#well. i forgot partway through

[seagullcharmer]

sigh. feeling very shy and lonely in this chili's tonight

[darkmagicmirror]

She's learning more dark magic, probably 🐍🪞

[chorne-the-firstborn]

I recently got watercolors and I LOVE THEM!!! I'm especially proud of the lighting on the candles. :D

[piningpercussionist]

Hehrhgrrhehehe mmy ediblles kickkingg In :3

I think I’m floating

I’m floating

*Shes floating*

-🐇 (She’s floating)

(ooc p.s: this is based on how I type when I’m high teehee :3)

I... is this a bunny thing?

It's just weed in this right?

I should probably feel a bit more concerned than I am, but like, it's not like we're outside or something I guess...

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

On the topic of COPY<|>KATE: holy shit I forgot just how harrowing the end of part 2 is. Like, Jesus Christ, they really just did that. (Well, they were partway through doing that when the chapter ended, but still.)

When you're a society of copies on a distant planet you gotta do what you gotta do

[being-of-rain]

I wasn’t really a big fan of The Giggle by the time I finished watching it, and I liked it less the more that I thought about it. Which is a real shame, because I think it was full of a lot of great ideas that were squandered with poor execution. I didn’t really want to just post pages of negativity, so I’ll quickly skim through a list of things I think could’ve been done better, and maybe I’ll expand on some of them later or if I’m asked about them. Still, this is your warning for negativity.

The whole 'screens are evil and making everyone think they're right' felt so shallow and cheap, especially because it was set up as the main obstacle and then largely ignored. A lot of the characters at UNIT really didn't do much (I totally forgot about The Vlinx after my first watchthrough) but I think that didn't bother me much while watching because I was used to Chibnall regularly ignoring characters like that. It was nice to see Mel again, but she didn’t really serve much purpose.

RTD’s take on the Toymaker is quite similar to his take on the Master, which was sometimes fun and sometimes annoying (specifically the German accent, which lost its appeal pretty quickly for me). But he felt pretty hollow and full of wasted potential beyond that, feeling like he was there just to give the episode a villain. Although speaking of the Master, his brief inclusion was hilarious and an easy way to write him back into the show later, nicely done.

The last third of the episode had some many intriguing and potentially awesome ideas behind it. The new Doctor turning up partway through a story? Cool! The Doctor defeating his final villain alongside the next star of the show? Fun! The Doctor getting self-care and words of wisdom from his next self? So heartwarming! One Doctor retiring to be happy while his next incarnation travels off to continue the adventures? A fun use of the show's format!

But for me these ideas just didn’t work or didn’t fulfill their potential, and it’s mostly because there’s no narrative justification for them. No cause and effect. There’s no given reason for the Doctor to bigenerate, it just happens. There’s no particular reason that it was the Doctors rather than the Toymaker who won the game of catch to save the world, it just happens. Without any narrative reason the third act feels so unsatisfying, like spectacle for the sake of spectacle, and (I don’t say this lightly) incredibly lazily written.

That lack of story reason also undermines the ending, clearly the thing RTD was most interested in, by making it feel unearned. Like a first draft script that worked backwards to make it happen. The retirement ending itself I have mixed feelings about, which I’m not sure I can fully articulate. One thing I love to see is that RTD can actually do a genuinely happy ending rather than making every ending a tragedy. But said happy ending feels a little too ‘married-with-kids-and-a-white-picket-fence’ to me – though obviously I can’t stress enough how relieved I am that romance didn’t factor into it. It just felt like it wasn’t set up well enough. I’d probably like it a lot more if they made clear if Tennant’s Doctor was going to turn into Gatwa’s Doctor or if they’re just separate people now. It was sweet of RTD to try and bring a conclusion to the ‘Doctor is traumatised’ thing that he introduced to the show 18 years ago, but he did it poorly. At least it offers interesting new possibilities for the show going forward!

With all that said, in the end The Giggle felt to me like RTD retreading some of his biggest flaws as a writer, and throwing in a few borrowed from other showrunners for good measure. It was a disappointment both because of the good ideas just below the surface, and because it came after a very fun first episode and an incredible follow-up.

But like I said, I’m excited to see what the show does next! I saw talk that there’ll be lots of mythical and unnatural creatures turn up due to the Doctor’s salt thing, which is super cool. And obviously I’m excited for more Gatwa! I haven’t really felt a lot of reason to be excited about Ruby yet, but as always I’m ready to fall in love with the new companion quickly!

[tiktaaliker]

my thoughts on the stuff ive listened to during work; note that im not basing my reviews on how good the actual book is, its based on how my personal experience was to listen to the audiobook while working in the lab

Animorphs books 1-3: i read this series as a kid but only once, so i was familiar with the story enough to not get distracted but i had forgotten enough of the details to be kept engaged. Voice acting was fine, tolerable to listen to, character voices distinct enough to differentiate without being annoying (albiet with at least one exception). Biggest issue is length- since my shifts are 8 hours, i got through the first 3 books in a single shift, and the specific version i was listening to was split up into a handful of short parts each book so i kept having to switch to the next video, which was way too much of a momentum-stopper (and work interruption) to stick with this series specifically.

The Witcher books 1+2: eh. was fine enough. once again this was something i was familiar enough with to follow without having to worry too much about missing details, while also being somewhat entertaining. i think i liked it a lot better to read than to listen to. voice acting was fine. biggest issue was that i had finally gotten used to the narrator pronouncing dandelion as dan-DIL-leon for the first book but in the second book he switched to pronouncing it as DAN-dee-lion and i had to stop partway through because of it

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: i remember enjoying reading it a lot more than listening. Ill be the first to admit that im kind of picky about audiobook narration and this one just didnt hit right, but was overall a good experience. Voice acting was fine, and the actual story was very entertaining as expected. Perfectly acceptable.

Discworld books 1-2: extremely good listens. Voice acting was great, character voices were fun and fit the characters really well, only skirted the line of being annoying. fantastic story, but not too complicated or unfamiliar, so i could still follow and be entertained while still focusing on work. Will probably continue the series at some point, but giving myself a buffer period before i start up again to avoid series burnout

Malevolent parts 41-44 (catching up with the podcast lol): man. theres just something about listening to a guy getting gutted and filled with maggots while working in the lab of a hospital. like broooo you are going to get sepsis!!! Very good listen, as expected, just kinda funny trying to keep a straight face while talking to coworkers and simultaneously listening to arthur's no good very bad day

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell: probably the best one so far for what im using these for. The length meant i was able to spend like 4 whole shifts on the one audiobook. Footnotes were incorporated fantastically, narrator and voice acting was phenomenal, and its also pretty much my favorite book of all time. Ive read this SEVERAL times, but because of how fucking huge this thing is theres a lot of details i forgot about or misremembered. Only issue is that it was split up into several audio tracks, so i had to switch to the next one a few times per shift. They were each around 2 hours long however, so it wasnt too inconvenient. Also at one point i fucked up and accidentally skipped like 8 whole hours without realizing until after an hour in where they referenced an event i KNEW i hadnt gotten to yet lol

Catch-22: man they really went all fucking OUT on the voice acting here. All characters are EXTREMELY distinct, so im very easily able to tell who's talking even without speaking tags. One of my pet peeves in audiobooks is when the narrator whisper-yells when a character is meant to be screaming. That does not happen here. Narrator fucking COMMITS. Yelling, sobbing, laughing, all of it. Fucking fantastic. Phenomenal as an audiobook, i think i mightve even enjoyed it even better than actually reading it.

Slaughterhouse-five: man. this one is ALSO an audiobook that is fucking PHENOMENAL. biggest problem is that i got WAYYY too into it. I really needed to just sit down and soak it in, which was not very condusive to a workplace environment. I now have a self-imposed limit where im not going to be listening to any more vonnegut books from now on because i KNOW itll have a similar affect

His majesty's dragon: this one couldve been good, but the recording i found was not. The guy reading it did a big spiel at the beginning of each chapter and kept adding unneeded commentary like it was a middle school read along. Im going to be getting a library card today so i can use libby, so i might come back to this once i get access to an actual official audiobook lol

murder on the orient express: nope. barely lasted three minutes into this one

percy jackson and the lightning thief: see this is an example of something ive actually read too many times as a kid so i know the book too well for an audiobook to be entertaining. Dropped it after less than a chapter.

the kane chronicles: had potential, i remember liking the story a lot as a kid but i hadnt read it nearly as much as the pjo series, and i think it wouldve been at least vaguely entertaining. However, half the book has one of the narrator sdoing a really bad british accent for his sister's voicelines and i just couldnt do it. i didnt have the strength. Dropped after maybe 4 chapters.

Camp Damascus: the only audiobook of the lot that i actually bought, and the first one i got through that i hadnt read the physical book before. Interesting story, ok voice acting. Solid choice to listen to. Not quite what i was expecting, but pretty good story! Had some EXTREMELY gnarly descriptions of body horror thrown in at like. two points of the story maybe. Didnt really affect me personally but kinda threw me off in a 'this feels like a different story entirely' sort of way. Dont have much else to say here since these reviews are more talking about my experience with these as audiobooks specifically, and i havent read the book itself to be able to compare this one.

[theweeklydiscourse]

For even more context, ACOTAR, ACOTAR 2, and half of ACOTAR 3 were all written consecutively in 2014. That series was very different than the actual published series as SJM said Rhys was initially a villain and there would’ve been a love triangle between Tamlin, Feyre, and Rhys (which many readers speculate would’ve ended with Feylin endgame regardless of whether Feyre and Rhys were mates in that original). Later before publishing, she went back to tweak ACOTAR. This is where many of us speculate she rewrote the second half (starting with Calanmai, onward) since it’s so vastly different from the first half and also added in the whole painted dresser thing but forgot to change… well everything else. To further this speculation, in SJM’s own words, she said she had to add Rhys in earlier. (She never specified if earlier meant earlier in the first book or earlier as in adding him into the first book where in the original he would’ve appeared in the second, maybe even third book, but many of us assume it’s the latter since you can take him out of his scenes in ACOTAR and they would work just fine with other characters in his place.) She scrapped ACOTAR 2 and that half ACOTAR 3 to write ACOMAF and ACOWAR.

(Disclaimer: SJM does like to always say she had always planned on Feyre and Rhys, probably because it sounds cooler and more soulmatey, but not only does canon (aka book 1) completely contradict that, many of her earlier interviews (that have suspiciously become difficult to find) tell a very different story about her writing. Like the fact that she’s mentioned many times that she doesn’t outline and she “lets her characters taker her where they feel like it” but that she has vague beginnings and endings and musical outlines. Or that she’s mentioned while writing the published version of her first series, while writing what was supposed to be the third and final book in the series she changed her mind about the endgame and having to change the ending of the series, multiple times, in order to make that endgame possible as it didn’t work with what she originally set up, thereby extending the series. She also mentioned that in that very same book two characters just walked into her head while writing it, meaning she didn’t plan on having them, so there was no way to foreshadow them in the previous two books as fans like to claim. So…)

Oh god it makes my head hurt.

It is so disorganized and vague that it makes it impossible to judge the characters without considering Maas’s clumsy handling of her narrative. Whenever I try to approach the issue I’m constantly thinking “How seriously should I take this characterization? How much weight should I give to this information that is contradicted later on?” because Maas is so fickle with her characters and narrative. Like you said, there are many readers that claim that Maas had a plan all along and seem to hold the belief that they alone can comprehend the complexities of her writing when really the writing in question is just…bad.

Her foreshadowing (if you can even call it that) is merely what she wrote when she had her first idea of what the story would be and her follow-through is her retroactively modifying her narrative to make it fit. To put it plainly, any foreshadowing Maas does is weak and feeble because it is consistently overpowered by her poor planning and conflicting ideas. All of her contradictory additions exist for one reason: to disguise the fact that she has plan and makes narrative decision on whims. Most notably, Rhysand and Tamlin are great examples of this because of how obvious Maas is in her defanging and rehabilitation of Rhysand coupled with her questionable writing decisions for Tamlin. She changes her mind by partway through her story and veers off in an entirely different direction, resulting in her readers being subjected to chapters and chapters of inane explanations and retroactive continuity. Hence, why Maas frames certain character decisions as sudden “realizations” and “epiphanies” meant to recontextualize previous events but are really just her scrambling to make her favourite pairing endgame as quickly as possible. It’s lazy, choppy and insulting to the reader.

It makes ACOMAF an extremely tiresome book because of how insistent Maas is with her newly decided characterizations. Suddenly Rhysand’s is a righteous and noble prince who only ever wanted to protect people and loses any edge he had in ACOTAR. Suddenly Tamlin is obsessed with respecting tradition and customs despite his stated aversion to it previously. While I can see what Maas was trying to do with the two of them, her lack of foreshadowing ruins my suspension of disbelief and creates a jarring shift in the story that never truly feels earned. To claim that Maas thoroughly planned these books would be generous.

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond!: The Game!

Hey, all! As part of an effort to further potential with my Tumblr project, I have a huge announcement to make for you all. Introducing...

An official game adaptation of Sonic: Into, Across and Beyond!, and boy, will it be a treat to behold, huh?

The game has started development today, and you'll be able to look forward to:

Each of the stories in gameplay form

Over 20 playable characters

Plenty of cutscenes to enjoy

Interactive environments to explore

Epic boss encounters with many rogues from the Sonic multiverse

And so much more!

I really hope you're all looking forward to-!

OMT!Tails: Woah woah woah! Hang on a moment.

Huh?

OMT!Tails walks into frame.

OMT!Tails: The story's barely 6 months old yet, and you're seriously pitching a game for it?

Ah, right. I forgot.

CR!Sonic and CR!Sally show up.

CR!Sonic: You okay, Tails?

OMT!Tails: You guys might want to look at this.

CR!Sally: A video game of all our endeavours? Seriously?

CR!Sonic: Looks like it. How would it even work out, though?

OMT!Tails: I doubt it'd ever see completion, though. I mean, over 6 quests to fill out into gameplay form? That'd take AGES, and it's likely going to risk cancellation partway through the process.

CR!Sonic: Yeah, you got a good point there, kid. I mean, can't people just enjoy the stories as they are? They're not meant to be "played".

OMT!Tails: Yeah, exactly. Especially after what I've been through...

CR!Sally: I get you, Tails...

CR!Sonic: Into, Across and Beyond! is meant to be a story project for free and for fun! Pico doesn't have the time or energy to dedicate part of his life to making a game. I bet those children and hate band-wagoners on Twitter would just jump at any opportunity to hate on it for petty reasons. And that's why they have so much-!

D-Sides Mighty enters.

D-Sides Mighty: What's going on here?

OMT!Tails: Oh! Hey, Mighty.

D-Sides Mighty: A game, huh? Don't people have enough Sonic fan-games to play?

CR!Sonic: That's what I've been trying to get at, bud. I mean, the story here on Tumblr's satisfactory enough.

OMT!Tails: Wait, "Tumblr"?

CR!Sonic: Hmm?

OMT!Tails: I thought it was called "Tumblelogs".

CR!Sonic: It was! Well, used to, anyway. I'm guessing it's still called that in your dimension?

OMT!Tails: Mhm.

D-Sides Mighty: Yeah, we don't need to go for a game of this, considering the Spider-Verse IP is copyrighted.

OMT!Tails: Hmm... Give me just a moment!

OMT!Tails spins around the lower text, tweaking it a bit.

OMT!Tails: There! Better?

CR!Sally: Much better! Well done, Tails!

D-Sides Mighty: Well, that's one situation we can finally close the book on, wouldn't you say?

CR!Sonic: Yep. Come on, Sal. Let's head back now.

CR!Sally: Good idea, Sonic.

The couple headed off.

D-Sides Mighty: Wanna go grab a bite at Burger Monarchy, Tails?

OMT!Tails: Sure thing!

They left too.

Well, that's that, then. You're NOT getting that game. In the end, it was a cleverly-veiled April Fools' gag!

Happy April Fools' Day, folks! You've got all there is so far of the story to enjoy here from the comfort of Tumblr. Plus, I've been generous enough with each post to compile links to every post for this project on a Master Post that you're more than welcome to view on my profile. Well, see you around in the next post!

...

...

...

...

???: It's all the same for your heroic delusions. That is, until you finally meet ME. I already won because I was two steps ahead and found a way to tap into what I desire most. You think a hero of Mobius, let alone a type of Sonic, always has a chance against Dr. Eggman? HA! Don't make me laugh. I ripped that hope to pieces for my Sonic long ago. And soon, with the power of MY Chaos Emeralds, all other universes will follow... Now, you'll all see how big a man I can be. It's time to say goodbye to humanity, heroes...

???: And hello... to the NEW NORM! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The reveal of the final main antagonist... coming soon.

[an-animagi]

christmas time!! this is my gift for @honeyblockm for the @mcytblrholidayexchange!!

i wrote a fic (which i put below the cut, and the ao3 link is here) and i was really excited to write this!! originally i planned for it to be longer but my brain switched up on me partway through, so hopefully you still enjoy this!!

ive had a lot of fun writing this actually, considering ive read one wedding fic, have been to two weddings i dont remember and all of c!quackity's experiences when it comes to engagement and marriage, and i hope you are satisfied with what ive created :)

this has rolled in at 1040 words, just in case anyone is interested (i dont usually post fics on tumblr ehe i have no clue what im doing✨✨)

ALMOST FORGOT!!! its called 'me and my husbands (we're sticking together)' stolen inspired by 'me and my husband' by mitski (i have just made the lyric plural lol)

-=~=-

Quackity almost expected to be left alone at the altar. Again.

Between the shit-storm that was his relationship with Schlatt, and then the failed wedding attempt a few months back, he hadn’t had many positive experiences of being stood at the concrete table, waiting for a time that no clock could reach.

Or, more correctly, he hadn’t had any, so sue him for setting his standards low. Maybe this time he wouldn’t have to hold back tears after the second hour. Maybe the tissues he wore as armour would protect the open wound in his back from the inevitable knife that kept getting rammed between his ribs.

But that wasn't the point. The point was, that when the heavy doors creaked open again, Quackity didn't nervously glance at them. He didn't restlessly readjust the veil covering the back of his head. His wings didn't shuffle awkwardly behind him.

(He was getting better at lying to himself.)

The door slammed shut with an echoing bang, startling the avian. Usually, anyone entering or leaving did so quietly, slipping in or out of the small hall awkwardly. Instead, when Quackity turned to face the door, his shoulders slumped and he released a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding.

As the seated guests began turning their heads in alarm at the sound, Sapnap started his confident march down the aisle, hitching the skirt of his dress up part way through with a huff. Feeling his cheek feathers begin to fluff up, Quackity used all of his willpower to force them to lie flat.

God his fiance was hot.

Quite literally, too, if the faint smoke coming off his fingertips was anything to go off of. With a quick lick of his lips, the avian admired the way that the white dress accented his fiance’s features, watching the demon hybrid walk between the rows of chairs towards him.

White fabric exaggerating his pecs, Sapnap ungracefully dropped the bunched skirt as he reached the altar. If they hadn't been surrounded by both of his fiances’ family members, Quackity wouldn't have hesitated for even a second. As it was, his hand twitched with the urge to squeeze. He thanked God for giving him enough self control to not start groping his fiance’s chest at their wedding altar.

Wings twitching, Quackity met Sapnap’s eyes as they traced his body, smirking at the familiarly hungry look in his fiance’s eyes. Striking his right hip to the side, the avian suppressed a shiver at the wispy fabric of his own dress brushing past his legs and instead wiggled his eyebrows at the black-haired man.

Making a show of flirting like this made it easier for Quackity to ignore the doubts still present in the back of his mind, ignore the whispers of Karl forgetting again, ignore the slight tremble to his hands that had persisted for days and made painting his nails a much more tiresome endeavour than it should have been.

There were two of them now. Quackity could not be alone anymore.

Then, the door creaked open once more and this time the avian let himself look towards it. Sapnap turned as well, both anticipating the final member of their trio to enter the hall and join them. And neither were disappointed.

With the door falling shut behind him, Karl sheepishly grinned at the pair already at the altar. The dress he wore was the only one which reached the panelled flooring, trailing slightly behind him as he walked down the aisle towards the stone table. In his hands sat a small bouquet of flowers, yellow tulips and daffodils wrapped in a white cloth and cushioned by his palms.

A classical song Quackity couldn’t remember the name of played in the background, his thoughts fully consumed by the sight of his fiance in a pristine wedding gown rather than the odd musical choices one of the men he was marrying had made. 

If asked, each of them would answer that it had been Sapnap’s idea to wear the dresses. In truth, it had been Quackity who had jokingly offered to wear a dress to their wedding, a smile tugging at his lips as the brunette of the group turned to face him and determined that he would wear the dress, that he wouldn’t mind the white and his hair would clash against it less than the other’s black.

Then Sapnap had declared that they were all wearing dresses, and it had snowballed into looking at renting or purchasing prices and deciding that weddings were expensive.  The odd looks upon entering stores which sold dresses and instead being directed towards suits would likely take a while to stop staining the avian’s mind, but in the end the throuple were going to get married.

It ended in their meeting at the altar. Then something new would begin.

Soon enough Karl reached his two fiances, standing between them both with a shining grin on his face. A soft look crossed Sapnap’s face, and Quackity smiled in response, his heart beating wildly as he took in the sight of both gorgeous men in their dresses. God he loved these two so much.

As they all stood, watching each other with smiles on their faces, waiting for the ceremony to start. His stomach fluttering, Quackity couldn’t help the tears that brimmed at the corners of his eyes at the thought that after that day, nothing would be the same. 

Most people would call it a new adventure but Quackity hated that. He hated the uncertainty that threatened to taint every moment and the lack of warmth, a comfort that should fill his chest, at hearing the word and the idea of there being a risk. He could lose everything all over again.

But with the adoring look in both of his fiance's eyes, the avian knew that wouldn't happen. They wouldn't let it happen.

So this was it, the start of something new.

And maybe it sounded less exciting or romantic, but Quackity liked the security. He liked being sure that the fears running wild in his mind would never form in the real world. He would never be alone again.

Not for as long as he had Karl and Sapnap.

[frischkasekuchen]

Dreamtalia Carrie AU - Blood of the Covenant

Credits:

Nevo, Dreamtalia and its characters by kyokyo866

Carrie by Stephen King

Content Warnings:

Swearing

Religion/Christianity

Religious Abuse

Child Abuse

Homophobia (slurs are used)

References to smoking

Starring:

Reve and World as Carrie White (Reve Faucher and Nicholas Major)

Nevo as Margaret White (Nathan Major)

(Author's Note: I spent Lent and partway through Easter working on this fic. This is for the 50th anniversary of Carrie. Beta read by my sister. Please remember to thank Tabitha King for making sure Carrie's story was told and kickstarting King's career. )

 "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." - Ephesians 6:4 (King James Bible)

If it wasn’t worth it, if it wasn’t for his only friend, he’d never do this. If the boy didn’t think there was more to life than prayer, the day of Judgement, and papa- he would happily rot in these four walls till some other horrible disaster came.

(tonight)

The word bounced around his head. 

(i am not afraid of him)

Nicholas, for the first time in his life, was going to do something worse than just say fuck under his father’s roof. Something worse than 

(of whom shall i be afraid)

sharing a quarter cigarette with Reve that one evening. But there was that rising nausea, like the same urge to vomit when he first tasted sin- nicotine.

(she gave of me the tree, and I did eat)

Anxiously, 

(flex)

Nicholas made his pocket change swim in the air around the ceiling light, like sharks circling a lone surfer.

“Nicholas!” Papa called, causing him to shoot up from his bed and drop the coins. “Reve has come over for dinner, come downstairs!”

“Coming!”

The boy looked in the mirror. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders the way Alfred does- minus the boisterous, prideful laughter that accompanied the stance. Nicholas marched downstairs, like a soldier to a battlefield.

—

(it was a dark and stormy night)

As Reve surveyed the dinner table one could most definitely compare it to a battlefield. Despite the polite conversation he had with Mr. Major

(what is your favorite proverb)

the air was thick with tension- the boy might as well cut it with a knife so he could breathe a little. 

Things began to escalate when dessert was presented at the table. Nicholas’ father divided a blueberry pie among the three. Its filling looked thick and slimy, with cane sugar crystals. Fresh, bulbous blueberries were packed together and nestled in the crust. 

When Reve took a bite of his share, he puckered his lips. The pastry was too sour and too sweet all at the same time. “It’s great!” Reve said.

However, Nicholas wasn’t having any of it, literally. He just twirled his fork in his right hand, while his left was scratching his pant leg.

“This is new.” Mr. Major said, “You haven’t touched your pie.”

“It makes me have breakouts.” Nicholas answered firmly, pushing the plate away from himself.

Mr. Major let out an ‘I-know-better’ sigh. He pushed the plate back towards his son. “Pimples are the Lord’s way of hindering pride.” 

“Maybe it’s a Sign I should lay off the sweets.”

Reve jumped in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. “I-I wouldn’t mind taking his share! I have a sweet tooth after all.” Personally, it was in the boys best interest to keep the man placated. 

A pregnant pause.

“Actually,” Reve chimed in once more with an eager grin, “Nicky and I have something important to tell you!”

Mr. Major’s eyebrows raised and he hummed in expectation.

Nicholas looked like a deer in headlights, it was as if he forgot what this dinner was for. The boy’s wide eyes told Reve ‘I can’t do this’.

Reve locked his pinky with Nicholas’ own under the table. 

(im here)

It seemed to say.

“Reve and I…”

(spit it out be a man)

“Have been invited to prom!”

The man froze as though struck by the lightning outside. “Prom.” Mr. Major muttered in horror.

“I’m going to support Reve and-” Nicholas gulped for air a moment, “The coach thinks this could be good for us because, y’know, we’re growing up- and stuff.”

The man’s lips moved but neither boy heard what came out his mouth.

Nicholas pressed on, “V- Mr. Bazarov and Ludwig bought us tickets- so you don’t have to spend a cent.” 

“No.” Mr. Major’s voice raised to an audible volume.

Nicholas began a tangent, “People think we’re- Reve and I- are weird, and not the good kind- the bad kind. And I think we need to learn, to- well- get along with everyone else, before it's too late-”

Nicholas was promptly doused with tea as his father threw it across the table. Some of it got onto Reve’s shirt. Fortunately for the two it was lukewarm. Nicholas sputtered and sniffled quietly.

Reve placed his palms on the table to stand up and voice his outrage-

But Nicholas placed a hand on his knuckles and gave a faux-reassuring squeeze. Reve sat back down. Nicholas’ hand stayed

(i just need you here)

right where it was.

“Go to your closet.” the man snarled.

“I haven’t done anything wrong.” Nicholas protested.

“After all you’ve been taught- you fraternize with a sodomite?”

“He isn’t a bad person, Papa.” Nicholas muttered as he scrubbed tea out of his eyes.

“The moment you stepped into that shower room-” The man heaved a heavy breath, “You exposed yourself to him, those boys- that filth. And even after you were punished for the Sin of Lustful Thoughts- you went back for more.”

“It-” Reve whimpered in a small voice, “It isn’t like that.” No one heard him.

(my siblings arent bad people im not bad am i)

The man shot out of his seat and thundered over to Nicholas. He gripped the boy’s forearm as though he were a chew toy. Mr. Major’s face appeared disturbingly enchanting, with his blue eyes framed by stringy, pink hair.

(this is too much too mu)

“Come to your closet and pray.”

“I haven’t done anything wrong.”

The man raised his hand to strike at Nicholas. The boy seemed resigned to what would come next.

Reve spent a good quarter of his life just…watching Nicholas be treated like everyone’s ragdoll. But remaining seated as his own father did the same? That was just too much.

The sound of Reve smacking away Nathan’s hand was almost as ear shattering as the sudden thunderclap.

Nicholas looked dumbfounded. The man looked offered. And though he was terrified, Reve stood between father and son.

“Don’t you hit Nicky!” Reve shrieked. “He’s your son- he doesn’t deserve that!”

“You have no right to-”

“I do! He’s important to me!” 

Nicholas had doubted that Reve cared. He thought they were only friends of circumstance, but he’d gone and said that. “Reve…”

Reve was shoved and he slammed against the kitchen counter. 

“Reve!” Nicholas ran over to his side, and shot his father a glare.

“Nicholas.” Papa said in a hushed tone. “Tell that man no.”

“I already said I was going.” Nicholas countered as he got Reve to his feet.

“Then tell him you’ve changed your mind!” Nathan nearly hollered. “Or we’ll move! Move somewhere you’ll never see that boy or that teacher again!”

“No- I won’t!”

“That’s final.” Mr. Major walked away as though he had the last word in. 

“I’m not done!” Nicholas screamed.

“I have to close the window. The rain’s getting in the house.” he marched to a nearby window.

“I’ll get them- just please talk to me!” 

And Nicholas flexed. 

At that moment, Reve felt the house shift. Every window slammed shut, even the one upstairs, and the one Mr. Major was going to close and nearly crushed his fingers. 

A large knife dangled inches away from the man’s face as he cowered in a corner.

Nicholas’ fingers flexed and twitched like a malfunctioning machine.

Reve put a hand on Nicholas’ shoulder. “Nicky,” he murmured, “put the knife down.”

Nicholas breathed a staccato of inhales and exhales through his nose.

Reve wrapped his arms around Nicholas’ shoulders, leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Please put that knife down, Nicky.”

The knife fell to the floor

(not worth it hes not worth it)

with a clatter.

“Witch.” Mr. Major breathed. “Devil’s power.”

Nicholas was sniffling, but without any doubt in his mind he said: “The devil’s got nothing to do with this. It’s me- me.”

“And it’s- he’s amazing.” Reve huffed.

“Nonsense.” Mr. Major rose from his crouch. “The devil is cunning. He gives you things- he tricks you- you know what he did to your mother-”

Nicholas chuckled with mirth. “She ran away, Papa.” 

“She was seduced, she vanished into the night-”

“She ran away. Everyone knows that.”

(she knew she knew you were)

Reve put a hand over his mouth; Nicholas’ life was revealed to be more of a hellhole with every new fact he learned about his friend.

(can anyone tell me what abandonment means)

Nicholas sighed, “And I don’t wanna talk about these things anymore.”

(just wanted to talk like how all the other kids do with their)

Reve looked to Nicholas, his father, and then back to his best friend again. 

“Are ya really sure you wanna go to prom? You don’t gotta go just for me.”

Nicholas smiled at him through the tears, the tea and nodded. He gripped Reve’s hand in his “We’re going.” Nicholas looked at his father. “We’re going to prom.”

And that affirmation is what sealed the boys’ fates.

—

Reve opened his umbrella and stepped out of the doorway.

“Have a good night, Reve.”

Reve nearly stepped off the porch. Instead, he whipped around to face Nicholas. He didn’t notice at the time, but he was crying. “Please- please promise me- that if I leave you alone with him, you’ll still call me in the morning.”

Nicholas was confused, but gave him a grin. “Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

“People like him- they- what if he-” Reve’s trembling lips stopped that track of words.

(no no i cant say it)

“Papa won’t do that.” For some reason, Reve felt like the other boy was lying through his teeth. “Things are gonna change around here.”

“Saturday night?” Reve sniffled.

Nicholas cupped Reve’s cheeks, stood on his tiptoes, and kissed away Reve’s tears.

He pulled away. “Saturday night.”

Reve nodded, turned away, and found the courage to drag his feet away from the Major bungalow and walk home.

(Author's Note: Sorry if this piece was heavy- the Carrie AU is kind of a personal story to me (aka mad projecting). I just really wanted to do something for a Stephen King anniversary because both his novels and Dreamtalia itself have carried me through tough times. Thank you for reading.)

(P.S Shout out to anyone who got the Utena reference)

[sweet-star-cookie]

🌴 - Who is this oc's favorite person? for Aries and Scorpio :D

Ohoho :D From this ask game (that I forgot to reblog earlier lol, oops) I think for both of them it depends on what part of the story they're at, since there are changes or additions to their "favourite person list" depending on that.

For Aries, his favourite person is Taurus, primarily because she's one of the only people that isn't put off by his aggressive outbursts, even when they first met. Given her title as "the bull", she is also assumed to be aggressive or mean despite her actual demeanour, so she understands that kind of social pressure. She can see that the majority of Aries's anger comes from passion rather than true malice or cruelty, and gives him more of a chance to show his actual self than most would upon meeting him.

She'll let him blow off steam whenever he needs it, either by letting him rant about something without judgement, or by sparring with him at the arena. Some might assume that she doesn't actually understand or isn't paying attention, but that's not the case. If something is a repeated bother for Aries, Taurus will bring it up during moments where it could be solved, often causing Aries to be like "wait, you were actually listening when I said all that?"

Though vulnerability of any kind is a rarity for Aries in general, Taurus would be the one person he'd be comfortable with seeing that. Her and Perseus, actually, though that doesn't come until much later. Even after Aries takes Percy under his wing as a mentor, he initially defaults to his more authoritative stance to train Percy. And while this mindset can help with fighting technique, it does very little to help with Percy's emotional problems, of which there are many at that point.

Aries eventually fears that pushing for his own idea of heroism will cause Perseus to repeat Aries's own mistakes, and realizes he has to pivot and change his approach partway through. He sees a lot of himself in Percy, for better or worse, so he has to contend with a lot of his own self-loathing. Though Aries is not good at emotional vulnerability and admits that to Percy outright, his attempt is enough to bring them closer together, and looks after him like a son after that.

---------- As for Scorpio, that's a little more complicated. His idea of a "favourite person" largely depends on an already small list of people who either don't fear him or do more than simply tolerate him, at least at the start.

Ophiuchus is the one to rescue him, and he along with Serpens and Cetus become Scorpio's family at the start of his story, so they would collectively be his favourite people at that point. If I had to pick one of the three though, Serpens would probably be it. Cetus is the "aggressive but loyal protective" type, and while Ophiuchus does much to care for and mentor Scorpio, Scorpio does feel some underlying guilt for Ophi having to save him from all of his (albeit accidental) misdeeds. Serpens, on the other hand, is far less complicated. He is simply a kind and gentle soul that comforts Scorpio when he's down or helps him out without any weight of expectation involved.

After everything went wrong though (and a lot went wrong), Scorpio found himself alone again, and naturally it was hard for him to continue without that sense of connection. As a result, he is initially resistant to Scutum when they are brought together by circumstance later on.

He doesn't just become Scorpio's favourite person at this point simply by default though. It becomes clear pretty quickly that Scutum is not there only for his utility as a shield, but because he genuinely cares about Scorpio's well-being, physically and emotionally. Scorpio doesn't really understand why, but is grateful nonetheless. Though he is much more closed off and reserved at this point in the story, Scorpio is still able to confide in Scutum and trusts him completely despite how opposite they are in personality.

And similar to Aries with Perseus, once Cassie enters the picture he and Scutum eventually become like second family to her while she's on the Astral Plane. Scutum is obviously more receptive to this idea than Scorpio, but Cassie becomes a favourite to both of them eventually. Though he'd never admit it to her outright, Scorpio sees her compassion and refuses to let it be extinguished like his was, but also fears that the path she walks will do that anyway. She has much pressure on her shoulders simply by having the Starglass, by circumstances that she has little to no control over, and this is a problem that Scorpio knows all too well.

[wanderingmausoleum]

2, 13, 22, and 30!

(for the ask game!)

2. least favorite character but a moment where you liked them

honestly i'm not sure who my least favorite characters might be...uhhhh idk maybe something like b*kugou from That One Teen Superhero Anime (censored so this doesn't show up in the tags), but i only watched the first season and remember so little from it that i don't remember a moment where i liked him LOL. there are very few characters i HATE hate but when i do it's rare there's a moment i like them at all

13. favorite books?

oh god i don't read as much as i used to. i've only been able to sustain my interest on stuff i'm fixating on or things i need to read for a class or group so that leads to a really weird mix of books lol. some of my faves i can think of off the top of my head are konrad curze: the night haunter by guy haley, the canterbury tales by geoffrey chaucer, and paradise lost by john milton. i also remember really liking pachinko by min jin lee and a place for us by fatima farheen mirza. AND THEN i'm also partway through a few books: i like the concept of the terror by dan simmons a lot but i'm not the biggest fan of the execution so far; manhunt by gretchen felker-martin seems GREAT from the small portion i read before i forgot i downloaded it; and i'm hoping to finish terror, love, and brainwashing: attachment in cults and totalitarian systems by alexandra stein as soon as i can find a physical copy for cheap lol

22. what things do you love about the world?

many things honestly...the beauty of nature and such aside, one of my favorite things is the endurance of humanity, and the way (for better or worse) humans haven't changed all that much throughout history, and how we're still painting on walls and making stupid jokes and telling stories and being a bit of an inconvenience-but-it's-okay-because-i-love-you-anyway. (that's one of the reasons the canterbury tales is a favorite book of mine, it's just fantastically human.)

30. favorite animals?

axolotls have been my favorite animal since i discovered they existed via a nat geo kids magazine as a child (their surge of popularity recently has given me mixed emotions, mostly of the oh god they're highly endangered and difficult to keep as pets so please don't get one just because they're cute variety), but i also adore jellyfish of all kinds and i consider myself a bottomless well of random-ass jellyfish facts. ask me about them if you want (please) (please)

[purplekoop]

Alright screw it, full list of Kirby crossover Overwatch skin ideas:

Kirby Echo. Hard to explain how it looks with words but it works in my head.

King Dedede Reinhardt. In my heart this one is the Mythic skin of this bunch with variants for unmasked, the classic Masked Dedede mask, and the Forgo Dedede mask.

Meta Knight Genji. Not much explaining needed I think.

Bandana Waddle Dee Tracer. I didn't have any better ideas for either end of this pairing, but like. again it works in my head.

Whispy Woods Bastion. I swapped my ideas for Orisa and Bastion back and forth, but figured Ganymede dressed as the small Kirby bird of your choice would make more sense. Plus, Orisa already has a nature-themed skin.

Paint Roller Lucio. I think this is a fan favorite obscure miniboss, plus it'd be a fun different look for a Lucio skin.

Nightmare Sigma. With every idea for group skins I keep casting Sigma as the ultimate big bad, but like... c'mon it works too well here. The Hyperspheres are the ball form.

Rick Wrecking Ball. hamter.

Dark Matter Swordsman Soldier 76. mouthful, yikes. I actually had a list of notes I decided to check partway through making this post, and I forgot about this one. I think the idea was the visor? Could be cool I think.

Marx Junkrat. funny little guy who chucks exploding balls. Could do a fun detail with his prosthetics looking like pieces of Nova.

Heavy Lobster Orisa. Favorite obscure Kirby boss that never shows up in a series full of recurring bosses. Definitely a skin nobody besides me consciously wants.

Mr. Frosty/Chef Kawasaki Roadhog. Hard to pick between these two iconic midbosses, but I very much only see either design working as like, an edgy slasher villain parody of the original when on Roadhog.

Adeline Brigitte. Flail is the paintbrush. That's all the justification I need to say.

Ripple Queen Mei. Definitely a more obscure character to prioritize but the idea won't leave my brain, I think it'd look too cute to pass up. Also yes: Snowball is Ribbon.

Dark Meta Knight Reaper. ow the edge.

Daroach Cassidy. Hat. Though would also consider Ashe, if only just for the sake of Storro B.O.B.

Drawcia Moira. I mean Moira throws around blobs and sprays of bright colors around, it works. Plus I think this'd be a fun look for her that's not too out of place stylistically.

Necrodeus Doomfist. Felt bad not having a Mass Attack reference of any kind for some reason (even though I don't have an Epic Yarn character here and that's my favorite spinoff). This was the best pairing of "cool bad guy" matching that I had left, but I mean I think it'd look cool.

Magolor Zenyatta. Silly floating man with his orbs and mysterious past.

Landia Pharah. Another niche one but it looks sick in my head. Was also considering giving her Dyna Blade.

Taranza Lifeweaver. Okay explaining this one: sad pretty boy with trauma and a flower motif. Plus they both use grabby magic to yoink people. Works with how average Rein players feel about Life Grip.

Queen Sectonia Symmetra. I wanted to have Sectonia somewhere and by process of elimination this is the idea I like the best. Not explicitly meant for a SymWeaver thing but hey that works too. the inverse height dynamic between the pairings feels wrong though...

Susie D.va. This is another obvious one, little pink bitches with big mechs, little pew pews, trauma, and room for me to project onto.

Haltmann Torbjorn. Another one from my notes I completely forgot about. But like. Yeah no it still checks out.

Francisca Junker Queen. A guilty pleasure choice aside from the shared blue hair and axes.

Flamberge Illari. Listen the brain blast I had when I realized "burny powers and also her gun looks like a weird sword." Plus they both scream an above average amount.

Zan Partizanne Widowmaker. It'd be a crime if she wasn't one of the most canonically french Kirby characters.

Hyness/Void Termina Ramattra. I don't know the exact logistics of how this works but in the abstract concept in my head this looks awesome.

Gorimondo Winston. monke.

Yeah that's the list! Everybody besides Mercy, Hanzo, Zarya, Ana, Sombra, Ashe, Baptiste, Sojourn, and Kiriko got one. Also no Mauga... or Venture... or Space Ranger... look this list was from a while ago, plus none of these are even out yet so sue me. (actually had a few ideas for Mercy, but none of them felt really satisfying. Favorite idea for her was using Forgotten Land's final boss mostly because of the silhouette being... more similar than you'd think at first.) Also I got at least part of each of the dream friends besides Gooey, but like. Literally what Overwatch character reminds anyone in any way of Gooey. Be honest with me here.

[flicker-away]

lace nosk!

i somehow completely forgot that winged nosks and non-winged nosks are two totally separate things and by the time I realized that i'd accidentally smushed them together, i was partway through the line art, so.. oh well

tumblr doesn't make the first letter of a sentence auto-capitalize this is amazing

[unproduciblesmackdown]

oh wow yeah i forgot deviantart could be another info source

Atlas met Mitzi first, but married her after "discovering" Mordecai.

making sense yeah okay. "discovering"....what a recruitment process.

and yeah it's forever mitzi n mordecai murder mystery 🔍 time in here, especially as it's really just about Drama, Character, Themes, same as everything concerning like "ooh fun mysteries fun plotlines" going on really pwns & all the more so b/c it's supporting & playing into Extremely Epique drama, character, thematic material....and like grabbing people by the lapels like Think About It Argh like whatever mitzi has going on that she thinks is her fault, while atlas still means this much to her, While the situation of their marriage had visibly deteriorated she wasn't even living with him at the time....while mordecai is so connected to atlas that, again! at the funeral! his ferocious little shadow! the only one in on this secret! being so fucked up about atlas's death he quits lackadaisy while kneecapping viktor in the hopes he won't then have to be pitted against him and Now is thinking he doesn't know the full story still and is This fucked up about a whole day? the same day? after this mill luncheon like Girl!! and that of course if mordecai killed atlas (which he absolutely did. with the same gun atlas gave him on the train!!!) no mordecai wouldn't have betrayed atlas, so atlas would have to be in on it, and shaking lapels like can you Imagine atlas making that request like to have mordecai whom he can trust with secrets and collusion and being accurate and precise with [someone's gotta shoot & kill me] same as mitzi was like, mordecai you're accurate, precise, & symmetrical, help me with my eyeliner. exactly the same. thee Drama

anyways. scream.

AND WAIT i FORGOT TO COMPARE: mitzi still wearing the necklace that atlas gave her when they first met, years later. mordecai still wearing the shirts that atlas gave him when they first met, years? definite Months later. possibly simply getting to keep that same gun atlas gave him when they first met & only returning it after totally killing atlas with it like screammm the drama IS the resonance IS evidence!!!!!

oh you're so right, it's looking like 1895 to me big time. never thought to try Opening A Full Size Image there, thank you again

seeing that proportionality & Corner of a 5 there. four years older, all of 32, while an alleged 1900 At The Earliest birthyear would make her an alleged 27 at the oldest, to mordecai's 28....(well more of three and a half years older & i think things are set in spring? so she's 31)

call it a certified audhd moment the way that when i opened the characters profiles page specifically to examine mitzi's redacted birthday i still immediately opened the profile for my special little guy in true "leapt to some other branch of thought between opening this page & returning to it so when i did return to it it's like why am i here again Kneejerk Whim Route: to look at my special little guy ouhhh especially treasure this portrait" and "my special little guyness is in no small part thanks to grabbing the Autistic Character Moment of it all"

and yeah three years / college age four year window is Very Close. let's hear it for characters who probably didn't go to college or vanished from it partway through at the very least. the bookkeeping and other factors also plausibly interfering with Any education he has to Go To, though some autodidactism either way is likely. Who Knows re: mitzi, seems like the band work was probably going on a long time and she, like so many characters all uncoincidentally / rather, very relevantly, presumably didn't have a world of prospects to look to