#also as always i highly recommend just going through the works page of like...everyone on this list
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PAC READING: YOUR DIVINE FEMININE'S AURA
Discussing your feminine's general aura and characteristics. Friendly for both men and girls/theys who like girls. You can also pick it to see how your aura is as a feminine ❤️
Book your reading by sending me a private message xoxo S.
Pile 1
7 of pentacles, 8 of pentacles, 10 of swords
Your DF has the aura of a sweet herbal witch. She lives in her little cabin in the woods and like a fairy she works on perfecting her craft. Greens and purples look great on her.
This is a slow and steady energy. This is someone who loves taking their time. She loves learning and implementing her skills. Making coffee becomes a daily ritual and same goes as washing the dishes.
Her attention to detail is immaculate and that can drive you crazy sometimes but you know that with all that good comes some bad. Very well presented, you can take her anywhere and all eyes will be on her. Very earthy, stable and focused on building a foundation for all things practical before she jumps onto commitment.
Her steady "working on myself" attitude stems from getting backstabbed one too many times. She knows that she has to build herself up and after that all her dreams will manifest. She is into self development and may love going through that tag on Tumblr. She may even be a blogger herself.
She is investing in herself and doesn't shy away from learning about accounting or law. Nothing will stand on her way to that cute fairy cottage *aggressive cute walk* 😉.
Pile 2
9 of pentacles, queen of swords, the magician
Whoever has this DF as a counterpart or has that aura, WOW. Miss Independent. A handful. We love seeing that *sprinkle, sprinkle* here. CEO. That's C-Suite energy!
This woman is someone powerful and dominant. Like a race horse you will always bet on because you KNOW, it will always come first 😉 (pun intended). She works very very hard for what she wants and similar to pile 1 she can be in accounting, finance and law. Good with numbers and her hands. I bet she has a dirty sense of humour.
From the first moment you see her you will know she is the real deal. Others blend in the background while she power walks in the room. Penetrating stare and red bottom high heels, her allure is different. She doesn't have to show dominance, others feel that she is the boss. Mami energy. Ferocious when someone comes for her loved ones. She could even be in law enforcement.
Red and brown. Symbolising high energy that's still grounded and serious. Do not cross her.
Pile 3
King Of Swords, Knight Of Wands, Ace Of Swords
Now, this one? A handful ! Try to tie her down. You just can't. A brat.
This person is very fluid. They don't care about terms and conditions. They are highly intelligent and her mind walks a thin line between spirituality and logic. The most unconventional, they will find a solution no one sees yet it's right in front of them. Highly intellectual and well versed in philosophy and math.
This reminds of a movie with James Franco where he played a start up founder who was into spirituality. A crazy genius. A party is a party and they will be there.
Partying in Ibiza? They've done that. Phuket for a Muay Thai Camp? That did that last year! Eiffel tower to try a croissant with pistachio filling? They just got back yesterday and guess what? They hate pistachios.
This person is the type to run a start up company focused on clean energy and when shit hits the fun they will call an astrologer and ask for recommendations. They respect everyone. They will listen to your mom and dad when they talk about their days and take mental notes of great ideas. They know great ideas come from the most unconventional places and fields.
Pile 4
Page Of Cups, Page Of Swords, The Fool (5 Of Swords + 8 Of Swords + 5 Of Pentacles flew out)
This can be my age difference pile. They will run you to the ground lol.
This is someone with lots of mental capacity. You ask them about World War II and they will tell you how Nazis and Churchill used astrology and why the war happened and after 5 hours you will be listening to them about Ancient Mesopotamia. "How did we get here?" You will think.
Well, it doesn't matter cause you love listening to their voice and their warm heartfelt laugh. They look innocent and pure and even if they try to intimidate you you will let them think they can but in reality they look like a cinnamon roll and they are a cinnamon roll. Their life was not the best and they have lots of trust issues. They may look innocent but their eyes hide a painful past. Like a kitten thrown out and left out in the cold they feel lost and unappreciated.
You listening to them means the world and you will be shocked at how appreciative they are and how loving with you. They are very romantic and they may have great expectations and daydreams about their love life.
I get that you might start off as friends and meet in a very random way on a daily run or while getting groceries or a tire changed. You will immediately fall in love with them and they will seem like they don't suspect a thing. Let me tell you, they know, they are just too scared to show their feelings and until you grab them and kiss em you won't know how much passion is brewing underneath this innocent and clever facade. They might turn into pile number 2 in a few years lol.
Ready for everything, you will always be a warm embrace and their home when they come back from exploration. You will love how they yawn while reading a book and how they stretch when they wake up showing revealing their tummy. They are cute to you, even if everyone else sees them differently, that's how you view them. They might be a black mysterious cat but you think of them as a tired little kitten waiting for a safe home that will accept them as they are.
#astrology#tarot reading#tarot#pick a card#pick a pile#pac reading#pick a photo#pick a picture#soulmate#future spouse
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⚠️ 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI!! ⚠️
message from izurusstuff: hello, lovelies <3 i woke up today and immediately ran to tumblr because of an amazing thought i had >:) it’s inspired by @goddess-of-green’s teacher nagito smut, i highly recommend you check their’s out because it’s awesome and lives in my mind rent free. also this is 18+ only, minors do NOT interact!!! and everyone’s legal age. also there’s spoilers for the danganronpa 3 anime and ending of goodbye despair, so read with caution if you don’t want spoilers
summary: You’re a student at the University of Tokyo a couple years after The Tragedy. The whole ordeal inspired you to become a psychology major with a minor in ethics. It’s your senior year at the university— you only have a semester left until graduation. Everything was perfect until this point, but your high-level ethics professor makes it hard to keep up your perfect grades. Fed up, you confront him, which leads to… something special ;)
A+ (Teacher!Izuru Kamukura x Fem!Reader Smut)
It’s another day in class towards the end of the semester. Finals are quickly approaching, and your stoic teacher is handing your papers back at the end of class. For some reason, he just wouldn’t give out A’s in his class. Your perfect 4.0 GPA was going to be brought down by this right before you graduated! You grew tired of his antics. Of course, it didn’t really tick you off until you spent days without sleep trying to finish your paper. Every other source told you that it was amazing and captivating.
But you got a B+, an 89.9
You were basically fuming at that point. It was obvious Professor Kamukura wasn’t going to admit that your paper deserved an A. Rage boiled through your body. Your nostrils flared and your knuckles tightened. You stared into your professors eyes with pure anger. He wouldn’t admit it, but your reaction wasn’t boring to him. He was used to boredom. His eyebrow ever so slightly raised at you, which only pissed you off more.
Without breaking any eye contact, you ripped up your 30 page paper in front of him and slammed it on his desk. Oh boy, he did not know what he was signing up for when he messed with the valedictorian’s perfect GPA.
“Can I help you?” He scoffed.
His apathy was the straw that broke the camel’s back. With your fists balled up, you took a deep breath and let it OUT.
“Is it your mission in life to make everyone miserable? Is it because you got used by your school to become a human weapon? Why the FUCK do you have to be so condescending?! Do you KNOW how hard I worked to be here?! DO YOU?! If you hate people sooo much and you’re always bored by them, why did you take the job here? It’s not like you’re the best of the best! I can name thousands of people who’d be a better teacher for this job than you are… so why do you think you’re hot shit? You’re not… you’re a hurt little boy with some weird complex a-and you’re RUINING everything… so what the fuck is your problem, Kamukura?!”
Holy shit. Your response had him speechless for a brief second. He had to compose himself before staring you down and giving a response. However, you weren’t even CLOSE do being done…
“Your paper was bori-”
“Boring? Yeah, I fucking KNOW! Everything’s boring to you! But I am NOT letting your stubborn ass ruin my perfect GPA, do you understand?! What would capture your attention? Writing my paper on Junko Enoshima? Chiaki Nanami? Ooh I know! How about Hajime Hinata!”
Ouch. The last name really struck a nerve with Izuru. He actually felt a sense of sadness; something he hasn’t felt since he watched Chiaki’s final moments. Kamukura simply walked away, the nerve!
“Oh, you think I’m DONE with you?!”
“Doubtful.” He rolled his eyes, opening the classroom door for you. Huh, weird.
“I’m heading to my office. You can come with or continue your temper tantrum in here until the next class comes.”
You stood in shock for a moment. He was actually inviting you to his office…? I mean, it was in his own weird way, but it counted, right?
He walked in front of you without saying a word, only motioning to the door of his office.
Izuru’s office definitely didn’t fit him. There was a few coffee mugs, packets of chamomile tea, kawaii stuffed animals, a sword, etc. Were these all the gifts his former classmates gave him?
“Sit.”
You did as he said, looking around at everything in awe. Kamukura pulled out a folder than had your last name on it with copies of your old papers. You were utterly shocked he kept up with stuff like that.
“[L/N]. Your final semester here.”
“How did you-?”
“You’re valedictorian. I hear about you wherever I go.”
He… knew stuff about you? You were utterly shocked and dumbfounded. You thought you were just another boring face to him.
“I’ll say this one time and one time only. Your response to your grade impressed me. We both know that never happens.”
“Oh. Sorry, I guess?”
“Don’t apologize. It takes away character.”
You looked at the floor and nodded as Professor Kamukura looked through your folder more. Surprisingly, it earned a few impressed eyebrow raises from him.
“Your papers have no mistakes. They’re merely boring to me. Except for your last one on the ethics of Hope’s Peak. For obvious reasons, I do not have any interest in reading a paper about the school that used me.”
Realization hit you, and you actually felt bad for him. It was the first time you did. You looked at the ground and nodded. Kamukura obviously picked up on your regret, which he rolled his eyes to and tapped on the desk to get your attention.
“Why are you remorseful? It’s just a grade. If you need an A that badly, I’ll change it.”
You shook your head. It nearly knocked him out of his seat in surprise.
“No. It’s because you’re still a person, which everyone forgets about. Including me.”
Your humanization of him really REALLY struck a nerve. But in a good way. The tone in the room shifted to a way more positive one, and you swear you saw his mouth turn into an ever so slight smile.
“Your response… was not what I was expecting, Y/N.”
He used your first name?! You jolted up to stare at him in utter disbelief.
“If you want to go, I won’t keep you.”
You shook your head. Neither of you knew what to say next. However, it seemed you two were truly seeing each other as humans. Not human experiment and student who only cared about her grades, but humans… and tension filled the air. Both of you stood up with Izuru locking his office door and backing you against the wall.
Your heart fluttered so incredibly fast. Just mere moments ago, you were about to square up with your teacher. Now you want nothing more than to hold him. Little did you know he felt the same about you.
His red eyes expressed a hint of worry behind them. You could tell he was concerned about hurting you or pressuring you into this.
With a deep breath, you closed the distance between you two and finally kissed him. You expected him to shove you away and call you boring, but his hands merely cupped your face as he deepened the kiss. You melted into it, completely forgetting that he was the reason you wouldn’t have a perfect GPA. But in that moment, you couldn’t care. You didn’t care that you were passionately kissing your teacher who has no emotion towards anything.
“Are you sure you don’t want to leave?” Kamukura asked, not taking his eyes off your mouth. You could tell he wanted nothing more than you to stay with him.
“I’m sure…”
His mouth slightly widened into the barely visible smile he had before. He smiled into another kiss with you, pushing you up against the wall. Izuru obviously knew what you were thinking, but he didn’t want to make the first move out of respect (consent king). So, you took his hands and moved them down to the dip in your hips. He definitely got the memo.
“Tell me if you want to stop.”
You nodded. The kisses got more rough, but he took his time with caressing your body. You loved the passion he was showing, but God you wanted him to hurry up.
Once he got to your chest, you took your shirt off, giving him an uncovered view of your chest. He was mesmerized by your body. Kamukura pulled you into yet another kiss, but this time it was by grabbing your ass. You were surprised by his strength, but then again, he WAS made to be impossibly strong…
While he was doing his own thing to you, you unbuttoned his shirt and watched it slide down his muscular arms. Holy shit. You weren’t expecting that. You should’ve, but you didn’t.
He softly chuckled, and that surprised both of you. Izuru removed his shirt, pulling you closer. You could feel each other’s body heat. You finally took off your bra and slid your skirt down. He took no time in reaching for your chest and caressing it. Meanwhile, you got his pants off. He led the two of you to his desk…
Kamukura laid you down and kissed down your body until he got to the line of your underwear. With a delicate touch, he took them off and put himself between your thighs, looking up at you with curiosity and lust. You whimpered, and that only made him more crazed.
He gently rubbed a finger up your slit, causing you to whimper yet again. You could see his smile through your half lidded gaze.
Finally he stuck a finger in. You gasped out in pleasure, and he slowly moved it in and out. You grabbed his hair and whimpered again. Fuck it, he couldn’t wait any more.
Kamukura removed his last article of clothing and slowly slid into you. Your hands grasped onto his toned back as your moans got louder with every inch he put in. He looked down at you, putting his hands underneath your back as he began his thrusting.
You heard his soft grunts, making you further crazed. You wrapped his legs around his torso and he sped up. The light of the hallway peeking in through his blinds gave his toned body a beautiful glow, and you were starstruck by it.
In an odd moment of wholesomeness, he placed a soft kiss on your forehead while he harshly thrusted into you. The duality, good lord.
Your whimpers and tightening drove him crazy. He sped up as fast as he could, causing his desk to shake. Even if someone heard you two, neither of you cared because of how good you both felt.
Even though it felt like seconds, moments passed before you tightened around him from finishing, therefore making him cum too. Both of you were unbelievably sweaty from the deed, and you laid on his desk staring at the ceiling.
“I’ll change your grade to an A.”
RAAAA THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVE THINGS IVE EVER WRITTEN, SHOUKD I MAKE A PART TWO…
#izurusstuff#danganronpa#danganronpa x reader#izuru kamakura smut#izuru kamakura x reader smut#izuru kamakura#izuru kamukura smut#izuru kamukura#izuru kamukura x reader#danganronpa izuru#danganronpa smut#danganronpa angst#danganronpa goodbye despair#danganronpa anime#danganronpa 3 anime
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(Less Than) Noble Intentions: Chapter 16 - Snakes in the Garden
Fandom: TRR
Pairing: Drake Walker x F!OC (Harper Gale)
Series Summary: The social season may be over, but Harper Gale’s problems are just beginning. With everyone at court a potential suspect, can she and Drake survive the engagement tour and get to the bottom of the plot against her and clear her name? An AU take of TRR2 featuring my OTP - Harper & Drake.
Masterlist: (Less Than) Noble Intentions
Chapter Summary: Harper greets the world as the new Duchess of Valtoria, but that is not the only newsworthy item that rocks the Apple Harvest Festival...
Word Count: 7,300
Rating/Warnings: M (swearing, angst, possible ulterior motives)
Chapter theme song:
A/N1: Things are slowly coming to a head! Thanks for bearing with me on this series - I know I have a lot of other projects in the works, so I have not been updating as much as I probably should. But, we are finally getting to the exciting parts (as if what's happened until now hasn't been exciting 🤣) as after this chapter, we are into the meat of the engagement tour, and all the juicy plot changes that I have been wanting to write for over a year will finally come to a fore! *evil laugh*
A/N2: If you have not heard of TURN - the TV show from which I borrowed the chapter theme song - then, I can highly recommend it (especially if you like historical dramas, US history (specifically the Revolutionary War period), or just really good story-telling)!
A/N3: This is also much submission for @choicesjanuary2024 Day 12: Smiles / Secret
Chapter 16 - Snakes in the Garden
"Are you sure I look okay?" I ask, nervously pulling at the high-necked strip of emerald lace that circles my throat.
"Stop fiddling!" Bertrand berates, slapping my hand away. "We are running late as it, and we cannot afford to lose any more time to last minute touch-ups!"
"Yeah, but—"
"You look great, Harper," Maxwell assures me with a beaming smile. "Marcie did a great job."
The petite make-up artist that the Beaumonts had procured out of thin air bobs a curtsy to my right. "It was my pleasure, Your Grace."
Her words hit me like a whiplash.
Your Grace.
My new form of address. One I'm not sure I'm ever going to get used to. Lady Harper had been one thing, but that had always felt like a curtesy. A temporary formality that had been extended to me by virtue of my sponsorship by the Beaumonts during the social season.
But there is nothing temporary about my current situation. The weight of the ring on my hand — and its implications — bears down heavily on my finger... and my thoughts. Especially since I still haven't found a moment alone with Drake to finish our conversation from this morning... or bring him up to speed on my new status.
Because no sooner had my ennoblement been sealed with the very expensive — and very potent — champagne, than the Beaumonts had shown back up (somewhat mercifully) to crash Christian's surprise party.
And from there it had been a whirlwind of hair, makeup and outfitting for the all-important Apple Harvest Festival where I am due to make my grand debut as the new Duchess of Valtoria.
A position of some importance — Bertrand has stressed, multiple times — given that in addition to the impressive estate that I am now the official caretaker of, I also have a seat on the infamous Council, as well as a seat on the even more exclusive Privy Council. Not to mention my own fleet of staff, vehicles, bank accounts, and carefully curated online profiles.
Which is why — on top of everything — the ever-industrious press corps have worked at record speed to throw the fruits of yesterday's labours together into an exclusive, twelve-page spread as part of a special edition of Trend magazine, which dropped this morning.
And while I haven't actually had a chance to read through the copy that currently sits on the coffee table of my room (together with every other major national and international news publication), Maxwell has assured me that the social media reactions have — so far — been positive. The snaps of my stress-fuelled efforts at yesterday's apple pick have apparently helped.
Which means that Jonathan's PR gamble is starting to pay dividends, and I now have a public image to maintain. Not just for myself, but for Cordonia as well. Because when I step outside today, I'll be representing everything that the kingdom under Christian's burgeoning rule is striving to be — beauty, modernity, opportunity.
Definitely not the best day to wake up with a litany of awkwardly situated bruises!
Thankfully, both Maxwell and Bertrand seem to have had a chance to pull themselves together after this morning's surprising (and definitely explosive!) turn of events, and — after the initial shock — have set about covering for mine and Drake's mess with the same coordinated precision that they employed to pull the Beaumont Bash out of their butts.
With the result that they somehow managed to transform me from the black and blue disaster I woke up as, into the picture of a polished and refined lady.
I glance apprehensively out at the bright sunshine blanketing the hills. Hopefully, the carefully applied window-dressing survives the literal trial by fire it's about to be subjected to. Because just like yesterday, the temperature is set to climb into the mid-90's today as well, which means I'll most likely end up sweating buckets again, thanks to the Edwardian nature of my dress's neckline.
And what I definitely don't need today is for all the blush and cover-up getting smudged away so that everyone at the event can start speculating about the intimate placement of my of hickeys!
I close my eyes wearily. God, I can't wait for all this to be over...
"No catnaps!" snaps Bertrand, slapping a wide-brimmed hat onto my head. "The people are waiting on us!"
I barely have time to grab my matching clutch before the Beaumonts are whisking me out of my room and down the length of the corridor towards the manor's lawn.
"Surely the Festival can start without us...!" I gasp as I stumble after Bertrand in my heels.
"No, it cannot," he reprimands. "All members of the Council must be present for the ceremonial tree planting."
I frown. "Tree planting? Isn't that a little... agrarian for the aristos?"
"It is a time-honoured tradition!" corrects Bertrand. "Cordonia owes its existence and livelihood to the noble Ruby, so it is the duty of the Council to ensure that the fruits of our bounty are secured for future generations! Hence, the requirement to plant new saplings at the end of each harvest!"
"If you say so..." I concede as we pass through the back doors of the manor.
Based on what I saw at the apple pick, Bertrand's pronouncement seems optimistic at best, given that none of the aristos even bothered to lift a finger to a tree yesterday.
But, looks can always be deceiving, so maybe today is the day that the I am pleasantly surprised for once.
A deafening cheer erupts as the Beaumonts and I step out onto the manor's steps.
Snapping my head towards the source of the commotion, I see what appears to be thousands of people crammed behind velvet-lined cordons, screaming and jostling for position like they're in the front row of a Taylor Swift concert...
...and it takes me a second to realise that it's my name that they're shouting.
"Duchess!"
"Lady Harper, we love you!"
"You're the true Apple Queen, no matter what anyone says!"
"Wow..." I blink, taken aback by the fervency of the crowd's reaction. "I didn't realise I had such a rabid following..."
"Best wave to them," suggests Maxwell, leaning in as he raises his arm into the air with a wide smile.
"Okay..." I concede hesitantly, turning to the crowd to do the same.
The last time I experienced anything remotely like this had been on the red carpet at the Derby — my first public outing as a suitor. But even the bright flash of the cameras and the intrusive questions that the reporters had flung at me paled in comparison to the reaction I am receiving today.
Phones and cameras are thrust into the air as the Beaumonts and I descend the manor's stairs to the accompaniment of the increasingly frenzied cheers and shouts of encouragement. Even a few bouquets of flowers fly through the air, narrowly missing my hat.
And I can't help but smile in the face of the genuine outpouring of support from the crowd. Because it sure as heck feels good to be on top for once!
However, arriving at the edge of the orchard where the tree planting ceremony is due to take place, I am greeted by a very different type of welcome.
Snooty expressions drip down the ends of aristocratic noses as the members of the Council pass silent judgment on my somewhat bombastic entrance.
"They're just jealous," Maxwell whispers to me as we take up our spots at the edge of the gathering.
"Yeah..." I agree with a stilted voice. "That's what I'm worried about."
I know firsthand of the lengths that these people are willing to go to in order to exact vengeance for perceived slights. And I did not particularly feel like painting a target on my back a second time while I am still trying to recover from the hurt caused by the first.
Maybe this is a mistake...
But I don't have time to think on it long, because the public erupts into an even more deafening outburst as Christian appears with Madeleine on his arm.
"Look at her..." snips a voice from behind me. "Acting like she's Queen already."
I whip around in disbelief. "Olivia!"
The Duchess of Lythikos cuts her green eyes over at me with a derisive look. "Oh, don't look so surprised, Harper. Just because you are now a duchess, does not mean that the rest of us have taken early retirement."
"Trust me," I grumble under my breath, "this was not the plan."
"Opportunities multiply as they are seized," she replies sagely.
I quirk a brow at her. "Meaning?"
"Meaning," she expounds surly, "opportunity breeds opportunity. And only by exploiting every advantage will you uncover previously hidden gains. Do they not teach The Art of War inyour schools?"
"No..."
She scoffs under her breath. "Explains a lot."
I roll my eyes at her as Christian and Madeleine pause on the steps for photos and a couple of quick sound bites. "I guess this means your sabbatical was productive?"
"Exceedingly."
I heave a breath. "At least one of us is making progress..."
"Oh, don't sell yourself short," she counters out of the corner of her mouth. "Your recent advancements have served as a welcome distraction..."
"Not sure if that’s a compliment, or not..." I admit sourly.
"You have more power than you realise," she insists quietly. "Make sure you use it."
"Wow..." I mutter, glancing over at her in genuine surprise. "Friendly advice from the Scarlet Duchess? What else have you learnt during your time away?"
"Our interests are temporarily aligned, nothing more," she replies, shooting daggers across the lawn towards Madeleine. "And I'll fill you in shortly."
"Well, it's good to have you back, regardless," I say with a dip of my head. "Your Grace."
Olivia shoots me a sidelong look. "Don't get sentimental on me, Duchess."
But I can see the hint of a smile pulling at her lips.
Christian and Madeleine arrive at the edge of the trees. Stepping up to the row of waiting saplings, Christian pulls a stack of notecards out of his pocket and delivers a short speech to the click of the cameras.
As the mandatory applause dies down, he slots the pieces of paper carefully away... and pulls off his jacket.
"What are you doing?" hisses Madeleine as the crowd descends into a hubbub of excited reactions.
"Taking a leaf out of the Duchess of Valtoria's book," he replies, handing his jacket off to the closest shocked Councillor as he sets about rolling up his sleeves.
"Out of—!" Madeleine bristles in indignation, while trying to maintain an outwardly calm composure. "The only thing you have taken is leave of your senses! Now get back here and—!"
Ignoring his fiancée's outburst, Christian grabs the ribbon-bedecked shovel out of the hands of the footman that was holding it, and steps up to a clear patch of grass. Adjusting his grip on the handle, he digs the metal blade decisively into the ground to the accompanying slew of clicking camera shutters.
"Shall we?" asks Olivia with a sly smirk as she pushes her way to the front of the line of gawping nobles.
"Let's," I agree, instantly catching onto her plan.
"Lady Harper!" hisses Bertrand from behind me. "What do you think you're—?"
"Lending a hand to the King," I throw back over my shoulder as I step to the front of the row of aristos who are looking mutely onto the sight of their monarch working up an actual sweat before them.
Grabbing another shovel from the pile in the corner — these ones obviously having seen some honest work already, judging by the dirt encrusted on their faces — I join the King of Cordonia in enlarging the hole in the ground.
Because regardless of Christian's underlying motives for ennobling me, and whatever his broader game may be, what he is doing right now is bigger than me, bigger than him, bigger than any of us. And that deserves recognition. Especially when he is taking such active — and public — strides towards being the change he wants to see unfurl during his rule. Where the ruling class doesn't just offer empty platitudes and hollow ceremony, but actually practices what it preaches. So, what better way to do that, than by planting the seeds of change in front of thousands of people in the literal heart of the kingdom?
Christian rewards my arrival with a nod and a smile as I take up position next to him.
Hefting my shovel, I slice it into the earth that he's already uncovered, using the somewhat flimsy sole of my heeled sandals to drive it deeper.
Scooping the blade back out, I suddenly feel a presence to my left. Looking up, I see that Maxwell has also joined our impromptu work crew.
Throwing me a wink, he drops his shovel in next to mine.
With the three of us working on tandem, it takes us almost no time at all to dig out a hole large enough to house the new apple tree.
Wiping the sweat from my forehead — the weatherman had not lied, that's for sure! — I see that Olivia, with some assistance from Hana, has already prepared the sapling by shunting it closer to the hole and removing the burlap covering from its roots.
Laying down our shovels, we help her manoeuvre the tree to the edge of the dint. Cheers and applause rise up from the onlookers as the sapling thuds into the earth. Olivia uses one of the knives from her hidden arsenal to slice off the twines holding the branches together, and the tree unfurls itself with a satisfied snap.
"Your Majesty!" shouts a reporter, who I recognise as Frederick Capone. "One for the Cordonian Times, if you please!"
"And for the CBS!" adds Donald Brine, muscling his way to the front.
"Certainly," accedes Christian graciously, holding his arm out. "It was a group effort, after all."
We all gather in — sweaty and dirty, but smiling — as the press corps immortalises the scene...
...and I innocuously sweep my hair over my shoulder in a vain effort to try and hide any bruises that may have become uncovered as a result of the unplanned exertion.
"Thank you for joining me in my moment of impulsivity," Christian acknowledges softly as the bulbs flash.
"Please," scoffs Olivia out of the side of her mouth. "It was coordinated from the start."
"The people don't seem to mind," counters Hana with a demure smile as she faces the cameras.
"With the exception of about half-dozen," I note, glancing back at the disgruntled looks of the Councillors from behind us, as they try to save face by applauding our efforts together with the rest of the crowd.
"They'll fall in line." Christian assures me as he lifts his hand with a wave.
I feel a prick between my shoulder blades. Turning my head, I catch sight of the cold fire radiating out of Madeleine's gaze from behind the mask of her perfect smile.
"Maybe not everyone..." I mutter under my breath as I turn back towards the paps.
I'm already on Madeleine's shit list for daring to return to court after my very public humiliation and banishment. On the night of her engagement tour launch party, no less! So, the fact that I ended up upstaging her — again — probably means that I've sunk even further down the ladder of her estimations.
To what end, I have no idea. But I'm going to have to start being more careful from here on out.
Once the press are finally placated, we disperse across the lawn in search of some much-needed refreshments.
"Harper!"
I swallow a groan as I'm brought up short, mere steps from the freshly squeezed, rosemary-infused lemonade that I desperately need after toiling away in this heat. "What now, Bertrand...?"
"I... uhm..." He clears his throat as I turn to face him. "I wanted to apologise for my earlier outburst. It was unseemly... and in retrospect, short-sighted."
"What do you mean?" I ask with a frown. Bertrand very rarely — if ever! — apologised.
"The public reaction to the tree planting has been overwhelming," he clarifies, pulling his phone out.
My eyes bulge as I take in the view count on the screen. "A hundred thousand views already!"
"And counting," Bertrand adds. "And that is only one website."
"And look at the comments!" I exclaim, scrolling through the feed. "They're loving Maxwell as well!"
"Yes, it appears that my brother has a keener instinct for media relations than I do..."
"You should tell him that," I say. "It would mean the world to him."
Bertrand looks momentarily taken aback. "I... Well..." He clears his throat again. "Yes. Maybe I will. He deserves some recognition for his efforts in diverting — at least temporarily — the negative attention away from our financial predicaments."
"A simple hug and a 'thank-you' will do," I tell him with a knowing look.
Bertrand reels back in abject horror. "I will not subject my brother to such a sordid display of affection! Especially in public!"
I heave a sigh. "And there's your problem, right th—"
I trail off as I spot a familiar figure signalling to me from over Bertrand's shoulders.
"Excuse me," I say, palming Bertrand's phone back to him as I move towards one of the marquees that had been set up at the edge of the lawn.
Slipping inside the flap of the tent, I come face-to-face with Ana de Luca.
"Your Grace," she nods, dipping into a curtesy, something she hasn't deigned to do before. "Thank you for making the time."
"Ana," I nod in return, wondering why the influential editor of Trend chose to pull me away for a private meeting. Especially after I cornered her so forcefully at Madeleine's garden party a few days ago.
"I suppose congratulations are in order," she continues, straightening back up. "Since returning to court you have managed to elevate yourself not just in rank, but in the eyes of the public as well. Rolling your sleeves up in tandem with the King was a masterful piece of image enhancement."
"I didn't do it for myself," I reply evenly.
"Of course," she nods quickly. "We must all step in line with our new King. But your reputation is certainly reaping the benefits as well."
"As is your bottom line," I point out.
"Your initiative is markedly boosting sales of this month's special edition, as well as traffic to our website," she concedes. "For which Trend is very grateful. But that is not the reason I pulled you aside."
"What is it then?"
"I found out the name of the photographer," she replies, reaching into her handbag.
I feel my heart jump in my chest. "You're joking..."
She raises a brow at me from behind the lenses of her black-out Versace shades as she pulls a small flash-drive out. "I can assure you that I am not."
I quickly pull myself back together. "No. Of course not..."
Handing the drive over, she adds. "On there you will find all the pertinent information I was able to obtain through my own means."
"Thank you," I say sincerely, taking the piece of plastic from her. "I honestly was not expecting this..."
She shrugs an elegant shoulder. "I said I would look into it, so I did. It is not much, but I am sure you have people who can hopefully take it further."
"I do," I affirm, slotting the device into my clutch.
"After all," she adds with a knowing quirk to her lips. "You are not the only one with a vested interest in seeing your name cleared, Your Grace."
With another quick bob, she exits the marquee.
I let out a low exhale as the tent flap drops back into place in her wake. "Thank God..."
Some much-needed progress at last!
Hopefully, Drake can take the information from the drive and do a deep dive into the photographer to see if they ever crossed paths with whoever it is that has it in for me.
Which reminds me...
Opening my clutch up again, I pull my phone out and type up a quick message to my elusive boyfriend.
I haven't seen or heard from him since the event started. And now I have two pieces of critical information I need to share with him. So, rather than chasing after him like some damsel in distress, I'm going to make him come to me for a change. Because time is of the essence, and I don't want to wait.
Hitting send, I exit the tent and head back towards the orchard. I figure that since everyone is on the lawn, the secluded garden hidden amongst the trees will give me and Drake the best chance to meet in private, away from the prying eyes of the court and the press.
Slipping between the tree trunks, I try to make my way as casually as possible through the orchard, as if I am simply out for a walk, in order to ward off potential suspicion. But, as I drift further away from the Festival, I start to pick up the pace, mindful of the short timeframe I gave Drake... as well as the exposed roots on the ground.
Because as much as I might want to hurry, I definitely don't want — or need — a twisted ankle the day before we're due to start the international leg of the trip. As Mom was right — I should take advantage of the upcoming whirlwind tour of Europe to at least try and get some sightseeing in. As who knows when I'll get the chance to do this again...
...especially if I'm forced to become a hermit because we fail to expose the mastermind behind the press scandal.
I shake my head. No. I need to stay positive. It's the only way I'm going to get through—
"Competing with a herd of elephants, Gale?"
I snap my gaze up at the sound of Drake's voice... and nearly trip over a hidden apple lodged in the grass.
"You try sneaking ‘round in four-inch heels," I grumble back at him, while using the trunk of a nearby tree to steady myself.
He mutters something under his breath as he steps over to me with an outstretched hand. "Here."
Grabbing his hand, I navigate gingerly away from the tree, only to find that the slightly rotten fruit has become impaled on the end of my stiletto.
"Great..." I groan, trying to flick the stupid thing off... But it stays stubbornly stuck.
"You're a walking disaster, y'know that, right?" drawls Drake as he drops down in front of me.
"Ha-ha, funny," I snark back at him while trying to balance on one foot on the uneven ground.
He meets my eye with a wry look as he finally manages to pull the offending fruit off with a squelch. "You're only gripin' 'cause it's true."
"Yeah, well, not all of us have... reflexes... like Neo..." I reply sardonically as I save myself from tipping over by grabbing onto Drake's shoulder.
He stifles a scoff as he tosses the apple into the trees. "You good?"
"Yeah," I confirm, righting myself again and letting go of his shirt.
Drake regards me critically for a long moment — as if expecting me to keel over again at the drop of a hat — before pushing himself up.
"Thanks," I say, laying an appreciative hand on his arm.
The humour fades from his gaze at the contact.
"Drake..." I start...
...but he's already pulled away.
"What did you want to talk about?" he asks, not quite meeting my eyes as he slots his hands into his pockets, the momentary lightness of our previous interaction gone.
I heave a breath.
We really need to talk about what happened this morning. But his suddenly standoffish demeanour makes it clear that he's not quite ready for that yet.
So, I decide to start with something less contentious.
"We have a lead on the photographer," I tell him, reaching into my clutch.
His head perks up with interest. "That was fast."
"Teamwork makes the dream work," I agree with a smile, pulling the flash drive back out and holding it out to him.
His posture suddenly stiffens. "The hell is that?"
I glance around me uncertainly. "What?"
"The fucking ring on your finger," he declares dispassionately, his accusatory gaze scorching into my outstretched hand.
My heart drops. Oh, no...
This is not how I wanted to break it to him. But unfortunately for both of us, the cat has now ripped itself out of the proverbial bag, so I'm just going to have to scamper after it.
Taking a steadying inhale, I look him square in the eye. "It's my new signet ring." I turn my hand over to show it to him.
His face darkens. "Fils de pute de—" he grits under his breath, snapping a hand out to grab my wrist.
My eyes widen. "Drake, what are y—?"
A storm is raging in his espresso gaze. "Signet rings go on the little finger. On the right hand."
"Oh," is all I can manage as he swipes the golden band off my left ring finger.
"You didn't know, did you?" he asks softly, reaching for my other hand... more gently this time.
I shake my head with a constricted throat. "No, I—"
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
My head jerks ‘round at the sound of the unexpected voice. "Christian!"
"I see you couldn't resist a somewhat impulsive stroll through the orchards, either?" he asks, more rhetorically than anything else. "The scent of apples is truly luscious this time of year."
"Erm... yes...!" I manage to squeak out, shoving my right hand behind my back. "Smells like apple juice!"
Christian's brow quivers ever so slightly at my slightly random — and obviously unexpected — comparison.
But I'm too busy coordinating with Drake to get the signet ring shoved back onto my hand while trying to palm the flash drive off to him without dropping either in the process. As both outcomes would lead to some very awkward conversations!
I feel the warmth of the metal slide onto the index finger of my hand (Drake had probably ascertained that the circumference of the band was too large for my pinky), and I'm finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Embarrassing backpedaling, narrowly averted!
Drake uses the opportunity to extract the flash drive from my hand as well, dropping the device casually into his pocket as he moves beside me. "She ain't wrong."
"No," concedes Christian, eying the two of us for a second longer than strictly comfortable. "She rarely is."
"So, umm... Are you hiding from the paps as well?" I ask in a bid to diffuse the growing tension in the air.
"No, I came looking for you, actually," he corrects, taking a step forward. "I saw you slip into the orchard, and thought it prudent to follow you."
"Oh?" I say, feeling my stomach tighten again. "Worried I might get lost?"
"I was hoping to catch you alone," he corrects, coming to a stop in front of me.
I swallow tightly as I see him glance over at Drake.
Please don't fight... Please don't fight...
Christian's gaze reverts to me. "But I suppose it is convenient for Drake to happen to be here as well."
My heart skips an uncomfortable beat. "It is?"
"Yes," he affirms. "I have received some news that you'll both be interested in hearing."
"Well, don't keep us in damn suspense, then..." mutters Drake with a noticeable edge to his voice.
I try to reach discretely out to brush my fingers against his, to reassure him that come what may, we'll get through it together, that—
"We found Tariq."
Christian's words hit me like a kick to the chest. The breath explodes out of me so forcefully that I am actually forced to take a step back in a bid to maintain my balance as the apple trees descend into a spin around me.
No way...
"Where?"
Drake's voice floats across the edge of my awareness. And even in my spaced-out state, I can feel the weight of the cold, calculated fury infused into that single word.
No corner... No mercy.
"Dubai," replies Christian, who also sounds like he's miles away. "He—"
But Drake's already spun away. "Send me the coordinates."
"Harper?"
I blink up at Christian in a daze. "Huh?"
"Are you alright?" he asks, laying a concerned hand on my cheek. "You... You looked as if you were about to faint..."
"I..." I swallow past the sudden dryness in my throat. "I'm okay."
"Are you certain?" he presses, peering down at me. "I could ring for a doctor, and—"
"No," I insist, pulling away from him. "I'm fine. I... I guess I just got caught off-guard..."
"It is an unexpected development, certainly," he concedes. "But hopefully still a welcome one?"
"Yes!" I blurt out. "Of course! I want to clear my name more than anyone, and Tariq is key to that! I just..." My voice trails uncertainly off.
Christian flashes me a knowing half-smile. "Feel some trepidation about the prospect...?"
"I guess so," I concede, my fingers moving unconsciously to the horseshoe charm at my wrist.
Because as much as I may want Tariq to pay for what he did from a rational point of view, from an emotional standpoint, I’m terrified.
As even though I know in the back of my mind that a lot of my trepidation has to do with the fact that I am still trying to recover from the psychological trauma that Tariq inflicted on me, a major part of me is also scared of what setting the record straight would entail in practice.
Christian had mentioned that there were 'methods of persuasion' that could be used to force a confession from Tariq. But then what? Would I be made to very publicly relive the entire horrible episode in the form of TV spots and interviews, or would we be able to get by with one official press release? And given my spotty history with the press, will people actually believe my side of the story...?
I mean, Meghan and Harry didn’t exactly fare well in the court of public opinion when they tried to counter the official royal narrative...
On top of all that, in light of my very visceral reactions to returning to Applewood, I have no idea how I'm going to react to seeing Tariq in person again. Would I burst into tears? Have a nervous breakdown? Dissolve into a panic attack? Stab him in the gut and then the nuts?
And (possibly worst of all) what if we discover that Tariq had been acting alone? And his attack on me — while traumatising — is in no way connected to the larger, and definitely more dangerous plot to remove me from the running for Queen? What then...?
"Your qualms are not as misplaced as you may initially think," Christian consoles. "It is a daunting prospect to face the person who actively sought to harm you."
Something in his tone catches my attention. "What do you mean?"
Christian heaves a sigh. "I do not know if you are aware of this, but several years ago, I was the target of an assassination attempt."
I nod tightly. "Yes. Drake told me."
"Then I presume he also told you how deeply the experience affected me," he says, catching my eye with an uncharacteristically guarded look.
"Yes," I affirm, thinking back to the conversation in Olivia's wine cellar that felt like years ago.
"What he probably didn't tell you, however," he continues, "is that I visited the perpetrator in prison."
My jaw drops. "You what!"
"Not publicly and certainly not in any official capacity." He shakes his head wryly. "I did not even talk to the man."
"Then why...?"
"I... I was having trouble reconciling with what had happened," he explains. "And moving past it. The trauma councillor that I was working with suggested that it was perhaps because I was subconsciously endowing the gunman with too much power, and thereby transmuting the man into something more akin to an evil monster."
A shiver runs down my spine at Christian's words. It's like he's talking about Tariq...
"So, to help break the negative emotional associations I had built up, my councillor arranged a clandestine meeting where I would have the opportunity to face the man."
"How... How did that go?" I ask nervously.
"I was terrified, of course," Christian admits. "I had no idea what to expect and each scenario I imagined in my head was worse than the last. But, when I finally got into room where the meeting was to take place, I was surprised by what I saw. As rather than some hulking, shadowy fiend, it was a pale, somewhat diminutive man sat across from me."
"So… what did you do?"
"We simply sat at a table and stared at each other," he recounts. "He with more than a bit of contemptuous malice, I have to admit, but in that moment, I realised that he was a flesh-and-blood person who had fallen prey to the same misguided emotions as I — anger, fear, resentment — just manifested differently. And that helped set me onto the path of true healing. As ultimately, I was able to forgive him."
"Forgive him?" I gasp disbelievingly. "For trying to murder you?"
"Nobody acts in isolation," Christian advises calmly. "Even the most unconscionable horrors perpetrated by the villains of humanity — torture, mass murder, genocide — sprout from the basis of an emotional or psychological motivator such as love, fear, greed, jealousy... to name but a few. So, while we may disagree with and condemn the action retrospectively from the safety of the moral high-ground, it is very possible that had we found ourselves in a similar situation, we would end up being just as guilty as the person we are looking to condemn."
"So, what?" I demand testily. "I should feel sorry for Tariq for what he did to me?"
"Showing empathy and compassion towards our counterparts does not mean forgetting or excusing the harm suffered," counsels Christian. "But it will certainly allow you to start on the path of true healing."
I shake my head as I turn away. "I'm not sure Tariq deserves that..."
"It is by no means an easy assignment," he admits, laying a hand on my shoulder. "But even if you cannot find it in your heart presently to forgive him, do at least try to keep yourself open to the possibility down the line. You may be surprised by the results."
Looking up, I can see that there is sincerity welling on his emerald gaze. And — for once — I don't doubt the true intent of his words. "Thanks. I'll think about it."
"As diplomatic as ever," he smiles, the tips of his fingers brushing down my back as he drops his hand. "And, regardless of what you choose to do, I'll be right by your side to support you."
"Thanks," I mutter with what I hope is a genuine smile, suddenly acutely aware of the fact that with Drake’s abrupt departure, it’s just me and Christian amongst the trees. Taking a step back towards the way I’d come, I ask, "So, umm... How did you end up finding him?"
"Instagram," replies Christian with a wry chuckle as he falls into step beside me.
My head snaps up in bewilderment. "He posted his whereabouts?"
"No," he laughs, looping my arm through his in reassurance. "Not intentionally, at any rate. He took shelter on his cousin's yacht docked off the coast of the Palm Jumeirah, and—"
"What's that?" I ask with a frown.
"One of a trio of artificially constructed archipelagos located off the coast of Dubai," he explains. "They are so called for their shape, which resemble stylised palm trees."
"Sounds... fancy," I admit, while trying to maintain some semblance of platonic distance between the two of us.
"They really are a sight to behold," he affirms, pulling me back to his side. "But it is part of the reason why we were not able to locate him initially — we knew he has family in the Emirates, of course, but—"
"He does?" I interject in surprise. This is certainly news to me...!
"Yes," he nods. "His father is a Cordonian nobleman, but his mother hails from the House of Al Falasi, the branch of the Bani Yas tribe that also produced Dubai's ruling family."
My eyes widen. "So, his mom is royalty?"
"No," chuckles Christian. "She is not directly connected to the Al Maktoum dynasty. But her family is nevertheless influential in the region. Which is why when we hit a roadblock with the French authorities, we decided to focus our efforts on countries where we knew he had familial or business connections. The Emirates, however, boast a multitude of private airfields, not to mention water-based ports of entry, so attempting to narrow down Tariq’s possible time and method of arrival and determining where he went from there was providing to be a complex undertaking. Especially since we had to ensure to conduct our enquiries outside of the official channels."
"Specifically, via social media," I supply dryly.
"Yes," confirms Christian, only half jokingly. "When we realised that Tariq must have switched off or changed out his phone, Drake suggested that we set up a facial recognition-based search algorithm that could scour the various social media and news portals in a bid to help us pinpoint his exact location."
"That sounds... technical," I admit.
"A few years ago, it would have been, But the technology is relatively commonplace now, thankfully."
"So, you managed to get a hit?"
"Yes," he affirms. "One of his cousins on his mother's side posted a selfie featuring his new yacht a couple of days ago... and someone who partially matched Tariq's features was visible on the edge of the frame. But it wasn't until this morning that our man on the ground was able to obtain independent confirmation that it really was him."
"Wow..." I manage. "Talk about blind, dumb luck."
"Never underestimate the awesome power of serendipity," counsels Christian with a smile as we reach the edge of the trees again. "It certainly played a hand in crossing our paths."
I swallow nervously. "Yeah, I—"
"You have some nerve!"
Before I have a chance to realise what is happening, Madeleine has swooped in from seemingly out of nowhere to intercept us with all the wrathful precision of a homing missile.
"Ow!" I hiss, feeling the ends of her manicured nails sink into my arm as she wrenches me off Christian like I'm some kind of plague.
"One would think you would be grateful to His Majesty for his benevolent generosity in elevating your previously non-existent status to that of a duchess," she spits with barely disguised contempt as she pulls me nose-to-nose with her.
"Get off me!" I grit, trying to shake her loose.
"Madeleine..." interjects Christian from behind me in a voice that I only heard him use once before... in the hallway at Ramsford when he realised that Drake had brought me back to Cordonia. "You overstep."
But the Countess of Fydelia seems to hear neither of us as she tightens her claw-like hold on me. "Yet instead, you repay him by not only by hijacking a royal event to serve your own shameless self-aggrandisement—"
I shake my head in disbelief. "Wait... Wh—?"
"—but then you have the unmitigated gall—"
"Madeleine," says Christian again, more forcefully this time. "That is enough."
But Madeleine is oblivious to the quiet threat suffused into the sound of her name, choosing to continue her tirade instead, "—to sneak off into the bushes with my fiancé in order to do God-knows-what when he should be—"
"I said, enough!" snaps Christian, coming suddenly between Madeleine and me with a face of thunder.
The force of his command is loud enough to cause a few heads on the edge of the lawn to turn curiously towards us.
Even Madeleine startles somewhat in response to the uncharacteristically vehement order. But not enough to let go of me.
"Can you not see what she is doing?" she demands indignantly as she turns to face Christian. "Or does she have you wrapped so tightly around her finger that you cannot even—?"
"How I choose to spend my time with the Duchess of Valtoria in private is of no concern to you, Countess," interjects Christian bluntly. "Or do I need to remind you of the conditions of our engagement?"
Madeleine's alabaster cheeks flush scarlet. "No..."
"Then I strongly suggest that you unhand Lady Harper, and ensure that this kind of juvenile outburst does not happen again."
Madeleine's eyes blaze with cold fury. But she relinquishes her hold on me, nevertheless. "My apologies, Duchess..." she snips, her voice dripping with insincerity.
I reach up to rub the spot where her nails had been on the verge of puncturing my skin.
Bitch...
Christian nods tersely in approval. "Now that that is sorted, I believe our guests are waiting. Lady Madeleine, if you'd be so kind..."
Madeleine takes his arm with a look that could've killed. "Of course, Your Majesty."
"Lady Harper," acknowledges Christian with a dip of his head as he starts to steer his seething fiancée away.
Knowing that all eyes are still on us, I drop into a quick curtesy as they walk past, on one hand grateful to Christian for shutting Madeleine down, but on the other hand wondering how badly we kicked into a nest of hornets in the process.
As it is clear that Madeleine is still raging with jealous insecurity... Perhaps even more so than she had been back at her manor when she cornered me in the bathroom. And the fact that — despite the massive diamond on her finger — I now technically outrank her is definitely not helping the situation!
So much for making allies at court…
Blowing a wayward strand of hair out of my face, I turn back towards the festivities…
…only to be greeted by a wall of judgemental eyes, and more than a few camera lenses.
"Great..." I mutter under my breath.
Whether catching me with Christian had been the genuine straw that snapped Madeleine's cool, or whether she deliberately fabricated the showdown to undermine the positive reactions I got from the press earlier, the end result is the same...
I'm going to be on the front page tomorrow. Again.
Exactly in what form, I have no idea. But I've been at court long enough now to know that the whole thing will be blown completely out of proportion, and the resulting story will generate even more press frenzy.
But if there’s one thing that Drake has taught me, it’s that I cannot allow myself to give the aristos the satisfaction of ever thinking that they’ve managed to squash me into the dirt. Because that would undermine the entire reason why I came back to court in the first place, and given how close we now are to claiming back the truth, it would be a massive and premature admission of defeat.
So, raising my chin defiantly, I make my way back across the lawn to rejoin the remainder of the Festival.
The story continues in Chapter 17 - News Flash
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Hakuoki Drama CD - Shimabara Disturbance Track 1 English translation
Happy new year everyone! I know it’s kinda late to be saying that... but whatever. Decided that I’ll only be translating track 1 this month and then not doing anything else until after February 22 since I need to study like 700 pages of text.... sorry but not really sorry? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (committing to writing my exam has cost me +$1000 so yeah.)
Anyway, in regards to the Hakuoki dramas that I wanted translated, this one probably ranked first or second, right next to Shinsengumi Oni-tan... but it was too much work to go look up the sections that were missing from the tl I found for the longest time.
As a warning, I HIGHLY ADVISE AGAINST READING THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THROUGH THE SHIMABARA INFILTRATION MISSION FROM ZUISOUROKU (specifically Saito’s route, and I’m going stress the fact that this is NOT my bias speaking, and that this is a recommendation being made based on the drama itself, though it should probably be fine if you’ve watched the Hakuoki Sekkaroku anime...? Probably? Well, assuming that’s the one where they go to Shimabara since there are some spoilers for it too?).
Also, the promo video for this has been posted to my video blog if anyone wants to watch that.
enjoy!
Hakuoki Drama CD - Shimabara Disturbance Track 1: A Man Without Greed
Translation by KumoriYami
Hijikata: Thank you for all your hard work, Saito. It really was the right choice to leave capturing all the ronin at the inn to your Third Division.
Saito: Please don't say that, however, Vice-Commander, what is this money for?
Hijikata: It’s a bounty, a bonus for doing especially hard work.
Saito: But, I was merely accomplishing my duties as a member of the Shinsengumi. How can I accept a bounty for it? Furthermore, this is too much.
Hijikata: I knew you wouldn't accept it. Forget it, I don't want to force you into accepting it because I often send you on difficult missions. If I give you the occasional reward, you shouldn't decline, and just accept it.
Saito: I understand, then I'll gratefully accept it.
(Saito leaves the room and starts walking away)
Saito: A bounty...?
Saito: I can't betray the Vice-Commander's kindness, so I need to think about how to use this.... how should this best be used? Since there was so much of a bonus, it shouldn’t be spent all at once... In this case, exactly what should I do?
(sound of fighting from the dojo)
Saito: Hrm? It’s quite noisy in the dojo. is someone training the troops? I’ll go observe the situation..
Souji: No good, no good~ your sword is too slow, your footwork is sloppy [or steps taken are too small. reword later?], and there are weaknesses everywhere! There are too many flaws, so if you don't want to die, you better work harder.
Warrior: Yes...
Saito: Hrm.
Souji: Areh, Hajime-kun, when did you get there/here? What's wrong? You look like you have something to say.
Saito: You’re still conducting harsh training as always. It’s fine if you train the troops, but there’s no point in causing injuries before they can become more useful. .
Souji: Is that so? I’m already very gentle~. If this sort of attack killed someone, they'd immediately get cut down in real combat when fighting ronin~
Saito: Although that's true...
Souji: Anyway, would Hajime-kun like to have a match with me? That just now wasn't training for me. I'd be very happy if you were my opponent.
Saito: No, my apologies, but I have something I need to think about.
Souji: What's wrong? You aren’t speaking clearly.
Saito: I have abrupt question for you, Souji.
Souji: It's rare for Hajime-kun to consult me. What is it?
Saito: If you were suddenly given a lot of money, how would you use it?
Souji: Me? In that case... I'd buy some candy and share/eat with the kids living nearby.
Saito: Ah.... I see....
Souji: Isn't it rude to sigh/seem so disappointed after hearing someone else's answer? Speaking of which, did you receive a lot of money again?
Saito: Well....
Souji: That's why you should use it and not worry about it. It’s a luxury to worry about how to spend money.
Saito:.....
Souji: Just spend it however you want. Dignity and standards don't matter, regardless if that's in the eyes of Hijikata-san or anyone else.
Saito: If I was able to do what you suggested, I wouldn't have asked you.
Souji: Seriously? Hajime-kun, you really have no desires...
Saito: It’s true that I have no desires for material things.
Souji: I think it’s just that you’re not materialistic. Well, my opinions won’t matter anyway. Besides snacks, all I can think about are the caltrops I bought and scattered in Hijikata-san’s room.
Saito:....I’ll head back to my room to think about it again. Excuse me then, Souji.
(Saito walks away)
Souji: Huh... it’s a problem too be so rigid.
-------
Saito: Then, what should I be doing? There’s nothing I need to buy right away, and I don’t want to spend money on food and drink either...
(sound of running then a door slides open)
Shinpachi: Yo, Saito! Excuse me!
Saito: Shinpachi? Sano and Heisuke, what’s wrong?
Harada: Hehe, I heard about it, Saito. You received a large bonus, right?
Saito: That is the case. Why do you know that?
Shinpachi: Well, in any case, that doesn’t matter right? You're so serious, so even if you got a huge sum of money, you probably wouldn't know how to spent it, right? We just came over to give you some ideas!
Heisuke: Hajime-kun, how is that going? Have you made a decision on how to spend it?
Saito: No, not yet.
Harada: Let me ask you first, is there something that you want?
Saito: There's nothing I want in particular.
Shinpachi: If it's like that, then just go to Shimabara!
Saito: Shimabara?
Shinpachi: That’s right! Enjoy the company of geishas is the way to go, right?!
Saito: I'm sorry, I'm not interested.
Harada: Well, Saito is the same as always. What about getting a new katana?
Saito: Unfortunately, the blade was sharpened recently, and it is a Kunishige...
Heisuke: Ah~ I get it, I get it! Speaking of which, does Hajime-kun have any interests?
Saito: An interest? Why are you suddenly asking me this?
Heisuke: Generally speaking, people spend money on the things they like. I've never seen Hajime-kun spend money on his own interests.
Harada: That’s true. Do you have one?
Saito: An interest...? I appreciate katana and other things...
Sano: No need to continue, I get it.
Heisuke: That’s right... even when he has time off, Hajime-kun is still working...
Harada: This is a rare opportunity. Why don't you try something that you haven't done before?
Saito: Haven’t tried before?
Harada: For example... reciting haiku like HIjikata-san.
Shinpachi: That's true... you'd be very suitable to reciting haiku. So if you were doing that with HIjikata-san, it'd go like...
~~[this is being imagined]~~
Hijikata: It's become warmer,
more recently it feels that,
spring's finally sprung. [yeah that matches the 5-7-5 stanza haiku syllable count... why the hell did I try to match that?]
How about it, Saito? Try composing a haiku about spring.
Saito: Yes.
The warbler is perched [more literally it’s on a branch... but w/e]
It chirps again and again
It cries are ceaseless
Hijikata: Oh~ that wasn’t bad! Although it's very straightforward, it's very easy to understand.
Saito: I’m honoured to receive your praise. I will continue to improve from now on.
Hijikata:Ooh, the journey to learning haiku is long and hard, do your best.
~~~[end of imagination sequence]~~~
Shinpachi: No, it shouldn’t be like that...
Harada: No, not like that.
Heisuke: Anyway, it doesn’t cost money to compose haiku. At most, he could buy a few collections.
Harada: That’s right, the purpose is to spend money.
Shinpachi: So, what about buying some delicious food? We could find out which store has the best dango and eat them all one by one.
Harada: Why don’t you replace the dango with something more expensive? Like with sake to go drink.
Saito: Go drink?
~~~imagination sequence~~~
Saito: Store owner, is there anymore sake left?
Owner: I'm terribly sorry, that was all the sake in the establishment
Saito: No, wait, the sake on the shelf over there hasn't been served yet.
Owner: Th-That's not for sale. It's a specialty sake from my hometown.
Serve it. I won't stop drinking until I have all the sake in the store. If you don't serve it...
(unsheathes blade)
Owner: Th-That sort of thing...Please wait! Okyakusama! Okyakusama..!
~~~[end of imagined sequence]~~~
Shinpachi: Is going out for sake supposed to be like that?
Harada: No, it isn’t.
Heisuke: Furthermore, that's what Sano-san wants to do right?
Harada: Then what ideas would you propose, Heisuke?
Heisuke: Eh: In... in that case... a show house [ 見世物小屋 is the word here in Japanese... Wikipedia says the term “freak show” is used overseas. had to get the audio as text because I wasn’t sure of the word I had used originally].?
Shinpachi: A show house? It's true that tickets are expensive so that might not be bad...
~~~[imagination sequence]~~~
(crowd going ooh)
Saito: Come one, come all Regardless of how ridiculous the order is, I will obey it without fail. I am the legendary dog with a human face [or human dog... I guess].
(crowd clamor)
Saito: Vice-Commander, please immediately give me an order.
HIjikata: Saito! Apprehend Souji, who scattered caltrops around my room!
Saito: Understood! No, wan! Dog with a human face, going forth!
(crowd clamor)
~~~[end of imagined sequence]~~~
Heisuke: Why is Hajime-kun working for the show house? That would be for making money, not spending it!
Harada: And isn’t the dog with a human face just like the usual Saito? He’s someone who called a human with dog like traits.
Shinpachi: But with so many options, there should be something you're interested in. How about it, Saito?
Saito: No, I’m sorry, but I can’t accept any of these proposals you’ve given.
Harada: Well, that’s how it is.
Shinpachi: Sure enough, it’ll just be going to Shimabara. Occasionally, you do go drinking together with us!
Harada: Can't you say anything else? He said it already that he wasn't interested.
Saito: But, it might not be bad to spend this money on someone else. I'll need to think this over again.
Heisuke: For someone else...?
Saito: Heisuke, what is it?
Heisuke: Eh? Ah, it’s nothing!
Harada: Then, we’ll take our leave now.
Shinpachi: Tell us when you figure out how to use it! If you decided on going to Shimabara, I'll approve of that!
(door slides open, Shinpachi and Harada leave)
Heisuke: Then, I’ll be going too.
Saito: Wait, Heisuke. What was it that you were going to say? Your expression is strange.
Heisuke: No, I was just a bit envious of Hajime-kun.
Saito: Envious?
Heisuke: If I had a lot of money, I would give Chizuru a beautiful kimono.
Saito: A beautiful kimono... like the clothes she wore when she infiltrated Shimabara?
Heisuke: That’s right, Chizuru was so cute then... No, uh, she was very happy!
Saito: Yukimura at that time... The day I infiltrated Shimabara, Yukimura, who had been disguised by Osen, seemed shy to show herself. I probably won't ever forget how she looked then. Her appearance wasn't changed at all, she simply wore a beautiful kimono, combed her hair, put on some hair pins and make-up, that's all it was. I couldn't even look directly at her. That's how beautiful Yukimura had become then...
Heisuke: Hajime-kun! Hajime-kun! Hey Hajime-kun!
Saito: Uh.... Ah! What is it, Heisuke?
Heisuke: What are you doing? Why are you suddenly dazed?
Saito: No, it’s nothing. Sorry, what did you say?
Heisuke: I was just talking about giving Chizuru a beautiful kimono to wear! But that's impossible. How would hear wearing a woman's kimono be allowed at headquarters?
Saito: Nn, that’s right.
Heisuke: Kodo-san is still missing, so I really want to do something that will help cheer her up.
Saito: Is Yukimura very depressed?
Heisuke: It's not like that, but she might be forcing herself to smile.
Saito: That’s right...
Heisuke: I really want to do something for her.
Saito: Ah...... But would she want to wear a woman’s kimono again? Or is it that I want to see her dressed up like that again? No, even though she’s usually wearing men’s clothing, it’s to be expected for her to want to dress up a woman. No, but...
Heisuke: Hajime-kun. Hajime-kun. Hey~ Hajime-kun! Hah... he’s like this again... would it be better to just leave him be for a while?
---to be continued---
....in february. unless it’s fine to post track 5 and 6. since those are done while track 2 is incomplete.
#hakuoki#hakuouki#hakuoki drama cd#hakuoki drama translation#Hijikata Toshizou#Okita Souji#Saito Hajime#Toudou Heisuke#harada sanosuke
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Do you have any creative influences? I'm always so impressed by your work— your prose especially— and I need to know if there's any creators out there I need to file away in the creative influence database in my head so I can write like you
This question took all day of me searching and thinking because I can't really say I know who or what's influenced me right off the top of my head. With notable exceptions that bookend this post. Anyway, here you go!
@.teshamerkel 's PMD Seekers of Soul was my TPiaG before I found TPiaG. It helped me through a part of my life that, looking back, was a lot harder than I thought it was. While it didn't move me to the point of starting to make my own art again, I certainly did consider it. And I consider Seekers of Soul to be a must-read for any PMD fanfic enthusiasts.
Tui T. Southerland's Wings of Fire series is the first thing I can remember thinking of fanfiction for. I never did write any of it, mostly because I never felt motivated enough (and partially because it was was all just oc x canon). But even with my misgivings of the series and how bungled the overall theme of arc 2 was with how they defeated the big bad, book 6 is still one of my favorite books of all time.
All of @.saltnpepperbunny 's work is really good, and definitely had an influence!
PMD Victory Fire holds a very special place in my heart for being excellent story, incredible artwork (that I think was done in MS paint), and being one of the first pmd things I consumed besides the games. Even if its on indefinite hiatus, I still consider it to be a must-read for even people outside of the PMD sphere. I would go into more detail, but I don't want to spoil anything!
I also consider Cucumber Quest to be a must-read. I dont have much to say besides that it's genuinely amazing and that you should read it the first chance you get.
Obligatory Avatar The Last Airbender mention. It's shocking to me how the worst that show got was just a mediocre episode in the first season. (The great divide) I genuinely think the entire series should be put in museums or something because it is an enormous accomplishment in the field of storytelling in general.
Scoob And Shag goes from a silly, foul-mouthed joke comic, to... not a joke comic. I would love to gush about it, but I fear that doing so would spoil it. Check it out. Even if its just for the (frankly absurd) glow up in the artistic style and quality. I normally advise going into things as blind as possible, but I would recommend checking the TV tropes page to know what kinda stuff you're in for once you reach around episode 20~30 and then seeing if it's something you would be interested in. It's very good, but definitely not for everyone.
... I thiiiiink that's it for people and content I can point to and know that they've influenced me off the top of my head. (Aside from one massive exception at the end of this post) The rest of this is just kinda a list of content and creators I really enjoy and highly recommend checking out at some point. Even If I can't really tell just how much of an effect it's had on me.
First, videogames!
Despite how much of my time I spend playing videogames, the only few I can point to are:
Celeste
Undertale
Undertale Yellow
Deltarune
Stardew Valley
and Hades. (I recommend Hades the most)
Despite how much I love the series, I haven't actually played any PMD games. (At least, in any official sense.) I am working towards getting them though!
Next, Youtubers:
• Atastic's animations are fantastic! I don't have much to say beyond that they are really good and fun.
• Bumbles McFumbles is a rare example of a person who is equally entertaining while talking about something he likes, as he is while talking about something he doesn't like. He's got an excellent sense of comedic flow and timing. He's part of the reason why my humor is the way it is.
• Doodley is an animator that makes videos on animation principles and is also just generally entertaining while also educational.
• Eltorro64rus makes all of his absurdist, extremely smooth animations in Gmod. Which is endlessly impressive if you know that Gmod is a game first, and an animation software like, 6th. The humor is very much an acquired taste though.
• FutureCanoe has such a funny, dry sense of comedy that it almost makes you forget that he's a cooking youtuber who somehow makes all of his food look like it was poisoned before, during and after cooking.
• GildedGuy is such a cool animator that he got his stickman OC in fortnite! And all his animations are gorgeous masterpieces, that too.
• Krugston is an animator that is constantly experimenting with his style. He went from a generic storytime animator to, in my opinion, one of the most unique and creative animators on the platform.
• Neytirix is an animated youtuber, but describing her videos really difficult because of just how unique they are. My best shot at it would probably be: "horror storytime animator and artist, with overarching plot between videos"
• Overly Sarcastic Productions has an entire, multi-hour long playlist of videos on different tropes. And within those is writing advice. While there are a couple of things that I remember disagreeing with, (even though I can't remember specifically what. probably just opinions on certain shows' quality) The general advise they give can be a big help. (They also do history lessons, and while I don't care for those as much, there is definitely appeal behind them)
• MajorLink doesn't have a large amount of videos, but he does have a fan animated series of The Legend Of Zelda. One with a total runtime reaching just over two hours at this point, with more on the way!
• ScottTheWoz is up there with Jerma as one of the most experimental, consistently funny, and creative e-celebs on their respective platforms. One of the few YouTubers that you would have to watch his videos in chronological order to understand all of the jokes. But even lacking context behind all of the injokes and references is fine because he writes jokes with the knowledge that someone might be watching it for the first time. 'Great Gaming Mysteries', followed by 'The Trial' would be my favorite youtube video of all time if they weren't separate.
• Wendigoon's videos are equal parts entertaining, and disturbing. They also are consistently over the 1 hour mark, so they also make for pretty good background noise material if you want to hear a guy talk for hours.
• Yahya Danboos has several videos showcasing his process of making an ambitious 3d hack-n-slash as a solo dev. It's pretty informative on the process of making a 3d game.
Next is TV shows!
This one is even shorter than videogames since the amount of time I spend searching for shows to watch, and watching youtube videos on said shows, outweighs the amount of time I spend actually watching the shows.
But I can fully recomend these shows though!
Centaurworld
Amphibia
Gravity Falls
Adventure Time
The Owl House
Next up, Webcomics!
All of the following are in no specific order. If I don't say anything, it's not because it's worse, but because saying "it's really dang good and you should check it out" for every entry can get exhausting.
All of these can be found on ComicFury.
PMD: Taken Place
Pokémon Abridgestery Dungeon
PMD: Milos From Home
PMD: On Borrowed Time
PMD: Terminus
PMD: Another Perspective
PMD: The Human Connection
PMD: Rangers Of Sky
PMD: The Rouge Team
Autumn In Sinnoh
Jet's Black Nuzlocke
Last Light
Soul Food
Endurance: In Our Blood
Laika's Comet
The-Heart-Of-A-Monster
Vagabond Sonic
All of the following I found on Webtoons, some I know arent on just webtoons, but I do know that they're all on there.
Lil' Char and Gang
Suitor Armor
Vampire Husband
City Of Blank
The Greatest Estate Developer (genuinely the funniest webtoon ive ever read)
The Last Dimension
Hand Jumper
Spontaneous World Shifting (my favorite out of all of these in the webtoons section)
Magic School Girl: Spare No Villains
Loving Reaper (my beloved)
TRIPTRACK
Spellward Bound
Marionetta
Zodiac Parade
Of Swamp and Sea
Jupiter Men
Vibe Check!
CARL
Next is the various Tumblrinas I follow. (Not tagging them because i feel like it'd be wierd.)
@.cringywhitedragon and @.ghetsis both come up with really cool idea's that are partially responsible for the things I come up with.
@.efplanning Makes some cool art and is also cooking up a really cool universe that I'm excited to see.
@.obogaboo is making PMD: Taken Place and is also just a really good artist.
@.teeterarting Author of The Rouge Team and also makes really lovely art
@.aimer-arts 's art is adorable and wonderful and beautiful and I love it.
Same goes for @.quikyu
Same goes for @.sunsnak
Same goes for @.pichiicake
Same goes for @.pikabata
Same goes for @.chufflepop
Same goes for @.honeycrud
Same goes for @.honrupi-art
Same goes for @.cryptid-creations
Same goes for @.dailyralsei
Same goes for @.bugblast
@.zeropro Is the author of Jet's Black Nuzlocke, and also makes some great art on the side!
@.fwugradiation makes some cool music I think. He hasn't posted it a while though.
@.spicymochi makes cute art that I wanna buy stickers of in the future.
@.advosart 's riolu gives me life.
And now for the grand finale! The person who's my greatest creative influence:
It's @sincerely-sofie
You asked me for my biggest creative influences, but it seems to me, from what I think is implied in that ask you sent, didn't realize that I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you. I doubt I ever would have gotten started even writing things if it weren't for the things that you make and your constant, uplifting encouragement.
While all of these other things I've outlined in this post did have an impact, and those ones at the start had more of an impact as i might not have thought of before, they all are barely quantifiable compared to just how much of an impact your own stuff has had on my creative expression. It's your stuff that got me to begin creatively expressing after all!
You say you like my Prose, but I actually think that it sounds closest to yours than anyone elses, if we assume that my own personality isnt a factor.
It's genuinely impossible to thank you enough for how much of a positive impact you've had on me.
:)
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do you have any poetry collection recommendations/poet recommendations in general just to like Read?
boy do i ever!!!
okay i have two all time top favorite poets (not ranked in a particular order):
1. Louise Glück: There was actually an anthology published of all the books so published from the start of her career to 2012.
(Poems 1962-2012 is 600+ pages of incredible poetry and relatively cheap, especially for its size and considering poetry tends to cost more than fiction books)
Glück’s poetry is actually the reason I started reading more poetry in the first place. She writes both long form and short form poetry (with her more recent working being longer than a lot of her previous poems), and her language level tends to be pretty accessible.
She writes about hundreds of different topics, but reading from the anthology you get a large mix of themes about motherhood, love, and nature and she also has collections that focus on greek mythology as well as jewish religion.
She has won a Nobel Prize for her poetry, which I consider to be a pretty good way to gauge the caliber of her work!
Highly, highly recommend her work!!
2. Ocean Vuong.
I’ve read his three most recent works: Night Sky With Exit Wounds, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and Time is a Mother.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is actually a novel rather than a poetry collection but it reads a lot like poetry and I consider it to be an must-read.
A lot of his works center around his his experience as a queer, Vietnamese American and his relationship with his own intrapersonal identity as well as with his mother. I cant think of a single poem of his that isn’t absolutely incredible, and I think if you’re going to talk about the best poets of our age he’s a crucial mention.
I highly recommend reading his works in publishing order (which is the way I listed them above). His poetry is genuinely life-changing and I cannot stress how much I recommend his writing.
Outside of my two favorite authors I also recommend:
–Amanda Gorman, who is the youngest inaugural poet in U. S. history and is shaping the voice of modern poetry.
You can watch her recite her inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb” here!
She also has published a collection of her poetry, Call Us What We Carry, which I read all in the same day I bought it because it’s brilliant and captivating.
—The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, which is a fiction novel but the main character narrates the story through her own poetry, making it a poetry collection and a novel all in one. I read this for the first time when I was 13 and I pick it up again every single year.
(I do also highly recommend looking up trigger warnings for this book before you read it, because there are a couple scenes that can be intense!)
—The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi. It’s likely you’re familiar with this quote from it (which i see circulating tumblr and pinterest all the time):
“Lord, I confess I want the clarity of catastrophe but not the catastrophe. Like everyone else, I want a storm I can dance in.
I want an excuse to change my life.”
And I can guarantee the rest of this poetry collection is just as poignant and beautiful! Highly recommend, 10/10 stars always.
—Pablo Neruda is also one of my favorite poets! I own a large collection of his poetry, The Poems of Pablo Neruda, which places the original poem, written in Spanish, next to the English translation, which I enjoy a lot. He also has a lot of well-known quotes that float around tumblr a lot, so that sense of familiarity can be fun, especially when you’re not expecting it!
Hope you enjoy these recommendations!
#this is actually a funny request right now because whenever i recommend poetry i go through my own personal book collection#and i’m moving to college in less than a week (and flying with a limited amount of bag) so a lot of my favorite books are going#to be left behind and every single book on this list owns a well loved place in my collection#so i have DECISIONS to make#especially because i can’t guarantee that what i leave behind will ever come back into my possession#but anyways!! i am always down to discuss poetry#my sister also just gifted me a collection of all the poems she’s ever written and i wish i could just telepathically communicate it to you#but alas she has not yet taken my advice to publish any of her poetry anywhere😔 (except for in my personal library ofc)#i also donated a lot of my books recently and there was a really good poetry book in there i can’t remember the title or author of😭😭#ask#poetry#recs#me re-reading this list realizing how american it is clearly i have a bias
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questions for fic writers: 9, 14, 17, 26, 40, 41, 48
9. How do you find new fic to read?
Depends what I'm looking for. For fandoms I already know and have already browsed, I'll check the latest fics posted (most of the time filtering to only see finished works but not always) (sometimes with a rating filter, sometimes not).
If I'm into a new pairing or a new fandom altogether, I'll go with the usual "Ranked by kudos" + "Finished works" combo and browse through the pages.
I also look in my "Bookmarked for Later" list from time to time but some fics there have been waiting for me for a long time now.
14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer?
Hm. My instinct was to say no only because I already read pretty much everything now, even stuff that I didn't think I would want to approach a while ago. But, all things considered, there are still some tags that I avoid and that I would have to give a chance for some writers I love, I have to admit.
17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?
I don't have anything that comes up to mind. The other day I was thinking about the THIRDS series (of books) and how the MotoGP riders would fit in that universe so maybe that.
26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?
It's funny because I've kind of already done both? This Coldflash fic from 2019 doesn't exactly have zero dialogue but it comes close to it considering the format. And if we're not too technical, this Mattdrai fic from 2021, using social media formats, is kind of all dialogues (in different forms).
And if I really have to chose, I think no dialogue is easier and even though I love a good dialogue, I'm not sure I could do only that (or altering the rules a little there).
40. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?
I tend (or tended) to be the second type of person with most pieces of media and arts (read: fics, tv shows, movies, books) and it will frustrate me to rewatch or reread something because I already know what's happening next. That said, I think I've changed over the last few years and now I'm able to rewatch things and reread my favorite fics with great pleasure.
41. Link a fic that made you think, "Wow, I want to write like that."
Literally anything ever written by @ladyeggplant. The bro but make it soft series is a forever favorite of mine.
48. What's the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?
The last thing I read was your savage good boy by @yekoc and I 100% recommend it to everyone. So beautifully written. A delicious Cele/Bezz that I had to pause several times just for my brain to go !!! before I could proceed in my reading again.
questions for fics writers
#questions for fic writers#thank you so much for all of those!!#surprised by myself and the fact I didn't have to think too much to answer them#how nice of my brain
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THE RO R.E.P.O.R.T
week one :
happy sunday all!!
so i've been feeling a little better and i saw this on tik tok and i think i'm gonna start doing this on sundays, even if it's annoying lmao it's nice to feel better (i started taking my meds again) also this was like,,, really fun so if you like it do it and tag me cause i wanna see !! <3
Reading:
Tragically nothing right now.
between writing and home renovation i've had absolutely no time to myself but i've got five days off for thanksgiving and i definitely will be getting to some books soon!! here's a photo of me painting my room w my mom
Eating:
the gas station in town has those blue cookie tins and i'm obsessed, took them to the movies with me
Playing:
i've been catching up on hey riddle riddle while working around the house!!
Obsessing:
Bob's Burgers !!
i'm always watching bob's burgers, it's my comfort show like i literally just loop it, when i finish it i just restart. (having autism makes me super normal about things) specifically this week i rewatched the blade runner episode where tina buys herself a new shirt and the girls at school make fun of her for it and like every other time i've watched it i cried like a baby
Recommending:
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes !!
i saw this yesterday, i've loved the hunger games since i was a wee tween and i didn't go to the movies a lot growing up which is why i go so much now. so i never got to see a hunger games movie in theatres until now and i fucking loved it, i know opinions are all over the place but i adored it and highly recommend it!!
Treating:
even though i haven't had time to read i did recently buy a new kindle!! (i could not resist the green back kindles) my old one was a hand me down from my mom that she got ten years ago and took a very long time to turn the page lmao
anyways, that's all from me this week, i did manage to get a chapter out and paint my room so i'm pretty excited about that!! i'm hoping to spend this upcoming weekend writing an oh honey update and working through some stuff for bks week!!
luv y'all, hope everyone has a great week!!
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HOLD UP, SO LIKEEE I WAS READING SOME WORKS RIGHT? AND RIGHT HERE IT SAID “There was actually a fifth member before you were involved” FOR THE MUTANTS OKAY? Like ngl I’m interested… SO how would the popular kids react with a reader who went on a vacation for like 1 week or 2. And like when they came back the reader is showing the pics they took and saying how they made friends over there. BUT in one of the pics it shows the 5th member being there just posing for a selfie with reader! After being taken away by the gov maybe they’re on the run lol -🌊
TW: None
"When exactly did you take these pictures?" Tina asks as she snatches the phone from your hands looking at the selfies the others crowd around her as she swips through all of the pictures.
"About two days before I left from there" You watch as everyone made eye contact with eachother before they basically force you up from your seat "come on we're leaving early."
Before you know it they had you back at your vacation spot looking around themselves along with some hired people to help look around "Are you sure this is where you both met up?" Tina asks almost shaking from nervousness
"Yes I am."
Petra quickly jumps into the conversation "we should look further out I doubt she'd stay in one place for too long."
Everyone seems to agree on this failing to realize the pair of eyes watching from a distance more specifically you as you're grabbed by the hand and dragged off with the group.
It had been 4 days since coming here and scouted your vacation spot and further along with having more than 50 disguised workers going even further out in hopes in finding the woman.
However it all fell in vain as no clues or hints beside what you had shown them in the pictures were found and while it utterly destroyed them they would force you to delete the pictures not giving a reason other than it being for your safety.
"Can I please know what's gotten into you who is s-" before you can finish your sentence you're cut off by Jake "There are things better left unsaid if you don't know why by now just know that the foundation is keeping things quiet for a reason." Jake leans against the hotel room chair before continuing "Also please keep it down there's a reason why we have this." He lifts the almost finished notebook from the table having burned all the pages they've used.
You watch as he tosses it back onto the desk before standing up and laying in between you and Petra laying his legs on Pauls lower back even with his relaxed pose you can tell he does have a lot in mind along with the others as Petra taps her leg on the ground while paul stares at the ground even Tina who usually clings onto you is simply sitting beside you with her arms crossed while staring at her thighs.
Despite the next two days being even more demanding everyone seemed to be in a bad mood at the failure of not being able to find the fifth member, Despite it being painful to say they tell you to delete the photos.
You stare at Petra with your eyebrows furrowed "Can I know why?" Petra makes eye contact with you before responding "Unless you wish to deal with both the foundation and government at the same time i'd highly recommend you do it as of now, you know I don't say things simply to say them." She says in a no nonsense tone.
This causes you to delete the pictures albeit hesitantly and continue on with your trip back home everyone quiet throughout the whole way back due to this its left you to either do your own thing to be able to pass the time, Before you know it your in your own home which in itself a surprise since Tina is always adamant that you have to be at her house no questions asked.
As the days go on you notice the others seeming much more distant with you, they are always around but compared to before where they used to hover over you, They don't even ask where you are going or where you're at unless you've been gone for a sizeable amount of time in which they'll go looking for you or ask where you've been.
Besides that they all seem so tired paler more tempermental but the one to have hit harder is Tina who's usually bubbly now is quiet and refuses to leave her bed unless forced to by the others or the foundation.
Petra has been working so much that even jake struggles to even have a full conversation without her leaving to do something, Paul's anger has gotten worse that it ended up with him getting suspended from the football team and into solidarity the only one who seems to have taken it the best being Jake who seems to be the only one who is really by you nowadays.
Even then he always seems to be very deep in thought he doesn't seem to notice as you stare at him as he always normally does, You can't help but feel a bit of guilt seeing them in this way, sighing you look away from and out his room window only to make eye contact with someone very familiar but as you're about to warn jake but she does one simple motion; an index finger to her lips.
This catches you off guard leaving you to stay quiet but your face causes Jake to look at you confused "what's wrong?" You look at jake in which he immediately stands up and looks out the window seeing no one there "I guess we're all losing our minds, come on sit down already." He goes back to sitting on his couch waiting for you to follow suit.
Looking outside one more time you see nothing making you sigh before sitting down "Relax it's probably our fault you've been anxious as of late, here how about this we can watch some television." Jake grabs the remote and turns it on "What do you feel like watching? We can always wa-" you both watch in shock as you see her face on tv.
"She is a five foot six black female mutant with type 3B hair and bright yellow eyes if seen please immediately report to the appropriate authorities and under no circumstances should contact be made for your well-being and safety, As she is highly dangerous...."
Jake immediately stands up grabbing his phone calling both Tina and Petra before you know it you see cars park outside Jakes driveway "Uhhhh Jake." He grabs your hand with free one as a way to tell you he's busy but when you yank on his sleeve he looks at you "we have a problem outside." Jake goes toward the window freezing up upon seeing the cars.
"One more thing you guys the jackass is here."
Request are open!
#yandere#yandere oc#my oc character#yandere x reader#yandere x y/n#female yandere x reader#female yandere#yandere female oc#yandere female#yandere male x reader#male yandere#yandere male#male yandere x reader#yandere male oc#yandere mutants#yandere popular kids
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Do you have any advice for people that want to get into programming?
oops, we've been archiving old art today and got to this late, apologies!
so i'm going to assume that you mean as a hobbyist and not as a professional because i am only a hobbyist who likes coding simple websites. i think depending on how serious you want to take programming there's a lot of different potential answers to this question and everyone's different, so take me with a grain of salt, but i can answer from my own experience!
i earnestly think the best way to start with programming is to start making a project that aligns with interests you already have, and keep it small. i don't mean jump into that massive dream video game immediately, that'll lead to burnout fast! for me it was blue moon falls, taking it one page at a time. i slowly graduated from struggling on basic html/css stuff to making decently complex javascript calculators. my love for pokemon really carried me through a lot of the parts where i felt stuck or frustrated, so if you have an interest like that and can make something for it, even if it's silly, i highly recommend it! not only does it help with motivation but it leads you to naturally picking up new skills as you go. for instance, i learned how to intimately work with multi-dimensional arrays while working on my gen 1 pokemon shiny tool!
also, please do remember that it's okay to struggle on parts that other people seem to have an easy time with, that doesn't make you a bad programmer. and it's okay to ask for help! google and stack overflow are your friends - even professional programmers (including the likes of my IRL father) will tell you that programming, even professionally, is partially just "professional googling." it is normal to be confused and it is normal to have to cobble together code by copy/pasting off of stack overflow and w3schools and whatever, you are doing it "right" ww (there is no true right or wrong, everyone learns differently)
if you have any more specific questions i'm always open to talking about neocities and stuff!
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One More Time (Julieta x Fem!Reader) Pt 8
As always I am not a native Spanish speaker, so if I butchered a sentence or word let me know so I may correct it.
This one ended up being super long so I hope it’s something you all find worth reading.
Part 8 of 20
Pt 9
I did not make the gif.
Things to note: Julieta is a widow. Reader is 30. Talks about depression early on.
Please don’t tear it apart too harshly!
Wednesday.
“Hola Luisa. How can I help you today?”
The large woman looked around nervously before looking back at you.
“I’m not sure.”
“Well what are you looking for?” You asked.
“I don’t really know.” She admitted.
She had always been so dedicated to helping the town that she never had time for any activities that interested her. Now that everyone was easing up on her she wanted to find something she enjoyed. Something relaxing.
“Oh a challenge! I love it!” You said and clasped your hands together.
“What do you enjoy doing?”
“Umm I guess work?” She said with a shrug.
You smiled. This girl was your twin, this would be fun.
“You remind me of someone. Someone who also enjoys work and doesn’t seem to know her own interests.”
“Yeah?” Luisa questioned. You motioned for her to follow and you led her into your fantasy section.
“This other person really enjoys working as well. She dedicated her whole life to service, so much so she wouldn’t know what to do with herself if she couldn’t work.”
“She sounds like me.” Luisa admitted.
“Oh you two share a lot of the same qualities. What I found worked for her was fantasy.” You gestured to the shelf.
“Going on adventures. Saving the princess and slaying the dragon. Finding the treasure and protecting the town from the villain.” You quickly scanned the shelf and pulled a book off.
“The protagonist was working but it was exciting! I highly recommend this one.” You said handing the book to Luisa. The young woman smiled and took it.
For the next hour Luisa sat in her mothers chair and read, completely engaged in the story.
“Señorita, how much for this?”
“Free of charge.” You said from your spot restocking shelves.
“Oh no I couldn’t.”
You thought for a moment.
“Read it and come back ready to discuss. I have six more and no one to talk to about them and I’ll call it even.”
Luisa was quick to agree and thanked you for the book before departing. You waved goodbye and went back to work. You had much to do today.
——
Thursday.
“Hola Señorita Isabela. How may I help you today?”
Isabela approached you confidently and stopped just short of the counter.
“I need something to spark my creativity. Something with many illustrations.” She stated.
You smiled at her sweetly. Ah finally a Madrigal who knew what she wanted. You came from behind the counter and led her to your fine art section.
“Maybe something here can help.” You suggested.
You stood back and patiently watched as she went through book by book. By the tenth she sighed and turned back towards you.
“No, none of these are what I’m looking for. All of this is too….pretty. I need something…new and different.” She said and sighed. She wasn’t sure how to describe what she was looking for.
You brought your hand to your chin and tapped.
“I think I know what you may be looking for.” You said and led the girl to a much smaller section of the store.
It was only half a bookshelf and none of the books had been touched in quite some time.
“Not many people like these. They are dark and weird and don’t fit into any of the normal sections.” You said, turning towards the eldest grandchild.
“I’ve had a few customers complain about the topics. Demanding I get rid of them for something more acceptable.” You added as you watched Isabela take the first book off the shelf.
Her smile was almost immediate as she flipped through the pages. The art was weird and different and was far from pretty, but she loved it. She flipped and flipped before grabbing another and another.
“These are exactly what I’m looking for!” She said turning towards you with an armful of books.
“I’m glad. Most people don’t appreciate what they have to offer. They see the cover and judge them before taking a peek inside.”
Isabela was stunned. It’s like you somehow knew who she was without actually knowing her. She looked at you curiously and you simply smiled in return.
“They will be well loved in my home.” She said and gripped the books closely to her.
“I’m happy to hear that. I’ll make sure to keep that shelf stocked, despite what some people may say.”
Isabela smiled and followed you back to the front. As she fished for her coin purse you stopped her.
“How do you feel about a trade? Those books in exchange for the most unusual and unique plant you can create. Something to put in my front window?”
“Oh absolutely!” Isabela said with a large grin. Her mind was already racing with ideas.
“Maravillosa, I can’t wait to see what you come up with!”
Isabela thanked you and departed, running back to casita to create the weirdest and most wonderful thing she could.
#julieta madrigal#julieta madrigal x reader#julieta x reader#julieta x fem reader#reader insert#Encanto#One More Time
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Ten Books To Know Me
Rules: 10 (non-ancient) books for people to get to know you better, or that you just really like.
I’m considering myself tagged by @that-banhus and @fancy-rock-dove!! I sadly suffer from Gifted Kid Burnout Syndrome currently engaged in a very time-consuming course of study which means I haven’t read a single book from cover to cover in about two years (and I stayed in the YA genre for far too long because it’s easy brain candy) so I’m sorry to say that none of mine will be fancy or sophisticated or longer than about 300 pages. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reminiscing back on some of my childhood favorites that shaped me and some of the series that sustained me throughout my life since!
The DragonKeeper Chronicles Series by Donita K. Paul - I wasn’t raised religiously but I devoured these books like there was no tomorrow. I adored Kale and Bardon and Dar and their whole host of dragon friends (Wizard Fenworth my beloved). If you can stomach or ignore the fairly obvious Christian themes, I highly recommend them for a bit of brain candy.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - this was the first classic book I ever read and it captivated me endlessly. It was the only school book I actually finished and enjoyed. Stories within stories, creator vs creation, voyages that you undertake knowing that you can never go home, this book has it all.
The All For The Game Series by Nora Sakavic - this series comes with a pretty heavy trigger warning for anyone interested in reading it. Centered around a made up sport and a kid on the run from the mafia, it’s dark and intense and drew me in like no other series ever has. Fans of the series will often proudly proclaim that the books make no sense, that the made up sport is confusing at best (absolutely incomprehensible at worst), and that not enough trigger warnings in the world will prepare you for what you’re about to dive into and I fully endorse all three statements. I also fully believe that these books helped me revolutionize how I view relationships between traumatized people (relationships that may not seem healthy to those not involved but are built on a strong foundation of trust and consent), how a good story should end, and showed how healing looks different for everyone. It’s not a book series I recommend lightly but I wholeheartedly recommend it. Proceed with caution.
Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo - I couldn’t ever get invested in the Shadow and Bone series, but I couldn’t put SoC down. Even now, I can’t explain why it enthralled me so much except to say… morally grey characters are hot, no matter what gender they are 👀
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater - rounding out the trio of book series that are often mentioned in the same breath (AFTG, SoC, and TRC), The Raven Cycle is a fabulous series centering around four rich boys and the girl who had always been taught to hate them. There’s magic and prophecies and car racing and an enchanted forest and ghosts. It’s a very rich story so every read-through gives up more secrets than the last time you flipped through it.
The Genome Odyssey by Euan Angus Ashley - A sharp veering turn from the previous books, this book helped to shape my passion in my (hopefully) future career. It tells the story of the genome, from its discovery to present day, and how it’s been used to diagnose previously unheard of and incurable genetic diseases, saving countless lives in the process. The author personally worked on every project detailed in the book and every chapter packed such an emotional punch that I had to put it down several times. A must-read if you need to be reminded just how good humanity can be.
The Martian by Andy Weir - This is a relatively recent addition to my ‘favorite books’ shelf but I read this like my life depended on it. I laughed, I cried, and my faith in humanity was restored. I was raised with the same style of dry wit and dark humor that the main character uses to keep his hopes and spirits up while trapped on Mars so reading his inner thoughts often felt like I was catching a glimpse into my own head. I know I’m late to the bandwagon but better late than never. A fantastic book that deserves a reread in the near future (as soon as I have time 😅)
Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby - When a queer couple is killed, their homophobic ex-con fathers meet at the funeral and vow to find who killed their sons. Over the course of their journey for revenge, they start to better understand their sons, each other, and themselves. A book about healing overcoming repression and toxic masculinity.
Redwall by Brian Jacques - an oldie but a goodie. Oh to be a small mouse eating fresh-caught fish and defending your abbey against rats. Every single detail of this story was so masterfully laid-out and described. Reading the first scene never fails to make me hungry and the entire book sweeps you away from beginning to end.
Where Hope Comes From by Nikita Gill - I had to sprinkle in some poetry to the list. This is an anthology of poems written during the Covid lockdown detailing the author’s struggle with despair and eventually finding hope again, even in the most mundane of scenarios. It carries a strong message of positivity while stressing the importance of allowing yourself to feel “negative” emotions too. An excellent read for any poetry fans open to free verse or anyone struggling with their own despair.
As always, I’m not sure who to tag so I’m throwing it open to @aquilathefighter, @virgo-dream, @mathomhouse-e, @ladymegana, and the rest of the Dreamling Nation server! Please tag me, I need book recs!
#thanks for the tag!#oh god it’s all ya novels#i don’t want to be embarrassed by this but#i am slightly#oh well#i read more fanfic than original fiction these days#because my brain is fucked and only likes instant gratification#adhd go brrrr
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Do Your "Grrr, We're Intelligence" Thing (Chapter Three)
Summary: This is Part Ten of my series A Herrmann/Halstead Production. It is an AU where Christopher Herrmann's mom had an affair with Pat Halstead resulting in a baby. The series follows this OC character (Rebecca "Bex" Herrmann) as she grows up and gets to know her brothers and the various Chicago teams. It is very much an AU, just to underscore that. It doesn't follow the same timeline and characters will follow different paths.
Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)
Rating: Teen Audiences and Up
Relationships: Christopher Herrmann & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Original Female Character, Will Halstead & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead, Greg 'Mouse' Gerwitz & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Greg 'Mouse' Gerwitz, Pre-Will Halstead/Connor Rhodes
Warnings: A man gets aggressive with Bex at a club (off-screen) and it is dealt with. Also, Jay is having a hard time. (A third chapter was requested to show Intelligence actually doing their "grr" thing so small warning for that? Honestly, they've done way worse.)
A/N: I'll post the link to the ao3 page at the bottom. This story has not only an OC character, but some quirky elements which may or may not be everyone's jam. Just FYI. Updates will be slow coming as I pick away at them during breaks from work. I couldn't take a full break from this though - I'm too excited to write it so I made working on this series my reward for when I get stuff done, lol
Click here for Chapter One
Click here for Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Al
He’d called Hank on the way to his car and the man was ready and waiting on his porch when Al pulled up.
“You got an address?” Hank asked as he slid into the passenger seat. Al passed him the wallet. Hank flipped it open with a bemused smile. “She really stole it?”
“Crime of opportunity, more like.” Al shrugged. Hopefully Halstead wasn’t giving her too hard a time about it. He didn’t blame the kid for wanting this asshole put on blast. He’d seen too many of them running free, slipping through the cracks in the system.
What was she wearing? Had she been drinking? Was she flirting back?
Always a microscope on the victim, casting doubt and looking for ways to shift the blame.
And these guys…they got away with it again and again and again.
He’d seen it too many times.
Al had been relieved to hear things hadn’t gotten that far for Mini-Halstead. He knew the younger members of the team would be willing to look into it—would want to—but they'd also all come up trained to dot their I’s and cross their T’s.
Something Al’s years of experience had taught him didn’t always get you that far.
Something Hank understood just as well.
Hence, their little field trip.
“Paul Hollingsworth,” Hank said as he looked over the license and read out the address. “Let’s go have a chat.”
They drove in silence for a bit until Hank shifted in his seat. “The kid okay?”
“Got a bruise,” Al said, frowning at the memory. “And more shaken up than she was letting on, but she was okay. Kid’s tough. She kept her head. Used some moves Halstead taught her.”
“Hmm.” Hank nodded. “Glad to hear it.”
They pulled up to the house, behind the single car in the drive. The light was on in the living room and they could hear the TV going as they walked up the steps to knock on the door.
A disheveled-looking white guy with red-rimmed eyes and alcohol on his breath opened the door. “What.”
“Paul Hollingsworth?” Al flashed his badge. “We have some questions for you. Mind if we come in?”
“About fucking what?” The guy scowled, but stumbled back enough that they could step inside.
“Anyone else in the house, sir?” Al peeked around into the messy living room.
“Just me,” he said, pulling out his phone. “And soon my lawyer.”
Al plucked the phone out of his hands and set it on the little table in the foyer. He tossed the wallet down after it. “Just a few simple questions. Won’t take long.”
Hank stepped into the guy’s space. “What did the asshole who wouldn’t take no for an answer say to the cops?” He gripped the man’s arm, yanking it backwards and shoved him face first into the wall.
“Ahh-ahhhh, what the fuck? My arm! That hurts! What the fuck, man? Let me go!”
“Oh,” Hank said, squeezing his arm tighter and slamming him into the wall one more time when the asshole tried to move. “You’ve heard that one before. That’s disappointing.”
“Get off me, man! What—ow—what do you want?”
“Well, Paul,” Al said, wandering around behind Hank so he could face the rat bastard head on. “One of my very good friends told me that you've been having trouble listening to the word ‘no’. That you might be a little confused on the ins and outs of consent. Sound familiar?”
“Was it that bitc—ow!”
Al tutted at Hank slammed the guy into the wall once again. “Let’s be careful how you talk about my very good friends, Paul.” Al leaned against the wall beside them.
“Here’s what’s going to happen, okay? We’re going to have a talk until I and my friend here are very certain that you understand how to rectify your behaviour," he said. "And then, while you’re still here, reflecting, we’re going to take your photo and distribute it to every club and bar in Chicago. So, they can help us make sure you’re staying on your best behaviour. Okay?”
Paul’s snarl turned into a whine as his face was smushed into the wall.
“Excellent,” Al smiled at him. “Let’s get started…”
***
Jay
Voight and Olinsky assured him no follow up questions were needed and even though Jay knew that none of it had been handled by the book; he honestly didn’t give a shit. The world had offered him too many losses lately to not take this win. He'd checked up on the guy later—he wasn't limping or dead, just holding his arm gingerly which was a bit of what Bex would call poetic justice. He let it be and let himself be grateful his team had Bex's back.
***
Bonus: Trudy
“This the guy?” Trudy looked over the print out of the license Burgess and Tay had handed over to her.
The patrol officers nodded. They’d already filled her in on events of the previous night and while she knew Al and Hank had it handled…she’d had a few thoughts of her own.
“Okay,” Trudy nodded at them. “I’ll circulate it to patrol with his plate number.” She smirked down at the photo. “Welcome to parking violation hell, jerkwad.”
Click here for Part Eleven: Sometimes You Need
(And here is the link to read Do Your "Grrr, We're Intelligence" Thing on ao3.)
#chicago fire#chicago med#chicago pd#one chicago#christopher herrmann#jay halstead#will halstead#halstead brothers#oc character#rebecca 'bex' herrmann#halstead sister#sibling bonding#found family#team as family#fluff#angst#hurt/comfort#alternate universe#not canon#not beta read#my first fanfic series#A Herrmann/Halstead Production
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new WIP dropped??????please tell me
e v e r y t h i n g
also narrated by a Raven???? I'm so :ooo
have a good day/ night!
(@ink-fireplace-coffee)
hehehe, it's the one I mentioned a little while ago, somewhere on my blog as "high fantasy wip". I described the vibes as "Six of Crows mixed with a DnD campaign."
The problem is that I have no plot, other than that first little inciting incident that I mentioned. And I don't really have the other characters solidified yet either. This WIP is really me just trying to come up with my ideal book based on my current interests, lmao. So maybe my interests will change before I ever finish it, but idk. I just think we need more found family fantasy stories, and as of right now, most of the found family stuff I've read has been YA centered. Which is fine, but adults deserve some too, right??
(a lot of this is going to be repeated from this ask I answered for @rose-bookblood, but I'm going to add a lot more too.)
Anyways, I'll try and tell you some more! I'll list the character ideas I have right now:
Avidra (Avi): they/them, elf of some sort, former assassin, like 127 years old. (but their species isn't considered "adult" until they're 100 years old.)
Asra: she/her, human, in her 20's, talented thief.
Brynn: she/her, trans, human, late 20's or early 30's, former pit fighter??
Orion: he/him. Not-quite-human sorcerer with a talent for fire. Going through his gifted kid burnout arc.
Healer/nature mage who thinks they have to save everyone, and haunted by the one time they couldn't. (pronouns tba)
A warlock who made a deal with an entity years ago and is now terrified of being possessed by said entity.
(by the way, you should know that there are absolutely zero cishet characters in this story. everyone is queer somehow.)
Those last two characters I'm not settled on, but they're character concepts I love a lot, so we'll see what happens.
As for the raven narrator, uh, yeah. He works for the Raven Queen, who is this world's goddess of death. He's meant to collect people's souls when they die. He starts following the group after the death that happens on the first fucking page (here) and gets invested. In a weird way, he does care about the group, but also, he's an immortal collector of souls. He has a very matter-of-fact approach to death and such, and his way of "caring" or being interested doesn't necessarily mean he hopes they don't die. He just wants to see what they do before they die.
His narration is going to have footnotes, which are like his little comments or interjections. (these are in first person) I have a deep love for the use of footnotes in storytelling.
So, um, picture him as like, Death from The Book Thief mixed a bit with the narrator from The Nevernight Chronicles. Though in my mind, the best use of footnotes will always be The Bartimaeus Trilogy, which I highly recommend to anyone who hasn't read it! But also, throw in the 3rd omniscient-ness of Lemony Snicket in A Series of Unfortunate Events.
And I got this idea from falling head first into a hyper fixation with Critical Role. So, ummm.... this is going to be a wild ride. But if I can pull it off (or at the very least come up with a plot and develop the characters), I will be very, very happy and proud of myself.
Anyways, that's really everything I know about this story. Thanks for asking about it, Carmen!!! <33
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Personal, terrible body updates, general venting (it’s a CW and a blog title!)
Had another round of PT today, oof. We are into working on my arms and shoulders finally. My hands have improved significantly since starting all this, which is great, but the rest of my body is having a rougher go with it. It’s interesting to be able to pinpoint the really bad parts of my joints, and also observe how the rest of my body has been compensating to make up for the deficit. Also watching while the physio pokes part of my shoulder and the complete opposite side of my body reacts to try and carry it is pretty wild. Biology and physiology are amazing and frustrating all at once! But boy did I ever need the world’s longest nap after that today.
At the moment we’re going with “it’s probably some flavor of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, with something else like POTS mixed in for extra spice,” so that’s. Ehh. But at least it’s a direction. Still, a heap of tests in my future as we find out how far the rabbit hole goes down. I get to talk to someone about the potential POTS aspect tomorrow, which has me anxious and also hopeful because at least information gives me the power to do something about any of this. It’s worrying because it’s heart related stuff, but also it seems like the kind of thing that can be managed so at least there’s that. I’ve been using my aging Apple Watch to keep tabs with the Heartwatch app for a few weeks and the data is pretty stunning. Highly recommend that if you’re in a situation like mine where you’re just looking for patterns, it’s about $5, or Tachymon which is free but a little more limited.
On the plus side, to help out with my lower body, I’m getting some sweet knee braces, which I am super excited about. Practically robot legs! Being able to walk places with confidence my legs won’t fall apart under me! Wow! It’s gonna be great. I’ve had a really bad time over the past year with mobility, so I’m really hoping this helps a bit. I’ve got plans to start going on short Pokémon Go walks when the weather warms up as a physical therapy supplement. It’s wild to me that like 10 years ago I was able to just push through this kind of pain and run a marathon, because I just assumed this is how everyone always felt doing physical activity and that was why marathons are considered hard. (It isn’t and, it isn’t.) I doubt I’ll ever be able to do that again, but maybe I can handle like a 5k or something someday.
Since my hands have been better, I’ve been getting in some comic work lately and it feels really good. I’m pretty excited about the pages I’m currently on and just. Really happy about making art, and liking the art I’m making. I’m close to having a second page totally done and I’ve got a good start on a third. I’m going to try and get at least 5 pages done before I commit to uploading, so I’ve got some buffer room, but the more I can get done, the better. I’ve spent hours on the current one and I can no longer tell if it’s due to my process or just being out of practice while my hands were improving. Either way, progress.
Anyway, just blabbing about health stuff because I’m anxious and it makes me feel better, and also I can look at this later when I’m not feeling great and recognize that it isn’t like that all the time. And comic updates stuff, because I want to draw so bad, and maybe people are interested in why I’ve been so slow. I feel kind of weird talking about it, but also nobody talks about this stuff plainly and we probably should. Oh well.
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oh dear god more than 10k- I think the last time i did that was like when i was 16 ahfsjkgh tho idk bc back then i dont write digital, i PHYSICALLY wrote my stories in a small notebook. Yeah my wrist was crying back then-
i wish you good luck writing it and hope the readers are ready bc more than 10k words always means a huge load of lore ajfhsjf
also, writing down a summary is actually smart :O for me, i just rmb the very main plots. The lil plots? The world buildings? pray to above that i can somehow make them logical and connected somehow LMAO. Tho lately i have written down the world building stuff in my work cause i realised i got confused if i dont ajfhjasd
-purp anon
If this tells you anything, this story has taken me so long - Atherix is reading it now and she's talking about a scene in it to me and i forgot i put it in. @-@ if all goes well I'm probably going to break the story up into chapters and edit it in chunks [+ write the last section and edit it]
To be fair this is also a story where I am trying to answer a lot of questions without. Actually answering them yet. Exploring a little on how the brain unwraps trauma and tries to deal with it when it gets to be too much because it was all revealed at once. They are. Going through it. It's fine. Everyone's fine. :)
And yessss - I stole the idea from a fiction workshop class I had in college. As part of the workshop we had to summarize every story in like, 5 or 6 sentences and I adapted that to be 5 or 6 sentences + worldbuilding notes + 2-3 sentences per side story - in my professor's defense she was talking about short stories that were, at maximum, 15 pages, and now im dealing with a nearly 40k already fanfiction series lolol I highly recommend trying it, it really changes the game.
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