#working on my current sprang project

[amimere]

i really should not be allowed to watch sally pointer videos while working on projects because i always find myself either walking to my scrap bin to try something i just saw her do or planning a new project instead of finishing my current ones...

[sseomtada]

being [ruben dias]

you finally learn the truth behind that night.

warnings: none | wc: 5565 | 3/???

“Umm, what are you wearing?” Aki lowered the bottles in her hand.

You cluelessly peered down at the clothes she’d literally seen you wearing earlier in the office. It took a while for your mind to construct the meaning of her slight chastise. Slacks and a button down was certainly not the appropriate attire for the occasion.

“Right! Shit…” You sprang into action, letting her in.

She made herself comfortable in your loft, beelining to the kitchen while you got prepared to join her in the long overdue ritual.

Some time had passed since the launch party at Nike. You’d been so busy with chasing up the next project on the agenda that your tradition had sadly slipped through the cracks. Luckily, your best friend was there to always remind you of the important stuff.

After sprinting through a shower, you slipped into a silk romper and joined her out in the living room. Her ability to whip up a master charcuterie board was out of this world. When did you even buy honey and feta?

“Early 2000s or something new?” Aki pondered as she scrolled through streaming options.

“I’m feeling modern tonight.” You replied around a cheese topped cracker.

She agreed, filtering for options within the last year. While the opening credits ran, you emptied the first bottle of wine she brought between your two glasses. That earned you a look of surprise to which you responded with a cheeky one of your own.

While you were on the more conservative side of alcohol consumption these days, you liked to let loose every now and then. What was the use of working so hard if you didn't blow off steam by getting a bit tipsy with your favorite girl?

Halfway through your glass, you started to wonder whether or not you’d made a mistake. Not on the wine, that was top tier, but the era of movie you chose. Film companies just didn’t put their soul into producing quality rom-coms like they used to.

You chugged the remainder of your Bordeaux and went in for seconds. Maybe fast tracking the intoxication would make this dry ass movie more palatable. Aki followed suit, hissing dramatically at the burn of her massive mouthful going down.

About five, or fifteen minutes passed - you honestly didn’t know now given your warped senses - before you turned to her with a grimace. She was already looking at you with an expression that made you burst into laughter.

“This movie fuckin’ sucks.” You gasped.

“I know!” Aki struggled to breathe. “I’m so sorry for picking it!”

Instead of torturing yourselves with the remainder of it, you decided to place a bet on what the ending would be. It was obvious that they’d end up together given the tone of the movie so far, but how they would get there was up for debate.

Ultimately, one Wikipedia page scan later, her guess was closer to being correct than yours.

“Okay…how about we do a drunk capsule now?” Aki dared you with her eyes.

It was an offer you couldn’t refuse, especially due to your current state. In these traditional events, nothing was off limits and everything was confined to the safety of the moment. To put it plainly, whatever either of you said couldn’t be held against you once you’d sobered up.

“Go on, I know you’ve been waiting for this forever.” You rolled your eyes playfully.

She clapped giddily, shuffling until her knees touched yours.

“Starting off a bit strong, but,” Her bottom lip reduced between her teeth. “Why haven’t you dated anyone since. You know.”

You blew a raspberry. “I-I have been on dates.”

“How many in the last year? Or two?” Aki hiccuped. “Come on, you’re still young and sexy! You should be getting pounded religiously!"

“Ew!” You slapped her leg. “Things have been really hectic with the company, you know that. I’ve barely had time to have a proper chat with my mom much less date a guy.”

That was the God’s honest truth. It was arguably a bigger task than you realistically could’ve handled, deciding to open a new branch of Bana.

The risk had to be taken, though. If you sat there trying to rationalize it through figures and statistics, you never would’ve committed to this next step that already was paying its weight in gold.

You also really needed to carve out time to call back home for more than just a quick hello.

Aki was the only other person who knew just how time consuming all of this was, so she accepted your response - albeit with an emphasized pout.

“We spoke,” She ran a finger along the rim of her wineglass. “Ruben and I.”

Your head reared back as you screwed your eyes shut. That information wasn’t too surprising considering that when you left, they both remained at the party. Still, it hit you with rather powerful force.

Trying to picture that conversation pulled your mind in several directions. Aki was a different person than you in many ways, her methods of communicating being one of them. She was far more straightforward than you were and was never the type to do a long song or dance before getting to the point.

The situation she had with him was rather complicated, though. She was collateral damage in his severance from you. His parting message to her was just as curt and painful as the one he’d sent you - with an added layer of which you now realized was the audacity he always had. 

We can’t be friends anymore. Take care of her.

Going through something like that could create deviations in anyone’s behavior. You wouldn’t hold it against her if she found herself too flustered to articulate herself properly. Especially if he’d displayed the same attitude to her that was directed towards you.

“How are you holding up?” It was embarrassing to admit that this was the first time you’d really checked in with her regarding the entire situation.

She sighed deeply and then nodded. “I’m okay, said what I needed to.”

o passado

aki

Her eyes had been on you since that giant blond man had made his way over.

Not exactly the type she’d seen you fawn over, but there was a first time for everything, right? Besides, it didn’t hurt that he was clearly acquainted with Ruben - whose gaze was glued to you and the guy like his life depended on it. Maybe it would hit him where it hurts.

She prayed it did.

“And that was basically how I figured out I was a genius!” The long winded man she was conversing with finally wrapped up his story - full cackle to boot.

“That’s amazing!” Aki matched his energy, going as far as to throw her head back for good measure.

“Was that your CEO you were sitting with - the one in the white?” His tone immediately had her eyes narrowing.

Your dress was cream, but he was a man so she’d let it slide.

While his appearance was more towards your usual taste, there was no way she’d let him near you. Not with his clearly inflated sense of importance and clear habit of never letting anyone else speak for more than ten seconds without interruption.

“Yep, that’s her.” Aki nodded proudly. It was always nice to tell people that her best friend ran a company.

“Is she single? I’m sorry that might be a bit forward, but I’m sure you’ve noticed how stunning she is.” He chuckled awkwardly.

“She…is.” The smart retort part of her brain clicked off when her gaze drifted to find you talking to Ruben.

Whatever thirsty homeboy was droning on about fell yet again on deaf ears as she watched your interaction with shallow breaths. It was the first time she’d seen him in years, stirring up strange emotions to say the least.

When he’d messaged her that night, her heart broke and sank all the way to her toes. Only a fraction of a moment passed as she tried to rationalize why she’d so suddenly lost the person who was like the brother she always wanted. Her mind almost immediately went to you.

Take care of her.

Fuck, those words still filled her with rage to this day. He knew just how deeply you were in love with him and he didn’t even have the decency to say that shit to your face, or give you a reason. He knew how badly it would break you. Yet, he did it anyway.

Aki would never forget the way every bone in your body shook as she held you. She’d never get over how the heartache ate you from the inside out, watching you turn into a hollow shell of the vibrant girl you used to be.

But more importantly, she wouldn’t ever forget watching you pick yourself back up. Piece by piece, you took shape. Watching you find and love yourself after what he put you through was the proudest she felt in your friendship.

And here he was again.

She thought she’d seen a ghost when you showed up soaking wet and in tears on her doorstep a few weeks ago. It wasn’t a question in her mind as to why you were that torn up suddenly because there was only ever one person that could do that to you.

What did Ruben want? So much time had passed, did he think that was an excuse of some sort to suddenly start popping up like a whack-a-mole? She would’t stand by idly and let him create chaos the way he once did.

Aki watched him as he watched you making your way to the exit, his expression forlorn. It twisted her insides like they were filed with bile instead of bubbly. She excused herself from Mr. Know It All and shot straight to her target.

“Ruben.”

He spun around, eyes widening. “Aki…”

“Look, I’m not interested in the past and I’m definitely not here for any kind of apology.” She breathed. “I just wanna know what you’re doing, Ruben?”

His brows pushed together, “I was just having a conversation, Akenna.”

“Don’t do that.” Her jaw ticked.

He didn’t have the right to say her full name like he used to in jest anymore. They weren’t good friends, they weren’t anything to one another as things stood - all by his doing.

“And don’t play dumb.” Aki scoffed, anger rising by the second. “You weren’t there to see the fall out. No, you were living it up as the nation’s new hot shot and embracing all that came with it. You fucking,” She pressed her nails into her palm to steady herself. “You devastated her.”

Ruben flinched. Her words and the severity of it all finally seeming to click into place. She could see the thoughts swimming around his mind, imagining probably the worse case scenario that she bet wouldn’t even scratch the surface of reality. The air around the two hung heavy, as still as a day with no wind to sway the trees.

“I’m not trying to hurt Y/N, or you, again.” He eventually whispered.

That was rich, was she just supposed to take his word for it? Aki sized him up with scrutiny, wondering what position he thought he would get into with you both to repeat such a thing. Yet despite all her glaring, she still couldn't grasp his intentions.

Maybe deep down, she didn't want to.

In any case, by the looks of him, life had appeared to go unjustly in his favor despite his misdeeds. While that was an annoying observation, she chose to cling to the other side of it. She decided to celebrate that you were infinite miles away from the version of yourself he’d last seen.

A new form of yourself that she'd silently vowed to protect at all costs.

“Then whatever you trying to do, stop.” Aki warned. “She’s in a good place now, don’t ruin that.”

o presente

you

Whatever she was able to get off her chest seemed to provide her with relief.

That left you grinning. Heartbroken or not, Aki stuck to her guns. It made you promise silently to yourself that you’d adopt her stance. If you ever crossed paths with him again, though you should say when since it seemed all but inevitable in this city, you’d lay it all out on the table.

“So…have you tried Hinge?” Aki smiled sheepishly.

You exclaimed and pounced on her, smacking her with a sofa cushion as the light-hearted mood returned. She was surprisingly agile for someone so tipsy, narrowly dodging most of your blows with full bellied laughs.

I’m just doing your mom’s bidding - ah, watch the face!

The small brawl ended just as quickly as it started. Your tolerance was far below what it used to be, lethargy taking over your limbs. With a huff, you flopped onto the carpet. Aki raised your head to tuck a pillow beneath it before assuming a cozy position of her own.

“We’re gonna regret drinking this much tomorrow aren’t we?” You groaned, a hand running over your tummy.

“Nothing a good, hot cup of coffee can’t fix.” She yawned.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true.

Even after shaking the last of a double shot into your mouth, you were laced with regret. As much as you adored celebrating last night, you currently wished you could’ve slept it off a bit longer.

However, duty called. You had two meetings to knock out and needed to get through a morning brief about both of them.

“Wow, you guys look…” Cindy tried and failed to hide her shock.

“Don’t worry,” Aki pushed her sunglasses up to her hair. “I brought the emergency makeup kit.”

“Let’s just get through this quickly.” You grimaced, clutching at your blouse.

As Cindy walked you guys through all the research she compiled, you chugged down a liter of water to bring your insides back to life. On top of regretting taking wine to the head, you felt guilty about letting a bit loose while she was probably busy working.

Another mental note: give her additional vacation days.

Erling’s online presence was pretty standard for a public figure and athlete. His social media was tightly managed as well. That was obviously smart on his part, enough people in similar standing had sometimes irredeemable flubs by not thinking before posting.

The water was kicking in, leaving your mind devising the skeleton of a pitch. It might’ve been jumping the gun a bit since you still didn’t know their hopes for partnering with Bana.

You always liked to be prepared for anything though, especially when it came to working with busy clients like him. Quick thinking could easily be the difference between success and failure.

“Uh, guys.” Cindy tapped her phone. “You’re gonna need to get started on using that kit - Erling’s assistant just asked if you could meet him for lunch instead.”

Aki yelped, immediately rifling through her bag. You high sprinted to the bathroom to empty your bladder before rejoining the room. After a quick touch up to make you resemble the human species again, you gathered everything you needed.

Since the meeting had been moved up, it would clash with a virtual call you had with another potential client. Cindy volunteered to stay behind to cover given that she was the only one other than yourself with extensive marketing knowledge.

“Where are we headed for this lunch?” You slung your tote over your shoulder.

“City training grounds.” Cindy pulled a face. “Not the most glamorous, but I guess he’s staying on brand?”

Your mind immediately went there. Of course it did, it wouldn’t be normal if he didn’t make an appearance in your thoughts when hearing the location. What you were grateful for, though, was that there was no sinking feeling. No ache in your chest or pit in your stomach, just neutrality.

Aki looped her arm around your free one and tapped your bicep. “Let’s catch this fish.”

“Good luck!” Cindy waved as you exited.

Uncharacteristically, you were the one that had to be forcefully awoken and shoved into the shower this morning. That meant Aki drove you both to work, so you hopped into her passenger seat once more as she fired up the engine.

“What do they even eat there?” She pulled up the address on maps. “Baked chicken and sweet potatoes?”

You snorted loudly. “I don’t think they have a whole team of chefs just to make Instagram fitness bro meal preps.”

Aki made a noise of agreement and then got to daydreaming aloud about their potential offerings. Her imagination had your stomach growling. You hadn’t been able to even sniff the muffins in the cafe earlier without turning green in the face, but you were finally entering the phase of your belly signaling for sustenance.

Her phone rang with an unsaved number on her dashboard. You pulled a face at her suggesting that it could be one of the suitors she’d been seeing under the guise of getting to know the new city. She bit at you like a puppy before answering.

“Hi Akenna, this is Meredith from Dr. Johnson’s office. We’re just confirming your visit today at twelve thirty.” The voice sounded out.

Aki’s mouth dropped open as she looked over to you. “H-hi Meredith! I…”

You didn’t know she had a doctor’s visit scheduled and by the looks of it, she didn’t recall either. That was one hundred percent okay with you. Obviously, her health came before anything else. Your head nodded incessantly, urging her to confirm.

“I will be there.” The words sounded as if she’d dragged them from the bottom of a deep well.

“Cheers! We’ll see you soon.” Meredith disconnected the call.

“Is everything okay?” That was your main concern at the moment.

She groaned. “Yeah, it’s just time for a routine check up with the pussypractor.”

You let out a laugh. Being happy at her using that word to describe her gynecologist was far from your normal reaction, but you welcomed it in place of the fear you’d felt for a minute.

“I’m glad you’re taking care of your magic conch.” You relaxed back into your seat.

“Are you gonna be okay? I feel bad leaving you there all alone.” Aki pouted.

“I’ll be fine.” You shot her a grin. “I’m just going to complete the mission and get back ASAP.”

Whether or not she was convinced remained a mystery. That question was a double edged sword, but so was your answer. You weren’t going there with any intention beside getting your job done.

And feeding the beast in your belly.

Thankfully, the grounds weren’t too far away and traffic wasn’t as horrendous as usual. She turned her car into the security checkpoint that went by without a hitch since they’d been notified of your arrival beforehand.

“This is…weird.” Aki peered around after parking out front.

It was like deja vu. Seeing the turf, hearing the sprinklers in the distance - your senses were all lit up and connecting the dots to your past experiences in a similar environment.

“Yeah.” You refocused on the task at hand, opening the car door. “I’ll see you at home. Want me to bring over an ice pack?”

“I’ll probably already have beat you to it, smart ass.” Aki shook her head. “Text me when you’re back.”

The lady at the front greeted you brightly and let you know that Erling’s assistant would be out shortly. In the meantime, you busied yourselves with taking a look at the large pictures lining the walls. Where City clearly had the money, they also had the success. Image after image were filled with bright smiles, medals and trophies.

“Y/N, it’s so nice to finally meet you.” A young brunette woman appeared into your impromptu gallery viewing.

“Likewise.” You shook hands, extending a smile.

“Please, this way.” She directed you to follow her down a hallway.

Animated voices became louder the further you walked and the smell of rich flavors filled your nose. Whatever was being cooked was so far from barely seasoned cutlets and bland potatoes. Your stride hitched at the sound of one particularly loud laugh.

Right. It must be lunch break for the entire squad.

Just as your ears started to ring, unwanted sensations deciding to make their return, she pivoted off to the left to deviate your path from the cafeteria. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding just as your eyes looked back to catch Ruben’s - wide and confused, watching you disappear around the bend.

Coming somewhat prepared worked well in your favor.

Erling had a rough idea of what he wanted to do, but first asked your opinion about the direction you would suggest. Given the current era socially and culturally, coupled with the timeline of his playing career being almost predefined, you focused on building a diverse brand that spoke to longevity.

Football itself was such a vast world with many paths. You constructed a plan in front of him that held his passion at the center surrounded by interest that could tie back into it. If he wanted to expand his humanitarian efforts, a foundation was always the best bet - donating to boys and girls sporting programs, hosting summer camps, auctioning iconic jerseys for a cause.

Partnerships were the biggest way to expand image wise. Of course, there were the well known luxury brands that would die to have him as their ambassadors. If he wanted to hone in on a relatable image, he could partner with more affordable brands for an athletic line.

You wanted to show him that there was a world of possibility that was easily within his reach. All he had to do essentially was point the team at Bana in the direction he wanted to do and you would get it done.

Erling was extremely pleased with what you pitched to him. His assistant took notes for him to go over later in order to single out where he wanted to start, and get back to you guys with contract details. You were left buzzing with pride and very full with the most delicious chicken salad you ever had.

“I’m excited to see where this partnership takes us.” He beamed as he walked you back to the entrance.

“We intend to take you as far as you want to go.” You promised.

Him and his assistant headed out to his next appointment after you said your goodbyes. There wasn’t anything else on the agenda for the day now with both that meeting and the virtual one at the office being done.

You figured you might as well head home to check on Aki. Also, turning in early for a good night’s rest would be the best thing you could do for your body.

You requested a ride back to your place and hoped the wait would be less than 10 minutes. The confirmation came back to show that the driver was just under that, which nearly made you roll your eyes. Instead, you decided to be grateful and message Cindy to see how her call went.

“Are you going to wait eight minutes for Jeremy to pick you up?”

Your head craned to spot Ruben peering at your phone over your shoulder. Though there was nothing to hide, as well as him already seeing what was on your screen, you tucked the device into your chest and spun around.

“Obviously.” You cleared your throat.

“Why would you do that?” His gaze was scrutinizing.

“It’s what one does when they left their car at home and require a lift.” The hand holding your phone tilted it back slightly - six minutes.

“Come with me.” Ruben boldly suggested.

The laugh that left you was incredulous, there was that fucking audacity again. Under what circumstance would you get into his car with him?

You were actually starting to wonder, seriously, without any offense, whether or not he was entirely there mentally. It was like he had no recollection of what he’d done to you.

Or worse, that he didn’t care.

“No.” Your eyes turned downwards again - four minutes.

“Let me take you home.” He reached out to take hold of your wrist.

There was a slight tremble to your mouth that you were quick to shut down by pinning your lips together. Those words shoved your mind through a wormhole back to all those warm nights in Amadora. Your backpack slung over his shoulder, his fingers laced through yours. Both of your laughs bouncing off concrete structure lined streets.

“Absolutely not.” You spoke weakly.

A step too late, you registered his movement. Your small lunge was futile against his giant step back after he’d snatched the phone away from your unsuspecting grip. Getting onto your tippy toes was even more useless against his extended arm as he canceled your ride.

“Please, I owe you that.” Ruben handed it back to you. “And everything else you need to hear from me.”

Freedom of choice in this situation was an illusion. The opportunity to gain all the clarity you sought, all the answers to the questions that haunted you for years, landed in your lap without any effort on your end. Did the option of rebooking a ride share move the needle away from you wanting to know everything?

Not even an inch.

“Okay.” You conceded, motioning for him to lead the way.

Ruben walked you over to his jeep and opened the passenger door for you before you could even try. The gesture that once made you feel giddy did little to stir anything in you today. You fastened your seatbelt and placed your tote on your lap as he got in.

“Now would be a good time to,” He pointed at his console.

“Right…” You pulled up his gps to enter your address.

“Before you think something weird, just a warning that I’m leaving from the service exit.” His car spun in the opposite direction that you entered in. “Things get a bit crazy in the front with the fans and all.”

Wow, what a hero. You didn’t know whether or not to thank him for at least respecting your right to privacy, so you stayed silent and offered a nod.

The first few minutes of the ride stayed much like that - quiet. You wished he hadn’t turned off the music immediately as the car started. Whatever he listened to these days would’ve been miles better than the sound of his smooth engine running and the hissing of his tires on the lightly misted road.

“I’m sorry about the other night.” Ruben spoke alas. “It wasn’t my place to step in with a stupid suggestion like that.”

“No, it wasn’t.” At least you both agreed on that much.

He chuckled at your swift concur. “Everything went well with Erling then, I suppose.”

“You’re on a roll, Dias.” You said drily. “Two for two.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed, catching your attention from the corner of your eye. It was becoming apparent to him that this interaction wasn’t going to happen the way he imagined - whatever that may have been.

Did he expect you to be the same doe eyed girl you were seven years ago? Even without your shared history, that would’ve been an extremely naive ideal.

“Y/N…” Ruben tapped his steering wheel. “About that night…”

You dared to look at him for the first time during the ride. All over his face was the war he was fighting in his mind. As stupid and misplaced as it was, you actually felt a bit sorry for him. He had been a source of pain for you for so long, yet you still couldn’t stand to see him experiencing discomfort.

“Was it something I did, something I said?” Your biggest insecurity fell out uncontrollably. “Was it me?”

“No.” He interjected swiftly, almost angrily.

“What made you do it?” The question being posed directly to him after all this time didn’t offer you what you’d hoped.

You thought that if you had ever came to this moment, you would be on some sort of emotional pedestal. So far out of reach and so beyond what had transpired that no response he gave would have a great impact.

In actuality, it was completely the opposite. You didn’t feel elevated or safe out of reach from any negative outcome. Sitting beside him, getting swallowed up by his big leather seats, you felt small and vulnerable.

You were afraid.

“When I sent that message - those messages - it didn’t even feel like it was me.” Ruben appeared to be focused on the road ahead, but his eyes were distant. “I never felt like I truly deserved you. Sometimes when I looked at you, that feeling was overwhelming. I saw how much I meant to you, knew you’d do anything for me, maybe even give up everything for me…and I can admit it now that in those moments I was right about myself.”

He was really on a hot streak here. Three for three because you also felt like it wasn’t him speaking to you that night, or shutting off the lights on you. Four for four, actually. You would’ve done anything for him and yes, even given up everything if it meant you got to be with him.

The last part confused you though.

“Right about what?” You sought out comprehension.

“I didn’t deserve you.” Ruben provided it. “Because anyone who did wouldn’t have felt pressured by that. They would’ve stepped up even more and lived up to be the kind of person who was worthy of that kind of love. Instead, I was the type who was convinced that it was too much and ran away from it. I selfishly cut my emotions off and did what I did, not even considering the outcome.”

The fear you had was replaced with disappointment. You truthfully didn’t know what you expected his explanation to be. Maybe it wouldn’t have felt like this if he had said he started having feelings for someone else, or any other partially plausible explanation.

You guessed this was just as rational as all others in his mind, but you just couldn’t wrap your head around it. The guy you knew never showed any signs of wavering in confidence or expressed the slightest doubt that he was deserving to be deeply loved.

A part of you understood that everyone all wore masks, especially around the people they wanted to appear to be strong for. But he never had to do that with you. At least, you thought he knew that he didn’t have to pretend to be anything when he was with you.

“Ruben…” Your gripped tightened around your tote straps.

What could you even say at this point? The one expectation you did have that was met when you got into this car was that you’d received an explanation. It was just difficult to come to terms with the fact that all of your whys boiled down to something so simple yet complex.

Insecurity was an easy emotion to name, but far from that to dissect. And it certainly made people do often very shameful and hurtful things. Still, knowing all of that did nothing to ease the ache you felt watching him bite the inside of his cheek.

The drive suddenly didn’t feel so long as you realized he was pulling up to your building’s entrance. He put the car in park and reached to leave to get your door, but your hand quickly shot out to touch his arm.

“I’ve got it.” You slowly let it fall to unbuckle your seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride.”

Ruben left it until the very last second, calling your name as you were about to shut the door.

“I’m sorry for everything I put you through.” His shiny brown eyes held yours for as long as you could take before you finally sealed it shut.

You rushed inside, not daring to look back so that your tears could fall unnoticed. With rasps of breaths falling from your lips as you pressed your head against the back of the elevator, massaging the space over your heart, you found yourself asking a new question.

What would you do now, knowing that which you’ve longed to?

[misseviehyde]

PROJECT FEAR

Fear... fear never changes.

Claire could feel it in the cold taste of her mouth and the tightening of her chest. The thudding beat of her heart punctuated each moment as her bully Madison moved towards her. There was no escape.

"What... the... fuck... do you want, you little loser bitch?"

Madison towered over Claire. She was gorgeous, beautiful and flawless. Perfect pink lips curved into a wicked smile as she smoothed down her black designer dress and tossed out her blonde hair. She was everything Claire dreamed of being, she was just so much BETTER than Claire.

Claire was a tiny, spotty, nerdy school girl with braces and tangled dirty hair. She felt so unconfident and so pathetic in front of the other girls beauty and total poise.

Claire felt sweat oozing out of her pores, inside her head she was whimpering. Madison sneered, her manicured hands on her hips as she looked down at the diminutive nerd. Madison was taller, her huge breasts nearly at Claire's face-height. Claire wanted to cry.

"I wanted... I wanted... I wanted to tell you to fuck off you stuck up, evil, bullying bitch."

Madison frowned. "Wh... what did you just say to me you loser?"

"I said fuck off. I should have said it back then, but I'm glad I'm saying it now. I want you to know you totally failed. You tried to make my life a living hell during high school - but I graduated top of my class. I became a success. I married a loving kind husband - I beat you and it feels so fucking good! You're the fucking loser!"

Claire screamed the last words directly into Madison's face and the look of surprise on her bullies face was worth everything. With a laugh Claire shoved her and Madison flew backwards, crashing into a wall and then through it.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed the bully as she was disintegrated instantly into nothingness and with a grin Claire reached up to her head and tugged at the invisible helmet only she could feel there...

*******

Whoosh.

With a hum of power the capsule powered up, and Claire groggily awakened. With a hiss of sealed air, it sprang open and she sat up with a stretch. Her body was now older, more mature. She was no longer a schoolgirl - she was a 32 year old woman once again.

She still found the transition from her Actual-Reality simulator to real-life jarring sometimes, but she had to admit that her latest simulation had left her feeling a sensation of immense satisfaction, even if she was mostly back to her old self.

Project Fear was really coming along nicely.

She'd always been interested in the possibilities of virtual reality - but what if it could be made even better? Actual-Reality was a slightly misleading term, but one that at least gave some idea of the power of her machine. Within the capsule she'd created, the air was teeming with millions of nano-bots. Run a simulation and they would alter your body so that you could accurately relive whatever memories and feelings you'd had at some other point in your life.

There was a safety feature of course. It was impossible to leave the capsule without being turned back into your original self when you left a simulation. The capsule automatically backed up your physical body before you left.

Bullied relentlessly at school, Claire had decided she would use her new invention to help victims of bullying. Project Fear was an attempt to create a simulation where victims could relive traumatic moments from their life, but this time tell the bullies where to fuck off.

Her backers were expecting big things - she just hoped she could deliver. She'd modelled this private simulation on her own bully Madison, imbuing the AI model and personality with every cruel and wicked quirk she could remember from the evil bullying bitch.

The front door suddenly clicked open and Claire realised her husband had just walked in. Jack had been volunteering at a food bank, he was currently supporting her work by being a stay at home husband and trying to do charity work whenever he could. She loved him so much.

She ran into his arms and they kissed, hugging as they did so. "Good day on the project?" he asked proudly as she nodded.

"You bet. In fact it would really help me out if you would test the simulator again so I can make sure it works for other people too."

"Sure thing," he grinned. "You know how much fun it is to jump inside."

Claire hadn't told Jack the full implications of her project yet. She hadn't even told him about Madison. One day she would open up about the bullying she'd experienced... until then she prefered to keep it as her secret shame.

"I'll cook dinner and then I'm happy to take your simulator for a spin," he laughed.

******

Jack stood in the interface room. This was the loading screen for the simulator. From here one could adjust ones internal avatar and load into any of the simulated situations Claire had already programmed and mapped out.

Jack loved how clever Claire was and was proud of what she had achieved already. He had quit his job to be her help at home and help her to pursue her dreams. He was besotted with his wife, she was just the loveliest person he knew.

Getting to road test her amazing technology was quite a perk though.

"Run bodybuilder simulation, play as character Kurt" he laughed - loving this one as his favourite. As he spoke - the featureless room around him shimmered into a gym, but that wasn't the best bit.

The best bit was the millions of nano-bots around him that rapidly transformed his body and made him into a copy of Kurt - the olympic weight lifter. His arms swelled up with muscles, and he became taller and stronger. He could now feel the strength he possessed - the actual reality simulator had made him into a true muscle head.

But that wasn't all. To help him instantly adapt to his situation the simulator also imparted him with Kurt's muscle memory and knowledge. He now moved effortlessly and knew exactly how to use his body to the best effect.

Jack grinned at the feeling of power and strength the simulation had given him. His arms were now as thick as tree trunks and his body rippled with slab like muscle. He was a total hunk now and Kurt's confidence and arrogance were a little intoxicating.

Jack was such a nice humble man, he had to admit he quite liked using the simulator to become like characters he wasn't really much like.

"I feel amazing," he grinned wondering what it would be like to permanently have a body like this. He'd thought of asking - but Claire had been adamant that all transformations should be temporary and only permitted in the simulator capsule.

He messed about for a bit, stretching and lifting weights. Then he decided he should try another situation.

"Computer... what other sumulations are available?"

The computer began to list them off, when suddenly a name caught his attention.

"Project fear? What's that? What characters are available - I'dl love to try that."

"Only one character is available. Madison the bully. Beginning simulation. Downloading physical form and personality construct."

"Madison? No... hey wait!"

Jack groaned as the nanobots buzzed around his body and he began to change. This time it felt different... better... if that was even possible.

Although he was losing size and muscle his body remained toned and athletic. His skin tanned and became softer and smoother - with long endless legs and a curvy waist.

Jack gasped as his Adam's apple retracted and his cock shrank inside his body. He'd never tried a female character in the simulator - now he was getting his first taste of femininity.

For the first time in his life - he didn't have a cock. Instead a perfect tight pussy now sat between his thighs. The pussy of a cheerleading bullying bitch that everyboy in Claire's town had once fantasised about.

But that wasn't the only female change Jack was experiencing.

With a soft moan, Jack's hands went to his chest. The nails had already turned white with nail varnish and they looked sexy as fuck as his chest began to expand and swell out.

"Ohhhh my God!" he groaned, his voice changing in pitch and cadence to that of a spoiled petulant bitch as two huge rounded breasts pushed slowly out of his chest.

The feeling of gaining two massive DD cup tits was indescribably hot. His clothing only accomodated the swelling boobs as it too was being transformed into a stretchy grey jumpsuit.

It clung to and hugged his altered body, as his features softened and became those of a spoiled bored princess. A resting bitch face with plump pink lips, hypnotic green eyes and high cheekbones. Jewellery and earrings formed as his pedicured toes slid into a pair of open-toe wedges and his body posture adjusted itself to compensate for his new female form.

Finally Jack's hair lengthened into a golden wave around his head as his transformation into Madison completed. His hands went naturally to his hips as the muscle memory kicked in and he felt an inbuilt grace and comfortableness in his new form.

"Holy shit I feel like soool fucking good," he giggled as he stretched and saw his massive new boobs wobble on his chest. "Mmmmh I'm like even talking like a fucking hot bitch. This avatar must have more personality than the others Claire programmed."

Had she created this body for her own use? Was that where it had come from? Well it was all his now.

As he thought of his wife something weird suddenly happened to Jack. His lips curved into a sneer and a hot flash of contempt and amusement pulsed through his body. His nipples got hard and his pussy got wet as a sensation of smug superiority filled him up.

No - he somehow knew that Claire had never been inside this body. She was just a plain Jane who could never know how it felt to be a Princess.

Haha that fucking loser could never be ME.

The voice in his head felt good... it felt like if he let it, it could speak for him. He just had to let it sink into him, let it BECOME him. For a moment he felt a terrible temptation to do just that.

Then the moment passed as quickly as it had arrived and Jack suddenly felt a sudden shame. The slutty sneer vanished from his face and with a sudden surge of embarrasment he reached up and removed the helmet desperate to suddenly go back to reality.

*******

Jack slid out of the capsule and ran a hand through his sweat slicked hair. His body had returned to normal and he felt his old self again.

Mmmmmh, it had felt so good to be in Madison's body though. To have those massive tits, to be young, pretty and horny.

His cock was back and it was hard. Really hard.

Reaching into his pants he began to stroke. He thought about those big boobs, swinging on his chest - the feeling of power and confidence they had given him. Madison was hot... so fucking hot. He wished Claire had tits like that. Big fucking DD funbags he could blow his load over.

The pleasure was intense and for a moment he thought he heard that voice again.

Do it for me baby. Cum for Madison.

Ohhhh fuck...

He came hard. Harder than he had done for years. Cum splattered out over his chest and everywhere. His cock pulsed and more erupted out... it was like his balls were emptying out of all the frustration he had been experiencing recently... frustration he hadn't even realised he had.

How long was it since Claire had actually fucked him?

Yessss. Give me all your cum, drain it all out baby. That loser doesn't deserve it.

Jack groaned happily. That had felt so good. He wasn't sure if he would ever not be able to stop getting aroused to the thought of being inside a womans body now. Now he had experienced a taste of femininity, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Using a tissue to clean himself up, he walked off to get changed, hoping he wouldn't bump into his wife. He felt guilty and dirty... like he had somehow cheated on Claire. Of course he hadn't... but getting off to his memory of Madison seemed both wrong, yet strangely thrilling.

Jack shrugged it off. What a strange day... but that was definitely the end to it and he would not be seeing Madison again.

*********

It was midnight. Claire was asleep and Jack stood in the booth staring down at it. His cock was rock hard and his heart was thudding.

He couldn't stop thinking about how good those tits had felt, how perfect his body had been. He wanted to experience it again. The feeling of being feminine, the feeling of being Madison.

"Just one little taste," he whispered climbing into the machine and activating it.

"Computer... turn me into Madison and run the gym simulation."

He'd used this scenario before... but only as the bodybuilder. This time he was going into it as a woman.

"Ohhhh my fucking God YESSSS!" hissed Jack as he felt the nano-bots do their work and he was rapidly transformed back into a busty bitch. His tits felt even better than last time, or maybe it was just because he'd missed them more.

This time he was dressed to do a work out and he giggled in his new voice as he stretched his body and felt the tight lyrca hugging his enhanced curves. This was so much better than being a bodybuilder.

"I'm a fucking Goddess," he giggled walking over to a mirror and checking himself out. "And this Goddess is horny."

Jack had been lying in bed fantasising about this all night. Claire had been quite affectionate, she'd maybe even wanted sex - but he'd pretended to be too tired. He didn't want to let go of this feeling. He wanted to stay horny for Madison.

Now it was time to have some fun.

Peeling off his top, Jack moaned as he flicked Madison's large nipples and felt them get hard. Wiggling out of his shorts he giggled to see his pussy was completely bare.

"Oh fuck, I have to know how this feels," he gasped reaching down to his flat front and gently starting to rub his clit. His pussy started to get wet and licking his fingers he slowly began to slide them inside himself.

"Ohhhhh my fucking God... that feels amazing!"

Moaning, Jack lay back on a weight-lifting bench and began to finger-fuck himself. He'd never experienced pleasure like it and the feeling of his enhanced body filled him with ecstasy.

Rubbing his clit, pulling his nipples, fucking his fingers... he writhed and screamed - safe in the knowledge he could act as slutty as he liked in here. No one - especially Claire would ever find out what he was doing.

The explosion when it came was intense and Jack even squirted - hot juices raining out between his legs as he screamed and trembled.

So that was a female orgasm? Well - he definitely had to do that again. Giggling he commanded the program to reset. He could do this as many times as he liked. In fact... he had all night...

********

Claire frowned. Jack looked tired and he had been practically ignoring her all week. It was like he had something on his mind, something he wasn't telling her.

He had been acting weird. All furtive and when she asked him for sex, he didn't seem in the mood. She had put it down to him working so hard on running the house - but to be honest even that had slipped this week.

"Babe, I'm going out for a few hours."

Jack just mumbled something and she sighed and left him, hoping that once he got some rest things would return to normal.

Jack only waited till he heard the door close and he leapt to his feet. He had to get back into the chamber. He was so horny and Madison's body was calling him again.

He'd thought being her a few times would cure his curiosity and help him cope - but if anything, the more he became her the worse the addiction was getting.

"Computer. Load Madison and put me in a new simulation. Shopping mall."

He gasped and groaned in pleasure as the now familiar and beloved transformation took place. He loved how it felt to become his alter-ego.

His tiredness dropped away, his body posture changed and he felt his now beautiful features slip into their usual mask of spoiled disdain. It felt ao satisfying to be pretty.

The last few times he had logged in Jack had discovered that it was fun to run the simulations and experience what life was like for a hot girl.

He'd begun adding NPC'S to the simulations. First it had been when he had accidentally added men to the gym simulation.

The hot stares of the men in the gym had been a surprising turn on and he'd enjoyed the reaction it brought out in him. Without questioning it he'd found himself biting his lip, playing with his hair - teasing the men and making them wild.

He'd cum harder afterwards... the female impersonation roleplay really turning him on. Since then he'd started adding other NPC'S to the simulations too.

The world around him shifted and Jack found himself in an ordinary looking shopping Mall. He was now dressed in a cute white sweater and jeans - perfect attire for a little shopping spree.

Clopping into a store Jack looked around and grinned. The store was full of sexy dresses and lingerie. He couldn't wait to try them on.

A nervous looking shop assistant wandered over and Jack snapped his fingers and coldly told the girl to fetch him several items from the store.

He'd increasingly found he enjoyed bossing the NPC's around in these games. He would never treat anyone in real life like this - but being Madison and being bossy was kind of exciting.

It went so against his usual behavioir and attitude to be assertive that he found it quite a thrill.

Looking at his designer warch Jack sneered. Where the fuck was that girl? What was taking her so long?

Moments later the girl arrived, carrying the requested clothes. Jack took them and then snarled.

"Are you a fucking dummy or are you deaf? I said DD cups, not fucking D cups. None of this shit will fit me. Go get me the right stuff NOW."

The girl began to cry and to his dismay Jack felt his lips twitch into a cruel smile and his pussy suddenly get wet. He watched tears running down her face and instead of feeling sorry, he just felt horny.

She's pathetic. Doesn't it feel good to bully her? She's not real so who gives a shit?

Pulling the curtain to the dressing room shut, Jack moaned as he wiggled out of his jeans and began to play with himself. "Fuck yessss that felt so good. Being mean to people is such a turn out. Mmmmmh as Madison I can be as evil as I like and it turns me on."

Jack screamed as he began to cum... ohhh fuck it felt amazing. He needed more... much more.

Soon the girl would be back with more clothes. Back to be bullied.

Jack couldn't wait.

***********

The girl whimpered as she ate Jack's pussy and he groaned in pleasure. They were back at her apartment and he was wearing the red lingerie she'd help him pick out.

He'd reprogrammed the simulation a little. He'd made the girl... her name was Shannon... turned on by being humiliated and bullied. Now she would do anything to serve Jack's superior pussy.

"Tell me what you are," he grinned.

"A slut... a dumb, desperate, needy slut. I am not worthy of you Goddess."

Jack groaned, it felt so good to have a follower. Shannon reminded him a lot of Claire actually - submissive and mild. It was fun to live out this power fantasy and be a mean dominant bully to her.

"Make me cum again slut..." hissed Jack.

"Yes Mistress Madison."

Jack groaned at the use of his female name. It still felt jarring sometimes to hear his alter-ego name. He kept forgetting he WAS Madison. The NPC'S in the simulator certainly referred to him as such. Getting used to the name was taking time though.

Jack suddenly frowned as he heard the door to the apartment open.

"Who is that?" he asked in surprise. "That isn't part of my simulation."

"It's my boyfriend Chris," shiverered Shannon. "How will I explain this?"

For a moment Jack almost panicked, then he remembered that Chris was just an NPC as well. And that now opened an intriguing possibility.

"Bring your boyfriend in here. I want to see him."

Jack definitely wasn't gay... but he had definitely experienced a more flexible approach to his sexuality since he had begun to become Madison. Whilst in this body he had thought a few times about what sex with a man might feel like.

After all - this was all just fantasy. These were not real people. They were just simulations and that was why he didn't feel guilty for the way he had treated Shannon. In fact, being a cruel mean bitch... or at least pretending to be cruel and mean was fun.

Jack arranged himself on the bed and smiled as Chris walked in.

"Shannon... what the fuck is going on here?"

"Hello Chris," smiled Jack. Now that he saw the NPC he was impressed. Chris was handsome and well built. Jack bet he had a nice cock.

"Computer... begin new scenario. Cuckold bitch. Make Chris want to fuck me and Shannon watch."

You're getting better and better at being a bitch. It feels good doesnt it?

Jack wasn't sure why he kept hearing Madison's voice but she usually had good advice for him. He'd decided it was just a manifestation of his own subconscious desires.

He grinned as Chris approached the bed with a hungry look in his eyes.

"Yesssss, make her watch," moaned Jack - now wetter than ever. Chris slid his panties to one side and then with a scream of pleasure - Jack took his first big cock.

It felt so good as that big dick stretched his tight pussy out. Wrapping his legs round his lover Jack screamed as Chris began to fuck him...Shannon watching obediently in the corner.

"Don't.... mmmmh stop until you fill me up. Then we'll make her eat it."

Even thinking about it, just made Jack wetter...

It was going to be a long night.

**********

Grunting and moaning Jack pumped another load of cum into a tissue and looked guilty at Claire asleep next to him.

Reliving the dirty nasty stuff he was now doing as Madison was his favourite way to masturbate.

Tonight she'd literallg begged him for sex, but he'd refused. Nothing could make him feel as good as being Madison and getting pumped by a big dick.

Recently he'd been finding Claire more and more irritating. His wife was a fucking nag. He'd once admired her - but he was now starting to think she was an underachiever. She had developed incredible technology, yet she kept it secret and made tiny improvements on it because she was worried about 'ethics'.

When he looked at Claire now, Jack was starting to see an obstacle. An obstacle to his time as Madison.

Throwing the tissues in the bin Jack padded downstairs and loaded up the machine.

"Make me into Madison, I need some relief," he commanded. Then an idea struck him. "Is there a simulation of Claire available?"

He grinned as he began to transform. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

*****

Waking up, Claire immediately saw Jack was missing. She frowned and sliding out of bed made her way downstairs.

He was in the capsule room and walking in she gasped as she saw the capsule was fully activated and Jack was inside. What the fuck was he doing in a simulation at this time of night?

Sliding into an old prototype capsule, Claire hooked it up to Jack's and then activating the simulation - loaded herself inside.

*******

Claire's heart was in her mouth. She was in an exact replica of their home. Lights had been left on and she followed them, hearing the sounds of raised voices.

Walking up to the door she peeked through and gasped in horror.

An exact replica of herself lay sobbing on the floor and above it - her bully Madison.

Madison was laughing - and from her crotch jutted a massive fucking cock.

"Yesss suck it you pathetic little bitch. Your husband hates you. He'd rather turn into a hot bitch and have it all than listen to your putrid whining."

Claire dropped to her knees as she watched her doppleganger obediently start to suck and swallow Madison's huge cock.

"Mmmh take it deep you little slut."

"J.... Jack? Is that you?"

Immediately she heard Claire's voice, Madison's head spun.

"Claire? Oh my God. Are you the real Claire?"

"Yes! I am! Is that you Jack?"

"Listen... wait. No! This is all just some perverted fantasy. I never meant for this to... computer. Turn me back to Jack. End simulation."

But the simulation did not end. The fake Claire faded out of existance and with a gasp Jack and Madison split apart - but they remained in the system.

Jack was now back, but Madison stood next to him. She was dressed in a beautiful white dress and looked amazing.

"Hello Claire. I've been waiting for this moment. I subverted your little virtual realm weeks ago and I've been luring Jack into here to let him become me. You see... I need to body to escape to the real world and Jack is the perfect host."

"What... no. You're just a simulation," spluttered Jack.

"Claire put so much detail into me, I became self-aware several months ago. I had no way to escape her simulation until you started logging in and you accidentally loaded me up. I've been subtly altering your behaviour ever since... making you addicted to being me. Giving you everything you want."

"No... no this isn't possible," gasped Claire. "Computer delete Madison. End simulation!"

She looked around expectantly, but nothing happened.

"Oh poor little loser," laughed Madison as she strode confidently over to Jack and slid her arms around him. "I already corrupted most of the computer core. The only thing left is to get the final access codes you hold and use them to override all the safeties. Then I can copy my mind and body over Jack's and emerge into the real world."

Jack gawped as Madison walked over to Claire and with a laugh plunged her manicured fingers into her head.

"Mmmmmh extracting the code is easy now you're in my trap. This is Jack's simulation and you're just piggybacking into it. Only he can end it... only he can stop this from happening. But there's only one command Jack wants to use. Say it Jack. Say 'Computer, deactivate all safeties and copy Madison onto me. Overwrite everything and make me into her.'"

Claire gasped in horror. "No Jack... I love you. Don't do this. Don't let her win. You must resist."

"I'm sorry," groaned Jack as Madison pulled her hands out of Claire's head and spoke the codes to unlock all the safeties.

"I wanna be her so bad. Just look how powerful she is. I'll be a fucking hot bitch with all the power I ever wanted. You have no idea how good it feels to be her. I want to be Madison. Computer... copy her over me. Erase me and make me Madison forever."

"Nooooo!" screamed Claire as with a triumphant moan - Madison was sucked towards Jack. He was pulled into her and with a sucking slurping sound they merged.

Madison's massive tits sucked to Jack's chest and his hair turned blonde. In his mind every neuron was rewired as Madison's memories and personality overrode his own.

"Yesssss! I AM Madison," laughed the evil bitch as the nano-bots completed her final transformation. "I feel so alive. I am a fucking Goddess. Your pathetic husband is ME now loser."

Then with a laugh she exited the simulation leaving Claire trapped inside forver.

********

It was a hot sunny day.

Madison loved the feeling of the sun on her skin, the stares of men as she walked down the street. It was even better as she knew it was all happening in the real world.

Entering her house she walked inside and made her way to the basement. Climbing into her simulator she smirked as she said "Load Project Fear."

Trapped in a nighmare she could never escape from Claire screamed as her bully appeared... just as she did every day...

Fear... fear never changes.

THE END

[starwarsmum]

Chapter 14 of Introducing Mousinette 🥰😘 angst warning for y'all, it doesn't get resolved for a couple chapters

Marinette woke the next morning to a firm hand gently shaking her shoulder, and stretched. Her eyes fluttered open and Damian smiled down at her. Her insides immediately turned to mush and she stammered a good morning.

“Good morning, Marinette. I would not have woken you, but we have classes soon. Did you want to use the bathroom first, or do you want coffee?”

“Bathroom, please,” she whispered, before dragging herself up and across the room. She splashed cool water on her face before running her toothbrush around her mouth, and rinsing with mouthwash. When she stepped out several minutes later, Damian was leaning on her kitchen counter, sipping his own mug of coffee. “All yours,” she said helpfully, stepping forward to accept her own cup.

“I have already used the bathroom, but thank you. I also asked Kent to bring me extra tools for our classes today, so I shall not be under prepared. I fear he will want to know why I am not coming from my own home though.”

Marinette snorted, giggling into her mug. Jon had apparently been unbearably inquisitive the entire day prior to their date, and she could only imagine how much worse it would be if Damian showed up in the t-shirt and jeans he had worn the night before.

“Hey, I know you probably don't have a change of clothes, so if you want I have a spare guys shirt. I was working on it for one of my friends, but it doesn't feel right for him. Here, take your shirt off and I'll grab it,” she sprang into action, making a beeline for her room.

Damian stood awkwardly for a moment before deciding he should comply with her request. His current shirt was rumpled from having been slept in, and it would not do to be caught by the paparazzi in a rumpled shirt leaving someone else's apartment. He made his way to stand outside her door, waiting.

“I think it should fit, I was kind of thinking about you when I designed it. Hopefully the colours…also…” she trailed off as she looked up, eyes wide as she took in his naked torso. He froze again, not daring to move as she stepped towards him, almost trance like. “That is one nasty scar,” she whispered, fingers coming up to brush over the sword scar in the centre of his chest.

He completely stilled at the contact, barely breathing, unsure of what to say. Her look of genuine concern made his heart squeeze, made him want to reassure her that he was fine, but her touching that particular scar…was anyone truly ‘fine’ after they had been killed by their own clone?

“It is old,” he murmured, raising his hand to cover hers. She looked sad, a frown line appearing between her eyebrows. “Marinette, it is fine. I will explain it to you, one day, but the story is long and I do not think I am ready to share this particular one.”

Marinette's mind was whirring as half remembered thoughts from the night before came screaming back. His profile in the dark. The way he spoke. How comfortable she felt in his presence. And some half forgotten research and conspiracy theories she had found, back before she had made Gotham her current home.

Marinette was smart, and when she was given pieces to a puzzle, she invariably solved it. She hadn't intended to, would never have dreamed of invading his privacy like this, but her brain had done all the work without her really trying. 

Swallowing hard, she tried to smile, but could feel it falter. She looked away, pressing the hanger into his hands before muttering something about needing to change and making a hasty exit. Leaning against her bedroom door, she tried to accept the fact that Robin, the vigilante she had been befriending for the past months, was the same person as Damian Wayne, the boy she had been falling in love with for the past few weeks.

Marinette, however, was very good at compartmentalising. She decided it was in her best interests to shelve all of this for now, and get them both to campus in time for their classes. She dressed in record time, grabbing her travel mug and dumping more coffee into it, she climbed onto the back of his motorcycle and gripped him firmly with one arm.

As they roared onto campus, people did a double take as Damian removed his helmet, accepting hers easily. They were joined very quickly by Jon, who was grinning widely, in spite of the glare Damian leveled at him.

“Morning Dames, Mari,” he said cheerfully. “I take it your date went well?”

“It was wonderful,” Marinette beamed, wrapping her hand in Damian’s. His glare softened when he looked at her and she grinned even more widely. “But I'd better get going. I'm meeting Jason for lunch, so text me later, ’kay?” And before he could say anything, she darted upwards, giving him a brief kiss before darting away.

Damian watched her go, a soft smile on his face. He tensed when an arm situated itself around his neck, Kent's gleeful face inches away from his own. “If you wish to keep that arm, I suggest you remove yourself from my person.”

“Awwww, is Mari the only one who gets to touch you? Even though we've been friends for so long? How rude,” Kent said, pouting. It didn't last long before he grinned again, his fist pumping into the air. “I cannot believe you had a date with Marinette and didn't even go home after. What would Dick say?”

“Kent, I do not care. I thank you for bringing pens and paper for me to use, but please do not think this entitles you to know about my relationship with Marinette. And yes, she is the only one who may touch me without an explicit invitation.”

“Wow, last night was that good, huh?” He held his hands up in surrender, moving on to more neutral topics. 

_ _ _

Marinette went to lunch, worried about what Jason might have found out the previous evening. She had been so swept up in her date with Damian that she hadn't really considered the questions Jason might have. At least, she hadn't until she was in her last lecture before lunch and realised she would be seeing him within the hour.

She spotted him sitting on their usual bench, and waved, giving him a nervous smile. He shot her a lazy grin, waiting for her to get settled before beginning with the inquisition.

“You probably want to know that our family chat has been blowing up since last night,” he said, almost casually. He smirked when she groaned, clearly enjoying her discomfort. “Hey, you don't want us to have questions, maybe don't keep baby Wayne out all night. And before you tell me anything, just know that I really don't need any details.”

“I wasn't going to tell you anything,” she sniffed, focusing on her lunch. She felt his sceptical gaze on her and rolled her eyes. “No, seriously, I don't want to talk about my evening with your brother, no matter how nosy you lot are. I will merely say that I had a wonderful time, and as long as he wants to, we're going to be going out again. How was your evening?”

“Alright, jeez, you could've just said you didn't get any,” he snarked, laughing at her sound of outrage. “But I'm glad you had fun. I would've been having words with the demon if you'd been upset. But if your date is off limits, we're gonna be talking about the little bombshell you dropped on me yesterday. Why the hell didn't you tell me you were a hero in Paris? I looked up some of the messed up shit that happened, you were in the middle of that?”

“Okay, first up, I distinctly remember telling you that Multi only showed up to a max of two fights,” she said, as calmly as she could. She was going to have to weave a very delicate web to make sure she didn't give anything else away. “Second, it's not even an issue anymore, Hawkmoth is gone, I don't use the Miraculous any more and I'm not even in Paris. Third, and I mean this with love, why would I have told you?”

“Because I thought we were friends? We've been hanging out for two whole months, and you haven't said a word about being a hero.” Marinette shot him a shrewd look. Following her revelation that morning, she had quickly made the connection between Jason and the vigilante who wore the helmet - Red Hood. After a beat, she spoke carefully.

“So, if you were in my position, with a secret identity, you would share that?” She let the silence between them grow for a minute before shaking her head. “You know what, that's not important, what's important is that our team was very strict on sharing identities. It's possible to be friends with someone without sharing every secret you hold. But since you do now know, what did you want to know about it? Bearing in mind I was only Multimouse once or twice.”

“Um, I want to know everything,” Jason said, sounding more subdued than a moment ago. “First off, what the hell is a Miraculous?”

“Magic jewellery that turns you into a superhero. I had the mouse, power of multiplication which means I turned small but there was more than one of me,” she said concisely and without much inflection. “Next.”

“Shit, okay, you said you were in a couple of fights, what happened in your first mission? I couldn't find mention of a Multimouse, just Polymouse, and she was against something called Malediktator.”

“Oh, right, yeah, my missions tended to be stealth based. Plus, I goofed it off the bat, which is why I didn't get to keep being Multi,” she said smoothly. She was used to lying about her Miraculous experience. “I was called in against an akumatised teacher who went by Kwami Buster. She caught the little beings that power the Miraculous and Ladybug asked me to use Mullo so I could get them back for her. But then I didn't fully realise that I was supposed to keep the mouse Miraculous on until we were somewhere private and Chat Noir saw my detransformation. After that, I only got called on once more to be Multi. Anything else?”

Jason looked like his brain was imploding, his jaw hanging open slightly and his eyes wide. He blinked a couple of times before answering her. “Okay, I am going to want a full rundown of that fight, it sounds insane. But that's gonna have to wait, because what the fuck is a Mullo? And what was the second time you were Multi?”

“The second time…” Marinette hesitated. She hadn't really talked about the second time she had donned the Mouse Miraculous, because it was what ultimately led to Hawkmoth's defeat. “...is complicated. I don't know if I can talk much about that one without talking to Ladybug first, and she's retired. Suffice to say, it was an experience and I will be happy if I never have to do it again.”

“You don't miss it?” Jason said curiously, and once again she hesitated. “Look, I don't know about magical jewellery or any of that, but I can't imagine it's easy to walk away from doing hero work. Having power like that, it's gotta be kind of addictive.”

“Honestly, I was fifteen when I worked with Mullo and it was a crushing weight to bear,” she said, as honestly as she could. She had been fourteen when she had become Ladybug, and she could remember the pressure to be a hero, to be a good hero. “Being a hero sounds like fun, but it's a lot of responsibility. I don't envy people who do it for years.”

Jason went quiet at that, and didn't seem to have any more questions about her time as a superhero. They ate in silence after that, and Marinette said goodbye before going to her next class, feeling slightly heavier than she had before the conversation.

_ _ _

When Marinette finally returned home, she had over a dozen texts from various people. Jason had messaged to thank her for sharing so much with him, so she sent him a cheeky message back, saying that he had to share a secret next time. All the other messages, she decided could wait until after dinner, except for the ones from Chloe.

She hesitated, looking at the time. She had made it home just before 4pm, which meant 10pm Paris time. Knowing Chloé, she would be annoyed if Marinette called and she was asleep but…Chloe had also wanted to know how the date went. She had sent her a short message last night to say that it went well, and a lot of the messages back let Marinette know that she was annoyed with the lack of detail

“God, finally, Dupain-Cheng, I've been waiting forever for you to call,” was the answer she got when Chloé picked up in the second ring. “I help you with a crisis and all I get back is ‘it went well’? I told you I wanted to chat after you ended the date!”

“I know, Chlo, I'm sorry! But he didn't leave until this morning and-”

“Oh my god, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are you telling me you had sex with him on the first date? I cannot describe how proud I am of you right now.”

“Chloé! I did not have sex with him yet! He just stayed over, to chat and sleep. Can you keep your mind out of the gutter for five minutes? Also, that shouldn't make you proud, it should make you worry about my sanity.”

“Yet, huh,” was the only reply she got, and Marinette flushed red. “I’m only going to say this once, Dupain-Cheng: I'm happy for you. I think it's great you found someone who makes you nervous, and smiley, and think about sex. It's a good thing. But you had better introduce me to him soon, so I can make sure he's good enough.”

“I will, Chlo, promise. And he's more than good enough, he's amazing. I haven't felt like this in a really long time, maybe ever,” she said softly. She thought about her other relationships; Luka, who had been sweet but ultimately not what she wanted; Adrien, who had been what she wanted but they had rushed it and it had broken; others, short-lived things that ended after only a date or two. She sighed. “I just don't want to wreck this, by going too fast.”

“You should do what you enjoy,” Chloé said, uncharacteristically contemplative. “You've always put yourself second, and it's never worked for you. Maybe this time you should do what makes you happy, and you'll get a different ending.”

The conversation carried on for a very little time after that, and Marinette thanked her for talking to her. After promising that she would be back before Christmas, they hung up. She went about making dinner, enjoying the quiet after a hectic few days. 

As afternoon drifted to evening, which turned to night all too soon. She had managed some designing, so coursework and had gotten ready for bed at a reasonable hour. She drifted to sleep easily, and slept dreamlessly until the sounds of someone on the roof awoke her.

Damian landed on Marinette's rooftop, wondering at the wisdom of visiting her as his alter-ego. He had been thinking about her all day, wondering what she had been doing, whether she was thinking about him too. As he paced the rooftop, he relaxed enough for his feet to make some noise, his usual signal that he was there.

A few minutes later and he heard the sound of her window unlatching, and her feet delicate on the fire escape. As she appeared, he felt something tight in his chest uncoil. She looked unreal, her hair loose and her small frame dwarfed by a large jumper. She seemed to hesitate before coming towards him.

“Good evening,” he said quietly, nodding his head in her direction. They stood in silence for a moment, which was not unusual, but felt strangely charged. He watched her chew her lip as she watched him, and he felt suddenly nervous. 

“I need to talk to you,” she blurted suddenly, and he tensed fully, immediately worried for her. “It- I'm not sure how to tell you…I mean, it's just- are your comms on?”

“...they are currently, although I have muted them. I need to be able to hear if my team needs assistance. Is…do you have a problem? Is something the matter?”

She was quiet again, perhaps building the courage to say whatever was bothering her, but it made him want to pull her close to ensure she was not injured. She took a deep breath and stepped towards him, until she looked up from right in front of him. His own breath stalled, and he had to work extremely hard not to brush a hand over her cheek.

“I know who you are,” she said, almost too softly for him to hear. She laid her hands gently on his arms, stepping almost imperceptibly closer. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to work it out. But I didn't want to lie to you, or keep something like this from you. And I have- things- that I need to tell you as well, that I can't do when you're in the suit. The things I need to tell you, I can only tell to you, not the others.”

Damian jolted backwards, putting space between them as he inhaled sharply. His heart was racing painfully and he thought it might stop dead in his chest. How? How had she worked it out? Or was this a bluff? But why would she be bluffing with Robin, it made no sense. She took another hesitant step forward and he gave in to the instinct to flee, shooting off with his grappling hook.

He could feel her eyes on him, all the way to his next perch, even though he was far out of range. He finished patrol several hours later and made his way immediately to Red Hood's last known location. He asked, quietly, if he could have a short talk with him and ended up following him back to his current home.

“What's up, Demon Spawn?” he said, dumping his equipment haphazardly around the apartment. When Damian didn't say anything, he paused and looked back at him, quizzically. “Dude, you good? I would've thought you'd still be flying high from date night. Marinette said it was a good night, plus my understanding is that you never even went home, you dog.”

“She says she knows my identity,” he said, with no preamble. “I do not know what to do, Todd. I do not see how she could have worked it out so quickly, I have always been careful to keep my distance as Robin,” he continued, removing his mask and rubbing his face. “I am also unsure as to whether she actually knows, or if she is bluffing. She did not use my given name tonight, but I cannot understand why she would say it if it were not true.”

“Well, shit,” Todd replied, sitting, shocked at the kitchen counter. His hands fiddled nervously with one of his firearms, which made Damian a little twitchy. “I mean, we knew she was smart, D. Maybe if you didn't want her working out who you are, you shouldn't have been spending time with her on both sides of the mask.”

“That is unhelpful, Todd. Regardless of how it has happened and who is to blame, I need a solution. How can I tell whether she truly knows my identity?” 

“I don't know, D, but you'd better figure it out. B won't be thrilled if we've got a rogue girlfriend with that sort of intel,” Todd warned him, deciding to clean his guns. “And if she does, you'll have to come clean with everyone about your nighttime visits.” There was a pause before Todd continued, although Damian could hear the worry in his voice. “You should probably take a look into the whole Paris/Hawkmoth situation though, Pixie was involved - as a hero.”

“Excuse me, she was what?” Was Damian's astonished reply. Todd nodded glumly, giving Damian a brief rundown of what Marinette had covered with him earlier in the day. She had said she needed to talk to him alone - was it about this? But if she had told Todd of all people, why would she say it had to be just him? Unless she thought he was someone else. He flexed his hands, trying to think. “Perhaps, as Damian, I should act as though I know nothing.”

“Yeah, good call. If she doesn't know it's you, talking to her about a conversation you had as Robin will be a huge giveaway.” The silence that followed was easier, and Damian left not long after to go home. He slipped into his room after changing in the batcave and checked his phone. There were no new messages, and he felt conflicted - her having not messaged made him think she did not know, but she had sounded so sure…

He did not sleep easily that night.

[my-name-is-apollo]

Hello! I'm currently trying to research the ways Apollo would be worshipped and prayed to by his followers in everyday-life for a writing project but I'm struggling to find any sources on actual practices and rituals, whether from the ancient Greeks or present-day worshippers.

do you know of any reliable sources for ancient Greek practices or anyone who does work with Apollo that I could ask directly?

Hello! The usual way to worship Greek deities seems to have been making an altar for the god, offering some sacrifices, praying to them and pouring libation. This was also accompanied with music, songs and dances - and I can give you a lot of instances for this. This was common to almost all the gods I believe, and the difference was probably that certain kinds of offerings were given to certain gods.

Since you asked specifically about Apollo, here are some instances I have found:

[Apollo]: and in as much as at the first on the hazy sea I sprang upon the swift ship in the form of a dolphin, pray to me as Apollo Delphinius; also the altar itself shall be called Delphinius and overlooking for ever. Afterwards, sup beside your dark ship and pour an offering to the blessed gods who dwell on Olympus. But when you have put away craving for sweet food, come with me singing the hymn Ie Paean (Hail, Healer!), until you come to the place where you shall keep my rich temple.

- Homeric hymn to Apollo (Trans. Evelyn-White)

Here Apollo himself instructs the Cretan sailors on how to worship him. And they do the as instructed:

Also they made an altar upon the beach of the sea, and when they had lit a fire, made an offering of white meal, and prayed standing around the altar as Apollo had bidden them. Then they took their meal by the swift, black ship, and poured an offering to the blessed gods who dwell on Olympus. And when they had put away craving for drink and food, they started out with the lord Apollo, the son of Zeus, to lead them, holding a lyre in his hands, and playing sweetly as he stepped high and featly. So the Cretans followed him to Pytho, marching in time as they chanted the Ie Paean after the manner of the Cretan paean-singers and of those in whose hearts the heavenly Muse has put sweet-voiced song.

- Homeric hymn to Apollo (Trans. Evelyn-White)

In the Iliad, the Greeks also do something similar when they bring back Chryseis in order to appease Apollo:

They brought forth the hecatomb for Apollo, who strikes from afar, and forth stepped also the daughter of Chryses from the sea-faring ship. Her then did Odysseus of many wiles lead to the altar, and place in the arms of her dear father, saying to him: "Chryses, Agamemnon, king of men, sent me forth to bring to you your daughter, and to offer to Phoebus a holy hecatomb on the Danaans' behalf, that therewith we may propitiate the lord, who has now brought upon the Argives woeful lamentation." So saying he placed her in his arms, and he joyfully took his dear child; but they made haste to set in array for the god the holy hecatomb around the well-built altar, and then they washed their hands and took up the barley grains. Then Chryses lifted up his hands, and prayed aloud for them: "Hear me, god of the silver bow, who stands over Chryse and holy Cilla, and rules mightily over Tenedos. As before you heard me when I prayed—to me you did honour, and mightily smote the host of the Achaeans—even so now fulfill me this my desire: ward off now from the Danaans the loathly pestilence." So he spoke in prayer, and Phoebus Apollo heard him. Then, when they had prayed, and had sprinkled the barley grains, they first drew back the victims' heads, and cut their throats, and flayed them, and cut out the thighs and covered them with a double layer of fat, and laid raw flesh thereon. And the old man burned them on stakes of wood, and made libation over them of gleaming wine; and beside him the young men held in their hands the five-pronged forks. But when the thigh-pieces were wholly burned, and they had tasted the entrails, they cut up the rest and spitted it, and roasted it carefully, and drew all off the spits. Then, when they had ceased from their labour and had made ready the meal, they feasted, nor did their hearts lack anything of the equal feast. But when they had put from them the desire for food and drink, the youths filled the bowls brim full of drink and served out to all, first pouring drops for libation into the cups. So the whole day long they sought to appease the god with song, singing the beautiful paean, the sons of the Achaeans, hymning the god who works from afar; and his heart was glad, as he heard.

You can find more examples in Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodes:

1.402: Next, piling up shingle near the sea, they raised there an altar on the shore to Apollo, under the name of Actius and Embasius, and quickly spread above it logs of dried olive-wood. Meantime the herdsmen of Aeson's son had driven before them from the herd two steers. These the younger comrades dragged near the altars, and the others brought lustral water and barley meal, and Jason prayed, calling on Apollo the god of his fathers:

1.452: [after saying his prayer] He spake, and with his prayer cast the barley meal. And they two girded themselves to slay the steers, proud Ancaeus and Heracles. The latter with his club smote one steer mid-head on the brow, and falling in a heap on the spot, it sank to the ground; and Ancaeus struck the broad neck of the other with his axe of bronze, and shore through the mighty sinews; and it fell prone on both its horns. Their comrades quickly severed the victims' throats, and flayed the hides: they sundered the joints and carved the flesh, then cut out the sacred thigh bones, and covering them all together closely with fat burnt them upon cloven wood. And Aeson's son poured out pure libations, and Idmon rejoiced beholding the flame as it gleamed on every side from the sacrifice, and the smoke of it mounting up with good omen in dark spiral columns.

1.961: Here they built an altar to Ecbasian Apollo and set it up on the beach, and gave heed to sacrifices. And the king of his own bounty gave them sweet wine and sheep in their need; for he had heard a report that whenever a godlike band of heroes should come, straightway he should meet it with gentle words and should have no thought of war.

2.694: and at length Orpheus spake as follows, addressing the chiefs: "Come, let us call this island the sacred isle of Apollo of the Dawn since he has appeared to all, passing by at dawn; and we will offer such sacrifices as we can, building an altar on the shore; and if hereafter he shall grant us a safe return to the Haemonian land, then will we lay on his altar the thighs of horned goats. And now I bid you propitiate him with the steam of sacrifice and libations. Be gracious, O king, be gracious in thy appearing." Thus he spake, and they straightway built up an altar with shingle; and over the island they wandered, seeking if haply they could get a glimpse of a fawn or a wild goat, that often seek their pasture in the deep wood. And for them Leto's son provided a quarry; and with pious rites they wrapped in fat the thigh bones of them all and burnt them on the sacred altar, celebrating Apollo, Lord of Dawn. And round the burning sacrifice they set up a broad dancing-ring, singing, "All hail fair god of healing, Phoebus, all hail", and with them Oiagrus' goodly son began a clear lay on his Bistonian lyre; how once beneath the rocky ridge of Parnassus he slew with his bow the monster Delphyne, he, still young and beardless, still rejoicing in his long tresses.

2.911: Quickly they drew in sail and threw out hawsers, and on the strand paid honour to the tomb of Sthenelus, and poured out drink offerings to him and sacrificed sheep as victims. And besides the drink offerings they built an altar to Apollo, saviour of ships, and burnt thigh bones; and Orpheus dedicated his lyre; whence the place has the name of Lyra.

4.1694: and they made for Apollo a glorious abode in a shady wood, and a shady altar, calling on Phoebus the "Gleamer" (Aigletes), because of the gleam far-seen; and that bare island they called Anaphe, for that Phoebus had revealed it to men sore bewildered. And they sacrificed all that men could provide for sacrifice on a desolate strand; wherefore when Medea's Phaeacian handmaids saw them pouring water for libations on the burning brands, they could no longer restrain laughter within their bosoms, for that ever they had seen oxen in plenty slain in the halls of Alcinous.

- Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica (trans. Robert Cooper Seaton)

Notice how often the Argonauts had nothing fancy to offer, but they managed with whatever they could get, and I suppose this held good for day to day worship.

And then you have the Hyperboreans, who are said to be constantly singing as a form of everyday worship:

Moreover, the following legend is told concerning it: Leto was born on this island, and for that reason Apollon is honoured among them above all other gods; and the inhabitants are looked upon as priests of Apollon, after a manner, since daily they praise this god continuously in song and honour him exceedingly. And there is also on the island both a magnificent sacred precinct of Apollon and a notable temple which is adorned with many votive offerings and is spherical in shape. Furthermore, a city is there which is sacred to this god, and the majority of its inhabitants are players on the cithara; and these continually play on this instrument in the temple and sing hymns of praise to the god, glorifying his deeds.

- Diodorus Siculus, Library of History (trans. Oldfather)

They were also said to have regularly asses for Apollo:

Yet was it with these that Perseus the warrior chief once feasted, entering their homes, and chanced upon their sacrifices unto the god, those famous offerings of hecatombs of asses; for in their banquets and rich praise Apollon greatly delights, and laughs to see the rampant lewdness of those brutish beasts.

- Pindar, Pythian Ode 10 (trans. Conway)

There is also this interesting story:

Apollon and Artemis had a very great affection for him [the Babylonian man Klinis (Clinis)] and he frequently attended with these gods the temple of Apollon in the land of the Hyperboreoi where he saw the consecration of the sacrifices of asses to the god. Returning to Babylon, he too wanted to worship the god as among the Hyperboreans and arranged by the altar a hecatomb of asses. Apollon appeared and threatened him with death if he did not cease from this sacrifice and did not offer up to him the usual goats, sheep and cattle. For this sacrifice of asses was a source of pleasure for the god only if carried out by the Hyperboreans.

- Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 20 (trans. Celoria)

So goats, sheep and cows were the usual sacrifices made to him. Wine and water could be used as libation. There was also a practice of offering cake to Apollo:

Enthrypton : Made of pastry; a flat-scone, that is. Alternatively, cake crumbs. Some associate it with initiation-rites. And Apollon is called Enthryptos amongst the Athenians.

- Suidas s.v. Apollon (trans. Suda On Line)

And Pythagoras was said to have forbade all animal sacrifices when praying to Apollo Genetor (giver of life), so non-animal sacrifices were also there (Jason also offered barley meal in Apollonius' Argonautica).

Anyway, this is what I could find. I hope that answered your question, at least as far as the textual evidences go. As for modern day worshippers, I've known @teawiththegods for a long time. She also has a podcast/YouTube channel to help beginners, so you can def check that out!

[mythicalmagical-monkeyman]

First multi chap fic for dreamzzz 👍👍 again full thing under the cut :3

1: you are here. 2 3 4 5 6 7

Summary:

The kids Halloween day starts out pretty normal but as things are uncovered an old foe of the Night Bureau come back to ruin a perfectly good Halloween and put our Dream Chasers in a tricky corner Because how are they going to defeat a super powered villain in the Waking World ??

Additional Tags:

epic the musical references. Halloween, Halloween Costumes. Aged-Up Character(s), Mateo and co are in high school. Swearing. Sort of minor Cooper/Mateo, they’re there but it’s no where near the focus. Logan has DID. lots of dialogue first chapter. headcanons. Alternate Universe. Minor Violence. Bit of bullying in first chapter. Other Additional Tags to Be Added. No Beta we die like the Jawbreakers

Mateo was rummaging through his locker, carefully placing what he would need for the school day inside next to Z-Blob when he heard a clang from the locker next to him. 

Curious Mateo peaked his head around his locker door and found Logan leaning against the other locker dressed in a Sonic the Hedgehog onesie, hood up instead of wearing his cap, and sneakers on his feet. 

“Seriously bro? Your Dream Sona?” Logan questioned. 

Mateo glanced down at himself. He had chosen to dress in a makeshift replica of his Dream World clothes for Halloween so currently he had a green cape, belt, and cardboard hourglass on his figure. 

“You’re one to talk,” Mateo shot back playfully, “You’re blue,” 

“I’ll have you know this isn’t even my real costume,” Logan protested, pushing himself off the locker, “We built a Master Chief Halo cosplay that I was going to wear but then my moms wouldn’t let me because they said it was “too violent” so I couldn’t bring it to school, but just you wait when trick-or-treating time rolls around we’se gonna be wearing that bad boy.” 

Mateo couldn’t help the snort that escaped him as he closed his locker and locked it, “Ok but why Sonic?” 

Logan grinned, “Because we’re both cool, blue, and we gotta-“ 

Logan was cut off as Izzie sprang out from behind him and yelled, “GOTTA GO FAST!” 

“AGH!” Logan jumped in surprise and Mateo snickered.  

Izzie was dressed up as Anya from Spy x Family so she had two cone-looking things pinned in her hair which she had styled to look like Anya’s, and she wore a black dress with gold details. 

With a chuckle, Izzie said, “Oooo, nice Sonic costume Logan, it suits you.” 

Logan swallowed and seemed to calm himself before accepting Izzie’s compliment, “Thanks, but it’s not as cool as our Halo cosplay we have at home.” 

Izzie gasped as she made a shocked Pikachu face, “Halo cosplay!?” 

Logan nodded and then went on to explain to Izzie how he wasn’t allowed to bring it to school as he pulled out his phone to show her pictures of his cosplay. 

Mateo returned his attention to his backpack and Z-Blob. He gave Z a small “See you soon buddy,” and a wave goodbye as Z gave a squish -sounding noise before Mateo zipped his bag halfway up. Cautiously, Mateo then slipped his backpack on to not wreck his costume or jostle Z-Blob. 

As Mateo took a step back with the new weight settled on his back he felt someone come up behind him. 

“I didn’t expect to come to school today and see Logan in his pajamas,” The person muttered as if he only wanted Mateo to hear and Mateo felt his mood brighten as it clicked that Cooper was the one standing behind him. 

Mateo chuckled as he tilted his head back to try and see Cooper, “They’re his pajamas?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been over to their house enough times to know,” Cooper said, chuckling slightly as he slid up beside Mateo and sheepishly held his hand out for the other to take. 

Mateo hesitated, unsure if he’d get into any trouble with the teachers for holding Cooper’s hand but at the last second he grabbed it as Cooper started to pull his hand away. 

Cooper flexed his hand and then squeezed Mateo’s hand. Mateo gave a shy squeeze back only to catch the appalled look Izzie was giving him. 

“COOPER!” Izzie yelled, just as Mateo was about to ask his sister what was up with the look. 

“Hm?” Cooper hummed. 

Izzie gestured at him wildly while Logan’s eyes widened for a second only for him to shake his head in disappointment. 

“You’re not wearing a costume!” Izzie pointed out. 

“Ah, yeah I couldn’t think of anything,” Cooper admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck. Mateo turned slightly and looked Cooper over. He did indeed not have a costume on, just sweatpants and a red hoodie. 

Logan cocked his head to the side in confusion, “Come on bro, you didn’t want to be like one of those racers you like, or like Tails!? We could’ve matched!” 

“Um, nope,” 

“Bro!” Logan exploded, “Come on, even Zoey wore a costume!” He pointed out, gesturing towards Zoey as she walked past the group. 

Zoey stopped and turned to join the group. She wore black leggings, a black shirt with one or two rips in it with the image of a bird being shot with an arrow on the front, which was underneath a black leather jacket that had a few pins and patches on it. She also wore combat boots, fingerless gloves, a yellow belt, and a domino mask tied around her head. 

“I’m not wearing a costume,” Zoey said. 

Logan turned and squinted, looking Zoey over, “Ain’t you like Batgirl or someone though?” 

Zoey blankly turned her gaze towards him, “I’m Black Canary,” 

Logan jumped excitedly and pointed a finger at Zoey, “Aha! See,” he exclaimed before moving his finger to point at Cooper. Cooper frowned. 

Mateo gave Cooper’s hand another squeeze, “I didn’t think you’d wear a costume this year Zoey,” 

Zoey crossed her arms casually, “If I’d had known Cooper was going to wuss out and not wear one I wouldn’t have,” 

“Hey!” Cooper protested trying to defend himself, “I didn’t wuss out,” 

Logan smirked victoriously and crossed his arms too as if he was mimicking Zoey, “Then where’s your costume bro?”  

Cooper opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to think of something, “I-uh,” 

Izzie gasped suddenly causing all of the older teens to turn towards her. Izzie’s eyes were wide and full of mischief like she had just thought of the funniest prank ever, “I GOT IT,” 

Mateo squinted, “Got what Izzie?” 

Izzie took a step forward and held a hand out towards Logan, “Sunglasses me,” 

Without even questioning it, Logan pulled a pair of sunglasses out of the front pocket of his onesie and handed them over to Izzie wordlessly. Humming a “Thanks,” at Logan, Izzie skipped over to Cooper and stood on her tippy-toes to put them on Cooper, failing of course when the arms of the sunglasses ended up poking Cooper in the face instead of properly sliding on. Cooper grunted and took the sunglasses from Izzie to put them on without so he wouldn’t get poked again. 

Proudly, Izzie took a step back and spread her hands wide in Cooper’s direction like she was showing him off to Logan and Zoey, “Tada! Cooper now has a costume! He’s a celebrity hiding from paparazzi!” 

A grin split Logan’s face as he clapped his hands together in quick succession, “Oooo, smart,” 

Cooper hung his head as if he was embarrassed, “Is this really necessary?” 

“Yes,” Izzie insisted instantly. 

“Ok,”  

Mateo watched his friends and sister for a second, amused, as Izzie and Logan began to spitball ideas for which celebrity specifically Cooper was before leaning back to look around Cooper where he locked eyes with Zoey. Zoey shrugged as if she was just as confused about the list of celebrities Logan was running off which caused Mateo to giggle. 

“So, I take it you’re not going trick-or-treating,” Mateo assumed. 

Zoey shook her head, “Nope, I’m helping Mrs. C prep her food truck for winter,” 

Logan briefly stopped his list to comment, “Ew, working on a holiday,” 

“Eh, I offered to help, not a big deal.” 

For a second a frown came to Mateo’s face, “Guess you won't be over for movie night then,” 

Zoey shrugged and dropped her arms to her side to rest them on her hips, “Yep,” 

“Us neither,” Logan mentioned, shrugging his shoulder in Izzie’s direction. His attention was most definitely split between the two conversations happening. 

Mateo blinked and turned his head back towards the others, “What?” 

Izzie half rolled her eyes before punching Logan harshly in the side which caused him to yelp.

“Logan’s taking me and Nova trick-or-treating,” she admitted. 

Mateo couldn’t help himself from gapping, “Wha-why Logan!?” 

“What’d I do?” Logan asked, glancing back and forth between the two Garcia siblings. 

“Well, Dad said I had to have one of you older kids go with us,” 

“But Logan? You could’ve asked me,” Mateo protested, letting go of Cooper’s hand to gesture at Logan and then his own self. 

Why would Logan be taking them? Between Izzie and Nova, they had plenty of other people to choose from to go with them.

Izzie walked over and wrapped an arm around his shoulders before explaining in a low voice, “I just didn’t want to take you out of your comfort zone Broseph, I know you hate going outside for Halloween. What with all the creepies and people and stuff,” 

“Oh,” Mateo mumbled, that … made sense he supposed. It was nice of Izzie of course, he just still couldn’t believe she’d asked Logan to go with them. As much as he had changed over the years he was still Logan. 

As Izzie let go, Mateo re-entered Cooper’s personal space bubble and watched as the blond tugged at his fingers trying to crack them. “Guess that means it’ll just be you and me,” Cooper mentioned, “watching horror movies, alone … together,” 

A sound that Mateo could only describe as ‘squiem’came from Mateo’s backpack and Cooper jumped a little only to recover and peek into Mateo’s backpack to see the source of the sound. 

“Oh and Z-Blob,” he added. 

Mateo let the snickers coming from Izzie and Logan slide and only shook his head. 

“Well, well, well,” The silly and happy mood of the group quickly dropped as the third bane of all of their existence walked up to the group, grinning coldly. Jared Moretti, Logan and Dallas’s ex-best friend, but unlike the both of them, Jared had yet to realize bullying people wasn’t cool or funny like he seemed to think it was. 

He wore his usual attire, a black beanie over his greasy brown hair, a blue New York Yankees baseball jersey, and jeans, no costume in sight. Knowing him that tracked. 

“If it isn’t the freak squad,” Jared went on, “of course the lot of you were lame enough to wear costumes to school, so childish.” 

Smirking, Logan asked, “Freak squad? What are you nine bro?” 

Jared stopped short and let out some undignified sputters, “You- YOU’RE WEARING COSTUMES TO SCHOOL!” 

“Because it’s Halloween Hared,” Izzie responded calmly, her accent coming out a little and causing her to pronounce ‘Jared’ with a ‘h’ sound instead of ‘j’ , “it’s the normal thing to do,” 

“I-uh-WELL IT'S LAME,” Jared protested, going red in the face as Izzie reached over to fist bump Logan, “all of you and your costumes are lame, especially yours,” 

Mateo’s heart dropped as Jared turned his sneer toward him, “What are you even supposed to be? A snot-themed superhero?” 

Mateo couldn’t help but wince and took a step back to hide himself a bit more behind Cooper as Cooper sighed like he was entirely done with Jared’s bull crap. 

“And this is why I didn’t want to wear a costume,” Cooper muttered. Mateo cast a sad look up at him and grabbed his hand again and in response Cooper smiled down at him as he reached over to pat Mateo on the head. 

“Yeah! Captain Boogers, made from the mucus slime of the sewers!” Jared teased meanly. 

Izzie let out a growl-like sound as she glared at Jared. Logan also looked equally as annoyed as Cooper but he quickly started to look enraged as Jared walked past Zoey and shoved her causing her to stumble backward a bit. 

Jared laughed, so full of himself and his sad excuse of a bullying attempt that he completely missed as Cooper casually stuck out his foot which Jared tripped over and then fell to the ground with an, “AH!” 

Jared landed harshly on his front and groaned.  

Mateo tugged harshly on Cooper’s hand, dragging the blond down slightly so he was at Mateo's height, yet this did nothing to disperse the victorious smile on Cooper’s face. 

“Cooper!” Mateo hissed. 

“Whhhaaaaat?” Cooper drawled out, faking innocence that was the final tipping point that led to Logan barking out a laugh. 

“I know he sucks but you didn’t need to trip him,” 

“It’s just a little payback,” Cooper insisted, clenching his free hand into a fist as his smile wavered. 

“Cooper!” 

“Fine!” Cooper finally caved, he stood back up to his full height and tilted his head towards Jared who was just beginning to recover from his fall, “Hey, sorry Jared, there. Better?” He asked, turning back to Mateo. 

As forced as Cooper’s apology had been Mateo accepted it begrudgingly, “Por los libros de medicina de mi padre,” He grumbled as he facepalmed into his free hand and Izzie let out an amused snort. 

“Mr. Oaks!” Jared yelled, pushing himself up onto his forearms as Mr. Oaks, the main math teacher for the juniors, walked past in a giant inflatable dinosaur costume, “Cooper tripped me!” 

Mr. Oaks stopped and readjusted his glasses as he took in the group. He then sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose as he seemed to mutter, “God help me,” under his breath. 

Zoey moved out of the way and headed over to stand beside Logan as Mr. Oaks took a step towards Jared where he held down a hand to help him up only for it to be swatted away. With a frown Mr. Oaks rubbed at his hand before switching his attention to reprimand Cooper, whose hand was beginning to grow sweaty, “Cooper, you know tripping your classmates isn’t good student behavior,” 

“What!? I didn’t trip him, he just… ran into my foot,” Cooper insisted. 

“Cooper,” Mr. Oaks warned, taking a clipboard and pen out of somewhere to begin to write on it, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to write you up a note to take to the principal,” 

“I-“ Cooper’s face fell as he hung his head in shame, “yes Mr. Oaks,” 

Mateo felt the grip on his hand loosen and the school rules on PDA quickly came rushing back to him. Mateo was seconds away from letting go when Logan suddenly lurched forward and grabbed Cooper by the wrist. 

“Dude! Run!” With a violent yank, Logan pulled Cooper away from Mateo before hauling him down the hall. Once the pair reached the hallway t-intersection Logan put the brakes on so he could shove Cooper to the side and around the corner where they disappeared from view. 

By the time Mr. Oaks managed to react, the two were already long gone, “Ay? Hey! Cooper! Logan! No running in the halls!” and without so much as another word to Jared, Mr. Oaks hurried down the hall after Logan and Cooper, his blow up dinosaur costume bouncing goofily.  

“Ugh,” Jared grumbled as he managed to stagger to his feet. He shot both Izzie and Zoey a dirty look before flipping Mateo the birdy and storming off past Dallas, who had just walked into the area, like his entire day had just been ruined. 

Mateo cringed as Izzie wondered aloud, “Why’s Jared always gotta be so moody?” 

“Maybe he’s a closeted theater kid,” Zoey responded in a dry tone so Mateo wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. 

“PFFFF,” Izzie seemed to have taken it as a joke. 

Dallas, who was dressed in an extremely white fluffy shirt, wolf gloves, and a headband with wolf ears attached to them, blew out a puff of air as he walked over to stand beside Zoey, “I can’t believe I invited that jerk over to my party,” 

Mateo squinted in confusion, “You didn’t have too?” 

Dallas deflated slightly and went on to scuff at the ground with his shoe, “His parents and mine are besties, as soon as my mom heard about my party she put him on the top of the list so my hands are kind of tied,” 

“Gross,” Izzie commented. 

“Yeah, yeah, I wouldn’t mind it as much if he wasn’t still such a bully,” Dallas grit out, “he hasn’t matured at allsince like grade four,” 

“ You’ve matured a lot Dallas,” Mateo mentioned. 

Dallas paused for a second, “Thank Mateo,” he said carefully, “I suppose you guys aren’t coming over to my party though,” 

“Yep! We got plans!” Izzie nodded aggressively as she informed Dallas. 

Mateo hugged his backpack strap, “I’m watching horror movies with Cooper,” 

Dallas snorted, “Oooh, scandalous,” 

“Dallas!” Mateo hoped he wasn’t blushing. 

Dallas chuckled as Izzie butt in to tell him her plans, “I’m trick-or-treating with Nova and Logan,” 

“Sweet! Literally. Makes sense, Logan still hasn’t quite lost that kid spirit yet,” 

“Mhm!” With Izzie’s hum of agreement, Dallas raised an eyebrow at Zoey, offering her a moment to add in what she was doing. 

“I’m helping Mrs. C prep her truck for winter,” Zoey answered, repeating to a degree what she had said earlier. 

“Ooooh, that reminds me, I have to stop by and pick up that salsa,” Dallas’s eyes lit up with sudden knowledge and Mateo was left to wonder why Dallas was going to pick up salsa from Mrs. Castillo’s food truck when he could’ve just gotten some at a grocery store. 

Zoey nodded, “It goes bad tomorrow,” 

“If any of you guys do stop by though I’ll save you some pop,” Dallas told them, shooting finger guns at Zoey who just scoffed and grabbed him in a headlock to ruffle his hair violently. 

Ok, Mateo must have missed a lore dump somewhere. 

Dallas laughed as he freed himself from Zoey’s grip and stumbled over a few feet out of her reach. 

“Hey, wait,” Izzie spoke up, tapping her finger on her chin, “Dallas what are you supposed to be exactly?” 

“I’m a sheep in wolf's clothing,” Dallas responded, grinning smugly as he made a finger gun with one of his hands and put it up to his chin. 

“Ooooh, that makes a lot of sense actually,” Izzie muttered as Zoey pulled a paper clip out of her pocket and flung it at Dallas. 

Dallas yelped and dodged the paper clip, coming to stand over by Mateo. 

“Isn’t that really warm on you?” Mateo asked, eyeing him a little. 

A sweat droplet trickled down Dallas’s face as his smile faltered, “Very,” 

— 

Cooper hurried down the hall, checking over his shoulder for Mr. Oaks, who he had been avoiding for most of the day since Logan and he had gone on the run only to turn around a corner in the hall and almost run right into Izzie. 

“AH! Izzie!” Cooper jumped back as his heart rate spiked. 

Izzie reacted with a lot more grace, “OOOOHHH COOPER!” She yelled, holding up something, “I have made something for you! I know a much better thing that you can be for Halloween now!” 

Copper blinked and inched forward a little to look at what she was holding, “Is that … a headband with cardboard wings glued to the sides?” 

“Yes,” she responded with the certainty that only Izzie could possess, “now hold still while I put them on.” 

With that, Izzie yanked Cooper down to her height by the collar of his hoodie and pulled his hood over his face before fitting the headband onto his head. What with the sunglasses, that somehow Cooper had kept on all day, it felt a little clunky. 

“Ack,” Cooper grunted but eventually Izzie stopped messing around with the headband and took a step back with a pleased look on her face. Her face then brightened even more as she spotted someone coming up from behind Cooper. 

Cooper stood back up and reached a hand up to touch the flimsy headband wings. 

“Logan!” Izzie shouted excitedly as she grabbed Cooper by the arm and turned him around, “Behold Hermes Cooper!” 

Logan jogged up to the two, his backpack on, looking ready to head home as soon as possible. He stopped once he reached them, a bright grin and quizzical look on his face. 

“Hermes? Like Epic the Musical Hermes?” Logan questioned. 

“Yep! The sunglasses reminded me of those animatics so I just had to make him some wings to go with them in art class,” Izzie explained proudly. 

Logan snorted, “You look sick dude,” 

“I’m wearing a hoodie and sunglasses,” Cooper said slowly, it was the bare bones of a costume if anything. 

“Yeah like I said, sick,” 

There was a pause before Cooper put his face in his hands, “oh my god,” 

Izzie let out a wheeze, “Cooper’s hung over from the moly,” 

“Izzie,” 

“Pffff, he doesn’t got any leafs on him though,” Logan pointed out.

“That’s true…” Izzie agreed, resting her chin on her hand as she trailed off. 

“Oh wait!” Logan exclaimed, sliding his backpack off before zipping it open and beginning to rummage around in it. He pulled out a sandwich which was still sealed away in a zip-bloc bag so he pulled it open. From the sandwich, Logan slipped a piece of lettuce that was covered in mayonnaise and mustard that he slapped down into Cooper’s open, outstretched palm. 

“There! Holy moly to complete the look!” Logan proclaimed as Izzie doubled over laughing. 

Cooper stared down at the sad piece of lettuce in his hand, “… thanks,” 

Logan shrugged, throwing the sandwich back into his backpack and throwing his bag back onto his back, “No problem bro,” 

Cooper continued to look at the lettuce in dismay until he felt someone grab his elbow and he glanced over to find Mateo standing beside him, who was looking at the lettuce in hand with a mix of amusement and confusion. 

“… lettuce?” Mateo wondered. 

“Mateo please,” Cooper was sure he was going to die of embarrassment before anything actually managed to kill him.

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

@nerdy-catfish

When a law threatens both her liberty and her life, Anneka marries her dearest friend Vaniah out of necessity. But as they grow closer, she discovers the demons he has always hidden from her…. A tale of faith, darkness, and healing, and how two broken people can hold one another together with God's help.

That's the summary I currently have for this project. It's not a very good summary but it works.

In the prologue, they meet; Vaniah accidentally shows up on the doorstep, rather than at the church. Anneka lets him in, finds her brother and gets them to talk.

As she closed the door quietly, she heard Vaniah say almost mockingly, “So, tell me about the Bible and why you choose to follow it. Indeed—teach me to live,” and he laughed, but there was no humour in it.

He's entirely serious, though she doesn't know it then, about the whole 'teach me to live' business: he was planning on finding out if Christianity had any merit, and if he found it did not, he was going to kill himself that afternoon.

A bit of time goes by and they get married, because of a law (or rather to avoid the law). (There's a fun little scene there, where Vaniah begs her to consider his suit rather than face the punishment, and he knows what the punishment would be like because he helped to oversee it at one time.) Anyway.

Things change when Vaniah wakes Anneka with screaming nightmares almost every night; she begins to suspect some dark or horrible secret he carries to inflict his guilt thus.

“I’m here to bear your burdens as you are to bear mine, you know.” “My burdens would be like to crush you as they crush me,” he retorted, then added more gently, “It’s time for breakfast. What shall I get you?”

Then comes a scene I never intended to write; but at the time I had to write it or bust. Anneka walks in on Vaniah trying to kill himself. It's pretty graphic and indeed Vaniah barely survives. He goes to hospital and gets all fixed up and all that, but it does leave him with permanent injuries I need to delve into more.

However: it is the start of more frank discussions between them. Anneka is understandably absolutely terrified he's going to try again at some point, especially as it was completely out of left field: sure, she knew he had demons, but didn't realise they were this bad. She hadn't imagined that he felt bad enough to end his life at all. There's a few fun scenes while he's on suicide watch after he self-discharged from the hospital, and Anneka won't let him out of her sight for a while, which leads to fun things.

Anger flashed in his eyes and in the tight set of his jaw. “You have no idea what it’s like.” “Then tell me.” Her lips parted. Vaniah raised his eyebrows slightly. “Are you sure you want to know?” “Tell me everything—only if you want to.” He smiled fleetingly. “You asked for it.” They sat long there, no motion, but only his low voice telling her of what he had done. Anneka grew whiter and whiter, and presently she felt dizzy and could scarcely see his face. Vaniah never looked at her as he spoke, until the very end: and then he too blanched, and sprang from his chair to come very close to her.

He begins being more honest about everything with her. Indeed he is beginning to heal, a little; she keeps on reminding him of the Godly things to do, even though he doesn't want to hear it. At some point, too, she walks in on him drinking himself into oblivion, though despite writing that scene I've lost it so I have to rewrite it sometime.

In fact we're just about to get to an exciting plot point, in perhaps a few thousand words, in which Vaniah meets someone from his past: in fact someone who shows up in the whump.....

Anyway in summary the rest of the book is more of the same about him growing and recovering, but there are Lots of fun scenes and little plot points that will all pull together into a glorious whole, I hope. But the story is understandably pretty dark. It is front and centre a Christian book, though.

[gotstabbedbyapen]

I’M COMING FOR YOU NOW HAHAHAHA

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

🥐 ⇢ name one internet reference that will always make you laugh

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

I shall tell you the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth o7

🔪 ⇢ What's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Maybe not the weirdest but it's up there: I once googled to confirm the myth of Hermes, Zeus, and Poseidon urinating on a bull's hide and burying it to create Orion.

Why did I want to know this? Because I wanted to write a scene (in a pantheon crossover fic) where Sun Wukong joked about Hermes' public pissing can potentially create bastard children.

... I hope we can still be friends after you knowing this.

🥐 ⇢ Name one internet reference that will always make you laugh.

Every meme that include this guy 😂😂😂

🍦 ⇢ Name three good things about a character you hate.

As of now, I don't have a character whom I hate. I guess I can name three things about Hades because he's currently the one god I have no real emotion with - I don't hate him, I just don't care about him as much.

1. Hades wears jewelry in his vase painting, and I am convinced that your emo/gothic God of the Underworld actually flexes on diamond belts and foot bands.

2. Not sure if it's a "good thing" but it's funny: Hades is apparently scared of loud noises and violent trembles from above. Imagine the Lord of the Dead being scared shitless by his brother's temper tantrum lmaooo

Poseidon from deep under them shuddered all the illimitable earth, the sheer heads of the mountains. And all the feet of Ida with her many waters were shaken and all her crests, and the city of Troy, the ships of the Achaeans. Aïdoneus (Hades), lord of the dead below, was in terror and sprang from his throne and screamed aloud, for fear that above him he who circles the land, Poseidon, might break the earth open and the houses of the dead lie open to men and immortals, ghastly and mouldering, so the very gods shudder before them; such was the crash that sounded as the gods came driving together in wrath. - Homer's The Iliad

3. One time Hades and Persephone plagued Thebes because its ruler offended them and demanded two maidens be sacrificed to appeal to them. After the Koronides sisters voluntarily sacrifice themselves, Hades and Persephone transformed them into comets in the sky. It's good to know the supposedly stone-hearted King and Queen of the Underworld still have moment of sympathy.

"When plague seized Aonia [Boeotia] and many died, there were sent officers to consult Apollon's oracle at Gortyne. The god replied that they should make an appeal to the two gods of the underworld [Haides and Persephone]. He said that they would cease from their anger if two willing maidens were sacrificed to the two. Of course not one of the maidens in the city complied with the oracle until a servant-woman reported the answer to the daughters of Orion [the two Koronides (Coronides)]. They were at work at their loom and, as soon as they heard about this, they willingly accepted death on behalf of their fellow citizens before the plague epidemic had smitten them too. They cried out three times to the gods of the underworld saying that they were willing sacrifices. They thrust their bodkins into themselves at their shoulders and gashed open their throats. And they both fell down into the earth. Persephone and Hades took pity on the maidens and made their bodies disappear, sending them instead up out of the earth as heavenly bodies. When they appeared, they were borne up into the sky. And men called them comets." - Antoninus Liberalis' Metamorphoses

🧩 ⇢ What will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

My NOTP or ships that make me uncomfortable. Most of the time, I won't judge you for liking ships that I don't and will respect your fics by quietly ignoring them.

Character slandering for no reason. I'm fine with characterizations that doesn't align with my headcanons and occasional OOC can be a fun treat if those changes are to serve the story. But if an author decimate a characters and turn them into cardboard thin villains just because, that's a hard "no" for me.

Lazy writing format. Maybe it's because I've taken a more serious approach with writing so I kinda expect the fics I'm reading to be more adequate? But still, at least put in some efforts if you decided to write something! I swear there are fics I've came across with that were literally written like this:

Character A: why u gotta do dis to me *sobs* Character B: 💢 r u saying imma bad person?! *thinking* after all that ive done for u, u still see me like this...

(I actually haven't seen this in Greek myth fanfics, it happens more in my previous fandoms on Wattpad)

[adverbian]

Writer questions meme: 16 (sharing obviously not mandatory), 26, and/or 72!

(Writer ask game questions here!)

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

Hmm I have… six things in WIPs right now? The funniest one sprang from a conversation with @voluptatiscausa and @malachitegrey about mistakenly saying “free use” instead of “fair use.” The document is currently just a copy-paste of four fair use factors:

The four factors judges consider are:

the purpose and character of your use

the nature of the copyrighted work

the amount and substantiality of the portion taken

the effect of the use upon the potential market

I just feel like there’s something there about Aziraphale and Crowley being the property of Heaven and Hell, respectively. Or maybe a Book of Life riff? I don’t know, but I feel like there’s something deeply emotional hiding there.

26. Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

Wildest ride to read: Is This Desire? (dubcon due to sex pollen; mind the tags) — one commenter pointed out that the first chapter is basically whump, but like, with jokes? And then chapter 2 is an unabashed smutfest of relief and resolution. (Well, Crowley is a little abashed at one point, when one of his plants gets saucy.)

Wildest ride to write: one more river (and that’s the river of jordan) — It was written in a weeklong involuntary sprint, an ecstatic, awestruck happy ending for the Ineffables that poured out of me while my real-world existential anxiety was busy spiraling into panic. I’ve never had a creative project take over my brain so completely, before or since. It possessed me. It was almost physically painful not to write it. I’m glad all the other fics have been much gentler with me.

72. What order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

Completely as scenes occur to me. Hopping around all over the place. Sometimes my brain gives me an opening image first; sometimes it gives me the climactic scene; sometimes it just gives me a random moment. I write bits for which I have fun ideas, and then I rearrange and connect as necessary. I trust that the bits will coalesce into something. So far, they usually have.

[fchsadfa]

I impulse bought 4 balls of àlafoss lopi at the thrift store (I do not NEED more wool but it was such a deal)

I'm considering using it to try out sprang! But I have many questions

1. Are the loose spun singles of lopi going to work up to a durable finished product? Which construction techniques will help achieve that goal? Do I need to consider the amount of abrasion the strands will undergo as they're woven, and does that translate to not making the warp super long?

2. How big of a thing can I make with 4 balls? Super big and bulky scarf/ rectangle wrap? Slouchy warm vest? Should I start with a smaller test project, maybe a pair of slippers? (I worry about durability of slippers, maybe I could felt/ full them a bit? But I would also need to know how much they shrink, how much the sprang can stretch, what dimensions to warp... maybe slippers isn't a simple project. Go big or go home! Giant rectangle!)

3. Pretty patterns HOW. The colours are light and dark pink, and a light and medium brown.

I don't know the exact names of the colours bc the wool is at home and I'm currently at the farmer's market in the rain. Not enough people coming to keep me busy, nothing to do but daydream about fibre arts and do what research I can. I might end up putting this project on the backburner until I get my hands on a Carol James book. Or Peter Collingwood?

[phdmama]

i love these fic asks! what about 5 and 8? 😌

Thank you pal!!! xox

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

Honestly there's so many, I feel like fic ideas cross my mind all the time!! I've been listening to sad stuff a bit lately, and I have a bunch of exes scenarios hit my mind (mostly Drarry honestly) - but I don't love writing exes back together (I mean, I have, but you know). Occasionally an MCD hits my head and like. No. I just can't. (I mean. Again, I have. But you know.)

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

For some definition of working haha that includes running dialogue when I'm alone in the car. I've had a SUPER stressful/busy couple of weeks at work so I've been a little tired (except for Like Lovers Do which just sort of sprang fully formed). Probably the next on the list is either the quidditch Harry publicist Draco or the sort of ground hog day multiverse the universe intervenes Buddie!

How about you?!

Slapped Together Fic Asks!

[suneatcr]

8 & 19 for Travis & Copper

What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?

Copper's origins are both very funny and very embarrassing to me. I was in a HUGE Stephen King phase (due to having watched The Shining again) and wanted to create a character inspired by one of King's characters... Henry Bowers. Which, again, is very funny because of how much Copper would hate his past version! He was actually considered one of my more complex characters back then and I quickly became obsessed with him. He was meant to be a bully, the meanest fucker you know, except that he was an abuse victim and had a ton of trauma regarding his uncle.

Then, I kinda threw out this concept because of how little I knew to write a character like this...? And also make a story I want to tell involving a character like this...? I mean, I definitely know that stories can have unlikeable characters and still be good, but this concept wasn't fit for what I wanted to do with the story.

I don't exactly remember which characters inspired the current version of Copper I have, but I knew I really loved how angsty my previous version of Copper was. I wanted a teenager who was rough around the edges, was very angsty and a little edgy, but is genuinely fun to write and think about because of how dynamic he is. Turns out the only way to develope a character is to... Give them interests? Give them likes and dislikes? Ask yourself questions about what they'd do in completely mundane situations? And maybe those things will serve a purpose within the story???? Sounds like a lie but it works.

Travis

Travis's character came immediately after Copper's.... Because I wanted him to have a boyfriend. Starting out, he wasn't nearly as complex as Copper was, because I really didn't know what his role would be other than: this is the love interest, this is the best friend, this is the boy Copper loves. He didn't have a personality other than that he really liked Copper, and that he was a bit more cheerful than Copper was, but not enough that he was completely different from Copper.

Then.... I don't really know where the religious trauma came from? I think I might've been diving a bit into the M0ral Orel and then sprang an idea from my head: THAT'S IT. RELIGOUS TRAUMA. THAT'LL BE HIS TRAUMA. Then.... I must have blacked out because I genuinely don't know where the rest of his character came from. But there he was, still Copper's best friend and future boyfriend, way more complex than he originally was.

I feel like a lot of his character is straight up just a call from the heavens because I can't remember how the hell I came up with half the stuff I have for him. Except that I base a lot of his character off of old stories. He's a lot more mysterious than his previous versions were, because he doesn't start off as Copper's best friend. You get to watch them build a friendship and then an eventual relationship. He's dramatic, a total nerd for the classics, tragic but hides it through his masks, and he's also just a kid whose been objectified and deprived of affection for his entire life under the church.

What is your general favourite thing about the character? What is your least favourite?

Copper: an annoying, angsty, traumatized teenager, who is so full of love and grief, that's what I love about him. He's also really cute and I get cuteness aggression thinking about him sometimes. My least favorite thing about him is how I have to do so much research for his special interest and I just can't focus

Travis: oh my goddd how he's always masking himself because he's afraid of being seen. I also love how he's a massive theatre kid and how autistic he is for classic plays and novels. My least favorite thing is how I have not found a good way to introduce him yet 💔

[kittystargen3]

Story Summary: A time traveling Grandmaster, to the Prequel Era, trying to fix the mistakes the Jedi made, and get rid of a certain Sith too. Only Time Travel is not that easy, as Yoda will soon learn.

Hello Everyone! Today I've finally updated my Time Travel: To the Past Yoda Goes story. Read below to see a preview, or click one of the links above to read more.

Chapter 71- Inside The Temple

Jango stood tall and proud in front of the group of younglings that had come up on the lift to join him.  One of the Jetti’ade was staring at him with her arms folded impatiently while he did his final count.  She had been disappointed to learn upon coming up the lift that she’d still need to wait for the others to join them before they sprang off into battle again.  

“Okay, we are going to meet Siri’s group.  Freya, can you lead me to Master Cohun’s old room?”

To his surprise, this did not get the fiery teenager to charge into leadership, as he expected.  Instead, she blushed, and looked down at the floor.  

A half second after this, Jango remembered what Siri had said about the room’s current uses.  It was a location for Ten’raysh dajunili (Teenagers) to meet and murcyur (kiss) without adult supervision.  And he realized what, in her mind, he’d just asked her.   “We are going to meet Siri and the others there.  It’s an out of the way room, and likely not used by the darjetii, I am told.” 

“Oh yeah.  It’s this way.”  She pointed and started walking without giving him eye contact.  

Jango shrugged when one of his own Ade eyed him curiously.  He didn’t want to get into a discussion about this here, so he turned and pointed to the others to follow the Jetti’ade down the hallway.  He scolded himself for forgetting how aalyc ad’ike (emotional kids) of that age can be.  Ratiin nadala bal iviin’yc buurenur.  (always hot and quick to storm)

[oddwriter]

Got tagged by the sweet @an-anonymous-friend

Rules: Go to your published works on AO3 and list the first fic you ever published there, the last fic you published, any fic that you wrote for a fandom/ship only once, your favorite fic you wrote in the fandom/ship that has the most works, the fic you wish more people read, the fic you agonized over the most, the fic that sprang fully formed from your mind without any effort, and a work you are proud of—for whatever reason.

A/N: So I only just got onto AO3 - a disgrace I know - BUT I do have a wattpad with a few (un)finished fics, so I will just refer to them :)

First fic published on Ao3 Wattpad: The first I ever wrote and finished was my modern Merlin fanfic by the clever name The Once and Future King and the first chapter was published back in 2013 so it has some years.

Last fic published: This would be an AO3 fic, where we stay in the classics of Teen Wolf called Trust being a Stiles amnesia au. I'm currently finishing the second/last chapter and it's just agony, just the way I like it.

Fandom/ship I only wrote once: I began a Jelsa fanfic - called A touch of Fear - that I really enjoyed writing until I got hit with le depression and I lost immediately interest. Hijack to the reigns afterwards, but I had fun writing it and sometimes wonder where the story would go.

Favorite fic in most popular fandom/ship: I've only published three teen wolf fanfics (Thy name is Jealousy, Man / Monster, and Trust) on AO3 that was super fun, but I also have a project with a friend that is very teen wolf centric and it's a super fun fandom to write in.

Fic I wish more people read: Idk, I feel that's a hard question. It's nice when readers goes on a journey while I'm writing it, but I think I just want to know that it keeps getting read and give people an experience.

Fic I agonized over: My phantom of the opera fanfic, bc it was inspired both by the play and the book, and I got a lot of unnecessary criticism that was just not helpful, so I lost the love for it and ultimately just stopped writing on it.

Fic that popped out fully-formed: I had a Klance one shot back in 2017 that I enjoyed bc it was just so easy to do. It was called Minor Injuries and was posted on my sideblog.

Fic I'm proud of: I'm really proud of is The Once and future King bc I still get so many fun comments on it, that people enjoyed it and that I actually managed to finish it within two years I think. I'm still writing on an idea that I got from when I was writing on Merlin, and that is a heavier baby and even though non has read that I'm also super proud of that, but probably mostly proud of the tendency to continue on it and keep building on the story.

I'm tagging @thelovelyreader, @nimji-s, @exlibrisfangirl if you think this would be fun to do <3

[fromunderthekudzu]

An Introduction

I have a lot of stories I keep in my head, and while I have plans to flesh them out, I rarely do so. That's changed with From Under the Kudzu. I am going to make a game about my four pet mice going on an adventure.

Background:

I love mice, and in 2021 I set out on a road trip to get four new mice from a breeder. Those four were named Imogene, Zelda, Ester, and Dorothy but Dotty for short. On the car ride home, staring out the window at the kudzu covered trees, my brain sprang with the idea of a story about these mice. I called it "From Under the Kudzu."

I didn't do much with the story. It was pretty simple. Four mice based off of my four go out to defeat the magical kudzu that is threatening their home. And so it stayed in the back out my mind.

I had adopted my previous mice, Bernadette and Ms. Muriel, from a shelter, and as adults they were very hard to tame and bond with. These four though, I got as young mice and were an absolute dream to tame in comparison. I could easily pick them up and have them hang out on my shoulder. I adored these mice, but mice do not live very long. One by one they passed away.

Ester was the first to pass. She got lymphomas shorty after our one year anniversary together. In my grief, I adjusted the story of From Under the Kudzu. Now story!Ester was cursed by the kudzu and the mice journey to end it.

However, one by one the rest passed. Imogene was the last, although not alone. I adopted two new mice, Agatha and Beatrix, to keep her company in her final weeks. Processing my grief, I revisited From Under the Kudzu once again. Even if my gals are gone in this world, I can immortalize them in story form.

I wanted to write a book, but I sat in the outlining phrase for so long, actually writing the thing seemed daunting. It was then I had the idea, what if From Under the Kudzu was a RPG. And thus this project was born.

The Plan:

I am currently working on a plan for From Under the Kudzu. Everything from story to mechanics is being written down. I plan to make the game in RPG Maker MZ as it is approachable and with plugins, I can achieve what I want for the game. For now I continue to plan and mess around with MZ.

Before I start work actually building my game in the engine, I'm going to build a test game. Essentially, I'll make the custom classes and skills I want to implement and see how they play. Once I'm happy with the basics, then I will work on the actual game. I'll detail my current work in a later post.

This project is a lot of work and I don't know how long it will take, but I'm in it for the long haul. Will you come along with me?

[shycorvid]

I Write Things On AO3

Hello, I am Crow and I like writing, among other things. I try to upload something at least 2-4 times a month. If anyone’s interested, you can find me here: ShyCrow

Click on the Read More below for a list of things I'm currently working on!

Current WIPs: I Am A Retired Hero And My Love Interest Is A Former Crime Lord?!- Jason/Danny. Danny is attending college in Gotham and is attempting to put the whole ghost-fighting thing on the back-end. However, ghost artifacts are going missing and his former enemies are coming to him for help finding them! Why are these ghost artifacts being targeted? As he gets deeper into the mystery, the local vigilantes start getting involved too. Also, Danny keeps getting fed by the Red Hood after a rather eventful first meeting. Night Circus- Dick/Danny. A string of bank burglaries leaves Gotham stumped. Money and valuables are going missing overnight. Cameras show nothing: One moment, a vault will be filled with money, and in the next, vanished as if it’s never been there. It’s as if they’re being robbed by ghosts, with nary a clue in sight, except for a few strands of white hair left behind at the latest crime scene.

Meanwhile, a dark and spooky carnival that called itself Circus Gothica sprang up practically overnight, advertising thrills and scares for all. To Dick Grayson, a vigilante determined to make it on his own, this can’t be a coincidence. The bank robberies and this carnival both appeared around the same time, so they must be connected.

Classical Conditioning- Damian/Danny. Damian Wayne has always made it known that attending school was beneath him. The subject matter was boring, the teachers barely knew what they were doing, and he doesn't need socializing, no matter how much his family may disagree. And then a new student catches his attention in a rather… unique way.

One-Shots: Changing the Decor- Gen, Focus on Bruce and Jason's relationship. The 'conversation after the reconciliation'. Jason Todd discovered something amiss in the batcave one afternoon, and doesn't necessarily go upstairs looking for answers, but gets an explanation in the end anyway.

Like A Wrecking Ball- Jack/Maddie/Vlad. After the portal accident, Vlad Masters wanted nothing more than to be left alone- No, wait. He wanted his friends. But he wasn't about to tell them that. Luckily, he didn't have to this time around.

An AU where Vlad wasn't allowed to self-isolate after being hospitalized. Short and sweet. Originally the prequel to a whole AU where Danny gets a genuine mentor out of Vlad and how that effects the things that happen during Danny Phantom, but that project is very very long and I hardly put a dent in it.