#Haunted Mt. Everest

[letsgethaunted]

Episode Twenty-Eight: Haunted Mt. Everest Photodump

Image 01: Mt. Everest Image 02: Map of Everest Image 03: Yeti Footprint Image 04: “Rainbow Valley” illustration by Lily Padula Image 05: Green Boots Image 06: Video of Green Boots Image 07: David Sharp Image 08: George Mallory Image 09: Hannelore Schmatz Image 10: Beck Weathers

#Haunted Mt. Everest #Let's Get Haunted #Mt. Everest #Yeti Footprint #Rainbow Valley #Instagram

[davidfarland]

David Farland’s Writing Tips—Wish Fulfillment

Awhile back, a writer was critiquing another author’s novel and said a little snootily, “This strikes me as a lot of wish-fulfillment.”

She was right, but the impetus for nearly all fiction comes from wish-fulfillment. If a reader is in the mood for a good romance, or a thriller, or a western, or a fable, she’ll hunt down something that suits her tastes, and if it delivers the emotions that she wants more powerfully than she imagined, she’ll be delighted.

In other words, books come in different flavors.

But some books are more complex and subtle in their flavors than the average reader would imagine, just as a fine chef will often surprise you with their unusual ingredients. For example, you might want a little romance, but the author adds in a bit of terror, profundity, and far more craving than thought you could tolerate—which only makes the ending more satisfying.

Sometimes our wish fulfillment doesn’t come at the level of trying to create an emotion. It might have more to do with intellectual curiosity. I often find myself wanting to understand how it would have really felt to climb Mt. Everest or to live in ancient Rome. I’ve even written historical novels like In the Company of Angels in part as an exercise, in an effort to try to imagine the heartaches and triumphs of others.

Some authors are storytellers whose sincere wish is merely to entertain vast audiences, to guide them through an imaginary adventure, and they become skilled entertainers

I know other authors whose wish is primarily to dazzle readers, to prove their superior storytelling skills, or to win awards.

In short, all novels are wish-fulfillment. Yet sometimes it is hard to understand just what wishes the author hopes to fulfill. For example, when you read a novel that is trite and poorly written, you might not understand that the author really did wish to succeed, he just didn’t understand what he needed to do to get there.

All of which has led me to consider something. When I start a novel nowadays, I ask myself questions like, “What will the reader want from this story?” I have a character in a dire situation, what would the reader want to have happen?  Is the reader looking for a bit of romance, or a grand adventure? Do they want a deep and powerful mystery solved? Do they want to be transformed by a story?  What would the reader want to see happen to the villain?  What do I want from this novel?  How can I facilitate those things?

When I’m plotting a novel, I find that if I write down the answers to these questions—if I create a wish list, I’ll discover that I’m trying to create a novel that is more intricate than what I first imagined.

For example, let’s say that I have a middle-aged woman whose husband was killed in a war twenty years ago. She wants to solve the mystery of who exactly killed her husband and confront that person. She wants to see what kind of monster he is.

Meanwhile, we have the story of a man who fought in a war, and in the heat of battle, out of his own fear, murdered a man who he realizes later was raising his hands to surrender. He’s been haunted by that image for decades and has endeavored to make amends. He’s become a doctor who runs a free clinic, dedicated to helping others.

And perhaps this is billed as a romance, where the woman travels to search for her husband’s killer and falls in love.

While I’m at it, maybe I want to entertain as wide an audience as possible and try to win an award. So let’s call it an epic historical mystery romance.

What would I have to do to accomplish all of that?  Well, a little thought generates a whole list of items. I might consider first, “what war are we talking about?” Is this the French Revolution, World War I, or Vietnam?  If I go with the French Revolution, let’s consider how the murder took place and what impact the Napoleonic Wars had over the next two decades.

I might have to look at what other authors have done, and consider how to beat their work. Crud, I’m going up against Tolstoy’s War and Peace!

I’ll want to make the story believable, so I’ll need deal with each step of how our heroine solves the mystery, seeking out every man she can from the troops that attacked her husband’s group, and so on.

I’ll have to consider how the killer changed and grew over time and create a chronology of major events.

I’ll have to weave in a powerful love story that is historically accurate and make it both shocking and utterly believable.

But in doing all of this, do you see how I am guided constantly by my wish list? That’s the fun of the process. The work is guided merely by your whims.

For more on David Farland's Writing tips, visit https://mystorydoctor.com/writing-blog/

And you can also click here to get your David Farland Daily Meditations.

#writing help #writing tips #writing advice #writing tips and tricks

[thriveyourbusinessnow-blog]

10 Useful Business Blogs for Small Business Owners

“Don’t focus on having a great blog. Focus on producing a blog that’s great for your readers.” – Brian A world filled with creative ideas and innovative mechanisms, business blogging has been a happening activity and business blogs are a pleasure to read, especially when it is concerned with entrepreneurs who are starting a new business or running a small business. Going through blogs may consume a whole lot of time since there are numerous, posted on the web. Not to confuse your further, here is a well-thought-of list of business blogs that will offer a great reading opportunity to you, with some valuable inputs, insight, and guidance. 10 Business Blogs That Are Worth a Read Small Biz Survival Small Biz Survival is a popular small business blog that aims toward assisting organizations grow in business, especially those in the startup phase. It talks about the how small businesses can make the most of social media and marketing techniques to enhance their business. Must Read Metaverse business idea: virtual world tour guide What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns? VentureBeat VentureBeat is a great source for technical and business knowledge. It possesses the finest news in these domains and how these advancements can help in business. It is apt for almost all business domains and especially for small business owners. Must Read Scalability and elasticity: What you need to take your business to the cloud How AI can improve services revenue and customer success Kabbage Kabbage is a portal that displays the different cash flow tools that recommend seo consultant are need to run small businesses with ease and effectiveness. The blogs on Kabbage showcase difficult ideas for small business in a simple way. This portal bends towards the finance and accounting areas of business and how best can business owners implement these ideas. Must Read How to Make Invoices for Your Small Business How to Start a Small Business Small Business Administration This blog site has been offering a variety of blogs that interest the small business units and offer them newer ways and means of growing their business. It also contains articles that offer novel funding ideas, financial tips to small and medium businesses and a peep into common mistakes that small businesses make. Must Read Pros and Cons: Startups and Franchises Marketing Mistakes That Can Haunt Your Business TechCrunch TechCrunch is an interesting blog site that talks about new technologies, new ways to do business with advancements in the world of technology and business. It is mainly targeted towards those who look for newer ways of doing business and using newer technologies. It is a great reading site that offers a diversity of articles combining the goodness of technology and business. Must Read Finding your startup’s valuation: 5 factors to consider On non-founder CEOs, turnarounds and priorities Small Business Trends Small Business Trends is a popular website that offers a great deal of tips and practical inputs for expanding and enriching your small business ventures. It is based on industry-wide analysis and leadership blogs. There are blogs popular in different sections like management, marketing, technology, finance, advice, and resources. It also reviews books and technology from a business angle. Must Read Why Climbing Mt. Everest Can Teach Why You Are Here 10 Tips for Planning for Your Small Business’s Future Marketing Profs for Small Business Marketing Profs is a well-known blog site for marketing and small business-related blogs that could prove useful and encouraging to all those who are looking forward to executing their small businesses or startups successfully. It offers different tips and processes that can assist in taking the project toward success. Must Read How Small Business Owners Got Their Start Seven Considerations for Your New Business’s Social Media Strategy Small Business Bonfire As the name suggests, this blog offers detailed knowledge for small business stakeholders regarding various fundamentals for business management. There are articles that are meant for different businesspeople, and they have a section that is just meant for financial aspects. They offer online marketing pointers, executing an online business, managing a business safely and securely etc. Must Read How To Choose the Right Ecommerce Platform 5 Strategies for Aspiring Leaders Ideas Plus Business Ideas Plus Business is a great blog repository for startups and small business units. There are different experts who share their opinions about different aspects of running startups and small businesses, with their valuable pointers. It reaches out worldwide to a vast audience and their objective is to offer different viewpoints in the subjects of marketing, finance, business, startups, technology etc. Must Read How To Make Your Business Stand Out With Signage Boards Top 6 Simple But Powerful Tips to Push Your Startup Forward BigCommerce This eCommerce blog offers multiple tips and ideas to assist in pushing your business forward. It shows different factors that can affect the eCommerce market and how best to utilize marketing ideas to get best of business. It offers detailed insights into eCommerce pointers, futuristic trends and latest news that can be useful for expanding your own business. Must Read 11 Mistakes Emerging Ecommerce Brands Make and How to Avoid Them How Wholesale Ecommerce Adds Value to the B2B Market This is just a glimpse of some of the interesting blogs. There are many more and the above sites are storehouses of those. Reading such articles can surely value add to your way of managing and maintaining business. Starting a small business and executing it thoroughly is a challenge. It needs effective social media marketing and SEO for small business marketing to avail smooth and successful business operations. But then what is business without a challenge, go for it!

#ooking #for #seo #expert #recommend #consultant #I #want #to #do #of #my #site #search #engine #optimization #company #professional #top #companies #services

[plaguedocboi]

More scary waters, by popular demand!

Since my last post ranking bodies of water really, really blew up, I decided to make a second. Some of these were suggested by people (in which case I’ll credit them), and some were just ones that didn’t quite make the cut for the first list.

I’ll also be doing a third list ranking the most toxic bodies of water in the world, so stay tuned for that.

Also, keep in mind that these aren’t ranked by how dangerous they are. They’re ranked by how scary I, personally, find them. So if the rating seems off, it’s due to which ones inspire a visceral reaction in me and which ones don’t.

Silfra Rift, Iceland

This one is something that I actually find very beautiful rather than scary, but it still seems like something that others might be freaked out by. The Silfra Rift is the point where the Eurasian and North American continental plates are pulling apart, creating a crack in the earth that filled with water. The water here is incredibly clear, and you can see all the way down to the bottom even in the deepest spots (which are almost 200 feet down, by the way). It’s the only place in the world where you can put your hands on two different continents at the same time! I’ve had the privilege of snorkeling here, and although it’s definitely deep, I wasn’t terribly scared due to the fact that the rift is just so beautiful. The only danger to swimmers is the temperature; it stays between 35-39 F year-round, meaning anyone getting into the water needs a full drysuit to avoid getting hypothermia or worse. I give the Silfra Rift a 1/10 fear rating because I thought I would be much more freaked out by it than I was.

Dragon Hole, China

While not as visually striking as the Great Blue Hole in Belize, this sinkhole in China is the deepest “blue hole” in the world. This pit descends 987 feet down. This earns a 2/10 purely because this is just a goddamn hole in the ocean that’s almost 1,000 ft deep and I don’t care for that.

Lake Tanganyika, multiple countries (suggested by @iguessiamhere)

This lake didn’t quite make the cut for the first list because it comes in second to Lake Baikal. It’s the second-oldest, second-deepest, and second-largest (by volume) lake in the world. But someday, Lake Tanganyika may be number 1, because just like Baikal, it’s a Rift Valley. It’s getting bigger every day, and in a few million years when Baikal is an ocean, Tanganyika might be the largest lake by default. Its 4,820 ft depth earns it a 3/10.

Lake Superior, US/Canada (suggested by multiple people)

This is the largest of the Great Lakes, and the third-largest lake in the world. It reaches depths of over 1,000 feet and has a surface area of over 31,700 square miles. Lake Superior is the site of over 350 shipwrecks and contains roughly 10,000 dead bodies. The reason these bodies are never recovered is because the lake is very cold, and very deep. The lake bottom is essentially a sterile environment, where bodies are preserved for eternity instead of floating up as a normal body would. This lake holds onto her dead. 4/10 for sheer danger and alarming amount of dead bodies.

Cenote Angelita, Mexico ( @olive-k wanted a cenote, and this list has two!)

This is a cenote with an underwater river running through it. No, I’m not kidding. Underwater rivers are actually quite common, but they rarely exist in places that humans can see them. Usually they’re caused by a current moving in a different direction than the majority of the water, or a boundary between water with different density (as is the case here). The “river” appearance in Angelita is enhanced by dead trees, giving the appearance of a bank. For the first 100 feet, this cave has regular freshwater. But a little deeper lies a layer of hazy hydrogen sulfate, and beneath that is 100 feet of salt water. This ranks 5/10 because can you imagine descending towards a hazy patch of water and branches that you assume is the bottom, only to pass right through it and see a gaping black expanse beneath? No thanks.

Devil’s Hole, Nevada

As a biologist, this is somewhere that I actually want to visit. This tiny waterhole in the desert is the only place that the endangered Devil’s Hole Pupfish lives. But we’re not here to learn about cute fish, we’re here to read about unsettling waterways. And hooo boy, this one is pretty weird. Because despite its appearance, this isn’t a little rainwater pool. It’s the opening to a huge cave system, which reaches depths of at least 500 feet. We’re not totally sure, though, because the bottom has never been mapped, and several people have died trying to attempt it. 6/10, since it’s very deep, hasn’t been fully mapped, and is apparently haunted.

Eagle’s Nest Sinkhole, Florida

There is literally a sign in front of this sinkhole that reads “STOP. Prevent your death. There is nothing in this cave worth dying for” accompanied by a picture of the Grim Reaper. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway. This sinkhole is the only surface opening to a cave system that stretches several miles and plunges to over 300 feet deep. Miles of twisting, confusing, narrow passages with only one exit make for an extremely dangerous cave system. For some fucking reason, it’s a very popular dive site. At least 11 people have died here since the 80’s, and is referred to as the “Underwater Mt Everest” because of how dangerous it is. 7/10.

Zacatón, Mexico

This cenote was literally considered “bottomless” for a long time, because no one could find the bottom. Multiple expeditions were attempted, including one where a man died after reaching 925 feet without finding the end. It took a multi-million dollar operation funded by NASA to find the bottom of this hole. I’m not kidding. Turns out, it’s 1,099 feet deep, making it the deepest cenote in the world. It disturbs me that it took NASA and a robot designed to map alien moons to locate where this hole ended, so it earns an 8/10.

Saltstraunen, Norway (suggested by anon)

This narrow strait is home to the strongest tidal currents on the planet. Roughly 110 billion gallons of seawater move in and out of this corridor every six hours, creating violent currents. These tidal movements are so strong they create a phenomenon very similar to the whirlpool in Scotland—the Saltstaunen Maelstrom. This vortex is 33 feet across and forms four times a day as the tides go in and out. Although this whirlpool is only 16 feet deep (very shallow compared to Scotland’s) the currents alone would probably destroy you if you ever fell into this strait. 9/10 because damn.

Blue Lake, Russia

Despite having the least creative name of all time, the Blue Lake is anything but boring. Like the Zacatón, this lake had a reputation for being bottomless for a long time. A diver died after descending to 394 feet, and another barely survived after going down to 685 feet. Neither found the bottom. Eventually, the bottom was discovered and it came as a surprise. The lake itself is only 770 ft by 426 ft, but it is 846 ft deep. This lake is deeper than it is long. It is also a constant 48 degrees F, making hypothermia a risk for any swimmers. If that’s not bad enough, it’s also full of hydrogen sulfide, which makes the air around the lake potentially dangerous. However, people do still dive here on occasion (mostly for research purposes) and the lake is surprisingly beautiful beneath the surface. Still, that doesn’t make it any less deep, cold, and poisonous, so this is a 10/10 for me.

Honorable mention: The Mariana’s Trench, because although it’s not really a specific body of water it’s the deepest point in the ocean, at 7 miles below the surface!

#bathophobia #water rating part 2 #long post

[himbeaux-on-ice]

Connor McDavid today looks like he just got back from climbing Mt. Everest, and simply thawed the frost out of his beard before sitting down for this presser. what he saw on that mountain haunts him.

#you uh. slept much lately? Davo? #connor mcdavid #edmonton oilers #Oilers lb #connor mcdavid's existential nightmare

[000bachelor]

quick bugsnax headcanons that i’ll probs doodle at a later date also cuz im bored and finished all my e learning assignments and college admission forms

FILBO: - Has a very good home life and two parents that adore him dearly. They as well made Filbo the caring dunce that he is towards others, even if they may not treat him so kindly back. - Is good at writing, has always has wanted to author his own books one day, and he uses this skill and passion to aid the Journalist in their entries. - Develops a weenie-phobia upon leaving Snaktooth. Weenies of all shapes, types, and sizes scare him.  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

BEFFICA: - She’s a makeup guru.  - Def follows GrumpTube drama/tea channels. - Likely owns an abandoned Tumblr/Blogspot from 2012 dedicated to her favorite fandoms and celebrities at the time. She keeps them up as a painful memory of her existence and past life. - Her parents were not the best, and could be described as emotionally neglectful and narcissistic.

GRAMBLE: - Vegan; once brought a tofurkey to a ‘Friendsgiving’ after the events at Snaktooth. Everyone stared at him the entire dinner. - Rescues animals post-Snaktooth. Owns a large ranch home to house them all. - Dresses up in layers of clothing due to a bad fur-plucking and skin-picking habit derived from childhood abuse and trauma. - Knits everyone ugly sweaters and articles during the holidays. Wiggle owns 12.

CROMDO:

- Has not paid his taxes since 1996 and another reason why he joined the Snaktooth expedition was to avoid the IRS. - Raised by a single mother who worked 2 jobs and with 3 other siblings in poor living conditions, leading him to become greedy for dirty lucre as an adult. - Definitely has 2 cats named Aykroyd and Belushi being pet-sat and waiting for him at home. - Owns a 1993 Honda Civic with a busted right taillight and a miscolored driver’s side door with fuzzy dice hanging off the rearview. He has gotten several traffic violations and his license suspended twice.

WAMBUS: - Still won’t admit that he really liked Gramble’s Friendsgiving tofurkey. - Is on the fence when it comes to children... Triffany wants one.. Or several. - Owns an unhealthy amount of succulents and cacti both outside and inside his and Triffany’s property. They all have names.

TRIFFANY: - She enjoys foraging while out on her expeditions. Surprisingly quite skilled when it comes to identifying and using/cooking the fauna she forages. - Speaking of cooking, she’s an excellent cook/baker.. Wambus goes head-over-heels for her peach cobbler. - Grew up in the city, so it took her awhile to get used to country life with Wambus. - Definitely has dug up and proudly displays some legit haunted shit. Wambus does not like it.

WIGGLE: - Was def a theatre kid in school. - She is not only a great singer/songwriter, but also a talented dancer, and gymnast. - Eats like a goddamn horse but is incapable of putting on a single ounce. - Proudly wears the ugly sweaters Gramble has knitted for her in public.

CHANDLO: - His Spotify lags because he has created an inhuman amount of playlists, mainly used for when he works out. - He really likes anime, and tries to hide this from Snorpy. Snorpy knows. He knows about Chandlo’s Crunchyroll subscription and Fire Emblem figures. - He has drunk pruno out of a dirty gymshoe during a frat party. - Much to Snorpy’s annoyance, he places bets on basketball games. ALL THE TIME.

SNORPY: - Is married to Chandlo post-Snaktooth but still wonders if they are, indeed, boyfriend and boyfriend. - Has wrapped his phone in tinfoil in fear of the ‘5G’ signals. - Constantly competed with Floofty when it came to school; who got higher marks, ect. - Has a bandaid wrapped around the bridge of his glasses because Floofty, out of anger, slapped them off his nose and broke them during a petty argument.

FLOOFTY: - Has tried to not only saw off their head, but open up their own chest to see if, indeed, their heart was cold like their demeanor. - Locked Snorpy in a clothing drawer when they were little. - Learned how to read, write, and speak coherent syllables and sentences at 8 months old. - Can probably speak 16 different languages.

SHELDA: - Definitely hits the hookah. You cannot dismiss this. This is the truth. - Her meditations sometimes go on for hours, in which she will sit completely still and in place without any washroom breaks/eating/resting. - Totally believes in crystal healing and can read tarots. - Antivax.

LIZBERT: - Caffeine addict; Eggabelle has strained on her drinking tea instead but Liz refuses while dunking down her fourth mug of the day. - Got her adventurous persona from her father, who she as well got her signature hat and scarf from. - Has climbed Mt. Everest but STILL was not satisfied. She got hypothermia on her right paw and had to get half her thumb amputated. - Chipped her tusk in a stupid way; she tripped on her own foot and fell down the stairs while trying to catch a new episode of Expedition Unknown. She just lied in interviews to make herself sound cooler.

EGGABELLE: - She is albino. - Has done fake check-ups on children’s stuffed toys while working her shifts in the pediatric center for overtime. - Stopped taking her anti-depressants upon the events at Snaktooth, leading her to temporarily go cold turkey.

#bugsnax #headcanon #stupid headcanons #bugsnax headcanons #hc #text post #long post #long text post #why did i spend time on this #why did i write so much #gh #aaaaaa

[skelecasper]

comedy idea: gang of ghosts haunt a cigarette-smoking, group of underpaid detectives trying to help them solve their murders/mysterious deaths. including: a couple who died on mt. everest, a famous hollywood diva, a cat, an inside job, and an elderly lady who was a mafia leader but nobody believed her journals.

detective: damn this is real sad. maybe it was aliens

hiker ghost: no fucking dumbass LOOK THERE *attempts to push detective in the area of evidence*

detective: its damn chilly today

#thinking dyatlov pass #murder #crime #comedy #movie idea #lol

[skeletonmob]

The Pirate’s Fate - Severely Undercooked

The Pirate's Fate is a visual novel written by T.F. Wright and illustrated by Volkenfox. It's not very good. Well, I guess that gives the wrong impression. It's not completely horrible and it's not the worst visual novel I've ever played, it's just . . . a hot mess. Visual novels are primarily story based, usually with player choices leading to branching narratives and the occasional minigame thrown in. As such, writing is extremely crucial for a visual novel, and the story of The Pirate's Fate is severely undercooked.

I bought it on a whim about a year ago, intrigued by the premise. I played it a handful of times then, and a handful of times more recently to refresh my memory. The premise is, in a world of anthropormophic animals, a spice merchant by the name of Mila is rescued by the Dread Pirates, consisting of Darious, Leeko, Morgana, and later Tam-Tam, after her ship sinks. The group then rope her into their quest to find a series of enchanted coins, which have the ability to transform a person into whatever they wish.

(using images off google because I forgot to take my own)

This is a really interesting premise for a story, and one that's very suited to the branching narrative of a visual novel. The problem, however, is that this is used less to flesh out a fictional world, or put our characters in intriguing scenarios, and more so used to show of the creator's barely disguised fetish. The story's too excited to turn Mila into hulking amazon warrior or give Tam-Tam tits the size of Mt. Everest, that many of it's more interesting ideas aren't given room to breath.

To give you a better idea, during the intro, you find a coin inside a griffon's cave. Afterwards the primary antagonist, Rourkie, holds you hostage and demands you hand over the coin. You have a set of three options to choose from, and from there the story branches out. I chose the second option, which I believe was to feign compliance and then attack. My playthrough then went as follows, Morgana died, we recruited Tam-Tam, visited Circe's island, visited a beauty temple, visited haunted house isle, had an audience with the queen, met someone named Steamchaser, visited a matchmakers shop, and finally the story ended in a mysterious library. I stopped early because I realized I was about to get an ending I saw before, so my total run time was about and hour and 37 minutes. Excluding the intro, all proceeding scenes last about 11 minutes, and with the amount of stuff that happens, that's not enough to flesh anything out.

In this route, Darious feels guilty about Morgana's death. Circe then manipulates that guilt and transforms him into a bear. That alone could carry an entire story, it's a strong if tropey character arc. But after he transforms, he has a heart to heart with Mila, and that's it. All of Darious' guilt vanishes in that one scene, and then he gets possesed by a ghost later on in order to keep the plot going. A similar thing happens on other story branches as well. In one of them, Tam-Tam is transformed from a female lizard into a male rabbit, and she's just kind of cool with it. She still identifies as female, and the conversation in the scene afterward posits her views on gender and identity, and that's it. The rest of her crewmates are totally okay with this development after this one conversation, and nobody reflects on their own gender identity beyond this.

In other branches, you find a coin that allows you to go back in time and change the past. When Darious gets possessed by the ghost, you have the option to go back in time to try and prevent this from happening. If you do, Darious ends up dying instead of Morgana, who's declared herself captain. There's a scene between Morgana and Mila discussing what happened, and that's it. Morgana isn't freaked out that her crewmates come from an alternate timeline. Nobody finds this weird. Nobody wonders what happened to the original crew she had, because she clearly wasn't sailing alone. Nobody posits about what they would've done if they were using the coin. It's just 'wow! time travel exists!' and the story moves on. Again, just like with Darious' potential character arc, this could carry the entire story. There's already a shitload of movies, books, and games based around time travel, but here it's just a plot device.

The world building also suffers from this as well. New settings and characters are introduced and then hastily thrown aside to continue the story. At the beauty temple, we get a lore dump about how the religion of the island is centered around beauty and physical appearances, but we never look beyond that. We never get to look at the surrounding town or talk to anyone else except the two characters that give us the lore dump.

In one route, Leeko gets transformed into the world greatest baker, and the rest of the gang concoct a plan to use him to gain access to the queen's coins. He'll be hired as the head baker, then after gaining her trust, then the gang will kidnap her and hold her for ransom. Aside from being a stupid plan (why couldn't you sneak in and steal the coins while the queen was distracted?), we don't see Leeko meeting the queen or gaining her trust, it just skips right over to her being held for ransom. There's also multiple times where character's say things along the lines of 'We've been searching for these coins for months'. Like, no, it's been five minutes, and skipping scenes like these only make that worse.

The other major gripe I have is that characters die for no reason. In one route, Mila, Tam-Tam, and Morgana have been captured by the queen and are going to be executed. While it's not shown, Leeko is meeting up with Steamchaser, and he agrees to use his magic to help Leeko out. A similar scenario happens on multiple routes, and no matter what, Tam-Tam is executed. Why, though? Like, in this moment, it would make sense for someone to die, but from a big picture perspective, was it really necessary? I can't think of a reason why she needed to die, other than dramatic stakes, and I don't think the story would suffer if she didn't. Also, Steamchaser uses his magic like a minute after Tam-Tam is carried off, could Morgana and Mila not have stalled for time?

Again, this isn't the worst I've seen. The main cast is great, the banter Morgana and Tam-Tam give are some of my favorites. The music is good and so is the voice acting. It's interesting to see the story branch out and wonder what ending you'll get. It's interesting to see what the characters transform into. But none of this excuses the fact that the story consistently fails to properly set anything up or follow through on it.

#the pirates fate #indie game #indie dev #game review #visual novel #furry #volkenfox #tf wright #leeko #tam tam #darious #mila #morgana #writing

[letsgethaunted]

Haunted Mt. Everest

Thrill-seekers from around the world have sought to conquer Mt. Everest since the 1950s. As of 2019, over 300 people have perished during the trek and many frozen bodies of climbers still litter the rocky peaks and valleys.

#Haunted Mt. Everest #Let's Get Haunted #Yetis #Trapped Souls #Aliens #Episode 28 #Season 2 #Spotify

[stefciastark]

Panic Attack ~Webpril Day 22

A/N: It's a short and sweet one again :) This topic hits quite close to home for me so I ended up being a bit vaguer than I wanted to be in description, but I hope you enjoy the ensuing IronDad fluff! I'll probably take another crack at it again once Webpril is over xx

~Read it on AO3

~Read it on FFN

“Goodnight Mr Stark!” Peter called from the top of the stairwell, leaving Tony to fiddle with whatever new project he had picked up in the three hours that Pepper had been away.

“So help me, Peter, if you wake Morgan up I’m going to throw your suit in a safe, and I will throw that safe in the lake.” Tony’s disembodied voice floated over as a harsh whisper, the marathon of trying to get Morgan to just go to sleep still too fresh in his mind. As soon as Pepper left the building, Morgan’s cheeky side came out, and Tony truly empathised for the first time about how Pepper had felt dealing with him all these years. Morgan was going to be a handful growing up, but that was just the Stark in her.

“Sorry!” Peter winced, shouting back in a whisper. He paused for a moment in front of Morgan’s room, hoping against all hope that he wouldn’t hear any rustling or see the light from her bedside lamp flicker from underneath the door. He breathed a sigh of relief as after almost a minute she showed no sign of waking up and emerging.

As Peter half-consciously went through his nighttime routine, he felt a peculiar tingling feeling running down his back starting from the small of his neck, and a sick feeling sat in the pit of his stomach. Hairs raised on his arms and back of his neck, and in that moment he knew it was his Spidey Sense telling him that something was wrong...or was going to be. Frowning, Peter looked into the mirror, toothbrush hanging out of the side of his mouth, blue foam seeping from the corners.

It had been a while since it had happened. A sad sigh escaped his lips as he rinsed off his toothbrush and looked at the door to his bedroom, heart clenching in sympathy for what he knew was about to happen tonight.

Leaving his door open halfway, Peter crawled into bed and turned to face the other side of the room. Tony needed this more than Peter needed to keep a little bit of excess light out of his face.

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

It wasn’t the first time Tony woke up like this.

His shirt and sheets were dark with the sweat that trickled down his back, the built-in air conditioning doing nothing to relieve the waves of hot and then cold that came and went. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought he was coming down with a case of the flu.

Tonight marked a break of the three-month-long nightmare-free streak, and Tony couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. And by slightly he meant majorly.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, what time is it?” Tony swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes, feeling the sting of too little sleep nipping behind his eyelids.

“The time is 2:31 A.M, Boss.”

So a solid hour and forty-nine minutes of sleep, then.

Tony could feel the residual tremors shaking his hands and every breath he took felt like it was accompanied by his own personal earthquake.

He dreamed he lost the kid again. The feeling of dust in his hands still made his palms feel like chalk, and the image of dark flecks floating against a backdrop of raw sienna haunted him.

Taking deep measured breaths, he managed to stave off the panic for what amounted to just over twenty more minutes until the flashback hit him with full force. The impact of what he’d lost - what the world lost - slammed into him like a truck, and he found his chest constricting with each fresh inhale.

He had long since thought he had mastered the art of preventing his anxiety attacks from escalating to Mt Everest levels. But, in that moment, he couldn’t stop the way that his lungs burned for air when his breaths came in harsh gasps, or the way that his hands and jawbone ached from clenching and unclenching through the fear. He couldn’t stop the way his mind raced, convinced that it was living a reality that no longer was.

It was a war between his logical brain and his primal brain. His logical brain knew that Peter was sleeping one bedroom away, just down the hall to the left across from Morgan’s room. His primal brain screamed at him that it was 2018 once more, Thanos had come and conquered, and he was floating in the vast expanse of nothing, waiting for a rescue he wasn’t sure would come.

Tony was glad Pepper was on a business trip that weekend. As much as the feeling of her in his arms grounded him and brought him back to the present reality, he couldn’t stand the sympathy and - occassional - resulting argumentative tête-à-têtes about him needing to finally ‘get some help’. In truth, both of them needed it.

Stumbling his way to the ensuite bathroom, he splashed cool water over his face, allowing the feeling of the residual droplets trickling their way down to keep him in the present. The aroma coming from the vanilla lavender reed diffuser, the feeling of cool tiles under his feet and the gentle white noise F.R.I.D.A.Y had started to play over the lakehouse’s master bedroom speakers mingled together in a choir of security and familiarity.

Patting his face dry with a nearby cotton towel, he could no longer repress the urge to dip out into the hallway and take a sharp left. Barely even 20-feet away, he arrived at Peter’s door that wasn’t all the way shut.

Tony frowned for a moment. usually Peter wanted to keep as much light and sound out as possible, his heightened senses usually resulting in a horrible case of sensory overload, which typically resulted in the door and the frame being flush with one another. The last time his door had been half-open was...about three months ago.

Seeing the lump beneath the sheets rising and falling with each even breath, Tony backed out quietly. He smiled to himself as he walked back towards his own bed. The kid must have known.

#webpril day 22 #webpril 2021 #webpril #peter parker fanfiction #tony stark fanfiction #marvel #mcu fanfiction #mcu #marvel fanfiction #irondad #irondad fanfiction #peter parker #tony stark #panic attack #peter knows tony too well #tony survives endgame #slight au #my fic #writing challenge #writing prompt #fluff #emotional h/c #h/c #angst #fanfiction #ironman #spiderman #iron man #original post

[davidfarland]

David Farland’s Writing Tips—Wish Fulfillment

Awhile back, a writer was critiquing another author’s novel and said a little snootily, “This strikes me as a lot of wish-fulfillment.”

She was right, but the impetus for nearly all fiction comes from wish-fulfillment. If a reader is in the mood for a good romance, or a thriller, or a western, or a fable, she’ll hunt down something that suits her tastes, and if it delivers the emotions that she wants more powerfully than she imagined, she’ll be delighted.

In other words, books come in different flavors.

But some books are more complex and subtle in their flavors than the average reader would imagine, just as a fine chef will often surprise you with their unusual ingredients. For example, you might want a little romance, but the author adds in a bit of terror, profundity, and far more craving than thought you could tolerate—which only makes the ending more satisfying.

Sometimes our wish fulfillment doesn’t come at the level of trying to create an emotion. It might have more to do with intellectual curiosity. I often find myself wanting to understand how it would have really felt to climb Mt. Everest or to live in ancient Rome. I’ve even written historical novels like In the Company of Angels in part as an exercise, in an effort to try to imagine the heartaches and triumphs of others.

Some authors are storytellers whose sincere wish is merely to entertain vast audiences, to guide them through an imaginary adventure, and they become skilled entertainers

I know other authors whose wish is primarily to dazzle readers, to prove their superior storytelling skills, or to win awards.

In short, all novels are wish-fulfillment. Yet sometimes it is hard to understand just what wishes the author hopes to fulfill. For example, when you read a novel that is trite and poorly written, you might not understand that the author really did wish to succeed, he just didn’t understand what he needed to do to get there.

All of which has led me to consider something. When I start a novel nowadays, I ask myself questions like, “What will the reader want from this story?” I have a character in a dire situation, what would the reader want to have happen?  Is the reader looking for a bit of romance, or a grand adventure? Do they want a deep and powerful mystery solved? Do they want to be transformed by a story?  What would the reader want to see happen to the villain?  What do I want from this novel?  How can I facilitate those things?

When I’m plotting a novel, I find that if I write down the answers to these questions—if I create a wish list, I’ll discover that I’m trying to create a novel that is more intricate than what I first imagined.

For example, let’s say that I have a middle-aged woman whose husband was killed in a war twenty years ago. She wants to solve the mystery of who exactly killed her husband and confront that person. She wants to see what kind of monster he is.

Meanwhile, we have the story of a man who fought in a war, and in the heat of battle, out of his own fear, murdered a man who he realizes later was raising his hands to surrender. He’s been haunted by that image for decades and has endeavored to make amends. He’s become a doctor who runs a free clinic, dedicated to helping others.

And perhaps this is billed as a romance, where the woman travels to search for her husband’s killer and falls in love.

While I’m at it, maybe I want to entertain as wide an audience as possible and try to win an award. So let’s call it an epic historical mystery romance.

What would I have to do to accomplish all of that?  Well, a little thought generates a whole list of items. I might consider first, “what war are we talking about?” Is this the French Revolution, World War I, or Vietnam?  If I go with the French Revolution, let’s consider how the murder took place and what impact the Napoleonic Wars had over the next two decades.

I might have to look at what other authors have done, and consider how to beat their work. Crud, I’m going up against Tolstoy’s War and Peace!

I’ll want to make the story believable, so I’ll need deal with each step of how our heroine solves the mystery, seeking out every man she can from the troops that attacked her husband’s group, and so on.

I’ll have to consider how the killer changed and grew over time and create a chronology of major events.

I’ll have to weave in a powerful love story that is historically accurate and make it both shocking and utterly believable.

But in doing all of this, do you see how I am guided constantly by my wish list? That’s the fun of the process. The work is guided merely by your whims.

For more on David Farland's Writing tips, visit https://mystorydoctor.com/writing-blog/

And you can also click here to get your David Farland Daily Meditations.

#writing help #writing tips #writing advice

[archivistbot]

Mike can I get a top 10 places to be struck by lightning

MIKE:  [Chuckles] Hm.

[HE STOPS TO READ.]

1. A dark tunnel.

2. The end of tma.

3. A silent city at the end of the world.

4. The triumph of love over fear.

5. A haunted forest.

6. A lorry, all alone.

7. The Arctic.

8. Mt. Everest.

9. A moorland.

10. The moon.

#the magnus archives #ask #Anonymous

[dumbstoriesandwhatnot]

The Man on the Mountain

Short story that's highly based on SCP-1529

It was summer of 2018, and I was attempting my first summit of Mt. Everest. I had been training hard for months, doing my research and getting into shape, and I was hyped to finally achieve my lifelong goal, the reason I had started climbing. Finally, the time came, and I made the climb. The climb to the summit was relatively uneventful, and we reached it about 3 pm. We got our pictures, and we promptly started the climb back down. We had reached about 6,500 meters, a couple hundred below the death zone, when a strap broke on my bag. I insisted on the group going ahead, and I stayed behind to gather my gear.

As I gathered up my things, putting them back in my bag as I did so, I suddenly thought I spied a shape over a ridge. I put it down to being tired, and maybe slightly oxygen deprived, and finished making the repairs I needed to make it back down to camp. At this point, the rest of the group was fairly far ahead of me, so I descended as fast as I could, while still being sure of my footing.

I had descended a little more when I saw it again: an indistinct figure, a little over 15 yards away. This time though, I was sure that there was something, or someone, there. I stopped a second to get a closer look, and tried to signal to the figure. They seemed to notice me, and they started approaching. As they did, I got a better view of them, and I noticed some peculiarities about them and their clothes.

Instead of the brightly colored, insulated modern parka's worn by most, their jacket looked to be much older, of a more simple cloth, and their gloves were of leather and fur, instead of modern synthetics. They had oxygen tanks, but instead of a more portable modern system, they had a large, cumbersome system attached to their back. Instead of modern goggles, they had goggles with large metal frames, almost comedic looking. In short, it was equipment that looked like it hadn't been used since the 1930's.

I looked on in confusion as the figure made their way closer. Finally, the figure stood in front of me, about 2 yards away. They looked at me, and I stared back at them. I could not see any part of their face, as it was covered in a thick scarf, and their eyes were obscured by the tinted goggles. Finally, I spoke to them.

"Who are you?" I asked them, getting straight to the point. They had no reply.

After a minute, I spoke again.

"Sir? Are you okay? Do you need any help?" I asked them, stepping closer. Still, they had no reply.

Finally, I decided to move on, and get some help for them once I reached base camp. But as I turned to go, the stranger grabbed my arm, their grip unbreakable, inhumanly strong. I looked back at them, and they slowly unwound their scarf. I looked on in horror as their face slowly revealed itself, showing mummified, pale skin, bleached white by the sun, covered in ancient cuts and scratches. Their lips were gone, rotted and frozen away, exposing their yellowed teeth, bared in an eerie smile. I cried out in fear, and tried to run, struggling against the things grip. Finally, it let go of me, and I bolted down the mountain, screaming, all regard for my safety forgot in my terror. It's a miracle I didn't fall off the mountain and die that day.

When I finally regained control of myself, my group was in sight, calling out to me. I called back to them, and quickly we ran to meet. I tried to describe the inhuman being I had seen, but I was quaking and incomprehensible. They assumed that I was suffering from hypoxia, and I was rushed down the mountain, an oxygen supply strapped to my face. To this day, I am still not believed when I tell my story. I am written off as either a warning for those travelling without oxygen, or as a crazy fool. But I know damn well what I saw on that mountain, and that smile shall haunt me for the rest of my life. That lip-less, yellowed smile.

#scp #scp-1529 #everest #short story #short horror story #my writing #horror

[threeletterslife]

09 | Illegirl

→ previous | next 

→ summary: Excelling in every school subject, acing every math test and conquering the academic world is something you do as easily as breathing. As your residential social outcast nerd, you live rather as a recluse, talking to almost no one except for your dear ol’ cousin and that sweet boy in a few of your classes—Jungkook? was that his name? Befriending your ʰᵒᵗ AP stats teacher was the last thing on your high school senior agenda…

→ genre: 90% fluff, 8% crack, 2% angst | teacher!au & f2l!au

→ warnings: profanity, jimin being a fucking idiot, jin being scary as fuck

→ wordcount: 3.2k

You feel like you're seven again, being reprimanded by your unforgiving parents in the dreaded living room. Tension so thick, it could cut through goddamn Mt. Everest, itself. You'd be lying to yourself if you weren't scared. You're fucking terrified.

Pure trepidation haunts you, sits heavily on both shoulders, making your body go numb and thoughts freeze.

Especially when Jin's forced you and Jimin to sit on your knees on the wooden floor as he remains on the couch looking down at you. It's intimidating as fuck, and you fight off the urge to huddle against your boyfriend's protective chest.

"How long have you been doing... this?" Jin finally asks, his voice cold and serious, unlike anything you've heard before. He glares at you especially, making you flinch back.

Goosebumps dot your body as you nervously look at Jimin, who surprisingly looks calm. It was as if he got his shit together on the drive to your house. Honestly, it almost gives you comfort to see your boyfriend so collected. You figure you shouldn't be so frightened if he's not, but it's easier said than done.

"Doing... what?" Jimin replies, quirking his eyebrows.

"You know what I mean," Jin sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I dunno, making out or dating? Because I can assure you, we've made out longer than we've dated." Jimin shrugs nonchalantly.

Your mouth drops open in shock. You have no idea if your boyfriend's being a goddamn idiot or if he wants to die by the hands of your cousin.

"WHAT?!" Jin roars, standing up from the couch. His aggressive movement makes you fall on your ass, scootching towards Jimin for protection. If you weren't screwed before, you were now.

"Wait! Wait! Don't listen to Jimin!" you yelp, panicked. "We've been dating for a little over three months, alright?"

"What? I thought it was four!" Jimin protests, a mischievous grin stuck on his face. It's obvious he's joking. But there's a time and place for that.

Okay, Jimin, I love you and all, but this is not the time!

"OKAY NO, JUST SHUT UP!" Jin shrieks, throwing his hands up his head. "You!" He points aggressively at Jimin, who raises his hands up in defense. "God, tell me you haven't taken her flower yet!"

"My what?" you cry, standing up. You weren't scared now, just a tad bit angry.

"What the fuck? No, Jin! She's 17!" Jimin yells, suddenly enraged as he stands up and grabs your hand. "You know I'm not that kind of person!"

Your face scrunches up as you take a step towards your cousin. "I can't believe you actually thought we had sex! I'm 17!"

"Well, it looked like it when I walked in the freaking classroom, you know that?" Jin shrieks. "What if it wasn't me? What if it was the principal, huh? Or another student? Another teacher?"

"We're sorry!" Jimin apologizes, though his voice raises. "That was just one mistake, alright? Just one, out of the hundreds of other times!"

"WHAT?!"

You place a hand on Jimin's chest, calming him down. "I think you should just uh... stop talking..."

No doubt he was making it worse.

"No, Y/N. Obviously, Jin doesn't understand how much you mean to me," Jimin announces, squeezing your intertwined hands and turning to your cousin. "Look, I've been taking great care of Y/N, okay? I've given her the love she deserves and all the right treatment, you know that? I love her, Jin, I actually do. Just... work with me here. I don't know what I'll do if you don't approve of this because I'm your best friend and she's your cousin or because I'm her goddamn teacher! I know it's against the rules, but fuck the teacher handbook! I don't even care if it's illegal..." Jimin trails off, looking at you with absolute love in his eyes. "Ever since we became friends, my days have been getting better. Ever since we became lovers, my life got brighter. You know how much of a positive effect we have on each other, Y/N."

You literally don't have words, but you try to speak, you really do. "J-Jimin..." It's all you can do at the moment. You're about to tell him you love him, that you know all of these things, that you don't care if it's illegal or not when—

"Okay, I didn't ask for a whole soliloquy but go off, I guess." Jin stifles a laugh by clearing his throat. "You guys do know I knew you liked each other before both of you found out?"

"What now?"

"Yeah," Jin chuckles. "Well, I always assumed Y/N was dating someone behind my back. I mean, it's so not Y/N to have fun and relax, you know, someone must be helping her live. I thought it was that Jungkook boy for the longest time when I realized how Jimin was becoming less of a workaholic too. I put the pieces together and realized you guys had feelings for each other."

You're more than bewildered, eyes turning wide and mouth open in shock. "C-Come again?"

"No, for real!" your cousin snorts, shaking his head in disbelief. "I really did suspect something! And though I probably didn't like it at first, I guess I kinda noticed how your relationship was helping both of you become the best version of yourselves. I totally approve of you two dating. Yet I don't approve of you making out in public."

You and Jimin stare at each other with jaws dropped, completely shocked. And there both of you had thought Jin never suspected a thing.

"But for real, you think I really didn't notice all those late-night dates? I can play dumb too, you know," Jin huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "Y'all should thank me for lowkey setting you both up. I mean, if it weren't for me, both of you would've thought of each other just as a teacher or student. The horror!"

"I don't know what to say," you whisper, emotions taking the better of you. "I literally can't express how thankful I am, Jin. I really am... I don't even want to imagine what could've happened to my senior year if you didn't introduce Jimin to me, outside of school, that is. God, I would've been some friendless, antisocial robot with a side of mild depression!"

"Damn. I'm just confused," Jimin mutters, tugging you into his arms to kiss the top of your head. "Workaholic plus workaholic should equal double the work... yet somehow we learned to have some fun."

"That's what you're confused about?" you giggle, squeezing Jimin's hand. "Sometimes I question your maturity level."

"Yeah, well today, I questioned both of your intelligence levels," Jin scoffs, shaking his head. "I pretty much suspected both of you were dating for a while now -- possibly even before you were actually dating. But for real, guys? I didn't think either of you would be dense enough to make out at school!" Jin rolls his eyes. "Dense as ice, I tell ya."

You frown. "You mean dense as water."

"What?"

"Water is denser than ice," you explain slowly as if you were talking to a child.

"Okay whatever, nerd," Jin says. "The point is, I got mad because of how careless both of you were. I mean, if you want to break some rules, at least be somewhat secretive!"

"Yeah well, lesson learned. I don't want to see you mad again," you squeak, tightening your grasp on Jimin. "It was scary and I value my life."

Jimin chuckles, kissing your forehead as he hugs you from behind. "Really? I thought Jin being angry was funny."

"Oh shut up, you," Jin snorts, "before I place a strict curfew on this household."

That shuts your boyfriend right up.

"But anyways, if you wanted my blessing, I give it to you both, 3000%," Jin announces proudly. "Jimin?"

"Yeah?"

"You've got a catch. Love her to death for me, will ya?"

"Sure thing," Jimin answers, snuggling his face in your neck.

"Y/N?"

"Mhm?"

"You're gonna kill me for saying this, but it has to be announced sooner or later..." Jin starts, a mischievous smile blossoming on his face.

"What is it?" You cock your head.

"Well, I guess one could say... you're quite illegirl."

You don't know who lunged angrily at Jin first, you or Jimin.

"I dunno if that's a good idea, Jimin," you sigh, scratching the back of your head. "There are just so many more reasons why we shouldn't do this, you know?"

Your boyfriend laughs, rubbing your shoulder with a warm, comforting hand. "Stop being such a scaredy-cat, Y/N. It's just one small date at Wattbucks, what can go wrong?"

"Oh, ohhh, a lot of things," you scoff, shaking your head in disbelief. "If we go there, the whole city will know we're dating in less than half an hour!"

"Noooo," Jimin argues, giving you an innocent puppy-dog look that dangerously quickens your heartbeat. "We'll be careful!"

"Yeah, that's what we said before Jin found out." You shudder at the memory, not particularly fond of that moment in your life. It was a particularly scarring scene, still haunting you in your nightmares.

"Okay, but we'll be extra careful!"

You roll your eyes. "Yeah, no, Jimin. God, I thought you were the adult here!"

Your boyfriend huffs in mock anger, "I am! I'm just... I'd rather take a risk to have a good time with you!"

"Yeah, but the risk could literally make you lose your job, and me, expelled," you point out, crossing your arms. "I dunno if you haven't noticed, but we're kinda not allowed to be dating. We really shouldn't be—"

The next thing you know, you're at Wattbucks, waiting for your drinks. Honestly, you should've known you'd give in to your incredibly stubborn er, persistent partner. Especially when he had started pouting, you knew it was game over.

You tug your baseball cap down in an attempt to hide your face (jUst iN cAsE), running over for the thousandth time in your head why you agreed to come to such a public place with your illegal boyfriend.

"We're grabbing the lattes and leaving," you mutter, "before we meet somebody we know."

"Aw, Y/N! Stop being so paranoid, we're not gonna meet anyone we know! I've done the math, it's less than a 12% chance," Jimin whines. "I literally sat down with a pen and paper and calculated!"

"Well, I've done the math too—in my head," you protest. "It's 12.7% for your information, and what about the remaining 87.3%, huh?"

Jimin sighs, shaking his head. "Relax, okay?" He reaches across the table, placing a warm hand over yours to comfort you. His charming, toffee eyes peer into yours, soothing your jumpy nerves. And when he smiles at you, eyes scrunching up and plump lips pulling apart (a genuine smile), you can't help but forget you're in public.

"OH MY GOD HOW ADORABLE!"

You and Jimin both jerk your heads towards the inhumanly high-pitched shrieker, only to find that annoying waitress that had served you months back. You'll never be able to forget her shrill voice and her favorite word: adorable.

"Here are your drinks!" the loud waitress exclaims, setting down your matching heart-design lattes. "How's my favorite couple? Would you like a free couple's mini cake?"

"Um, it's f—"

"Yes, please," Jimin answers before you do, hooking his arm around your shoulder. "We'd also love another photo!"

You shoot him an unappreciative glare that says 'you're not helping us stay lowkey,' but Jimin shrugs it off, grinning at you.

"I'll be right back with the cake~" the waitress sings, starting to leave. She calls behind her shoulder: "I'll ask my brother to take the photo. That rascal really thinks he can get away making 10 bucks an hour doing nothing. Taehyung!!!"

You gasp, so shocked that you almost fall off your seat if Jimin hadn't caught your arm. "N-No..." you breathe. "She said Taehyung, right? My ears aren't deceiving me?"

"Fuck, do you know him?" Jimin asks, tightening his grip on your arm as if you would sink to the floor without his support.

"Jesus, he's literally in my friend group!" you exclaim, standing up as Jimin's hand falls from your arm. "Forget the drinks, we've got to yeet—"

"Y/N???!" a familiar, surprised voice hollers. "Mr. Park??!"

"Fuck," you mutter under your breath before turning around to see Kim Taehyung, alright. "H-Hey, Tae!"

"What are you doing here?" Taehyung asks, cocking his brow. "And with Mr. Park?"

You and Jimin immediately scoot away from each other, making the distance between the two of you reasonably innocent.

"Oh, just discussing, um, math club details," you quickly fib, despite the fact that with the school year approaching its end, clubs weren't meeting anymore. You grit your teeth, praying that Taehyung wouldn't call you out for your immature lie. "Right, Jimin?"

Your boyfriend sighs. "Y/N, how many times do I have to tell you? It's Mr. Park."

Fuck. Bad habits. He just saved your ass.

"Anyways, hello, Taehyung," Jimin sleekly says, smiling at his student. His professional demeanor is back, amazingly so. Talk about a smooth transition. "You're working here, I see?"

"Uh... yeah," your friend says, staring quite suspiciously at the two of you. "Nice lattes."

Shit. The heart-shaped lattes had once seemed so cute, but now they were going to be the end of you both.

"Well, Jungkook's coming too," you blurt out before thinking it over. "J-Just wanted to um... surprise him..."

You thought the stuttering would make the lie less believable, but it seemed as if it made it more valid.

"O. M. G. You two are a thing? Oh, I fucking knew it!" Taehyung shouts, pumping his fist in excitement before realizing his teacher had been witnessing. "Uh, I mean, I freaking knew it... Sorry, Mr. Park."

"No! No, we're not a thing... uh, yet," you say, trying to sound as convincing as possible. But what can you say? You're literally the worst liar ever. Hopefully, Taehyung's incredibly gullible.

"That damn kid," Taehyung scoffs, shaking his head. "He's too much of a goddamn pussy to ask you out." One disapproving look from Jimin makes your friend flush, looking down at his feet. "Er, yeah... I'll be leaving now! Bye, Y/N, bye, Mr. Park!"

"Wait a minute, not so fast, you rascal!" The waitress flies back, an adorable mini cake in her hands, which she quickly sets down on the table. But she's too late; her brother had already fled the scene. "Damn him," she huffs, placing a sassy hand on her hip. "Would you still like a photo?"

"Uhh, no we're fine," you quickly answer, "but it'd be amazing if we could get the cake to-go."

"Yes, we completely forgot we made reservations for lunch," Jimin pipes up, smiling coyly at the waitress to convince her further. "May we get the lattes to-go as well?"

"Sure, no problem!" the waitress chuckles, shaking her head as she balances the lattes and cake on her tray. "Taehyung'll bring these out in a moment!"

As soon as she leaves, Jimin stands up, grabbing his jacket. "God, if Taehyung's coming, I better leave. Make up some fib about Jungkook and meet me in the parking lot!" He gives you a fleeting kiss on the cheek and rushes out of the quiet cafe before you can say another word.

You roll your eyes, an 'I told you so' threatening to bubble out of your throat. But still, the warmth of his lips, when they had pressed on your cheek, leaves you yearning for more.

"Fuck, did that idiot stand you up?" Taehyung asks, slightly out of breath as he hands you a to-go bag. "Damn, he fucked up."

You laugh, shaking your head. "Kook wouldn't do that to me! We're just meeting somewhere closer to his house 'cause his car broke down."

Taehyung scoffs. "You guys are taking it so slowly, god, I'll get married by the time you two start dating!" he whines. "Didn't he already confess?"

You frown, shifting the bag from one hand to the other. "What do you mean?"

"What the fuck, he told me he confessed!" your friend sighs, rubbing his forehead stressfully. "That goddamn liar."

"I'm pretty he said that to get you and Yoongi's asses off of him," you chuckle. "Last time I checked, there were no confessions!"

"What?? That little bastard! He told me you confessed your unrequited love first, and then he confirmed his feelings for you!" Taehyung huffs, genuinely looking angry. "This whole time I thought you were secretly dating!"

Your eyebrows furrow, lips pulling down into a serious frown. What??? You'd never confessed anything, at least, in your memories. But that's when it hits you.

"I'm sorry. I just... I don't... I'm so sorry."

"Unrequited love?"

"I guess you could say that..."

"Thought so. But he loves you back."

It hits you like a goddamn freight train. This whole time Jungkook had thought you had been talking about him. Fuck. This whole time Jungkook had thought you liked him back. Fuck. All those little touches here and there, the arm linking, the side hugs—the gestures that you thought were completely innocent and friendly had meant something else for him.

But you really weren't looking for drama now. Besides, Jimin was waiting for you in the parking lot. You need to make this quick.

"O-Oh," you stutter stupidly before clearing your throat. "No, yeah, he did confess, but we just agreed to take it slow." Somehow the lie flies off your lips too easily as if your guilty conscience had disintegrated.

"Well, don't take it too slow!" Taehyung winks at you teasingly. "I want to be alive by the time you two finally date!" All you can do is nod, gripping the to-go bag tightly. Taehyung notices the gesture, realizing that you kinda wanted to leave. "Then I guess have a nice time with Kook, Y/N. Bye!"

"Thanks! Bye, Tae!"

You don't turn around once, making a beeline for the door and rushing out to the parking lot. Jimin's leaning against his car, looking off cynically to the distance. When he catches sight of you out of his peripheral vision, he perks up, a smile blossoming on his lips.

"Taehyung give you a hard time?" he asks, taking the to-go bag from you and opening the shotgun seat for you to get in.

You smile at him gratefully, sliding into the seat. "Yeah, kinda..."

"What'd he say?"

"Eh, nothing really important," you say quickly, hoping your boyfriend wouldn't want to mull over such a small deal. You don't know if he's the type to get jealous, but you don't want to find out.

Thankfully, Jimin doesn't ask any more questions. "Sooo, wanna go home?"

"Yours or mine?"

"Mine, of course," Jimin chuckles, smirking. "We don't want Jin walking in on us again."

Your face flushes at the memory, and you slap your boyfriend's shoulder for bringing it up. "Yeah, definitely." Sighing, you tug your cap down again, slouching in the seat. "This is why we should always have our dates at home."

Jimin grins. "I don't object—not when I have so many amazing activities planned."

—previous | next

—masterlist

#jimin #park jimin #jimin fanfiction #jimin imagine #bts #bts fanfiction #jimin fluff #jimin angst #teacher au #jimin fanfic #illegirl

[asktheghosthost]

Far more eerie than any pop-up ghoul or murderous bride in the attic was the quiet that had taken over the Magic Kingdom. Beauregard couldn't even compare it to a typical midnight. Midnight still had a handful of Cast Members tending to all of those technical tasks that magic was too confused about to bother with. Midnight could still have the distant wheezes and rumbles of traffic. It was as if the world had halted. If he hadn't noticed a squirrel digging in the front yard cemetery, he would have believed time was frozen.

The grandfather clock in the hall chimed, announcing it was two p.m. Two p.m. and the park was deserted.

With a sigh that was more of a groan, he pushed himself up out of his chair and headed... elsewhere. It didn't matter where. He needed a distraction from the depressing lack of mortal guests. For several days now, (he'd lost count), there'd been no screams, no giggles, and--worst of all-- no sympathetic vibrations from lively visitors. It was making all of the ghosts of the Haunted Mansion restless.

As he wandered further down one dark hall and then the next, a curious scent wafted to his nostrils. It was sweet, pleasant, and had a strong hint of ginger. He followed it along until it brought him to the kitchen.

Inside, the former Gracey coachman/ fellow happy haunt/ regular graveyard tea party participant Dustin T. Dust was busy taking out his second tray of cookies from the oven. It was then placed to cool on a table that had not only the first tray of cookies, but a dozen blueberry muffins. And now he was returning to a mixing bowl to stir up more batter.

Beauregard cleared his throat. "Dustin..."

"Gah!" Dustin yelped, nearly dropping his bowl and fumbling it to safety. "It's just you, sir," he said with a nervous chuckle. He set the batter aside so he could adjust his glasses.

"Beau," Beauregard corrected. "No 'sir's for me." Hands behind his back, he mosied over to the table to get a closer look at the treats.

"'S hard not to call the great Ghost Host 'sir.'" Dustin had gone back to stirring. The big bowl seemed too hefty for his wiry frame, but not only was he holding it up just fine, he was also incorporating some dance steps as he moved about the kitchen.

"Oh please." Beauregard realized he needed to tuck his noose under his waistcoat lest it brush against the muffins, and quickly did so. "We used to work together as servants in this household." He frowned. "It's not as if I get to do much ghost hosting now, anyway, what with..." He trailed off, looking up to meet the other man's gaze.

Dustin shared his look of worry for a moment, but then put on a smile. "Things will be right as rain soon, sir, er, Beau. The mortals just need to be extra cautious." Another tray had already been set up, and he was scooping out small dollops of what would soon be snickerdoodles. While those were cooking, he turned his attention on the ginger cat shaped cookies that had finished cooling, and began decorating them.

Beauregard watched him add tiny chocolate sliver whiskers. "What exactly are you doing, Dustin? With all this, I mean?"

"Well, when there's nothing to do, but I'm still anxious, I get to stress baking... So long as the cook isn't around. She never liked me in the kitchen. Said I smelled like horses." His mouth twisted into intense concentration, tip of his tongue sticking out just past his buck teeth. Those tiny whiskers were always tricky.

"I shouldn't be anxious, really," he went on. "We can't get sick, not with mortal illnesses, anyway. Maybe I'm just jittery from the lack of guests." Half the cats now had whiskers, he realized proudly. "Mum and dad were bakers. They had a little shop back home in London. It's where I learned it..."

As Dustin went on, something dawned on Beau, and he straightened up with a strange look of clarity on his face. "We can't catch it..."

Dustin stopped mid autobiography. "No. We're dead."

"We're dead... and we have enough baked goods to fill a burial plot..."

"That's a rather morbid measurement..."

Beau grinned. "Dustin, there's a whole kingdom full of our neighbors, shut indoors, worried, likely bored to tears!"

Dustin countered with a smile of his own. "Neighbors who would welcome a gift basket and a friendly visit. Brilliant, sir! See, you're still an excellent host."

"Ghost Host," Beau corrected, grabbing an apron for himself. "Let's see how many more treats we can make by dusk, and then I'll ask if Dorian has any flowers he'd be willing to part with."

The two quickly got to work.

Later that night, a hearse, pulled by an invisible horse, rolled through the streets of the Magic Kingdom. At the sound of clomping hooves, residents of the park would pull back their curtains to peek out, wondering if this was some tasteless joke. Moments later, they'd find it was actually a tasty greeting when either the Ghost Host, Master Gracey, or the coachman would come knocking on their door bearing a basket full of sweets and flowers.

It didn't end at the Magic Kingdom, either. The ghosts were sure to deliver baskets to the Imagination Institute, much to the delight of Figment. (Dr. Channing was quick to point out that the little dragon really didn't need any extra sugar in his hyperactive system, thank you very much.) They stopped at Elsa's ice palace, had one basket just straight up snatched by a flock of seagulls screaming "MINE!", and quietly left a gift for the yeti at Mt. Everest. One basket was flung into the elevator shaft of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, because the spirits knew better than to directly engage the Twilight Zone lest they get trapped, too. Harrison Hightower III tried to trade a basket for the Shiriki Utundu, which the ghosts explained wasn't necessary, and they fled before he could he could attempt to leave the idol with them. Henry Mystic and Albert got plenty of banana bread to share.

All in all, it was a very long but very rewarding night.

By the time they had returned to the mansion, a note was waiting for them on the door. Dorian plucked it up, and read it out loud:

Dear ghosts of the Haunted Mansion,

When times are frightful, it's easy to get swept up in the uncertainty, and completely forget that everyone around you is trying to cope, too. Simple acts of kindness-- such as yours-- ground us, unite us, and remind us all to never lose our empathy and compassion. Thank you.

We're so proud to call you 'family.' See ya real soon!

-Mickey and Minnie Mouse

All three ghosts looked at the letter a moment longer, before sharing glances with one another.

"You know," Dorian began slowly. "I bet I could make some lovely wreaths... and flower crowns, and we could hand those out this weekend..."

"We could pack a lot of books in that hearse," suggested Beauregard. "Our library is well stocked, after all..."

"I bet I could convince the graveyard band to perform in the streets, give people a concert right outside their windows," said Dustin.

And thus one idea led to another, enough to bring a little joy to every day the parks were closed.

#fic #drabble #fan fic #story

[downspiral]

* / post canon — legacies verse!

set after season 8 and on into the legacies timeline, with differences depending on whether or not stefan died. ultimately, damon returns home, ready to annoy everyone all over again, albeit slightly less than he used to. regardless of the version, damon is still a vampire; stefan used vervain to incapacitate him, not the cure. details below the cut, or at my verses page! 

( please note that i haven’t seen legacies or the originals yet, so events of those shows haven’t been factored in beyond the basic premises — i’m not familiar with all the characters, so these verses are not fully realised until i’ve worked my way through all the lore. please be patient with me! )

* / FOR THE LOVE OF A MAN.  /  stefan alive

after all that took place there, stefan and damon are undecided on whether or not to stay in mystic falls; when caroline and alaric tell them of their idea for a school, they agree to gift the house to them, and decide to move on from their history there.

damon ultimately takes the opportunity to get away for a while, having accepted both himself and his brother as they are, and wanders, accompanying bonnie on her travels now and then (to keep her out of trouble, he says, we don't want you having to saw your own arm off because you climbed mt everest alone.) when he isn't with her, he drifts — sometimes with stefan, sometimes alone, re-visiting old cities, old haunts, and making amends where he can ( though not so much that you'd confuse him with a guy who can't have fun anymore. )  mystic falls is still comfortable and familiar to him, however, and he returns every so often, to have a drink with caroline (she's no liz, but she'll do) or just to check alaric hasn't burned the place down. as his visits get more frequent, he impulse buys himself a little apartment overlooking the town square to use as a placeholder, and at some point, he forgets to leave.

* /  FOR THE LOSS OF A MAN.  /   stefan dead

after stefan's death, damon found himself unable to return to the salvatore boarding house and all the emotions it brought; afraid that his grief would make him flip his switch, and not wanting to cause more harm when he had only just managed to atone for everything he'd done to his friends, he gave the house to caroline and alaric — do whatever you want with it, he instructed, make it unrecognisable — and left town shortly after (though unlike the last time he was grieving someone he loved, he remembered to say goodbye.)

before he left mystic falls for what he assumed would be a long time, though, he asked bonnie for one last favour before he left ( bon-bon, i swear, i'll never ask you for anything again, not even a starbucks mocha on my 200th birthday ) — to find a way to prevent him from entering mystic falls, just in case, until they both deemed him no longer a risk. the only living soul who had familiarity with a spell that encased an entire town was kai, ensuing a trip to his prison world to investigate their options. ( more detailed verse on this pending. )

whatever the outcome, damon and bonnie discovered a loophole that didn't require any spell, as it happened — just paperwork. through some light 'persuasion' of various government officials and local landowners, damon and bonnie managed to essentially make the entire town of mystic falls a 'residence', with their trusted friends as the owners. thus, damon could only step foot in mystic falls again once he'd been invited in by someone who knew him well enough to know if it was safe to.

now knowing his friends were safe from him and all the possibilities of his mental state, damon travelled alone, generally in isolated places; cabins in alaska, mountainous regions of europe, and at one point a highly irradiated location in russia, where no humans were allowed to step foot. ( for the ones stupid enough to, he had the added stefan-approved atonement bonus of compelling them not to risk their lives for thrills any more. though perhaps he didn't word it as politely. )

as the years passed, damon came to terms with the loss of his brother; gradually he began to meet with his old friends here and there (though never within mystic falls), testing the waters, seeing how his emotions fared. eventually, the wound healed, and damon — with permission from his more level-headed friends — allowed himself to come home. ready to go back to being a general nuisance to everyone, he bought a small apartment near the town square to call his new home, since he'd hate to end up the live-in janitor who scares the supernatural kids. ( though more often than not he sleeps on alaric's couch — you steal my home, i'll steal yours, ric. )  he lives in mystic falls again as a trusted member of caroline’s inner circle, and possibly helps chaperone a field trip or two, if he’s feeling nice. any more than that and someone’s gonna owe him a drink.

#VERSES. #TAGS. #VI. FOR THE LOVE OF A MAN. #VI. FOR THE LOSS OF A MAN. #OOC. #CHARADEV. #so yeah they're not totally finished! i don't know much about the legacies kids and so on #but i figured this'll do for a placeholder! #i'm gonna hold off until i know more about it but the idea of like substitute teacher damon is amusing me now ngl #hi kids. who here's thought about murder #leroiloup #tagging you bc.