumped down her age to 16, put her in the high school with everyone else to allow for more opportunities to actually have her be a character, and turned her into Nya’s friend to establish that initial emotional connection and the eventual tragedy of their fallout *-*)9  

She...was originally going to be a lot colder and distant than she is now (and you can kind of still tell from Chapter 2 of Book 1 and bits of The First Day of School chapters in Book 2), but then her crazier, wilder, louder side started leaking out and her dynamic/rivalry with Kai turned out to be so much fun that I knew I wanted to build on that more, and it wouldn’t have been possible if she was entirely on “the dark side”. So now she is extremely morally gray and we’re vibing with it! Wild Card, baby! Chaotic Neutral!

...and that’s also partially why Bridget became an unintentional Ascended Extra, because someone had to fill the hole Olivia’s original plot line left behind :V

I also made her father the previous General #1 to ground her roots in the army more, and to provide a strong reason for why she’s so dedicated to Garmadon’s cause in the first place (and...why she would stick with it even after things happen). It’s not just what’s she grown up to be able to do; it’s what her father truly believed in, and things certainly haven’t gotten better with Wu hiding the truth of everything...so, what’s really wrong with letting Garmadon destroy the lies of society and starting anew? If she stops following Garmadon...the alternative’s not really much better, is it?

Anyway somehow she’s maneuvered herself into a secondary main character, which I love...but it’s also important not to forget that she’s still an antagonist, even despite having bigger fish to fry at the moment (ha). Like, have you SEEN her slasher smiles?! Nightmare Fuel. I’m not even kidding. Every time I dare to look at the worst ones where’s she attacking Lloyd there’s chills up my arms and I break into a cold sweat my god—

...Ahem. So, for now, let’s just say she’s aboooout 1/3 of the way through her arc. Maybe 1/4 if I wanna be kind. 

@shark-general-1 @asher-hyperfixation-hell I know you guys are Olivia fanatics so this one’s for you too snksnksnk

[frickfrackiwastakingabath]

Ooh boy! First tma g/t here we go!

...

Proposition

Tw for fear play and general Elias-ery, panic attack I think? Spiraling/circling thoughts

...

Jon used to love living in the institute. He could see all different kinds of humans and here what they were scared of. Not to say it was comforting, knowing the creatures that towered over him could feel small and terrified like he could...

But it was definetly comforting knowing that the creatures that towered over him could feel small and terrified like he could.

The lady, "Archivist" Gertrude read the stories out loud, and Jon, from when he was a little boy, had always been entranced. Much to his grandmother's chagrin, he would stand at the edge of the wall entrance to her office and listen.

He found himself wandering the walls to her office even more, after the spider. Too big, too spindly, hypnotizing. Jon was lucky a chair bumped onto the wall he was in, snapping him out of the terror of the spider and into the terror of the human.

A few years after that, Gertrude didn't show up to work. The day after, people were in and out of her office like ants in a line. The man with the clicky shoes- Elias bossed people around as they lifted boxes of stuff out of the room.

One of these days, Jon was on the book shelf. He enjoyed going behind the old dusty books and being pressed against, like knowledge was giving him a hug. Of course he could never read that big a book, it'd take him ten minutes to turn the page, but it was comforting.

That's where Jon was when he heard the clicking shoes. Elias. He froze in place, not breathing or moving a muscle. The office had been finished being cleaned out a week prior. Surely he wouldn't look at the dusty old books NOW.

"I Know you're there."

Jon bit his tongue. What the hell. He must be talking to someone else, there was no chance he saw Jon, and there's nothing Jon left behind that would make a human think "borrower" first, rather than "a few scraps of string I need to pick up".

No, there was no way Elias was talking to him.

Jon was thrown out of his thoughts at the book he was behind shifted, pulling away from him and letting the too bright lights filter onto the shelf where he was.

"Jon."

Shit.

Okay okay okay. Elias peered down at him. It's fine, he just needed to shimee behind the shelf to get out. But that takes a few seconds, and that might prompt Elias to try and pick him up. But he was exposed, standing there and breathing so hard that all the archives could hear.

He couldn't tall he couldn't think he couldn't BREATH-

Jon has lived in this place long enough to know what humans did to things they found unnatural. Maybe Jon would be in a box in a cabinet for the rest of his life. Or dissected. Or just killed like any other pest, an intruder. In his own home.

Jon backed up into the wall and shrunk into the shadow. Please no please god no-

"Oh cone on," Elias picked him up with ease, wrapping a hand around the full length of his torso like it was nothing. Jon yelped as his whole body was washed over mith motion. "Don't be like that. I thought you were interested in what we did here."

Jon was placed on a hard metal surface- a desk. He tried to back up again, not wanting to crane his neck up to look at that already way bigger than he thought human, but was stopped by Elias's cold hands.

Elias's eyes cut into him more than any scalpel could. Jon felt like his insides were already open to study. He was frigid cold, but his face and chest were damp with sweat. His breathing was unsteady, and the intake of cold air made him shiver.

"Do you have any other friends?"

"No." The answer spilt out of him. Jon gasped, slapping a habit over his mouth.

He felt like he was looking up at the spider.

"Hm," Elias hummed. He chuckled. "I can assure you I am no spider, Jon. And though I do wait for my prey to come to me-"

At that he bapped Jon on the head with a single finger, ruffling his dark hair.

"I do not intend to kill so quickly," Elias smiled. Jon didn't like Elias's smile, he decided. "I prefer my patience to be rewarded handsomely. What do you know of the archives and the institute?"

"I've lived here my whole life, humans come in here to tell stories of scary and abnormal things that have happened to them," Jon's mind raced to answer Elias was quickly as possible. "Sometimes there's scary objects and they're all kept in a room my grandmother wouldn't let me go into. The Archivist read some written stories out loud and she has been gone for two weeks. There used to be... actually a lot more people before she worked alone."

Elias hummed again. "Very astute. I would have thought someone of your sort would have wanted to keep themselves as far away from the host it leeches off of."

Elias cut off his back handed compliment and returned his full focus to Jon, pulling in his arms closer to force Jon to scuttle closer to him.

"I've caught you," Elias stated the obvious. Jon still felt his mouth go dry. "So you're not exactly in a position to refuse anything I offer you. So here's how this will work. You will fulfill Gertude's roll in reading statements and being the Archivist and you can continue living in the archives."

"And the catch?" Jon said automatically. He had heard Gertrude say that to plenty of people. The lady with the books. Her assistant that could pull any string. The boy with black hair.

Elias didn't like that much.

Hands encased Jon, compressing him tight to the point he could Varela breath. With how short and fast Jon was getting air, he doubted he'd last more than a minute like this.

"The catch is same as it always has been," Elias glared. "I can See you at any moment, I could do away with you whenever I want. I can send another spider on you, I'm sure my friend would just LOVE that. I can give you to any monster I want. I See and Know you, and all these years I let you live in comfort and ignorance. So just be thankful, and don't try and get anything else out of me."

The hands released their pressure, allowing Jon to breath. But they were still around him.

"Do you accept?"

It wasn't something he could say no to, Elias already made that clear. The fact he was asking was anything if a little insulting.

"No one can know I'm here," Jon balled his fists, looking back at Elias. "I'm... humans shouldn't know we exist."

Elias sighed. "I suppose that doesn't necessarily detriment your new job. And I do like the idea of a secret only I know. No one shall know of your existence."

Jon flinched back. If someone knew he was here, even if it was a human, they could have saved him.

"I'll... I'll do it." Jon nodded.

Elias smiled. God, did Jon loathe that smile already. "Excellent."

Elias swiftly opened a drawer, nearly throwing Jon inside. He hit the rougher wood with a thud.

"Ex- excise me!" Jon shouted up, doing his best to stay cordial as his heart threatened to leap out of his chest. "You said- I thought I wad able to return to my home!"

"Oh Jon," Elias tsked, looking down on him. The walls were not quite double his height, but still impossible to climb without his equipment. "I said you can stay in the archives, didn't I? I'm simply restricting your access. Besides, here I can watch you and make sure no one else will see you. You'll be much safer in here than in some dusty walls, where another less... compassionate human could find you, or where another spider could get you for good this time.

Jon covered his ears as the drawer slid close, the world going completely dark. Jon tried to keep his sobs quiet, knowing it was futile to keep up a defiant facade if Elias could "See" him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Archivist," Elias's shoes clicked towards the door. "And don't worry, I'll have some friends to keep you company soon."

Jon pressed himself into a corner. Stale dusty air ripped through his lungs as he cried himself to sleep.

[masschase]

for the boss ask meme, I have my own question:

what little (or big) bits of lore about your boss have you not shared yet with the world?

- snail-eggs :)

(p.s. your boss is so cool and i’m living off crumbs here, i wanna know more)

Boss ask meme

You think my boss is cool? 👉👈

It's funny because I do toss out scraps to some extent because irl I am extremely shy and awkward. I have a much higher confidence level online but I still get the feeling of oh no, I'm annoying everyone so... I sling out ask memes to see if there's anything people actually want to hear. I make fun of my asshole with a gun disaster bi emperor of everything but she is very close to my heart too. I wanted to draw her in each era to do a proper intro post, but I'm still developing confidence in drawing again.

I do get a little confused about what I've posted in fanfic vs what I've written but not posted yet vs what I've posted about her on here vs what i've slung in tags on other posts.

So I'm going to post stuff that just feels 'lore-y' and more about her personality vs. her life before the Saints, which I've written about in the other ask meme here and during the Saints which is basically the events of all the games with some fill-ins between/during them.

Ahem.

She's a big literature nerd. Spent her childhood escaping into books. Wanted to study English Lit at college but ended up dropping out of HS instead. She particularly loves period novels because they have relatably strong heroines but their problems are so frivolous compared to days without food or getting shot in the streets. She can relate to them just enough to escape into the idea of having no real problems. In fact she'd very much like to be Austen's Emma. It's pointed out in the post-SRIV era that she is in fact handsome, clever and rich now.

Obviously (and this is an example of really running a brief mention in canon) she particularly loves Jane Austen. She tends to fling out quotes when she's drunk because they just come to her in that lucid state, but also because, as Johnny calls out, she'd probably be doing it sober if she wasn't worried about "being a dork". Also the Brontes would be her next choice as Male Voice 1's line about reading Jane Eyre 13 times is canon to her too.

Again I think this is not unusual for a Boss in general but she often comes across as a bit of an airhead when really she is quite intelligent. I feel like by SRTT she is playing this up a little without realising and by some time post-SRIV she's straight up doing it on purpose at times; more out of humility than anything though it does contribute to people underestimating her. The first time Matt tries to tell her about her brain activity in the simulation she responds with "Sure, whatever Matt, blah blah FUUUUCK.". He tries again a year and a half later when they are actually friends and gets "Huh. OK. Well let’s just keep that between us, Matty."

Underneath/alongside that, though, is this third level that is just... slightly surreal and quite cheesy. Not always for humour, either, sometimes it's just her being completely serious in her bizarreness.

A slightly humorous example would be how she sticks Viola and Oleg together to run Steelport. She says it's her get along shirt. She does the same with Pierce and Shaundi and the 'dirty dancing' dance.

A more serious example would be from one of my favourite chapters I've written but not posted yet where she's talking to Matt about their new planet during Nyte Blayde night. They get onto how they can persuade people to want to live there and to repopulate and the concept of the American dream. She points out that it was always something used to drive immigration and asks why he wants to live in her new nation. He makes a joke about her new nation having no internet if he doesn't, but then gives a very heartfelt response. She gets emotional and doesn't really know what to say so she gives him a green m&m. "My... green card?" he asks, because they're super close by this point and he's used to her weird brain.

Something similar is at play to the intelligence thing is how nice she is. She gets caught up in the snark with everyone else but equally when someone is kind to her she leans into that too. She would deny that she is the tough girl with a heart of gold type bc she doesn't try to hide her softer side. She just IS badass and reckless and kind and emotional and will do anything for her friends all at once. She doesn't stop calling herself an asshole, but that's more or less an internalised message by this point.

Which brings me onto honesty. It's not like she just comes out with everything, hardly surprising considering how shy she was pre-Saints, but she's not inclined to lie either. Ask a question and unless she is in denial about it herself (e.g. love) or concerns something from long enough ago that she finds it cringey (e.g. her penchant for trading cards and other non-techy nerdy shit in her teens), she's likely to answer honestly. Kinzie never seems to learn this and will ask her things to try to fluster her only to get a very honest gross answer. Alcohol or weed definitely exacerbates this honesty.

She is like... superstitious in a slightly weird way. Like where she's half joking and half believes it. Shaundi notes that she buys good luck charms whenever she sees them because she broke a mirror in *checks notes* February 2015. She *has* to get the christmas decorations down on time. She has this whole thing where pancakes are a bad omen bc Zinjai started making them whenever he had bad news for her. This came from a longer thing where Keith David's mom always did that and Casey told Johnny no-one ever did that for her and then Matt overheard and told Zinjai to do it for her when the heat broke and they were on backup heaters... this is already so long lmao.

She's always cold; she grew up in several layers and a snowsuit. She eats a lot. She fucks a lot of people including every SRIV romance option once bc she decides if she only fucks each of her friends once she won't develop feelings for them. She has a lot of these sorts of somewhat arbitrary, pulling rank rules about work at times actually, it's one of her more unpleasant qualities. A little dizzied by power. Luckily she does get called out on it and she does get better over time.

She tends to cry at most media, a lot more than irl. If that media is somehow relatable to her own life; something about a protective older sibling, a lonely child, a struggle for money, something where the protagonist loses a friend or friends, the floodgates full on open.

She's extremely anti-relationship for years and at times her excuses are pretty flimsy. Again, Johnny takes issue with this as he wants to see his best friend/little sister figure happy and feels she uses his loss of Aisha to back up her commitment issues. She has a genuine fear of losing someone she loves but fails to notice how dramatically her circumstances have changed between sr2&3 for this to be way less of an issue. All of it really is backing up a very deep fear of abandonment. Her father left, her mother neglected her, her sister had to leave home for the good of her own child. This is why the Saints become such a family to her.

This is probably super incoherent as I'm running on very little sleep and I've been writing it in drabbles for most of the day. In case it wasn't obvious, I'm always happy to answer more questions about her though and I'm sorry if this is kind of... boring. I never know where to start. I've been writing this character for months now and now I feel like I know her so well that it's almost as hard to talk about her without specific questions as if I was asked to just talk about myself. That's why I'm always fishing for questions from ask memes. I either don't know where to start or it ends in a word vomit like this 😅

Thank you for your question @snail-eggs!