#thanks for asking about my goth gals!

[switchbladedreamz]

Beautiful Gothic Cowgirl.

Ryan (last name unknown) x fem!Dutton/Goth!reader fluff :).

Requested? Nah

Warnings? Slight season 5 spoilers, quick mention of miscarriage, slight angst too.

Summary: Your family keeps making jokes about Ryan and you getting married.

The sun streams through the window between the blackout curtains decorated with the phases of the moon. Throwing off my thick black comforter, I get out of bed and head the bathroom connected to my room. A knock sounds at the door while I'm picking my clothes out for the day. A cute black sundress with mesh sleeves, platform demonias with chains and some white and black striped thigh highs. I open my door to be greeted with the lovely smiling face of my boyfriend. "Good morning baby, nice pj's." He smiles, pointing at the oversized shirt of his I stole, pushing past me into my room. "Thank you, it was ethically sourced also how did you get in?" "Ethically sourced my ass, you stole it but you look good in my clothes so you can keep it. Gator let me in, what can I say I missed my girl. My bunk gets lonely". I giggle and pull him into a hug. "Well since you missed me so much, wait here while I shower and I'll let you watch me get ready."

"Nooooo baaaaaabe. Why can't I shower with you?" He crosses his arms and pouts. "Awe baby don't be pouty, aren't you a big bad cattleman and ATF agent? Branded men don't pout Ryan. Besides, dad and I are meeting for breakfast at the country club to discuss plans for my cabin. Which yes, I would love for you to join us." I straddle his lap and cross my arms at his nape, kissing his forehead. "Besides, if you shower with me I'll have to shower a second time." He laughs as I close the bathroom door rebuting with a loud "you didn't mind last week".

10 minutes later, Ryan is asleep on my bed. His boots on the floor and hat discarded on my nightstand. Quickly getting dressed then I do my makeup, adding some fun spiderwebs droping from my winged eyeliner. "You look- "FUCK" I accidentally scream loudly. "You scared the shit out of me". ".. good, let's go eat" he finishes his sentence. "Sorry?" "It's fine, just easily startled." He puts his boots back on and his hat. He holds his hand out to me, I go to take it but he sweeps me into his arms and carries me bridal style down the stairs. "what are you doin?" I ask him, looking at him like he's grown a second head. "Just practicing" he smiles cheekily and kisses my cheek. "Ryan quit actin like an ass." Rip hollers from the end of the stairs. "Oh hush, it's cute. Besides, you're just jealous you didn't think to do so first my love." Beth bites back. "Daddy called and he wants me to join you both at the club but for Governor business." We all head outside and load up into one of the ranch's trucks. Rip drives with Beth in front with Ryan and I in the back. "So Ryan, when were you thinking of popping the question because (Y/n) won't take just any ring, especially one that looks like something a "country gal" would wear." Ryan goes to interject but he's cut off by my sister. "So I'm thinking a gunmetal grey band with a black tone surrounded by tiny emeralds besides, I mean you've been dating for two years, I think it's time ." "Aaaaaah lalalalala Beth, stop. We haven't talked about it. You're 100% correct in the ring but I want it to be a surprise!" She shoots Ryan a wink and turns back in her seat. Rip is chuckling to himself while Ryan laces his fingers through mine and holds my hand. His smile is breathtaking. The love in his eyes fills me with warmth. He kisses the back of my hand and mouths "i love you". I respond by kissing the back of his own hand. "Good luck, man." Rip, still chuckling, says to Ryan. A rare smile on my brother in law's face, rare since it isn't directed at my older sister.

We're gathered at the table, then Kayce and his family walk through the doors. Kayce speaks as he is seated, "So. Ryan, I wanted to ask you. Will you be moving in with (Y/n)? I mean it has been two years since y'all started datin man." He clears his throat and adjusts his seat, he looks to me for reassurance, I squeeze his hand I'm holding under the table. "If you and your family allow it, it is what we planned to do, yes." Then dad looks to me "There is no allow, all my children do what they want despite any protest they might hear. And he makes you happy sweetheart?" "Yes he does, very much." A blush spreads across my boyfriend's face. Out of the corner of my eye Beth's shoulders shake, she's trying to hold back her laughter at poor Ryan's blush. I shake my head, my own shoulders rolling with my giggles. "Oh daddy, don't forget what we discussed about their house warming party". I go to interject, my mouth open as dad holds his hand up to stop me. "You're gettin one honey. Beth will help you decorate the cabin how ever you want. Rip I want you today to tell the other hands Ryan is moving out of the bunkhouse." "Yes sir I will. I'll have the guys help y'all move in too, (Y/n/n). It'll be my wedding present." He chuckles again, like in the truck. Ryan's face is beet red. "Y'all're gonna give the poor boy a heart attack before we even get to move in." I laugh a little louder, it spreads around the table. It feels good. Soon, heads are turning to look. They recognize daddy at the head of the table and quickly go back to their meals.

"so daddy when will the cabin be ready for us to move in?" Finishing what food is in his mouth first, "it already is. I want you two in there tonight. The boys have already moved your bed and vanity out of your room and into the master bedroom. I had Teeter and Jimmy's uh fiancé move your clothes and everything else over. Babygirl as of an hour ago, your room is bare." I stand up and walk to him, giving him a big hug and kiss his cheek. "Thank you, and thank you guys. I appreciate every and all that you do." They all just dismiss my appreciation with a hand and all day a variation of "it's what family's for".

"Excuse me daddy, I was wanting to take us girls to a few boutiques around town for the cabin, do you think you boys could take one vehicle back together and leave one with us?" Beth asks, this is news to me. She looks back at me and gives me a wink. "Yeah honey that's fine. I'm happy my girls are spending time together again, the ladies will take my car and us boys will go back in the ranch truck." "Thank you dad" I say, "don't worry about it (Y/n/n). Call it a wedding present". A loud laugh rips from everyone at all. Ryan pulls his cowboy hat down to cover his harshly blushing face. "Aaawe baby, don't hide your pretty face. The red really brings out the embarrassment in your eyes" I joke and pinch his cheek. He swats my hand away and kisses my cheek.

Hours later and it's dinner time, my whole family and everyone from the bunkhouse is in my new living room drinking my new beer. Ryan and Colby laughing together. My boyfriend and his boyfriend. Lloyd comes to pat me on my shoulder. "You done good girlie, they don't make cowboys like us and Ryan anymore. And hey, if you get tired of him you know where to find me." He wins chuckling, he's always been so playful with everyone. "Well then I guess I'll just have to meet you at our regular spot" I play back. "Lloyd, quit flirtin with Ryan's wife" Kayce laughs and yells from across the room. Ryan heard it and he makes his way towards us. I put my hands up in faux surrender. "Well...I did want to wait until we've lived together for a while, but now is better than ever. And everyone has made the joke today, almost ruining my surprise." Colby comes up to him and hands him a red velvet box. No, I mean yes, but. There's no way.

"(Y/n) (M/n) Dutton, I remember the first day I saw you. You were wearing this exact dress and socks, this beautiful gothic cowgirl. I'd never seen anything like it. Your hair was black with bright red underneath. You caught me starin and you smiled. It's like I was floating among the stars. Lloyd told me it was rude to stare and told me who you are, my only response is that I was gonna marry you someday. He said "yeah maybe when spider fly" then I told him that's terrifying. Anyways, I love you and have since I first saw you. Will you do me the honor and make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?" I can't see Ryan anymore since my eyes are blurry with tears, I nod frantically. "Fuck yes, now get up here and kiss me". Looking me in my eyes, makeup running, he slips the ring on my finger, "Yes ma'am." Cheers resound through the small cabin. I see everyone try to slyly wipe their own tears away. The kiss is searing and full of everyone emotion left unexpressed. After we pull away I notice everyone has their phone out. Teeter is the first to hug me and congratulate me, only because I had asked her to bring me another beer seconds before Ryan proposed. She goes back to the kitchen sitting on the counter, where Ryan was, next to her man Colby.

Everyone forms a line in front of the pair of us. My family in front of me and the hands in front of Ryan and they criss cross between us to congratulate the both of us. Cheers, tears, appraisal, and happiness runs rampant through the house. Jamie walks through the door looking around nervously. "It's fine Jamie, you're not going to be exiled for wanting to congratulate the happy newly engaged couple" Beth yells from counter, she was chatting with Teeter about something I couldn't hear. "What? Who got engaged? I came looking for dad" Well that stings. The hell does he mean who? Who else would it be? Its the beer. And the emotions. That's why it happens. "WHAT THE FUCK AM I TO YOU JAMIE? FUCKING ROADKILL?" I shout. Anger bubbling quickly, and it's released just as quickly. Its just the beer and emotions in the air I keep telling myself. Totally not the resentment I bare towards him. Ryan grabs my arm but I rip it out. "No. Get the fuck in here and tell me congratulations and a hug like a brother would or I'll tell Beth what you did.. and dad."

He looks sick to his stomach and looks between the two aforementioned family members. He rushed to my side and hugs me. "I am happy for you little sister. Congratulations from the bottom of my heart." The smile on his face is forced. Little bitch. He goes to dad but dad blows him off to hug me tight. "Tell me later sweetheart.". He then pulls Ryan into a gruff hug that makes him grunt from how tight dad is squeezing him. I think it's an actual display of strength and not a (soon-to-be) familial embrace. Jamie and dad go out to the back yard to talk. Kayce pulls me to the couch to sit, I'd been standing since we got home. We were all tired though all I did was shop today but it was a lot of walking. Tate sits in my lap and tells me he's happy for me and asks if he can be the ring bearer. "Of course you can buddy boy, anything for the best nephew I've ever had. On one condition though." Kayce gives me that look, he got my joke but it breezes over Tate's head. Monica mirrors Tate and sits in Kayce's lap. "He's your only nephew, (Y/n/n)" she chuckles. I smile wide at her and pull my sock and boot off. Showing my new tattoo, a memorial for John, a memorial for the nephew I lost. Monica and Kayce hug me tight, squishing Tate in the process. Monica whispers she loves me in my ear. "Wait what's the one condition?" Tate pipes up. "Oh yes, right. You have to ride my horse Ida B. Hay Bales down the isle." Kayce laughs loud, shouting a "what the hell? That's what you named your new horse?" "Yes! Take your problem elsewhere Mr. Dutton. I'm a modern day feminist." "Okay, okay, turn down the heat sis. I just ain't heard no horse name like that before." I huff and roll my eyes, pushing his arm. Hopin the push I put no strength behind will make him fall over. He scoffs and does the same. I do it again but harder. Then Tate pushes him too. "yes buddy boy, it's two against one I think we can win! Help me defeat your daddy". He lets out a war cry then pushes against his dad's arm, I put my hand below his and push. My brother copied his son and shoves me. Oh it's on. But the backdoor slides open before the "fight" can devolve into a sibling fight. "Kayce quit hittin your sister." Dad's gravelly voice says, I stick my tongue out at Kayce showing off I've won. He chuckles and shakes his head. "Auntie (Y/n/n) can I have another juice please?" Tate asks, Kaycee shakes his head no while Tate looks at me. "Yeah baby go getchu one outta the fridge, there's also some peeps on the counter get you a couple and bring me one and a beer back please". He thanks me and shouts excitedly about the prospect of sugar. Monica gives me a dissaproving look but I just point the blame to Kayce. A wonderful evening.

[puffyartist]

Today we ask the gang: How do you like to read?

GROOVY I love digging through vintage magazines! My uncle has an amazing collection of old MAD Magazines that I'm still working through!

GIRLY Weather it's an ebook I checked out from my local library or the latest webtoons episode, I love to read on the go with my tablet!

GOTH NERD I'm an old fashioned book reader! I love holding the physical book in my hands!

SPORTY I find I have a hard time sitting still just to focus purely on reading. That's why I like audio books so much; it lets me multitask!

Thanks to Groovy Gal and her friends for sharing their answers! Now how about you: How do you like to read? What are your favorite books? Do you have any questions you'd like to see the gang answer? Let me know!

[ghostradiodylan]

what do you think all the counselors' favorite colors are?

Thanks for the ask moth! This is a bit of a challenge because I associate them so strongly with the colors they wear in the game and that doesn’t necessarily mean those colors are their favorites. But I’m gonna free associate, pull some design theory, and figure it out!

Max - Yellow. “Max Brinly loved the color yellow until he saw it in his own eyes,” popped into my head out of fucking nowhere thinking about this ask. Baby ducks, golden retrievers, early morning light. An energetic, cheerful, supportive color for an energetic, cheerful, supportive lad. Also the color associated with soldiers away at war, danger, the longing for reunion.

(This is not a joke about him being afraid lol also I know that’s orange, the tumblr font color palette is limited okay?)

Laura - Pink. I was definitely thinking about her wearing the tracksuit Max ends up in. But there’s also just something about associating a true badass with pink. It’s an unexpected twist, like going to summer camp expecting to dole out bandaids and ending up a one-eyed werewolf hunter. Pink is playful, kind, and optimistic.

Dylan - Green. His forest green phone is such a choice (everyone else has basic black or gray phones, right?) and I love it! He just strikes me as a green kind of kid. It’s a color the offbeat kids were more likely to choose when I was the age that we talked about favorite colors a lot (vs. blue, red, pink, the usual suspects). It’s the color associated with both inexperience and jealousy, but also hope, renewal, growth, the anticipation of things about to bloom.

Jacob - Red. Jacob seems like a red kind of guy to me (though, like Max with yellow, he might be a bit tired of it after the canon events) This boy has a temper and ‘sees red’ easily, but he’s also tender and lovable. Associated with passion, enthusiasm, heart, hot-headedness, fire (and fireworks!), blushing, and blood.

Ryan - Blue. He might be a little bit goth on the outside but Ryan’s a sailor, I feel like he’s drawn to water and sky. I think he’d like a teal or aqua kind of blue, think Caribbean ocean water and swimming pools with no dead bodies in them whatsoever. Blue is loyalty, dependability, a tranquil exterior, transitory sadness, and peacemaking. Blue is apparently the most popular favorite color in the world (humans love the sky, is what this tells me).

Nick - Orange. Maybe it’s because his best scenes are in the golden hour with Abi, but I imagine Nick might vibe with a sunset orange. Softer and more restrained than red but not quite as cheerful as yellow, associated with the sweet fruit of the same name, but also positivity, caution, warmth, and difficulty with commitment. Orange, like Nick, can be a polarizing color in design.

Kaitlyn - Red. There are only so many colors, we have to double up somewhere! Kaitlyn’s red has a different flavor to Jacob’s. It’s bold, alert, and protective, like the light on top of an ambulance, but also flashy and action-oriented. Fire can be equally as defensive as it is destructive. We can assume Kaitlyn shares Brenda Song’s Chinese and Thai heritage, and red is an extremely auspicious color in Chinese culture. Also, on a shallower note, I love Kaitlyn’s red shoulder stripes in her 80’s ‘fit! I wish they’d made her high top converse red to match!

Abi - Purple. She doesn’t wear anything purple in the entire game, in any of her ‘fits, and you might make a good argument for her favorite being red, but I think Abi is a purple gal at heart. Maybe a soft, romantic, sweet shade like lavender. Associated with dignity, intuition, a rich fantasy life, and emotional depth. (My personal favorite, with teal and green not far behind).

Emma - Green. Doubling up again, but I have to let the game guide me here. Emma consistently has green as a major color or accent across all three of her outfits, so clearly she’s drawn to it. Shes the only one with a color theme like that! Maybe she likes that it brings out the greener tones in her hazel eyes. I imagine her gravitating toward a more emerald shade, associated with success, wealth, and abundance. There’s a dramatic flair to green that fits Emma well.

🌈 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

I could probably talk myself out of half of these and have reasoning for alternate takes, tbh, but I’d love to know what others think!

[lumilasi]

So i have been scrolling trough your blog for a while now, enjoying the lore and the many beautiful characters and designs. And i keep coming back to your blogs header image, the striking green hair, beautiful lighting, it is amazing, i haven't been able to find the full image though! i would love to see it and hear more about the character! love the design!

Aww thanks! Glad you like them! Also sorry for late(?) response, timezones and all....

This is the full image in the header: (there are 2 versions, can't recall which one it is)

It was part of my Spooktober series last year. (Here's the OG post too)

Her name is Avane Faydream, or Ava Mantis; she's mostly known as Ava by her friends. Ava is a mixed heritage Mantis Fairy-Dreameater where she has abilities belonging to both beings. (Her Dreameater heritage is why she has black wings, typically her kin have green ones. Her eyes also come from her dreameater dad)

The image above is not her "canon" design though, apart from her hair, Here's her actual ref. (Some info below miiight be slightly outdated though, I tend to develop and change things overtime, but the designs at least are up-to-date)

She also has this outfit that was inspired by a really pretty Japanese modern dress I saw online once when researching for inspo for outfits to another character: (Her OG version was Japanese, now she doesn't really have direct connections to human world, but I'd say her mother, if placed on earth, would probably be from Asia somewhere, though not necessarily Japanese.)

Ava is kind of my main lady, because she has direct connections to all of my "main" characters, from working for the Goth Dad Jurou/Alistair as a tattoo artist, to being one of Azul Samaros/ Chester Knight's friends he sometimes ask for help from. (When Azul says he knows someone, he goes "I know a gal" rather than "I know a guy" quite often lol)

She has a boyfriend, a bi Grimmhound (with some Lycan heritage) named Roman Bosco, who used to work for a human mobster (or more like was forced to/the guy was also in love with him but in kind of a toxic way....) and he's one of those absolute sweetheart, romantic teddy bear guys. (His ref here if you wanna learn more about Roman)

(Roman has vitiligo btw)

Her dad Lawrence is sort of the 'antagonist' for my main story Night City Parlor, and she sort of tends to meddle in her dad's business to try and protect people from his influence. This includes Jurou, she actually went to work for him to secretly keep an eye on him, knowing her dad would be interested in someone as powerful as Jurou. (She also works together with her uncle, who ends up becoming Jurou's love interest lol)

She loves her dad dearly, but he's somewhat gone off the deep end after what happened to his wife/her mother; he's not coping with her condition well, burying himself in his dangerous and important work, which has started to erode his moral code. As a result, Ava feels the need to protect others from her dad's worse tendencies. (Ava has some of these personality traits from her dad, where she has the capability to be somewhat manipulative and occasionally struggles with empathy. Unlike her dad though, she is self-aware of this and actively works on not giving in on her worse impulses, and will let her friends/BF/Family call her out on it and listen)

I guess I can also list couple of fun facts:

Ava's design took me SO long to get into a place where I liked it. This is kind of typical for me with ladies for some reason, but once I did manage to create something I loved, she quickly became one of my favorite characters.

Ava has a couple of friend groups; 1. the day-to-day one with her coworker and friend Claude, as well as their boss' adoptive son (and Claude's BF) Caelan. 2. Her "sneaky action" group which includes both the former and current right hand woman of her dad, Marci and Aimi. (Typically ones she goes to, when she wants to meddle into her dad's business, or alternatively do something more dangerous lol) 3. Her Girl Bestie, Taiga (A kitsune, works at a hair salon she often goes to, they do girls night hangouts)

Ava is Demiromantic/Demisexual, she basically had no interest in either until she met Roman and slowly developed feelings for him. (She was actually kind of worried her dominant personality would be off-putting to him given his history, but they had a honest talk about it and he basically didn't mind because she tries her best to be the best version of herself despite her mental hiccups)

Ava is NOT good with kids, she has no proper patience to deal with them, and tends to be awkward around children. That being said she tends to try and be a good role model to the ones she has around her in her day-to-day life (namely her boss Jurou's daughter, who's a huge fan of hers lol).

Ava has a lightning bolt tattoo (not shown on the images above, given they are timed before she got it) designed for her by Roman. She basically appeared suddenly in his life like a 'lightning from clear skies' and completely changed things for him, gave him a chance to built the kind of life he'd actually want to live, instead of being forced to work for a criminal.

This got kinda long, but that's what happens when you get asked about your characters I suppose lmao

[neighborlywelcome]

Hi, I saw some of your other matchups for tadc and decided to do this for myself! I will say very quickly that I'm not comfortable being paired with Jax.

Currently I'm questioning my sexuality and I'm okay with being paired with any character, my gender I'm also questioning right now but currently I use she/they! My personality is basically at first I'm very quiet maybe saying one or two things but when I open up to people I become very loud and make a lot of jokes, I try to be as kind as possible (like if I make a somewhat rude joke I almost immediately ask if it's okay after), can be very chaotic, very caring, and somewhat on the more sus side. The best way to describe my appearance is like with Ramona Flowers often I dye my hair new colors (though not as extreme with me waiting till it's faded or a few months later), I have a lot of freckles all over my body, I try to have a goth/emo look, and I have a few very small scars. I'm very creative writing fanfiction, drawing, and trying to make my own series, other then those I love learning about old fandom stuff and reading as well, I also really like learning about lore of different games but I'm not really a massive gamer, I also have a massive passion for theater! I'm an Aries as well and also have a lot of plushies that I sleep with every night!

For my partner I look for someone who can be there no matter what, someone to help remind me that I'm loved, someone who I can joke around with and just be there with. The love langue's I look for a partner are words of affirmation and physical touch, while the ones I myself have are words of affirmation and quality time. My fave date is something quiet like going to see a movie or going to eat out at a small hometown restaurant!

I hope this is good and thanks in advance! Also have an amazing day/night!

Hi and thank you for your request! I hope you have a good day/night as well!

YOUR MATCHUP IS…

GANGLE!!!

You and Gangle would be a great match! You're both compassionate and caring, and not to mention creative. You would get along well and Gangle would be enamored by your unique personality and tastes, like your cool, colorful hair (even if she has a hard time admitting this because of how shy she is)!

You're both very quiet upon first meeting each other, which Gangle finds very comforting. I don't think she'd like if someone was very loud and excited with her from the get-go. You both take your time getting to know one another to open up to each other, and afterwards you're surely inseparable!

Gangle appreciates your kindness, and once she's comfortable with you, would love your jokes! She'll even reciprocate eventually with her own humor every once and a while. And when she's more open she would likewise tell you how happy you make her and how much she loves how caring you are.

Gangle loves drawing and writing and everything in between, especially when it's related to fandoms! She would love to share her works with you and vice versa, and would love to listen to your thoughts and opinions on any kind of lore. Creativity is very important to her, so suffice it to say it's one of her favorite parts about you. (And your love for theatre is also really cute given that's Gangle's theme.)

She would also love going on quiet, romantic dates with you whether that's walks around town or eating at small restaurants. She seems like a "watch a movie with snacks on the couch" kind of gal if you ever feel like staying indoors too. But anything you want to do is fine with her as long as she's in your company... and it isn't anything too loud or scary lol.

One of her favorite activities, though, is cuddling with her ribbons all wrapped around you since she knows how much you love physical affection. Plus, with all the plushies on your bed, she thinks it makes it the perfect cozy spot to relax and hang out together!

[nightmare-dreamt]

My name is Joey, im a Aquarius and my other zodiacs are Leo, Sagittarius and Aries, my MBTI is ENTP, im transgender, aromatic and unlabeled, im adhdtistic, i have brown shoulder length hair(which will be cut off soon to more boyish hair), i wear glasses and im pretty much in between skinny but a little bit chubby, also lastly I wear a shit load of styles like goth (trad goth, romantic goth, mall goth and nu goth), gyaru (hime gal, himekaji, agejo, rokku manba and kogal), scenemo/emo, and lastly vkei, ouji and lolita.

this is what I look like ^^

My personality is ENTP but usually I’m a little non-talkative and awkward at first when I meet a new person so it may take me some time to adjust to them before I can be myself, i usually love to ramble my interests to other people and I also enjoy when they talk to me too, im also not afraid to get snarky when someone bothers me to much, im also pretty protective of people and my own interests LMAOO always that’s all I got for his section👍

My hobbies/interests(warning: fun shit ahead⚠️): anime/manga, fashion, art (drawing, painting, pottery, digital art, etc), gaming, cooking, learning new languages (Japanese and Spanish), i also like doing gym, listening to music/making music, musicals, hanging out with my friends, going shopping, cosplaying, social media and more so on

Dislikes: negative mentions of my voice, comparing me to people/saying stuff like “you remind me of ____” ,also spiders.. I scream whenever I see one, fish, sleeping in uncomfortable places

Thanks again!

Matchup For Joey!

This is my second matchup so bare with me if things are wrong. For the most part, I hope you enjoy!

Hacker:Akudama Drive

The two of you met within a group mission, both being crucial parts that needed to work together, but Hacker wasn't for the idea of working along with someone else and worked on his own things in quiet. When the mission began going south, he started to realize that he was going to need to work together even if it was out of his comfort zone.

After a few hours, Hacker began to realize that you were pretty good at what you're doing and that your work was actually useful. Shocking to most, he chooses to stay connected after the mission just in case he needs help with something. But, secretly he wants to hang out more and he thinks that you're cute… you didn't hear that from me though.

Once a year passes by, Hacker finally gets the courage to ask you out on a date, now knowing a lot about you. His preferred date night is inside, maybe watching a movie or playing a new game together. Of course if you're interested in going out somewhere, he would find some way into getting a reservation (likely hacking into the resturants database and adding a reservation in) for an expensive dinner and then taking you out to see the stars.

Hacker's not into PDA, maybe if the two of you are dating for a while he'll start feeling more comfortable but for the most part he's keeping to himself.

I feel like both of your styles would go good together, especially some of the goth ones. Hacker wouldn't be into matching outfits, but he would try and wear something similar whether it be the color or the pattern. The two of you would share music back and forth with each other, possibly even have a shared playlist for all of your guys' music. He would play music and dance around the room when he got finished with a super hard code or mission, almost like a victory dance,

Hacker would act like he didn't care about your interests and the things you ramble about, but deep down he's making sure to hear every word and remember it

An average day between the two of you is hanging out in a dark room and working on things you both enjoy, Hacker would be working on some sort of code and would ask for some advice on how to make it better.

After some time being together, I feel like Hacker would open up about his thoughts about something else being out there and how he dreams of reaching it. From that point forward, he starts opening up more to you about his insecurities and the fear of nothing actually being out there.

Kouichi Shindou: HoriMiya

You met Kouichi from your mutual friend, Miyamura, who introduced the two of you in junior high school. You weren't sure how to feel about him, but that all changed when you got to see the side of him around Miyamura, sticking up for him and helping him become a better person. Some time had gone by and the two of you were now in high school, except the two of you didn't go to the same high school. He went to another school nearby in order to get his life set together, which you're happy about until the news of him repeating his second year went around. You made sure to never let him live it down.

Valentines had rolled around and Miyamura and you were on your way home when the sounds of girls squealing were heard nearby. Across from them, the ginger haired boy tried to leave the big crowds of girls who waited for him to accept their gifts.

Watching the interaction between the two, a new feeling bursted within as you stomped over through the crowd of people. Grabbing Kouichi's arm, you drag him away from the crowd bringing him to your dorm not sure what to do next. Talking, he begins to question why you brought him to your house and away from those people, in which you let split that you felt jealous and didn't want him to receive valentines from other people

Once the secret was revealed, the two of you agreed to go out with each other and soon enough a relationship was born.

Date nights with Kouichi are outside in calming areas where he can feel free to be himself without the screaming girls always behind him. He once took you to a flower field filled with all sorts of flowers, along with your favorite. The two of you then had a picnic and stared at the stars when nightfall hit embracing the comfort of each other.

Takashi Morinozuka: Ouran High School Host Club

You accidentally ran into them when the group was going to the market and Honey-senpal had gotten lost needing help to find his friend. Lucky for him, you happened to be there to help and with a little bit of searching the two of you found his friends who were panically searching for their friends.

Enjoying your company, Honey-senpai wanted to keep in touch and invite you to one of his many tea parties with all of his sweets. Accepting the invite, that was how you met the blonde's best friend, Mori-senpai.

You weren't sure about him not knowing much about him considering that he didn't talk much and preferred to listen, but he won you over when Tamaki was in one of his moods and was throwing pillows around the host club. He got so angry that he threw one extremely hard your way, but before it could hit you Mori-Senpai caught it, saving your life.

From then on, the two of you became closer and soon enough a date is arranged between the two of you, plus honey of course. All of you went to a dessert cafe and had a blast, especially honey who ended up having a stomach ache after leading to Mori carrying him home, but that allowed the two of you to have some time alone.

Your guys' relationship was good besides the constant girls from the host club, but Mori and the host club members always made sure to stick up for you when one of them tried to tear you down.

Your relationship is usually spent with Honey and the host club, but there are some small chances when the two of you get to be alone, but it doesn't happen much. When the two of you are together, Mori-senpai listens about your day and makes sure to note everything that's said when you're rambling. He's a good listener and can memorize anything your saying. You mention something you want? He's already planning to get it. You had a bad day? He's planning to make it better.

Definitely boyfriend material and father material, I mean we have seen the way he acts around Honey.

That's it for the matchup and I hope you enjoyed Joey! Request are open! Feel free to send one in :)

[dragongutsixofficial]

ooh can you elaborate the parallel between rhea killing nemesis with a dagger and dimitri giving el one? i'm curious but feel free to ignore, if you don't want to!

Thanks for the ask anon ! =D

For context, I just realized there even was a parallel yesterday while I was watching the opening cutscene - and though I thought I'd share it because people might have some interesting things to say about it, I didn't really think that deep into it myself.

That being said, I thought I'd at least give it a go !! Keep in mind though, this might be pretty disorganized since I am thinking it out at the same time as I am writing it.

Off the top of my mind, there are three important daggers I can think of when playing fe3h. The first one, and perhaps the most significant,  is Edelgard's, that was gifted to her by Dimitri so she could cut her own future. The second one, which I talked about yesterday,  is the one Rhea uses to kill Nemesis. And finally, there is a last one: the one Monica uses to stab Jeralt.

Interestingly enough, Seiros kills Nemesis for revenge- because her people have no future now that they've been genocided, because they themselves will not have the opportunity to cut their own future anymore. This is pretty similar to how Edelgard herself is the only one of her siblings left to build a new world where what they went through will never happen again. Both are motivated by their grief of their loved ones who were ripped away from them.

However, and I think that’s very important- unlike Edelgard, Rhea never really moves on from the grief. She tries so much  to stop such horrible things from happening again that she helps build and preserve a system that is, at its core, centered on a romanticized version of the past (what’s with how she rewrites history) and resistant to change (I believe  it is mentioned at some point in Cindered Shadows that she prohibited the development of the printing press and some medical progress). In that regard, you could say she doesn’t even have a “future” if you consider that with future comes change. She clings to the past while being stuck in a kind of “still life” that is her present- and hoping that she can go back to “the way things were” once she brings her mother back to life.

That makes Edelgard the polar opposite of that. She, too, disregards the present- but only because she herself cannot dwell on the past, and thus considers building what she sees as a better future her priority. Living in the present time isn’t worth it if her work amounts to no significant change, and fast -hence the radicality of her actions compared to the more gradual reforms Claude advocates for. She is the gal who devised a plan to take down Those Who Slither In The Dark with her goth best friend in her twenties, while Rhea barely made a move against them in a thousand years. 

Her act of desperation at the end of Azure Moon, when she tries to kill Dimitri last minute, is because she is unwilling to give up on the future she envisioned, not  a way to avenge the past. Now that I think about it, this is emphasized even more by the fact that her dagger is supposed to kill the one who gave it to her in a past she has no care left for, and barely remembers anyways. But this last action still leaves room for a better future- she doesn’t manage to kill Dimitri.

Rhea uses her dagger so the past can live again- Edelgard uses hers to kill the past.

So, now that I am wayyyy too deep into this to back down- where does Kronya’s dagger fit in all of this ?

Kronya/Monica killing Jeralt is the catalyst for change in Byleth. The one key element that allows for the return of the Goddess in the world of the living (speaking of that, have some cool symbolism about their fusion with Sothis I thought about the other day) . But, even more importantly, Byleth embodies the movement of the world itself, the force of change. They are interminatum, neither God nor mortal, everchanging and undetermined, unpredictable. They are the time that passes ("Byleth interminatum" is also slowly becoming my favorite way to call them but that's another matter entirely).

Without them, the conflict stagnates, torn in the struggle between the past and the future ; because neither Edelgard nor Rhea know how to live in the present. But you know what's pretty cool ?

Byleth never uses their own dagger. They literally have it on at all times but never use it. My guess is, it is exactly because they have been revealed "both sides of time" that they can live in the present without regret, kept in check by all of the ties they have made there with their loved ones. This might even be because they are the only character who was "cut from the world" and felt like they lived outside of it at the beginning of the story, whose entire character arc centers on finding their place into this world. Jeralt's murder is just what triggers this force of change.

Byleth is essential in that they teach both the archbishop and the empress something they have always been lacking- learning to live in the present, to be part of the world again, to open themselves up to others and love. Edelgard never uses her dagger in Crimson Flower because Byleth was there to keep her aware of the consequences her actions have in the here-and-now.

Aaalright, I guess that's a wrap ! Please forgive any mistakes as English isn't my first language. Similarly, I might not have covered everything and it's just me musing, don't hesitate to add anything to this !!! ^^ But the symbolism of the dagger was really cool to think about !!

[fandomsoda]

I sense that you like being asked about your characters!!

Which of your characters is most likely to do something absolutely excessive and extreme in dire situations? Which one is the type to have an extremely complex order at a coffee shop? Which ones would be most excited for each season? Which would have an abnormally large amount of cats?

yes I do love being asked about my characters, thank you for this!

Excessiveness in dire situations is definitely a Tizzy thing. This guy is a feral lab experiment who sets things on fire for fun, this man is totally gonna panic something fierce. Tizzy is a primary character from Omega Lab.

Hyper-complex coffee shop order is definitely probably Pastel Goth!Dream’s thing, I think I even gave him like some sort of complex drink he likes at some point. He’s one of the many variants of sanses I’ve made where I put them in alternative subcultures!

damn specific seasons? That’s hard-

I think Spiral would be a winter gal, simply because it means that she can wear layers and jackets without being hot. Spiral is one of my main three Homestuck fantrolls!

Not certain why but I feel like Alt!Killer would be pretty enthused for summer- he’s another one of my alternative Sans variants.

Pastel Goth!Dream again getting mentioned- I think he’d like spring!

and finally Annulus absolutely adores autumn. Fall is his absolute favorite season, as it often brings about his favorite environment. The bug loves the decaying leaves and golden trees, what can I say? Annulus is a standalone Sans OC I made and he’s one of my favorites.

Any Killer variant I create probably has like 50 cats.

Also getting this ask has brought to my attention how desperately I need to update my personal projects masterpost-

[particular-one]

Hii!! I saw your taking matchups so I wanted to ask for a romantic matchup for honkai star rail, hypnosis mic and twisted wonderland please..!

and I don’t mind who I get, it can be both male and female

So anyways My name is Joey, i use he/him pronouns, and im transgender aromatic bisexual and unlabeled and I’m a very cool extrovert person😎😎/hj

im 5’6, i have white skin, i have a rectangular shape body(I’ve also gained some muscles and I can squish people with my arms HEHHA), i (now) have brown boyish hair with bangs and I’m in love with it😭😭, i also dress in a lot of styles such as goth (trad goth, romantic goth, mall goth and nu goth), gyaru (hime gal, himekaji, agejo, rokku, manba, kogal and tsuyome), scenemo/emo, and lastly vkei ouji and lolita. BUT..! when I’m not wearing those styles (mostly when I get home) I get into comfortable stuff like pjs, t-shirts, anime merch, jeans, etc etc

im a extrovert obviously, im a ENTP and my enneagram is a 6 last time I checked, im very fun and cool to hang out with but when I meet a new person I am awkward at first so it may take me some time to adjust to being with a new person even if it means being friends or being a boyfriend to them, i rlly LOVE to ramble about my interests or just my day to people that I’m close with, I love to text my friends a lot through discord or whatever bc im a technology person and I can talk with them for a whole night, i usually make jokes like “UwU” or “hai” as a joke and I might even say “baka” as a joke as well LMAO, I also tend to make sexual jokes to my close friends and I also say I’m “homophobic” as a joke (PLS DONT TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY😭😭😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏) and I think this is all i got for here heheh, oh wait! small fact… im very good with doing a Russian accent when I’m talking to people

I have a whole lot of hobbies/interests which are anime/manga, gaming, writing, art(drawing, painting, pottery and digital art and more), fashion, DIY, cosplaying, social media, learning new languages (Japanese and Spanish), dancing, singing, cooking, cats, musicals, hanging out with friends, making music/listening to music, hotels, sharks, bread, and more so on

my love language is Gift Giving, Acts of Service, Quality Time and Words of Affirmation

Honestly what I would want in my partner is that they don’t mind how I talk with my speech patterns and the sound of my voice, and taht they don’t compare me to other people and they don’t act cruel much, not very strict boundaries but as long as they live and respect me then there’s nothing to worry about

Also my date idea is like going out somewhere, it can either be private or in a restaurant, I’d lie to do fun stuff like go to an arcade or go to the movies and go out to dinner afterwards but I’m totally up for just having a home date and play new games or have a movie marathon

Thank you! Have a great day!

hello joey! and yeah, definitely! i hope you like your matchups! :>

HONKAI STAR RAIL ---- SUSHANG

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ sushang was, at first glance, probably the least likely to be the type who'd jump on the same chaotic antics as you. given that she's training to be a respectable cloud knight, she seemed like the kind of person who would rather keep things straight and proper, but that definitely was not the case. she finds you very interesting and befriended you almost immediately. she's the type who also likes to ramble a lot about her day, so expect a lot of back-and-forth talk between the both of you! the both of you take turns with the dynamic of "talks a lot / listens a lot". sushang also seems to be the type who would engage in a playful banter with you outside of her duty. as a partner, sushang is very loyal; she probably acts most like a golden retriever around you: eager to cheer you up and help you out in any way. it's a common occurrence that the both of you hype each other up and jump up and down. though she can seem a little naive at times, often ending up misunderstanding some things, she's a very honest person and definitely demonstrates her affections through acts of service. she likes helping people out, but she places you at the top of her priority list. did i mention that she really loves your sense of fashion? sushang even ropes you into a shopping spree on one of her days off duty just to hear you talk about your fashion style, your choice in clothes, and take notes. sushang knows how it feels to get chastised constantly, so she never tells you off when you continuously ramble on and on.

HYPNOSIS MIC ---- JIRO YAMADA

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ jiro was not the type to fuss himself over crushes, but boy does he crush over you hard. it's a funny scenario because you always seemed to glow whenever you're in your element, rambling about that new interest you had just cultivated. jiro is just a hopeless idiot, that he actually ends up approaching ichiro on what he should do. for a rather straightforward guy, he stumbles on his words when talking to you — which amuses saburo to no end, but the both of you end up having a really tight friendship, so ha, jiro wins the roulette of life for once. as a partner, jiro is the type of guy that's like "actions speak louder than words". he's a little slow when it came to all these romance stuff, considering that you're likely the first partner that he's ever been with, but he does his very best to treat you with the most care and respect ever. jiro likes hearing you talk about your day as he finishes up his homework, before the both of you decide to go on an after school hangout. he also idolizes his older brother, so at some point, expect that he probably would imitate the bravado of ichiro to impress you, but he realizes that it would probably be the best to stick to being himself. one of your common dates is to the arcade, where the both of you engage in a lot of friendly banter. jiro has the worst luck so he always gets beaten by you, but he'd go to the arcades every day with you if he could. if the both of you are too busy to head to the arcade, he invites you to the yamada residence and you guys play video games together.

TWISTED WONDERLAND ---- ACE TRAPPOLA

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ace found you to be quite similar to him, so it was a quick first meeting where the both of you hit off almost immediately. cue riddle just groaning because now he has to deal with two people who acted like trappola. both of you would definitely banter ... like a lot. ace likes you very much, but it takes him time to actually realize the extent of his feelings. like ... this guy would probably say something like "haha, yeah, i'd love to hold joey's hand just so he won't get lost in the crowd" and every member of heartslabyul is just wondering how realization hasn't hit him yet. he feels so comfortable with you but when he does realize, ace starts acting more bashful and nervous around you because it's a new thing to him! as a partner, ace is someone who would make each day an exhilarating surprise. expect your dates to be very different from the previous; he likes setting the bar high and even higher, just as a way to show how much you mean to him. since he's also part of the basketball club, a scenario of ace dedicating a shot to you definitely happened. something along the lines of "this one's for you" with a wink, before completely missing the shot like the idiot he is, but the thought is there! ace makes sure to spend a lot of quality time with you when he can; he's not the best person to rely on in helping you with your work, but he'd probably crack the worst jokes so that you wouldn't feel stressed about finishing your daily tasks. the both of you would also walk around the halls of nrc after class, just catching up on each other's days.

[obsoleteozymandias]

Hi there! I just stumbled across your blog and I’m really loving your work!! I saw that your requests were open and if it’s alright (and if they’re still open of course) I’d like to ask for a LOTR/TH matchup? (Or marvel cuz I’m obsessed with both and can’t decide- I honestly don’t have a fandom preference!)

I’m a goth gal with an adoration of the strange and unusual! I’m a Gemini and an isfp! As for looks I’m a bit on the short side- I have a rounder face and fairly androgynous features, mid length black and red hair, and I don a considerable amount of makeup most of the time especially eyeliner!! I try my best to be friendly to everyone and most of all make people laugh! but I can be sort of socially anxious— my hobbies and interests include playing the guitar and singing, reading, animals and nature, extreme makeup and fashion, cooking, anything spooky ooky cooky and creepy and pretty much any geeky stuff you can imagine, i’d prefer a male character if that’s alright!! I’ve never made a request like this before so excuse my nerves and I’m sorry if this is a shorter description than normal- but I hope this finds you well and once again I love your writing, keep up the good work!! <3

Thanks queen! Sorry for the late reply - school be keeping me on my toes. 

== The Lord of the Rings == 

I match you up with…

Fili 

FINALLY SOMEONE TO MATCH THIS MAN (dwarf) UP WITH. 

Fili, while definitely the more mature sibling between him and his brother, is not immune to the oddities and charms of lifestyles he has never experienced before. He finds your goth clothing and makeup fascinating, and often watches you apply it. 

When he gets comfortable enough, he’ll ask you to do his eyeliner - not a lot, but enough to accentuate his eyes. He wears it around proudly, like, yeah, my girl did that. 

He views it like tattoos among dwarrows - symbolic of your relationship, and having a special meaning only he understands. He’s always hesitant to wash it off, but you gladly apply it every morning. 

He loves your musical side. In general, Fili loves music. The moment you begin to sing, he’s head-over-heels for you. He plays along with you on his fiddle sometimes, but he mostly just watched, completely entranced by your talent. 

If you know anything about Dwarven culture, he’ll be impressed. Since it’s such a hidden society, few ever learn of their traditions and teachings. But if it suits you, he’ll be overjoyed to share all of his culture with you. 

He’s a massive softie for physical affection. He likes giving it, of course, but he also loves a reassuring hug or kiss. He can sometimes feel inferior to the rest of his family, but you never see him that way - he’s perfect in your eyes. 

== Marvel == 

I match you up with…

Loki Laufeyson 

The trickster god’s biggest trick? His false exterior. Loki’s not necessarily a softie, but he feels in such an extreme way that having someone compassionate and understanding by his side is certainly a plus. He’s afraid more than he will ever say, and he puts on an exterior of arrogance, but at his core he wants love more than anything. 

The first thing that catches his eye is your manner of dress. He loves the color black like any good villain-character-turned-good-ish-guy. He really appreciates the goth style of dress, especially if it’s elegant yet practical. 

He doesn’t always wear makeup, but when he does, he does it with precision. You could learn a lot from him - and he from you. The two of you bond over doing one another’s eyeliner (and messing up lipstick ;))

He’s an animal lover as well - he has a bit of a superiority complex regarding humans and the like, but animals have always seemed so far removed, and he cares in an insanely adorable way about the small bird you see about and the large elk moving silently through the woods. 

Loki is irritated by your friendliness at first - but when he realizes that you don’t want to manipulate him and that you just have a genuine interest in being kind to others, he makes the most of it. He lets his guard down a bit with you, and lets himself be human - not a god with a disastrous destiny, but a human. 

[undyingembers]

Ooh, can you do the Interests section for Amali and/or Eva?

19. Hobbies

Amali has quite a few: bug collecting, reading up on animancy discoveries, painting, singing, playing the violin, cooking, calligraphy, poetry, mechanics. She is creative and meticulous. Anything that allows her to create and that requires delicate handiwork will peak her interest.

For Eva occult is her life. She mainly focuses on Celtic, Nordic, and Medieval European witchcraft. She spends hours looking up old superstitions and rituals. One thing that Eva never wants anyone to find out is that she used to take piano lessons when she was a child and that she still thinks about

20. Clothing/Aesthetic

Amali is the sophisticated and intellectual goth: long coats, ruffled shirts, high quality leather boots and gloves, black lipstick, black nail polish, intricate embroidery, belts with tools or art supplies on them, velvet purses, fancy dresses, and lavender perfume. She mainly dresses in burgundy or dark purples, but she has also worn black and white and she has on occasion worn bright orange.

Eva is the immature punk goth: ripped fishnets, black combat boots, t-shirts with obscene logos, black leather jackets, runny eyeliner, black and red lipstick, fingerless gloves, spikes. She also incorporates a lot of charms and crystals into her outfits. She wears mostly blacks and reds, but sometimes she’ll add in some neon green or hot pink.

21. Fave food(s) and drink(s)

Amali likes to try and learn to cook many different types of foods. She loves spicy foods. Sadly, she gets sick too easily to enjoy overly spiced stuff. Eora doesn’t have grapes, but she would definitely enjoy a good red wine. She also really likes dark chocolate.

Eva needs blood, and as a Tremere, she needs a lot of it. When she was alive, she drank a lot of herbal teas. She didn’t have a favorite food per say, but she really loved candy.

22. Fave Color

Both OCs love black. Amali also likes burgundy and dark purples. Eva always loved the color red; she loves it even more so since she became a vampire.

23. Fave Genre

Horror. Both women would love to spend a stormy night in an abandoned cabin reading The King in Yellow or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

24. Fave Season

Eva’s favorite is autumn. Happy Halloween! In all seriousness though, fall has such a beautiful dark and red aesthetic without it getting too cold.

Amali likes it right on the edge of fall and winter. Even though she gets cold very easily, there is something about winter’s desolation that she finds very appealing. She doesn’t really like snow, however. It is most beautiful when it’s dark and barren and empty and snow kind of ruins it.

25. City or Country?

Both Amali and Eva are city gals. Amali grew up in a poor district in the capital of Old Vailia and is very familiar with run-down homes, dark alleyways, dockside taverns. When she moves to the Dyrwood, she learns to find beauty in the dark woods, frightening creatures, haunted castles, of which her new home offers plenty.

Eva cannot do the countryside to save her life. This only got worse when she became a vampire. Not only do cities offer a larger feed pool, but now she knows that there are werewolves and other vampire-hating nasties out in the country.

26. Guilty Pleasure

I’m not sure if Amali can really have a guilty pleasure. She has many interests that others find morbid or confusing, and she really isn’t ashamed of it.

Eva does not want others to know that she can play the piano. She kind of associates it with her boring childhood. She also refused to admit that she finds cats and kittens freaking adorable!

[maybeimamuppet]

you happened

hey darlings!! happy wednesday!!!

let’s get right into it shall we?

tw for

discussion of canon events in mg (outing, etc)

discussion of canon events in the prom (homophobia, etc.)

this was requested by @spidy-nugget like forever ago so thank you for your patience and i hope you enjoy!

—

“Oh!” Cady says, interrupting herself in the middle of a sentence. “I just remembered! My cousin is coming to visit next week, do you guys want to meet her?”

“Emma?” Damian asks excitedly. Cady nods. “Yes! Is she bringing the-her… Broadway friends?”

“I dunno, she didn’t tell me,” Cady giggles. “But probably, she said they usually visit her at some point every summer.”

“I should probably be there to stop him from combusting if they do come,” Janis huffs. “But also, yes, I want to meet her too.”

“She’s an absolute icon,” Damian says happily. “God, her song. Still makes me cry.”

“You cried watching Finding Dory yesterday,” Janis retaliates.

“It’s a sad movie! Sometimes!” Damian defends. “Anyway, tell me all about Emma.”

“Okay,” Cady giggles again. “She’s a year older than us, and she’s my cousin on my mom’s side. Um… you know her whole… prom fiasco. I’ve only met her in person once when I was ten, for Rhys’ funeral. But we were pen pals when we were really little. And now we just text and stuff.”

“Cute,” Damian says. “And is her girlfriend coming?”

“Oh! Yeah,” Cady says around a mouthful of Janis’ milkshake. “Her name is Alyssa, she’s, like, super smart. Did every possible activity in high school, that kind of thing. But she’s been with Emma when we’ve Facetimed and stuff before and she’s super sweet.”

“Aww,” Damian coos. “I can’t wait!”

————-

Luckily for him, Damian doesn’t have to wait too long. Emma and Alyssa arrive the following week in Emma’s pickup. Damian has been pressed against the window all day, like a small child watching for the ice cream truck. He gasps dramatically when four people in matching sequined tracksuits also hop out of the backseat, grumbling about being cramped together for such a long trip.

Cady opens the door to let everyone in, and is quickly swamped by a crowd of people much taller than her. Janis pops up on her tippy toes to try and find her girlfriend to save her, but doesn’t succeed.

Everyone heads into the living room, and Janis laughs when she finds Cady being carried in like a sack of potatoes by one of the men that came with Emma.

“Emma, why didn’t you tell me your cousin was so adorable?” He demands. “Look at this, she’s so small.”

“Please put me down,” Cady squeaks. Janis heads over and reaches for her.

“Can I have my girlfriend back, please?”

“And she’s gay!” The man says happily, passing Cady over like she’s a small dog. Janis holds her close and smoothes her hair back to where it was.

“Bi, actually,” Cady grumbles.

“Well, aren’t you something. Oh, my name is Barry, by the way. As if you haven’t heard of me.”

“Barry, we talked about this,” Emma chides. “They haven’t. Except Damian.”

“And where is this Damian? I want to meet him,” one of the ladies says. “Oh, and my name is Dee Dee.”

Damian enters shyly and gives a little wave. Janis cackles, “Dude, you’re totally starstruck, look at you!”

“Uh-hi,” he stutters. “I’m Damian.”

“Aww!” The other lady says. “Look at your little cheeks, what a sweetheart! I’m Angie.”

Damian blushes violently as he’s cooed over by Angie. Barry hauls her off to get a good look at him.

“I like this,” he says. “It’s like a mini me.”

“Just don’t break him,” Emma pleads. “Damian, can I trust you to babysit for a while?”

That prompts a, ‘Hey!’ from all four adults, and an eager nod from Damian. “I can show them around town.”

“This is not a town, darling,” Dee Dee says gently. “But what is there to see?”

“We have… uh-“

“There’s an IHOP!” Cady chirps. “And the mall. That’s kind of it until you get to Chicago. Or the lake.”

“This is the most precious soul,” Barry says happily.

“Dame, we did it. I never thought I’d see the day we found someone gayer than you,” Janis laughs.

“Oh, I like this one too,” Barry says. “Funky little lesbian. She dresses like Emma but goth.”

“I do love the hair,” Emma agrees. “I’m dressed more like Cady today though.”

They both look down at their almost-matching flannels and jean shorts, then back at each other with a nod.

“Same boots though,” Janis cheers, lifting a foot. Emma laughs and nudges it with one of her own doc martens. “Nice.”

“Precious,” Angie says. “Okay, we’ll leave you gals alone now. Damian, show us the sights.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Damian says, leading the adults to the door.

“Yes, show us to the… hopping eyes,” Dee Dee says, sounding both bored and intrigued at the same time. Damian waves goodbye to Janis excitedly and closes the door after him.

“Well,” Emma chuckles. “Oh, I hope he’ll be okay.”

“I think he’ll be fine,” Alyssa soothes. “He’s in good company, and he’s a theatre kid, he gets their… vibes.”

“Theatre kid is an understatement for that boy,” Janis tuts affectionately.

“True,” Cady giggles. “Anyway, we can hang out in my room, if you want?”

Emma and Alyssa nod, so Cady leads everyone up to her bedroom. Janis flops onto the bed and Cady crawls in behind her, lifting her head onto her lap. Alyssa and Emma look around curiously for a second before joining them.

“Who did these?” Alyssa asks, pointing to the paintings and collages adorning the walls. “They’re incredible, especially this one. It looks just like you guys!”

Janis flushes as she points to the one she won her art contest with, of she and Damian and Cady all together. “I did.”

“Dang,” Emma breathes. “You have some serious talent, Janis.”

“Thanks,” Janis squeaks.

“No, seriously! Do you have stuff here?” Emma insists.

“A few things, yeah,” Janis says confusedly, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

Emma lifts her guitar case onto the bed and flicks the latches open, pulling out her famous instrument. It’s covered in stickers and little doodles, much like Janis’ jackets.

“Will you do something on this for me?”

Janis’ eyes go wide. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course!” Emma chuckles. “There’s room down here if you want it visible, or on the back.”

Janis carefully takes the instrument and assesses the material, trying to put an idea together in her mind. She runs to Cady’s desk when one comes to her, where she keeps a supply of basic colors and brushes in case of emergency. Cady doesn’t mind keeping them, they remind her of her girlfriend.

Cady grins affectionately as Emma and Alyssa cuddle in together. “How did you two meet?”

Her cousin turns to smile at her girlfriend. “I kind of always knew of her from school and stuff, but we didn’t really get close until sophomore year.”

Alyssa nods in agreement. “My mom wanted me to be more creative and have another skill or whatever, so she signed me up for guitar classes. Just so happens she was my teacher.”

“You really sucked,” Emma teases. Alyssa scoffs, aghast, and shoves her so hard she nearly falls off the bed. “Ack! Hey, I was kidding!”

“I know,” Alyssa giggles. “I did suck, I’ve never been much good at artsy stuff.”

“I was never good at art either,” Cady chuckles at their antics. “Jay’s tried to teach me to paint a couple times and it hasn’t gone too well.”

She peeks around the other couple to where her own girlfriend is sitting cross-legged on the ground, tongue poked out to the side as she carefully brushes a stroke of paint onto Emma’s guitar. Janis looks up when she feels her gaze, and grins happily when she sees Cady.

“You have the right instincts, I keep telling you,” she says. “You just get cranky too fast and then start attacking me with it.”

Everyone else bursts out laughing. Emma says, “I don’t blame her, I hated art class. What were we talking about?”

“How we met, dummy,” Alyssa huffs, kissing behind Emma’s ear.

“Oh yeah! So, we started off with actual lessons, but then we started getting to know each other more,” Emma explains. “And then I came out and got kicked out, which… a lot of people heard about, so Lyss figured I was a safe person to tell that she was questioning.”

Cady nods, listening intently to the story.

“I came out to her that summer,” Alyssa says. “And she said she’d had a crush on me all along, and asked me out. So we went on a walk and then got coffee and the rest is history.”

“We forgot to mention the serious gay panic I had during our first lesson,” Emma chuckles. “But that’s the gist of it.”

“How cute,” Cady coos.

“What about you two, how long have you been together?” Alyssa asks kindly, flicking Emma’s ear gently as she aggressively plops down onto her lap.

“Four months,” Janis pipes up immediately.

“Man, you crushed on her for that long without saying anything, Cades?” Emma says, impressed. Janis pops her head up and listens in.

“Oh?”

“She never shut up about you for, like, almost a year,” Emma laughs. Cady flushes scarlet and looks down at her lap with a flustered squeak. “I’m assuming it was you, she never gave a name. But it was always a tall, hot artist with cool hair and nice muscles. And I think she mentioned your butt a few times, she thinks that’s cute.”

Janis cackles as Cady flops facedown onto her bed and groans into a pillow. “How cute, I didn’t know that. But I shouldn’t laugh, I definitely wasn’t any better.”

“How did you get together?” Alyssa asks, patting Cady’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Janis snorts from the ground and Cady gives another groan into her pillow. “What?”

“You tell them,” Cady grumbles, poking her face out just long enough that it’s not muffled.

“Baby, it’s cute,” Janis coos.

“No it’s not!”

“Okay, fine, I’ll tell it in a way that makes me look just as dorky,” Janis compromises. “Caddy came to my school in September from Kenya, and she had these adorable little cargo shorts and socks with sandals on, and-“

“Hold on, what?” Alyssa insists. “Kenya?”

“Cady grew up there, her parents are zoologists,” Emma explains.

“How many conversations have we had with her? And you never thought to tell me she’s from Africa?”

“It never came up! We both had a lot going on the first year and then we just didn’t bring it up,” Emma defends. “And now you know.”

“Sorry,” Alyssa says. “Keep going.”

“It’s all good,” Janis chuckles. “Anyway, I fell for her so bad the first day that I dragged Damian into the bathroom at lunch and made him let her join our group.”

Cady pops her head up and looks to her girlfriend. “You did?”

“Yeah, duh,” Janis says. “We’re not known for socializing with the new kids, I just thought you were cute.”

Cady blushes again, but doesn’t return to her pillow. “Keep going.”

Janis chuckles and continues telling the story as she finishes her small painting on Emma’s guitar. “So we became friends that day, and then had… an ordeal, through the rest of junior year and didn’t really reconnect until spring.”

Cady’s told Emma and Alyssa the whole story, so they both nod at Janis’ quick explanation.

“We got really close over the summer, and apparently we were both crushing on each other. But we didn’t notice, somehow. And then I sorta snapped on her birthday this year and decided to fess up, so I made that,” Janis points to the black and white collage hanging next to one of her paintings on the wall. “But before I could give it to her, this little firecracker got wasted and started crying in my lap about how much she loved me.”

“I wasn’t that drunk!” Cady huffs.

“I found you lying on the ground singing yourself to sleep,” Janis giggles. “And you didn’t recognize me, clearly. Just climbed into my lap and spilled your guts. I was lucky it wasn’t literal.”

“Janis Sarkisian,” Cady grumbles. “Behave.”

“Fine, fine,” Janis chuckles. “Anyway, once she sobered up a little bit we had a chat and realized we both had feelings for each other, so we started dating. And now we’re here.”

“That did not make you sound anywhere near as dorky as me,” Cady huffs. “But yeah, that’s… that’s it.”

Emma snorts once the story is done. “That does sound like Cady. But if that’s what it took, then I guess it was worth it.”

Cady turns to look at Janis again. “It was. But you guys went through a lot more than us, that must have been tough on both of you.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Emma chuckles, trying to sneak a peek at Janis’ work. The angle isn’t quite right, so she gives up before she falls off her girlfriend. “You guys went through a lot. But yeah, it was really tough. I’m so lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Alyssa murmurs back. “You guys know the story?”

“I do,” Cady says. “I think Jay and Damian just know the bare bones. It’s your story to tell, I didn’t want to give too many details away.”

Alyssa gives her a grateful smile, and Cady grins back. “Do you want to hear it?”

“Of course,” Janis pipes up. “I finished, by the way. Um, here.”

“Hey, you stole my idea!” Cady jokingly whines when she sees what Janis has done.

“But it’s so perfect!” Janis defends. Emma takes her guitar to see, and smiles at the new lion with a rainbow mane in the spot they’d picked. “And it’s kind of for both of us.”

“This is awesome,” Emma says. “Oh! I get it, it’s a pride thing! Pride of lions, and then… oh. Clever!”

“It was actually Caddy’s idea, she made me a rock with it at pride last week,” Janis says. “I thought it fit.”

“It does, you’re really talented!” Alyssa says, leaning over her girlfriend’s shoulder to see it. Janis’ text tone goes off, so she pulls her phone out of the pocket of her shorts to check it. Cady peeks over to see what it is too as Janis bursts out laughing. It’s a picture of Damian surrounded by his new friends, now in a matching tracksuit all of his own.

jamian: Sent a picture: JAN LOOKIT

danis: nice outfit

jamian: Thank u it really suits me doesnt it

danis: honestly

danis: yeah kinda

jamian: Sent a picture: Thank u

jamian: Anyway we’re going to ihop next yall should meet us there

danis: kk love u

jamian: Love u too

“I think your little crew adopted Damian,” Janis chuckles at Emma and Alyssa, showing them the photo of a very excited Damian.

“Aww,” Emma chuckles. “I’m glad they didn’t kill him, they can be a lot to handle.”

“He seems fine,” Janis shrugs. “Whose truck are we taking?”

“Oh, is that one in the driveway yours?” Emma says excitedly. Janis nods. “It’s nice!”

“We’ve been in Em’s all day,” Alyssa chuckles. “Probably best to take yours.”

“I call shotgun!” Cady yells, already tugging on her shoes and running downstairs.

“As if I’d let anyone else,” Janis mumbles affectionately under her breath.

————-

The waitstaff at IHOP look more than a little frightened at the size of their group, and especially at the crew in tracksuits.

“Ey, yo!” One of them calls. “Guys, come here! It’s that guy from the thing! That show!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Trent grumbles under his breath. “Why is it always that? I played Hamlet!”

They’re quickly escorted to a large table near the back, and Trent signs a few menus as a little gift to the now very excited waiters.

“Was Juilliard worth it?” He mutters to himself. Angie, who’s sat next to him, nudges him with an elbow to shut him up.

Janis and Emma both order for their girlfriends, and also order themselves the same meal of chicken and waffles. Dee Dee gets french toast, Angie gets an omelet, Trent gets some crepes, and Barry gets the most horrifically sweet looking pancakes anyone’s ever seen. Apparently they’re cupcake flavored.

Alyssa looks very content with her large Belgian waffle, and Cady seems delighted with her chocolate chip pancakes decorated with whipped cream to look like a face. It’s definitely from the children’s menu, but nobody says anything.

“So tell us about you guys,” Dee Dee says once their food gets delivered. She looks eagerly to her friends, as if to say, ‘Look how nice I can be when I want to.’ Barry claps quietly for her.

“What do you want to know?” Damian asks. Dee Dee puts her head in her hands, clearly not knowing how to continue. Trent takes over for her.

“How do you guys know each other?”

“Oh!” Damian says excitedly. “Janis and I have been friends, like, forever. We met in tap dance class when we were three.”

“And you knocked my fucking teeth out in that class when we were five,” Janis grumbles.

“By accident!” Damian defends amidst the giggles of their whole group. “I got really into it. Anyway, so we’ve been friends forever. And then little Caddy happened along in junior year, and we kind of kidnapped her for a while.”

“No, I needed to be kidnapped,” Cady laughs. “I was a total wreck. They actually sort of rescued me from the school bathroom at lunch.”

“You were eating in the bathroom?” Barry asks, sounding both empathetic and disgusted. “Oh, you poor sweet thing.”

“I was the new kid, y’know?” Cady shrugs. “Nobody wanted to eat with the dork from Africa.”

Angie chokes on a bite of her food, and Trent thumps her on the back. “From what now?”

“I’m from Kenya,” Cady giggles. “Well, technically I was born in Oregon. But I lived in Kenya for thirteen years.”

“Just, like, in the wilderness?” Barry asks in shock. “With the lions and tigers and… bears and stuff?”

Cady laughs out loud. “Pretty much. But there’s no tigers or bears.”

“But there were lions?” Trent insists.

“Oh, yeah,” Cady says like it’s entirely normal. “That’s mostly what we were studying. They were kind of my only friends.”

“And they never showed any interest in… consuming you?” Dee Dee asks worriedly. Cady laughs again.

“Lions are just big cats, you know, guys? As long as you’re careful and respect their boundaries they won’t hurt you,” she chuckles. “I got swiped at a few times when I was little, but I never needed more than fifteen stitches.”

“Fifteen?” Angie yelps.

“That is kind of a lot, Cades,” Emma chuckles. “I never had to get more than three as a kid.”

“Oh. Well, I was kind of asking for it, I was playing too rough,” Cady hums.

“With a lion,” Alyssa insists. “Do you have pictures?” Cady nods and passes over her phone for them to scroll through her camera roll.

“Anyway, please keep going,” Angie says, leaning across the table to try to see.

“That’s basically it,” Janis shrugs. “Until you get into the whole mess that happened junior year.”

Cady and Damian nod in agreement. The adults all look very excited at the prospect of some new drama. “Do tell.”

The art freaks all look to one another warily, wondering who should begin. Cady decides to after a second of back and forth.

“Well, um… I sat with these two on my first day,” she begins. “But then just before lunch ended I met these three girls. We called them the Plastics.”

“Why?” Angie asks curiously. Damian shows them all a photo. “Oh. I already don’t like this one.” Janis snorts quietly as she points to Regina.

“Anyway, they said I should sit with them, and Janis and Damian wanted me to so I could spy on them,” Cady says sheepishly. “They have some… personal history.”

“Oh?” Trent asks. Cady looks to Janis, this bit is her story to tell.

“Regina, the one in the middle, outed me in eighth grade,” Janis says. “Carved slurs into my locker, that kinda thing.”

“Oh, honey,” Barry says sadly. “That bitch.”

Janis chuckles weakly. “Yeah. The other two just kind of went along with it. They were just generally bitchy to everyone. But I didn’t have many friends because of her, and I went through a lot of counseling and stuff because of it. Spent some time in the hospital for… reasons, but that’s not… something we need to discuss right now.”

Everyone nods, respecting her privacy. Cady continues telling the story. “So, I pretended to join them and would kind of report back to Janis and Damian. I learned that they had this book, called the Burn Book, where they would write mean things about people from the yearbook and stuff. And at the same time I was crushing for a long time on this boy named Aaron, but he was Regina’s ex. She had dumped him earlier for another guy. And she was actually cheating on him with the other one.”

“Oh, can I tell this bit?” Janis asks. Cady nods and gestures for her to keep going. “So, around Halloween, Cady went to Aaron’s party, and I don’t know exactly what happened, but he basically got back together with Regina.”

“What kind of idiot-“ Trent begins, getting cut off by a stomp on the foot from Dee Dee.

“So poor Caddy came to my house,” Janis says, trying to keep down giggles at the memory. “Fucking slams my basement door open, but Dame and I were watching horror movies. Caddy was dressed as some corpse bride with a knife in her back and everything, and Damian screamed so loud, like, higher than I’ve ever heard. But she was crying, so we helped her and then came up with a revenge plot.”

Dee Dee suddenly looks very interested, leaning forwards slightly and resting her head on her folded hands.

“Caddy had these snack bars from Kenya, they’re… Swedish, I think?” Damian says. Cady nods. “They make you gain weight, like, really quickly. Regina was kind of obsessed with her weight and image and stuff, so we got Caddy to tell her they were actually a diet bar to help lose weight.”

“No,” Angie gasps. Everyone laughs at her reaction.

“Yeah,” Cady laughs. “I don’t think anything major happened until around Christmas. The Plastics did this dance every year at the winter talent show, and we had to wear these skimpy little Santa outfits. But Regina had already gained a fair bit of weight, so her skirt didn’t fit…”

“It fell off in the middle of the routine in front of everyone,” Janis cackles. Emma and Alyssa both look slightly scared of her. “Sorry. Personal vindication. But yeah, that was kind of the beginning of the end for her. Cady kind of… got lost in it, by that point. It was hard to tell if she was pretending or not.”

Cady looks down at her lap in shame, so Janis takes her hand under the table and kisses the side of her head a few times to comfort her. Damian keeps going with the story.

“So, Caddy basically overthrew Regina as Queen Bee of the school. She threw a little party and didn’t invite us or Regina, so she kind of was attacking both fronts. We got pretty mad and stopped associating with her, and Regina was obviously furious,” he says. “And so as revenge for that, Regina photocopied the Burn Book and spread all the pages around the school. I saw, like, seven fights before first period even started that day.”

“But didn’t they know that she had written it?” Trent asks.

“That’s the thing, she put herself in it,” Janis adds, now holding Cady on her lap. “So nobody suspected her. She went to the principal and blamed Gretchen and Karen, they’re the other two, and Cady.”

“I don’t like this story,” Barry whines. “Tell me something good happens.”

“Oh, just wait,” Janis chuckles darkly. “There was an assembly called that day, and they tried to make us apologize to each other and do trust exercises or something like that. I kind of went rogue and only apologized to myself and rallied the rest of the girls in our grade.”

“Go Janis,” Angie says, sounding impressed. “Stick it to the man.”

“Thanks,” Janis laughs. “But it only lasted a few minutes.”

“Damn it,” Barry groans. “What happened?”

“Regina got hit by a bus,” Cady says. Angie spits her mouthful of lemonade over Trent.

“She what?”

“Yeah,” Cady laughs. “So, that time kind of sucked for both of us. She was in the hospital recovering, and everyone was saying that I pushed her in front of it or that she jumped in front of it on purpose because of me.”

“She didn’t die?” Dee Dee clarifies. Everyone is more than a little concerned at the disappointment in her voice.

“No,” Cady chuckles. “Well, she died for, like, fifteen seconds, but she was resuscitated and she’s fine now.”

“And did you push her?” Barry asks. “We’re all friends here, you can tell us.”

“No!” Cady huffs. “I may have been a raging bitch, but I’m not an attempted murderer.”

“You didn’t feed anyone to a lion back in Kenya?” Janis teases gently.

“I’ll do it to you if you’re not careful,” Cady retaliates with a laugh. “Where did we leave off?”

“Regina got hit by a bus and you didn’t push her,” Trent says helpfully, still dabbing some lemonade out of his sweater with a wad of napkins.

“Oh,” Damian says. “Okay, so, I don’t… totally remember what happened in between that and Spring Fling, but it’s really not important.”

“I was suspended for the Book, that’s kind of it,” Cady says, gesturing for him to continue.

“Oh, yeah! Anyway, Spring Fling at our school is basically prom but for underclassmen, prom is just for the seniors. Jan and I were each other’s dates, she decorated our outfits and stuff, we looked killer if I do say so myself.”

Janis rolls her eyes lovingly and whacks him with an elbow.

“And Caddy was banned, so she wasn’t supposed to be there, but she showed up towards the end with the Mathletes,” Damian continues. “And she had been nominated for queen, and she won. So she went up on stage and gave the most beautiful speech I’ve ever heard and broke her crown, and we all got a piece. So now we’re all friends and life is good.”

“Nice ending, Dame,” Janis laughs. “Hasty conclusions. But that it is basically how it happened.”

Everyone blinks at them. Trent says, “That was like being in a war zone. Just one bombshell after another.”

“It kinda was, our math teacher got stabbed in the leg at one point,” Cady hums. “Anyway, what’s your guys’ story? If you want to share.”

“Oh, yeah, I’d like to know more,” Damian says. “Jan and I really only know the bare bones. What was in the news, and stuff.”

“You guys can start,” Emma says, pulling a face as Alyssa gently dabs some syrup off her lip. Alyssa giggles when Emma tries to bite her hand and kisses Emma’s cheek.

“Ooh, okay!” Barry says eagerly. “We were in a show. Well, Dee Dee and I. We were in a delightful little show called Eleanor.”

“As in…” Janis says confusedly.

“Eleanor Roosevelt,” Dee Dee explains. She seems surprised when the kids all nod in understanding. “You’ve heard of her?”

“Yeah?” Cady says, tilting her head. “She’s one of the most famous first ladies of all time, we learned about her in our history class.”

“Not nearly enough,” Janis grumbles. “Gotta make time for the men.”

“Amen sister,” Angie huffs.

“Really…” Dee Dee hums interestedly. “Anyway, it was… not a success. Poor advance sales, and then…”

“We bombed opening night,” Barry grumbles. “Apparently. But it wasn’t the show, it was… it was us. The media panned us as aging narcissists and we had to close.”

“On opening night?” Damian gasps in horror. Dee Dee and Barry both nod sadly.

“Regretfully, yes. So, we had to try to change the narrative,” Dee Dee says. “We decided to find a good cause and do something. So we were going to build houses for Habitat for Humanity.”

“But Barry has a bad back,” Trent pipes up. “So then we thought about, like, recycling or fixing poverty or world hunger.”

“But that was all too much for us to handle,” Angie says. “So I went on Twitter and found-”

“Me!” Emma says. “Apparently that all happened on the same night as the first assembly where the PTA cancelled prom in the first place. I guess we were trending.”

“And they only cancelled it because you two wanted to go together?” Janis asks sadly.

“Yep. Well, nobody knew about Alyssa, but they cancelled it because they knew I wanted to bring my girlfriend,” Emma explains.

“Those bitches,” Janis grumbles. “Sorry.”

“Believe me, we get it,” Emma laughs. “But my bit of the story isn’t quite here yet.”

“Oh, yes!” Dee Dee realizes. “So, we decided to help Emma, but we were completely out of funds and had no way to get all the way to Indiana from New York.”

“But I had just booked a non-equity tour of Godspell,” Trent half-brags. The other half seems rather depressed at that statement. “So we came on the tour bus.”

“Can I start our part?” Alyssa asks. Emma nods and squeezes her hand under the table. “So, they obviously gave no indication that they were coming. Emma and Principal Hawkins had gone to the State’s Attorney by that point and put some legal pressure on the PTA, so we had another assembly to discuss options.”

“We?” Damian asks.

“Oh, my mom was the head of the PTA,” Alyssa says casually. Damian chokes on his drink and Janis nearly drops Cady on the ground.

“Your mom cancelled your prom?” Janis asks in shock. Alyssa nods sadly. “Oh, because you… she didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“It was what it was. She knows now,” Alyssa hums. “Anyway, I was there to speak for student council. I was mid-sentence, and then they come barreling into the gym with signs and yelling at everyone.”

“Educating everyone,” Barry corrects. “Loudly and with signs.”

“Right, educating. Sorry,” Alyssa laughs. “So my mom totally loses her shit. It’s chaos. I think Trent had a cowbell at some point?”

Trent reaches into a messenger bag next to him and pulls out a cowbell, resting it on the table with a quiet thunk.

“You just keep that with you?” Janis chuckles.

“For emergencies,” Trent explains. “You’d be surprised.”

Janis tries to think of what emergencies she’s faced that would either be helped or solved with the addition of a cowbell, and surprisingly, she can think of a few.

“Of course he keeps it all the time,” Emma chuckles. “I don’t remember… most of what happened that time. But after a few days they announced that the prom was back on.”

“Because of you?” Damian asks, looking to the stars.

“No,” they all say at the same time Emma says, “I think so.”

Everyone looks her way. “I told you this at the time, but you guys really scared people! I think you at least had a part.”

“How sweet,” Dee Dee says. “Let’s say we had an ensemble part in getting it back on.”

That gets a chuckle from everyone at the table, before Barry continues with the story.

“I, obviously, had to take Emma shopping,” he says. “She only had one dress and it was… a travesty would be an understatement.”

“I’m honestly not sure where it came from,” Emma chuckles. “Just think Little House on the Prarie but somehow so much worse.”

“So we went to the mall, and found this lovely blue dress and some good shoes,” Barry says. Emma looks like she would disagree with his choice of adjectives, but nods. “Did her hair and makeup all fancy, and bought her a corsage.”

“Aww,” Cady coos. “How sweet.”

“That part was fun,” Emma agrees fondly. “But…”

“When we got there,” Barry says. “Poor thing was so excited, but it was-it was just-“

Dee Dee continues for him, as Barry gets too emotional to keep going. “It was totally empty. Barry took Emma into the gym, and it was just horrific. There were barely any decorations, and they were just thrown up. I would be stunned if they spent more than ten dollars on the whole thing.”

“Oh god,” Damian says sadly. “I heard it was a fake, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”

“It sucked,” Emma chuckles sardonically, trying not to get too heavy in the middle of an IHOP. “More than anything. I didn’t care about the decorations, I just… it was so lonely, you know? I realized then that so many people I thought cared about me just didn’t. So many people I thought were my friends, weren’t. I had never felt more alone.”

“It sounds awful,” Janis says.

“It was,” Emma mumbles. Alyssa takes her hand under the table and gives it a gentle squeeze. Emma looks up and gives her a sad but grateful grin.

“I was at the… other prom. The real one,” Alyssa continues, seeming ashamed. “I had no idea what they had done, everyone on student council and the PTA hid it from me too. Some of my friends had seen us together and realized I was the ‘secret girlfriend’ and were trying to break us up.”

“Which worked,” Emma admits sadly. “I called her to try to get her to come to my own personal prom so I could at least have her there, but her mom was at the real one with her and she couldn’t leave. And I just sort of… lost it. I hung up and we didn’t talk again for a week.”

“I never blamed you for that,” Alyssa murmurs gently. “You were still trying to process everything and I just added to it.”

“No, you didn’t,” Emma insists. “We can talk more later. Anyway. I ran out, obviously. And Angie actually came after me, which was nice. She just let me cry and didn’t make me do anything. Helped me get my makeup off and stuff. She even slept on my bedroom floor in case I needed something. It was kind of like having a mom there, which I really needed.”

“How fucking old-“ Angie begins, but Trent claps a hand over her mouth. Emma laughs and continues.

“And then the rest of them came by the next day even though I yelled at them,” she says.

“With ice cream!” Barry butts in. “That’s an important detail.”

“Oh yeah, they brought me Häagen Dazs,” Emma laughs. “It was cute. Especially because they thought I wouldn’t know what it was.”

“Can you blame us? You live in the most yeehaw hick town in Indiana,” Trent says. “And that’s saying something.”

“It’s not that bad,” Emma tuts. “Anyway, they brought ice cream and were trying to convince me to do something to bring more attention to what was happening. Dee Dee actually got me on a talk show at one point, but I knew I would never be able to do something like that.”

“You still owe me a house,” Dee Dee grumbles under her breath. “But what she wound up doing was much better anyway.”

“The song?” Damian asks. Emma nods.

“I had it sort of in my head for a while, and I managed to piece it together in about a week,” she replies. “I was terrified, but it was just an overnight thing. I woke up the next day and it already had two million views.”

Alyssa squeezes her hand with a proud smile. “Half of them were me.”

“The other half were Damian,” Janis chuckles. “He made me watch it at lunch one day and we both watched it so many times we knew all the words by the next day.”

“Aww,” Emma says. “You guys are so sweet.”

“We try,” Janis and Damian say at the same time, locking eyes and glaring at each other once they notice. Cady giggles at their antics.

“Anyway,” Emma laughs. “I wasn’t expecting even that many, but people just kept watching, and then I started getting all these comments on it that were so precious. All these other queer kids all over the world sharing their stories too. Eventually it got back to Principal Hawkins and all of them, and they helped figure out how to set up an inclusive prom. And funded it, which was very helpful.”

“Yeah, helpful,” Dee Dee grumbles under her breath.

“Once we saw where the money was going it was so worth it,” Barry says, gently kicking Dee Dee under the table. “It was beautiful.”

“It really was,” Emma agrees. “But god, it took forever to set up.”

“God, yeah,” Alyssa says. “Oh, and we got back together, like, as we were setting everything up, we forgot to mention that.”

“Oh yeah,” Emma says. “Her mom came when she heard what we were doing in the gym because we never got PTA approval-“

“So she was mad,” Alyssa butts in.

“Very mad,” Emma chuckles. “But you came with her and told her to stop talking, which was both hilarious and terrifying. And then you told me you loved me in front of everyone. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”

“Me either,” Alyssa says quietly.

“Aww,” Cady says, even though she’s heard the whole story before. It’s always a good one to repeat. “How sweet.”

“So after that whole thing we finished setting everything up,” Emma continues, smiling at her girlfriend. “And it was beautiful, even I was impressed.”

“You looked so happy when everyone started showing up,” Alyssa says fondly. “I was so proud of you. I still am. You gave so many people an incredible night they wouldn’t have had without you.”

Emma flushes slightly and looks down at her lap. Alyssa squishes her cheeks in her hand to get her to look back up.

“It really was an incredible night,” she says. “And we finally got to dance together, I think that was my favorite part.”

“That was good,” Alyssa nods. “But you’re a terrible dancer.”

“Hey! Just because I didn’t take dance classes for years,” Emma pouts.

“Oh, hush, I’m joking,” Alyssa says, kissing Emma’s cheek.

“You missed,” Emma continues pouting. Alyssa frowns in confusion and kisses her cheek again, but in a different spot. “You missed.”

Alyssa gives her a chaste kiss on the lips this time, and Emma finally smiles. Alyssa rolls her eyes lovingly. “You’re such a dork, goodness gracious.”

“You guys are almost as cute as Caddy and Janis,” Damian says, trying to snap them out of it and get them to remember the presence of the group.

“Almost?” Alyssa says, her competitive side making a slight appearance. “I think you’re biased.”

“Oh, definitely,” Damian agrees. “We don’t really have any unbiased judges though.”

“True. We’ll say it’s a truce for now,” Alyssa says. “Are we all done? I need to get up for a bit. I’m stuffed.”

“I think so,” Cady says, looking around at all the empty plates around. “We could go to the beach for the sunset, if you guys want. It’s not too far a drive.”

“Ooh, yes please,” Emma says excitedly. The adults play rock paper scissors to work out payment, and Dee Dee grumbles under her breath when she loses.

“Hungry kids. Why are pancakes so expensive?”

————-

“Oh, guys, look!” Damian says, pointing to a window of a thrift shop nearby. “We could go try on dresses!”

“We?” Janis chuckles, carrying Cady on her back. “You gonna get into a ballgown, D?”

“Why not?” Damian asks. “I have the figure for it, shut up.”

“I thought we were going to the beach,” Angie says.

“We can do both,” Barry says, seeming strangely excited. “Wear dresses to the beach.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Cady says eagerly, squeezing her legs together a bit to get Janis to go in, as if she’s riding a pony. “Please?”

“I am not paying,” Dee Dee says immediately. Everyone else nods, that’s only fair.

“Fine, fine. Come along,” Trent says, leading them into the shop as their gaggle of children follow like ducklings.

—-

The employees look a bit concerned as all nine of them parade to the discounted gown section and start looking for ones in their sizes. Damian finds his first, a royal purple gown with a high neck and a slit that would reach about to his knee. He takes it off the rack and heads over to the changing room, rapidly followed by Barry with his silver gown.

“How did-“ Emma stutters. “I guess they knew what they were looking for.”

Angie helps Trent find one that would fit him, an emerald green dress with long sleeves and a nice v-neck collar. He shrugs and follows Barry and Damian. Angie then moves on to find one of her own, and picks out a sleek black dress made of lace and with a shorter skirt, about to the knee. Dee Dee follows with one she seems to have grabbed at random, a nice yellow gown complete with a cape.

Alyssa picks a pink dress with a longer train, since she wore a short dress to both of her real proms and wants to experiment a little. Cady picks a yellow one, with longer sleeves and a bow in the back. The skirt is short, which makes her a little nervous, but she decides to give it a go.

Janis and Emma both look a bit lost, staring aimlessly at the racks and flicking through them weakly.

“Jayjay, try this one,” Cady says, offering a long, red, short-sleeved gown that looks like it would have a rather tight fit. Maybe Cady has some selfish motivations here, but she’ll never admit it. Janis raises a slightly suspicious eyebrow, but takes the dress and hauls her girlfriend off to the changing rooms.

“They all look so itchy,” Emma shudders slightly. Alyssa laughs and takes one of her hands.

“If you got one made of something like this it wouldn’t be too bad,” she says, showing Emma one made of an almost satin-like material. “And it’ll only be a couple hours at most. We’re going to the beach, sand is itchy anyway.”

“True,” Emma agrees with a little nod. “I like this one.”

“So try it,” Alyssa chuckles as Emma grabs an amethyst colored ballgown with a big poofy skirt. “Come on.”

Most of their group is waiting outside the rooms, clad in their ill fitting gowns. Trent’s is a bit too big, Barry’s is missing some sequins, and Angie’s has a small hole in the sleeve, but none of them complain.

Cady and Janis open the curtains to their respective rooms, revealing their dresses to one another. Janis is somehow not tall enough to fill her dress out, which makes her look a bit like Morticia Addams, but she doesn’t mind. Cady’s is almost perfect, but the skirt clings to her legs in an odd way.

“You look nice!” Cady says, gently adjusting Janis’ sleeve as Janis tugs at her collar.

“It’s a bit tight,” Janis says, sounding rather choked.

“I can fix that once we buy it,” Barry says, looking at himself in the mirror. Everyone looks at him in concern. “What? I have a stitch kit, I’ll just cut the collar off it.”

“Oh,” everyone says. Alyssa and Emma exit the changing rooms then, prompting coos from everyone.

“Emmy, you look beautiful!” Alyssa says, pulling her girlfriend into a hug. “The color really suits you.”

“Does it?” Emma says, sarcastically striking a pose. “It feels very… purple.”

“I like purple,” Alyssa hums, adjusting Emma’s skirt.

“You look really nice,” Emma replies, looking at Alyssa’s long dress. Hers is the closest to fitting correctly out of everyone’s.

“Thanks!” Alyssa says, putting her hands on her hips and popping out a knee. Emma laughs and kisses her gently.

“Okay, let’s go!” Angie says happily, having been taking pictures of everyone like a proud mom taking photos for her Facebook. Angie, Trent, and Barry split the cost among them, and they unleash their prom-ready selves onto the public.

—————-

“So you guys just graduated, right?” Alyssa asks, strolling down the shore holding hands with Emma. Cady and Janis are also hand in hand walking next to them.

“Yep!” Cady chirps.

“So you must’ve just had your senior prom too, what was yours like?”

“It was so fun! Damian took me shopping and I had the most beautiful dress,” Cady replies eagerly. “And Janis had a suit to match and it was… she looked… so hot.”

“Ooh,” Emma teases. “Scandalous.”

“Hey,” Cady says. “I’m allowed to think she’s hot.”

“Fair enough,” Emma shrugs.

“What about you guys, how are you handling your post-prom fame?” Janis jokes.

“Pretty well,” Emma chuckles. “Or at least I think we are.”

“You certainly are,” Alyssa murmurs.

“Oh yeah, aren’t you starting a nonprofit or something?” Cady asks.

“Wait, what?” Janis asks.

“I’m trying,” Emma laughs again. “Lyss’ mom is actually helping me. And trying to start a charity looks, like, super good on college applications, so that’s nice.”

“I thought your mom started this whole fiasco,” Janis says confusedly.

“Oh, she did,” Alyssa confirms. “But she’s cool with the gays now. She had a lot of questions and stuff, and she’s still having to work pretty hard at it. Changing opinions and thought patterns that were instilled in you from

childhood is tough. But she’s trying.”

“Yeah, she came to pride with us this year,” Emma says. “It was cute, she had a rainbow pantsuit and everything.”

“Go mom,” Janis chuckles. “I’m glad she turned things around.”

“Me too,” Alyssa murmurs quietly.

“Me three,” Emma says, squeezing her hand.

“So what’s this charity you’re getting going?” Cady asks.

“It’s called the Unruly Hearts Foundation,” Emma explains. “It’s a nonprofit that takes donations and stuff to throw other inclusive events around the country. Create safe spaces. And we also donate a fair bit to LGBTQ+ shelters and stuff, too.”

“That’s awesome,” Janis says. “I’m broke but I’ll donate a bit once I get my commissions business going.”

“Thanks, Janis,” Emma chuckles. “You know, we could use some branding. A logo, stuff for our website. If you’re interest-“

“Yes,” Janis interrupts. “I’m interested. Please.”

“Groovy,” Emma laughs. “I’ll be in touch, get Cady to give you my number.”

“You say groovy too?!” Damian asks eagerly as he makes an appearance. “These two always make fun of me for it.”

“Hell yeah I say groovy,” Emma says, giving Damian a fist bump. “Sometimes it’s the only word that fits the vibes, you know?”

“Yes!” Damian says. “See? Emma gets it.”

“I think ‘tits’ is pretty versatile,” Janis says. “You kind of look like Ursula, by the way, Dame.”

“Thanks,” Damian says, swishing his purple skirt around. “I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”

“It was,” Janis huffs. “As if I’d ever insult you.”

“You called me a ‘fucking deplorable kneecap’ on the way here,” Damian retaliates. Emma and Alyssa rode separately and burst out laughing.

“And now I have grown as a person. Developed myself.”

“It was ten minutes ago!”

“And? I’m not the same me I was two minutes ago, let alone ten,” Janis defends.

“Thank god,” Damian grumbles jokingly.

“Hey!” Janis says, breaking away from Cady and running after him. Damian shrieks and holds up his skirts to run away.

“Do we need to intervene here, Cades?” Emma asks with a slight chuckle as Damian and Janis sprint up and down the shoreline in a sort of oval.

“Nah,” Cady shrugs. “They do stuff like this about once a week. Janis knows she needs him, she won’t actually do anything.”

Just as she says that, Damian takes a hard left and runs full tilt into the lake. Janis pauses for a second before shrugging and running after him.

“Or maybe she will.”

“That water must be cold,” Alyssa chuckles in concern.

“Let’s find out!” Emma says boldly, tightening her grip on Alyssa’s hand and running them towards the water as well. Alyssa shrieks as they leap into the lake with a splash. Cady realizes she’s alone and also runs in, managing a cannonball into the water.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Barry yells, walking up on a sort of puddle of teenagers in soaking wet dresses.

“They’re being kids, let them live,” Dee Dee says. “Unrelated, can you swim?”

“Yeah, wh- don’t you dare,” Barry says, turning to face her.

“Oh, I would never,” Dee Dee says, aghast at the mere suggestion. Trent then comes sprinting up and tackles Barry into the lake. “But he would.”

Angie cackles and high fives her. Dee Dee crosses her arms over her chest and smiles down as Barry pops back up with a splutter.

“Dee Dee Allen!” Barry demands. “Get your ass in here.”

“No, I don’t think I will, thank you,” Dee Dee says casually, rocking slightly on the balls of her feet.

“Oh come on,” Angie coaxes. “It’s only fair.”

“I didn’t push him!”

“You had a role.”

Dee Dee ponders this for a moment before she begrudgingly reaches to take Angie’s hand, and they leap in together.

“Yay!” Emma cheers, delighted that all her friends made it into the lake one way or another. Some of them are significantly less happy about this, but everyone is laughing eventually.

“Hey, Caddy,” Janis says. She swims over to her girlfriend and kisses her gently, before booping her nose. “Tag. You’re it.”

Cady laughs as Janis swims away as fast as she can, rapidly followed by the rest of the group. Cady swims around for a second while she ponders her options to decide who to go after. Emma is a strong swimmer, being on her high school swim team and all. Alyssa is okay, but a bit weaker.

Barry seems to be the slowest, and gives her the best chance of success. He looks very anxious as Cady stares him down before lunging for him. He shrieks as Cady manages to snag his skirt and tap his arm under the water before she backstrokes away.

“Damn it,” he puffs. “I’m having elementary school flashbacks.”

“Better than middle school flashbacks,” Angie calls.

“Amen,” Janis says. She screams as Barry goes for her and swims away, huddling behind Damian for protection.

“Hey!” Damian whines, swimming away from her and creating a sort of three-way chase. Janis quickly gives up on Damian’s protection and swims to Cady instead.

“Protect me,” she pleads. Cady smiles as Janis hides behind her, peeking over her shoulder to check where the threat is.

“You’re so cute.”

“No I’m not,” Janis pouts. “I’m being stealthy.”

“Uhhuh,” Cady says as Janis clings to her like a precious little octopus. “If you get me tagged again I’m breaking up with you.”

“That’s fair,” Janis agrees with a shrug. Alyssa suddenly gives a shriek as Barry taps her leg under the water. “Uh oh.”

————-

After an hour or so of tag, the sun begins to set for the day. The water temperature plummets and everyone swims to shore to watch the sky be painted beautiful shades of pink and orange and purple. The adults and Damian head back to the car to go hunt for towels and dry clothes somewhere.

But Cady, Janis, Emma and Alyssa stay behind, deciding they don’t mind so much if they’re in heavy, cold dresses and getting covered in itchy sand. Cady holds Janis on her lap and Alyssa has Emma in hers, all of them staring out over the expanse of the water before them together.

“You guys should visit more often,” Cady says quietly as the first stars begin to make an appearance.

“Absolutely,” Alyssa says, looking down at her girlfriend. “This was an awesome day.”

“And we’ll have more,” Emma says.

Together.

—-

thank you so much for reading! hope you enjoyed!

lots of love,

ezzy

[crystalelemental]

Hey DeNA?  Why is Hoenn so rough?  I initially wanted to do this as an F2P run and it was not working out at all.  Granted, I had a busy day and am really irritable because of it, so less inclined to be patient with it like I otherwise have to be, but what is actually up with some of these stages?

Drake went first because I’m a moron.  “Oh, Condition 1 buffs physical, sure, I’ll definitely use that against the Ground-type AoE spamming Dragon man over Glacia.”  Stupid.  Honestly, it’s because I was fixating on beating him first in general, and the F2P strat involved saving half time to sync for Silver to explode Glacia into powder so she was off the table.  But yeah, this was rough.  Earthquake spam is a rough time for the sides.  Thankfully, my Hail on entry overwrites his Sandstorm on entry, so Winter Rosa stocks are up, baby!  I just wish Summer Steven were a bit stronger.  He barely misses the KO on the sides with sync, it’s really depressing.

Okay.  Look.  Anyone who pays attention to my attempts to break down stages has probably noticed, I miss some details every time.  This is, in part, because I don’t read the tips.  It’s also because enemies have a billion passives and sometimes I don’t run into them, but also I refuse to read the tips.  I feel like I can piece together what’s happening on intuition and experience alone, and it’s worked out.  But since the x2 skills exist, and are apparently always listed in the tips, I decided hey, I’m willing to try that out.  So I read the tips this time!  And against Sidney, they recommended Bede for like...everything.  The damage, confuse rate, reflecting status, and most notably, reducing his special attack to weaken his special moves.  Sidney’s almost entirely physical.  I think I saw Water Pulse one time.  So the one and only time I read the tips for advice...they fucking lied to my face.  Never again.  Anyway, Valerie gets to be the star because I love her.  This was a constant disaster, he’s so stupidly strong on the physical end despite seeming to be specially inclined.  He gets +2 special but literally never uses special moves!  I don’t get it!  What’s the joke?!  I hate this fight so much!

Glacia was Fire-weak, which in my book means Serena time.  It’s been a while since I used Kimono Jasmine too.  All these F2P clears are fun for challenges, but bad for the soul, because it keeps me away from the premium favorites.  But it’s Jasmine time now, baby.  The rapid-buffing special defense meant we were unbreakable.  We took half HP as a condition, and took Blizzard to the face without flinching.  Chad.

Speaking of chads, here’s your semi-regular reminder that Anni Lillie is still the shit, even if her damage isn’t great.  I went into this like a moron, going about my business, before remembering after setting Ghost Zone that they already had half time to sync, and that I implemented -2 sync cooldown.  I just powered her up.  But did that matter at all?  Fuck no, Anni Lillie took that sync thanks to Healthy Benefits 5, and cleared the stage first try anyway.  Goth Gals remain undefeatable, and Anni Lillie cannot be killed from full HP.  God I love them.

Last up, it’s a Water-weak stage, which means base Kris time.  Aaron is the support as always, but this time I played stupid.  How stupid you ask?  Apparently, really stupid.  I forgot to uncheck -2 sync cooldown, which is ill-advised.  But it turns out, Steven’s pre-sync move is Screech.  Which is a move.  Which means it can be flinched.  Which means Winona saved their asses by nailing that desperation flinch, and allowing Kris to kick them apart Washington-style.  Fantastic finish to an otherwise irritating run.

Overall, I’m giving the Big Dick Challenge award to Drake.  That AoE spam was brutal.  I know it’s partially my fault for using Winter Rosa/Summer Steven in mid-2022, but I love them, and don’t have better Ice-type damage dealers than Steven.  Sidney was a pain in my ass, but only because of the lying bastard tips telling me he was specially-focused.  Absolute liars.  Never forgive.  I want to give the wussbag award to Phoebe because of how hard Anni Lillie owned her, but it feels a little unfair.  Steven, frankly, barely did damage.  I imagine it was supposed to be harder and we kinda just lucked out on his AI pattern, but he really was an easy clear that wasn’t overly threatening, and would’ve been less so had I remembered to adjust my parameters.

[visionsofkora]

The Beginning

Hi!! I have decided to post my own OC stuff on here and keep the more reader based stuff on my main! So this is an OC post, not an x reader like I usually write. I do hope yall like Ina cause it took me a bit of time to find her voice instead of mine when writing. If you would like to know more about Ina then check out my main bloodykora under my DMC OC Week.

Summary: Ina meets V for the first time!!

Ina bounced up the steps of the shop, returning from the hospital. Nothing was ever bland or uneventful in her life, when killing demons gets boring a random man shows up and cuts off a friend’s arm. She swings open the heavy wooden front door. “Ina! Just the gal I was looking for.” “You have the power back on! I can feel the warmth on my skin again.” She scans around the room, Dante and Trish at the desk while a dark haired man leaned against the wall. “You can thank that man over there.” The salt coloured hair man explains, nodding his head to the loner. “Well, thank you kind sir. I was missing the tunes of the jukebox.” Ina quickly bows her head towards the client.

“We got a demon coming Ina, apparently a powerful one is going to resurrect and try to take over Red Grave.” Trish interrupts and Ina huffs in annoyance. “Nero gets his arm hacked and yall are focused on this! Come on, we always defeat them at the end of the day. Besides, everyone says it’s going to be ‘powerful’. No offence, random man.” Ina states while making her way to the pair. “You shouldn’t underestimate this one.” She snorts before sauntering over to the man. “How long are you staying with us sir?” “As long as it takes to exterminate him.” “Well then we should be acquainted, I’m Ina. I would normally list off nicknames however Ina is a short name therefore I have none.” She sticks her hand out to the stranger, he takes it hesitantly. “You may call me V.” He dryly replies, Ina head whips around to Dante looking for clarification. He just shrugs at her and Ina looks back at V. “Lovely to meet you. I wonder what it stands for since it must be important.”

She takes her hand away and leans on it in wonder. The man before her doesn’t respond immediately so she speaks again. “It is on the book that you’re clutching,” She smiles before turning away, heading into the back area. “There better still be blueberry muffins Dante or I will kick your ass.” Her voice echoes out. Dante looks to V. “To be honest she is the most energetic one on the team, if you can handle her then the rest of us will be easy to deal with.” “She seems.. intriguing.” Ina popped open the container, grabbing the second last muffin. Taking off the wrapper before taking a bite out of the top.

“Oh hey, when did you get here?” Lady enters, seeing the familiar redhead. “Just a few minutes ago, where were you?” Ina responds while chewing. “Had to run upstairs for a minute. How is Nero?” “Fine, pissed off. Kyrie is getting his every desire even when he doesn’t really deserve it. He threw soup at me today.” Lady lets out a hiss. “He must really be in a really bad mood then.” “Apparently a nurse with fake nails accidentally jabbed him while changing his bandages in the morning. Therefore, bitch attitude.” Ina pauses before asking. “What do you think of the goth out there?” She tilts her head to the front area. “Well, we don’t know a lot about him but Dante seems to believe him so.” Lady shrugs, Ina nods while getting up on the counter to sit. “All I know is that he looks yummyyy~” Lady scoffs at the comment. “I never thought I would ever hear you call someone yummy.” Ina ignores the statement. “Do you think the V stands for virgin? If so then he’s very into that brand, maybe he’s an incel.” She thinks out loud, finishing the muffin in her hand. Lady laughs before shaking her head. “I don’t think it stands for that.” “Yeah, then the whole hot goth would be sad.” “What is with you and calling him attractive?” Ina looks at Lady before singing. “Yummy, yummy, yummy, always funny in a rich man’s world.” She jumps off the counter and starts walking away. “I don’t think that’s how the song goes.” Lady calls after Ina, following her back to the front entrance.

“Dante! We can’t work for an incel!” Ina shouts, running up next to the man. “What?” “Incel. We can’t work for him, we already don’t have the greatest business cause of you know what incident. Imagine the reputation we would get if we worked with a man who isn’t able to attract women and is hostile towards them.” She explains and Dante looks at her with visible confusion. “I think he has no problem attracting women if others are like you.” Lady comments snarkily. “Hey! Not nice.” Ina pouts while whining. “Pardon my intrusion but what is an uh, incel?” V questions, walking up to the group. “You don’t know what the word means?” “To be frank I have never heard it before.” “Damn, not an incel then if he doesn’t know the word. If he was one he would have freaked out by now.”

[drunken-drengr]

Morrigan and Sera for the character ask thing?

Yes! Thank you! My two favorite girl bosses! The goth babes(spiritual in Sera’s sense)! The society haters! The gatekeepers! The gaslighters! The

Morrigan

First impression

Oh boy, for Morrigan, this goes way back. Technically I got my first impression of her back when I was way younger and saw my dad playing it. He romanced Morrigan, and the only thing I remember of her is seeing the ritual scene. Needless to say I didn’t see Morrigan again after that. So yeah, very first impression of her was scandalous. But when I got older, I saw more of her character in Inquisition when I played it for myself. So second impression was sarcastic knowledge hungry goth swamp witch babe. I was wary of her to say the least.

Impression now

Playing Origins, I generally see her in the same light, but I understand why she is the way she is, why she holds her ideals, and I see that she actually changed for the better from Origins to Inquisition. I love her a lot more now to say the least. I swear Im not gay I just- Morrigan…

Favorite moment

Oh boy there’s a lot actually. I’d say, jokingly, the iconic ‘Tis cold in my tent…’ but seriously, I loved the Fade scene where Morrigan encounters Flemeth. I think it properly showcases how she has grown as a person and as a mother. It’s just so satisfying to see her stand up to her Mother.

Idea for a story

I wanna know how Morrigan raised Kieran! In the wilderness and in the Winter Palace! That would be so interesting

Unpopular opinion

Ohoho, I have a hot steamy unpopular opinion, ripe for potential discourse. With that being said, please don’t attack me, this isn’t meant to be offensive in anyway, but- Morrigan never gave me lesbian vibes. Yeah I said it, big deal cause I look in the Morrigan x Warden tag and it’s mostly just Morrigan x Women Wardens. Nothing wrong with that, I just really don’t get the impression that she’d be lesbian.

Favorite relationship

I enjoy Morrigan and Alistairs love-hate platonic relationship, their bickering never fails to make me crack up. Forgive me but I also must mention Morrigan and Ragnar… I just… love them so much….

Favorite headcanon

I love that one analysis that motherhood didn’t really change Morrigan that much. I forget the details but it really brought up some nice points about her.

Sera

First impression

Gremlin. Spunky gal. I was questioning her sanity, but I liked her vibes. Didn’t mind her flirting with me, a surprise when I first played.

Impression now

Still a spunky gremlin. One of my favorite characters, and I’ve really taken her character to heart. I love everything about her, including her flaws, to a fault. I’m totally romancing her next play through, so sorry Baewall

Favorite moment

Boy where do I start? Her shooting dude in the face when we first meet? Letting her literally beat that noble to death in her personal quest? The rooftop scene? Literally all of her banter with Blackwall and Solas? I fucking love everything she does, okay?

Idea for story

Story about she and Inky after Trespasser, assuming Inky joined the Red Jennies. I must know about their wacky adventures, terrorizing nobles and whatnot.

Unpopular opinion

She’s the best. That’s it. And I know it’s an unpopular opinion cause I know how many people absolutely loathe her.

Favorite relationship

Sera and Blackwall, love their friendly dynamic! Also SeraxAdaar and SeraxCadash, Cause she loves big muscly women. Woof…

Favorite headcanon

She’s fucking god awful at cooking. Also immune to bee stings, she’s probably been stung so many times already. Cough cough also.. I think the Sera=Andruil theory is very interesting….

[nightmare-dreamt]

HELLO!! I am now here to request my now 2nd matchup for MHA, Love is war and The promised neverland (also TPN can be platonic since I’m 14 but the two can be romantic lololol) ALSO FEEL FREE TO USE MY OTHER LINK SINCE IM EXPLAINING THE SAME THING

Well my name is Joey, im transgender aromatic bisexual and unlabeled, my zodiac is Aquarius and my others are Leo, Sagittarius and Aries, i have adhdism and I’m a very cool person 😎🔥/hj

My personality is that I’m a ENTP and I’m Extroverted but usually I am very awkward at first and it will take me time to adjust to a new person for a while 4-9 months precisely and then I can emote freely around them, but I still love to ramble about my interests to them when I’m getting used to being around that person, my love languages are acts of service, gift giving, quality time and psychical affection and my dates would be like going out and like going to a arcade or seeing a movie and go out to dinner somewhere afterwards but I’m totally up to just stay home and play video games and have movie marathons then…! Oh fun fact I also

I’m 5’6, I have brown eyes, and I (now) have brown boyish hair with bangs and I’m absolutely in love with it—!, and as I said before I wear a lot of styles! such as goth(trad goth, romantic goth, mall goth and nu goth), gyaru (hime gal, himekaji, agejo, rokku, manba, kogal and tsuyome), scenemo/emo, and vkei ouji and lolita but I usually don’t wear these to school or at home the whole time, yes I wear it to show off on social media or when I’m going out but I’m pretty casual too, i wear oversized stuff like baggy pants, i wear streetwear stuff and I also like wearing comfy stuff at home like a anime t-shirt and jeans or pj pants lol

Hobbies/Interests: anime/manga, gaming, cosplaying, fashion, art(drawing, painting, pottery, digital art and more), cooking, learning new languages (such as Japanese and Spanish), writing, making/listening to music, dancing, skateboarding, playing Interments like piano/electric guitar and more on. Feel free to ask!

Likes: cats, hajime hinata (danganronpa), a silent voice, albedo (genshin impact), lemon demon, felix kranken (twf), bread, sharks, christmas music/christmas in general, scp 3008 (roblox game), get a snack at 4am (roblox game), hotels, and my friends!

Dislikes: negative mentions of my voice, comparing me to people like “you remind me of ____”, hate talk about my interests, and spiders.

THANK YOUUU

Matchup For Joey!

Mha: Neito Monoma

Affection was strange to him, he seems like the type of person to have grown up without much love or affection so when he got into a relationship, it was all new and unfamiliar to him. When the two of you began holding hands and becoming more of a couple, he would complain, but it would be less than usual and he would have a bright blush on his face.

Arcade/movie dates are his favorite, but he won't admit anything preferring to stick to his cool nature and act like everything is stupid and dumb. When at the movies, he'll talk about how the movie is so boring and how the film is overrated, that is till the end when he remains silent needing to see the end of the movie. Similar to arcades, when the two of you are playing games and he loses, he'll be in a bad mood, saying things about how he let you win and that if you were to lose he would feel guilty.

Love is War: Chika Fujiwara

Showing your love for her with acts of service/gifts and it's her favorite thing when receiving something from her partner. When she received her first gift it was adorable, seeing the cute gift on her desk all wrapped up neatly and perfect, just for her. Between us, she definitely fell for you from the gifts, rizz her up with them acts of service and she was whipped.

For some reason when I read that you liked cosplaying, my mind drifted to her also enjoying cosplaying and wanting to dress up as her favorite characters. There would be couples cosplaying between the two of you and it would be adorable as heck.

The Promise Neverland: Emma

You guys have very similar personalities, both being outgoing and caring towards your friends, always keeping them close. You guys are also extremely smart and are very good thinkers having very similar ideas or you guys are usually the one who has that great idea that ends up being right. (I got this from Entp, if this is wrong I am sorry)

Enjoy when you ramble about your interests, there have been times when Emma has sat there listening to everything you have said without saying a single word just enjoying the conversation. Emma is a great listener, but also a great talker knowing what to say and how to say it. She also has a good memory, being able to remember something you have said from a while back without having to struggle.

Cooking together is something she takes pride in, loving being around her friends and doing things the two of them can enjoy together. You guys make all sorts of things for the little kids who always end up falling in love with the food you two make.