#unrelated but her hair’s totally bleached | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

noodyl-blasstal · 1 year

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15 for the writing game and you fucking KNOW it's blupjeans

The prompts are from this list and I’m still taking suggestions (although they might be a bit slow!)

Object: Denim jacket with bleach-painted bone motif Emotions: Totally Chill, Nothing Can Prove Otherwise and Can’t stop humming love songs

Of course I didn’t make the playlist, that would be ridiculous. (I did in fact make the playlist. Here you go!)

“Lup, hey, hey Lup. What the fuck?” Taako lets her headphone snap back against her ear and gives her The Look that means he thinks she’s being insane. She’s not, so there.

She puts down the paintbrush and pushes her headphones down round her neck. “What?”

“Lulu, sister mine, you’re humming stupid loud, everything smells of bleach, and it’s arse o’clock. Are you good? Do I need to go find the emergency conditioning treatment again?” Taako grabs her jaw and turns her head side to side and looks for signs of crispy hair. Lup pretends to bite him but doesn’t connect, because, well, fair. It wouldn’t be the first time and it’ll probably happen again, but this time it’s different. He of little faith!

“I’m doing art, Taako.”

“Uh huh. 2am art?”

“I’m feeling creative. You can’t dictate when that happens.”

“Can I dictate that you create quietly? Taako needs to sleep.” He leans himself over her back, tucking his head onto her shoulder and Lup nuzzles him slightly with her head. She almost forgets he’s a feral goblin until he pretends to snore loudly in her ear.

“Gross, gerrof Goofus!”

“I will if you promise to stop listening to your Barry playlist while you make… whatever this is?”

Lup definitely doesn’t choke on her own spit, and if she does then that’s definitely why she was red, nothing to do with the mention of Barry’s name, thank you so much. She was nothing but incredibly normal about him. Professionally normal, in fact. Sometimes you made playlists about the guys you reaped souls with. That was super normal. Sure, she didn’t have a Kravitz playlist, but that was just because… he was her boss. It’d be weird if it was her boss, but Barry wasn’t, so it was fine.

“It’s a rad skull jacket, I’m bleach painting thank you so much, and I’m not listening to my Barry playlist!” Lup realises her mistake a minute too late as Taako cackles gleefully and swipes for her phone. Lup knocks it out of his reach and adds “...which I don’t have, and that’s why I’m not listening to it, because you can’t listen to something that doesn’t exist, Taako.” Nailed it, perfect, this was gonna be fine.

“Uh huh. Then you won’t mind showing me what you’re listening to then will you?”

Lup couldn’t show Taako her phone. For reasons. Ones unrelated to the Reap Me Baby One More time playlist she definitely wasn’t listening to and didn’t in any way relate to Barold. “No.” Oh, yeah, great, Taako was definitely going to take no for an answer, that was a thing he did, especially when he could already smell blood in the water.

He darts round her before she can knock the phone even further away. “Good luck, Goofus. It’s locked.”

Taako turns and gives her a disparaging look before removing his glasses and holds up the phone. “We’re twins, idiot.” He says as her stupid traitor phone unlocks itself. “Ooooh, interesting. Just some platonic songs. Platonically stupid for you, a classic. Love you madly… platonically; I want you to want me in a friend way though. All fine and normal.”

Lup doesn’t say anything, she grabs her brush and ignores the prickling feeling of tears building behind her eyes. It’s fine, Taako’s just teasing, he doesn’t mean anything by it. She’ll just finish painting her skull jacket and Kravitz won’t even be able to complain about denim being unprofessional because it’ll be super rad and she can say it’s a portrait of him. He’s always susceptible to flattery.

“Hey, Lulu.” Taako slots himself back over her shoulder. “You should just tell him you know? Barold’s head over heels for you.”

“Taako, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay, fine, don’t listen to your older, wiser, more beautiful brother.”

Lup jiggles her shoulder to try and get him off, but he sticks like a limpet. Fine, fine, if he’s not going anywhere then he can at least be a pillow about it. Lup rests her head against his. “I’ll tell him one day… probably.”

“You’d better. Also, you’re making another one of these.” Taako reaches over to tug the sleeve of the jacket very gently. “I’m adding diamante.”

Lup rolls her eyes, and finishes off the design. Maybe she can text Barry and ask if he wants to go for a drink after work tomorrow? He’ll definitely know that it’s different to all the other times they’ve been for after work drinks before…

#Lup and Taako wear their matching jackets out and the rest of reaper squad gets jealous so now all four of them have matching skull denim #TAZ fic #TAZ #The Adventure Zone #Lup #Lup Tacco #Taako Tacco #Taako #Noodyl Writes

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susansontag · 2 years

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i think it sort of is a class thing, but lower class women just spend a higher percentage of their income to make it happen for them. they also find workarounds like going to cheaper salons or cosmetic schools, getting it touched up less etc. but i think having perfectly maintained salon styled hair is a status symbol that many women are trying to attain.

unrelated but i’m in university rn and i just realized in the last few months how many girls have started bleaching their hair blonde, and how they’ll probably do it for the rest of their lives. it really disturbed me to be honest, to realise that they started doing this thing in college (like a huuuge percentage of them) that they will now see as necessary maintenance of their body for decades, and will cost them thousands or tens of thousands of dollars throughout their lives. it really freaked me out that for women in this group blonde hair is seen as somewhat inevitable. like their mothers probably did the same and they knew as teenagers that they would eventually do this and stuff. idk someone mentioned this but if you look at the wives of nhl players, something like 95% of their wives have dyed blonde hair. like at first you think it’s funny but if you think about it for longer than 5 seconds it’s literally just disturbing. it’s truly a mark of a trophy wife. these men literally do not see women without blonde hair as potential partners. these women see blonde hair as a norm or even requirement for the role they fill in society. it’s horrifying.

oh I totally agree maintaining perfectly dyed hair with no roots showing etc is a status symbol, albeit one many women of different economic classes might try and obtain, but I don't think blonde hair is a status symbol exclusively whilst other dyed hair colours that involve a great amount of upkeep aren't

women in what group see it as inevitable, though? college students? dyeing your hair blonde is trendy and popular among the rich, for sure. I'm not sure if I know enough to say with any certainty that nhl players would only want a blonde wife though... nor have I really heard a woman ever express that dyeing her hair blonde is as essential a ritual as applying makeup or something. idk I'd need more evidence to make the assessment that there's a substantial group of women who see dyeing their hair blonde specifically as fundamentally integral to their image in a way that no other dyed colour is... I think women can see this as being integral to their personal image but blonde being the sole colour this applies to?

if you consider it, the typical natural colours for women are: blonde, brown/black, or ginger. the majority of women worldwide have brown/black hair. the fact you see a lot of women who want to dye their hair, rich or not, dyeing it blonde is no surprise when the vast majority have darker hair

#thank u for the input tho i'm just discussing #i'm not totally convinced when i think many other factors contribute #asks #anon

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potatotrash0 · 3 years

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Hey idk if youve done this alreadh but im curious about your body headcanons for the sdr2 cast!! An anon sent some in for characters previously (the one where they said things like angie has vitiligo and stuff-i love them and they really stuck with me haha) and i wanna know your headcanons!! :D

Hmhmm this one I might be listing off the spot lmao. I feel like my hcs are mostly just. Common hcs but hey I never said I wasn’t basic skdjksjdks

cw for. Everyone. Yeah kdjfksjdks

Hajime…..I like to think he’s slightly buff? Maybe that’s not the right word. Toned? Idk, I hc that he jumps around hobbies a lot because he wants to find something he’s good at, so that includes sports. I like the idea that a few stick with him, like swimming and basketball. I imagine he also has light scrapes and scars on his legs from falling, both with skateboarding and general Clumsy Shit.

Also this one switches a lot but with Trans Hajime, I can see him with top surgery scars.

Oh ah, I like freckled Hajime!! It’s cute. This one goes with the sports hc, but I like the idea that he’s kinda tanned. Entirely unrelated but I also like the idea that he has calluses from playing guitar.

Chiakiii!! She’s soft bc I said so. Specifically her thighs, arms and stomach + some stretch marks. And moles all over. Projecting big time onto a cute fictional girl, call that self care <333 /j

uhh other than that, I imagine she has bags under her eyes from staying up late gaming. Also tan Chiaki my love. Shh I know she probably doesn’t go outside for days on end. In my defense I tan easily and I imagine she does too. Again with the projection. Shhhh

Oh oh!!!! I forgot to mention but!!!! Chiaki gets a ton of moles. I saw the boob mole and went !!!!!! fellow mole haver!!!!!! and went nuts. This is the one weird niche entirely irrelevant thing that can get me to like a character, just. Being able to point at them and jump up and down with joy over them also having moles. Idk why it’s just therapeutic <33

Nagito’s bony. Skinny mf. Could probably cut cheese with his elbows. Maybe grate it on his collarbones. Cuddling with him would be a fight to see if you can find a position that doesn’t end with something poking you in the gut. I mean this affectionately, he’s bony as shit but he’s my bony fucker <3

Pale asf, sunburns if he’s in the sun for more than two minutes. His eye bags could hold the entirety of his life’s trauma. Sharpest features ever. Sometimes I hc that he looks greasy, and other times I hc that he looks ethereally pretty in a ghostly way. Either way he always looks like he’s had the soul sucked out of him by a Dementor.

You can probably definitely see the veins in his hands. They’re. Very There. Also I’ve brought this up before but he definitely has big ass hands. L a r g e hands, all the better to head pat you with. This was originally so much more pining but I decided no I’ve exposed myself enough on this blog skfjksjdkd

Oh last minute thing, I think he’d be tall as fuck. Specifically 6’0 or taller. Also he probably (definitely) has at least a few scars from his childhood, particularly that plane crash. And I like to think he has glasses when he’s older. I’m so sorry that his section is so long I have so many thoughts about him ;;;;;

Okay uhh Imposter? Mmm. Idk actually. I do think they’d have callused fingers but soft hands. Probably from having to adapt to using a ton of different talents for their Imposter Agenda. Also stretch marks probably, all over their body.

Teruteru uhhhhh. God. Can you tell I don’t think about some characters ;;;;; Idk I don’t have much that differs from canon. I like him. Oh but he probably has cook hands? Chef hands, whatever you wanna call them. Probably faint scars from cuts and burns from when he was still learning how to cook from his mama.

Mahiru……hmm well freckles obviously dkjfksjd. I think she’s tanned as well since I feel like she likes sunlit shots. Idk I don’t have much. I like to think she’s got a stockier body type though.

Also not necessarily her body but I like her with an undercut!

Peko’s buff <3 it’s canon <333 /j

N ee way yeah. Buff Peko my love. Also she probably has a few scars from handling her sword when she was younger and less experienced. I also feel like she would have contacts she wears when she trains bc fuck exercising with glasses

I don’t really have anything for Hiyoko until she gets her growth spurt. Afterwards, I imagine she’s tall and kinda thin? Mainly bc of fast metabolism probably, though when she’s older maybe she’d be a little less spindly.

I don’t know if her hair would be bleached or not, but if it were, I like the idea of her letting her actual hair color grow in. If not, I think Ibuki might help her try a few sections of dyed hair? Idk I just like the thought

Ibuki is a fellow bony bitch. I mean this lovingly. She’s skin and bone. Skeleton rocker lady

Probably tan, I imagine she spends a lot of time in the sun. She strikes me as a summer person. Oh, I also saw some art of Black Ibuki with vitiligo and loved that!! Also calluses from shredding guitar, obviously

Hmmm I like the idea that she rollerskates? So possibly some bruises or scars on her arms or legs from falling on concrete when she was still learning. Oh oh I imagine she has a ton of piercings!!! On her ears, nose, lips, brows, tongue, belly button…….maybe she has a split tongue too idk. Also she totally gets a ton of tattoos when she’s outta Hope’s Peak, prove me wrong.

Mikan uhhh. I like tall Mikan. She deserves the height. 5’8 to 6’0 Mikan good 👍

Hmm she probably has scars all over, particularly on her arms and legs. Uh. Idk I imagine she’s curvy probably. What do I say for her I don’t have anything skjdksjdks

I’m not even gonna lie I don’t have a damn thing for Nekomaru. Or. Wait nevermind here’s a concept: buff Nekomaru but like. If you’ve seen those wrestlers who have fat on them that hides some fucking crazy strength? Yeah that’s him. Also hairy asf.

Gundham……tall vampire vibes. I’d say he’s a stick but also I feel like he’s the slim type of muscular. Idk how to describe it. Shigaraki type muscle? Male gymnast. No nevermind those guys have visible muscle. Shigaraki type it is

Hmmm I think this is canon but probably a few scratches from his pets. His arms and legs mainly but I’m sure the Devas have scratched up his neck at some point or another. Just a little though. Also piercing fiend Gundham my beloved. I also like him having a couple tattoos when he’s older. Ibuki probably helped him heheh

I’m torn between Fuyuhiko being skinny as shit and Fuyuhiko being tiny and buff. I like both………hhh

His hair is probably bleached. Peko probably helps him re-dye it when his roots start growing in. I also like him having glasses

Uhhh tooth gap Fuyu’s cute. I used to have a super small one before I got my braces, I imagine it’s the same for him. Him, Ibuki, and Gundham are probably Tattoo Buds.

Kazuichi…..I want so bad to say he’s a weakling just to make fun of him but he’s a mechanic that probably works with heavy machine parts a lot and he probably has some sick biceps. But he probably also smells like hair dye, oil, metal, and Monster Energy. Win lose situation I guess.

I like to think he has a couple piercings? Not as many as Ibuki, but maybe he’s got like. Second or third place in the class. Also he totally filed his teeth to be sharp like that

Akane!! Buff lady, could probably deadlift me or something. She’s definitely got some scars from running around, especially when she was first learning parkour. Ummm oh, I like to think she has a chipped tooth or smth like that from falling roughly as a kid.

Soniaa <33 in my heart she will always be tall and have at least some muscle. Novoselic is a war country if I remember correctly, she’s definitely got some military training in her.

Idk why but her with heterochromia just popped into my head. That pretty greenish blue gray that she has + maybe brown or hazel? I think that’d be cool. And hip dips.

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babyflossy · 4 years

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redamancy | p.js

pairing: jisung x reader

summary: for three years you had crushed on your brother’s best friend, and when you finally tell your brother about it, he can’t keep his stupid mouth shut.

genre/warnings: fluff, unedited, brother!chenle

requested: yep! requests are still open!

word count: 2.5k

maybe it wasn’t the best idea to tell your older brother about your enormous crush on his best friend, but in your defense, at the time he seemed trust-worthy. not even three weeks later, however, would you realise just how bad a decision you had made.

it wasn’t that chenle was a bad older brother, in fact, you would argue he was one of the most caring and funny people out there, but he had a habit of never keeping things to himself. you only thought about his massive mouth, however, when you received a text from the devil himself, lee donghyuck.

lee donghyuck was in the year above you in highschool, along with your brother, his adorable best friend jisung, and their shared group of friends. being nearly the youngest in your year group as it is, most of them were nearly two years older than. this, by their logic, made it the perfect thing to tease you about.

looking down at your phone, you nearly choked on your water when you read the message, coughing to try an regain your breathing. the teacher in the front of the class stopped momentarily at the loud noise but continued when you offered a forced smile through your hacking. as soon as her back was turned, you furiously unlocked your phone, ready to give your brother a long, angry text message.

haechan unnie: i know you have a bad taste in men, but jisung? really? 0/10 from me

you ignored hyuck and instead clicked onto your brother’s contact, typing rapidly in chinese to at least keep some form of privacy. if donghyuck knew, there was a high chance the rest of his godforsaken friends would know as well, meaning there would also be a chance that jisung already knew. the thought made you feel sick.

the crush you harboured for him had been growing exponentially since you moved to highschool over two years ago. back then, jisung had just been chenle's tall awkward friend that didn't know how to talk to girls properly, but he was the definition of cute to you. as the years went on, though, he grew even more, voice dropping to a pleasant even tone that you could listen to all day. but it seemed, to your disappointment, that all the other girls at your highschool had also noticed the change, meaning he was now "one of the popular ones".

as much as you hated to admit it, the thought of jisung with any of the girls from your school made you undeniably jealous. there was nothing you could do to ignore your feelings anymore. jisung was a year older than you, he had girls his own age fawning over him, mature girls that dressed themselves better than you, and the thought of him rejecting you was humilating enough to prevent you from ever telling him how you felt. the years of not spilling your feelings were exhausting, and you thought telling your brother would make you feel better, and it did, for approximately nineteen days. now it just felt uneasy and insecure, knowing his other friends knew.

staring at the clock, you realised with a sickening drop of your stomach that this period was almost over. and lunch was next. the lunch period you shared with chenle and all his friends. the one lunch period you had to sit with them because the entirety of your friend group had extracurriculars or classes, meaning there was no way you could escape seeing them. you thought for a second about spending your lunch period in the art department, but you knew it would look weird to your brother, and he would definitely call you out on it.

when the bell did ring, you packed your bag as slowly as possible, checking your phone to kill time. there were already butterflies in your stomach and seeing jaemin and renjun waiting for you outside your classroom didn't help. they both shot you a smile and started walking towards to cafeteria. up ahead of you, you saw a familiar bleached mop of hair taller than the people around him and decide, actually, sitting in the art department alone would be better than facing any more of chenle's friends right now.

"actually guys, i need to finish something in the art department, tell chenle i hate him," renjun let out a laugh whilst jaemin's eyebrows shot up in surprise and you turned to try and escape them before an arm looped around your shoulders to stop you.

"this wouldn't haven't anything to do with a certain boy named jisung, would it?" donghyuck's teasing smile made your blood run cold and you didn't stop yourself from rolling your eyes. you struggled in his grip for a few moments but he's much stronger than you and so gave up quickly.

"no, what are you talking about?" you tried to keep your voice as neutral as possible, but by way renjun's smile only widened, jaemin joining in, you knew it hadn't worked.

"oh, is this about y/n's little crush on our jisungie?" out of the group, you usually found jaemin the easiest to deal with as he tended to tease you the least, but at his words, you found a new burning hatred for the blue-haired boy.

"shut up, jaemin. i'm going to kill chenle."

renjun seemed to pity you as he took in your expression, noticing the shiny line of tears slowly building in your eyes. "honestly, though, he one hundred per cent like you anyway. you should ask him out." you let out an incredulous laugh at his proposition, which he responded with nothing but an exasperated sigh. "you're both as bad as each other."

"you know i hate renjun being right, but i have to agree here, jisung totally likes you." as he said the words, donghyuck loosened his grip on your shoulders, pulling you into a comforting side hug. it did little to quell the nerves in you.

"that's nice, but i still have to finish something in the art department," your quiet voice was enough to tell the three boys you were lying, but they stopped walking anyway.

"then we'll eat in the art department," jaemin said, and as if he could read your mind, "without the others."

being one of your art teacher's favourite students had it perks, and as she handed you the key before leaving for her lunch break, you reminded yourself to finish your overdue art project in gratitude. the four of you had the room to yourselves, sitting around on the stools around one of the only tables free of paint plates and half-finished canvases.

"now, let's talk about the pressing issue here," donghyuck's voice was void of the teasing tone he usually used when talking to you, "why won't you ask him out."

"he doesn't like me." there was a definitive tone to your voice which made the other three pairs of eyes in the room roll in exasperation.

"he literally does, though." donghyuck.

"you're just in denial." jaemin.

"i can't believe you're both as stupid as each other." renjun.

an affronted frown took over your face as they spoke over each other. you looked down at your hands, trying to decide if you should tell them what was really bothering you. they watched you intently, seeing you had something you wanted to say. when you finally looked up, the tears in your eyes were back and jaemin reached a hand out to smooth over yours. "isn't he too old for me? why would he chose me when there're loads of girls in his own year that like him already?"

"i mean, a year isn't that bad, i think you should talk to him anyway."

after your little heart-to-heart in the art classroom, the bell had rung and you were made to slink off to your penultimate class of the day, ap calculus. despite being the most draining class you had, it was also the only class you shared with jisung. you tried to get inside and into your seat at the back of the room before he noticed, but he perked up as soon as you entered, grabbing your wrist as you slipped past his seat.

"hey, y/n," he started. there was a bright smile on his face and you hated the way it made your heart skip a beat, your cheeks already heating up. "i missed you at lunch, everything okay?" you nodded and he tightened his grip when you tried to move away again. "can i meet you after your last class? there's something i was meaning to talk to you about."

you froze, unable to do or say anything. luckily, your teacher walking in made jisung drop your hand, turning to face the front of the room. in your seat you stared at the wall, panicking. was he going to tell you he wasn't interested? did he already know you liked him? was he gonna say how you made it weird now? what if it was something completely different? when the teacher turned to write on the whiteboard, he faced you, eyebrows raised in question. you simply nodded and smiled weakly. needless, to say, you didn't hear a word the teacher said all lesson.

as you walked from your math classroom you spotted your brother, marching over to him with a furious expression on your face. he laughed when he saw you, pulling you in for a hug you manage to dodge at the last moment. "why the fuck would you tell them about jisung?"

"because you wouldn't listen to me," chenle explained, as if that suddenly makes it okay he leaked your deepest secret to all his friends. "and jisung's starting to annoy me with the staring." your cheeks flamed at his words and you punched his arm, finding satisfaction at the yelp he let out.

"i'll kill you later," you promised as you let the crowd of students propel you to your last class; only one hour left until your meeting with jisung.

chemistry passes quickly when your thoughts are occupied, and you found yourself staring at the clock as the bell rung, unable to believe the lesson was already over. there was nothing to protect you from the inevitable heartbreak coming. maybe you were being dramatic, you reasoned. it could be completely unrelated to your crush on him afterall.

the beating of your heart speeds up as you see the boy in question waiting outside your chemistry lab, leaning against a locker, looking over the crowd of heads for you. his face lights up when he spots you and he pushes through the throngs of people to reach you. "hey, you ready to leave? i was thinking we could go to that new smoothie place?"

you can only nod dumbly in response, letting him sperate the crowds for you to walk through. outside school, it's just you and him, and you worry briefly if he can hear how fast your heartbeat is. the smoothie shop isn't even a ten-minute walk from your school, but you feel on edge the whole walk there, even as jisung asks question after question, prompting conversation. he asks about your art pieces, saying how he loved the ones in your bedroom (you blush at the compliment), he asks about your favourite subjects, about your music taste, even about what you wanted to do after highschool.

relief flooded you as you enter the small shop, saving you from answering any more questions. you glanced around the cute cafe in awe. hanging plants covered nearly every corner of the ceiling, multi-coloured tiles coated the expanse of the walls. there's silence as you both read the menu, trying to decide between the plentiful fruit combinations.

when you had both chosen, a girl ushered you to the counter, taking you orders and writing your names on the cups before telling your total. before you even had a chance to fish your card out of your phone case, jisung had already tapped his phone against the card machine, paying for the both of you.

you looked up in surprise, meeting his sheepish smile with a blushy one of your own. the cafe was busy but the two of you managed to get an empty table to yourselves in the back corner of the shop, only a little sofa for the both of you. as you sat, thighs touching, you swore you had never been so nervous in your life, hands sweating around your smoothie as you sipped it so you wouldn't have to say anything.

eventually, you couldn't take the silence any longer, blurting out, "what did you wanna talk about?" after deciding the sooner her rejected you, the sooner you could home and beat up chenle whilst crying.

"chenle told me you like me," his words were rushed but you caught them easily, your cheeks burning, heart pounding in your ears. it was humiliating. your crush of three years was about to call you out in the middle of a public cafe. you wondered vaguely if anyone you knew was also here, ready to watch the fateful moment. the next words jisung said were the not ones you were expecting. "and i like you too, so i wanted to tell you." your brain short-circuited and all you could do was sit and stare blankly at the boy in front of you. after a few moments, jisung seemed to take your reaction as rejection and began to back-track, "i'm sorry if that's not what you meant–"

"no, no, no!" you said too quickly, a hand coming to rest on his arm to stop him leaving, even though he hadn't moved. "i do like you."

"oh, that's great then, i guess," jisung sat and studied your features for a bit longer, not convinced, "you don't seem very happy, though."

"i just, uh–" you babbled, trying to find the least embarrassing combination of words to get your point across, "i thought you would, uh–"

"you thought i would what?" he prompted.

"i thought you wouldn't want to date me because i'm younger than you. and because i'm chenle's younger sister," a sigh escaped with your words and you couldn't bring yourself to look at him, scared of his reaction.

"oh," he paused, leaning down to meet your eyes when you avoided him. "i've never seen you as chenle's sister, though, you've always just kinda been your own person to me." the sincerity in his words reverberated through your head and you finally met his eyes, "and i'm only a year older than you, but if you think that's too much then we don't have to–"

"no, i don't mind it."

"oh, cool. do you wanna maybe grab dinner after this then? i can drive you home afterwards?" before you could even think, you were nodding.

"i'd love that. i'm still gonna kill chenle for telling you, though."

a/n: i got the mouse out so i finished this in celebration!!

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coldshrugs · 3 years

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thank you for this blessed template, @possumsunshine. this was so fun and cute, i couldn't resist after seeing it on my dash 💗

pulled a couple of answers from oc asks i've done recently because oof this got long.

QUICK READ OF YOUR DETECTIVE

Name: alma greene

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: bisexual

Love interest: mason

Best friend: felix but also nate

Main skill: science/tech

Secondary skill: people/psychology

Main personality trait: tied for impulsive and sarcastic

Secondary personality trait: stubborn

Why did they join the Wayhaven PD?: she’s not a detective, but science skills

Relationship with Rebecca: very close, even with absences, but waning

Relationship with Bobby: college friend, currently hates him

Verda or Tina?: both

Murphy bite?: wrist

Murphy’s fate?: at large, babyyy

Rescue LI or Rescue Sanja?: sanja

GENERAL

Name: alma eloise greene

Nickname: sweetheart/space girl by mason; sweetie by rebecca

Birthday: june 12th

Age: 29

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: bisexual (demiromantic??)

Hair color: dark brown

Eye color: dark brown, nearly black

Height: 5’1”

Piercings: ears, former nostril piercings

Tattoos: a small snail on her right arm, super cartoony spaceship and tractor beam over the words “i want to believe” on the back of her left calf

Clothing Style: “modern” i guess, according to the game. tbh i usually describe it as “too old to be an e-girl but too cute to care.” bleached denim, dark plaid, graphic crop tops, black vans or converse, thigh-high tights, etc etc

Apartment Style: cozy. did she find it on the side of the road or goodwill or an estate sale? if not, it’s probably not in her apartment.

STATS

Personality:

Charming | Intimidating

Impulsive | Cautious

Sarcastic | Genuine

Friendly | Stoic

Easygoing | Stubborn

Traits:

Heart | Mind

Optimist | Pessimist

Team Player | Independent

Skills:

Main Skill: science/tech

Second Skill: people/psychology

By the Book | Bend the Rules

KEY DECISIONS

Reason for joining the Wayhaven PD: alma is wayhaven’s only forensic analyst because i refuse to let my black oc be a cop

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ in-game, she’s 100% there for her scientific prowess.

Murphy bite: Wrist | Neck | None

Murphy’s Fate: Captured | Escaped

Rescued: Love Interest | Sanja

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP

Love Interest: mason

Why them?: on a meta level: oh no he’s hot

but alma’s reasoning is that he’s very upfront about what he wants in the beginning and she’s never been pursued in such a way. It’s a bit of a rush and an ego boost for her at first. but mason’s loyalty very quickly becomes the steadiness alma’s been missing for most of her life and she latches on to that. she’s not had someone so dependable around in… well, ever. and her physical attraction becomes emotional VERY quickly.

Bold, shy, or mixed?: shy until they sleep together, then a mix of bold and genuine afterward.

What were their first impressions of each other?:

alma on mason: thought he was super attractive but that was quickly pushed aside by “holy shit, this guy’s an ass.” she thinks he’s an uncooperative jerk that only cares about himself for quite a while, honestly. she asks him along for things she wants to do alone precisely because she thinks he’ll be the most likely to just stay out of her way. she’s surprised by his attitudes and opinions, and her incorrect assumptions about them, during those times.

mason on alma: would never, ever, ever admit that his first thought upon meeting Alma was simply “cute.” he quickly found parts of her to assess individually. those first few days were mostly spent appraising her physical attributes and watching her back when she needed it. mason did find her funny right away, but he wasn’t willing to trust someone new, regardless of that person being their handler’s daughter or not.

What do they find attractive about each other, mentally or physically?:

alma on mason: his eyes, freckles, and every single version of his smile. his decisiveness, differentially, and willingness to stab as a warning.

mason on alma: her hair tbh, there’s just… a lot of it. her hips, her eyelashes. He also likes her adaptability, sense of humor, and the warmth she gives with no expectation of reciprocation.

What do they do to spend time together?: lots of stargazing, lots of watching tv very quietly and making fun of the storylines they don’t understand until they get bored and make out instead, walking around the quieter parts of wayhaven or taking late-night drives.

What is their favorite memory together?: i like to think mason finds the carnival photo of them after the place has been sacked and gives it to alma sometime later. both the taking of the photo and the giving of it are very fond memories for both of them.

What are their love languages?: touch, quality time.

How do they handle being apart from one another?: badly. mason absolutely hates it after a time. if alma’s out of town, he’s in her apartment with the excuse of feeding her cat, but it’s 100% just to sleep in her bed and be around all the things that make her, her. alma does a little better. she’s used to having folks sort of come and go and come again, but she gets almost hyper-insecure?? it’s nothing she’d admit openly, but she’s second-guessing herself in totally unrelated aspects of her life until they’re reunited.

Do they argue? How do they handle arguments and disagreements? How do they make up?: they don’t necessarily argue, but they disagree with the intent to problem solve. alma is pretty flexible and as long as she can understand why someone might feel the way they feel, she’s willing to hear them out or go along with their plan. if an argument does get out of hand, they need space from it for a while. they each have places to retreat for those times, and they wait for the “hey” text to come through to know it’s time to talk about it.

What does their future look like?: alma becomes a vampire two years into their relationship. they move into a quiet, old house on the edge of town until the whole team moves elsewhere. mason has to get used to having a cat because october has several years left in him. they don’t get married, but they’re inseparable.

Anything else you’d like to share: in the time before alma turns, mason learns to perfect making grilled cheese because it’s what alma craves when she’s not feeling well. He makes the grilled cheese then he immediately showers to get the smell off him but he makes it regardless.

BEST FRIEND RELATIONSHIP

Best friend: depending on the playthrough it swaps between felix and nate, but felix feels more in character

Why them?: alma loves felix’s sense of adventure and nosiness. Most of all she loves that he won’t judge her for pulling the same shit every now and then.

What were their first impressions of each other?: alma was super thrown off by that hand kiss. “who the fuck is this mischief-maker?” while nate was very kind and warm, felix (surprisingly) was the UB teammate that really humanized the rest of the team for alma. he’s fun and genuine and wants everyone else to be happy together. felix was incredibly interested to learn more about alma, as a human, as his boss’s daughter, and then as a friend when she readily accepted the supernatural and, by extension, him as a vampire. The fact that she’s easily flustered or surprised really works in his favor because he lives for being the most shocking person in the room.

What do they do to spend time together?: they share music, they dance, and they text A LOT. lots of memes, lots of “what does [x] mean?” “oh nice” “[proceeds to use the thing they just learned incorrectly]”. they also compare and share hair products.

Anything else you’d like to share: they each have a tamagotchi named after the other (baby felix and baby alma) and they compete to see who can keep theirs alive the longest. everyone loses.

OTHER RELATIONSHIPS (Feel free to go in-depth!)

Relationship with Rebecca: oof okay. alma seeks rebecca’s approval and depends on her for a sense of safety and “stability.” in some ways, she wants to be exactly like her mom: strong, independent, unbothered, worldly. but a lot of that shatters the longer alma works professionally with rebecca and with the revelations surrounding rook. alma sees how much rebecca uses her as a crutch, projects her perceived failures onto alma’s life, and over-shelters her.

Relationship with Rook: alma doesn’t remember him and tries not to think of him often or fondly or at all BUT she has so many of his things. his flannels, his detective badge, his ancient comic book collection (which is the only reason she has her own). she has his eyes and his impulsive streak, his care for people of all varieties. she IS rook’s daughter and she ignores that fact so it doesn’t hurt her.

Relationship with Bobby: they used to be very close, slightly flirty friends but there’s no way in hell alma can trust him now. (i originally had bobby as alma’s ex but it was all getting a little too Bella Swan for me. like bobby, douglas, the werewolves, falk, and mason like????? it was a bit much so bobby’s just an old ex-friend)

Relationship with Verda: alma fucking loves verda. that’s her mentor, that’s her dad friend. she feels a sense of Pride and Accomplishment when she can make verda laugh or impress him in the lab, or both. alma’s fond of spending evenings over his place with eric and the kids, making dinner, or just hanging out.

Relationship with Tina: tina was alma’s first friend as a kid. they lost touch in high school because tina was bubbly and cute and popular, while alma was… not. but the summer before they left for college they ran into each other at a house party and since that reconnection, they’ve been thick as thieves. it was like nothing had changed. tina is a light in alma’s life, and alma lets tina lean into the stranger parts of herself without judgment.

Relationship with the Mayor: thinks he’s a creep and a bad parent.

Relationship with Capt. Sung: appreciates how he prioritizes the town and its people, but thinks he could loosen up a bit.

Relationship with Haley: haley is a couple of years older than alma but they’ve known each other forever. alma admires haley’s work ethic and cheery attitude.

Relationship with Elidor: oh man, alma is absolutely stunned by elidor. he’s beautiful, kind, and knowledgeable. in those early days, elidor is responsible for quite a bit of her supernatural education. alma grills him while he nurses her back to health. her curiosity is refreshing to him.

Relationship with Tapeesa/Vieno: alma thinks vieno is cute and funny, says hi when she sees them around, but they’re not best friends or anything. she can’t shake the thought that they’re basically a fae version of danny devito.

Relationship with Unit Alpha: absolutely smitten with lesedi. she’s never seen a more beautiful woman. tamiko ends up being a pretty good friend. the twins are on her social periphery but alma’s not close with them.

Relationship with the Maa-alused: alma sincerely wants to help them adjust to life in this world and takes that goal very seriously. at the same time she really really wishes falk hadn’t developed this weird attachment to her.

Do they have any other important relationships, past or present? (Relatives, friends, etc.?): YES. i’ve thrown another oc in wayhaven for the express purpose of being The Detective. His name is javi. alma met him in college and they were fast friends. alma convinced him to try out wayhaven after graduation. They lived together for a while and now they, along with tina, can often be seen in the corner booth of chen’s pub.

she was also very close with her maternal grandmother before she died. she was raised by her while rebecca was absent, but i need to develop this more.

her cat, october, whom she’s had for five years. he’s a sweet, mostly black tortie that can hardly meow. alma adopted him as an adult when she got her own place.

PERSONAL BIO

Describe their personality: alma is so open and ready to accept new possibilities. she’s the sort of person that embraces what scares her, finds beauty in it, and loves it intensely. she’s sharp and resourceful. i wouldn’t exactly describe her as hard-working, but she’s knowledgeable about her field and tries to be helpful when she has a goal in mind.

she’s quite tactile. touchy with other people. likes to use her hands for work or hobbies. she doesn’t really mind being alone for long stretches of time but would prefer not to be. she wants others to want to be around her.

she’s also terrible at being honest about her trauma. everything is fine, she’s fine, she doesn’t need to talk about this :) :) :) she will handle the breakdown when it happens and not one second before. also, with quick wit comes uncontrollable sarcasm and it does not always hit well.

Strengths: the only person in unit bravo that knows how to use google

Weaknesses: squishy

Where in the world is their Wayhaven?: super torn here because wayhaven feels inland to me, but i think i’ve finally settled on the north carolina coast but not like the outer banks area. If not there, then maybe virginia, closer to the chesapeake bay.

What is their personal history?: alma is born to rook and rebecca in wayhaven. spends her childhood being raised mostly by her grandmother, idolizes rebecca. academic success comes easily for her; a heavy interest in science leads to a scholarship at a university just far away enough to feel like she’s Leaving The Nest. alma dates a bit in college but she’s the type to end up becoming friends with everyone she sleeps with and romance is difficult for her to cultivate. when she does date, the relationships are short-lived. she returns to wayhaven after school and puts her degree to work in wayhaven’s police department. she wishes she’d applied for a position in the city but craves the comfort (and tbh, the low stakes) of home.

If they weren’t a detective, what would their dream job be?: she’s a forensic analyst and honestly?? it’s a pretty dreamy job for her. she loves being a scientist, loves helping people, and isn’t easily grossed out.

Anything else you’d like to share: has tried to stay overnight in an ikea. did not succeed.

RANDOM FACTS

Zodiac sign: gemini

Hobbies: reading peer-reviewed journals, watching terrible sci-fi, collecting comic books and mugs, thrift shopping

Likes: good hair days, denim jackets, vanilla candles, halloween, unflavored lipbalm, driving at night, that warm “surrounded by love” feeling, snails, fuzzy socks

Dislikes: the lights while driving at night, winter, dry skin, minimalist decor, smudged glasses, being overwhelmed with choices

Drink of choice: white wine usually, white russians if she’s out at chen’s, or shots of jaeger if she’s feeling trashy

Starbucks order: grande flat white with 3 pumps of toffee nut syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon

Favorite food: a simple, fresh spaghetti pomodoro OR lemon meringue pie

Favorite color: golden mustard yellow

Favorite music: she loves just about everything and it’s heavily dependant on her mood. (this is actually really difficult to think about without feeling like i'm giving her my exact taste in music but here's a little playlist that fits her vibe)

Favorite genre (and favorite movie/book/etc): science fiction or psychological thrillers, but her favorite movie is oliver and company.

Favorite season: fall

Anything else you’d like to share: has a stupid amount of blankets stashed around her apartment. she really does not like being cold.

#alma greene #twc #i uhhh i spent a very long time on this and i'm still like #who is this person #but it's fine it's fine #i can rest

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littleeyesofpallas · 4 years

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Bleach - Snake Name Games

Still mulling over where exactly I want to take this series of posts [1][2] after being asked about interesting zanpakutou names. I was just gonna do a short blurb about Sarugaki Hiyori’s Shikai at first, but there are a lot of weird vaguely adjacent characters, so this one’s going to be kind of aimless...

Her sword is Kubikiri Orochi[馘大蛇], written with the kanji for 馘:“Decapitation,” 大: “Great”/“Big,” and 蛇:“Snake.” Viz translates it as “Head-Slicing Serpent” which is kind of a weird choice, but other than missing a specific reference, it’s not technically that big a mistranslation. But of course there is a reference, because Orochi [大蛇] isn’t just the words “Big Snake” it’s a reference to the mythological creature, Yamato-no-Orochi[八岐大蛇].

The Yamato-no-Orochi sees a lot of exposure in pop media. It’s an enormous snake with 8 tails and 8 heads spanning the length of 8 hills and valleys, red eyes, and moss and cypress trees growing on it enormous back, and a belly that is constantly bleeding and inflamed. The Orochi would annually devour the daughters of a village, until it was defeated by the god, Susanoo. It was tricked into drinking itself to sleep and then beheaded eight times. From its corpse, Susanoo retrieved the legendary sword, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.

The fact that the kanji 馘 isn’t commonly used makes it kind of confusing to parse as part of a name at a glance. But I do recognize the more common, Kubikiri[首斬り] which is the noun “Beheading” (as in the act there of, not the verb) or just “Decapitation.” But I’ve also seen it translated (granted with some liberties based on context) as “Executioner.” Alternatively, Kubikiri[首切り] also means “Beheading”/“Decapitation” but apparently can refer to “a small samurai sword used for decapitation.” So, I think the meaning that the name was supposed to convey was,

“Sword-for-Decapitating Giant[8-Headed]Snake”

...and not, “A Serpent that Slices Heads” the way Viz wrote it out. Which makes sense given that the sword itself is a giant serrated cleaver/saw, appropriately sized for cutting off the head of a giant snake. While the mistranslation would suggest her spirit to be the Orochi, this reading makes it sound more like her spirit is Susanoo himself? Which is a curious idea...

But there's a little more going on here... Because at some point or another, there became kind of a recurring trend of the Orochi being depicted as a white snake, which has vague associations with the Lady White Snake myth, from China. In fact Hakujaden[白蛇伝]:“White Snake Story” (Arbitrarily localized in English as, “Panda and the Magic Serpent”) has a particular special place in Japanese pop culture as it was the first ever full color anime film, in 1958. It was a big influence on an early generation of animators, including Miyazaki Hayao.

In it a young boy is accidentally involved with a magic snake being fed immortality granting medicine, which amplifies her existing magic by multiple lifetimes. She is grateful to the boy for it, and after he grows up the two meet again, the snake being in the guise of a woman, and they fall in love. (That’s the real REAL short version anyway...)

And this is just me going out on a bit of a limb, but I feel like the random intersection of these two myths is where a lot of Orochi characters who are also shapeshifting humans comes from, because the actual Orochi never had this association with being a white snake, having magic powers, or taking on human form, yet it seems to be the prevailing role of Orochi characters in pop fiction.

Also, equally unrelated to the actual Orochi myth and the Lady White Snake myth, some renditions of the Orochi make it a fullblown dragon rather than just a monstrous snake. I don’t know that this comes from anything in particular, other than just wanting to amp up the threat factor of the Orochi to make Susanoo look more triumphant as a hero... There’s some possibility that it’s a conflation of the Nine-headed Dragon God, Kuuzuryuushin[九頭龍神]. Funny enough, I’ve seen Kuuzuryuushin drawn as a nine headed snake instead of a dragon as well...

In fact Kubo’s already has one character who seems to be associated with the Lady White Snake myth: Cyan Sung Sun. Her Resurreccion, Anaconda is written with the kanji [白蛇姫]: “White Snake Princess,” which is a conspicuous name for anyone familiar with the very well known myth. But I think we all remember someone else who is associated with White Snake imagery... Ichimaru Gin.

There’s not actually a lot of word play with Gin and snakes. His name is a homonym for “silver” like his white/silver hair, and his “fox-eyed” look is actually leverage to be more snake-like a lot of the time, so those two bits together kind of orbit around the idea of a White Snake theme. And of course he spends most of the series living up to his cold-blooded, treacherous, viper-waiting-to-strike kind of persona. But it’s not like he or his sword have any snake themes in their names.

Whether or not Kubo had plans for Hiyori to have a more substantial confrontation with Gin, we’ll never really know. Sadly the one we got didn’t last long and wasn’t particularly exciting or satisfying. But it was an interesting brief moment during the weekly publications. And if anyone’s in need of some fanfic prompt, I’ve always been kind of fascinated by the idea that there could have been a parallel between Gin’s relationship with Rangiku and the boy and Lady White Snake of myth, with Gin in the role of powerful snake indebted to and in love with the normal mortal who unknowingly helped them gain great powers.

But while we’re on the subject... There’s another white snake loitering around the Bleach franchise: One half of Zabimaru... sort of...

This one is weird, because by all rights it was the anime, not Kubo, that set the precedent of Zabimaru having white fur and a white snake tail. Zabimaru, btw, is a mythical creature called a Nue, which is supposed to have the head of a monkey, the legs of a tiger, body of a dog, and a snake for a tail. Zabimaru doesn’t quite fit that full description, as it’s predominantly just a baboon with a snake tail, and Renji’s tribal tattoo pattern substituted in for tiger stripes.

But the one time Kubo actually colored in Zabimaru himself was part of a joke omake comic (where Renji and Hisagi find out, in the aftermath of Renji’s fight with Byakuya, that Mayuri can apparently perform cosmetic surgery to zanpakutou) and even though they’re only imagining a busty Zabimar as a punchline, Kubo made the fur what I think was supposed to be an olive green/grey, which matches the description of the Olive Baboon’s fur. The anime sort of took that and drifted more green when they adapted the omake, and then drifted it even further when the Zanpakutou Rebellion filler arc brought zabimaru back... In the end her fur looks both nothing like the original color and nothing like the anime’s white furred Zabimaru.

So, hand-in-hand with that, it seems kind of arbitrary that they made snake boy white, apart from the previously mentioned associations of Snakes-in-Human-Form as a trope and Lady White Snake. But I figured if I didn’t mention it someone might ask, and oddly enough it is more of a coincidence than anything else, at least as far as I can tell.

Correction: I totally forgot, when Renji gets his True Name Bankai from Ichibe he appears to have a “mode” where the snake spine that is normally looped around his waist like a belt unfurls to the call, Orochi-ou[オロチ王]: “Orochi King.” So there is a direct reference to the Orochi, although weirdly it’s only in kana and not kanji? But I have no idea for what reason. And in any case, the second bankai came after the anime created snake boy, so it’s entirely possible it was just Kubo riffing off their continuity rather than something he’d had in mind when he made Zabimaru the first time.

Funny thing: Hiyori’s surname, Sarugaki[猿柿] is written with the kanji for monkey[猿], something she points out herself when she’s first introduced. (I did a whole rambling thing on the Visored’s names too, naturally...) So she and Renji both have associations with monkey and orochi imagery. It’s kind of a shame Hiyori and Renji never even got to be in the same room for their wild type routines to interact.

#Bleach #Hiyori Sarugaki #Kubikiri Orochi #yamata no orochi #orochi #zabimaru

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fullbattleregalia · 4 years

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Tag Fic Game

Yay! I have been tagged for a thing! I love being tagged for a thing! Thanks, @ionfusionpunk!

Let’s shed light on some of your favourite lines you’ve ever written—you may pick one, two or a hundred, that’s up to you!

(Hmmm... these are probably going to be more “chunks” than lines.... Oh, well! 8D )

1) From my WIP A Gift, Freely Given (Mad Max: Fury Road, Max-isn’t-exactly-human-and-hasn’t-noticed!AU)

He remembers Before. Remembers so much farther back than he should and doesn’t understand why or how. Remembers warm soil beneath his feet teeming with life and great dirty gums overhead and her laughter crashing across the rocks in sprays of damp salt. Remembers her hair that swayed and twisted like kelp. It’s faint – muddled and hazy – but he remembers. More sharply he remembers the pain. The pain that fell from the sky and burned his skin as she withered and blew away leaving nothing but the salt of her tears crusting the ground. Remembers how the life teeming around him slowly faded with her until he was alone. And he remembers that he was never made to be alone. (Made? How could he have been made?) Every day he is dying, dying, dying, but he never dies. He doesn’t remember going mad with the loneliness and the anger and the unrelenting pain, but he must have. Because he is finally waking up. As if he’s becoming truly aware of himself for the first time in a long time.

He never quite runs out of water. Always seems to have just enough guzzoline to see him through even if only barely. His hand heals clean despite the rusty bolt that pierced clear through his palm. This does not seem strange to him (this is the way it’s always been), but it finally occurs that perhaps some would find it strange.

2) From What You Knead (Naruto, Butterfly Effect!AU and honestly I adore the hell out of the whole story)

“Hey, Kakashi-nii, is that your gennin team?”

Kakashi straightened up to find Naruto pointing at his old team photo.

“More or less, though we were all chuunin when that was taken.”

“You were so short!” Naruto laughed. “And-” He paused, squinted more closely at the picture, and then screeched at an ear-bleedingly loud volume, “OH MY GOSH, YOU WERE TAUGHT BY THE YONDAIME?!?”

Kakashi waited until the ringing in his ears had subsided before responding. It was okay – he probably hadn’t needed that eardrum anyway.

3) From For Innocence Lost (Bleach, featuring that time I really needed to write a cathartic death scene)

“Momo?” Aizen wheezed. He stared at her in horror. This couldn’t be happening! It just wasn’t possible! He’d spent decades forming this girl into his perfect subordinate. He’d made sure that her entire world revolved around him – that she couldn’t live without him!

“There is no place in Heaven for demons and false gods.” Her words were quiet and solemn and spoken with absolute conviction. Hinamori raised her zanpakuto and brought it down unerringly across Aizen’s neck in a killing blow.

4) From One Good Eye (Wakfu)

The most important things to a Cra were her hands, her eyes, and her bow. Cleophee had her bow and two good hands. She wished she could say the same for her eyes.

5) From my WIP Amabo Te (NCIS)

It was rather impressive that their captor was managing to look so thoroughly frustrated while standing stalk still wearing a balaclava. Tim couldn’t really blame him, though. (For the frustration, not the kidnapping. Tim was totally okay with blaming this guy for kidnapping them.) Really, giving Tony the truth serum concoction hadn’t been the best idea, Tim would probably been the much better candidate – and if McGee had been feeling inclined to, he probably would have informed their captor of this, but he was still miffed about the whole being kidnapped thing and it was general NCIS policy not to willingly give information to bad guys that could help them in the completion of their evil plots. Tim would have been frustrated, too, if he’d been the bad guy giving Tony truth serum. The instant the guy had stepped back, now-empty needle still in hand, and made it as far through his evil monologue as “truth serum,” Tony had looked up at him and grinned that manic grin that Tim had learned through long, hard experience meant trouble. Then the senior field agent had opened his mouth and proceeded to have an entirely one-sided conversation about movies, specifically Bond movies, never pausing long enough for their captor to get a word in edgewise to throw him off topic.

6) From my WIP One Lab Accident Away from Becoming a Marginally Decent Human Being (Mystery Science Theater 3000)

“Gimme that.” Kinga turned and grabbed the obnoxiously large key Max was still wearing around his neck. Max cowered but didn’t protest. He clearly realized that he was on very thin ice with her at the moment. “Stay here and get me a full refund or I’m feeding you to the space eels.”

“But-” Max hesitated. “We don’t have any-”

“I will BUY some just so I can feed you to them! And if Heston is dead, I’m buying space eels anyway!”

“Full refund! Absolutely! You got it!” Max squeaked as Kinga stomped away.

7) From From the Ashes (Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, Justice Lords!verse)

Helena was contemplating murder. It sounded like a very appealing idea and the best way of dealing with the chiming communicator on her bedside table. She finally managed to grab the blasted thing on her third flail.

“I hate you,” she told the person on the other end by way of greeting.

“Have you seen the latest addition of the Free Press, yet?” Barbara asked, ignoring Helena’s statement.

“It’s 6am, Babs. Some of us cannot subsist on caffeine alone. I went to bed less than two hours ago. NO, I have not seen the paper.”

“They ran an article on the Phoenix Corps.”

“WHAT?!?” Helena screeched, the sudden shot of adrenaline sending her bolt upright in bed. Next to her Vic groaned and stirred but didn’t wake. The man could sleep through a tornado if he put his mind to it. She started poking him in the side with one finger.

“I tried to call Q, but his communicator’s off,” Barbara was saying.

“Yeah, that’s because he remembered that he actually needs to sleep like the rest of us mere mortals,” Helena muttered, not really paying attention. Damn it, Vic was going to wake up and suffer through this bad news with her.

“Wha’z it?” Vic mumbled cracking open an eye. He hadn’t had enough sleep, yet, to erase the dark circles he got under his eyes from being up for thirty hours straight.

“Your boss published an article on the Phoenix Corps.”

“Oh…. ‘Kay.” He rolled over, apparently intent on going back to sleep.

“What?! This is bad, Vic!”

“Were gonna find out ‘bout us event’lly. Nobody’s dead. Nothin’s on fire. ‘Sall good.” He went back to sleep. Helena didn’t smother him with her pillow, but it was very close.

Well, I think that’s enough for now - I’ve rambled long enough. ^^ These are some of my favorites that are typed up (which make up about 10% of my writing - I like writing long hand)!

I tag: @greentrickster, @agirlnameded, and anybody else who wants to play! <3

#i got tagged #yay!#agentmalkere #fanfiction #fanfic #writing #the phoenix corps #what you knead #from the ashes #naruto #mad max #Justice League Unlimited #ncis #wakfu #bleach

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fightevilandthengetblownup · 5 years

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My Design VI

The crime scene that day was truly horrific.

There were six bodies in total. Spread about the graveyard, like a rats nest. However, Will felt a shudder as he noticed that there were only three different people involved.

“Before you ask, none of these people were twins.” The comment came from Jack as Will made his way to his side, eyes on the bodies around them. “None of the family members contacted of those we could identify admitted to any multiples.”

“And yet, we’ve got three sets of twins dead all together.” He mumbled the thought, leaning down to look at the muddy brown hair of one of the female bodies. Her duplicate, in the main pile in the mausoleum nearby, did not appear to be caked in mud. In fact, those in the mausoleum matched the looks they purportedly had had on their funeral days if it weren’t for the condition they were now in. The body parts missing, the teeth marks in torn flesh, the cut out flesh across the bodies.

“Whatever…whatever this is, this is one twisted game being played.” Jack looked disgustedly down at the brunette by Will’s feet. There was a railgun nail stuck through the head, point protruding from the forehead the same as the other two bodies outside the mausoleum. That may have killed them, but the killer had continued to crush the back of the skulls and brains to concave mush. “What do you see, Will?”

The pendulum swung before his eyes, wiping away Jack and the other investigators and forensics around the crime scene. Another swing and the three people outside were seated around a campfire that would soon be smouldering. Another and he was in the tree line approaching the scene.

Will looked to his side and was almost jolted from the vision at seeing her. Blonde hair bleached white in the pale moonlight and face set firmly into a blank state he had never envisioned upon her. It was the face of a killer he stared at, and abstractly he found her almost more beautiful.

“I have found their hiding spot, where they sleep and eat and spend their days. This is my design.”

He followed her, footsteps carefully treading silently across the graveyard towards the laughing trio. She carefully weaved her way through the tombstones, avoiding the dried leaves and crunchy gravel in favour for the dew wet grass paths between the graves.

"I approach them with intent. They are my prey and I know how to handle each one. It will be easy despite their strength, their speed and their numbers. I will destroy their brains, this is all that is necessary to be completed. This is my design."

Her arm raised the battery powered nail gun as she drew closer, before letting loose three bolts into the group. Each found their mark, but Will did not have time to review as she proceeded to rush forward, a mallet in hand, towards the woman of the group. There she pounded, five strong forceful strokes to cave the skull in and complete irreprable damage. As she turned to the others, Will felt the world shift back to his own time, pendulum wiping all back to where it would be.

“Jo..” He sighs the world out, scrubbing a hand down his face as he stepped away from the crime scene. This was getting too close. Her world, her ideas were breathing down his neck, that the bodies crumpled in the grave yard were fakes, were false interpretations and impressions of those that had been laid to rest before being wrenched from their enternal peace. Will could feel the hand on the back of his neck, fingers tangled in his hair, as he turned his back on the scene. Fingers chasing him with their stories and ideas and theories, wild claims to drag him into madness.

“So, who did this, Will?” Jack moved beside him, hands in pockets and unfeeling stare upon his face. He had slowly moved away from being cautious and polite to Will since the trial was abandoned and shifted into general contempt for Will’s change in personality since his time inside. Contempt at himself, as Jack still required Will’s special skills more than he would like to admit. “What do you see?”

“The killer had hunted these three. Had stalked them and watched them. However they did not believe they were real - they were not who they appeared to be for the killer. They were fakes, disgused as the dead. They had to be destroyed.” Will let the words flow, the general tone cool and dettached as he watched the forensic examiners taking their photos of the bodies, or picking up the bloody mallet to be added to evidence. He knew who’s fingerprints would be found wrapped around the length of that wood, who’s phantom fingers ran through his hair as he shook his head.

“This seems the work out a madman, someone with severe mental illness. They did not see these victims as humans, they saw them as ghosts or monsters wearing people skins..” He heard her voice as he continued talking, sliding his hands into his pockets. ‘...Some even can shift forms, taking on other people’s looks or bodies. Shapeshifters, ghouls and the like who can look like whoever they want. Some even make their own families like that...’ Will was being stalked by his own ghost as he looked back impassionately at Jack.

---

Two weeks later, the crime scene was covered in blackened ash.

The lab trio were working amongst the wreckage from the fire, trying to piece together the pieces that were there. As Will approached, he could hear her ‘...fire can destroy a lot more than you’d imagine...’.

“I subdue my target carefully, this is my design. I trap him within his own home and approach with care. This was once a person, someone with a loved one, who deserves respect and pity. This is my design.”

He watches as she shoots a blow dart into the neck of the feasting man, his mouth still full of the arm that belonged to his girlfriend of five years. The photo on the fridge a print out from his 30th birthday dinner two weeks earlier. The girlfriend is lying lifeless upon the kitchen floor as he devours her arm straight. ‘...No matter how hard some try, there’s always that desire..to feast, to indulge, to consume..’

“I will treat him with mercy, for the human he once was. I will make it as painless as possible, not drawing out the death beyond the necessary. No one will know of how he has changed. This is my design.”

His angel waits until her target slumps, before laying him down straight against his partner. She takes the time to slip his hand in hers - a final kindness to the monster who will be forever seperated from his love due to the tragedy of genetics and biology seperating them. Will can see the tear tracks on her own face as she looks into the man’s unseeing eyes before she douses the room in kerosine.

‘...Our world’s are so different. And we all have a different location in the end, unfortunately. Some people are just...born to have tragedy strike one day.. It’s just down to a twist somewhere in their genes..’

The forensic team will question why the girl’s arm was more deteriorated back in the lab, and crack jokes about cannibalism being all the rage these days once they discover the remnants of the man’s digestive track.

---

The third crime scene in the month had the highest body toll.

There were more than thirteen bodies to photograph, catalogue and return to the lab for additional testing. Eleven of these were all killed in the same fashion, with large incision points on their necks, armpits or upper thighs - “To bleed them”, Beverly had provided with a mocking shake of her head - and appeared to have just sat and frozen where they were. There were no signs of struggle in their deaths.

“They are fast. They are dangerous. But only together. This is their design.”

The remaining two, Will watched the pendulum swing before seeing her stab each silently through the heart with a silver blade before turning the knife once. She had to corner them one at a time, given the pair were joined, and the scent of dried blood filled the area as he came back to himself.

‘...everyone longs for a connection - to pair off, you know? - and those that lose theirs can be some of the scariest things...’

---

He felt himself struggling to remain on his side of the veil as the crimes continued. As more of the cases they came to included traces of her everywhere - either in the strangeness of deaths and her words echoing in his ears, in the grainy video footage of a blonde in the area before the deaths were reported, or in the very faintest smell of vanilla he thought he could find - yet as he stared every way he could to find a sign of her watching him in return, he came up emptier and emptier.

Will found himself reading and re-reading the Tattle Tale site, grasping his phone desperately every time there was an update before the tiny spike of hope was crushed at some unrelated store.

Will found himself searching the surrounding areas for post-it notes. Will found himself looking for signs of her in his own life - in his home, at his office, on the long baron roads to his house. Will found himself staring at the crowds that would form near the police lines sometimes, searching for a glimpse of gold.

“I will run. I will hide. I will not be caught up again - I will not ruin this... That is my design...”

And always coming up empty.

#AU stories #my design verse

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missstormcaller · 6 years

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Asks

1) I could do when I have spare time again and if enough people are interested.

2) Yeah go ahead that's totally fine with me.

3) nope

4) Yeah it came out in march I think, I was too busy. Since it wasn't too long, I thought I could use this time to continue since the novel is resuming, just finished writing up a translation for part 8, I’ll post it after this.

5) You're welcome, highly unlikely that Ichigo will be involved. I also don’t have time for other unrelated translations i’m afraid, I’m barely keeping up with translating the Bleach novels.

6) There's a lot more coming.

7) Gin isn't mentioned and I doubt he will be brought up in this novel.

8) The novel series resumed on jump+ recently, the next instalment should be this Thursday I believe or Friday, it's posted on a biweekly basis.

You're welcome and yes I went to watch it when it premiered! I'd give it a 6.5~7/10.

Here’s my short review:

Without spoiling much, I'd say it did fulfill Kubo's requests regarding the live action. I think they mirrored the relationships as depicted in the manga. The bond between Ichigo and Rukia came through nicely, she took to her mentor role in that classic Rukia way! Orihime's feelings and concern for Ichigo were really sweet. The dynamic between Ichigo and Uryū however was slightly different from the manga, they toned things down quite a bit, I didn't mind though, it was quite nice to see. The Kurosaki family scenes with Isshin go from hilarious to emotional, it's one of the best things about the movie.

The highlight of the movie is unsurprisingly the fight scenes. You can tell how much care and effort they put into those scenes, very impressive. CG and effects were not bad either.

There's a handful of scenes that deviate from the manga so it may feel a little weird and perhaps unsatisfactory if you're a veteran of the series. I understand they had to remove Chad and Orihime's mini story arcs as they were working within the expected limits of a live action, however I wish they had thrown in just a few more scenes for the sake of development. Hair and costume could be a lot better. Casting wasn't exactly perfect imo, but some actors were able to save it more or less with their performance, I'm especially impressed by how Taichi Saotome delivered his lines as Renji.

There was a decent number of people at the theatre I went to. To be honest, I noticed some people were constantly looking down at their phones or just had their heads down for like the first half of the movie but it looked as if the action scenes caught their attention again, that is the Renji/Byakuya vs Ichigo fights and GF, plus there were a few cheers at the end!

Overall, it was a little underwhelming in a few respects but still enjoyable and nostalgic as a Bleach fan. I do wonder what it would be like if Kubo did have significant involvement in the movie though. It exceeded my expectations as far as live action adaptations go. I recommend you go watch it when it's available to you if you miss Bleach!

#asks #answered #bleach live action #review

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creek-cryptid-deluxe · 3 years

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Oh man.... I got the balls to casually confront my dad about his behavior last night while we battled at Pokemon gym at the park (because there are a total of 8 gyms in the park area & a couple dickheads went through & parked themselves in literally EVERY gym which is poor etiquette & pretty pointless since you can only earn 50 coins a day so we took 2 for our team because fuck those guys.)

He was bitching about something at work & how he works with ignorant Trump supporters (which isn't surprising since this is Texas & they are all walking stereotypes of middle class suburban Texas white ladies down to the fluffy bleached hair, too much makeup, & rhinestone cross accessories).

I casually said, "Yeah I've noticed the more upset you get with how ignorant people are acting about the pandemic & the election, the more fucking insufferable you get."

Dad: "Yeah I know."

Me: "You are back to interrupting me and when you do let me finish, you tack on some ignorant comment afterward & I have to correct you because... well it's ignorant. You also will argue literally ANYTHING with me. Hell, I can casually mention that the forecast says tomorrow it will rain with a high of only 35 & you'll immediately chime in with 'Well according to MY app, it's only supposed to be cloudy with a high of 37.' It's absolutely obnoxious & it's getting nearly impossible to not snap at you because holy fucking shit. Find a healthy way to channel your anger or whatever. Quit taking it out on me because I'm about to just stop talking to you because it's making me angry & I don't need that shit."

Dad: "Yeah. You're right." Then he walked off with the dog.

So he KNOWS he is doing it. He KNOWS it's making me rage. He just can't help himself apparently because he doesn't have a healthy way to handle his shit because his generation refuses to learn any sort of coping skills or do anything to better themselves because they are apparently perfect & we all just need to accommodate their trash behavior.

I guess I'm just gonna start calling him out when he does it. Every. Single. Time.

In unrelated news, remember my buddy J who is kinda a flake & is struggling to overcome his 3 year descent into depression & alcoholism? If so, you'll remember that last week, in a huge step to overcome his stuff, he started AA & set a standing movie date with me to fill time on the day he is most prone to drink from the time he wakes up til he passes out. I take all meet ups scheduled with him with a grain of salt because he flakes a lot but...

Last week he came & we watched the movie Thoroughbreds (which is an amazing movie btw, I absolutely LOVE both the actresses in it) because he hadn't seen it. He text me yesterday telling me that he'd picked a movie for this week (which is also another one of my favorites, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Love the concept, love Terry Gilliam, love that Tom Waits is the devil, love that they did kill the film after Heath Ledger's passing but found a way to continue while still using the footage they had filmed with him).

I am obviously delighted that he is continuing to uphold the standing date because it means he is making a concentrated effort to keep himself from drinking. Me getting to see my person on the regular is just a bonus.

Also, when chatting with Em about this, she 100% called me out. Her response was "Awww it's always really nice when the person you are in love with makes positive changes!"

Um... excuse me?

I can't be salty though because she's right. I've been in love with him for the last 4 of the 5 years I've known him. I obviously haven't made this known to him because I would rather have him in my life as a friend than not at all. And i know that if I confess it won't go well because our relationship started via tinder, we dated for like 3 weeks before we decided to just be friends because we are basically the same person & my introverted personality encourages his introverted traits & he wants to date someone who counters those tendencies. Which I get.

So yeah. Besties. And sometimes when we are both single, there is cuddling because he gets really touch starved. I'm obviously totally on board with helping him with that. Especially since I have been touch starved lately but cannot stand being touched by people that I don't implicitly trust due to a history of abuse. Plus, I know he won't try to put the moves on me because he knows my physical situation.

ANYWAY Sunday! Standing movie date still on! Super proud of my boy!

[ DISCLAIMER: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DOES ANYONE HAVE PERMISSION TO REBLOG THIS POST. if you reblog, I will find you, I will send you a very abrasive rude message, & I will block you. Thanks! -Dumpster Fire Management ]

Lowkey, sick of having to do this but recently some jerkface showed me why it is important. 👍

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oak23 · 7 years

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[So, I decided to do a “short” translation of a thread about glueheads. Its written by woman who mostly mods MH dolls, you can find her by nickname OylOul. She wrote it about MH heads, but it applies to Barbies too, bc same manufacturer.]

Part 1.

First of all she criticizes current methods of getting rid of glue (such as using talc) bc its not effective and cant solve the problem permanently. Bc the source of that problem is inside the head. And she also guesses that glue isnt actually a glue but rather silicone grease or sort of oil or resin. Thats the reason why it cant be removed by “water, alcohols, mineral oils and fuels, weak acid solutions, alkali and hydrogen peroxide”.

Next she writes about theoretical part of research with help from her dauther who is a chemist. Bc “glue” is sort of silicone oil, solvent should be “related” to that. Then she writes which solvents would and wouldnt work. [I cant translate it well, Im not chemist]

So according to her: -Dichloroethane and butyl glycol would be too weak to dissolve thick layer of glue inside the head. -She couldnt find Carbon tetrachloride to test. -Toluol and xylol were the ones she actually tested.

!!! To work with said chemicals you need basic protection such as resin gloves, mask, good ventilation and in general to be really careful bc these are !!!TOXIC!!!

Then she writes about actual experiments. Fill the head for 5-10mins, pour out, repeat til liquid is coming out clear. Around 6 times should be enough.

Some additional notes: -xylol is safe for faceup as long as you dont touch it. If you accidentally wetted faceup you should let it dry first, and it will be alright. If you touch or rub it wet, it will be smeared. -toluol based solvent she used contains acetone, and that one damages faceup. -both chemicals make resin soft and leave bad smell, but after maybe a week it comes back to original shape and smell goes away. -she recomends to start cleaning hair rigth after cleaning insides, bc some of softened glue comes through hair holes, and if you leave it like this it will dry on hair.

Then she experimented with pieces of glue that stuck after drying. No effect: -different household cleansers -alkali(weak-soda, mid, strong-NaOH 30%) -asid(weak, strong-acetic essence 70%) -oxygen bleach -organic polar solvents (glycerin, alcohol, acetone) Negative effect: -oils Positive effect: -Dichloroethane and butyl glycol (it does actually work on smaller amount of glue) -Toluol and xylol (obviously) -some kind of hydrophilic oil from cosmetics [Im not sure what that means]

Also she used ultrasonic washing machine and washing powder and that worked to clean hair (But! not just washing powder). Then she wrote about why that worked. [chemistry+physics, Im leaving it out]

Alternatives she suggested but didnt test: -try other non-polar solvents -search highly active surfactants with a long hydrocarbon “tail” -absorb with some powder

Source: http://forum-dollplanet.ru/viewtopic.php?p=2859840#p2859840 or http://oyloul.diary.ru/p194281829.htm?oam#more1

Part 2. [I used googletranslate for all that chemistry talk]

She made chemical analysis of glue with mass-spectrometer. Results are that “glue” isnt silicone bc pattern doesnt match with known silicones. The substance is high molecular weight from 1000. It decomposes by dividing into fragments with a molecular mass of about 200. She guesses that its phenol-formaldehyde resin, but she isnt sure about that. That sounds not good for kids toys at all. She didnt get actual formula, so no confirmation on this.

[Im skipping some unrelated or already written info]

She names three methods to clean hair from glue: -chemical (as written in part 1) -physical (ultrasonic washing machine) -mechanical (thats why some people use talc for cleaning hair)

So mechanical. Bc glue is aclually resin [or gum or tar?? google isnt helping here, what do I call this??], it can be removed by wiping it off with something. Like talc. Or flour. But as it only plays a role of abrasive, it can be replaced with something like salt or sugar! So you can just use soap+sugar, and after maybe hour of active rubbing hair you will clean it all, and its really easy to wash out.

Sourse: http://forum-dollplanet.ru/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=42230&start=1050#p3052285 or http://oyloul.diary.ru/p197873644.htm?oam#more1

[Additional notes by me: I tried this method on one of my gluehead barbies. I used xylol to clean inside of the head and soap+sugar for hair. It worked perfectly, hair is now as good as new. But I must add few things: -xylol washes out with water, but not fast. If hair is oily (but not greasy), then its still here. -I accidentally melted a liiittle bit of plastic of body with xylol bc I was not accurate enough. -smell didnt go away for two weeks, even after I used conditioner. Right now its gone tho. -Scalp paint was rubbed off in places where I was holdind head. But faceup is alright. -I think the head actually hardened a little bit more than it was before? But Im not sure about that. -It was hour or two of work in total. Half for working with chemical, half for washing hair. -Again, PROTECTION IS MUST HAVE, THESE CHEMICALS ARE TOXIC. Aaand thats all.]

#glue head #doll reference #doll junk #submission

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nightships · 7 years

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“Extras” Request Fic: Surfer AU

I finally got to the first of my “extras” requests/dusted off my writing hands, so here you are, @evil--isnt--born, an extra from my Surfer Killian AU! Side note, she wrote one in this universe for me and it is genuinely too good for me to handle, so be on the lookout for that if she chooses to post it.

The full morning sun is unrelenting, especially where the interior of her car is concerned. Every shard of light that cuts through the tangled trees lining the winding road flickers across her face, her arms, her thighs, warning her of the heat to come, but it’s a warning Emma finds herself easily distracted from. Thoughts of the day ahead of her are more than enough to drag her focus away.

She ran out of excuses a week ago. Her bills were paid, patient treatment plans written, apartment clean as it was ever going to be. Work’s slowing down, too — at least half of her patients are out of state for work conferences or vacations, and even Regina is beginning to get annoyed with her restlessness. Killian, on the other hand, has been waiting patiently for her to admit she’s ready for her first lesson. She can feel it every time a good morning text greets her when she wakes, every time he drops by her desk with the lunch she forgot to pack, every time they sit on the beach and watch the ocean swallow the sun.

He’d given her the choice between sunrise and the hour after her last appointment ended. Emma picked the latter, tricking herself into believing the extra time would help her prepare. Like the few wispy clouds that had greeted her from her bedroom window when she woke up, time slipped away. Now she’s parked in the beach access lot, no clouds to be seen, and she’s more nervous than ever.

The air is dense, filled with a wet smokiness left over from last week’s wildfire, and the sand pricks fire into her ankles the moment she steps off the salt-bleached stairs. She shifts her weight from foot to foot, jogging in place as she considers the line of beach that spreads to her right. Several beachgoers are already setting up for the afternoon, burying umbrella stands and positioning chairs and running kites into the sky. Seagulls pick at the shoreline, chasing sandpipers into the wettest part of the sand and squawking whenever a jogger passes too close. Further down the beach is the pier, empty of all but the most stubborn fishermen. She spots a head of dark hair just beyond it, lurking where the beachgoers are the most sparse, and chuckles to herself.

He’s already shirtless, of course — she swears he’s solar-powered on some days —and totally focused on the board resting in front of him. The muscles in his arm flex and relax in a steady rhythm as he draws patterns of wax on the surfboard, and for a minute she just watches him. Then he smiles, and she realizes she’s been caught.

“Did you even bring sunscreen today?” She asks him, taking note of the many freckles that span his shoulders and course down his spine. If he’s not careful, he’ll turn out as red as the surfboard wax he’s using. He smiles and turns his head up before her eyes really make it to his face, and she’s caught again.

“I did, but I was hoping you would be willing to assist me with mine,” he flirts back, dropping his eyes to her bag. “Unless you were planning to set up camp.”

“I came prepared,” she tells him, mild accusation in her voice. His keys are clipped to his water bottle, sitting next to a neatly folded towel, but other than that it’s just him and his board. Emma dumps her things next to his as she sits, trying to pay attention to what he’s doing in case the lesson’s already begun. “You’re putting a lot of that on the board.”

“It keeps your feet from slipping,” he explains, showing off his handiwork. “It’ll give you a better grip.”

“You’re assuming I can stay upright on this thing for more than a second,” she says warily, casting her eyes down to the nonsense patterns he’s coated into the board. The waves looked small when she first got to the beach, but she’s not sure calm waters will make a difference.

As if he can hear her thoughts, Killian nudges her knee with his.

“If you could get me back onto my surfboard, love, I’m certain I can get you standing on this one at least once today.” He punctuates the soft promise with a teasing smile, throwing a little challenge her way. It’s taken time to get here, to the place where he can be lighthearted about his fears and his injury, and that progress feels much more apparent now that they’re getting ready to surf on a public beach. It occurs to her just how far out of his own comfort zone he’s willing to go for her, how much he gives for her to freely take if she wants it.

Open hopefulness sits in his eyes, promising her she’ll be secure at his side, and Emma can’t find in her to do anything but nod and reach for the sunscreen.

He takes her waist-high into the water first, holding the surfboard at his side as it bobs smoothly in the water around them. The waves are throwing diamonds of sunlight into their eyes, and the water is clearer than it’s been in days. Emma can almost see her toenail polish from where she stands, her feet comically pale compared to his own.

“The winds are favoring us today,” he tells her, pointing out a flag on the end of the pier, “but the current is still strong. It’ll try push us down the beach once we go deeper.”

“I don’t know if I’m going down the beach.”

“We’ll see. Let’s start with your pop-up.”

Emma’s exceedingly grateful that this was part of his therapy. Having even a little practice with the motions makes her feel more competent as she climbs onto the surfboard, steadying herself as best she can. He’s worked hard with her, taking her advice and instruction at face value, so it’s the least she can do in return even if she feels like everyone on the beach is watching her. After two tries, she finds herself standing upright on the board, looking down at him as he beams up at her.

“Well done, lass. Just like before,” he says, an almost ridiculous amount of pride in his voice.

“I still think we should have brought the floaties,” Emma teases back, holding her arms outstretched to keep from falling again as a wave rolls beneath her. He braces the board before it can knock her over, though, and a sudden certainty blooms in her chest. Killian came back home to the ocean because he trusted her to help him recover from his accident. He’s standing here now, eyes shining up at her with all the sunlight in the sky, because he believes in her. Instead of feeling heavy with the burden of it, she feels light, and suddenly it’s easy to let that same trust steer her forward.

Hours pass in the blink of an eye again, except this time she’s enjoying herself without restraint. Emma is by no means a quick learner, but Killian has more than enough patience to make up for it, so they make it into deeper water eventually. He teaches her how to paddle into the waves, how to dive with and without the surfboard beneath. He’s by her side the whole time, coaching and encouraging and teasing when the moment calls for it, convincing her she’s doing a decent job even when she chickens out of taking what would have been a perfect starter wave.

“Can’t you get up here and show me?” Emma asks exasperatedly, tugging down her rash guard of a shirt as she climbs onto the board once more. It’s like the thing can smell fear, the way it falters when she attempts to control it.

“And give up my view from down here?” Killian grins at the color that rolls up her cheeks, triumphant any time he gets a rise out of her. He treads closer, laying his arm across the board to keep her still and gently curling his fingers around her ankle. His thumb sweeps over her skin, chasing away salt water and an errant clump of wax in a soothing rhythm. “You’re doing fine. I didn’t get it on my first day either.”

“I doubt that,” she tells him, strangely self-conscious with his focus trained on her the way it is. “You’re a natural.”

“Even naturals need to start somewhere,” he says softly.

Emma remembers the first time she met him, how small they had started, and how far they’d managed to come since then — in more ways than one, she admits to herself, thinking of that morning on his front porch. They’ve had quiet moments since, but they’ve been rare, busy as she was with work. The quiet way he’s touching her now makes her wonder if he’s thought of it as often as she has since.

“I promise that you are making great progress,” he continues, pulling her out of her thoughts with words she’s said to him on days when he’s the one who’s unsure. “Give it another few days and you’ll get the basics down, just as I did. A good foundation takes time.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.” His smile is tender, but only for a moment. It turns mischievous, a second’s warning before he yanks her ankle, tugging her down off the board and into the water in front of him. Emma yelps with surprise, sliding forward and almost taking him down with her.

“How is that helping?” She asks moments later, blinking water out of her eyes and splashing him in protest. The surfboard floats nearby, tugging at her ankle leash and bumping into her shoulder, but Killian’s clearly abandoned lessons for now. In fact, he’s pulled her closer, his arm around her waist keeping her above water. It’s easy to blame her racing heart on the surprise, but it’s not entirely true.

“Sorry,” he answers unapologetically, brushing hair out of her eyes and off of her cheek. Emma realizes he’s holding her steady with the arm that was injured in the attack, not hesitating to put skin to skin. “I thought it might be easier if you came down here instead.”

“Easier for what?”

“For this,” he replies, sealing the last of the distance between them. The last of her annoyance melts as he kisses her, as he holds her to his chest, as she feels him trying his damnedest to keep a smile at bay. The press of his arm at her back steadies her as his stubble scratches against her chin, and she answers by dragging her nails through his hair, teasing him even now. For all the times she’s recounted that brief kiss on his porch, this is better, more playful and sure.

It’s like they aren’t even on a public beach. This kiss, the one that seems to have waited days to find its way to them, has found them in a moment free of insecurity and doubt, and she’s reluctant to do anything but press closer to him as the sun turns the sea into gold.

“You’re right,” she tells him as they break apart to breathe, not quite opening her eyes. “This would’ve been a little harder on the board.”

His answering laugh tastes even better than it sounds. “We’ll have to get a bigger one next time, then.”

Even teasing, she can hear the promise. Emma grins and hooks her foot behind his leg, tugging him under water this time, and they play-fight like two children in the water, their laughter trailing down the beach on the wind. It’s evening before they climb back onto the sand, fingers pruned from so much exposure to the ocean, but she can feel something’s shifted before they make it to the dry part of the sand. She feels it whisper to her as they walk up the beach and he talks about paddle board rentals. It lingers in the air as they dry off, his fingers twining with hers, their towels pressed together. It settles into her chest as they watch the sunset, warm wind tangling her hair and tickling those freckles on his back. She sees a future with him in the orange-pink of the clouds, in the first few stars blinking awake in the twilight, and it’s not nearly as terrifying as she thought it would be.

#jess writes cs #cs ff #cs au #captain swan #ouat #i would happily write 30000 more of these #surfer au #when the beat of my drum meets the beat of your heart #aka why did i pick such a long title #but ahhh thank you for the requests #and amy and galadriel26 thank you for WAITING #i am slow as ever

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pommunism · 7 years

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omg y’all completely unrelated but i totally met my dream girl.... like, literally in a dream which is such a disappointment. i can’t remember the context at all but i remember she was so hot. kinda badass. she had bleach blonde hair in an undercut. lots of piercings. like, i was so in love with her in my dream and i wonder where she is. has anyone seen her? tell her i’m lonely and looking for her

#tales from st olaf

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writingcommons-blog1 · 7 years

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“The Endeavor of the Elk” by Jack B.

There was something calming about that brisk evening-time air. I had never been to South Dakota nor had I ever asked to go, and wasn’t impressed by the 12 row puddlejumper that rattled all the way from Denver into Pierre. It was the first family reunion I had ever attended, and we were headed to my father’s cousin's house deep in the woods. As we rolled across the dirt road the trees cast inviting shadows from the weak setting sun. Light peeked scarcely through the thick layer of conifers and pines as if to say, “you’re almost there.” Suddenly the upstanding sticks gave way to a wide open field, seemingly carved by a divine fingernail. The field was green and smooth and groomed only by nature's rains and the relenting sunlight. I felt a churning in my stomach as my dad barked off a list of the second and third cousins I was to meet for the first time.

Across the wavy empty space I could see a large home - no - estate, that seemed to watch over it with a discernible eye. The trees stacked up closely against the back of the home proving that nothing else could reach it except the dirt road and the crafty deer who came to feed in the oasis. My mother groaned, whining of the lowlights of her wedding day and how my dad’s cousins had ruined this part or that part. Dad defended his cousins fearlessly as the unrelenting barrage of my mothers skepticism of the the upcoming weekend couldn’t wipe the creased smile off my dad’s face. He loved his family and I could tell he missed them. He wanted to share his new growing life with them.

Three of my first cousins would also be there of which I spent every Christmas with. My cousin Chris, who was three years old than me, used to spend the night after Christmas dinner, despite his parents fiercest contention on the matter. We were growing apart, however, and I wasn’t looking forward to Chris bullying me simply to show the new cousins who’s boss back in Colorado. He was the boss in the sense that he was growing older than me; my juvenile mind was no use in keeping up with his real-world disputes. Chris had taught me what sex was before my parents had gotten the chance, had beaten the hell out of me in my basement so it wouldn’t happen by the hand of somebody else, and taught me how to cuss. He seemed to soften the blow in a way, as if just because he had more experience he was more qualified to teach me such things. That fact remains uncertain in my mind to this day. Dad pulled the rental behind a rusted old red truck. There was a two-by-four slab of wood nailed above the garage with a chain-link net protruding from its base. I was good at basketball, and was excited that perhaps it could help me in my new rank amongst the cousins. My mom made me carry the potato salad as we rolled out of the car and embarked up the crooked stone pathway towards the door. The blood vessels in my wrist constricted as my heart pulsed concerned blood harshly through my limbs. I could hear the muffled roar of old men and women laughing about times misunderstood and hardly remembered. I worried that none of their memories involved me. I worried that my new uncles, aunts, and cousins wouldn’t find me amusing or impressive. As we entered the room, a wild ball of burnt orange hair hid itself as my great aunts pale white face took its place. A shriek rang through her red stained lips and she looked over my family. Her greeting was intrusive, but welcomed, as I felt the tension release from my shoulders. “The kids just headed up to the woods,” she said, pushing my sister and I excitedly along towards one of the side doors. “You will be able to hear them soon enough. Just head that way.” She pointed maybe northwest as my sister and I nodded, trusting this woman we had never met. When we caught up to the cousins, Chris was already there. He was walking off to the side of the group with a girl I had never seen before. My sister called out to the group and they all turned at once; a pack of animals startled by the unsuspecting newcomers. The oldest was a red-headed teenager with a tired expression. His gaze was darkened by the purple allergenic bags that had settled under his eyes from the long summer. I could tell he was a product of my bleached aunt. He was holding a beer, disinterested. The girl Chris stood with had stringy black hair creased by the slight breezes that weaved between the trees. She had an easy smile resting across her face at all times, usually deeper in thought than the rest of the group. She connected with the trees better than she did her cousins. There was a boy about my age, blonde haired and lightly freckled. His eyes were placed close together, a straightforward thinker, no doubt. He stood propped up on the balls of his toes, constantly searching for the next bend to take through the woody maze. There were thirteen cousins in all, not including my sister and I. After a short round of introductions, they turned and continued onward in their search of something I didn’t know. The only difference, now, is that I was in the middle of the pack instead of encroaching nervously behind it. There were loud cousins, and quiet cousins. Some were round and some twig-like. There were some cute girls, I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to think that. There were some ugly guys, I knew I was allowed to think that. Some wore jeans, others wore flip flops more suited for the beach than the staggered wilderness. Suddenly the group leader stopped the pack. An expectant hush fell over the family. He slowly set down his beer as he crept forward, motioning his mini-army to tiptoe along behind him. We encroached upon another small opening, this time untouched even by the purest of human form. Through the wooden columns no more than ten paces from us, a herd of nearly fifty elk crept out into the open. The herd moved in perfect unison, undeterred by the clamping hooves of its neighbors. I wondered if they could see the differences in each other as I saw in my cousins. I wondered if it mattered to the elk whether or not they knew each other, or if they simply intended to reach a shared common goal. The intention for the elk was to find grass, eat grass, and survive while doing it. I wondered if the human endeavor was all that different.

There I was, in South Dakota, of all places, sharing one of the most beautiful natural moments of my life with people whose story I didn’t know. I thought about the tired look on our group leaders face. I thought about Chris, and all the bullshit lessons he thought he was teaching me out in Colorado that didn’t matter at all in this moment. I thought about my sister, her young mind totally encaptured by the sheer beauty of the world.

It didn’t matter what each of our goals in life was. It didn’t matter how we got to South Dakota, or how long we would spend together, or if we ever spoke to each other again after that weekend. It was about family, and the different paths our lives took.

That’s what distinguished us from the elk. Our common goal, like the elk, was shared: to find love, to succeed, to find happiness in a world that seemed to suppress it. What happiness meant to each one of us was not as simple as finding grass was to the herd; in formation, chasing one shared craving.

I spent one of the best weekends of my life in the woods of South Dakota. I laughed endlessly alongside my cousins, the purity of the natural world bringing out the best in each and every one of us. We were a family, that weekend, sharing love; sharing experience.

I couldn’t say if I have seen anyone of those cousins from that trip to this day, but I can recall the faces that was there. Each face told a story in itself. A story of struggle, a story of want, a story of growing up. Growing up, growing old, accomplishing things; there is no right or steady way to do so. We were not the elk, trekking in one united formation towards a rigid common target, but instead taking our own unique human endeavor.

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fluffandfiteme-archived · 7 years

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#JustKeepWriting 1/13/17

Not 15 minutes ago I was planning to go to sleep. Between the ping pong game the medical “professionals” are playing regarding my mother’s well being and my own matters, I have been drained and exhausted. An unrelated note, the death of diets is mothers. I haven’t given up on eating less, but today certainly took a hit.

But no, as I went into my mother’s room to say good night, she read a question of her social media site of choice-Quora, a privately run question and answer site. A single question ignited me, and now I must write on a topic I have before, and likely will again.

“What is a Mary Sue and how do I avoid writing one?”

I sucked in my breath before answering. You see, in my dozen years of dabbling in social circles based on movies, games, and shows I have encountered this term. It has been used to terrify young women who really want to write a character who happens to be extraordinary. Most often it was used to refer to fan created characters who appeared in fan fiction or role play, frequently pairing off with a pre-existing character and potentially changing the course of canon.

I mean not that that it doesn’t make complete sense that a new character of substance could change the course of a history. Because you know what? It really does.

It was usually used as a shaming technique on female writers or writers who created female characters. Often called overpowered, too perfect, too happy, and too tragic and angsty all at the same time.

Over the years, the name calling of Mary Sue has moved to canonical characters, in other words, characters in the main narrative by the same writer as everyone else who do appear in the work. A fresh example was regarding Rey, in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Before that, I remember Xion who appeared in Kingdom Hearts Days. Technically there’s a number in that title, but it was confusing and false advertising so everyone calls it Days. Bella Swan from Twilight and the character that was once literally her in fanfiction, Anastasia Steele from 50 Shades of Grey have both been called it. (Yes, I read it. Will probably continue to for research to further tear it apart and write alternate reality fiction. Who knows, maybe I’ll knock off 50 to expose the dangers and conflict caused by the so called romance).

During the brief questioning regarding Rey, I wrote on my old blog comparing her to Anakin and Luke Skywalker as they appeared in the previous trilogies. Except I did it without identifying any of them until after their scores were in. My scoring methods were simple: did they follow the core components of Wikipedia’s definition, and how high did they score on the Universal Mary Sue Test.

[The mentioned Quiz is found here ]

[The full posts can be found here and here

Shockingly of the three leads, Rey scored the lowest on both counts. She was the most balanced of the characters. Anakin was inching onto the Sue scale. And Luke was no holds barred.

But you know what the funny thing I noticed in my own experiences are?

I have never once heard someone call a male character a Mary Sue. Now, there is a term for it-Gary or Marty Stu. But I have literally never heard it used.

(I mean, there are characters that are just really badly written, but this is about the Mary Sue stigma used to keep female characters demur, weak, and undeveloped.)

Now, the wikipedia intro blurb defines a Mary Sue as:

“An idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character, a young or low rank person who saves the day through unrealistic abilities. Often this character is recognized as an author insert or wish fulfillment.”

Author insert aside, because fuck you I have two characters that started that way but both of them and I have diverged and developed completely independent and because I write them well, no one could guess, and most enjoy writing against them in role play.

Idealized and seemingly perfection fictional character, often young or low rank who saves the day through unrealistic abilities.

Literally any and all Jedi could be shoved under this category.

Kingdom Hearts is literally full of lead characters and supporting cast fitting this classification-not to speak of Square Enix and Disney, the parent companies.

One could say Bella qualifies, given her unique resistance to vampire abilities, her teenage status, and how all the boys and girls lobe her.

The same cannot actually be said about her fanfiction counterpart, Ana Steele? I refuse to count 21 as young, she doesn’t save the day through unrealistic abilities, and she is not perfect.

But you know what? By that definite, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, is a Mary Sue. He was a kid from Brooklyn, barely old enough to be drafted, if he had ever qualified. He was poor as dirt, so also of low rank. He has no real character flaws of note, Civil War not withstanding because that’s a separate issue but the narrative still displays him as in the right. And suddenly through the power of science, he becomes a super human and saves the world time and time again.

Or hey kids, how about Batman? Little Bruce Wayne is orphaned, but over the years trains and uses the family fortune profits to run the company, improve Gotham City’s socioeconomic structure, win multiple hearts and minds, and oh yeah, create an arsenal of super advanced and cool tools and weapons with a bat theme, including a car, a super computer, a suit, and a secret lab.

Oh! Aragorn! You know, the Ranger, Strider, Aka, Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, Isulder’s heir from Lord of the Rings? His mother literally died dropping him on the doorstep of the elves in Rivendell. Thus he became a human raised among them, and oh yeah, he’s a Dunedin (not sure how that’s spelled) with super ranger tracking abilities and extra long life expectancy. Not like elf long, but easily topping dwarf or Hobbit. Wins the heart of Arwen, then Eowyn, basically the only two female characters that aren’t Galadirel. Who by the way is Arwen’s aunt so that would be weird. He unites the previously warring peoples of Elves, different nations of man, and even a few hobbits and a dwarf. And I mean like literally the day before he gave King Theodan a pep talk, Rohan was of the mind Gondor could go screw themselves. And the elves had been completely indifferent. Oh, and lets not forget the special chosen prince totally not Excaliber sword he used to summon the army of ghosts that wiped out the entire force attacking Minas Tirith.

Captain Kirk. Even before the reboot, he was mister Captain Perfect Hair. He could do no wrong, and generally had a different lover interest every episode. And oh yeah, he was born in Iowa, pre reboot, a good old country boy.

Lets see, Marvel, DC, Fantasy, Scifi…

I feel like I need anime and video game examples next.

Bleach. An old favorite though some of the final arc decisions-well, let me be honest, the final pairing decisions, left me put off. Anyway. Ichigo Kurosaki is the lead character. Spoilers ahead for anyone not familiar. It turns out he’s a half Shinigami on his father’s side, half Quincy on his mother’s side, and a pinch of Hollow because house Isshin met his mother. Which means all three main races, that DO NOT GET ALONG THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SERIES, he is part of. Even at the beginning of the show, he’s got the ability to see ghosts and spirits, and seems to be able to take on entire gangs on his own. He is a poor boy whose father runs an urgent care clinic, and is guilt stricken constantly about the death of his mother. Which later becomes a major plot point like twice over to give him angst. Once given Shinigami powers, or once his powers awaken, he is an instant bad ass, having more abundant spirit energy then anyone has ever seen. Literally every time a rule is explained in Bleach, you know its purpose is for Ichigo to break that rule. And oh yeah, with the exception of the lesbian and his sisters, literally every female character of note who encounters Ichigo has a a desire or longing for him of some form. Rangiku might be an exception, but I know Rukia, Orihime, Neliel, and Tatsuki all have a thing for him. And yes, he saves all of existence pretty regularly.

Video games are rife with examples of this blatancy. Cloud Strife comes to mind, a well known character from Final Fantasy VII. Multiple unlockable date scenes, boy from the country, tragic story. Low rank, still saves the world with the power of friendship. (TELL ME I’M WRONG). But I will also cite a much older known character.

Mario. Mario of Super Mario Brothers, Mario Party, and Mario Cart. Among many others. He is a plumber, who accidentally found up in the Mushroom Kingdom through the pipes. There he learns he can crush enemies by jumping on them, double in size if he eats the right mushroom, and develop a number of abilities such as pyrokinesis or growing a tail and being able to fly. And of course, he defeats the dragon and saves the princess. Remember: he is a plumber.

Now here’s my point. All of these characters would fulfill the qualifications of a Mary Sue. But none of them have ever been called one. Why not? I assume because they each have a penis. (Except maybe Cloud. I maintain Cloud is a gender fluid female).

There is literally an anime out about a dude who wins everything in one punch. If it was a chick I guarantee it would not have gotten past an episode.

The point I am making here is: most stories feature a hero that starts at a low point of some form, be it tragedy, rank, or age. They may develop a love interest, and eventually save the world through extraordinary means. This is actually a skeleton that can be applied to almost any movie, book, game, or show.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t be enjoyed. I encourage you to keep loving Batman and Captain America and Aragorn, and everyone else I highlighted. What I also encourage is to compare a female character if she wasn’t female to Batman, Superman, Captain America, or Aragorn. You may find Mary Sue falls apart. I know I have.

I have a friend. A chosen sister. We butt heads for a while because I got so paranoid about making overpowered characters, I didn’t like writing with them-even if they weren’t mine. I’ve now realized that’s not the point. If you write a character well, and let the reader or viewer understand that through the narrative, that’s all that matters. Male, female, power level, rank, and number of love interests just don’t matter.

Mary Sue doesn’t matter.

Perhaps I’ll bring back Mary Sue Monday...

#JustKeepWriting #Mary Sue #Star Wars #Batman #Captain America #Aragorn #Final Fantasy #Kingdom Hearts

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