#when i started posting on here i thought that hardly anyone would see my stuff

[aticklishpercivalwriter]

My Honey ♡ My Bee (fic)

Link to Art (credits go to @munchr00m (elaine !) on Twitter!): Sethos/Scaramouche

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Summary: Wanderer and Sethos hang out, but Scara’s thoughts and uncertainty about their dynamic in the future end up eating at him. Sethos reassures him through convincing means.

A/N: SethoScara!! These two have me in a chokehold and the art and fanfics for these two are amazing. And here is my contribution :) Inspiration for this fic comes from this post. I did my best to retain Scara’s bratty attitude, but I also wanted to show a softer and vulnerable side to him. So, I’m sorry if Scaramouche seems OOC to you all. With that being said, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

P.S. There is a small scene that might be slightly NSFW to some, you’ll see it when you get to it, so you can skip the section until you don’t see any of the stuff you don’t want to see. Can’t reveal too much for spoilers. If anyone’s interested in me writing a smut fic (would be my first!) for these two, let me know! I’ll leave a poll :)

Word Count: 1965 Also on AO3!

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The sky was a mix of red and orange hues as the sun set over the horizon. At the base of a tree outside of Sumeru City sat Wanderer and Sethos. The two of them have grown to like each other’s presence and made the tree their special spot to be with one another.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sethos spoke.

“You have poor taste in beauty,” Scaramouche answered, making Sethos chuckle. “That wasn’t supposed to be funny.”

“Hehe, I know. I never get tired of your responses.”

“Hmph, weirdo.”

A comforting silence settled afterward before Scaramouche spoke again.

“Why…Why do you keep putting up with me?”

The seriousness in his tone made Sethos look at him with concern.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m a nobody. Someone who tried to become a god. A puppet that was thrown away because they were useless. One that makes mean and snarky comments. Why? Why do you want to be with someone like me?”

A surprised look crossed Sethos’s face.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because I like being with you.”

Scara’s eyes widened as Sethos continued.

“I was curious about your mysterious past and kept pestering you until you told me. When you did, I didn’t turn away disgusted or begin to hate you. All it did was make me want to be with you even more.”

Conflicting emotions and uncertainty ran through Wanderer's eyes before they were stopped by a hand on his cheek.

“You dare-” Scara started, making a move to swat Sethos’s hand away before Sethos started stroking his cheek with his thumb. He went quiet as he made eye contact with Sethos who had an endearing expression on his face.

“I'll take care of you.”

I'll take care of you.

A flicker of light is shown behind Wanderer’s eyes upon hearing those words. But as quick as it came, his eyes darkened with uncertainty.

“It's rotten work.”

“Not to me.”

Surprised, stormy eyes met determined, loving ones.

“Not if it's you.”

Those words were an arrow to his heart as tears from decades of sadness, anger, and hurt threatened to fall. The world seemed to blur around him as his senses were solely focused on the man in front of him.

“The things you mentioned are in the past. It's time for you to move on and not let them plague your mind.”

Sethos leaned closer, accidentally making Scara’s hat fall off his head. The latter could hardly care as he felt Sethos comb his fingers through his hair and his breath on his face. Not to mention the soft lips that were barely a millimeter from his own.

“You aren't useless, Scara.”

Sethos’s warm breath hit him in the face as he spoke.

“You aren't a nobody either. Since our first interaction with one another, I was obsessed with you. Your hat. Your past. Your attitude. But most importantly, what hid behind those stormy eyes of yours. And the more I got to learn about you, I began falling for you. I wanted you. I liked you. I love being with you. Your sassy attitude, you calling me a busy bee, I cherished those moments. In my eyes, you are the perfect being and you have a place in my heart. I will go to the ends of the world to fight with you. To be with you. To…love you.”

Sethos pushed forward, softly planting his lips on Wanderer’s. He melted into the kiss, kissing back with fervor as Sethos took the lead.

“Sethohh- mmm~”

Sethos smiled into Scara’s mouth, taking pride in making him fall apart. Taking it a step further, he licked his lips asking for entrance. When he met no resistance and instead Wanderer parted his lips, he dove right in.

“Se- mmph! Mmhmm~”

“Mmm~”

Sethos sucked his tongue, making him roll his eyes in ecstasy as he tangled his fingers in Sethos's hair. Sethos deepened the kiss, gently pushing his back to the ground.

“S- ahh! Mmm~ Aah! Mmphahh~”

“Mmochi~ Hah! Scaraah~ Mmm~ You have hah~ too many ngh~ na- aah~ names~”

They continued their make-out session, drowning in each other's embrace and letting out their feelings for one another.

They broke for breath after some time. Sethos towering over Wanderer with his arms on both sides of his head and the latter laying his head back on the grass looking up at Sethos. His face was flushed, complimenting the pink and orange hues of the sky and Scara couldn't help but reach out a hand towards his cheek, caressing him.

“Beautiful,” he breathed out.

A red tint started to spread to Sethos's ears and a shy smile started to form.

“M-Me?”

“snort. Yes, you.”

He wrapped his arms around Sethos, bringing him down to his chest.

“I hate how you make me feel so mushy inside."

There's no bite behind those words. Instead, love and affection.

“It's my job now, honey~”

“Argh, Sethos.”

“What? You call me a bee, I call you honey. Plus, you are so sweet-”

“I am not sweet.”

“Yes, you are. Especially your taste. Sweet like honey. No wonder I am a bee that is so attracted to you~”

Scara just groaned, his face flushed red. “Where did you even learn to kiss like that?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, that. Heh,” Sethos rubbed the back of his head, rolling off him and laying beside him.

“You know how they say the quiet ones are the interesting ones? I'm far from being quiet, but since being in the Temple of Silence, I tend to be alone in my thoughts a lot and my imagination runs wild. And when I first laid my eyes on you, I never stopped thinking what it would be like to kiss those lips of yours.”

Wanderer’s heart fluttered in his chest, knowing that Sethos was thinking of him from the first time they met.

“And how did it feel?” he asked, turning to him.

“We both know the answer to that.”

“I want to hear it from you.”

Sethos chuckled, facing him. “Alright, if you really want to hear it. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. The moment just felt right. When our lips touched, a pleasant tingling sensation traveled down my spine. Having your lips locked on mine, it just felt like we were meant to be together. Oh! Your moans. Don’t get me started on your moans. They were sweet as hon-”

“Okay, you are just teasing and trying to make me flustered.”

“Maybe~ Is it working?”

“Not even.”

“You sure about that? What's that reddening on your ears?”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Make me.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“What do you think?”

“Oh, you are asking for it, annoying bee.”

“I'll like to see you- ack! Ahahaha! T-Tihihickling is cheheating!”

Scaramouche smirked, hearing his giggles as he tased his sides with ease. “Aw. Sucks to be you then~”

“Wahahait! Nohohoho fahahair!”

Scara draped himself over Sethos, lazily tracing random patterns from his shoulder blades to his neck to his chest and back again.

“Doesn't take much for me to make you giggle, little bee.”

“Hahahaha! Mohohochihi! Gehehet off mehehehe!” Sethos tried to roll around to no avail.

“Hmm, let me think about it,” Scara put on a fake thinking face for a few moments before he began to knead Sethos’s hips making him choke on a surprised laugh. “Nah.” A smug look crossed his face. “I want to do this all day~”

“GAhahaha! Nohohoho! You ahahare- NAHAHAHA! Nohot thahat SPOHOHOT!”

Sethos shrieked as his lover dug his fingers into his armpits causing him to clamp them down.

“You are losing, my love~” Wanderer teased, rubbing deep circles into his lover's armpits causing him to howl with laughter.

“AHAHAHA! HOHOHONEY! IHIHIT TIHIHICKLES SOHOHO BAHAHAD!”

“Oh really? Here, let me help. Tickle tickle tickle~”

“THAHAHAT’S NOHOHOT HEHELPING! YOU’RE MAHAHAKING IHIHIT WOHORSE!”

“How about this? Coochie coochie coo~”

“STAHAHAP TEHEHEASING MEHEHEHE! AHAHAHA!”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Scara said, playing dumb.

“YOHUHU LIAHAHAR! YOU- GAHAHAHA! NOHOHO!”

Sethos squealed as Scara used his thumb to massage his upper ribs.

“PLEheaSE ScahahARA!”

“Oh, my ticklish, little bee. Begging already? We are barely getting started~”

He decided to have a little mercy on Sethos, slowing down, so he could take a breather.

“Thahank youhuhu,” he giggled out.

“I’ll tell you what,” Scara started. “If you don’t laugh for 5 minutes straight, you win the challenge and get to tickle me to your heart’s content. If you lose, get ready to be tickled without mercy.”

“Pfft, 5 minutes. I can handle that. Challenge accepted!”

Wanderer inwardly grinned, his scheme working as he kissed Sethos with passion. Being caught off guard, Sethos quickly recovered, returning the kiss, unaware of the one hand that was inching closer and closer to his side until-

“MMPHAHAHA!”

Perfect.

“Noho! Youhuhu caught mehe off guahard!”

“I win~” Scara cheekily said. “Seems like that was your best… what a pity.”

“You planned that from the start!” Sethos pouted.

He stuck his tongue out towards Sethos. “Bleh, I win and that is all that matters. Come here and give me my prize.”

He lunged toward Sethos, leaving him no time to escape before he crawled his fingers under his clothes and attacked his tummy.

“I’ll geHEt yOUhu bahACK! AhAHAhAha!”

“Keep on dreaming little bee~”

After what felt like an eternity to Sethos of Wanderer skittering his fingers along his sensitive spots and teasing him to oblivion, his lover let up, lying right beside him.

“Mouchehe, you’re a ruhuthlehess tihickler.”

“Heh, that means that I’m still good at it or you are just too ticklish for your own good, or maybe both.”

“Scaraaa.”

They both fell into a peaceful silence as they stared up at the now starry sky, enjoying each other’s presence.

“Sethos?” Wanderer’s voice was soft when he spoke his name.

“Hmm?”

“Your words from before, I wanted to hear someone say those words to me for so long.”

“Which ones? You being sweet?” Sethos teased.

“Sethos,” Scara groaned. “I’m trying to be vulnerable here.”

“Hehe. Sorry sorry,” he chuckled, turning towards him and hugging him.

“I’m talking about when you told me you’d take care of me,” Scaramouche continued, snuggling into his embrace. “How it’s not rotten work to you and how you love me.”

He took a breath before continuing.

“It's all I ever wanted. Someone to say those words to me.”

A shooting star raced through the sky, lighting up his eyes. Sethos saw hope and a new spark of life in those mesmerizing eyes of his.

“I know I’m a bratty character and that’ll probably never go away, but I love you. I truly love you, even if I don’t show it at times. And…and I’ll go to the ends of the world for you too.”

Sethos could see the tips of his ears reddening and he inwardly grinned at how cute he was before going in for a quick peck on the cheek.

“Mochi, I love you so much. You are so freakin cute right now. But in all seriousness, I’m happy that you are in my life and I can’t wait to spend all of it with you. My sweet, honey love.”

“Archons, you are going to be the death of me you mushy bee.”

Sethos brought their lips together for a slow and soft kiss. Knocking their foreheads softly together, both of them stared into each other’s eyes, enjoying the moment before pulling away. Sethos was the first to stand up, grinning from ear to ear. Wanderer shook his head in amusement, picking up his hat and setting it atop his head before reaching out towards his lover’s outstretched hand. They started their way back into the city, hand in hand with fingers entwined.

My Honey.

My Bee.

—

More questions are in the Google Form if you want to provide more feedback. Plus, the question for a potential smut fic. Thank you again for reading and your time :)

Link to Google Form

[thelovehypothesis]

Sunsets with you.

Harry Styles x fem!reader

Requested- lost my old account so this is basically me reposting my old stuff

Summary: Everyone else’s opinions on your and Harry’s relationship get in your head, but you’re it for Harry and he won’t have it any other way.

a/n’s: pretty sloppy but smwt enjoyable, please sendin request!

You’re well aware that you’re living the dream of many, being Harry’s girlfriend is something many dream of and somehow here you are, 4 years into a relationship with the man of your dreams.

Even though you were “living the dream” this said dream can with backlash, 4 years of trying to have a private (as possible with some fail) relationship, and some how media always had article to share on your relationship, fans had comments and haters hate to spread.

Truthfully it never got any easier for you to have the public eye on you, even though Harry always tried to help with sweet nothing and telling you to just full on ignore it, it was hard one click lead to another and you ended up engulfed in people opinions about you and your relationship.

Having said that, tour had been taking a toll on your relationship, you being “left” behind in London with harry signing his heart out around the world just gave your mind to much time to click and overthink, and most articles and post you read were full on rumors questioning your fidelity and his, and well you two trusted each other and had been through so many scandals that you knew better that to even bat a thought a those articles. It was rather the article criticizing you: your job, looks, intentions, family; that’s were you’d overthink your value in the relationship.

And so you started to distance yourself from him, not picking up his phone calls ever time he would call, texting him back less often and giving him shorter replies.

So when he came back for a short break, his grown worry from your uninterested self on having a proper conversation with him immediately unleashed a fight, well more so of an argument.

“We’ve been through this! You have to stop reading the comment and articles. They know one shit about us!”

“H-how can I. Im sorry but all they say is true! You’re this big pop star traveling all around the world with this huge successful career, while I’m stuck here working a 9 to 5!”

Silence

Being truthful Harry and you hardly fought but we you did it some how always lead to moments like this. You looking at each other with pleading eyes, hoping the other would just listen.

“I-I-I don’t know what you want me to say y/n”

“I don’t need you to say anything. I need you to listen, and to finally realize that I’m not-not enough for you H.

You need someone that can travel with you, and that can take on the public eye and-and that’s not me-“

“stop”

You could see the tear drops forming in Harrys eyes, even though yours are already flooded.

“Harry-“

“No. No. Yo-You don’t get to say those things. Not now not ever”

He starts stepping closer, cupping your face with his hand making you look at him.

“y/n listen please… just listen.

You are the most amazing human being I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, I know you better than anyone so I get to tell you that-that the comparison you’re making isn’t fair. You’re working on achieving your dreams, and you not that far away, and we are still so young, and somehow everyday you prove yourself to everyone around you, there is no doubt in the world that you’re the most talented person out there. I on the other had just got a head start and-and without you I-I wouldn’t be here, you’re my muse, my everything”

Sobbing, full on sobbing. How could this god of a human possibly believe in you this much knowing first hand how tough the world is.

“Harry I-I just can do it anymore-

I feel so small sometimes and I don’t want to be a burden to you”

“God y/n”

Harry lets you go.

He goes upstairs, and that’s the last indicator you needed to know that Harry can grow so much more if you just let him go, so you follow him, to say goodbye and sorry one more time.

When you got to you shared bedroom, you saw him walking out of the closet, eyes immediately meeting.

“I still hadn’t planned it out so far but I guess the time found it’s self”

Harry steps closer to you and takes your hand in his. Now in your hand, is a small velvet box.

Tears on the edge of both your eyes, but for a different reason now.

‘Just stop your crying, it’ll be alright’

“You’re it for me. And no matter how many times I have to reassure you of it, it’s me who doesn’t deserve you. “

‘So please stop your crying baby it’s the sign of the times

runaway with me, to a world that only you and me’

“Harry- are you sure of what your doing” your voice trembling more that thought possible.

A scoff leaves his mouth.

“I’m sure. I want this. All of it. The big house on top of the hill, the four children running around screaming, the wedding, the dog, all of it.

So y/n y/l/n would you do me the honor of marrying me and living the rest of life together?”

He said now on one knee.

He sees right through you, he knows you could never stop living him even if you tried to, you two find home in each other.

So without an other thought, you rapidly nod your head and kneel down to be able to kiss Harry.

The kiss you shared was full of the unspoken sorry’s each of you feel needs to be said, the new promises that come with this new stage your relationship, just love, the immense love you two share.

“I love you.”

“I love you so much more.”

And there you were in your sweet tender moment, not a worry in mind, hearts beating in sync and lovesick eyes that gazed at each other.

After a few more moments Harry broke the silence.

“I love you so much that if you want me to scream it from the rooftops I will, if you need me to reassure you of your worth every day I will. I will do anything if it makes you happy.”

“I love you so much. Thank you for loving me as much”

“Forever.”

He’d already slipped the ring on your finger sealing this moment forever.

End 📌

[some-of-us-watch-the-sunset-too]

hii I don’t know if I’m supposed to give ya a prompt like said. But I’ve been feeling angstyyyy sooo if you can no bother my love, could ya do : all of the outsider boys reacting to you (s/o) death?

A/N: Hi anon! the post for the prompts thing is here but i’m taking requests too so dw! I’m feelin the angst rn so this was perfectly timed!

The boys if their S/O d!ed

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⚠️ TW for death, implied suicidal thoughts ⚠️

Darry

He would go on living for the most part, not because he doesn’t care about the fact that you’re gone, but he just can’t afford to shut down. if he does, he risks losing Soda and Pony too.

He’d bring flowers to your grave once a week, on Wednesdays (don’t ask why i just decided this). Your favourite flowers. When the first bunch he put down dies, he gets someone he knows, (maybe Ponyboy, i feel like he’d dig arts and crafts) to either press the flowers or dry them so he always has them, even if they bring back painful memories.

To add to the whole getting flowers thing, he’d always take one out of each bunch, just like he did before your death to make sure that he replaces them as soon as they wilt.

He most likely got the call about your passing and had to tell the guys. He tried to stay calm while telling them but he broke down before he could finish.

Ponyboy

This hurts just to think about! He, unlike Darry would shut down completely. He’d be failing class, wouldn’t get out of bed and would hardly eat. If we count it as after Johnny and Dally die, that would be 3 people he cared about that died (other than his parents)

If you two watched the sunset together often i feel like he’d never watch it again. it would be too painful for him.

Whenever he gets into an argument with Darry he runs out of the house and straight to your grave. He’d sit there and vent to you and eventually fall asleep there. the guys probably put a bench by your grave so he’d sleep there.

I think that after he was functional again, he’d get very cold and bitter, kinda like Dally. He’d get into fights all the time and would start acting out. He just doesn’t know how to cope with you gone..

Sodapop

Sodapop would go to your grave everyday after work and just talk to you about his day. he would fill you in on everything going on with the guys, any rumbles or fights with socs, stuff like that.

I honestly think that if Soda was serious about your relationship he would have given you a promise ring. I think that even after you were gone he would keep wearing it and maybe even put yours on a chain and wear that under his t-shirt, right next to his heart.

If it was a violent death? He would completely stop fighting, he would only see it as a constant reminder of what happened to you, he would realise that it really didn’t do any good.

He wouldn’t fully shut down but i think he would stop hanging out with the guys so much and would get very quiet. He wouldn’t be his laughing, wild self anymore. He knows that isn’t what you would’ve wanted but how could he keep on joking when you were gone? how could he ignore it?

Dally

Dally would go on hating and fighting more than he ever did. The world took so much from him and now it took you too? Why should he care about anyone or anything if you weren’t there anymore.

He’d spend a lot of time at your grave. No talking, he’d just sit there and smoke a cigarette. Sometimes he’d silently cry, but he hates crying out in the open.

Dally would blame himself. It doesn’t matter how you passed away, he would look at every detail of the days leading up to your death and see if there was any moment where he could’ve done something to stop it. if it was a violent death, could he have stopped you from getting into that situation in the first place? if it was an accident, could he have stopped it from happening, could he have made it so that it was him instead?

Steve

Steve would be kind of like Dally. He’d hate and fight more than ever. How could the world be so cruel that he’d take you from him?

I feel like it could be his first proper experience with loss, which is different to the others that i’ve written about so far. He really wouldn’t know how to cope. he’d try to go on living, then he would shut down for a while, then he would probably just have to get out of town for a while.

I honestly think he’d do something drastic. Rob a gas station or snap and start a fight with his dad or something. He would get very reckless too. where he would be careful when competing in drag races, now he would speed up if anything.

He is so afraid of forgetting your face. He keeps a picture of you in his jacket pocket to make sure he doesn’t forget but he realises he’s starting to forget the smaller things like how you’d make this particular face when you’re being sarcastic, and how your face would light up when someone mentioned your favourite things.

Two-Bit

Two would start drinking even more, you were lucky to see him sober. He’d stop hanging out with the guys.

He would be angry for a while. Angry that you left him here alone. Of course he knows deep down that it’s not your fault but he can’t help it. Two probably went to your grave one day, drunker than ever. He started giving out that you left him and ended up throwing his bottle of beer at your headstone. That snapped him out of it. He picked everything up and cleaned the headstone best he could.

After the angry phase is gone he would start to write you letters filling you in on everything. He couldn’t bring himself to go to your gave so he just pretended you had moved far away. He puts them in a big box under his bed. He considered burning them, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it

He sometimes forgets you’re not there though. Say if he’s doing something he might yell “Y/N could you pass me the ___” then remember you’re not there and just sits down and cries, even a few years after.

Johnny

Johnny really can’t deal with it. With his parents being so bad and you being his main support, he couldn’t take it anymore.

I honestly think that he would run away, let everyone forget him. Sometimes he would consider the ways to see you again, but luckily someone always snaps him out of it.

He hangs out with the guys more than ever, it keeps him from shutting down completely. they become his main support, but he’s even more quiet, he sits a little outside of the group when in the curtis’ house.

After a few months of grieving he remembers a list you guys wrote about all your hopes and dreams. So he decides that he’s going to complete everything on it. He lives for the two of you.

[clown-friend-gt]

Up, Up, and Away Chapter 7

This chapter is a bit long because I combined two chapters into one. That also means I only have one completed chapter after this one, which I'll probably post later this week. There may or may not be a short hiatus after that while I work on writing more chapters. Thanks for understanding.

Link to Masterpost

************************************************************************

Left Alone

2.8k words

(CW: More police stuff, body horror)

The next few hours were a blur. More people from the institute arrived to take Trevor away. Around that same time, EMT’s arrived, wheeling Robbie away on a stretcher. Trevor had just enough time to watch them load him into an ambulance before the institute agents shoved him into the back of a gray van with the logo of the institute’s enforcement department on the side.

The ride over was not a smooth one. He was too big to fit in any of the seats that lined the sides of the walls, so he had to lay on the floor, crammed in like a sardine. Whenever the van took a particularly sharp turn, he’d be slammed into the wall, and the whole van would tilt dangerously to the side.

“Settle down back there!” The driver yelled back at him after the van crashed back onto four wheels.

If you don’t want the van to flip over, maybe stop driving like a maniac, Trevor thought, but said nothing. He didn’t need to make more trouble for himself.

Trevor thought he knew the city pretty well. But with no view of the outside and all of the twists and turns, he had no idea where they were headed. All he knew was that based on how long they’d been driving, it was pretty far outside of San Solaris.

He wondered what his mom was thinking right now. Would she be worried after he didn’t come home? Had anyone told her what had happened? She’d done so much for him since this all started, trying to keep him from going insane. And he’d just thrown it all away.

Then his thoughts drifted to Robbie. Would he be okay? He looked to be in pretty bad shape when they took him to the hospital. He hadn’t wanted to hurt him, not really. He just wanted to scare him off. But he’d underestimated his own strength, and now both of them were paying for it.

God, he was disgusted with himself. Maybe Robbie was right. Maybe he was a freak. After all, what kind of person would do such a thing? The way Robbie had crumpled when he hit that wall, it made Trevor shudder to think of now.

As he stewed in silence, he didn’t notice the van come to a stop. Then someone pounded on the side of the van, jolting him from his thoughts. The doors opened, but from his crumpled-up position, he could hardly see outside.

“We’re here. Get out,” came an authoritative voice from the outside.

“Just a minute.” Trevor started wriggling around, trying to free himself.

He managed to straighten his legs and plant them on the ground outside. From there, he did a kind of half-crabwalk to pull his torso from the van. Once it was no longer underneath him though, he collapsed onto his back, his legs folding awkwardly beneath him.

“Ow,” he muttered to himself.

An institute official stood over him, arms crossed. He wore slacks, a light blue button up shirt, a tie, and suspenders. His name badge read “Ray Morgan.”

“Get up,” he ordered.

“I’m trying,” Trevor complained, struggling to try and sit up. But with his legs trapped and his hands bound, it was almost impossible. He sighed, defeated.

“I can’t. I’m stuck,” he told the official.

“Seriously?”

“Maybe if I could use my hands…” he snarked.

Morgan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Fine, hold on,” he said, retrieving a small remote from his pocket. He pointed it at Trevor and clicked a button, causing his cuffs to buzz again. He felt the magnetic pull they on each other turn off. Slowly, he rolled over and pushed himself up. Once he was standing, he shook himself out, trying to regain feeling in his limbs.

He looked at the cuffs on his wrist. There was a light on the side of one that glowed yellow. Before he could try and guess what that meant, Morgan spoke up again.

“Don’t get any ideas on me now,” he said, pressing another button on the remote.

The light flashed red, and with a buzz, the cuffs snapped together once more. So much for that.

Now that his hands were connected in front of him, he grabbed Trevor by the elbow and tried to pull him forward. He didn’t budge. Morgan slowly seemed to realize that he’d need a lot more force to move Trevor than he could muster on his own.

“Work with me here, kid,” he said, sounding exasperated.

Trevor rolled his eyes, but started walking in the direction he was leading him.

Between the lingering effects of the growth spurt he’d had the night before and being stuck in the back of a van for nearly an hour, Trevor had expected to be in more pain. But the cuffs he wore had some kind of numbing effect on him, so he felt fine. If it wasn’t for the situation he was in, he might have been glad to have them.

They headed towards an imposing-looking brick building. A sign above the door read “The Lively Institute: Juvenile Corrections Center.” Now there was no mistaking how much trouble he was in.

Trevor was led inside. He had enough room to stand in the entrance hall, which had higher ceilings. But the official directing him quickly ushered him past the front desk and into the hallway, which was significantly shorter, so he had to crouch most of the time.

Morgan led him to a room with an institute staff member who dressed more like a police officer, kind of like Mr. Roberts had. Morgan directed the officer to pat Trevor down.

“I can do this myself, you know,” Trevor told Morgan as the officer removed his keys, his wallet, and his phone from his pockets.

Morgan shook his head. “Can’t let you do that. Safety risk, and all.”

Then he led Trevor to another room to have his picture taken for his mugshot. As they entered the room, Trevor spotted a potential issue.

“This only goes up to seven feet,” he said, pointing to the height chart on the wall.

Morgan rubbed his forehead, clearly starting to get a little fed up with this whole situation.

“Just kind of…crouch down into frame,” he said, motioning with one hand as he spoke. “You let us worry about the rest.”

Trevor shrugged and did as he was told, carefully maintaining his balance as the camera’s light flashed. Then he turned to the side so they could repeat the process.

After that, Morgan led him to one final room. Once they were there, he led Trevor over to a screen mounted on the wall.

“Put your thumb here,” he instructed Trevor.

“Why?”

“So we can record your fingerprints.”

“Oh,” he said, pressing his thumb to the screen. “Don’t they normally dip your fingers in ink for that?”

Morgan shook his head. “Nah, we stopped doing that years ago.”

After a moment, a light on the screen flashed green.

“Okay, now for your pointer finger…”

After he pressed each of his fingers to the screen in turn, Morgan led him back into the hall.

“You’re all checked in, sir,” he said with an ironic flourish. “Right this way, I’ll lead you to your room.”

Trevor knit his brows in confusion. “My room?”

Morgan sighed. “It was a joke. You go into the same holding cell as everyone else.”

He motioned for Trevor to follow him. Just before they got to the cell, Morgan stopped him and pointed to the phone mounted on the wall in the hallway.

“You get one call,” he told him.

He nodded. He’d call his mom, of course. She had to be worried sick by now. He plucked the handset off its hook in a few fingers. Then he went to press the first digit of her number with his pinky.

He stopped, his finger hovering over the button. He felt his stomach drop. What would he even say to her? How could he face her, after what he’d done?

“…Does my mom know I’m here?” he asked Morgan.

“Yeah, she got the word whenever you were arrested,” he confirmed.

Trevor pressed his lips into a fine line, before eventually placing the phone back on its hook and stepping away.

“You only get this one chance to call someone,” Morgan warned him.

Trevor shut his eyes and shook his head.

“I don’t need it,” he told him.

Morgan put his thumbs in his pockets and shrugged. He opened the door to the holding cell and gestured for Trevor to enter.

“After you, Monsieur.” He stepped aside and allowed Trevor to squeeze himself into the room. Then, after one last look after him, he shut the door behind him, leaving Trevor alone in the room.

************************************************************************

The holding cell wasn’t what he thought it’d be. He’d been expecting a door with iron bars, one of those prison beds that was hooked to the wall, stuff like that. What he got instead was a plain-looking room with a few benches. The only indication he was under surveillance now was a camera in the corner and a window that looked to the hall outside.

He sat up against the wall for a few hours, replaying the events of the day in his head. If only he’d kept his cool. If only he hadn’t hit Robbie so hard.

If only.

Then a voice came down the hall. It was one he knew well.

“Where is he?” his mom was shouting. “I want to see my son.”

“Please calm down, Ms.…?” someone responded.

“Castillo,” she shot back.

“Ms. Castillo. No one is allowed to visit detainees until we review their case.”

“Can’t I post bail or something?”

“This isn’t a police station. We do things a bit differently here.”

“That’s insane, he’s just a kid,” she yelled. “He has rights!”

“Ma’am, please stay calm,” the other voice tried to assure her.

“This is stupid. I’m going back there.”

“Ma’am, no—” there was a sound of a scuffle.

“Hey!” his mom cried out in alarm. Trevor shot to his feet.

“Mom?” he called out. He got no response. Instead, all he heard was more sounds of a struggle.

“Let go of me!” He heard her shout. He ran to the door and tried the handle. It jiggled uselessly in his cuffed hands.

Ugh, these stupid cuffs. If only I could—

Trevor strained against his cuffs with all his might. After a moment, they came apart for just a second. Then they clapped back together like nothing had happened. That wouldn’t help him anytime soon.

So instead, he lowered himself down so his shoulder was level with the door. He took a step back, then crashed into the door with all his weight. The door splintered into pieces, sending him stumbling out into the hallway. He shook himself off and stood up to his full height. At least, as much as he could in these hallways.

At the other end of the hall, his mom was struggling against two officers. One held her by either arm. They all turned to look at the sound of the disturbance.

“Let go of her,” he bellowed, charging down the hall towards them.

His mother’s eyes widened in terror as he came barreling down the hall. That caused him to hesitate. Her fear didn’t seem to be directed towards the men who held her.

No. She was afraid of him.

He slowed down, stopping short a few feet from her. After a moment of silence, he spoke up.

“Mom, I—” he raised his hands, reaching for her.

She flinched.

He stared at the three people cowering in front of him. They stared back, varying levels of fear written on their faces. He took a step back, then another. Then he turned and hurried back to the holding cell.

Just before he reached the door, he heard his mom start to speak.

“Mijo, espera—!”

Trevor paused but didn’t look her way. He couldn’t bear to see that look in her eyes again.

He bent down and squeezed himself through the empty doorframe without another word. He took a few more steps before slumping against the wall and sliding to the floor. He sat there with his knees bent, his arms resting on top. Then he buried his face in his arms.

He didn’t even have it in him to cry.

“This way, ma’am,” he heard one of the officers tell his mom, presumably leading her back to the front. This time, she put up no fight.

Now they all knew he belonged in here.

************************************************************************

Nothing else really happened that night. Because he’d removed the door keeping him there, they kept an officer stationed at the doorway at all times. Every few hours, they’d shift one officer out for another. Where before everyone had treated him with aloofness, their attitudes towards him now seemed to vary from thinly veiled paranoia to downright contempt.

The officer watching him now fell into the first category. Any time Trevor looked over at him, his hand seemed to instinctually hover down to his belt. Never quite coming to rest on the holster of his weapon, but never straying far from it either. Trevor didn’t bother telling him that he had no plans to try and escape again. Even if the man believed him, it still made sense for him to treat him like a monster.

He certainly felt like one now.

Eventually, the lights shut off. There was no clock in the room, but if he had to guess, it was probably getting pretty late. He supposed he should try and get some sleep.

The way he saw it, he had two choices. He could either stay sitting against the wall like he was or try laying out on the floor. Neither sounded all that appealing. But his neck was starting to cramp up in this position, so he decided to try laying down.

As he stood up, a wave of exhaustion hit him. He stumbled forward a step before regaining his balance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the officer watching him nearly jump out of his skin, his hand flying down to his holster.

“Don’t—don’t try anything,” the officer warned him, his voice trembling.

Trevor gave him a tired look but didn’t say anything. He was too drained, physically and emotionally, to think of anything to say to him. Instead he slowly walked to the middle of the room and lay down on his side.

The floor was cold and hard. He shifted around, trying to get comfortable. He tried curling up to stay warm, but it didn’t help much. With a heavy sigh, he shut his eyes and tried to get some rest.

Sleep did not come easy. In fact, Trevor didn’t feel like he’d slept at all. The only indication that time had passed were the shifting shadows, and the fact that the figure watching him from the door seemed to have changed.

It was the pain that had woken him up. It came in waves, like it was struggling to break through the cloud of numbness that had settled over him. But soon enough, that feeling of his muscles tearing and his bones shifting that visited him every time he had one of those terrible growth spurts slowly powered through the effects of the cuffs he wore.

A cry escaped his throat. He began to tremble as the pain spread throughout his body. Hot tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks.

Why now? He wondered weakly.

He curled in tighter on himself, silently praying for something, anything that would take the pain away. He wished his mom was here. For the past week, any time he’d had a particularly bad flare-up like this, she’d been there to comfort him. It didn’t do much for the pain, but having her with him eased his mind somewhat. Now he was completely alone.

In the low light, he made eye contact with the person who stood in the doorway. He couldn’t read any sort of expression on their face. But he could see their eyes, just barely. He knew they saw him suffering.

“Help me,” he croaked. “Please.”

The person did not move. They did not speak. Instead, they stood there, arms crossed. They shook their head no, just once. The only indication that they’d heard him at all.

He squeezed his eyes shut. More tears poured forth. His shaking escalated to intermittent spasms, paired with the sound of his joints popping as they displaced and replaced themselves, over and over again.

Even though he’d been through this before, there was a part of his mind that always broke into a panic whenever it started happening again. What if this time his body couldn’t handle the stress? What if it left him injured afterwards? Or worse?

His mind eventually went white with pain. He faded into unconsciousness, unsure of what he’d come back to when he awoke. Or even if he’d wake up at all.

First/Last/Next

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Some replies!

Anonymous asked:

Dayummm Azul is BIGGGG LOOK AT THAT BOY! DAYUMMM

Hehe thank you!!

I am happy I managed to figure out how to draw the fishies… Azul is one thicc boy

Anonymous asked:

What do you think of Silver x Kalim? Cater x Leona? LMC + Rook x Idia?

Kalim/Silver is cute but unfortunately too cute to click with us; their interactions are sweet and wholesome, but they don’t really give us anything we look for in ships.

Cater/Leona is hmmm nothing against it, but we’re not invested enough in either of them to ship them, plus we haven’t seen anything from their interactions that would grab our attention yet.

Love Rook/Idia though! We have a tag for them and just posted them a week ago, and I’ll write a hc post about them soon… well, at some point…

Anonymous asked:

🐩 anon has arrived once more to thank you for your absolutely delicious art. I had to come out of twst burnout, it's so hard to enjoy the fandom when it's all self righteous antis trying to police the game as if it's not catered to basically young adults and older. These kids have me baffled, it's as if they believe pixels are real people.

I can hardly stand to look at TWST Tumblr anymore either, they're all so white knighted that you'd think they were paid to be piss babies in circles they don't belong in. It's one of those "Why put yourself in that position to see it, if you didn't want to be there in the first place".

Hi 🐩 anon, long time no see! Thank you for being around and still enjoying my art.

I feel you, it really is difficult when you keep seeing people saying the same type of antis bullshit over and over and over again; even if you become apathetic about it, it’s still very annoying. Mostly because it’s impossible to ignore completely – they love to invite themselves to spaces that aren’t meant for them. That’s like the whole idea. No one is forcing anyone to see anything, every ship and triggering trope is always tagged in some way or another, but instead of avoiding this type of stuff they use the tagging system to shit on certain characters and ships directly, just so you couldn’t look for your favourite thing without seeing their outbursts of unsolicited opinions.

It really is very annoying.

Anonymous asked:

🐩 anon again, but now with one that's more funny and teehee haha random info that I thought you'd think it'd be interesting or funny

On that note, I came here because I started a DND campaign with a group over a twst based campaign. It reminded me of you, which made me invested in the campaign. Now I have a whore serving with 18th century fashion, giving Vil a run for his money. So far, 10/10. He has major Edmund and Idia vibes, wants no part of it, gets shit luck anyways and so far, has slept with Bird Man for Ramshackle funds on a bad roll. Mans is a survivor and we are barely halfway into chapter 1 😭

It’s so sweet that you got reminded of us and got invested… I am very glad you’re having fun! “Rewriting” your negative fandom experience with a positive one and good associations is so important.

Major Edmund and Idia vibes + a 18th century fashion whore??? SLEEPING WITH BIRD MAN??? An icon and a hustler. I don’t know him but I love him already…

Anonymous asked:

Good lord. I had randomly followed a twst blog but then I saw them posting about how even though there is a two year age difference between the third-years and first-years, it’s wrong to ship them because the first-years treat them, especially the housewardens, like idols and apparently that’s grooming. Like, no, that’s you in Delululand and I’m about to unfollow and block. #staytoxicbestie

Yeah they seem to have discovered this idea and now put it everywhere, harassing JackVil shippers and such. It’s one of those moments when I genuinely hope that they deliberately lie and reach because I am scared of the idea of anyone being this dumb.

It does suck that there seems to be more people like that lately, and they don’t even tag their accs with “proship dni” anymore either. Gee I wonder why.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hey Silly (can I call you that from now on?) it's been a while! How you doing?

I saw your prompt list and I just thought why not? So, the character I'm choosing is Father from C:KND (obviously). The tropes would be; #2,#5,#8

Just y'know, angst :>

Prompts 2, 5, and 8 with Father

woo yeah its been a while since we've touched the tropes list! and yes you may keep calling me silly, or admin! or admin silly when addressing me on this blog! I uh.. never gave an intro for myself and ive kind of stuck with the silly/admin name since people started using it for me LMAO prompts: sick, hanahaki, mutual pining notes: reader is gn, all prompts are treated as separate scenarios but hindsight is 20/20 as i realize these would have been fire paired up together as one connected thing cws: sickness and general hanahaki stuff

SICK

i might make a post where the roles are reversed, buuuut

i think, benedict is the grumpy kind of sick

but to be fair when is he not at least a little grumpy/j

will stay in bed so at least you dont have to worry about fighting him to rest- he already feels crummy and besides he can afford taking some time to himself to just.. lay down

a little snippier than usual

assuming his natural body heat doesnt kill off or hinder anything that can make him sick, hes running even warmer than usual.. something something warmer bodies being able to slow down infections + from my understanding a fever is just the body attempting to fight an infection

so logically it makes sense that hes burning hot

not very clingy when sick nor does he go out of his way to crawl out of bed to seek you out

HANAHAKI

okay hear me out: hes the one with hanahaki. as much as i think he would move forward with asking you out, i also enjoy the idea that he tends to self isolate. something something mini character analysis/heavy hc that he swallows up a lot of his more vulnerable feelings and/or translates them into anger something something a lot of that being a product of upbringing something something i am grandfathers number 1 hater

burns the flowers and petals before anyone can ask about them, however i do think as the sickness progresses he slowly loses his powers. quite literally sapping him of his energy

honestly i can see him going through the surgery route just to get rid of the plants

no happy ending here, sadly... even worse if you actually had feelings for him as well, unaware to him

becomes more snappy with the people around him, lashing out from worrying over the sickness as well as the pains (emotional and physical)

MUTUAL PINING

that said if he has feelings for you that dont make him cough up flowers, i think hes more inclined to ask you out since it makes it feel less... "life threatening" and "subtly begging for his life if we're going the route where feelings need to be returned otherwise the person dies"

i do think hes at least a little oblivious, at least in the beginning and if youre not being blunt- his mind is always working on what evil deed to do next!

very receptive when he does realize youre flirting with him, it doesnt take long for the two of you to go on a date

dont let this think that he has rizz, by the way. hes still inexperienced but he has just enough confidence to... (scrambles with papers) lock in, becomes clear with time that he hardly knows what hes doing LMAO

leaves gifts for you leading up to the two of you going out, and they tend to be higher quality or even a baked good hes overheard you mention enjoying

[liskantope]

On ACX a few days ago there was a post on the dynamics of the academic job market (highly relevant to me) and of course at least one of the threads in the comments section turns it into culture war stuff. I want to highlight one of the comments because of its relevance to discussion I've been making here lately, and I quote from it below:

The left has a bunch of beliefs that defy biology. For example: 1. There are 50+ genders. 2. Intelligence is entirely a function of nurture, and nature (such as genetics) plays no role. 3. People who are gay are born that way (i.e. it is genetic). Anyone can choose to be trans at any time (sex is not genetic). None of these beliefs would disqualify a person from being a biology professor. They are all substantially more common, and more anti-biology, than any republican-coded example belief you gave.

Now I find most of this comment (with the possible exception of #2) completely off the mark. I don't think I need to preach to the choir by getting into why the "50+ genders" claim is a distortion of the concept of a gender spectrum based on a 7-years-out-of-date weakman. As for "people who are gay are born this way", hardly anyone on the "woke" left seems to insist on it (especially an assumption that environment plays no role), and it reflects a gay rights talking point that's more like 15 years out of date.

But the most interesting part to me, of course, is the "anyone can choose to be trans at any time" characterization of the pro-trans position.

This is good timing for bringing this up, because I was just talking about why Jordan Peterson's rhetoric seems badly twisted and confused, as he seems to be under the impression that those evil "gender theorists" behind the trans movement are all acolytes directly or indirectly of John Money and thus all believe that one's gender can be changed at will or by fiat through external coersion or something. This is as far as I can tell a complete distortion of the actual "trans ideology", but here we can see it reflected by the ACX comment, which shows that this a common "outsiders' view". (And nobody underneath that comment seems to be trying to correct the commenter's impression either.)

But as usual, I'm going to claim that we can't entirely blame misunderstandings like this on the conservative side of this culture war battle. I made an offhand remark a while back in the midst of another post about how astounded I am at seeing "being trans means you want to be a man/woman/neither" descriptive comments multiple times here on Tumblr; I called this "plainly thinly-layered nonsense" and would stand by that now. As soon as you start to pick it apart, it in fact seems to have transphobic (including from the most orthodox view of the trans movement!) implications: what, a trans woman wants to be a woman but isn't one? or does "be a woman" just mean "be viewed as a woman", because I thought that was different from Actually Being a woman? etc.

I'm willing to acknowledge and respect that there must be reasons I don't fully get about why that type of phrasing works well as a description of how many trans people feel -- indeed, someone used it to describe themself in a reblog of my just-above-linked post and if I squint hard enough I can kind of see why they might want to use the phrase -- but if you're going to go around saying being trans is defined as "wanting to be" a certain gender, this (remarks like #3 in the ACX comment above) is the most natural consequence. (Also anecdotes I hear about teachers telling young children, "When you grow up, you can be whatever gender you want!", which is either what some well-meaning teachers nowadays in geographically progressive regions are actually telling kids, or a distortion/exaggeration by conservatives, in either case based on the aforementioned common confusion about pro-trans beliefs.)

[julietasgf]

hey its the plinth family anon! i really enjoyed and appreciated your long answers to my questions! I guess only Suzanne knows why on earth Ma stayed with Strabo... I am curious about whether Ma's parents and siblings would have taken her in if she had left Strabo though. In the book, she had one sister who still kept in touch with her so I wonder if that sister would have been willing to take her in if she had left Strabo? Tbh I'd be pretty confused if Ma's parents and siblings didn't want to take her in if she left Strabo because she may have married a scumbag but by leaving him, at least she kinda sees the light and is escaping him? why wouldn't her family want to help her then? I'm so curious about your hcs for how Ma and Strabo met and why Ma is so loyal/in love with him! you mentioned sejanus and coriolanus and keeping the cycle going, so does this mean you hc Ma and Strabo to have met and befriended each other when one of them was going through a hard time? seeing Ma trying to ignore all of Strabo's wrongdoings is making me think of this tiktok i saw where it said something like "you don't have to lie to women, if she likes you enough she'll lie to herself"...it's kinda mind-boggling to me how tightly Ma is clinging onto Strabo, like did this man save her from certain death when they were younger or something???

hello anon!! I'm so glad you appreciated the long answers bc I'm too talkative and if you let me, I'll talk endlessly about this stuff, I actually have to look back and be like "okay, now I'm talking too much, let's stop here" 😭 but I saw that it got accidentally sent your other thoughts, so I'm going to answer both in only this post, I hope that's okay by you :D

there's some stuff in the book that makes me feel like suzanne collins is the type of writer to make the whole background story of side characters, but not show them bc they're unnecessary story wise, you can't tell me she doesn't know exactly what the hell is the plinth backstory in D2 (I think she did it but I just can't prove it....)

I hardly think her family (except, maybe, the sister that still talks to her) would take her in, imo. D2 seem like a district that it's full of proud people, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but strabo being a dick is not the worst part of this marriage: is that he betrayed the whole district. the plinths are despised back in two. I think ma's family didn't like him from the start, but he was not the worst; he was the worst when he betrayed everyone, and when she chose to not leave him, she made her choice of who her loyalty lays with. it's with him, not with them. and besides, taking back a plinth (even if it's an ex-plinth) and welcoming her in their home would definitely not be seen with good eyes.

(maybe it's a bit of self-projecting, but where I live, it's much more common for the woman to still keep in contact and close with her family, not the man; I grew up with my cousins from my mother's side and I hardly know anyone from my father's side. siding with your husband in a situation like this would be seen as a BIG offense, something that's very much unforgivable. I could see that being the case)

now, from now on, there's a lot of my personal headcanons and thoughts bc I'm OBSESSED with the plinths and their life in D2:

OKAY SO there's a very, very small and discreet line on the ma plinth study I wrote that goes like: "vesta had dreams, even if her father rolled his eyes at most of them." I actually plan to write something from strabo's pov and explore more about this, but basically, I think ma plinth had a not very good relationship with her parents, and most of all, with her father (the cycle keeps on cycling). I think her family was overprotective and she felt suffocated (I think she was the youngest, the baby sibling, and this just made everything much worse). now, I have exactly in my mind how I think they met: ma plinth went with her father to the city center, and her father was searching for a gun to buy to leave at home as a way to protect the family. the plinths didn't have an industry yet; it was little more than a small thing, where they built some modest models to sell. strabo was there. he was talking to her father, and then turned to her and asked if she would like anything. her father made a comment diminishing her, saying that she was too dense to understand about guns, and poor ma was so embarassed even though used to it because her father always do that kind of thing, but to her surprise, strabo plinth didn't laugh. he looked at her father very seriously and said that she looked smart enough to understand about it, and if someone has hands, that person can shoot well.

he was the first person to actually defend her in front of her father from these kind of "jokes" and comments. not even her sisters or her own mother had done that before, all too terrified to say something. and that was enough.

about strabo and his siblings: fucked up shit happened. let's go about my personal hcs about him and his family: he's the only son of his father and his mother, but his mother died and his father married again when he was around 5 or 6. his father and his stepmother had two other kids. he never had a good relationship with his stepmother and he resents his father very much for marrying shortly after the death of his mother (omg cinderella hiiii). strabo was the eldest, he had to basically raise his half-siblings as his father was always at their small industry and his stepmother worked for endless hours. he learned to shoot from a young age to know how to protect them. he didn't hate his half-siblings, but he was tired of having to carry all the responsability on his shoulders, especially when they still had a loving mother while he didn't. it seemed so unfair.

(the sad part is that his half-siblings did look up to him. they loved him. they saw him as an example.)

his father got sick when he was a teen and he started to work hard on their small factory. and strabo has a lot of flaws, but let me tell you something: that man works hard. he worked enough to make their small shop rather famous in D2, and worked enough to pay for everything his father needed to while sick. his half-siblings never were interested in the industry, and neither was his stepmother, so when his father died when strabo was in his late teens, he was pissed off that his stepmother wanted to inherit the factory. they never worked a single day on it while he kept it going on. his half-siblings tried to reason with him, but he was just so angry, and a lot of hurtful things were said. in the end, strabo got the factory, but he left home and never came back. he said things that were too cruel to his half-siblings, the kind of thing that they could never really forgive.

ma is very family-oriented and couldn't really understand why strabo resented his half-siblings so much (specially because she also had family issues, being close with her sisters was what kept her going on), but she tries to have empathy with it, knowing people react in different ways to different things. I can totally see her one day trying to bring the subject of in-laws and strabo just looking so annoyed and resented that she knows that there's bad blood involved.

(it's so ironic to me that she didn't understand how he was so resented with his half-siblings, but in the future, her own sisters were as resented with her)

strabo is genuinely so interesting, I really wish to know what went through his mind, or just know more from his canon backstory, what made him make the choices he made. he's ruthless and cold, he sold guns to people that hated his guts and hated where he's from. he didn't betray a single person, he betrayed his whole PEOPLE. but he seems to care about ma and sejanus to a certain level, in his twisted way. he moved to the capitol thinking about giving them a better life, and still, he's hated by his own son, the one he thought he was protecting by moving to the capitol. ouch.

[steddieas-shegoes]

wip wednesday (actually thursday oops)

I got tagged by @nburkhardt (thank youuuu sorry I am late and not following directions but what else is new) and didn't even get a chance to actually post it yesterday. I also only do one WIP at a time because my brain cannot do more than that so the fun game you guys are doing just cannot happen in this household and I am so sorry 🥺 but here is a preview of some of chapter 4 of it led me to you, which should be out tonight sometime if I can manage to get this last bit figured out!

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

He cornered Eddie after school, usually in a rush to get to practice, but the season ended last week and he didn’t have any more responsibilities until tonight.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“That you aren’t graduating!”

Eddie flinched at Steve’s volume, his sudden anger making him wish he reacted more like Wayne did.

“It wasn’t important.”

“What do you mean it wasn’t important? Eds, we’ve worked so hard for this all year.”

“Yeah until you got busy. I tried to fend for myself and I failed. So. I’ll be there to cheer for you, but I won’t be walking across the stage.”

God, he hoped Steve would just drop it.

“What do you mean? I’m never too busy for you.”

It was a nice sentiment, if completely untrue. Maybe Steve believed he was never too busy for him, but the facts were that his schedule was filled and hardly ever with Eddie for the last few months.

“Steve, it’s fine. Just drop it.”

“Steve? Since when am I Steve to you?”

“Since I’ve barely spent any time with you! You were too busy for the last two Hellfire campaigns, and you didn’t ask me to go to any of your games, and you barely come to the trailer anymore for dinner. Wayne thought I did something to piss you off because you never showed up anymore. The guys started asking me if you found a girlfriend since you stopped coming to band practice. And I had to tell them that I didn’t know, because I don’t! I have no idea what’s going on in your life other than that you’re graduating. I know you’re busy and I’m not expecting to be a priority, but I figured you could at least find some time during the week to check in. I knew I wasn’t graduating since spring break and you just now realized it. That should tell you everything.”

Eddie felt like he was going to puke.

He never thought he’d be saying this kind of stuff to Steve, never thought their friendship would be anything less than perfect.

He never thought he would be watching Steve graduate while he had to return to another senior year.

Steve looked like he was going to cry, but Eddie felt like he was going to cry.

“I didn’t know it was hurting you so much.”

For some reason, that pissed Eddie off even more.

“You didn’t know it hurt me to know that my best friend had more important things to do than hang out with me?”

“No! I just-“

“Forget it. Wayne has a celebration dinner planned for you for the day after graduation, so I guess I’ll see you then.”

“No, Eddie, wait!”

Eddie ignored him, walking as quickly as he could towards his van.

Steve could easily catch up, he was much more in shape than Eddie was, but he didn’t.

And that spoke volumes to Eddie.

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

sorry for the angst (but not really because the amount of fluff that is coming is sickening and almost more than this needs)

I'm not gonna tag anyone since I'm late to the party, but anyone can feel free to give an update on something they're working on if they want to!

[pendragonthegreat]

okay so. i haven't made a real post about seeing dj in hollywood last week because it was really last minute that i decided to take the trip. and it was really different than when i saw him a few months ago (that i talked about here) and it was kind of crazy so i needed time to process it. i'm not going to put every detail in this post but i want to tell you guys the big thing that happened so here we go

the biggest difference between this event and creature feature was the amount of people there to see dj. there's probably more factors than the relative popularity of pendragon vs ayaotd (advertising, location, etc) but the difference was a lot. i mean there were maybe 4 other people who talked to him. which meant i talked to him for much much longer

i was determined to talk about stuff i hadn't heard dj talk about before but i also know at this point that dj is able to take control of the conversation and come up with stories to tell so i didn't really have a plan. so first of all he recognized me but i had to remind him from where. so then i had at admit that i am actually not from california and actually the entire opposite coast and he was so shocked. i showed him the pictures of my collection and i think that and the fact that i came from so far away has shattered any idea dj might have had that i'm a casual fan. but yeah he seemed flattered and not totally weirded out which i was a little nervous about

sooo we talked about pendragon of course—somehow got back onto book 10 (must every conversation about pendragon end up at the soldiers of halla somehow?) but as i said i didn't want to rehash old topics so i was like "you know when people talk about book 10 it always seems to be about either solara or the epilogue, but a lot of other stuff happened in that book" and he was like "you know what? you're right!" so we talked about spader and nevva and the general adventure in book 10 YAYYYY

we talked about sylo and the sylo movie and he told me some more about why they didn't go through with making the movie. basically the scripts were bad. i can say more detail if anyone cares. and then we talked about f29d which i think he was excited about because people don't talk to him about that show as much so i heard a few stories i've never heard before! the biggest thing was that the production of f29d was much closer to lost than i thought—both in terms of the crew and literally, physically, the filming locations were basically on the same beach. he told me sometimes they would go and steal props from lost (lmao) and they kept the lost airplane wreck and the f29d wreck in the same hangar!

okay enough rambling VVV THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART VVV

we started talking about his new book (if you don't know, his next book is going to be a continuation of the last story in Beyond Midnight) and i was saying i'm excited to read it and i'll be sure to look out for it. he said the book is written but he's not sure yet if he's going to self-publish it or not. then he told me this: that just for me, because i came from so far away and was a huge fan, he would send ME the manuscript for the book early. holy shit lol i can still hardly believe it. but i'm telling you this so you know dj really is such a nice guy. he talked to me for so long and he did not have to give me anything but it's such a wonderful special gift to have. :)

anyway the book did just have a sticker on the cover. but it's doubly special now with dj's second signature and personalization :D

[misc-obeyme]

20 Questions for Writers

Thank you to @fickleminder for the tag!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Uhh 14 lol. It's basically Threads, the daily chat series, and a couple other random ones. I don't update my AO3 hardly ever.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

36,929 HAHAHA and also 21,537 of that is The Threads That Bind lasdkjdfkj. Arrie's story is already way past that. Dang, maybe I should start updating my AO3 more... put all the other fics I have here on there?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Obey Me is the only one!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

When It's Pouring Rain

Lucifer's Favor

You Are Mine (NSFW!)

The Threads That Bind

Solomon's Kindness

Those are the tumblr links but obviously they're all on AO3 too.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I'm really bad about this on AO3, but that is likely due to the fact that I don't use it anywhere near as much. However, I try to respond here! I do my best lol.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This Solomon fic is by far the angstiest thing I've ever written ever.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I mean, honestly, you can just bop on through my masterlist, so much of it is fluff and happy endings. I don't think there's any one that's like the happiest.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have gotten but one anon hate. They didn't specify what they were hating on, but I got it after I posted these graveyard sex headcanons so I think it was probably about that.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Sure thing, you can see all the NSFW sections of the masterlist lol. It's all x reader, gender neutral stuff. Though I have done afab reader on request.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't, but I'm not opposed.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also not that I'm aware of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but that does sound like fun!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

All time? Like of my whole life?? Gigolas is the only thing that comes to mind lol. For OM, I've been obsessed with Solulu lately so...

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

NEVER SAY NEVER. But seriously, I don't ever fully abandon things, you never know when the inspiration will strike again! Also I never post stuff that isn't finished. My process is such that this just doesn't work for me. So even when I'm doing multi chapter fics, they're already finished when I start posting them. So anything I don't finish or ever go back to will only be sitting in my files on my computer and no one will know about it but me...

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I'm pretty good at dialogue? I dunno, it's hard to judge myself. Ask me when I'm in the middle of it and I'll tell you there are no strengths lol.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Description, probably.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I have no thoughts about this. I don't usually include such things myself.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

It was either Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. I can't remember for sure.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I feel like the obvious answer is Threads (as linked above). But it is the answer, so there you go.

Well, that was fun! Consider this an open tag for anyone who would like to participate!

[mariecuttlefish]

...Like You Mean It [4k words, MariexShiver]

Hi there! It's been a while since I had a new fic to post, but I've had Mariver on my mind a lot lately, so I got the urge to write something with them. This started as a one-shot, but now that it's "done" I'm considering adding a couple more chapters; we'll see where it goes!

External links: [Google Docs], [AO3]

Warnings: None. Appropriate for all ages.

Description: Shiver has a crush on Marie, but she isn't sure how to make a good impression. Frye is there to offer advice (and a bit of teasing).

"Sooo... what's the problem here?"

Frye and Shiver sat together in the living room of their shared apartment. Frye, as she typically did, had taken up a comfortable position on her favorite bean bag, chin propped up in her hands. Shiver, on the other hand, had opted for the more unconventional approach of sprawling across the couch, face buried in her arms underneath a pile of pillows. Not what Frye would have chosen as a good way to sit, but she could respect the originality.

"The problem is I made a fool out of myself," Shiver groaned, her voice muffled by the layers of plush she'd chosen to hide herself with. "Again!" Her tentacles bubbled with frustration, blue ink simmering into shades of teal and hot pink before evaporating away as soon as it lifted off the surface.

"Aww, c'mon, Shiv." Frye leaned forward a bit, giving herself just enough reach to pat her bandmate's shoulder. "I'm sure it didn't go that bad. You're great! No way is anyone gonna have a bad time spending the day with someone like you."

Shiver grumbled out something that was either an unintelligible answer or a deliberate attempt not to answer at all; Frye had to admit, she was good at agonizing when she wanted to. Lifting herself up from the floor and sitting up straight, Frye moved to lean against the couch and crossed her arms. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened? I bet it's not half as bad as you think it is."

"Ugh..." Shiver shifted slightly and turned her head to look at Frye, a pout clear on her face. Her frown only deepened as she saw the upbeat grin Frye offered in return, lips pulling downward into the same exaggerated grimace she wore so often during their live appearances -- an obvious tell that she was trying not to smile herself. "Okay, fine..."

—

Though the skies were clear and blue on the surface just a short trip upward, Alterna was enjoying a serene and scenic morning. Artificial sunrise cast the massive dome in hues of orange and pink, glinting off the false snow and frosted waters and replacing them with a glimmering sheet of sparkles far into the distance. All around, the cacophonic buzz of millennia-old machinery gradually coalesced into an ambient choir, accented by gentle music that drifted in from unseen speakers. The air was blustering cold -- it always was down here, even when the environmental simulation seemed to imply a warmer shift -- but Shiver hardly minded. She was the Cold-Blooded Bandit for a reason, after all; no amount of chill was going to put her off.

Of course, it didn't hurt anything that Boss Marie had brought along a spare coat to make sure Shiver didn't freeze to death during their scavenging expedition.

...Or that just standing next to the Boss was enough to make Shiver suddenly start heating up on her own.

"Thanks again for coming to help out," Marie said, though she didn't look up from the pile of gadgets she was sorting through. "Callie is off visiting family for the weekend, and the rest of the splatoon is working on clearing fuzzy goo from the surface, so I was worried it'd just be me down here today."

"I thought you said your grandpa was here too?"

"Oh, he is, but--" Marie glanced toward where her grandfather had fallen asleep in an old beach chair they'd left unfolded a short distance away. "...well, Gramps isn't really in a position to help out with this stuff, anyway."

Shiver stared at the shrunken elder for just a moment, then shook her head and dragged her attention away. It was still weird seeing someone that dehydrated alive and kicking. "Yeah, I guess that's fair. Hey-- how much do you think this would sell for?" she asked as she picked up something that looked like a handheld television. The sides surrounding the screen were adorned with a mish-mash of buttons and knobs, but the indecipherable human text made it hard to guess at what anything did.

Marie turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. "Don't forget we're here to catalogue this stuff, not pawn it off back in Splatsville. A lot of it might be junk, but this place has some major historical value." Despite her somewhat stern tone, there was a hint of a smile on her lips. Shiver tried to ignore how cute her expression looked.

"There has to be some stuff we can sell, though. Right, Boss?" With some dismay Shiver returned the whatever-it-was to the nearest pile and casually made her way to stand behind Marie, watching over her shoulder as she took notes on a set of strange-looking figurines. "This place has to be the world's biggest treasure hoard, and we're the first to find it! It'd just be wrong to leave it all down here without cashing in."

Marie rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, a quiet giggle escaping her. The sound of her laughter took Shiver off guard, and almost on instinct she snapped her fan open to hide the tinges of red that painted her cheeks. "Look," Marie said, "Sheldon is still waiting to hear back from the researchers at his dad's museum. We need there to actually be some artifacts left for them to check out once they get here, but once they've had a chance to study the place, we can look at selling stuff off for charity like you want. How's that sound?"

"I-I guess that's fine," Shiver answered, keeping her face hidden. If Marie noticed her sudden change in demeanor, she didn't bother to comment on it. That was good; no way did Shiver want to admit that a smile and a laugh had been enough to fluster her. Even if that casual, lopsided grin the Boss always wore really made her want to lean in and--

"Where are the other two, by the way?" Marie's voice snapped Shiver back to the present, and it took her a moment to process that she meant Frye and Big Man.

"Oh, uh--" Shiver shook her head and tried to re-center herself. Of course Marie would ask where the others were; Deep Cut hardly even went shopping without each other. She snapped her fan shut to stall for just a moment; the natural pauses she could create with sudden fan gestures worked wonders for giving her room to think.

"They're both busy today too," she started. This was a lie. "Frye is working on teaching her eels a new routine--" Frye was probably lounging around their apartment watching reruns of soap operas. "--and Big Man took his little sister to Inkopolis to visit Wahoo World--" Big Man hadn't been to Wahoo World ever since learning he was too wide to fit in the roller coaster cars. "--sooo you just get my company today, Boss!"

The truth was that Shiver had asked her bandmates both to stay behind when she'd heard it would just be Marie showing up today. They were the only two who knew about the growing crush Shiver had been harboring in the weeks since the trio had encountered the New Squidbeak Splatoon, so they'd fortunately understood when she brought up wanting the chance to hang out with Marie alone. Granted, both of them had teased her relentlessly about it; but at the end of the day Shiver knew her lifelong friends were rooting for her.

Shiver's acting skills must have paid off, because Marie didn't seem to doubt her explanation at all. She just shrugged and picked up another strange object to examine, still wearing that adorable smile. "It's a busy day for everyone, I guess," she said. "Well, your company is always nice, so I'm not complaining."

—

"I mean-- ' Your company is always nice' ? What did she even mean by that?!"

Frye raised her eyebrows, smiling slyly. "Just spitballing here, but... it kinda sounds like she meant she likes spending time with you?"

"Well duh, I'm great. But-- agh!" Shiver rolled off of the couch, hitting the floor with a thump . " Just-- listen to the rest of the story, okay?" she said, lifting her arms toward the ceiling before letting them flop lazily back down to her sides.

"I'm all ears! You're the one who interrupted yourself." Frye reached out to boop Shiver's nose, then fell back laughing when Shiver mimicked biting at her finger . "Okay, okay-- go on, Shiv, I promise I'm listening."

"Good." Shiver narrowed her eyes to make herself look more intimidating. It didn't really work, given that she was still laying on the floor in her pajamas, but Frye refrained from commenting on that fact.

—

If Shiver had been blushing before, she must have been bright red now. Had the Boss actually just said that? What was the best way to respond to that?!

Once again her fan moved to cover her face, and she averted her gaze in an effort to play it off. Act cool, Shiver. Don't make it obvious. She managed to keep her external composure for the most part, but internally she could only scramble to think of a re ply that wouldn't be suspicious. After a moment, she settled on what felt the most natural:

"I mean, of course it is! I'm none other than the Shark Tamer of the Splatlands , after all. Who wouldn't want to spend an afternoon with me?"

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she wanted to smack herself for speaking them. Seriously? That was the best we could think of? High waters, she's going to think we're an idiot.

Surprisingly, though, Marie just laughed again. With a nonchalant wave of a gloved hand, she leaned down to pick up a large black case and popped it open to analyze the contents. "Well, mighty Shark Tamer , do you think you can help me tame this pile of 'treasure'? The stuff in here alone is enough to keep me busy all day. "

Shiver froze for a brief moment, processing the situation. She had chosen perhaps the least graceful way to answer a simple compliment , but Marie seemed to take it in stride without an issue -- and even more importantly, the way her voice smoothed out the words 'mighty Shark Tamer' set Shiver's hearts fluttering . This is no fair! How is the Boss this effortlessly cool?!

She didn't voice that thought, of course. Instead, she simply stammered out, "I-- uh, yeah! Of course!" and quickly set to work. Maybe it would have been wise to have Frye and Big Man come along after all, she thought; she was way out of her depth here, and without having them to bounce banter off of , there wasn't much choice except to try and talk to Marie without losing her cool . She could only hope she'd be able to make it through the day without embarrassing herself too badly…

Marie ended up leading the small talk for a while after that; Shiver was suddenly too nervous for her typical antics, focused instead on trying not to stick her proverbial fin in her mouth again. The upside to this was that it meant a lot of time spent just listening to Marie talk -- letting her go on about her day, her career, her thoughts on the other agents, her family life... but the downside was that, every time Marie stopped to ask "Is something wrong?" or "You there, Shiver?", Shiver had to rush to come up with some explanation for why she'd suddenly begun staring off into space that wasn't the completely honest answer of Sorry, I'm just thinking about sitting in your lap and falling asleep to the sound of your voice, because if she said that she would almost definitely never be invited to one-on-one hangouts with the Boss again.

And of course, despite her best efforts, Shiver couldn't help but toss in her own self-aggrandizing comments here and there. And of course , she felt almost immediately embarrassed by nearly everything she said. Despite this, though, Marie seemed to be amused by it all; she laughed or smiled at nearly everything Shiver said, even when Shiver felt beyond stupid for it.

What was going on? Was Marie laughing at her or with her or... both? Shiver was all about theatrics -- she had all the charisma in the world onstage and knew exactly how to work even the toughest crowds; so why was it so hard for her to figure out how to act in front of just one person? Why was she second-guessing everything she said despite getting nothing but positive feedback?

—

"Mind if I interrupt?" Frye interjected. Shiver narrowed her eyes and pouted at her again, but they both knew she didn't actually mind. "It sounds to me like Shivvy's afraid of acting natural."

"Wha--?!" Shiver sat up, her face twisting in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know," Frye said with a wave of her hand. "You're a performer, Shiv! You're so used to hyping yourself up all the time that you aren't sure how to be un cool." She leaned over to where Shiver's fan had been left sitting on the side table next to the couch, scooped the fan up, and gently bonked Shiver on the head with it before placing it in her hands. "You need to let yourself relax a bit."

Shiver blinked, drooping slightly. The energy in her ink had died down now, and her expression flattened as she fidgeted idly with the closed fan. "I don't get what you're saying. My whole problem is that I don't know how to act cool around the Boss, and you want me to try to be... less composed?"

"Yeah!" Frye grinned.

"...I'm not sure I follow."

Frye rolled her eyes. "Shiver, you know you're the coolest, most confident person I've ever met." And a whole lot of other things, too…

"Naturally," Shiver answered, hiding a grin behind her now-opened fan.

"And acting cool and scary and wild is great for when you're putting on a show..." Her head lolled toward Shiver, and she gestured outward to emphasize her point: "...but if you wanna bond with somebody one-on-one, you've gotta be your true self! The Boss might get a kick out of you acting all tough, but if you really want to impress her , she needs to know what the real Shiver is like!"

Shiver thought on that. After a moment, she turned her gaze to the side, slyly twirling her fan in tiny circles in front of her. "And who's to say the real Shiver isn't tough and cool and--"

"Shiv, I've known you since we were three ," Frye said flatly. "You sleep in shark-print boxers when it's too warm for pants . You have a collection of shark plushies big enough to hide Big Man underneath. You once cried when Master Meg a got sick for a week."

Shiver's pupils shrank. Before she'd been averting her gaze to preserve her cool airs; now she was doing it out of embarrassment. "Y... yeah, well, so what?"

"So you're a huge, sappy dork is what!" Frye grinned and reached up to tease Shiver's mantle. " And it's okay to let that side of you show! The Boss obviously already likes hanging out with you; just let your guard down and stop worrying so much about looking cool, and I bet she'll be head over heels before long!"

Shiver was silent, still avoiding eye contact. Frye knew how to answer that; sitting cross-legged and laying her hands in her lap, she slowly leaned to the side, plastering the goofiest smile she could manage onto her face as she inched into Shiver's field of view. Shiver glanced her way for a split second before looking away again, turning her head further to the side. Frye followed suit, scooting over to keep herself firmly within Shiver's peripheral. This turned into a short chase until, at last, Shiver ceded; with an exasperated sigh, she morphed into her swim form, at which point Frye reached out to scoop her out of the air.

"Fine, you win," Shiver grumbled, her tentacles wrapping around Frye's hand. "But I'm not sure how I'm even supposed to 'let my guard down'. It's easy around you and Big Man, but she's different! Just being around her makes me feel like... like I need to compete to prove that I can keep up with her. No matter what we're talking about, I can't help making it about myself!"

Frye cocked her head to the side, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "That is a tricky question. You said she kept laughing at it, though, right?"

"Yeah. I'm worried she's laughing at me, because she kept acting like it was funny even when I just sounded dumb…"

"Maybe," Frye admitted, "but maybe that's actually a good sign! A lot of people will laugh at anything somebody says if they want to make a good impression. It's like... positive reinforcement or something. Who knows," she added with a coy look, “maybe the Boss has a crush on you?”

Shiver blushed at the idea, then blinked. "But you laugh at all my jokes, too?"

"Uh--!" Frye's eyes widened, and she cleared her throat. We can tackle that one later, she thought. "Uh, well, anyway, you didn't finish your story! How did the rest of it go?"

—

"Well," Marie began, clapping dust from her gloves as she rolled her neck, "I think that's a good day's work. What do you think, Shiver?"

"Oh, uh--" Shiver shrugged, setting down a strange, colorful cube mechanism she'd been messing with. "You're the boss here, Boss! I'm set to go home if you are!" She offered a grin that probably looked as awkward as it felt. The idea of going home and relaxing sounded nice after so much tedious work, but then she would have to say goodbye to Marie; as clumsy and off-kilter as she'd felt this entire time, she was still reluctant to end their time together.

Marie started to say something, then looked over at Shiver and paused, tilting her head. "Are you alright, actually? You seem... a little tense."

"I'm fine!" Shiver answered quickly -- maybe just a bit too quickly, because Marie looked concerned now. She tried to double down. "Just... kind of tired! I'm built for the rough-and-tumble life, after all, so all this standing around and counting things is pretty exhausting."

Marie didn't seem to buy it entirely, but at least she smiled at that, which meant she wasn't too worried (and also that Shiver got to see her smile again...). "Well, if you're sure. Maybe next time I'll set up some training dummies so you can practice your bandit skills."

Okay, Shiver thought to herself, we have an opportunity here. We need to think up something charming to say before she goes. Is it a bad idea to ask her on a date? Probably. Would it be weird if we asked her to walk us home? Her thoughts raced through her mind, searching out a good farewell line to help make up for how awkward she'd been all day.

Marie was right in front of her, checking over the things she'd written down today to make sure it was all in order. "Seriously, though, thanks again for showing up to help. This would have been a lot less fun if I didn't have you around," she said with a smile. Shiver felt her hearts skip a beat at that last part; briefly short-circuiting, she blurted out the first thing to come to mind.

"Saturday night!" Her hand shot up to cover her mouth near-instantly.

Marie blinked. "...huh? What about Saturday night?"

"Uhh--" Shiver stumbled on her words. "Saturday night is... I'm free to hang out again!" she clarified. "I mean-- to help you with this cataloguing stuff! But we can also just hang out and do other things, if you'd like to--" Things like stargazing, holding hands, watching documentaries about sharks…

Marie took a moment to process, then giggled. "Sure, hanging out sounds nice. I'll look forward to it."

"You'd better! 'Cause I don't just let anyone hang out with me, you know!" Please, stop talking, Shiver. Stop talking at literally any opportunity. Once again Marie laughed, and once again Shiver had no clue what that laughter even meant.

"I'll see you around, Shiver," Marie called over her shoulder as she turned to head toward the exit. "I hope you have a nice evening!"

Then, she was gone, leaving Shiver to digest the events of the afternoon. Shiver stared after her for a while after she'd left -- then sank slowly to the ground, hands covering her face. That was so embarrassing.

—

"Wait, wait, wait," Frye said. Shiver was still sitting in swim form in her arms, tentacles drumming idly against her wrist. "She said she wants to hang out with you this Saturday? So you got a date?"

"Wh--" Shiver sputtered. "It isn't a date, it's just hanging out! She even called it hanging out when she texted me on the way home!"

Frye raised her eyebrows. "She texted you on the way home?"

"Oh, she said she wanted to make sure I got home safe, and that she forgot to reply to my selfies--"

"You've been sending her selfies?! "

Shiver slid back into her upright form, rolling out of Frye's hold in the process and sitting up against the couch. "Well, yeah? Is that weird? At first I just wanted an opinion on an outfit, but then she was really nice and said I was pretty and stylish and..." Shiver started to blush. "...it kind of just became a routine thing?"

Frye stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief. Realization was beginning to set in. Is the Boss actually crushing on her too?!

"What? What are you staring at me like that for?" Shiver leaned away, looking just a little alarmed. "Did I say something?"

Laughing at all her jokes, complimenting her selfies, offering to hang out together... deep blue, she IS! Frye had to stop herself from blurting out her revelation; she still didn't know for sure, after all, and if Shiver hadn't made the same realization it would probably just stress her out for Frye to say it out loud.

Realizing she was ignoring Shiver's question, she shook her head and offered a quick cover. "Sorry, I just got distracted thinking about something!" She grinned, tilting her head and gently knocking on her own mantle. "I really think it's going to work out though, Shiv! Just remember my advice and try to loosen up, and you'll be golden!"

Shiver still seemed noticeably uncertain, but the reassurance made her smile. "Thanks, Frye. I'm glad I talked to you." The sound of a stomach rumbling suddenly interjected into the conversation, and Shiver leapt to her feet. "I just remembered I forgot to grab lunch before I went to Alterna -- talk to you later, Frye! I need to eat!"

With that, she was off, leaving Frye sat alone in the living room. Frye watched her go and then, returning to her favored bean bag chair, put her chin in her hand and began to think.

I need to talk to Big Man later.

[felixantares]

10 First Lines tagging game

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway

okay well I definitely don’t have ten and I don’t have any posted works, but I guess I can share some unposted stuff! thank you for the tag @the-francakes!! 💚

1. Somehow, in all his time fighting, Harry hadn’t given much thought to what would come after the war. Even when he had, he never thought he’d be sitting in the cold, watching dusty old ruins and missing the days spent chasing rumours of horcruxes across the country with Ron and Hermione – but that’s exactly where he found himself, sat in silence against a low wall with Ron as leaves tumbled past on an autumn breeze. [tear my heart out slow, my Tomarry time travel wip]

2. The door of Number 4 Privet Drive slammed shut behind Harry, cutting off Vernon’s demands that Harry come back and make Marge right again. He wouldn’t — she’d gotten what she deserved. Still, the satisfaction of seeing her panic did nothing to stop his hands from shaking as he dragged his trunk away from his aunt and uncle’s house. [honestly the first lines for build me no shrines (sing me no songs) are super boring. It’s a series re-write with Slytherin!Harry, some Snupin, some Regulus as Harry’s father, and a (large) sprinkle of Arthurian legend but it starts off just after Harry blows up Marge haha]

3. Peace at last. Here, away from judging eyes and expectations he could never measure up to, so far from those who could hurt him. His world was dark and cold, but it was his and he was finally, blissfully alone. [unnamed ghost!Reg fic 🥰 little ghost man just wants to be left alone but of course he gets pulled from his peaceful afterlife because I’m incapable of letting him be happy]

4. Tick tick tick tick… Pansy sat at her piano, the insistent beat droning through her body—forcing her rhythms, forcing her hands to follow. This was no romanticised, emotive, key-stroking practice session. This was war. Two different metres, two different hands, two months of work, and she still hadn’t conquered these few measly measures. [unnamed Pansmione murder-suicide fic. it’s got pianos and werewolves and extremely questionable medical practices!]

5. Remus let out a shuddering breath in the shadowed hallway of 12 Grimmauld Place. It was just a house, he reminded himself. Nothing to be scared of. [even as a shadow (even as a dream), a post-war wolfstar fic with ghost!Sirius and a haunted house]

6. Standing in front of a decrepit building that hardly deserved to be called a shack, Severus ran through a list of curses he might be able to get away with putting on Petunia. Running from wizards — really she should have known better. [unnamed little Severitus fic idea where instead of Hagrid, Snape gets sent to give Harry his letter]

none of these are posted or even finished because I’m actually allergic to finishing stories and also to putting them where people can see lol but uhhhh anyway, gonna tag @venom0usbarbie @allalrightagain @sandervansunshine @luxuriousmalfoy @lunapwrites and @black-sparroww (not ten but one for each wip anyway) hopefully I’m not tagging anyone who’s done it before!!

[klai-16xoxo]

Random facts about Takara and some updates about him!

// just gonna make this post ti ramble about my baby since I really wanna share some stuff about him. Anyway here we go!! firstly I will talk more about his time before he came to TWST.

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Firstly, you can tell that I finally gave Takara a last name, and that is “Meigetsu” It is not his father’s last family name but his mother’s, but he didn’t start to use it until he came to TWST. Why? Well, he thought maybe he could start off clean here in this new world, and he thought it was best to abandon the last name of his father and just use the one his mother has, even though he hardly knows anything about her nor the importance the last name has.

Takara back on earth used to have a different appearance, actually. That is because he had a bit shorter hair with a ponytail back then, and he used to dye his hair black and wear dark eye contacts to look normal and a lot like his father. Because, let us be honest, everyone would think it odd that someone has natural purple hair and eyes! But now, ever since he came to TWST, his hair suddenly grew longer when he awakened and his natural hair color came back to normal, and he didn’t bother to dye it anymore since everyone in TWST does have a different type of hair color naturally.

Back on earth, Takara did happen to cross paths with some couples of animals on the street that do resemble the TWST Boys, but he especially did take care of a street cat that looked a lot like Leona and named it Leo funny enough, which is kind of why Takara was immediately interested in Leona when he saw him since he did remind him of his dear kitty back home.

(Okay this part would be a bit long to explain Takara Whip so bear with me!)

There are a few important details to note about it. Firstly, the whip has the ability to absorb and contain dark magic. This means that when Takara faces an enemy who uses dark magic, he can absorb it with his whip, storing it for later use against that enemy. Furthermore, the whip also has the unique capability to purify and cleanse the dark magic it absorbs, depending on its powers and if Takara can handle it. The same things can be done with light magic as well. The whip can absorb and store light magic and Just like with dark magic, the whip can purify and enhance the light magic it absorbs, making it even more powerful.

Oh! And the appearance of the whip also changes depending on its usage and state. When our Takara actively wields the whip and it contains no dark magic, it takes on the appearance of a shimmering silver whip with a purple aura surrounding it. However, if the whip contains dark magic, it transforms into a whip engulfed in dark flames (but still silver, the aura just change) when the whip is not in use, it reverts to a simple design, resembling any other dark-colored whip— OH! And the whip can change length.

Fun fact! Takara sees Yumi/Yume ( @sleepy-meep oc) as his siblings and often call them “brothers and sisters” but in private with them and wouldn’t say it in front anyone else at first but later one he would warm up to calling them that in front of others. He really glad to have two ppl he can call them family that actually care for him and that why he can be overprotective of them at times.

Kinda has OCD and may forget to get breaks so you may want to remind him at times.

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//There is more info about him I would love to talk about but I think this post is getting long and idk how to word the rest of my thoughts anyway so maybe I will make part two when I figure it out. Until then dose anyone care to ask anything about him or TO him? This may be a personal blog for me but you can still ask my OCs themselves and they would answer you here ^^!!

//oh!! And tell me if you all are interested to hear some of my thoughts about Takara’s Vignettes stories I have for him :3!

[littlesoyya]

I hardly ever post anything here (or even be around anymore), but this feels like the safest platform to share what I want to at the moment, there's not a lot of mutuals of mine in here so I guess it's because of that.

So I noticed today something about myself, it's something I've known for a long while but now was kinda the first time I was ready to accept that I'm feeling the way I am and I want to work on it.

For the longest of times I've felt jealousy of sorts towards the people who are able to make art that they want, especially writing heavy, not so acceptable stuff. It's not that I'm not excited, happy and proud of them, I just want to be able to do the same. Writing has been always something I've used to cope with life around me and sometimes I've wanted to write something terrible. But I can't.

When I start to write down what's on my mind, I kind of freeze - "I can't say that" or "No this is wrong, I can't write about it", "It's too heavy" even. And I self censor until I'm unhappy but satisfied with the results. I automatically make my silly little writing into something that's easy for others to consume, even if it's something just for me.

But yesterday, when I was writing I noticed that something is different. I mean yeah, I'm having COVID at the moment and my head feels like it's in a fog all the time. That's not it. I've been working on this story, that's been a guilty pleasure of mine since I was a little kid and I started daydreaming every occasion I can. The thing is, this is something that's never supposed to see the daylight. It's entirely for me to release some steam and have fun.

So yesterday, I told my friend that I feel like my writing is horrible, because of the way I feel while being sick. He was like he usually is and said that he doesn't believe me and if I wanted to prove him wrong I would need to show him what I've been writing. Which in itself is something I've had to learn to accept as he's one of the very first friends to say that in every occasion I try to berate myself, and he genuinely is just interested in what I do.

And there I was, contemplating my options; 1) Do I really want him to see this text? 2) Am I able to show it to him? 3) What if?

It felt super scary to take the screenshot and press copy while I fought with myself wether or not I have the courage to show him. Not to blame anyone or anything like that, I've just grown up in an environment where other people were not interested of the things I found important, or they mostly disappointed me with their reactions - like first they ask and then they go and say that it's too long, or boring or that I didn't need to go in such details, or something like that. Bad experiences.

And well, I thought f**k it, and sent the screenshot to him. Not waiting for his reply but got up and went to get myself something to drink and eat. And when I came back there wasn't anything horrible waiting for me. He was being encouraging and thankful as he always is when I show him what I've made. Do I know if he genuinely thinks that way? No. Do I know if he lies that I would feel better? No. Does it really matter? No.

What matters is that he sees that I'm enjoying myself. He sees that this is a thing that's really important to me. He knows how afraid I am to show my art/writing/interests to him. And he genuinely wants to support me. He's never said that this is too heavy, or that I'm to much. What he do say is that "wow, that was dark, but it's okay, it's good". And he tells me what he liked about it. This friendship has been helping me so much to grow lately!

And the thing I want to change is that self censorship, that I let have the control over myself. The amount of negative encounters with people yesterday, is now a thing that prevents me to get positive encounters tomorrow. It's still possible that there will be people who don't like my work, but there's also people who will like it, and who will never be able to read my stories because I don't share them. And even if I share my stories just for myself, I don't want it to be shadowed with fear.

So I want to work on myself, to stop the censorship and write more openly the first draft. I can always edit it, if it later feels wrong, but the first draft that is entirely for myself to see, why can't I just have some fun and let out everything that comes to mind, without first thinking how would others feel.

Phew, this was longer that I expected. Thank you if you made it to this far! I have no big conclusion nor anything like that for you, this was just a way for me to let out some thoughts, while I also thought that my struggle might be important to someone else to see. Being creative is hard, and sometimes we forget that. Take care! Xoxo

[sals-soda]

i'm thinking. so i'm gonna make this everyone else's problem

radqueers. fun topic, right? haven't mentioned them in a while. i also haven't been posting much here in general because. well. i dunno. i sorta lose my spirit when looking through the proship tag too often. i think, oddly enough, it was my fixation for a while. but obviously it isn't now, because i can hardly tolerate the community enough to glance through the tag.

anyway. a rare moment nowadays, i'm look through the tag. and i always make sure to look in the tags of posts i read because, well. radqueers advertise. most of them are not covert. that's kinda their whole thing. radically open and accepting. to quite literally anyone. even people who claim to be "trans nazi" ! fun.

anyway. saw someone celebrating the fact that they made themselves a binder. cool ! honestly a rare moment of joy amongst the discourse and news stories about war. but i expand the tags, there's lots, not inherently a problem, annoys some people, but whatever. and there's this tiny tag. just a little one. about "trans id". and it really made me stop and think about all that shit again.

my feelings were and still are complex. not that i tolerate radqueers by any stretch of the imagination. even if it is just some poor schmuck that got pulled into the cult because of their radical acceptance. but.

i'll start by saying this. i really do think the "trans-autistic, cis-depressed" shit is actually deranged. i literally cannot think of anything that justifies that. obviously i'm not going to like. make fun of it ? because i mean. if you're using labels like that, there's... probably something going on. and i've read stories from recovering radqueers about how the community fuelled their delusions. so i'm not gonna say anything other than i do not understand it at all and i really don't think there's anything justifying it.

the obsession with "chrono" (chronological) age is also concerning and also rarely justifiable. although i know that some plurals adopt the trans-age label because, well. they aren't just one age, mentally. and they do have a "real" (chronological) age. but again what i see in the radqueer community is shit like minors claiming to be older and adults claiming to be younger and many of them are paraphiles and they're interacting unrestricted and it's just. not. good. i used to go through radqueer confession blogs, and like... i think i have something in my drafts that proves my point about just how deranged and unsafe the community is.

what else is there to say to this than What The Fuck?

Right ?

even if the whole community isn't like this. the fact that this is at all tolerated ...?

i'm just going to leave that. food for thought. if you needed anymore convincing.

as for trans-abled stuff. people really try to push that it's exactly like being transgender. and i used to be quite sympathetic actually, because. well. trans myself. and i could see how the "but you're mutilating yourself ?!" argument goes both ways. but i stop being sympathetic because. well. i have disabled friends. some born some not. you can become disabled at any time. all it takes is an accident, or an eating disorder, or an illness. or the natural degradation of your body. personally i find my sight is slowly degrading and i'm in no position to do anything to correct it at the moment. which obviously is not the worst situation i could be in. but still. i can't help but think these trans-abled people are inherently privileged. and that they probably don't have many disabled friends. but i'm not going to deny their inherent existence. dysphoria is complex. and if someone thinks they shouldn't have a right arm or that they should have a limp or something ? probably not the weirdest thing. just. i don't know. i would rather these people didn't try to speak over others. especially IF they are in the position to "choose" to be disabled. i don't know. i would like to hear other opinions on this as well.