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#yeah......... i needed to get this out of my system
clockwayswrites · 2 days
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Minx Part 2
Minx is a placeholder name, maybe Part 1, Masterpost CW: references to drug use, allusions to past torture, grabbing
Jason had to suck in several careful breaths as he took in the wound splashed across Danny’s ribs. “No fucking John did that to you and if they did—” if they took some sort of hot poker to Danny’s side— “I’ll kill them if they did.”
Danny blinked up at the ceiling, avoiding Jason’s gaze. “So the John thing may be a cover story?”
“Fuck’n—” Jason clenched and unclenched his hands, trying to work out the urge to punch someone. It wouldn’t do any good with no target to punch. Jason had kept an eye on Danny, best as he could without being invasive, and the other seemed clean of Gotham’s shit. “What are you messed up in Danny? Is it someone’s business? Did you see something you shouldn’t on the job? Hear something?”
“No— I mean, yeah I’ve heard things, but nothing to do with this. This is,” Danny’s hand moved to cover up the mark, as if hiding it would make the problem go away. “This is just some shit from my past catching up with me. It’s nothing you need to worry about, Boss, it’s not Gotham business.”
Jason held back a growl, pushed it back into his chest. “Did it happen in Gotham?”
“No, it happened down in sunny Florida— of course it happened in Gotham.”
“Then it’s fucking Gotham business.”
“Yeah, fuck it is, you stay away from it,” Danny snapped with a smile like a bear trap. He got up and grabbed his shirt with a waver. “Dealt with it anyway. It’s done and—”
Danny froze as Jason reached out to grab his arm.
“Danny—”
“You let go of me, Hood. I don’t care who the fuck you are, you do not grab me like this. No one grabs me like this.”
Jason slowly, carefully, lowered his hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to fall over but I shouldn’t have stopped you like that.”
“You fuck’n shouldn’t have.”
“I shouldn’t have,” Jason soothed. He wasn’t good at soothing, not any more, but he would try if it would stop Danny walking out of there injured like that. “Just sit back down and let me treat the wound. I’ll stop asking questions.”
Danny sized him up, eyes sharp with the perfect winged liner. Then he sighed and sat back down.
“Thank you,” Jason murmured as he rummaged around in the well stocked first aid kit for something to treat burn wounds. “How bad is the pain.”
Danny shrugged. He had his chin on his hand and was purposefully not looking at Jason.
Guess he was still in the dog house then.
“This will help the topical pain, but I know burns hurt deep. I’d like to give you something. Have you been drinking tonight?”
“You found me outside a pub,” Danny answered dryly.
“Doesn’t mean you were drinking, Danny, I know you know how to fake it.”
Danny sighed and tilted his head to glance up at Jason. He looked tired now, like the glamor had finally worn off with the stroke of midnight.
“Yeah, I was drinking. Helps with the pain and I knew I could take those shits drunk off my fake tits.”
“Bet you could,” Jason said, allowing himself a little smirk behind his helmet. He’s seen Danny play pool before and it was a thing of wounder. “Okay, we’ll do an IV then, rehydrate you and get some pain medication in your system in one go.”
“IV?” Danny repeated, his voice small.
“It won’t hurt, I can put them in smoothly,” Jason said as he started to work on treating the wound.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re real gently like,” there was a wobble under Danny’s bravado and twang, “but I’m not much fond of needles.”
“I’ll be here. I won’t leave you alone with it in.”
Danny snorted. “Yeah, gonna hold me the whole night so I don’t panic?”
“If that’s what will help,” Jason answered without hesitation. He could feel Danny watching him, judging him for that statement, but Jason just kept carefully working on the wound.
“Don’t be stupid, you can’t wear your helmet the whole night,” Danny said as if that would be the catch.
“Then I’ll take it off before I hold you the whole night so that you don’t panic.”
“Will you?”
“Said I would, didn’t I?”
Jason smoothed on the last of the gel.
“Yeah… okay,” Danny said with a tired sigh. “Okay, let’s try the IV.”
-
Jason sat with his back against the arm of the couch and the pillow propped there. One leg was against the back cushion and the other on the ground still. Danny, make-up washed off and dressed in a set Tim sized sweats, was tucked back against Jason’s chest.
It was easier to sit that way than take Danny staring at his face covered only in a domino and black hair spray on the white streak.
Jason gently ran an alcohol wipe over the inside of Danny’s arm.
And froze.
“Not what you think.” Danny’s voice sounded small and far away. “Hood, breathe.”
Jason sucked an unsteady breath. “What?”
“I said it’s not what you think. I’m not using. I was… sickly, when I was a teen. It’s— that’s why I don’t like IVs and needles and stuff.”
“Promise?”
“And cross my heart,” Danny said, going through the motion. “Girl Scout’s honor.”
Jason barked out a laugh that was still a little too sharp. “Yeah and I was a Boy Scout.”
“I don’t you, you do a lot of community service,” Danny said, draping his head back over Jason’s shoulder.
“Yeah, well, I work with different birds than eagles.”
Danny’s nose scrunched up.
Jason liked it better when he could see Danny’s pale freckles.
“Eagle Scouts are the highest level of Boy Scouts,” Jason explained.
“Why the fuck do you even know that?”
“I know a lot of shit,” Jason said.
Danny flinched at the pinch of the needle, but Jason had a good grip on Danny’s arm and was able to get the IV in fully. Jason soothed his thumb over it after he taped the IV down.
“There you are.”
“Don’t leave.”
“I won’t,” Jason promised. “I’m right here.”
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starry-bi-sky · 3 days
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Danyal Al Ghul: Incorrect Quotes and Miscellaneous Thoughts
Incorrect quotes-style snippets specifically for my danyal al ghul au here (which i really need to come up with a unique au name for atp). Because I thought it'd be funny. And also some miscellaneous headcanons thrown into the mix. Some context for the au: - Danyal is 5 years older than Damian (so 10 and 15) - Danny faked his death when he was 10. Talia knows and helped him with it. - Jazz, Sam, and Tucker do not know he's an ex-assassin.
-------- Snippet 1
Danny, dryly tapping his temple: I have, as the Americans say, irreparable psychological damage, right here.
Jazz, an older sibling first and foremost: well, it's good that you're self-aware.
-------- Snippet 2
Danny, aged 10, in the American foster planning to just age out of the system: *emanating Bad Vibes. Pure, Little Orphan Tom Riddle Energy*
Jazz, aged 12, coming in to adopt a new sibling with her parents: Him. This is my brother now :)
Danny: ...what
--------
Lilo and Stitch is Danny's favorite Disney movie. He watched it when he was 11 with Jazz when she was attempting to connect with him, and by this point Danny was becoming receptive to her efforts. They had a movie marathon in the living room one night.
Safe to say? It resonated with his little 11 year old heart strongly, and he related very strongly with both Nani and Stitch. He got unexpectedly emotional and hid in his room for the rest of the night. Jazz felt really bad, but it had the intended (but kinda unexpected) effect of him trying to be nicer to her afterwards.
-------- Snippet 3
Dash, aged 12, causing trouble again and getting intercepted by Danny: *scaling up a desk* AHHHHH! GET YOUR LITTLE FREAK, FOLEY!
Tucker: Hey! Danny is not a freak!
Dash: GET HIM TO BACK OFF
Tucker, was the kid Dash was messing with: ....whats in it for me
-------- Snippet 4
Danny, saying some questionably immoral shit: What. Why are you looking at me like that.
Tucker: Bro. I mean this as kindly as possible; what the fuck?
Sam: yeah, I'm with Tuck on this one.
-------- Snippet 5
Danny, ranting about Vlad: if it weren't for the laws of this land, I would have slaughtered him
Sam, painting his nails black: I'm pretty sure you'd slaughter him regardless of the laws of the land -- and quit moving, you're gonna mess me up.
Tucker: we've literally seen you debate yourself about this, Dan
Danny: ...you are correct, but it is the principle of things.
-------- Snippet 6
Vlad: I have experience my child, and the money and power attained through using those powers for personal gain, you say. I could train you, teach you everything I know! And all you have to do is renounce that idiot adoptive father of yours.
Danny, was already contemplating committing a Violence: ....
Danny, internally: I'm going to stab him *turns into Phantom*
--------
Funny contrast I realized between Danyal and Vlad that iirc I haven't pointed out yet is that imo, Danyal doesn't rely on his powers nearly half as much as canon Danny does. He falls back instinctually on his League training, and thus sometimes forgets to use his powers in battle. This was prevalent especially early on when he was still getting used to the whole 'halfa' thing.
He incorporates them more often after a year, but still for the most part relies on his own physical hand-to-hand combat. He trusts those skills much more than he does his powers. I'm not sure where he is on a technical level compared to canon, but just to stay safe I'll say he's similar in power skill as canon Danny. Perhaps a little more finessed than him because his League training would probably have him trying to figure out his powers as soon as possible.
But in summary? Danny is strong in hand-to-hand combat, weak in powerset.
Meanwhile Vlad is the opposite. I can't recall if he even knows hand-to-hand in canon, but it makes total sense to me that Vlad Masters wouldn't because he's so confident in his monetary influence and ghost abilities that he sees no need for it.
And he's kinda got some merit behind it. He's very powerful and has 20 years of experience to experiment and fine tune his powers. He's got bite to follow up his bark. He's perfected long-range combat and his ability to phase through walls makes it impossible to corner him, but if you can manage it, then one good hit could probably knock him on his ass.
So in summary, Vlad is strong in powerset, weak in hand-to-hand combat.
And it casts a good contrast between the two of them in that regard. Danny, as a fellow halfa, can follow Vlad when he phases through walls and is fast enough to land a hit on him. His league training as an assassin, albeit rusty, is still deep ingrained enough in him that he can hold up as a rather veritable threat against Vlad without needing his powers.
But Vlad can force Danny to use his powers more often through use of his own. The duplication is the first thing to come to mind: Danny's fast enough to dispel them on his own without powers, and smart enough that he could figure out who the real one is if given a few minute. But that's not always efficient enough.
Good foils for each other that way. Also Vlad's Plasmius design mimics Ra's juuust enough that he looks like Ra's knockoff loser second cousin no one talks about, which only fuels Danny's hatred.
-------- Snippet 7
Danny, ranting about Vlad for the first time: --and it's only made worse by the fact that the little ingrate resembles a cheap knock-off of my grandfather!--
Sam, choking on her water: he what--
Tucker, doing a spittake: HE DOES?
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thebibliosphere · 3 days
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I have a question, if you have the spoons for it. Since you're self pub, can you set your price for libraries to purchase copies of your work just like you can set your prices on other platforms? And can you choose if libraries buy a time limited license for the e-book and audiobook? Or if it's even an option for them to outright buy the digital copy of the book the same as a physical copy?
Just saw an article from my local library about how much more expensive e-books and audiobooks are from the bigger retailers and I was really confused about the massive spike from physical copy to digital copy from their chart and didn't know if it was even an option to outright buy a digital copy for the library to lend out.
(Sorry maybe this would make more sense after sleep but I am very confused about the massive price difference. Wasn't expecting digital to be 3 or 4 times more expensive and only last 2 years compared to one and done for the physical book)
You can set the price the way you would for any other retailer, yes.
However, the large spike is dependent on the library system and whether they opt for an annual digital lending license or a "renew after X amount of checkouts" license, which is not something I can control as the author/distributor.
There's no option for me to let them just buy one copy; they need the license, too.
There are other factors at play, like major publishers massively hiking the cost of their ebooks (and thus hiking the cost of the digital licenses -- which, again, varies from library to library and also from country to country), and also sometimes the distributors we use hike the prices to make sure they're still getting their cut (audiobook distribution is daylight robbery I stg), but yeah, no the digital library lending license is required.
And that license exists for physical books, too.
It might cost them less to buy a physical copy in the short term, but they're usually still obligated by a lending license to replace the book after X amount of checkouts.
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mrchiipchrome · 19 hours
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You Always Go To The Parties
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W.C. - 5.7 k
okay so this is the project i've been working on for a little, hope y'all like it:) (also listen to American Wedding by Frank Ocean while y'all read this.)
To clarify, this is a lionesses x r series too, but this is literally just the chapter of introduction so that we can get to know the characters.
-----------------------
“Do I really have to go? I can’t even drink legally here.” You groan, there was nothing stopping you from collecting your things and getting the hell out of that apartment in Boston, well except the manners instilled in you from an early age. There was nothing you’d like more than to crawl up in bed and sleep for the next few weeks.
No way Emma would let you do that. 
The sophomore defender had been one of the only people that had come back to college early, having been asked to show you around the campus and the facilities. She had quickly taken you under her wing, which meant that she wouldn’t let you sulk in bed the rest of August.
Brown cardboard boxes filled to the brim with different things, ranging from clothes to knick knacks, were stacked to the ceiling in the otherwise empty apartment. You didn’t mind, clearly, but it bothered Em.
You tuck your hands behind your head, staring up at the ceiling from your mattress that was placed directly on the floor. Your button up had the first few buttons undone, the top of your chest displayed for Em to see, you had even put your fancy trousers on for the stupid party you didn’t even want to attend.
“Yes, you really have to. How else do you expect to make friends, your cute British accent will only get you that far, you actually need to put in some effort okay?” Rolling your eyes at her words, you were quickly made to get up off the makeshift bed, getting pushed towards the door.
“But-” 
“No buts, you are going because I need someone to drive me home when I’m black out drunk tonight, you don’t want me to drink and drive right?” You can’t help but contemplate over her words, feeling the girl’s hand come down on your shoulder harshly. 
Clearly she didn’t like that.
“I mean you could just, I don't know…not drink?” She looks at you like she’s disgusted you’d even think about saying something like that, like she has to drink.
“Wow, it really is obvious your parents are rich.” You lock the door up as you look at her through the corner of your eye, a slightly judgemental look in your eyes.
Your parents were rich, but they didn’t spoil you so you weren’t one of those snobby rich kids, you were just like anyone else. Only you had access to more money than most.
“Shut up.” Emma puts her hands up in the air, like she’s surrendering to you, but you see the way she’s smiling slyly at you. Note to self; don’t get defensive when Em brings up your rich parents.
“You know, I could use a new Gucci bag if you want to contact daddy dear.” She looks up at you pleadingly as you make your way to her car, there was no way you’d use your car, it was far too expensive to be left outside a frat house. You really had to get a more beat up one.
Maybe you’d sell it, and donate the money you got for it to charity. 
“Aw, we’re taking my car?” Em whines, clearly she wanted to take your cool car.
“Aw, I’m not leaving my really expensive car outside of a frat house for hours.” You roll your eyes at her almost like she’s stupid, throwing her the keys so that she could drive, you didn’t even know where it was you were going.
“You know, you are really sassy for being a rich kid.” Em pulls out of the garage, the apartment complex you were living in was just off campus, so near that you walked there every day for pre-pre-season training (absolutely destroying Em every single time without fail).
“Yeah well, I grew up in the public education system in London, so that’s where I get it from.” You look on as the girl in the driver’s seat taps her fingers against the steering wheel, waiting for the red light to turn green.
“Really, I would’ve thought that they had you in private school from the second you popped out.” The green light stands out against the quickly darkening sky, starless and rather bleak, but that’s what you get for living in a big city.
“Nope, they wanted me to have a normal childhood, so here I am.” You motion to yourself, feeling the bumps and dips of the road beneath you, damn potholes.
“I mean fair enough right.” A certain quietness envelops the space between the two of you, it wasn’t uncomfortable, just present without any real purpose.
Your eyes slip shut, with Em turning the radio on, playing soft instrumental music like you weren’t in the middle of Boston where most people prefer hip hop and bubblegum pop. That was probably the biggest culture shock you'd been given so far, the music.
At home it was different, in a neutral way. It was neither better nor was it worse, but it was simply different.
You sink into your seat, the cool air blasting across your skin in that refreshing way, the summer’s heat canceled out by the air coming from the car. Slowly, sleep starts to take over your body in that calming sort of way that you’d wished for earlier.
It had only felt like moments since you’d fallen asleep as Em shakes your shoulders to get you to wake up, the pulsing music coming from the frat house a walking distance away already making your ears hurt. You look around at the surrounding nature, it wasn’t familiar to you, not the trees you’d found yourself memorizing nor the architecture present in Boston.
Even the people looked different, shirts with the printing of a dog on the front instead of the three books representing Harvard. Stupid of you to assume that Em would be rational for once.
“Where are we Em?” You ask, voice riddled with a sleepy kind of innocence that suggested that not everything had registered yet.
“We are in Connecticut, home of the huskies and what might be the best parties you’ll ever experience.” Your eyes shoot open wide, a more than flabbergasted look on your face at her naïve words.
“You kidnapped me and then drove me all the way to Connecticut for a party we could just as well have found in Boston?!” You ask her incredulously, like you couldn’t really believe her. And you couldn’t.
“Yeah, technically I did but you’ll also get to experience the party of your lifetime, so I think that it’s fine.” She tries to justify her actions by trying to reason with you, and whilst it doesn’t work in the way she wishes, Emma’s just happy you’re not totally freaking out.
“Come on grumpy, let’s go. Who knows, you might even have some fun.” Em pulls you along towards the house spewing flashing lights in a hundred different colors.
You let your eyes adjust to the blinking lights as you enter through the open front door, seeing the entire bottom floor of the mansion-like house covered with hundreds of students, packed together tightly like a sweaty sardine can.
The house reeks of bad body wash, moldy pits and strong cheap alcohol, and in a sense of the word Em really did tell the truth, you’d never seen anything like it before. It was almost like those frat boys couldn’t afford to buy deodorant.
If your arm wasn’t as firmly attached to your body as it was, you were sure that Emma would’ve torn it off by now, the resistance of the sweaty bodies pushing against your own as she leads you to the kitchen proving to be a difficult task for her weak arms.
Reaching the entrance of the large kitchen, the first thing you notice is that it’s not as tightly packed as the living room, only a few stragglers here and there with the stereotypical red solo cups can be found in every single person’s hand. Future alcoholists.
 “Okay, base rules since you’ve never been to a college party before, don’t take a drink from anyone you don’t know, don’t accept anyone’s request to go upstairs or somewhere private, you’ll most likely get robbed, don’t be too snarky, people don’t appreciate that and… I think that’s all. Have a nice night!” And with that she’s off to the living room, plucking a cup from a random man’s hand and taking a sip before leading him to the dance floor.
Yeah, base rules or whatever.
Standing alone in the kitchen, you suddenly feel so awkward. The only real parties you’d been to were the one’s your friends threw when your parents were away on their stupidly long business trips, just the chaotic friend group drinking together.
So this, college parties, was something that was totally out of your comfort zone and you’d never hated anyone as much as you hated Em right at that moment.
Spotting a boy out of the corner of your eye, you approach him with confident, yet still relatively hesitant steps, a question at the tip of your tongue. He looks up at you when you’re close enough to smell the odor of old spice deodorant and way too much sweat, his hat turned backwards on his head to hide the greasy hair still somehow poking its way through.
You almost feel bad for the poor thing, well that is until his mouth opens and you’re staring into the hell that is a frat boy’s gob. 
“‘Sup dude, what can I do for you?” His eyes run all along your body, from your ankles up to your face where he notices the annoyed expression.
“I was wondering if you had anything non alcoholic.” You smile staley, eyebrows furrowing together when his eyes light up like a kid on christmas. His laugh feels slightly insulting, especially when his hand comes up to point at you, but there’s really not a lot you could do.
“Dude totally, say the thing though.” You look at him confused, like you didn’t know what he meant. Spoiler alert; you did. “Y’know bo'ohw'o'wo'er.” 
He laughs again when you roll your eyes, and even if all you desire is to punch his stupid face in, you still say the phrase. Was it worth it for a coke? Eh, debatable.
He opens the fridge and throws you the can and laughs once more at your dirty look.
Sipping the drink slowly as you make your way around the house, the UConn students around you stare unashamedly at you, like they knew your face from somewhere, but you weren’t familiar per se. 
Your face scrunches up at the metallic taste of the American coke, much preferring the Mexican one they had in the canteen. You couldn’t complain too much though, you were the one who actually let yourself get dragged to the party.
It’s sudden, the way her eyes catch yours. Deep pools of endearing brown that capture your entire soul in a single second. The girl was mesmerizing as she stood leaning against the wall across from you, her long brown hair falling so effortlessly down her back.
Her gaze is just focussed on you for a second or two, her attention soon being stolen by the man standing in front of her, a sleazy smirk on his face as his eyes ran all along her body. It was clear that she was uncomfortable purely by the way her lips were turned downwards and the way her hands fiddled with the hem of her crop top.
There seems to be a lull in their one sided conversation as she looks to you almost pleadingly, getting the hint almost immediately, you walk over with confident steps, dropping the now empty can on the floor on the way.
The man is almost as tall as you, his burly shoulders disproportionate to the rest of his awkward body, his meaty hands gripping the red cup tightly like he was afraid someone would steal it from him. His hooded eyes do a once over when he spots you nearing them, almost turning a green pale at the sight of you.
You don’t understand why, there was no way you knew him and being recognised as Harvard’s newest addition would be unlikely. Especially in Connecticut.
“Everything alright here?” The girl seems startled by your accent, but she quickly schools her features so as to not show her surprise. Her hands wrap around your waist, and when you look down at her she looks back up at you with pleading eyes, asking you to just go along with it for the time being.
Your arm wraps around her shoulders and she leans into your body almost subconsciously, like you’ve known each other for much longer than you have.
“Yeah, everything’s going good.” He says, not backing down despite having been nervous at your mere presence only seconds before.
“Really? Because from where I stood it looked like you were flirting with my girlfriend.” You don’t even get the satisfaction of watching his gummy smile fade from his thin lips as he takes in your words, because he walks away from you before you can see it.
It makes you chuckle, especially since he walks up to another girl almost immediately, getting turned down in the same second.
“You okay?” You question the girl in your arms, her hand still resting on your waist as you take her in. You can feel her hair against your arm, her nails digging into your skin ever so slightly and the rest of her body pressed so tightly against your own.
“Yeah, he just wouldn’t leave me alone, thank you for the help.” She smiles at you sweetly, her brown eyes shining under the flashing lights. You smile back at her softly, noticing the way her grip loosens, you quickly let up on your grip of her shoulders.
Her unsure steps catch your attention as she takes your hand in her soft one, just like Em had done earlier in the evening.
“Where are you taking me?” You laugh through the sentence as she tries to pull you through the crowd of people, stumbling over her feet clumsily every so often.
“Do you like burgers?” She questions hastily, nearly having pulled you all the way to the front door already, she was a lot stronger than Em that’s for sure.
"Doesn't everyone?” You smile goofily when she looks back at you, her eyes narrowed playfully when you send her a wink. It’s only when you’re already out the door that you realize that Em is still in there, with people you don't know. Strangers.
You stop walking, the girl’s hand still in yours as she too stops, looking back at you confused.
“I’m sorry but my friend, Em, is still in there and I don’t want to leave her alone with strangers.” Her eyes light up again and you look at her weirdly, not understanding why she looked so happy that you had to leave.
“Em Whitmore?” She giggles at the shocked look on your face, clearly you didn’t know much about Em, the girl thinks to herself. You look at her suspiciously, how did she know Em?
“Yeah…how’d you know?” You ask her, still suspicious of her pretty intoxicated form. Her laugh carries all throughout the empty night, no one out and about except you and the mystery girl who’s soft hand is still in yours.
“I know her brother, she comes to a lot of parties here, because she knows she’ll be safe.” The brunette starts pulling you along again and you let yourself follow her, no longer worried about your Harvard counterpart. Her brother wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.
By the time you reach the 50’s themed diner, you’ve already walked for ten minutes, side by side with the dark haired girl. You’re lucky that it wasn’t too far away, the half stumbling girl beside you probably wouldn’t have been able to walk that far without falling over.
The bell at the top of the door chimes when she pushes it open, the bored looking cashier perking up when he sees your companion. It was empty in the diner and you couldn’t imagine that keeping it open for this long wasn’t only for the drunk college students looking for a quick snack.
She drags you over to a booth in the corner, decorated in red and white stripes, a glass with straws standing in the middle of the table with a napkin holder beside it.
“Welcome to Donna’s Diner, what can I get for you?” The boy from the counter comes up to the booth after you’ve both settled, handing the two of you plastic menus. The dark haired girl smiles up at him, that fantastic glint in her eye once more.
“Come on now Alex, no need to be all professional.” You look up at him from where you’re sitting, his blonde hair curling around his ears, green eyes staring into yours kindly, thin fingers clasping the small notebook in his hands.
“Alex, this is my new friend, she knows Callum’s little sister, mystery friend, this is Alex and he’s in one of my classes.” You smile at him softly, sticking your hand out for him to shake, and he does take it in a confident grip, sending you a smile of his own.
“I’m Y/n.” Now the mystery girl looks up at you, finally a name attached to your face.
“Nika, I already know what you want, but how about you?” He looks to you when he speaks, obviously you wouldn’t know what to order, it being your first time there and all.
“I’ll just have whatever she’s having with a chocolate milkshake.” Alex disappears behind the counter again, your eyes following his retreating form. Looking away from the kitchen door, your eyes quickly meet the ones of the girl you now know as Nika.
One of her hands was tucked under her chin, keeping her head up in order to look at you. Relaxing into the cushions behind you, the small smile slowly taking over your face suddenly becomes full blown.
“What is it?” She giggles under her breath at your inquisitive look, and despite not knowing much more than her name, you already felt like she knew your soul inside and out.
“Nothing…it’s just that this is the last place I would’ve thought that you would bring me to.” The furrow in her brow is frankly quite adorable, her head turning to the side just in time to catch Alex walking out the kitchen with your food. 
You see the way her eyes light up again, the platter of pure greasy goodness at the center of her attention right at that moment. All you could think about at that second was how thankful you were that the season hadn’t started yet, because everything there broke every single diet you could think of.
Looking to the brunette, the laugh bubbling up from the pit of your stomach is almost one of wonder, because the beautiful girl had already managed to get through half the burger that was in front of her. It seemed like her intoxicated brain only was focussed on one thing, satiating her hunger.
It isn’t long until you follow her lead, picking up the burger and just trying to get the most you could of it in your mouth. You can’t help the groan that escapes you when the exquisite flavours hit your taste buds all at once, having to lean back into the cushions of the booth to be able to take it all in, closing your eyes fully to enhance the experience even further.
It’s only when she laughs that you finally open your eyes again, only to see her looking right at you like you were made of glass, like she could read you like a book and then play you like a fiddle.
“I understand, I had the exact same reaction when I tried it.” She continues to giggle at you when you start to eat like a poor man starved. It was a funny sight to be fair, the way your fancy act completely disappears when in contact with amazing food.
“How’d you even find this place?” You question her when you’ve swallowed and wiped your mouth off with a napkin, you still had manners after all. She smiles at you, gesturing at your surroundings, at the tables and the booths, the chairs and the ketchup bottles, at everything.
“I was drunk after a party once in freshman year and I just stumbled across it.” You nod in response, completely understanding the randomness of how she’d found the place. When you’re drunk, all you want is some greasy food.
“So it’s a well guarded secret between the students then? I assume there’s usually more people here at this time of night.” You take a sip of the milkshake when the last word has fallen from your lips, heat spreading across your face at the intense look you’re getting from the brunette in front of you.
It’s probably just because she’s drunk, you think quietly to yourself, almost trying to convince your mind that the stupidly attractive smile on her face was just one of momentary value, that it was only because it was late and you were tired that it affected you in the way it did.
“Yeah, something like that.” She responds, a comfortable silence enveloping you two as you continue to eat.
The only thing that could be heard was the murmur of the fan across the room, the patting of the fingers of the boy, Alex, at the counter and the sound of shallow breathing. Well that was until her accented voice breaks it with a question.
“So, how’d you manage to befriend the girl with the scariest brother ever?” Nika asks you, her fingers playing with the napkin she’d taken only moments before. Her teeth capture her bottom lip softly as she looks at you tentatively, she’s positively driving you nuts with her pure unfiltered beauty.
“Well, for starters we both play football for Harvard, but she was the first one there to greet me, to help me pack up the necessities and all that. She never did mention a brother though.” You relish in the way she looks at you, all flustered and sweet despite you not having done anything in particular. It was adorable. Pause.
She nods absentmindedly, opening her mouth to speak before closing it and then opening it again, resembling a fish out of water more than anything.
“Were you going to say something love?” You ask the now blushing girl, and she hides her face in her hands at the embarrassment, clearly having zoned out for a little while there.
Reaching over, you pat her shoulder comfortingly before you ask her your next question.
“How about you? How do you know Em’s brother?” Nika reaches over the table to steal a few of your fries, laughing at the betrayed look on your face.
Maybe it was the drinks or maybe you were just funnier than you’d originally thought, either way the angelic sound of her laughing had graced your ears many times that evening. Not that you minded, you didn’t even mind a little bit.
“He plays basketball, I play basketball, and sometimes we train together.” You can’t help the feeling taking over you, the burning feeling that makes you question everything you’d ever known about yourself. Just the thought of your friend’s brother getting to enjoy her company makes the feeling inside you that much worse.
 It seems like she sees the way your expression changes just that little bit before it goes back to normal.
“So, you’re like…close?” You ask the basketball player timidly, rolling your eyes only seconds later when the brunette decides to take a sip of your milkshake.
“No, not especially close. I mean, we talk when we have to at the shared training sessions, but not outside of it. But realistically though, who in the world of college sports doesn’t know Callum Whitmore?” Looking at her cluelessly, you sarcastically shrug as if to say you, because you truly hadn’t known a single thing about the man before she had told you.
By the third time Nika reaches for your fries, you decide to just push them towards her and let her have them, you weren’t even hungry after the monster burger you’d just consumed. It wasn’t at all just because she was too pretty not to get whatever she wanted. Pause.
“You want to switch?” She gestures to your drinks, she’d gotten a strawberry milkshake that she didn’t seem to fancy all that much right at that moment. Sighing goodnaturedly, you give her a nod and allow her to take whatever was left of your shake, smiling softly as you sip absentmindedly at the pink shake she’d given you. 
Soon enough, the only thing that could be heard over the natural noise of the diner was the slight slurping every so often.
“I just got to go wash up, then I’ll walk you home, okay?” The brunette nods as she looks at you leaving, pulling out her phone to seemingly start to text someone not long after.
You walk up to Alex, who’s still standing at the counter and he smiles in your direction when you near, only seeing you out of the corner of his eye. Pulling out your wallet, you hold out your card to him.
“Could you do a to go order? God knows she’ll need that in the morning.” You nod your head in Nika’s direction, Alex smiling widely at you.
“You know, I’ve never seen her with you before…” His voice trails off, as if to tell you to fill in the blanks.
“Yeah, we only met tonight.” You smile at him staley, not understanding why the timeline of events was so important.
“You must be special then if she brought you here, it’s not often she brings anyone other than her friends here after a night out. Nico, drop me two burgers on the grill, one choc milkshake and a strawberry one.” As you walked towards the bathroom of the establishment, putting your card back in your wallet, you started to think about his words, wasn’t this place well known? What made it so special to Nika that the server had to point out how she never brought strangers there?
Wiping your hands off on your trousers, you go up to your table to collect Nika before swinging by the counter to pick up your to-go order, the brown paper bag looking out of place next to the two of you. It seems like she’s sobered up at least a little as she looks at you questioningly, her eyes soon falling to the bag in your hands and then back up at your face.
The bell chimes again when the two of you exit the diner, the cooling air of the late night a contrast to the warm atmosphere of the diner.
“What’s that for?” The furrow in her brow is so endearing that you almost feel the skip in your heartbeat, her eyes narrowing at you ever so slightly. Her arm threads through yours, one of your hands in the pocket of your trousers, creating the perfect space for her arm to go through.
You sneak a glance at her, flyaways being highlighted by the streetlights you were passing. Her head meets your shoulder as you start to walk back to the party, her apartment couldn’t be too far from it considering she hadn’t mentioned anything when you offered to walk her home.
“It’s for you, I just know that hungover Nika is going to crave Donna’s diner’s milkshakes to calm her raging headache.” You tease her softly, but there was definite truth there either way.
If there was one thing you knew about being hungover, then it was that good food usually helped at least a little (well, after the spells of throwing up everything from the previous night.) You give her a cheeky smile as you near the party once more, the booming music being heard from miles away. 
“Thank you, you didn’t have to do that.” She speaks sincerely, you just smile at her in response, did you have to do it? No, but she’d kept you company all night so you did it anyway.
“Hey, can I just stop by my friend’s car before I walk you home? I just have to get something.” You were so thankful that you’d stolen the keys from Em before you went into the party only hours before. Leading her to the beat up truck, unlocking it and opening the door, you place the bag on the ground before you look through the glove compartment.
Finding the cartridge of painkillers and the pen that you were searching for with a small ‘aha’. The post-it notes Em always kept in her car finally came to use when you stole one, writing a quick message on it before sticking it to the plastic of the painkillers and dropping it down the brown paper bag.
You lock the car up, despite it being a piece of shit that no one would ever steal, Em always insisted on you locking it. 
Walking up to her side once more, you open your mouth to speak.
“So, lead the way home love.” You gesture for her to take the lead, it was her apartment after all. Taking your free hand in hers, the girl starts to lead you towards her apartment building, walking calmly side by side with your hands swinging between your bodies.
After passing countless trees, and even more cars, you suddenly find yourselves at the bottom of the slanted hill leading up to where she lives, and when you actually start to walk up the long walkway, it’s slowly almost like you’re both resisting the natural order of events.
But you had to leave her, both Em and Harvard were waiting for you and no matter how much you tried to resist, you knew that’s ultimately where you had to go, it was your life even if the girl you’d just met seemed far more interesting than anything.
When you reach the top, just meters away from the door, you hand her the bag, smiling timidly when she reached out to hug you, her inviting perfume enveloping you in a blanket of warmth. When she pulls away, she thanks you one last time for your kindness.
“Really, it’s no problem.” You reassure her, smiling softly when she turns back towards you one last time before the distance between you becomes larger and larger, her fingers soon punching in the code to open the door.
“Wait!” You call out for her right as she’s about to enter the building, her head turning back to you questioningly. “Don’t forget to put it in the fridge when you get in.” She smiles and nods before disappearing behind the door.
You start your walk back to the party a few minutes after the door has closed, something just keeping you rooted to the ground. It wasn't until you heard your name get called by that familiar voice that you turned around, seeing Nika through her open window, waving at you as you walked away.
It almost felt like you were in some cheesy romance movie as you waved back, turning to walk away after she closed her window. 
Truth be told, the evening had felt like something straight out of a romcom and some part deep down loved it. It loved the cheesy moments of pure unbridled love, the ability to express yourself freely, to dance in the rain, be your true authentic self in front of someone else was something you didn’t even know you longed for before you met Nika.
You shove your hands into the pockets of your trousers, every step you take moving you closer and closer to the frat house, closer to Em and closer to getting back to Boston.
Seeing Em sitting out on the steps of the house has you confused, why was she out there?
“Em? What are you doing out here?” You ask the clearly incredibly intoxicated Emma, your loud voice not even startling her, her slow movements showing just how drunk she is. The squeal she lets out when she sees you has you covering your ears, the intrusive sound killing your tired head.
She tries to stand up, but it just looks like Bambi on ice, stumbling and falling at every second. You come up and sling her arm around your shoulder, bringing her over to her car and sitting her down in the passenger seat.
“I’m not cleaning up if you throw up in here, just so you know.” She nods drunkenly, clearly not understanding a word you were saying.
“The reason why I was sitting outside is a long story.” She leans her head against the window, and knowing Em, she was probably imagining herself in a music video right at that moment.
“You can tell me tomorrow.” The car starts with a rumble and you pull out of the parking space on the side of the road, quickly pulling out and starting to drive on the main road.
It’s quiet for a while and you almost believe that Emma’s asleep, well almost since her feet move back and forth against the floor every so often.
“Where were you huh? What were you doing?” Her words are incredibly slurred and you can barely make out what it is she’s trying to say.
“None of your business mate.” She snickers at you, reading way too much into your response than she should have.
“You got some.” The way your face turns red doesn’t help your case even in the slightest, especially when she herself points out your reddening cheeks.
“Shut up and go to sleep, Em.” Your voice cracks in the middle of the sentence, still embarrassed by her insinuation.
“Mhm, you totally got some pussy.” You sigh as she laughs again, she was clearly getting a lot more joy from the situation than you were.
“Go to sleep Em.”
“Mhm.”
Maybe she had been right after all, maybe you had fun and maybe, just maybe the decision to go to the party was a good one. Not that you’d ever let her know that.
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fictionkinfessions · 17 hours
Note
I've seen enough asks on here about the topic, so I just want to say:
If you identify as a system, GO GET THERAPY. Being a system is not a "normal" human thing and it definitely means you need fucking therapy. You can't just call yourself a system and call it a day. You cant just say you're KINNING, either, because the kin community goes back decades and it is bigger than some teenager on tumblr picking up kins from your mutual's posts. My honest, genuine opinion is that anyone with 100+ kinds or alters IS NOT ACTUALLY A SYSTEM. You are just young and impressionable and the world is in shambles right now and theres a sense of comfort in being someone else. Everyone wants to know who they really are and you will NOT figure it out until you're in your 40s. If it brings you comfort, fine. But go get therapy so they can tell you how to ACTUALLY cope with the real world instead of using "escapism." Escapism is not the answer to your problems and you still have to deal with them.
I say this as a person who felt inhuman since before I was 10yo. I even told my dad about it back then. And I've been watching the way the "community" has changed over time. You are not a polyfragmented system if you have 100+ kins, you are just trying to find an identity that fits you. Kinning nowadays is a good FIRST STEP. But I cannot stress enough that CPTSD, autism, and ADHD mix together to cause dissociative episodes. Maybe you should all look into it and find peace with yourselves before adding a new kintype to your list
All of this being said, yeah I do think having a bunch of kintypes is fine. It's okay for one alter to kin a handful of different people and shift between them. But you do not need individual listings for each separate one. You do not need to make a new proxy with pluralkit. I see people confessing to only seeing a character ONCE and kinning them. It doesn't work like that. Take some time to think about it. Its IMPORTANT to figure out if these similar kins are actually just the one person instead of assuming they're someone new. If you actually had 100+ kins (that you treat like individual alters) you would not be functional
...
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im-in-a-love-cult · 3 days
Note
an absolute win for the transmasc community 🙇
ngl I'm a sucker for sickfics and would love to read anything involving Remus looking after an ill reader who's neck deep in homework and refuses to take a break. maybe they fall asleep in the library, maybe they grumble about not being able to taste anything at breakfast, i dont know, take any creative liberties you'd like 😌
Oh i actually love you, i was thinking about writing earlier and this is the perfect excuse 😭 thank you my love
idk why i started off so angry at the start, i was trying to make him seem frustrated 😔/swearing/author cannot write for shit ☹️☹️/the layout is weird but if i don't do it in bulletpoints it'll be worse 🌚/author is British don't even start with me. 'Bollocking isnt British slang' WELL I USE IT OK 😕😕/not proof read, might go back and tweak it but i doubt it, sorry my love/do these warnings make me sound like a dick? ☹️
Remus Lupin x ill transmasc reader
Obviously you had to get ill now. Absolutely fucking brilliant.
You were absolutely balls deep in work that will not help you in the future whatsoever. Which is really a punch in the face cause you don't even have balls
Remus, of course, being the absolute star he is, wasn't the biggest fan of you overworking yourself, especially in this state
He tried to gently coax you out of this habit. Which worked for about half an hour before you got straight back to it
It's either an absolute bollocking from the teachers or an absolute bolloking from your immune system. Great.
You were currently hunched over a desk in the library, trying to focus.
Lines weren't lining. I swear, you read the same line about 57 times over and it just wasn't going in
You lay your head down in frustration
Look, you didn't mean to fall asleep, but it's grasp was just so comforting
It wasn't until about 20 minutes of Remus asking your mates where the hell you were until he found you absolutely knocked out in the library
His lip quirked up slightly, stroking your cheek gently
He packed up all your books. Another day.
Listen, he would've carried you but with his joints that is not happening
He awoke you as peacefully as he could. He felt like shit about it too.
"Sh, shh, i know dove, i know darling, we'll get you to bed, yeah? Atta boy"
Of course, you can lean a good amount of weight on him as you walk
When you protest slightly he gives you a stern look
"Love, you're pale, your voice sounds like your nose has earplugs up it. Just, let me take care of you. For the hell of it, yeah?"
God, his voice could convince the most stoic person on earth.
Eventually he got you into bed, warm hands taking your binder off (gifted by the courtesy of James)
Normally, after all that moving around the school you'd be awake again, but God everything about that man is so relaxing
He gently, as if he's handling a porcelain doll, dresses you into something comfier, kissing your forehead
"Need anything baby? Tea? Hot chocolate?"
Eventually, you dose off, a side table of neatly folded tissues and a body filled with warmth.
ACTUALLY PROUD OF THIS ONE?? WOAH??Kinda didn't get across amazingly that reader was sick, sorry pookie ☹️☹️✊️ hope you enjoyed lovely!!
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darkwolf989 · 3 days
Text
Outside The Office Part Thirty
“Hey, princess. You have to wake up now.” 
The  sound of Vox’s voice and the feeling of his hand startled me awake. I sat up quickly, the blanket falling from where my head had been tucked in. Gone was the warm, protective darkness of Valentino’s wings. Instead, the blankets were wrapped tightly- mimicking his hold on me. My head ached, and I wondered how he had managed to get me into bed without waking me up.
“Where’s Val?” I asked as I looked around the room. 
“Valentino went to go handle something, and he left me in charge of making sure you, my dear, eat dinner and don’t sleep for too long. We’re going out tonight! Drugs should be well out of your system by now, so up you go!” He said in a sing-song voice. “Com’on now!”
I groaned and flopped back down under the covers. “My head hurts.”
“Shocking,” he said sarcastically. “Here, drink this,” he untwisted the cap and handed me a bottle of sweet sixteen. “All of it, in your tummy. Then I’m checking your vitals, and then you can get up.”
I scowled at him. “I would say you act like my Dad, but that would be an insult to you.” 
“Aw, love you too princess. Now drink up.” He replied as he pressed the back of his hand to my head. “All of it.”
I took a sip. And then another. Instantly, the headache began to fade. 
 “You will actually make a great Dad one day, you know.” I said between sips. 
He rolled his eyes. “No. Vel and I don’t want kids, but I’ll make a hell of an Uncle whenever you and Val decide the time is right.”
I paused and lowered the bottle. Kids? I hadn’t thought that far ahead.  “Can that even happen? Can I get pregnant?” I asked. 
Vox shrugged and pulled his hand away. “Do you still get your period in hell?”
I felt myself flush. “I mean, yeah. On time, every month. Just like in heaven.”
“Then there you have it- yes. You and Valentino can have kids. It’s just a matter of trying, I would think.” He paused. “Not that I’m rushing or encouraging it, but you brought it up.”
I felt a shiver run down me. Valentino had to have had sex with thousands of demons in his line of work. Was Vox implying something? 
“Wait, does Valentino already have…”
Vox let out a laugh and cut me off. “Fuck no. God, that would be awful. No, princess, he would have to want them in order to have them. That’s why you two can fuck all you want and not have a single worry. Part of the perk of being the Overlord of Lust. Until he decides, really decides he wants to procreate, he won’t physically be able to.”
I took another sip of my drink as I considered his words. “I would need a big diamond on my finger before kids are even a thought. And a wedding. Do people, demons, get married in hell?”
“Sure do,” Vox said. He sat down next to me and took my wrist in his hand. “Demon weddings are a good time, might I add.” 
I squirmed ever so slightly as he took my pulse, but tried to exhale and stay calm. “Don’t you have my vitals synched from my watch to your phone?”
“Sure do. I like to check the accuracy though. Make sure the data is correct,” he replied as he clipped a pulse oximeter to my finger. “Why are you so fidgety?”
“I don’t particularly like medical stuff being done to me,” I replied honestly. “I mean, it's one thing to play around with it, or like, when Valentino and I are in bed, but it's another thing when it's serious.”
“And why is that? Did something happen when you were with the angels? Cause I don’t have any record of any major surgeries or traumatic events or things like that?” Vox asked as he leaned back, waiting for my answer. 
I shrugged. “I got held down alot when I was little. I didn’t like shots, and it didn’t take much for me to be pushed down and forced to stay still. I mean, it was for my own benefit of course, but…”
“There are better ways,” Vox finished for me. He shook his head, looking absolutely disgusted. “Fuckin angels.” 
I let his comment go. “It’s weird though, because, I mean, when my head is on Valentino’s body, I feel the opposite. Safe. Secure. And I don’t mind him taking my pulse when he’s not looking to…do something medical with the information, if that makes sense?”
“It does- and I appreciate you sharing that with me. I’ll bear it in mind.” He squeezed my shoulder gently with his other hand. “Our goal is to keep you safe, so you’ll never fully escape getting checked over, but at least we’ll make sure you consent. Can you agree to that?”
I nodded. 
“And on your other note, I think listening to the heartbeat of someone you love is much, much different than being held down and medicine painfully forced into your body.” He released my wrist and reached into his bag.  “But speaking of heartbeats, I do need to listen to yours. You good with that?” Vox asked as he pulled a stethoscope out of his backpack.
I nodded and sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “Thanks for asking. I am. I trust you. You didn’t tattle on me.”
“No, you tattled on yourself. And I’m glad you did. Stop talking for a second, let me listen.” Vox said as he pressed the disk to my chest. “Good, now deep breath in. And out. 
I stayed still and tried to relax. His touch was light. Gentle. Finally, he pulled back and draped the scope around his neck. 
“Heart sounds good. Lungs do too. Let me check your blood pressure and you’ll be all good. You need to keep drinking.” His voice softened ever so slightly. “Which arm did Val put the IV in? I’ll use the other arm.” 
I offered him the opposite arm and he wrapped the cuff around. I felt the nerves begin to settle. 
“So, why do you know how to take vitals? I mean, I sort of get Valentino but, why you?” I asked. 
He paused and looked at me. “Data accuracy. If something I create reads a number, I want to make sure it's right. And I don’t trust anyone other than myself, so I learned basic skills. Vitals I mean. I technically could take blood or put an IV in but if given the choice between a nurse or me, pick the nurse. For your own benefit. Now shush for like one minute.”
I waited patiently until he deflated the cuff. He seemed satisfied and tucked everything back into his bag. I took the last drink from the bottle of sweet sixteen and set the empty bottle on the nightstand. Silence from Vox as he typed furiously on his phone. 
“Am I okay?” I asked after a few moments of quiet.
He looked unconcerned. “Mhm, yep. You’re fine. Vel’s going to be late, which means it's you and me, kid.” He stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder. “Look, why don’t you go shower and get yourself comfortable for the night? I’ll get to work on dinner. Vel will join us eventually, but I think eating here before we go out will be a nice change of pace. And fits with what you’re trying to do a bit better. Agreed?”
He saw me hesitate. 
“Oh no. You don’t get to tell me you’re not a fan of my cooking after all this. Come on, you can help.” He took me by the hand and pulled me to my feet. “Go shower, get yourself comfortable and meet me in the kitchen in twenty minutes. I’ll get the prepwork all done.” 
I watched as he strolled out of the room and closed the door behind him. Vox really did mean what he said- eating at home, supporting my choices. I took a quick shower and wrapped myself in my comfiest pajamas  before walking into the kitchen to join him.  
“You’re brave, cooking with Vox isn’t my idea of a good time.” Velvette said as I walked into the living room. “And come see me once he gets everything in the oven. I’ll do your hair while we wait.” 
“Hey! Come on over kid!” Vox said cheerfully as I stepped into the kitchen.
I popped myself up into the usual place on the counter. “Whatcha making?”
“Something yummy. Here, try this.” He stirred something in a pot and offered me the spoon. 
Again I hesitated but let him put the spoon in my mouth. Warmness, an spicy and sweet. It was delicious. 
“Damn, Vox- what is that?” I asked.
He beamed. “You like? It’s the sauce for the pasta. We’re having one of my personal favorites for dinner tonight, along with chicken and spinach meatballs and a big tossed salad. A few carbs, good protein, all the things your body is going to need to get back on track.” He stuck the spoon back in the pot and stirred.
“What can I do to help?” I asked as he moved fluidly around the kitchen. 
“You can sit there and talk to me. Information, kid. I want to know more about what they fed you, I want to know about how your day to day routine went. And I really want to know if you’ve ever heard the name Alastor.” His voice caught on the name. “And any information you have on him.”
I tried to think back. Vox had mentioned his name before and at the time, it hadn’t meant much to me. I was more wrapped up in the moment to pay much attention to the cause of his rage baking. But now that he mentioned it, the name was familiar. 
“Alastor. I know the name, I just don’t remember why.” I said finally. 
“So walk me through your day, maybe it will trigger something,” he answered eagerly. “Start with waking up. What did you day look like?”
My day? Depended on the age.
As soon as I was old enough to talk, my day started at four. Memories of my father in the kitchen, making sure I ate what he cooked. Days spent either in his office, or in the arms of one of his many “brothers”- my Uncles. If I wasn’t being taught a skill or concept, I was by their side.  I was on base constantly, a shadow to the soldiers. I learned how to eat, speak, breath, control, be controlled, clean, and act like one by process of diffusion. I knew nothing else. 
It wasn’t until I was old enough to dress myself that things began to change. Dad became stricter, and my focus shifted from tagging along to participating. Memories of one of my most favorite “Uncles” running alongside me, slowing his pace to mine. My father yelling at me to speed up. Training drills with my wings out, falling to the ground after a hard hit. Whining wasn’t tolerated. I learned how to take the beating and get back up as if nothing happened. 
That wasn’t to say I wasn’t taken care of in a sense. Nor was it all bad. My father wasn’t always completely harsh. But when we were on base, which was most of the time, his job was to train and lead. And that was his focus. Making strong soldiers. 
Vox was quiet as I talked him through the details.
“Did he ever offer you comfort? Was he ever kind?” He asked after a few moments of silence.
I shrugged. “I mean, sure. When I was little I would climb into his bed and cry out nightmares. Or he would put bandaids on boo boos. But it wasn’t exactly his strong point- some of the others had daughters and he was more than happy to let them handle the softer points.” 
Vox shook his head in disgust as he put a pan into the oven. “Kids deserve love. No wonder you have such a…”
“Fucked up idea of things? And Dad loved me, Vox. It was just a different kind of love.” 
“I don’t know if I would call that love, kid,” he answered. 
“Vox has a point, mi amore.” Valentino’s voice entered the room.
I turned my head and looked as Valentino walked into the kitchen. He kissed the top of my head. “Sorry I couldn’t be there when you woke up love.” 
I shrugged. “No big deal.”
“Can we get back to the whole kid who grew up without love thing, because that’s fucked up,” Velvette said as she joined us. She pulled herself up next to me.
I frowned. This conversation was quickly becoming incredibly uncomfortable. “It was love,” I protested. “Just a different kind of love.”
“Mmm, no, it wasn’t. But you’ll learn the difference, one way or another, eventually,” Valentino replied. 
He seemed to sense my unease because he immediately turned to Vox and changed the subject.
“What are you making, anyway? It smells good.” He gave Velvette a meaningful look and she jumped down from the counter.
“Hey, reader, let’s get you dressed for the night, its going to be a blast! Come on, I have the perfect outfit in mind!”
Grateful for the escape, I followed her down to her room.
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diviningrodtv · 2 days
Text
Oh yeah, NSH Time.
I've been holding this post back for like a week😅
I absolutely love how NSH came out and I think he's currently my favourite rain world model that I've done! (Sorry Pebbles, I'm going to upgrade you later anyway :]
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I also made his scarf easily removable so you can see how the stripes aren't just on his head! The stripes and his irises also glow, but a bit brighter than the areas on Five Rotten Pebbles.
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His antennae are pretty similar to how I did Sliver's, especially considering I did his first! XD They're separated from his head a bit.
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Also if you've noticed in my art that his eyes are the exact same as in the model here, that's because they are! I tried finding a way to draw them how I usually might, but I just couldn't get the same vibe! So I said, "Fuck it!" and I've been drawing over his model ever since XD
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NSH is also who I used to make the "umbilical arm" model! So if you saw those posts, that's why the textures are all messed up!
And here it is in all it's glory!
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It's mostly made of ball joints with a flexible joint attached to the back. The last segment also twists just like your forearm bones!
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Also..... lore shit below cause I have, plans™ so-
If you don't want to know why NSH is acting strange on my blog yet, read no further!
(there's also some downpour spoilers, and some other disturbing things)
*slaps top of can* This bad boy can fit so much fucking insanity in him. (cw: self-harm yeah you heard me)
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If you haven't figured it out already (I did drop hints :) NSH's structure is damaged! His legs are giving out because a group of scavengers thought it would be funny to transport all of their explosives at once.
So he's in a bit of a pickle!
This is when Looks to the Moon and Five Pebbles' communication tower is repaired! During their first conversation in a very long time, NSH finds out about good ol' Hunter long legs, and is rightfully distraught! He feels like a total failure, that he wasn't experienced enough to properly create his messenger.
That's what this whole post was about!
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But, experience is something that can be gained.
NSH figured if Five Pebbles was able to leave his can, then he should be able to as well, but that requires solving the three problems I mentioned in the Five Rotten Pebbles post:
The self-genome modification barrier,
A general lack of puppet central brain matter, and
No material processing within the puppet.
I'll talk about my umbilical lore for this AU here since it's relevant.
Either the "cord" or the "arm" can be disconnected, but not both. This is for ease of repair by administrators. Disconnecting them both would leave the unfortunate Iterator fully functional. Although, they would be blind in the visible spectrum (apart from overseers), unable to speak directly to someone in their chamber, and would otherwise have their workflow be severely impaired. They would effectively be trapped in their own head.
NSH realised that even if the barriers existed, they could still have the intentions, to break them. So what would happen, if he broke one? Not by writing it out of his system, Five Pebbles already proved how risky that method was, but instead by setting his actions in motion faster than any barrier could stop them? This was something to test, and wasn't that what Iterators were built to do anyway?
Umbilicals can only be disconnected by administrators, but what if he were to do it anyway? He needed to leave his can after all, it wouldn't be much of a loss if he was stuck on the floor of his chamber or floating aimlessly in zero gravity for a while.....
So what if he just ran fast enough to rip himself off?
What if he moved his arm back at the last second, could he gain enough inertia to pull it out of his back? Even if it took a few tries?
What other choices does he have? Perfect Five Pebbles' method until he collapses and continue even then? He had time, but not enough for that, and The Hunter certainly did not have any time for waiting around. NSH had to fix his mistake, he had to.
So this bastard goes and does exactly that, and short-circuits his entire system.
Not just breaking the umbilical maintenance barrier, but every other one in the process.
And it all hurts like hell.
But that's the first problem solved, and now he can help keep himself afloat longer. So that now, he can figure out how to solve the other two problems with precision.
Of course, the others won't like any of these plans, but, after what Five Pebbles did, they wouldn't dare disturb him if he stopped responding, right?
And maybe, he could even hijack their communications array, to look for help.
>:]
yeah so NSH is not sane
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cutepresea · 11 hours
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The first half of Shirabe Meshi chapter 30 is finally out after getting delayed due to the flu
It starts on a stormy night with Carol holding what seems to be the direct feedback system that Elfnein modified to dive into memories
"If I use this, then my memories..."
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The next day, everyone is talking about the weather the night before, particularly how much lightning there was. Genjuro jokingly asks Hibiki if her belly button got stolen (referencing a bit of folklore where Raijin will steal your belly button if you don't cover it during a storm).
Hibiki says "Master, please, that would never happen these days! It may have happened to people in the past, but if you wear a belly band, it's totally fine! That's what Dad told me!"
Tomosato: (Don't laugh...)
Fujitaka (I actually feel sorry for her...)
But that particular conversation comes to a close when the Autoscorers run in with Carol in tow. "Master started acting all cute!"
Meanwhile, poor Carol is so confused and scared due to being taken to a "strange place" by a bunch of "weirdos"
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The Autoscorers discuss Carol's personality change to which Elfnein comments that it's like how she was when she was younger and her father was alive (Carol: "A girl that looks just like me?!")
Hibiki gets sad because she thinks that Carol burned away her memories after all they've been through together but Fujitaka points out they haven't detected energy great enough for that to be the case.
...Then Elfnein notices Micha's hands.
Her claws are uh...fish now. Apparently Carol got scared of them and transmuted them into something less...sharp.
Genjuro suggests getting her to the infirmary, but him being as big as he is, he scares her, so she starts freaking out and turning everything she can into fish.
Shirabe comes in with onigiri and suggesting a break right in time for them to...also get turned to fish.
Shirabe: "My salmon onigiri turned back into salmon..."
Genjuro: "At this rate we'll all be turned to salmon! We have no choice, we have to use force!"
Carol: "NOOO! SOMEONE HELP ME!"
And so Hibiki's need to protect others kicks in.
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"You can't be so forceful with a crying child!" and runs off with her.
Carol: "Um, who are you?"
Hibiki: "I'm Hibiki Tachibana, age 17! My birthday is September 13, my blood type is O, my height is 157 cm, and yeah, maybe I'd LIKE to be a bit taller! I'll tell you my weight once we're better friends! My hobby is helping people and my favorite thing is Miku's food! And when it comes to the whole never having a boyfriend thing, I'm updat--"
Shirabe: "Stop! You're screaming some pretty private stuff in a public area."
Shirabe informs Hibiki that Elfnein and the others are going to investigate the cause, but in the meantime they have orders to calm Carol down, so they decide to give her some new fun memories by taking her to an amusement park
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Hibiki goes to get some drinks and comes back to Carol and Shirabe sitting on a bench. Hibiki asks if she's tired, and Carol responds that when she was living her with father, she never knew the world outside of that had so many fun things to do and so many good foods to eat.
So Hibiki says she has one last place to take Carol: Her dad's ramen cart.
Carol is amazed that his food looks so good, because her dad always blew up whatever he was cooking
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Some tears fall into the broth, and that's...the end of the first half. Second half will be released in a week.
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viveela · 2 months
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It must be weird to live so long that an integral part of himself is now accepted, he'll need more time to get there too
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arkos404 · 3 months
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prohibitedwish enemies to lovers but prismo is into scarab in the enemies part just as much as in the lovers part
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refs
btw i never watched the original souce material of any of these so dont read too deep into it, i just found them outta context on pinterest and thought "damn thats them" and passed out and woke up with this
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pokimoko · 7 months
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The fact that Main-verse Ooo is as good and as kind as it is (relative to the other universes shown so far, at least, it's obviously not perfect) all because of the same character that starts off as the OG series' antagonist, the person we were made to see as the bad guy (albeit an often ineffectual one) for several seasons, is making me lose my mind.
Imagine finding out the guy you spent your childhood beating up and saving princesses from is in fact a driving catalyst behind you being able to exist, and not only exist but also live in a world that knows what kindness is. All because that man, the same man who you've witnessed do terrible things, once met a little girl and taught her how to be good.
Simon's story really shows us that even if you lose your way and forget how it is to be good yourself, the world keeps the memory for you. That act of love Simon showed Marcy by protecting her and seeing her as more than the monster she thought herself to be created ripples upon ripples, small at first but eventually enough to help give their wreckage of a world—a world that easily could have been forsaken, its goodness overlooked because of its inhospitable remains—a chance to grow into something beautiful. Because of those very same ripples Simon created, the people of Ooo grew up in a world where they know enough about kindness that they were able and willing to spare the 'bad guy' some, to see beyond the wreckage and allow him to grow too.
In saving Marceline, Simon helped to not only to save the world, but also himself.
#fionna and cake#fionna and cake spoilers#adventure time#simon petrikov#ice king#marceline abadeer#simon and marcy#meta#this was just a phone note to get thoughts out of my system but then it came out semi-coherent#so welp guess i'm writing meta now. i'm really in the deep end now. but yeah...Ice King and Simon's story being about the power of kindness#A cruel world requires constant cruelty to be maintained. But kindness? That reaches across time. one act of kindness sparks another#'I need to save you but whose going to save me?' That act of love and compassion is gonna save you ya dingus....eventually#In a less kind world finn and Jake could have watched those tapes about Simon and still decided IK was a hopeless cause.#That he was too far gone to be saved. But they didn't. They chose to treat him nicer and actually be friends with him.#One thing i always loved about IK's story is that he didn't have to completely change himself for people around him to treat him better#They changed their perspective and were kind to him and it was THAT that helped him change. to grow beyond the 'antagonist' role#to quote my go to and all time favourite good place quote:#'the point is people improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold that against them when they don't?'#Arrgh sorry I just always loved Ice King's arc in the show. From pesky antagonist to the person Finn dived into a chaos god to save#(the world's new beginning and its near ending being all because of simon. he has such main character energy and boy does he not want it)#And now we're getting Simon stuff and I'm so normal I'm so normal I'm so normal (<- has never been normal about this character)#(i...i have many MANY drawings of ice king and simon from 2015 and the years after. i was doomed from the start. F&C was the final straw)#(as was reading marcy's secret scrapbook recently...and here i thought i'd truly reached the capacity of hurt i can feel about these two)#Going insane over these last two episodes. 'she didn't have a me'. Fionna and Simon bonding. Gumlee kiss. PETRIGROF BACKSTORY#and the implication that Simon isn't remembering it accurately? Their sweet sounding love song actually foreshadowing their issues?#I am clawing at the walls. thank you AT crew you are enriching the enclosure that is my brain
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hrokkall · 11 months
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Praise no power higher than your own code
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heph · 5 months
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I bought Bloodweave candles from Planeshift Candles and I don't want them to know how much I love and obsess over their candles (we are mutuals) so now I'm yelling about it on tumblr instead of twitter SO!
Gale smells of like a . Sweet masculine cologne and Astarion smells citrusy (bergamot...) and I've been letting them perfume my room for the past few days and yall I'm just thinking about Gale's tent smelling like this 😭😭😭
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o-wild-west-wind · 7 months
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actually, one thought real quick: I think it’s so interesting that Mary and Anne were basically literally Calico Jack but doubled, and somehow perhaps even more chaotic…and just like with Jack, the contrast was a catalyst that ultimately brought Stede and Ed closer together as a unit. something about that lifestyle that really makes not only their love but also their compatibility clear, even when Ed is too afraid and vulnerable to admit it.
love how this time around, Ed and Stede left together. Ed knows who he wants to be with now—finally knows he can have real, by-definition friends whose prerogatives aren’t just obliterating armoires and making everyone around them as uncomfortable as humanly possible (and that he can finally close the door on that part of himself too).
ending this thought with “Do you see me now?” vs. “I love everything about you.” because Ed’s also finally learning that at the end of the day, the people he wants to be around the most are those he can be content to just breathe the same air with—and that he is loved unconditionally, this wildfire of a past on full display and Stede’s love still unequivocally remaining.
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panncakes · 9 months
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"I don't want to talk about this anymore."
LAWS OF ATTRACTION (2023)
bonus:
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