#and I'm WILDLY concerned about other stuff

[thelaurenshippen]

finally taking the time to read through the SAG agreement summary and oof, I hope they have an AI town hall soon because...well, there are things to discuss!

so, in case folks are curious, here are my immediate takeaways from the deal as a SAG actor, a SAG producer, and person who is not any kind of expert but spends a lot of time being skeptical of contracts I sign. this is a summation/commentary, not a holistic breakdown of every point, nor even an in-depth discussion of the points I do talk about. and it is, of course, in no way legal advice or voting advice.

this post is already maybe the longest post I've ever written on tumblr (lol) and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. to be clear, nothing I'm saying here represents how I'm going to vote, how I think other actors should vote, or my be-all-end-all stance on a particular issue. this is me reading through, flagging what concerns me, and asking myself questions. and I'm here to take your questions too! though of course my expertise is limited.

(what?? something I wrote got annoying long?? in my tumblr? it's more likely, etc. huge write-up after the cut)

the good

self-tape stuff: this is one of the more niche/the thing that the general public will find least interesting, but they've put in a lot of provisions to make sure self-tape auditions have limits (# of pages, no stunts, no nudity, doesn't have to be professionally shot, etc.) which is amazing because these types of auditions have gotten out of control since the pandemic. this feels like a great gain

data transparency: in no world did I think the streamers were ever going to agree to any data sharing with either the wga or sag so even though the data is limited, this still feels huge to me.

folks who sing and dance will be paid for both of those things now, which is great

they've added MLK day and Juneteenth as holidays (about time)

a performer cannot be required to translate their own lines

principal performers are required to be given hair and makeup consultation or reimbursed for obtaining their own services - this seems like a small thing, but it's being put in here pretty much entirely because HMU services have generally been appalling when it comes to textured hair/a variety of skin tones. there's also stuff in here about working to hire more diverse HMU artists

it looks like it's going to be easier/provide a path for folks getting IMDb credits even if they're not credited on screen

miscellany: there's a bunch of gains in wage increases, P&H increases, relocation fees, franchise language etc. that all seem good to me, though my limited knowledge on those subjects prevents me from going in depth on them.

this is not important, but it tickled me, there's a term to replace all instances of "telegraph" in the contract with "email & text" which like...why has it taken us thirty years to do that lol.

the "...hm..."

intimacy coordinators: oof. when I watched the press conference SAG gave, I was fucking thrilled when they said that the new agreement required folks to hire intimacy coordinators for nudity and simulated sex scenes. that was almost reason enough for me to vote for it tbh - not requiring it is the exact reason I voted no on our last contract. however, reading the contract summary now, the exact language is: "Producer must use best efforts to engage an Intimacy Coordinator for scenes involving nudity or simulated sex and will consider in good faith any request by a performer to engage an Intimacy Coordinator for other scenes. Producer shall not retaliate against a performer for requesting an Intimacy Coordinator." this....sucks. "best efforts" and "good faith" are not the same as "required". IMO, an intimacy coordinator is the same thing as having a stunt coordinator or, like, any number of health and safety requirements. OSHA doesn't say you must "in good faith" put your "best effort" to providing fire exits. it's great that performers can request coordinators for any kind of scene, and this is still the strongest language we've ever had in a contract but....c'mon guys.

residuals: look, I can't speak to these new terms in any concrete way. there are increases, there are bonuses for streaming success, there's a whole thing about a fund regarding those successes that I need explained to me more in depth, but overall, it looks like we made some in-roads here. as someone who employs actors under digital distribution contracts that has no residuals (podcasts), I know how genuinely cumbersome the unholy trifecta of "views-success-profit" can be (as in views do not equal success, success does not equal profit, etc.). I also have no sympathy when the majority of companies dealing with that cumbersome trifecta are massive media conglomerates. anyway, long story short, idk if this is good enough, I'm hoping to attend the next info meeting sag has.

the bad

the new hair/makeup provisions are explicitly for principal actors. while I hope it leads to better, more inclusive HMU services all around I haaaate that this implies supporting or background actors (who oftentimes also have to sit in HMU) don't deserve the consideration. (then again, background actors are usually required to do their own HMU/bring their own costumes, but for productions where that's not the case, the same HMU provisions should apply IMO)

as with every contract, there's language that could be stronger, clarity that needs to exist, and important things missing - but this isn't the final contract and I'm not a lawyer, so I'm gonna leave that stuff to the experts.

but, "lauren", you say, "what about all the AI stuff? where does that go?" well, reader, I was planning on including that in the above but it's the hot-button issue right now and I think it's wickedly complicated, so I wanted to break it down separately, after I had a chance to point out all the good-bad-in-between stuff that's not getting talked about.

a note: in my career, I've learned there's two big things to keep in mind when reading a contract you might sign:

what is the worst case interpretation of this language (thank you to my lawyer, prince among men, for teaching me how to do this in practice (that said, anything I say here is not legal advice, he'd also want me to say that lol))

what are you willing to lose/compromise on/what are the limits of your pragmatism? contracts are not about a company giving you everything you want out of the goodness of their heart - it is always a compromise. pragmatism has to be a part of the equation.

so, with that said, I'm going to play a little devil's advocate here, and a) try to find the good/the pragmatic and b) catastrophize the worst case scenario. but first, it might be handy to look at this SAG infographic for some basic definitions. let's go.

the AI good

a ton of stuff here requires consent. that is not a small thing, and the consent continues even after your death (whether it was a yes or no; though this can be complicated by your estate/your union)

the language does establish that the consent must be a separate signing from the employment contract, even if its in the contract, which is great (but more on that below - timing matters)

actors often do get paid for use of their digital replicas, though it's different based on the use/type of replica.

the actor must be provided with a "reasonably specific description of the intended use". this language is vaguer than I would like, because it allows producers to decide what "reasonably specific" and "intended" means - there's always going to be some vagueness when it comes to this specific thing, but a good start would be for producers to require not blanket consent, but conditional consent for each significant use of digital replicas.

if the replicas are being used in other mediums, that must also be consented to, thank god.

replicas cannot be used in place of background actor counts on a given day - if I'm understanding this correctly, this means a production can't just have a bunch of fake background actors by themselves, they have to engage real people up to a certain number first (which in this new contract is 25 for TV and 85 for movies). we're already filling in background with digital people or copy-pasting of the same crowd over and over and have been doing so since at least the late 90s, so it's good we're continuing to put up boundaries around that.

the AI "...hm..."

it's unclear (to me) when an actor can be asked to consent. IMO, everything is meaningless if the consent is happening as part of regular contract negotiations. these things have to happen when - and only when - the actor has already been engaged in a role and feels empowered to say no

the use of independently created replicas (replicas pulled from existing footage, not created by the actor) being allowed without consent under first amendment reasoning - this is obviously concerning a lot of people bc first amendment arguments are so broad. that said, there's a pragmatism part of me that understands this is already happening/has been happening for a while and used in ways I think are perfectly fine - I was just watching the new episode of For All Mankind (one of the best TV shows right now!) and it's an alternate history, which meant that in the opening scenes of this season they had some bonkers good deep fakes of Al Gore saying stuff he never said. I think that's okay to do in a fiction show that imagines a different US history! "but Lauren", you might be saying, "Al Gore isn't a member of SAG!" are you sure? are you positive? because I'm pretty certain he is - he was in several episodes of 30 Rock, way more people are in SAG than you think (every NPR reporter for instance), and the two worst presidents we've had in the last 50 years (yes, those ones), are both definitely members of SAG (even if one is dead). now, the other side of this is that public figures like politicians are under a different social contract than actors, and if they wanted to sue, they could, unlike the average SAG actor who might have their image abused. this is why this is in the "hm" column - deep fakes and parody/satire/commentary use of replicas is already here and there's always going to be a 1st amendment argument to make, so we need to figure out how best to limit those and protect the most vulnerable.

alteration: with this language, a project can digitally alter without consent if the script and performance stays "substantially" the same. again, this language is too mealy-mouthed. I don't know that I have a huge problem with a line of dialogue getting replaced with a digital version of that actors voice if, for instance, a word was mispronounced, or wind garbled the sound or whatever - yes, it would eliminate the need for ADR, but if we put some limit on it like..."if there are more than 5 lines in a given episode/movie that require digital alteration in the service of clarity, the actor must be engaged for an ADR session or paid for the digital replacement" then I could see this being workable. I'm also personally okay with things like costumes being digitally altered but, again, we need limitations on that. digital altering cannot replace the art of costuming but, for instance, if a costume needs to be altered to include a hate symbol or something, I think that's fine (example: I have friends who worked at the VFX house for an alternate history TV show that involved a lot of Nazi costuming and set design - a huge part of that VFX house's job was to put swastikas in places, rather than props making nazi flags. I'm okay with that!) but again, these fringe cases do not a compelling arugment make, and this contract language can be interpreted too broadly for my comfort! like everything else in this "hm" category, I need to see the final contract language to decide.

the AI bad

there's a bunch of circumstances in which actors don't get paid for creating their replica/use of it and those circumstances are too broad for my taste.

synthetic performers - this is just awful. no. no, we should not be allowing AI to generate entire actors. just............no. there's some language about the producers having to talk to the union if the synthetic performer is "used in place of a performer who would have been engaged under this Agreement in a human role" but this doesn't apply to non-human characters so....wouldn't that be all roles?? leaving the producers room to be like "this role has to be synthetic, we never would've cast a human!" is bullshit. also, even if we're having AI create a magical talking unicorn whole cloth (which, like, also no, we have artists for this), that unicorn still needs to be voiced by a human person. this whole section is a disaster.

the exceptions to consent for digital alteration are bad-bad. I talked about the potential ADR replacement above and that has a whole host of issues with it that I didn't even get into, but I can see the argument. the rest are very troubling:

there is an exception under "any circumstance when dubbing or use of a double is permitted under the Codified Basic Agreement or Television Agreement" - okay, so does this mean we can replace dubbing artists and stunt performers entirely? this section is about digital alteration, but who's to say alteration couldn't turn an actor broadly miming a fight into an entirely digital, expertly performed fight that usually a stunt double would have done? with AI translation technology, does this mean we're replacing VO artists for dubs entirely? bad!

similarly, "Adjusting lip and/or other facial or body movement and/or the voice of the performer to a foreign language, or for purposes of changes to dialogue or photography necessary for license or sale to a particular market" - Justine Bateman has a great twitter thread on the terrible puppetry potential of this but I want to draw attention to the particular market bit - we all know that selling to china is such a huge part of studios' strategies that they'll remove entire scenes or lines around queer stuff. to me, this clause makes all of that so much easier. I know the argument here is going to be "we can replace swear words and license it for kids!" which.......sure? fine? but, uh, we already have ways to deal with that? and the potential for abuse here is terrifying to me. with all the digital alteration stuff too, there's just so much icky implication for the beauty/body standard to get so much worse.

if a background actor’s digital replica is used in the role of a principal performer, they'll be paid as if they actually performed the days for that role, which, sure, but uhhhh why are we saying it's okay for a digital replica of a background actor to suddenly be a leading role!?!?! I can't think of anything more demoralizing than going to set to act in background (a job I've done! an important job! a fun job a lot of the time! but creatively limited) and then getting a much bigger role (the dream!) and.....not being able to, you know, act that role or be in scenes with other principal actors or do the thing that you've dedicated your life to doing. nightmare stuff.

woof. there's so much more to say but I'm going to leave it there. these are the concerns I'm going to go into SAG's meetings with, and the concerns I'll be considering as I decide how to vote. I know there are things I didn't address and very possibly things I misinterpreted or misrepresented - if you're an actor, I highly recommend a) reading that Justine Bateman thread and b) attending SAG's meetings to ask questions and express your concerns. and I'd love to hear what y'all think! my ask box is open.

#sag aftra #sag #sag strike #AI #me: I'm just gonna look through the terms #me: I'm just gonna do a quick write up before starting my day #clock: it's been almost two hours #not to keep hammering at the 'this is not me saying that I am correct or that I've made up my mind' bit #but this is the piss on the poor reading comprehension website so #I'M NOT SAYING I'M RIGHT #TAKE ALL THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT #i mostly have questions and concerns and am pleasantly surprised at some stuff #knowing that there *is* a degree to which we will have to compromise #and I'm WILDLY concerned about other stuff #would love to hear what other SAG members think

[turbulentscrawl]

Identity(V) Headcanons: Frederick Kreiburg

Frederick's headcanons got a little more...medical than some of the others I've done so far. I'm no expert in this stuff, but I do my best to be comprehensible and respectful where certain disorders have to be mentioned. As always, hope you guys like it!

-Ashes of Memory states that Frederick was diagnosed with ‘psychasthenia’ at some point in his childhood, but this isn’t used as a diagnosis in modern medicine. Instead, it’s a term used to describe a collection of symptoms commonly associated with disorders like OCD. It includes anxiety, obsession, compulsions, depersonalization, nervous ticks, and can even affect one’s memory.

-Personally, I also think he has synesthesia. Frederick mentions colors in relation to music a lot (especially gold), and while this could just be something relating to his other condition, I prefer to take it as literal. It’s part of the reason he was enamored after hearing his father play, why he obsessed with music. Frederick grew up in an onslaught of overwhelming chaos, colors bursting and fading wildly across his senses incomprehensible in his day to day, enhancing his anxiety…but when the recital started there was only the song. One symphony of sound and color, appearing before him in a long, unbroken stream. It was peaceful. And he became obsessed with that peace.

-This also explains his “un-Kreiburg-like skills.” His music is not like what the rest of his family composes because he’s writing it to suit both sound and color. He can perfectly identify pitch and can play most songs entirely “by ear” after hearing them only once or twice, but he’s obsessed with the stream of colors keeping a certain rhythm to them, which doesn’t always lend itself to “traditional” Kreiburg music.

-Frederick’s personality is very affected by the above struggles/disorders. He’s a very kind person at his core, as well as very earnest, but he is plagued by fear, anxiety, and extreme self-criticism. He becomes overwhelmed easily. He is entirely aware of all his struggles, his failures, and wrestles every day with the knowledge that he’s a disappointment to his family. Sometimes his situation brings him to tears, sometimes to destructive wrath.

-Frederick has come to accept his need for appearances, that people mostly like him because of his looks and his familial relations. But on his worst days he can’t even rely on that much because his communication begins to break down. His speech becomes disjointed and frantic, he’s tense and twitchy, a look of horror sinks deep into his face. To protect what remains of his reputation, he hides away during these times.

-When he is with people, he behaves as a gentleman should, albeit a reclusive one. He’s terrified of being judged further, but craves understanding and praise, so he maintains personal distance while remaining remarkably enthusiastic about musical discussion. He’s never told anyone but his family about his diagnosis or his synesthesia. They are both sources of shame for him.

-When at his most anxious, he has a tendency to pull at his hair. Whole clumps of his long hair have been lost to the worst of his fits. He’s not particularly sensitive about any resulting bald spots on his scalp, but he does try to cover them with his normal ponytail style because he knows they would affect people’s attraction to him.

-He despises the sound of dogs barking. Which is a shame, because he does like dogs. Their barking is just burry, red fireworks right in the middle of his vision. It always startles him and makes it impossible to do or focus on anything.

-His love language is Gift Giving, and the “gifts” he gives are, predictably, usually songs. It’s his primary skill, of course, so as far as Frederick is concerned, he has nothing else worth offering besides music made in the name of his loved one. He’d be devastated if these musical gifts weren’t appreciated; Frederick can’t take much more rejection. His favorites Love Languages to receive are Word of Affirmation and Acts of Service. He’s secretly a bit desperate for praise, and any actions you take to support his work or help improve his reputation as a musician are better than gold.

-He likes to match his clothes to the primary colors he sees in the songs he’s performing. During his recitals, he changes coats often.

-He’s a picky eater with a powerful sweet tooth. If he could have it his way, he’d subsist mostly on desserts.

#idv x reader #identity v x reader #frederick kreiburg x reader #idv composer #turbulentscrawl

[dilvuc]

❝𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘❞ DAY 14: WE'RE ALIKE

𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖊: fluff

𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗: male

𝖙𝖎𝖙𝖑𝖊: DAY 14: WE'RE ALIKE

𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: yan!jade x yan!m!reader

𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌: none

𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: you and jade are like soulmate. why? you two have feelings for each other without knowing that you two have feelings for each other. you two have not realized that you are made for each other until…

“Why would you collect koebi-kun’s stuff…?” floyd cringed at his brother's collection. jade collected almost everything from your dorm and from your trash. everything he found of yours, is now his. it's concerning.

“Everything I see belongs to him now belongs to me~” jade beamed, snuggling with your pillow that he has stolen. “I can smell his favorite cologne…”

“You're so creepy…” floyd gagged. “You might get find out by him one day.”

“Might. But if I were to be found out, I'll knock him out and lock him in my room.” jade smiled.

the other twin send his calm and weird twin brother a bombastic side eye, “What the fuc—”

“There's no way you have stolen something from one of the twins!” ace exclaimed in shock. he found a shocking collection of jade's mushrooms and photos in your closet. you placed another jar of mushrooms in your closet, “Hey, don't blame me for my love for Jade. He's just too good.”

“Your taste in love is wildly disturbing…” deuce sweatdropped.

“Come on, give me a boost or something to help me talk to Jade. Or I could just knock him out and lock him up in the guest room to get him to talk.” you suggested. ace grabbed your collar, “Get fucking help! This is an obsession! Not some kind of a wholesome love thing!”

“Yeah! What if he tried to eat you up?!” grim exclaimed.

“So…?”

“So? So?! What if he caught you doing something creepy?” ace raised his eyebrows. you shrugged, “Knock him out and lock him up.”

“Oh my fucking god…”

jade peek around the corner to find you talking with your friends. he stood there in lovestruck as he continuingly stalked you around the school. it's making azul and floyd both concerned and disturbed by this. jade’s love for you is over the top. he's fucking downbad for your fucking ass.

“Just look at that adorable little smile that I want to bite his wrong pretty little face off.” jade beamed, clasping his hands together.

“Bite what off?” azul sweatdropped. floyd grabbed azul's shoulders and dragged him away from his brother, “Let's forget this and go…”

jade continues to stalk you around school until he notices how sneaky you're acting as you head to the back of the school where no one will notice you, well…maybe because you notice that jade was stalking you.

“Jade. I know you're there.” you called out, causing the teal haired male to flinch and step out of his hiding place.

“Ah, it appears that I have been found.” jade smiled. “May I ask why you're acting so sneaky, [Y]?”

“I could be the one to ask you since you've been stalking me throughout the whole day.” you pointed out. the teal haired male tensed up, “Ah…So you noticed—”

jade paused when he noticed something flip out of your pocket. he narrowed his eyes to take a closer look, only to find out that it was some photos of him. those photos were taken secretly. you panicked and swiftly picked up the photos to hide from jade's sight, “I'm gonna need a better place to store these treasures…!”

jade gasped before clasping his hands over his mouth, feeling excitedly overwhelmed with joy, “T-treasures…?!”

“Eh?? W-w-w-w-wait! It's not what you think!” you sweatdropped, trying to brush it off. jade knees before you, “Have you been stalking me and secretly taking pictures of me?! My, my~ [Y], you creep~”

“Uh—”

“You love me, do you? Only me, right?” jade beamed.

“Of course, I only love you and only you! I fell in love when I first landed my eyes on you!” you expressed. the teal haired male chuckled bashfully, “I feel the same way about you, too~ Do you know how long I've been holding back my love for you? I didn't had to knock you out and kidnapped you~”

“I was plotting the same thing if you didn't accept my feelings.” you admitted.

jade clasped his hands with yours, “We are the same~ Let's get married~”

“Right after we graduate, let's get married immediately! I'll ditch my goal of going home and marry you.” you expressed.

the octavinelle duo and the dumbass trio watched the scene unfold and they're becoming more disturbed and worried about what would happen if you two become cold-blooded killers. what a “great” couple.

╰┈➤ author note: please note that this is a slow update. i will still accept your request, but it will take a while since i'll be working on my books on wattpad. if you wish to read those books, here's my wattpad account.

❝𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘❞

twst masterlist

#male reader #twisted wonderland #twst #disney twst #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland x male reader #yanderuary #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere male reader #twst jade #jade leech #dilvuc #❝dilvuc 2024❞

[cherryxcadbury]

When the Alcohol Kicks In

context: context: you get drunk one night, and you and Jude start arguing

2nd person POV

Getting drunk was a rare occurrence for you. One, you didn't drink very often, you had too much to worry about. Two, you had a very high alcohol tolerance. Five shots didn't phase you in the slightest. 

However, on the rare occasions in which you did get drunk, it was bad.

You never intended to get as drunk as you did. By the time you left the house, you and your boyfriend Jude had gotten into a bit of a squabble. You had intentions of going out with your somewhat large group of friends, consisting of both males and females. That wasn't what Jude was worried about.

There was a certain someone in the group, Lewis, an acquaintance of yours that Jude didn't like.

"He's so clearly into you Y/N!" Jude had said before you left the house.

"Don't be ridiculous Jude, I hardly talk to him." You scoffed.

It was true. Out of all the people in your group, Lewis was the one you spoke to the least. You guys had gone to the same secondary school, but you barely knew each other. Let alone, be familiar enough with each other that he'd actually like you. 

"I'm telling you Y/N, just watch!" Jude warned you.

"If you're so concerned just come Jude!" You shouted back at him.

Jude sighed, "You know exactly why I can't! The club would kill me."

You rolled your eyes. The man cared more about his club than you. Maybe you were over exaggerating a bit, but you didn't care.

***

The lot of you were at Suhana's place, dancing and drinking. It wasn't a party exactly, but a gathering of "close friends". 

You were dancing with your two best friends, Tilly and Elijah. From any onlooker, it was more like bouncing around wildly. You were tipsy at this point, and that's where you'd stand. Elijah and Tilly left to grab more snacks from the kitchen while you continued bouncing around in your spot. You were very much an ambivert. Introverted to most but really quite social and extroverted with your friends.

You were enjoying just hopping around to the beat of the music when you felt someone's hands on both of your hips. You immediately turned and smacked both hands off.

You looked around to see if anyone had seen, you could only see someone having fallen asleep on the couch. Everyone else had been in the kitchen eating. 

"What is wrong with you!" You hissed, stepping very far away from him. 

Lewis shot you a lazy smirk. A disgusting one at that. 

"Aw come on, Bellingham's not even here." He slurred, you could smell the alcohol in his breath.

He stepped closer to you, trying to touch your face and kiss you.

This time, you slapped him hard, and shoved him before shrieking.

"I hope you never see the light of day!" You spit, before the rest of your friends came running.

"What's happened?" Tilly frantically questioned.

"She slapped me!" Lewis defended himself, pointing fingers at you.

"He touched me and tried to kiss me!" You shouted in defense of yourself.

Lewis just smiled lazily again. Tilly, Suhana, and the others bolted in Lewis's direction to physically assault him. Elijah stopped them from getting too chaotic and kicked Lewis out. Everyone else then turned to you, who was leaning against the wall with your arms crossed in front of your chest. You were staring down at the ground, tears slowly escaping your eyes.

Jude was right. He was 100% right. And you had just ignored him and scoffed due to a silly little fight.

"You okay love?" Tilly asked, putting an arm around you.

You wiped your tears off before nodding.

"You want me to take you and Tilly home?" Elijah offered.

You shook your head.

"I just want a drink. Something strong." You requested, this was a mistake on your part.

The reason many people thought you had such good alcohol tolerance was because you stayed away from the strong stuff. Realistically, you were a lightweight.

"I have tequila." Suhana offered.

You nodded, following her for the glass.

***

Two hours later and many missed calls from Jude. Elijah and Tilly were walking you home, you were drunk out of your mind. They'd never seen you in such a state.

"This must've been her first time drinking tequila." Tilly whispered to Elijah as they helped you up to your flat.

"I always thought Y/N had a high tolerance." Elijah responded.

"Stop acting like I'm not here! I do have a high tolerance, I'm not a lightweight!" You protested.

"Calm down Y/N. It's been a long night. You just need some sleep." Tilly tried to soothe you.

The three of you stopped abruptly once you got to your flat door. Your friends turned to you for keys. You somehow managed to grab them out of your bag and began fumbling with them. Before you could even get it into the lock, the door swung open. There was Jude, stationed by the door with a relieved look on his face.

As it turned out, when you hadn't picked up your phone, he called the others and finally got a response from Suhana who said you were on your way home. Normally, he would've been asleep two hours earlier, but he stayed up, waiting for you to come home.

You walked in, avoiding eye contact, heading straight for the couch while Jude said his hellos and goodbyes to Elijah and Tilly.

"What the hell? You didn't pick up your phone! Do you know how worried I was! What the fuck is with you!" Jude gritted through his teeth.

All you wanted to do was run to him and cry in his arms about your crappy night, but you were too stubborn for that.

"I'm sorry! It was a long night, I must've forgotten or something!" You mumbled.

Jude's face began to soften as he heard the tremble in your voice. 

But then he smelled the alcohol on your breath, that was enough to forget about the softness in your voice.

"Are you fucking kidding me. You're bloody drunk. That's why you did not pick up your phone." Jude shouted.

This was where you drew the line.

"I'm not drunk so shut the fuck up. I honestly can't with you! Stop acting like you own me!" You yelled at him, slamming the door as you made your way into the bathroom which was connected to yours and Jude's room.

You looked in the mirror and sighed at the reflection. You didn't wear makeup so it wasn't a terrible sight to behold. But, there was mascara running down your face. Your hair looked a little crazy, and you looked like a shell of your usual self.

Note to self, stay away from hard alcohol.

You pealed your clothes off, and got into the shower. Letting the hot water consume all of the negative thoughts. Once you were finished, you came out a new person, like your normal self. You wrapped your wet hair in a towel and left the bathroom to see Jude still up, scrolling on his phone.

He would never go to sleep without knowing you were safe.

You climbed in bed next to him, scooting close to him to hug him from his sides.

"I'm sorry." You said, burying your head in his neck.

He moved closer to you and kissed your forehead.

"I love you." He mumbled to you.

That brought a smile to your face, "I love you too, so much."

Jude grinned at you, coyly.

"So. What did happen?" Jude asked you with concern on his face.

You sighed, "You can't say I told you so." 

Jude's smile immediately darkened. His face grew very easy.

"It was that son of a bitch wasn't it? I swear to god, I'll show him. The nerve he has, trying something on my girlfriend." Jude began muttering under his breath.

He sprang out of bed, getting a winter coat and shoes on. It was very clearly he was about to hunt Lewis down and very likely punch him senselessly.

Before he could get himself arrested, you grabbed Jude, slowly beckoning him to come back to bed. 

"Please." You begged him, looking up at him with big emotional eyes.

Who was Jude to say no to that?

Jude sighed in defeat as a smile found its way on your face. You both went back to bed, you snuggled into his side, him with his arm wrapped around your body. 

"We'll both go beat him up tomorrow, when we're well rested and have stronger punches." You smirked at Jude.

"That's my girl." Jude grinned before kissing you again.

it feels nice to be writing again

#jude bellingham #jude bellingham imagine #jude Bellingham imagines #jude bellingham x reader #footballers #football #soccer #football imagines #world cup 2022 #world cup #bellingham #imagines #jude bellingham blurb #marcus rashford #bvb #england nt #yn #borussia dortmund

[beespaceprogram]

Sticker Cutter Research

I was looking into getting a sticker cutting machine, and I decided to start by looking into cricut which is a well known brand. I had a look at what models they had than their feature etc, but what I was most concerned about was their software. Printer companies like to lock you into a defacto subscription to support hardware you don't really own, and as I was to discover, cricut are operating in a similar way.

The cricut software is online-only*. To cut your own designs you need to use their software to upload your art to their server. There's no way to cut a new design without a logged-in cricut account and an internet connection. At one point in 2021 they flirted with limiting free accounts to 20 uploads/month but backed down after huge community backlash, as far as I can tell.

The incident spawned several community efforts to write open-source firmware for cricut hardware. Some efforts were successful for specific models/serial numbers, but require cracking open the case and hooking in to the debug contacts to flash the chip; not exactly widely accessible. Another project sought to create a python cricut server you can run locally, and then divert the app's calls to the server to your local one.

I restarted my search, this time beginning with looking for extant open-source software for driving cutters, and found this project, which looks a little awkward to use, but functional. They list a bunch of cutter hardwares and whether they're compatible or not. Of those, I recognised the sihouette brand name from other artists talking about them.

I downloaded the silhouette software to try like I did w the cricut software, and immediately it was notable that it didn't try to connect to the internet at all. It's a bit clunky, in that way printer and scanner software tends to be, but I honestly greatly preferred using it to cricut's sluggish electron app⁺. Their software has a few paid tiers above the free one, adding stuff like sgv import/export/and reading cut settings from a barcode on the input material. They're one-off payments, and seem reasonable to me.

This is not so much a review, as sharing some of the research I've done. I haven't yet used either a cricut or a silhouette, and I haven't researched other brands either. But I wanted to talk about this research because to me, cricut's aggressively online nature is a red flag. Software that must connect to a server to run is software that runs only at the whim of the server owner (and only as long as it's profitable to keep the server up). And if that software is the only thing that will make your several hundred dollars worth of plastic and (cheap, according to a teardown I read) servos run, then you have no guarantee you'll be able to run it in the future.

Do you use a desktop cnc cutter? What has your experience been like with the hardware and software? Do you have any experience from home printers with good print quality and user-refillable ink cartridges?

* Cricut's app tried to connect to more than 14 different addresses, including facebook, youtube, google analytics, datadoghq.com, and launchdarkly.com. Launch Darkly are a service provider that help software companies do a whole bunch of things I'm coming to despise, for example, they offer infrastructure for serving different features to different demographics and comparing results to control groups. You know how at various times you've gotten wildly different numbers of ads than your friends on instagram? They were using techniques like this to work out how many ads they could show without affecting their pickup/engagement rates. Scummy stuff.

⁺ Electron apps are web-pages pretending to be applications. They use heaps of ram, tend to have very poor performance, and encourage frustrating UI design that doesn't follow OS conventions. Discord's app is a notable example of an Electron app

#bee talks #sticker cutting #cricut #silhouette #research #garbage software

[bonefall]

This is kinda a funny comment but @ Brambleclaw telling Hollypaw how smart she is, i remember reading an article about how corporate spies (YES THIS IS RELATED) got information. The article was mostly one person's retelling about how it was entirely though phone calls where they just ask for information, and whenever the person on the other side started questioning them for why they needed the information, they were told to switch to praising the person on the other side for sticking to the rules and 'authenticating/checking' everything. That they'd 'put in a good word for how dedicated they were', basically buttering them up and making them feel good about catching what they were doing specifically to nudge them away from actually catching on.

I find it WILDLY interesting how the Erins just ACCIDENTALLY put actual manipulation tactics in their books when trying to make a male figure seem like a good person, almost like they're writing from experience in some kind of elaborate essay to themselves about how that behavior is okay and justifiable. They write in another character, Crowfeather, who abuses in a different, more noticable way just to compare and go "At least it's not this bad!" (the scene where Crowfeather chews out Breezepaw and one of them goes 'id rather Brambleclaw any day of the week!'), and then have Ashfur butter up Brambleclaw so that him excusing Ashfur's abuse can be claimed as Ashfur manipulating him.

ANYWAYS a question so you can properly add to the ask: How DOES the Ashfur buttering up Brambleclaw thing go down? Does Ashfur even NEED to butter him up? I think it'd be a little interesting if Hollypaw telling Brambleclaw was the first time he's actually heard of it happening, but he either confronts Ashfur and THEN gets buttered up, or he heards, thinks about it, and goes "nah its good actually I'd do the same".

There's actually a name for the tactic Ashfur uses that you saw in that spy article. It's called Ingratiation.

It's the act of making someone have a higher opinion of you, therefore putting more trust in you, by simply getting them to like you. Flattery, posing yourself as an in-group, and even using humor can all be part of ingratiation.

Now-- Ingratiation isn't ALWAYS nefarious. It's normal to try and make a good impression, or want to be liked by a possible friend or coworker. We try to influence other people all the time, we're social animals. It's just good to know that it CAN be used maliciously.

So I'm not too surprised to see a manipulation tactic in the book. I was using "buttering up" exactly because most people know WHAT it is, and that it IS a way to get people to do stuff, but don't connect that to its academic name. Like you said though what's so BIZARRE about it is how they really DO sometimes seem to be writing this looooong essay to themselves about how that was all Fine, Actually.

ESPECIALLY the way Bramble and Crow were contrasted in the Dog Scolding Scene. I left most of Bramble out because I was trying to focus on proving that Breeze was abused, but Nonny... the way the Three get chewed the fuck out by Bramble, as he insults them, assures Crow he won't be stopping for their exhausted sakes, and doesn't indicate that his anger is coming from concern...

It massively reminded me of when one neglected kid sees another kid get abused too. "Oh, well, what I'm going through isn't so bad, because it's not like THAT."

THEYRE SO CLOSE. ALL THE TIME. Like an INCH away from the point and it's AGONIZING.

Anyway... in BB, Bramble's enabling of Lionpaw's abuse is a WATERSHED moment for a bunch of the character arcs, especially Hollypaw.

I plan to keep it very similar to canon actually, I think it's stainless steel the way it is.

Ashfur KNOWS what he is doing.

He wasn't rolling for a save. It was calculated. Brambleclaw is someone who could have stopped his abuse, so he sought him out.

Can you see how inescapable that makes it, for Holly and Lion?

Holly finally worked up the courage to say something and stand up for her brother, only for her father to coo like she's a kitten who doesn't understand the world.

Even Lionpaw's father believes it's good and right to BLEED for your Clan. That this is normal... that this is even what love can look like.

BB!Lionblaze is the adopted father of his bio-nespring, Ivypool and Dovewing. What he internalizes here as a child is going to hurt BOTH of his daughters down the road, as he shoves them into the Dark Forest and a Prophecy, respectively.

Even after Brambleclaw disowns him and Lionblaze rejects him in response, adamantly saying he has ONLY a mother, he won't reject this lesson until it's TOO LATE.

And Hollypaw is so damaged by this scene that it's going to be the first domino towards her murderous break in Cruel Season.

"I need you to keep your brothers in line, Hollypaw" is soup stock, and then add obsession with the Code, constant betrayal from the relationships she forges in other Clans, her near-murder at the claws of Ashfur when he finds out the Power of Three + Fire and Tiger prophecies, and the murder of her mentor and grandfather.

And then she finds out her HalfClan brother, a Cleric, angel-punching blasphemous wretch he is, has gotten Poppyfrost pregnant. Just like Leafpool before him.

What else IS "keeping them in line" supposed to be, when he's gone this far? He's had enough chances. She will do what she's meant for. Jayfeather must DIE.

Bramblestar himself is notorious in BB for being incredibly controversial as a leader, taking power in Cruel Season just after Firestar is killed by the Dark Forest assassins.

This is part of his personality. He is easily blinded by his own feelings, and it makes him a good target for manipulation.

His first deputy, Thornclaw, exploits many of the same weaknesses Ashfur did. All part of the Dark Forest's plan.

And even Ashfur. Up in StarClan, he continues to plot, eventually leading to the events of TBC and his time as the Impostor.

#better bones au #BB!Po3 #So a LOT comes out of this moment. A LOT.

[come-rain-come-shine]

As I was watching "Day of Death" a couple of weeks ago (as one does), I paused on this whiteboard to see what it said, and something stuck out to me.

On this whiteboard detailing the events of the night that Lucy was abducted, someone wrote this:

The board says:

hates cats (won't tell anyone)

sucks on lemons

This seems to be personal facts about Lucy that have been included with facts about the case. It's possible these points are about Caleb — maybe things that Lucy relayed to Tim while she was looking Caleb up on social media — but since it's stated repeatedly in the episode that they have "squat" to go on about him, it's more likely that these points are about Lucy.

I have two theories for why these bizarre points are on this board: an in-universe explanation (grounded in the story and the characters), and an out-of-universe explanation (grounded in reasons related to the actual creation of the show).

In-universe: Tim and/or Jackson, desperate to contribute to the investigation, were yelling out whatever they could think of to help build the case.

Now, I can't guess why anyone could have seen these particular tidbits as possibly relevant. But since they all had so little to go on, it would seem that they were throwing absolutely anything at the wall to see what would stick.

This theory mostly stems from the way that Tim was regurgitating every little thing he knew about Caleb the moment he knew that Lucy was missing. His wild spouting of facts is rather out of character: Tim is usually in control, focused on the job. But when Lucy is missing, logic flies out the window for him.

He tells Grey about the video of Caleb playing with a puppy, why?? Because it's all the information he has to offer to the case. Even if it's not really pertinent, he says it, because he doesn't know what could help Lucy. Also, he's not fully in control of his actions, and he's possibly suffering from motormouth.

I include Jackson as a possible contributor because he is probably the person who is second-most concerned about Lucy, plus one of the people who knows her best, and he has a history of babbling when stressed (I'm thinking of season 1, episode 13, "Caught Stealing," when he tells the Internal Affairs investigator about the gifted creme brulee completely unprompted lol). But in my Chenford shipper heart, I want to say Tim was the one to make these less than helpful contributions.

I can picture Armstrong writing out all this information about Lucy's whereabouts the night of her abduction, stating facts that they know, and Tim and/or Jackson blurting out personal details that might (somehow) give them a clue about where Lucy is now. Maybe Armstrong writes out the addresses of where she was on December 8th, then the stuff about other victims, and then he says, "What else do we know?" and then Tim and/or Jackson start wildly interjecting. They know literally nothing else that is relevant, so all they can say is random trivia about Lucy. And Armstrong, who can see that emotions are very high right now, writes it down to placate them? Or because he's like, "Irrelevant information is better than no information"? (I'm not sure how a detective would think in this scenario.)

Out-of-universe: Some of the set decorators or other crew were messing around, writing down whatever on the boards, and someone forgot to erase this. 😆

I like the in-universe explanation better, since the writing is rather large and this behaviour by Tim and/or Jackson would be consistent with what we see earlier in the episode.

#the rookie #analysis #season 2 #day of death #lucy chen #tim bradford #chenford #my posts #2x11

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Holy crap I’m loving your writing! Im especially obsessed with Ken and the ranch owner

I’m wondering if you’d be willing to do an fem human reader x Ken where the reader gets a bit sick, nothing too serious but Ken absolutely freaks out and thinks the reader is dying or sum (he learned about death from Stero Barbie. Also spiders. He’s terrified of both) and the reader thinks it’s a bit funny so she’s like “yeah I’m dying” but then he gives her the most terrified and sad kicked puppy look and she has to explain that it’s just a cold lol

Awh thank you!! Im glad that ppl still love my barbie movie stuff even though barbie summer has come and gone 💔

........

There were only two things that Ken feared after beginning his new life in the Real World:

One is the mortality of humans, as Barbie told him all about how fragile their lives were and the two paths they were given: either growing old and dying peacefully in their beds, or some terrible occurrence cutting it short long before their time on this earth was up.

The second was spiders.

He especially hated the spiders.

You only recently discovered he had that fear after finding one of those 8-legged critters in your house--or more specifically in his room, where he came barreling out from as though he accidentally set something on fire.

At first, you thought he really did start a fire until he dragged you back into there, begging you to get rid of the "strange beast".

You had no clue what he could possibly be referring to....and then he pointed to the corner, where a little cellar spider sat completely unbothered, weaving its web.

In that moment, you realized you may have turned him arachnophobic, considering you did show him one insect-themed horror movie this past Halloween. He kept freaking out over it potentially growing horse-sized or injecting venom into his bloodstream when he was asleep.

But despite you assuring him neither of those things could happen (and insisting that the spider was more afraid of him), Ken refused to go into the room until it was gone.

You find it hard to fathom that this same doll who led an entire revolt, came to terms with his own identity crisis, and bravely made the transition to humanity....was totally inconsolable in the presence of a tiny bug.

Then again, maybe showing him that movie--and allowing Barbie to explain why arachnophobia was among the top fears humans had--was a huge mistake.

Regardless, you made it your mission to get rid of the critter.

Oddly enough Ken insisted that you didn't actually kill it, but you found you it sweet that he valued its life despite it scaring the shit out of him. So you contained it in a cup, putting a napkin underneath it before releasing it outside.

After that, you mentioned how most people usually killed spiders and other pests that invaded their home.

He looked wildly uncomfortable at that fact, before he began talking about some rather... concerning things: like if the spider knew how short its lifespan was, how easily it could have been crushed, if it feared death or if it was even aware of it at all-

Before he could derail and start rambling about death itself too much, you stopped him, asking if he was feeling alright.

And he went quiet for a moment, before smiling and giving you a kiss, reassuring you he felt better.

Yet even as he left the room, he still appeared awful tense.

It was that day where you worried that it's more than just spiders he feared..

.......

"Babe, what's wrong? Are you sick??"

"...unfortunately, but it's nothing serious. Just a stupid cold I caught at work." Sighing tiredly, you sat up in bed, seeing Ken walk into the room.

He looked nothing short of horrified at how drained and exhausted you sounded this morning. "A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I don't want you to catch anything, so I'm sorry...but no kisses today."

"Then..what about tomorrow?"

You just rolled your eyes, drinking some tea you made for yourself. "Maybe, but we'll see if I wake up."

Although it was meant to be a little joke, your foggy brain forgot how seriously the blond often took jokes, and he rushed to your bedside, kneeling down.

His eyes were wide as he took your hand. "If you wake up??? Are you dying??"

Putting down your mug, you sighed once more, trying to figure out a way to remedy this situation before you upset him too much. "No....I mean I just feel like I'm dying, but.." You paused, noticing the tears coming to his eyes. "Ken?"

Now that he was a lot closer, you could see the utterly terrified look on his face--as though you kicked a puppy right in front of him.

Yep, it was already much too late. He was upset.

"I-I know tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone, but you have to get through this, [y/n]! Please..I can't lose you, too...not when you've done so much to help me." He was extremely close to crying, his lips trembling.

Your heart sunk as you placed a hand ober his own. "Oh honey, I was only kidding around when I say-"

"Why do humans joke about death so much? Don't they know y-you...you can't come back? That they have such short lives?? O-Or sure, some believe you can be reincarnated but that doesn't make it any-"

At this point, he was just blubbering nonsense, so you took him into your arms. And for a moment he fell silent, before burying his face into your chest, trying to calm himself down. "I-I'm sorry.."

"No, no..I'm sorry. You're right..I shouldn't be joking about death around you." Frowning slightly, you stroked his hair. "I promise I'm not dying. Not today, or tomorrow..not for a long, long time. This cold will pass and I'll feel better soon enough."

".....a-are these the irrepressible thoughts of death Barbie had?"

'Oh.'

It finally hit you.

He was going through the same thing she once did.

"Ken.." You had him sit up so you could see his face. Aside from it being a little red and his eyes puffy and watery, there were tear marks trailing down to the stubble that had formed along his jaw and chin. "Why didn't you tell me you were having those thoughts?"

Sniffling, he just shrugged. "I don't know. And... I don't know why I'm thinking them. Barbie could blame it on somebody who was playing with her, but...I can't. Because I'm not a doll anymore, I'm human....a-and...those were my thoughts alone." He shuddered, terrified at that realization. "I guess I just..didn't wanna scare you, b-but obviously it's too late for that..."

A small chuckle came from him, although it dissolved into a small sob as he wiped his eyes. "S-Sorry, I....I want these thoughts to just pass already."

"And they will." You nodded, squeezing his free hand reassuringly. "It looks like you're just experiencing them for the first time, and that's okay. They won't be all you think about. And you don't have to apologize for how you're feeling, as long as you're honest with me."

"Th-Thank you.." He sniffled. "I should be taking care of you, not the other way around. Do you need you anything? More tea? Meds? Anything at all?"

You smiled fondly, leaning forward to kiss him on the forehead. "You're all I need right now, sweetheart."

That response seemed to bring Ken's giddy old self back, as he smiled bashfully in return. He melted back into your arms when you wrapped them around him, and he listened to your heartbeat: the only assurance he needed that you were still living.

Eventually...those thoughts of death did pass him by, and he felt okay again.

#clanask #anonymous #barbie x reader #barbie movie x reader #barbie ken x reader #ken x reader #ryan gosling ken #ryan gosling ken x reader #sick reader #hurt/comfort #tw arachnophobia #tw death #female reader

[ewingstan]

We sort of touched on it in a prior post, but you’ve gotten a fair few details on how Mark and Carol raised Victoria by this point.

From what details you recall, how does her handling/raising of Kenzie fall into compare and contrast with those details?

Wooh. Hm. Well, I think she has Kenzie's ultimate wellbeing in mind more than Carol probably did while raising her and Amy. At the same time, when Victoria's first reaction to Kenzie getting publicly pilloried was "lets get you in front of cameras to argue your case, and also while we're at it lets keep our cape-network plan from falling through by jumping on the public-Scion-reveal grenade" I thought well. Yeah that's something Carol's daughter would think to do huh.

Its a dangerous relationship they're in. Victoria legitimately wants to keep Kenzie safe and stop her from overworking herself. She also really wants this cape group thing to work. She'd probably not consciously let the latter get in the way of the former, but she will let Kenzie fight as a hero if it seems like that's what Kenzie wants. The problem, of course, is that Kenzie wants what Victoria wants. Kenzie will act in whatever way will make the people around her happy, and so if she thinks Victoria wants her to be a hero (which you don't exactly need to be an observation tinker to notice), she's gonna make being a hero her whole thing. Not to mention that Kenzie also knows Ashley wants her to be an active cape, Sveta enjoys being on a hero team, etc....

I'll also say that the way Victoria's treating Chris.... kind of reminds me of how Carol treated Amy growing up? Victoria sees him as her responsibility: he's a member of the group Dr. Yamada asked her to shepherd, and he's a kid, and now that Dr. Yamada's gone that responsibility is even greater. Victoria is burdened with Chris in the same way Marquis burdens Carol with Amy; sure, Victoria does it a lot more voluntarily.... but she's also doing it more because she agreed to care for "the group," not for Chris. Chris is a responsibility that came packaged with what she wanted to do. And while the care she has for Kenzie seems to come from a place of genuine concern and affection, her keeping tabs on Chris feels strictly procedural. She's responsible for him, she'll keep tabs on him, nothing more to it. There's a lot of resentment and some frustration that boils into how Victoria treats Chris as a result. Insert your arrested development "I don't care for Chris" image here.

Hell, despite otherwise having pretty wildly different viewpoints when interacting with people, Victoria ends up resembling Taylor a lot in how she thinks about Chris, because it matches up so well with how Taylor thought about Regent. Its another case of "That guy I'm not as close to as the others, the dangerous one, the one whose probably a sociopath waiting to be let loose." I remember thinking that Chris seemed like "the Regent of the group" in my early reading, but they're really not so alike personality-wise, or even in terms of their place in the team dynamic; they're just positioned the same way in the mind of each text's narrator.

I read Taylor's reaction to Alec as one part fear-response to people who seem to delight in other's pain for no obvious reason, and one part a reaction to all the stuff she doesn't like about herself projected onto some twink in leggings. Her fixation on the idea that Regent must just like hurting people, that its just the kind of person he is, comes from the same scared confusion about why her best friend and the whole of the school started torturing her for no apparent reason. Its a reaction from a person who still categorizes everyone as bullies or victims, and is distressed about whether there's more to that and where she is on the spectrum. In her mind, he's a kinda evil dude that likes to hurt people because hes a bully and that's what bullies are, but actually maybe he's fine to hang around with? Which is getting churned in her head alongside her pledging to protect people by becoming a horrifying warlord and making long arguments to Pariah and Flechette about how villains can be helpful and heroes can be bullies. Taylor's relationship to Alec and her distance from him is symptomatic of her evolving views about who people can be, what power can be used for, and why people act the way they do.

Of course, Taylor conversely forms one of her strongest emotional bonds with someone who reminds her of her bullies even more than Alec does. But I think this makes sense for the same reason Chris and Kenzie could both remind Victoria of Amy but inspire such differing treatment. Bitch's first encounter with Taylor was a seemingly random attack that Taylor directly compares to the trio's assaults: she instinctively looks for a reason to hold back like she did for them, and then finds freedom in not having one. But while Rachel at first seems to directly fit the "bullies because she's a bully" model, Taylor learns pretty early on that Rachel has perfectly understandable reasons for her behavior, and that she can be predicted and made into a close ally if she just pays attention and puts in the work. Taylor's relationship with Alec is her sticking to the idea that the world is bullies and victims, and you have to find your place in it without understanding it because there's nothing more to understand. Taylor's relationship with Rachel, meanwhile, is her finding out the world isn't just bullies doing bad things because they're bad people. Rachel is the possibility of understanding the world, bringing it to heel, learning to love it and make it love you.

Similarly, Victoria's relationship with Chris is a reflection of everything she internalized from the Wretchening, while her relationship with Kenzie is her reacting against those internalized lessons towards something more hopeful. Chris is a medical freak who becomes a horrible misshapen monster on a regular basis and who suffers horribly for it, yet keeps choosing to do so. He's wretchening himself at the slightest provocation—he's impatient to wretchen himself! Add to that how his emotions rule him to the degree that they physically transform him, and that he shows absolutely no desire to reign them in, and its pretty clear why Victoria is often so negative to him. He's a powderkeg waiting to go off in a horrible way like his sister was, filled with strange and offputting desires turned into strange and offputting flesh, and unlike Amy he doesn't even have the decency to shamefully repress it. Chris is Amy as the deviant who qua deviancy will inevitably be a danger to everyone around him. Kenzie, meanwhile, is Amy as the sister who gave too much of herself. Victoria's shown at times that she hasn't forgotten how she loved Amy as a sister, how she wasn't inherently evil. She spoke with regret about not listening to Amy when she begged Victoria not to hug her. And she's pretty much said in-text "I don't want Kenzie, who I love as I once loved my sister, to exhaust herself to the point that she becomes lost in the way my sister did." Victoria looks at Chris and is reminded of all her fears of what strange and dangerous people will do, of her belief that bad people do bad things because their bad people. Victoria looks at Kenzie and remembers that's not true, and that she can do something about it.

#parahumans #chris elman #alec vasil #kenzie martin #rachel lindt #taylor hebert #victoria dallon #wildbow #leo reads ward #leo says #victoriadallonfan #man this got way longer than I expected and I didn't even really talk about the carol relationship that much #it just became yet another leo-goes-on-about-chris #plus another 'this too is wolfspider'

[xetswan]

Unknown- Graduates

(Alice x Reader x Jasper)

[four] [five] [six]

I stood beside Jasper and Carlisle watching the news. Jasper's hand was on my side keeping me close to him.

"Police are baffled by the escalating murders and disappearances." The female reporter says to the camera. I leaned in closer to my boyfriend who was extremely concerned with what's going on. I knew why so I tried to comfort him in a subtle way. "Theories range from a vicious new gang to a wildly active serial killer. Reporting live, Dawn Chubai, CNN." She ends the report.

"It's getting worse. We're going to have to do something." Carlisle speaks after turning the tv off, facing the others.

"It takes more than one of our kind to cause the damage they're reporting. Quite a few more. They're undisciplined, conspicuous..." Jasper sighs, gripping me tired. I know he's thinking back to Maria.

"Newborns." Edward says aloud earning my sister's attention. "What, like new vampires?" She questions.

"In their first few months after the change." He says. "That's when we're at our most uncontrollable, vicious, insane with thirst." Jasper explains why it's so worrying. "Something to look forward to." Emmett picks at Bella.

"No one has trained these newborns, but this isn't random." My lover continues. "Someone's creating an army." Carlisle adds in, Jasper nods his head. Emmett smirks at this, getting excited. "Oh, now we're definitely going to Seattle." He says.

"An army of vampires?" Bella asks. "And they've been created to fight someone." Jasper sighs out.

"We're the only clan even close to Seattle." Edward points out to everyone. "Regardless of who they were. If we don't put a stop to them, the Volturi will. I'm surprised they've let it go on this long." Carlisle irritably tells us.

"Maybe they're behind it. In Italy. I read Aro's mind. He wants me and Alice to join him... Our gifts would shore up his power. Even [Name] would be a plus for him." Edward looks at me and I tense up, I feel Jasper try to calm my emotions. Greatly appreciated as I don't want to think about Aro and the rest of the Volturi I know would kill me if they had the chance.

"He knows we'd never choose him as long as our family is alive. An army could solve that for him."

I look over to my older sister who speaks up, "We can't wait two weeks for graduation; you need to change me now-"

"You'd be a liability as a newborn. Unable to control your instincts. An easy target." Jasper disagrees with Bella. "[Name] didn't go through that, though. What if I'm like her since I'm her sister." She points out but then Carlisle steps in and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"[Name] had the hybrid blood in her veins. She progressed so fast we knew she was different after the first three days. We don't know that for sure with you. Plus there's also your father to consider. And your mother. How terrible would it be for them if you suddenly disappeared?" He questions her, she knows she can't argue this, this time. Her shoulders slump in defeat.

"Hey did you eat dinner yet?" Bella asks Charlie, we walk into the kitchen after putting our stuff down at the table where he was reading a flier for a missing boy. "Um... no, I haven't." He answers. I watch Bella look over his shoulder, seeing the flier.

"This kid Riley Biers disappeared over a year ago and his poor parents have been papering Seattle with these things ever since." He expresses in a rough tone.

"You think they should just give up?" Bella looks at him, he glances between the both of us. "I wouldn't If it were either of you two. Not ever." He pulls us into a hug. After a small beat of silence he releases us. Taking a breath to cover up the fact that he was getting emotional over a case.

"So, one large, extra cheese?" He asks us, switching the subject. "And cheese bread. I know [Name]." He says before I even speak. I nod my head dramatically, kissing his cheek before I walk away, yelling a small thank you.

The next few days I've been getting ready for graduation. Actually doing my work.

Everything that happened this year the teachers were super lenient with me thinking I got major surgery.

I'm grateful for it. I know that technically I don't have to be worrying about this. I'm immortal. I'll be able to go to high school again and it will get easier and easier but this was my life at one point.

The only thing I'm sad about is the fact I had to give up my sports. I sigh, leaning back on my bed and closing my eyes after studying this bull crap.

I feel two dips in my bed and I open one eye to see Alice and Jasper looking over my homework.

"Gosh, this stuff is easy." Jasper hums out, putting the book back down. I open both eyes this time to glare at him. "You have years of practice, I don't want to hear it." I fold my arms, he snickers. Alice moves the stuff out of the way and climbs into my arms.

"We could always help you, you know." She offers, forcing me to put my arms around her. Now playing with my hand. Jasper sits on the other side of me. "You could but that feels like cheating." I lay my head on Jasper's shoulder.

"It would be but you'd also pass your tests faster." She sings quietly. I smile down at her, shaking my head.

"Not happening." I kiss the top of her head.

"Bella also told me that you two invited the wolves to the party." I bring up suddenly, she makes a noise I've never heard before and she shoots up from my arms.

"She begged me to do that. It was practically against my will." She rants, clearly upset by the decision she had to make to make my sister and her brother happy.

"I mean are they really that bad? The wolves?" I look at her, sort of looking back to Jasper. I knew he could tell what I was feeling. "What do you mean?" She tilts her head.

"I am a part of them, I can turn into one. I'm just worried that one day I'll change my mind and want to try out my wolf form and then you guys won't be happy with it. Or I don't know, it's childish but leave me I guess." I overly explain, feeling stupid once it comes out of my mouth. I avoid eye contact with Alice now.

Mentally cursing at myself.

"We'd still love you, [Name]. We love that you promised us to not turn but we'd never truly want to hold you back from what you wanted to do with your abilities and self-being." Alice grins at me, almost laughing, probably at how silly and stupid I sounded.

"Exactly, we've made some mistakes in the past with choosing things for you but we know that being a hybrid is something you didn't choose. Even being a vampire wasn't your choice." Jasper chimes in, pulling me into an embrace, forcing me into a lazy kiss. Alice then grabs my face and kisses me as well.

We weren't going to do anything else. My dad was in the other room. That also wasn't the only thing that stopped us. The three of us heard Jacob's truck pull up and one of the doors slam. Edward also pulled up.

We looked at each other. "Stay here." I tell them, rushing out of my room and outside.

"Not here, Edward. Please." Bella pleads with the vampire. "If you ever touch her against her will again." He points in Jacob's face but my sister is blocking him.

My eyebrows furrow hearing this. "Don't do this." Bella begs.

"She's not sure what she wants." Jacob stands straighter.

"Well, let me give you a clue. Wait for her to say the words." Edward holds onto Bella.

"Fine. And she will." Jacob glares at him. "Jacob. Just go, okay?" My sister tells the wolf. I get closer, they obviously don't know I was there, or they did and just didn't care. The two are practically facing off with one another.

The front door opens and Charlie gets down the steps. "Hey, hey, hey, hey... Easy guys. Let's take it down a notch. Alright? What's going on?" My dad questions the scene in front of him.

"I kissed Bella. And she broke her hand... Punching my face." Jacob explains. My eyes widen and I move without even realizing it.

Punching him in the jaw myself. Everyone gasps around me. Jacob actually holds his face as I look at him in disgust.

"The audacity you fucking have is astounding Jacob. " I shove him back to his truck. Not enough to show off a supernatural strength but the anger I feel of him just doing that to Bella without her consent sickens me.

After he leaves I turn back to the house. Bella was hiding her face into Edwards chest who was trying not to laugh. My dad looked shocked.

I sigh, shrugging my shoulders. "Carlisle should check that out, Bella." I point to her, Edward nods in agreement.

"Total misunderstanding, it's just a sprain. Should heal fairly quickly." The doctor of the family tells my sister. "Trying to walk and chew gum at the same time again, Bella?" Emmett teases her since she's so clumsy and practically known for it by everybody now.

"I punched a werewolf in the face." She corrects him. "Bad ass... You're going to be one tough little newborn." He grins.

"Tough enough to take you on." Bella smirks, Emmett goes to laugh but Rosalie slaps down the newspaper she was holding and storms out. Scowling towards Bella.

"Don't worry about it." Emmett shrugs it off.

"Okay, any leads?" Edward questions, switching the attention to something more dire.

"No sign of the intruder. But Victoria continues to make appearances." Jasper says. "But it seems to be only when [Name] isn't with any of us." He adds.

"She's toying with us. Keeping us distracted." Carlisle tells us.

"From Seattle?" Emmett tilts his head. "The intruder or something else." I speak up. "Alice can keep tracking her decisions but we have to track her on the ground." Edward says.

"We're having Alice watch a lot, I think I should take over some." I tell them. Jasper rubs my side as they look at me.

"I mean it has to be a lot for her. She hasn't said anything but Jesus, Aro, Charlie, Bella, and Victoria is a lot of information to cover and watch." I stand up for my girlfriend.

"Taking her energy is better?" Edward asks me. "I don't have to take her energy to take over her power." I cross my arms.

"[Name] your power lasts ten minutes, how would you be able to watch anyone?" Carlisle quizzes, not in a condescending way but genuinely just wanting to know.

I pause, glancing over at Jasper who nods his head for me to continue. "I've been practicing, Jasper has been helping me because I've spoken to him about it. I can do it for days now. And now I can basically copy your power without fully taking it. It's a lot but I can do it." I explain, begging for them to see my point in taking over for Alice.

At least taking over to watch over Charlie and Aro. Edward and Carlisle look at each other. "You need to make sure Alice is okay with it. You're also right, we didn't realize how much we put on her to watch." The father figure of the Cullen's tells me with a weak smile.

I let out a satisfied breath, squeezing onto Jasper without even realizing it.

"What ground have we covered?" Edward changes the subject once again.

"We've already covered the entire southern peninsula down to Quinault." Jasper answers.

"We'll search the northwestern trail." Edward says to Carlisle and Emmett. I didn't even notice that my sister left the room and was talking to Rosalie.

I looked out on the deck. I heard bits of their conversation so I tried to focus elsewhere. Already knowing Rosalie's tragic background I didn't want to eavesdrop on it.

Jasper kisses my jaw, I turn to him and he smiles. His dimple formed causing me to melt. It was one of my favorite features of his. We sat there in silence after everyone had left the living room. It was comfortable, finally having a moment away from all the hectic stuff.

Knowing it wasn't going to last much longer.

"When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up..." Jessica talks to the students of Forks high school, plus the teachers and families that joined.

"Our answers were things like astronaut, president, or in my case, princess." She smiles from her own words. I lean onto my older sister listening to Jessica's speech,

"When we were ten, they asked again and we answered rock star, cowboy or in my case, gold medalist. But now that we've grown up, they want a serious answer. Well, how about this: who the hell knows?!" She giggles as people holler from the audience.

Bella's shoulders were tense, I took her hand in mine when I noticed and she gave me a small smile.

"This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions, it's the time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere chilly. Fall in love- a lot.Major in philosophy because there's no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind. Then change it again, because nothing is permanent..." Jessica continues to do her speech, the words hit in ways I know as a human would be special.

Goosebumps would've crawled all over my skin but knowing that in a few decades everyone around me will be gone as I stand here. Never growing old it just doesn't feel the same. Knowing that my sister beside me has the choice to stay human I just wish she would.

But I also know she wants to be with her love. I couldn't stop her from that.

"I'm so proud of you two girls, I can't wait to see what you both do next. You're my biggest accomplishments." He has us on either side, arm wrapped on each daughter.

"Dad, that's not true." Bella disagrees.

"Yeah, it is. And it's.. well you'll see when you have kids." He shrugs it off. I frown knowing that Bella nor I will be giving him grandchildren.

At the Cullen house I stand with Bella. Jasper, Carlisle Emmett and Edward are in a deep conversation about what's going on with Seattle. My sister begins to walk over there but Jessica and Angela swoop in and grab us. Taking us the opposite way.

"You both made it." Angela grins. "Well, I am the girlfriend of the girl who's hosting." I point out, Angela laughs nodding. "Right, sorry."

"Hey. What'd you think of my speech? Too easy-breezy, too self-helpful? You may admit it." Jessica questions mainly to Bella.

"No, you pretty much nailed it." My sister shakes her head. "Yeah? It's like I was born to lead, right?" Jessica grins, proud of herself.

"Oh, great. I love this song, let's go." Angela pulls us to the dance floor where Eric and Mike join us. They do a stupid robot dance battle as the girls laugh.

I just stay beside Angela, both of us jumping and doing basic moves. I noticed Bella leave when Jacob came into the house. I didn't have to look because his smell is so distinct.

I think Angela saw I was a little distracted so she grabbed my hands and had us face each other. Forcing me to follow her lead.

The lighting was a little darker now and it was as if all I could see was her. "You're a good dancer!" She says over the music.

"I'm barely trying, you're keeping me going!" I laugh. I quickly fixed the wife beater I was wearing.

Alice dressed me in a dressy suit earlier and the jacket was too tight since she got it fitted before I turned into a hybrid. I still wore the dress pants though.

"Nonsense! I feel like you're leading me!" She huffs out, I saw her eyes trail to my arms and I snicker to myself, reminding me of Alice.

"You give me too much credit." I shake my head, starting to feel sweat drip down my forehead.

Going into the next song, Jessica joins in causing Mike and Eric to do the same. Angela sticks beside me though. That was until I got dragged away abruptly.

"Oh!- I'll be back!" I say once I realize that it's Alice. "She might not." My girlfriend disagrees. I furrow my eyebrows now worried that something happened.

We go by the staircase, Jasper already standing there. "What's going on? Everything okay?" I worriedly asked. Jasper was laughing but Alice looked a little angry?

"Babe?" I look down at her, she now had her arms crossed in front of her. "Am I missing something? Did I do something?" I question, confused by why she would be mad. Jasper went to speak up but Alice groaned.

"Your little friend was all over you, [Name]. God how could you not see that?" She asks me in an irritated tone. I tilt my head. "I mean we were just dancing..." I fail to agree with her.

"Are you that oblivious?" She scrunches her face in disbelief. "Why are you jealous, my love?" I ask her, pulling her into my arms.

"I'm not jealous, she was just eyeing something that's mine." Alice avoids eye contact with me as I hold her hips. "Mhm, I didn't know I was property." I chuckle lowly.

I see Alice look over on the dance floor then grab my face and kiss me. It surprised me but I kissed her back. When she let me go I looked over to where she was and Angela quickly looked away.

I shake my head laughing. "I've never seen you jealous before." I try to calm my laughter. Jasper doing the same thing.

The only thing that did was when Alice grew frozen and was having  vision. I held onto her. I heard Bella behind me just as Alice came out of it.

"Alice, what did you see?" My sister asks.

"Okay, something is going on. Tell me." Jacob says. Bella got in between Alice and I. I stand beside Jasper.

Watching Jacob intently. I haven't seen him since I punched him in the jaw, something that already healed.

"I need to talk to Jasper and [Name]." She quietly says but then Jacob puts an arm against the wall, blocking her from getting to us.

"Why don't you talk to me?" The wolf angrily asks.

Both Jasper and I get in front of him.

"I suggest you remove your arm. Before I do." Jasper says, we glare at him. He makes the smart decision and backs away from our girlfriend.

"The decision's been made." Alice speaks.

"What's going on? You're not going to Seattle?" Bella quizzes.

"No, they're coming here." Alice looks up to Jasper and I.

Our faces drop.

Masterlist

A&J M.L

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#twilight #twilight x reader #alice cullen #bella swan #carlisle cullen #jacob black #jasper whitlock #jasper hale x reader #alice cullen x reader #esme cullen #twilight imagine #rosalie twilight #the twilight saga #twilight saga #jasper cullen x reader #jasper cullen #jasper hale #jasper #edward cullen #rosalie lillian hale #rosalie x emmett #carlisle x esme #embry call #billy black #sam uley #charlie swan #seth clearwater #rosalie cullen #leah clearwater #x reader

[eloquentornot]

"Hey, False!"

"Oh! Gem, hi!"

Just as Gem had hoped, False seemed startled by her sudden appearance by elytra, but recovered quickly! Gem giggled.

"Are you ready to teach me PvP?"

"Wait, what?"

"You know, like you promised me the other day?" Gem asked, slightly confused.

"Oh… oh, yeah, right!" False laughed nervously. "Sorry, my… memory… isn't always great. I remember now!"

"Oh… well, that's okay!" Gem tried not to let her disappointment show. "If you're not ready now, we can always-"

"Hey, now! I didn't say I wasn't ready for PvP. You know about me, right?" False smiled confidently, and Gem grinned in return.

"The Queen of Hearts, Heads and Body Parts! Oh, thank you so much! This is going to be so fun!! Don't go easy on me, okay?"

False brandished her sword, but then stopped to consider something.

"I mean… are you sure about that? You want to last long enough to learn something from it, right?"

"Well…" It was a good point. Gem couldn't hide behind the excuse of it being a lesson, for what she really wanted. "Okay, when we start doing proper lessons, go easy on me at first, but right now I just want to see what you can do!" She already knew what False could do, of course, but to see it up close, to be slain by the famous Falsesymmetry… "Come on, fight me! Let's go!" She swung her own sword enthusiastically, an attack that False easily dodged!

"If you say so…" False chuckled, and prepared to strike…

The battle was over even faster than Gem expected!

She lay on the path in spawn village, freshly respawned but head still spinning from adrenaline, grinning wildly as she tried to make sense of what she'd seen. One moment, False had been posed elegantly in front of her, the next…

She had so much to learn. This new life promised to be the most fun yet!

"I'm on Hermitcraft!!" she cheered!

"You sure are!" replied a familiar voice, as False landed somewhere in front of her. "Are you ready to start your PvP training today, like we said?"

Gem sat up, confused.

"False, you literally just killed me."

"Oh? Yeah… yeah! I have done that!" False answered awkwardly, and Gem was concerned for a moment. Was her memory really that bad?

But then Gem understood the joke.

"Oh, right! Killing me as a demonstration was so easy, you're ready to start actually training me right away? I'm up for it, sure!" She leapt to her feet, but then her vision blurred for just a moment. "Whoa, maybe gimmie a minute, though…" she giggled.

"Right, yes!" False replied. "You just wait right there, and I'll grab your stuff for you."

"Wait, you didn't bring my stuff with you just now?"

"No, I… left it in a chest! I didn't realise you'd respawn here. Sorry."

"Okay…" Gem was still a bit too dizzy to fully process what was going on, and then False was flying off, and then Gem sat down once more, this time against a wall, and took a deep breath. Within moments, she was totally fine. Nothing had even been wrong, just, new life, new body. She'd get used to pushing herself a bit more, soon enough.

After all, Gem was great, as the newly coined saying went…

*****

It was time to practice jump-crits, and Gem leapt high!

…And higher, and higher, and higher, screaming louder, until finally she landed with an unceremonious thud, all thoughts of the weapon in her hands now a distant memory.

"Whoa, are you okay?!" False crouched down beside her. "Hey, you haven't been taking Jump Boost potions, have you?" she joked, when she saw no sign of physical injury.

"That wasn't a potion effect!" Gem said in a panic, half forgotten Celestial instincts screaming, telling her exactly what had happened but not why… "It was like… gravity… changed?"

If False said anything in response to that, Gem didn't hear it. She almost left, then and there, but she knew that would only cause more panic for False. For all her friends, on Hermitcraft. She promised herself, there and then, that whatever happened next, even if things started to get serious, she wouldn't just abandon them.

*****

"Gem! Gem, where are you?! Gem!"

"False!!" she called in reply. The quakes were getting worse, blocks flying everywhere… Stress hadn't been seen in weeks…

But she still wasn't giving up on that promise!

"Oh, there you are!" False sighed in relief, as the two began running hand-in-hand away from the worst of the fractures in the land around them. "Listen, I was thinking, earlier, and…"

"We have to get back to the bunker! I think this one will pass soon!"

Gem hadn't been wrong, before, getting a sense of how the forces holding the world together were… interacting, with what was coming. The moon. It was clear now, what was going on. But still, the hermits held out hope. No-one wanted to leave, while there were still people missing.

"Gem, I… okay, I trust you."

Had False been about to say something else? It didn't matter.

"Wait…"

"What is it?" Gem asked, as the two of them suddenly stopped.

"I just realised… I guess it doesn't really matter now… but we would have been having our weekly sparring practice, around now…"

"Oh." She was right, Gem realised, and she disagreed. It did matter. It mattered a lot, actually, that things were getting bad enough that even the parts of the schedule the hermits actually managed to stick to consistently were coming undone. "Yeah. That's… I guess we'll have to do more work next week, then!" Assuming it all blows over by then. You just had to assume, right? After all, Hermitcraft didn't do unhappy endings. Did it?

"Right…"

Then, something happened.

The moonlight, already so much brighter than it ought to have been, seemed to brighten yet again, highlighting everything in blurry white, casting colour away as the two were swept upwards, now clutching both of each others' hands.

It was getting worse, worse, worse, this time they floated higher than ever before, but this time there was no screaming. Just this once, Gem allowed herself to feel some of the peace she so desperately needed, the celestial peace she could easily grasp in full if she just… let go.

But she held on. To this life, and to False, her dearest friend…

All around them, the roaring storm seemed to be pure silence, Gem's whisper carrying loud and clear:

"False… I promise, I will never leave you."

False's eyes widened, glimmering in the moonlight. The expression on her face suddenly seemed so familiar to Gem, from a distant childhood memory. It was a face she'd never seen since, until now. That intensity of emotion, which drew the great celestials towards humanity and other such creatures, the indescribable beauty that people could bring, even to tragedy…

Oh. From what she'd learned since she last saw it, that face wasn't a positive emotion. But before Gem could think on it any more, the moment ended, moonlight dimmed by a passing cloud, and the two of them gently lowered to the ground.

It was exactly as if a raging storm had passed, and neither of them spoke for a few moments.

Soon, they returned to the bunker, still hand-in-hand.

Days later, Gem wiped away a tear, as she stepped through the portal she had crafted.

*****

Things were a lot different, this season. Gem had started out a bit out of practice, and after a few more weeks, had approached False, both to apologise and to ask for more lessons. Thankfully, the feeling was mutual.

"Let's leave the past in the past, yeah?" False had said. "Things got weird last season… I'll be more than glad to teach you again, how's tomorrow?"

But the next day, things seemed… different. False apologised, again, and so did Gem, but then suddenly everything was fine, but then…

Gem wondered just how much of a memory problem False had. Her mood sometimes seemed to alternate each week, but Gem was too polite to point it out. She decided to think nothing of it.

Now, months later, Gem was almost winning more than False! Some weeks, False was going easy on her, full teacher mode, focused on technique and keeping things as even as she could. But other times, when she seemed more tired or stressed… Those times, Gem knew she was winning for real! It was fun to see False, the Falsesymmetry, actually struggle to keep up with her!

She was getting so good at PvP, starting to collect as many heads from the other hermits as she could, Geminislay!

But at some point, something changed. Gem didn't know what, only that it started when False missed one week. After that, she was always more reserved. She still seemed a bit stressed, sometimes, but kept the lessons even more professional than ever. She didn't even seem to respond to some of the in-jokes they'd made, during those more intense battles…

Was it just False's memory problem? Gem wondered if she'd done something wrong, but she didn't want to make things awkward by asking.

One day, she brought up the possibility of practicing less often, if False was getting too busy with her base or anything, and…

It almost hurt, how quickly False agreed.

Still, by this point, Gem was used to relationships coming and going. And with more free time on her hands… there was always that other world she had recently noticed, wasn't there?

*****

Gem sighed contentedly, gazing out across her little kingdom.

The Princess of Dawn. It was a nice title, if she did say so herself. She'd say she had big plans for this place, but really she was just going with the flow and creating whatever came to mind, in between how busy she was with everything else…

Compared to Hermitcraft, this place was somehow more peaceful and less so. Everyone was so much more dedicated to the roleplaying!

At least, that's what she told herself. If everyone here truly believed the stories they'd shared, at that campfire…

Well, one way or another, it was another world, wasn't it?

Suddenly, her daydreaming was interrupted, as she noticed the approach of a familiar face! One she hadn't had a chance to speak to one-on-one, yet.

"Falsesymmetry! How do you do?" she called, from her balcony.

False looked up, something in her eyes, almost startled.

"Um. You're Geminitay, right?"

"Princess Gem, yes," she corrected, but not too harshly. To make it clear there was no harm done, she smiled brilliantly.

"Right, we already know each others' names… Well, I just… I know we've probably never met before, but I just have this… feeling… about you…"

"Go on…" Gem leaned over the wall, not bothering to conceal much of her excitement. Oh, everything was so new, and interesting, and here, somehow, was False… what was she up to? How was she here? Was it really the same one, if she decided her character was feeling that way? Or was it memories leaking through the multiverse to a different person?

After a few seconds of silence, False decided what to say.

"Do you… want to practice sparring, some time? I mean, I'm not challenging you, or anything, it's only if you want to…"

"…Oh." Well, this was a little awkward. Gem probably should have seen this coming. "I'm sorry, False, I'm… a pacifist. The only challenge I've ever accepted was my own, to never so much as hold a weapon…"

"What? Oh, okay. I'm sorry, I don't know why I asked. Stupid of me, really, I mean you are a princess, it makes sense that you wouldn't fight…" She turned away, started walking, faster than she'd approached. "Sorry…"

"False, wait! It's okay!" Gem clarified, holding out her hand as if she could stop False from leaving. "I'm not offended at all! You can still hang out with me here, we'll just have to find something else to do, that's all!"

False looked back.

"…Right. Thanks, Princess Gem. I'll… think about it. Again, sorry. I don't even know why I came here…"

And before Gem could say anything else, False was gone.

"Huh. What is up with her?"

*****

All the way from Halloween to Christmas. That was how the length of time was measured by the hermits, anyway, the empires had a different system. But however they chose to recount it, it had been months of chaos, two worlds collided… and now everything was back to normal for both.

It certainly wasn't as if it had never happened, for one thing she now had a raid farm to look at from both of her shores…

Gem sighed. On a more positive note, her head collection was looking better than ever! The basement of her elven palace was now lavishly decorated, heads organised in various categories, cells full!

"Gem? Are you down here?"

"Oh, False! Is it time for our practice already?" Gem leapt playfully in the direction of the voice, and in less than a second, both of them had a blade pointed at the other's throat!

"Ah, there you are!" False grinned, and wow Gem had missed this!

Come to think of it, she hadn't spoken to False much during that whole crossover. Strange, really, given that her secret was finally out to most hermits and also Pixlriffs somehow, but she'd heard no word of anything similar happening to False. Even stranger if it was the other option, and she just had an alternate universe counterpart there, that no-one had seen two Falsesymmetries together…

But suddenly, that thought sparked an odd sense of deja vu for Gem, and she was distracted, False gaining the upper hand in their sudden battle.

Her disadvantage didn't last long, however, as she swiftly dodged around the stairs to gain the high ground!

"Ooh, too slow, False!" she teased.

"Oh yeah? What if I've got you right where I want you?" False jokingly bluffed.

Again, a flash of memory. But this time…

"Ahahaha! Now I've got you right where I want you!"

"False! This isn't funny, you know I can't fight back!!"

"Exactly! Might as well get the easy heads out of the way for my collection…"

"Hold on, time out, what is going on? What kind of character are you playing here? Who are you??"

"Oh, this isn't a game, Princess…"

"What? Oh, fine… Don't do this! I'll… I'll tell everyone!"

"No. You won't."

Gem gasped, stumbled backwards and found herself sitting on the stairs. What was that?!

"Wait, Gem, are you okay?" False lowered her sword immediately, and sat down next to Gem.

"I… I think I just… remembered something? But how did I forget? How did I forget… that?"

"Forget what?"

"I… it was something on Empires. I mean, in that other world. You know, the one through the Rift?"

"Oh… Right, I remember hearing something about you living there too? I'm… sorry the Rift closed. Thanks for choosing to stay here…"

"No, no, it's fine! I didn't even know about the Rift, I have my own way of getting there and back! So… is that why I haven't seen you there, since then? Were you using the Rift to get between lives?"

"What? You haven't seen her- uh, me?"

Gem frowned.

"Actually, I've been wanting to ask, but I wasn't sure how. Is it you, in that other world? Like, set aside the roleplay for a minute, is it really? I'm actually confused, here."

"Gem, what do you mean roleplay?"

"I mean… like, you know! Stories! Games! Like… those times, when we used to spar every week, and sometimes you'd get really intense and mad, but it was always just an act, afterwards it was all fine?"

But False didn't look fine. She looked… horrified?

"But that's… It was you!!" she gasped, suddenly enraged! "You did this to her! It was your fault!! Ugh, all those times I thought she was blaming me! All those notes she made for herself, 'she did this not you' and I thought she meant me but she meant YOU!!"

"What?? False, stop! Slow down, what are you talking about?"

"She's not me! And she's not my alternate universe counterpart, either!" Tears ran down False's face, but Gem had too many questions to stop now.

"Then who is she?"

"She's my sister! My twin! Or my clone, or I'm her clone, or something! I don't know! The point is, we were always together. The two of us. The two of me. We were the False Symmetry. Until you came along with your oh-so-innocent charm, using us to get stronger and egging her on even after she started to snap…" Realisation dawned. "Treating everything like a game!! That's what was going on, wasn't it? All along! You thought it was all a game, so you never stopped when it was clear she was getting too violent!!"

"Wait… what…?" Gem was horrified. How could this be true? "But that means… she was here? Both of you were hermits?"

"A hermit. We were a hermit. Together. We were exactly the same. Until she started to change… How could I have been so blind? Of course it wasn't just this season. Of course we couldn't leave behind all that nonsense… it wasn't just the moon. It was you."

"False… I'm so sorry…"

A moment of silence.

"Well, it's too late now," False said. "The Rift is closed, and either way, I made sure she can't be a threat anymore."

"…What did you do?"

"I made her forget. I sent her through it, ages ago, long before the whole crossover thing. That was around the time you offered to stop bothering me so much… I guess I never was as close to you as she was."

"Hang on…" Gem thought back on some of her moments with False. "Which one of you was it when…"

"It doesn't matter. She's gone, and when we were all stuck there I checked up on her. She's fine now, happy… Wait, but you said you hadn't seen her in a while?"

"No, but… there's something else… are you sure she's not a threat?"

False's face dropped.

"No. Wait, no nono no no… when you said you remembered something you'd forgotten, just now… you don't mean…"

"Something… I'm not sure, maybe, but if you said it was never a game to you, or to her…" Gem gasps. It all comes flooding back, full clarity!

The Princess of Dawn strolled down the elegant cobbled street she had just finished laying, admiring her handiwork in the golden light of the setting sun. It was bedtime, so she made sure her wandering took her towards her bedroom, but just a few more minutes of fresh air couldn't hurt…

A cold silver glint of light caught her eye, and Gem's head swiveled towards the shadows, instincts from another life telling her to reach for a sword she didn't carry as she peered into the darkness.

In moments, the silhouette of a cloaked figure appeared, stepping menacingly into the lamplight. The sharp iron knife in their hand glinted once more.

"Uh… H-hello… Who are you?" Gem politely asked.

The figure said nothing, only took one step towards her, then another, slow, methodical, purposeful.

Gem stood frozen, until she heard a familiar laugh echo from beneath the cloak.

"False?" she asked. "Is that you?"

The figure stopped. Then, Falsesymmetry raised her free hand, and threw off the cumbersome black cape in one fluid motion.

Her eyes seemed blank.

"Looks like I lost my element of surprise… Oh well."

In the next moment, False darted forward, knife gleaming!

Gem screamed, and ran into the nearest building, but unfortunately this one only had one door! She was trapped!

"Ahahaha! Now I've got you right where I want you!" False grinned madly, stalking towards where Gem cowered in the corner.

"False! This isn't funny, you know I can't fight back!!" Gem's heart hammered.

"Exactly! Might as well get the easy heads out of the way for my collection…"

"Hold on, time out, what is going on? What kind of character are you playing here? Who are you??"

"Oh, this isn't a game, Princess…" False had reached Gem now, and held the knife to her chin, and said the word 'Princess' with such venom that Gem could no longer believe it. She felt foolish for breaking character, this was an incredible plot twist after all!

"What? Oh, fine… Don't do this! I'll… I'll tell everyone!"

"No. You won't."

False lifted a small vial of dark grey liquid, and smashed it into Gem's forehead, before going for the kill.

"I remember now! She was terrifying! Did that potion make me forget? And she didn't think it was a game??"

"No… no, that can't be right! She was happy, she was back to normal… But wait, if she used the amnesia potion on you, how did you remember? Gem, what are you?"

"I'm… a Celestial. I can jump through worlds whenever I want, and… I forget that not everything's a game, I guess."

"Celestial…?" False frowned. "I guess we never tested the potion on those…" But then something else dawned on her. "But she can't have just been pretending, when I was watching her. I know her, I know me! The amnesia potion did work on her, but sometimes it breaks? And, and, when she started going crazy, she talked about all kinds of stuff I had no idea about, but maybe she wasn't making stuff up, maybe she was remembering what happened before! Gem, maybe just being around you breaks her amnesia!"

"What do you mean, before?"

"Oh, well… It's like I said. We don't know which one of us is older. But, if I'm a clone… maybe something happened to her before I came along, that she forgot?"

"So whether it was the PvP, or my magic interfering with her mental block… Oh, it really is my fault! And every time she killed me in revenge I thought it was a game! Oh, False!" Gem started to cry, now. How had she been so naive?

"Hey, it's okay… wait, have you been sparring with her in that world too?"

"No! At least I didn't make it worse there! I don't fight on Empires, and when I told her that, she didn't seem to want to be my friend anymore… I didn't know what to do, that's why I never asked what was going on!" Gem suddenly stood, and dashed up the stairs. "But I can fix it! I'll go take a nap, get to Empires, find her and fix things! I'll… apologise! I mean, you said she was the one who…"

"Wait," False said, running after her, "if you being there makes it worse, what if she can only get better when you're not there?"

"Or, what if it's too late and she's remembered everything, and I can make things better with the real her?" Gem was desperate, but she had to keep believing. Everything always turned out for the best on Hermitcraft… except…

"Gem, wait!"

Reaching the top of the stairs, Gem turned around.

"And why does she keep her head collection a secret?? Why did you send her to a world where everyone takes murder so seriously for no reason!!"

False stopped.

"I… I didn't know where I was sending her… I just thought she needed to get away from… me…"

"Why? What did you do to her?" Gem thought for a moment. "Other than erase her memories."

"That was my last resort!" False insisted. "I didn't just wipe her mind straight away! I… kept her locked up, for… a while. Tried some… experiments. I was just trying to work out what had gone wrong!"

Gem stared. With effort, she didn't laugh.

"So, it's not all my fault, then?" she said slowly.

"I… guess not." False sighed. "Hey. If you do manage to get through to her… can you tell her I'm sorry, too?"

Gem nodded, with a sad smile.

"And don't worry. I'll try to keep all of this a secret… in both worlds."

"Thanks," False smiled weakly. "Good luck!" she whispered, as Gem dashed away.

*****

"Tick… tock… tick… tock…" sang a deep, heavily distorted voice. "So… a ruler of an empire of iron, with a dark side… And, either the wizard managed to ascend, or we have a very interesting visitor from another reality entirely… And the Sculk… Oh, there's so much fun to be had! Not long now… tick… tock… tick… tock!"

*****

From the "Sparring Practice" prompt of Geminitay appreciation week by @dronepikachu, sorry it's late!

#geminitay appreciation week #gemweek #fanfic #geminitay #falsesymmetry #two of her #hermitcraft #empires smp

[gtzel]

Help! my classmates a size-shifter -part 2-

Since When Are You So Short?

first previous next

The next day I walked into class and my friends greeted me, but i was only looking at Elijah. He was sitting in his usual spot next to the window and had his earbuds in. some people were talking to me but i couldn't hear what they were saying.

i walked up to him and tapped him from behind. he flinched at the contact but relaxed a bit when he saw it was me.

"h-hey Brian" he said pulling an earbud out and giving a hint of a smile, which i counted as a win.

"yo, how you feelin after you know....yesterday?" i said with extra emphasis on the last word.

"not...not too bad, just uhm the usual i guess" he seemed a it more on edge then yesterday which was a bit concerning. i didn't want to push him because he might just be a bit jarred due to the public setting.

"well i guess since were friends now i can sit next to you." i sat down next to him, the person who usually sat there seemed to be fine with it but Elijah was a bit uncomfortable.

"listen, Brian i have something i need to-" he was cut off by a classmate calling me.

"yo Brian, what's good!" Chad said as he approached my new desk. he sat down backwards facing me in the desk in front of where i sat.

"hey Chad, just havin' a conversation with Eli here," i gestured to Elijah but he quickly turned the other way. cold.

"that's uhm, nice i guess..." Chad shifted awkwardly "anyway, were having this party tonight at my place, and of course we need our starring quarterback to be there! so can you come?" he said enthusiastically.

i looked back at Eli, he was gazing out the window in his own world again. i was planning on asking if he would want to hang out again after school but i couldn't just tell everyone that. i had to come up with an excuse.

"oh sorry man, I'm really busy with...stuff and i wont be-" the bell rang and our teacher walked in the room. yes! saved by the bell. She instructed us to sit down so she could start class.

the lecture was boring as ever and after it finally let out i was crowded by other people before i had a chance to ask Elijah about hanging out.

i lost sight of him after he walked out of class and couldn't find him till lunchtime. it almost felt as if he was avoiding me, but who would do that? anyways, i found him on the rooftop of the gymnasium building.

"isn't this place supposed to be off limits?" i said walking up behind him, he was startled again. really seems like the jumpy type, gotta keep that in mind.

"how did you find me?" he said in a sarcastic tone, rolling his eyes.

"bro, i know this school inside and out. of course i found you" i jested, elbowing him playfully.

"well, you found me, now what?"

"uhm, didn't think that far. i guess i just uhm wanted to know if you...if you wanted to hang out later today?" i tugged the hem of my t-shirt nervously. it was way hotter outside then normal.

"uhm don't you have 'stuff' to do?" he said with finger quotes. i blushed, it was definitely hot outside.

"well i mean, that was a lie..." i drifted off, great now he probably thinks I'm shallow! then i remembered what he said earlier "wait, so what did you have to tell me again?"

"oh, just that..." he hesitated "i just was feeling a bit odd after yesterday" he said shifting slightly uncomfortably.

"hmm, okay i guess" i said skeptically.

"actually i-" Eli couldn't finish the sentence, he collapsed onto the ground and his breath became labored.

"E-Elijah, are you okay?!" i kneeled down next to him, he began to shudder uncontrollably.

"b-Brian, i feel...help me-" his body contorted strangely and he began to thrash wildly.

"j-just t-t-take some deep breaths, d-deep breaths" i tried to calm him down but he didn't seem to be able to hear me.

then light began erupting from his body. it beamed through the strangling cloths, and kept getting brighter. i had to look away for fear of being blinded.

then the light started to die down. i waited a second before realizing i couldn't hear Elijah anymore. i looked to where he had been and....he wasn't there. why wasn't he there!? his cloths and backpack were the only things of him that remained.

my eyes widened, as i frantically shuffled through his cloths to find some clue to where he had gone. if i hadn't been more careful i almost would've missed the small weight that rested in his t-shirt.

"what the-" i carefully unwrapped the shirt to reveal a miniscule figure smaller then my palm. i looked closer and realized to my great disbelief that Elijah, MY Elijah, was tiny. i turned him over, feeling his cold skin against my pointer finger, then i realized.

"O-oh, oh dear" i blushed hard, face burning. he was, well...you can probably imagine. i tried to think of a decent way to handle this situation. i obviously couldn't just leave him there.

i wrapped him up in a clean tissue i had in my suit pocket, glad it finally came in handy. then grabbed his stuff and put it in my bag. i didn't really have a plan, but if i were to ever skip school, it would be then.

#gt #wip #gt wip #gt writing #gt story #gianttiny #art #artbook #giant tiny #digital art

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

Hi Makenzie

It's the anon with the partner with the 4 hour plateau period again (this seems to be the quickest way to clue you in about who this is again) and I'm glad to say I've taken your advice to heart and slept on it. Yesterday my partner and me had a "fight" (between "" because we just talked openly about what bothered us and there was no shouting, threatening or physical violence, which I am extremely happy about but also makes it hard for my brain to catalogue it as a fight- let's just say it's good this is my first relationship, huh?) about a situation they pushed me into despite my earlier protests and how I shut down afterwards -we're good!- and I brought up how the sexual stuff has been weighing on me. I told them what you told me re: sexual incompatibility and breaking up and they basically immediately apologised, told me sex isn't that big of a deal to them after all and that they don't think we have to break up over it.

I've been fearing our first fight since we started dating, but I'm glad to be able to report that it actually helped strenghten our relationship: I now know I have to work on being more assertive around my boundaries instead of pussyfooting around them and they promised they will do their utmost to listen when I say I don't feel up for stuff.

As for the comments on that original post who expressed their concern about me: please don't worry! I'm good! My partner is one of the sweetest people I know, even if they can be hard-headed (and of hearing) sometimes. They did not willingly pressure me into anything, and the one time they did disregard my 'no' (about a social thing, don't worry!) they really regret and we will both work to ensure that won't happen again.

Thanks for everything!

hi anon,

oh boy! I'm certainly glad to hear you and your partner were able to have a disagreement without physical violence (although unspeakably concerned that you feel the need to specify that and sound so relieved about it), and it's good that you were able to express your needs about sex. like I said in my last answer, the two of you not having sex with each other anymore was like... the bare minimum of what needed to change here.

now, having said that, I'm going to be so real with you: for eight years now I've tried to keep it pretty neutral in my responses and meet my anons where they're at instead of passing judgment, but based on everything you've told me in your two asks I do not like this relationship at all and your partner sounds like they kind of suck.

here's literally all the info I have based on the two asks you have sent me: you met your partner a month ago and, in your own words, they "upended my understanding of myself by somehow making it so we're in a relationship together." in the month you've been together, your partner has

told you (their transmasculine partner) that they wished your body looked more like actresses in porn

told you "on the very first day" that they need to get off only to do a switcheroo when you brought up the idea of breaking up

made you feel wildly insecure in your relationship for your lack of interest in sex

pushed you into a situation that you were actively protesting, re: your fight from this ask, with a possible SECOND instance of this based on your last paragraph

straight up if you were one of my friends talking about your relationship this way I would be BEGGING you to break up with them. this is an insane amount of emotional distress for a MONTH

#sex edventures 2023

[virgobingo]

hey! love all your jjk metas :)

just wanted to throw thoughts at you if you are interested!

so the very sparse info Gege provides for Gojo and Geto has, imo, some fridge horror to it. They must remain head-canon but I'm curious if you think my thoughts are a stretch or not.

child abuse cw

I wondered if Suguru snapping after finding Nanako and Mimiko was meant as a subtle hint at Geto, a child from a non-sorceror family, having childhood abuse background. His rampage at the village seems cohesive character-wise, but I always thought killing his parents felt a bit jarring and OOC at that point in his "insanity spiral." The first crime comes from outrage & hatred, while the latter is over the top cold logic- his explanation "it would be hypocritical to spare them" seems underwhelming to me.

2. Gojo having a bounty on his head throughout his whole childhood. He might have infinity but on a practical level, loved ones are vulnerable to blackmail or hostage situations. Logically they are a weakness and the more you have, the weaker you are.

I think Gojo has so many things going on that contribute to his isolation and inability to connect- (obnoxious personality, immense power, trauma from Toji attack) that this crazy aspect of his life is brushed off. I feel like in any other character, the bounty would be seen as a major contributor to their psychology.

We see throughout the story that anytime Gojo loves or shows humanity towards another (Amanai, Suguru, Megumi (even Yuuji)) he is narratively punished for it.

Cheers!!

hello!

thank you for sharing your thoughts! i'll try my best to explain my own. my thoughts on gojo are especially jumbled since he's such a complicated character.

(1) gege has shown himself to be the type to of artist to ground his fiction in reality. i think the narrative overwhelmingly points to jujutsu sorcerers generally being perceived as "freaks" by non-sorcerers. miminana are extreme examples of this, whereas the old man geto beat up in the hidden inventory arc is a milder one.

"how would parents react if their child told them they could see/hear things they couldn't?" -> that's the question i imagine gege asked himself when he wrote this detail into jjk.

i think geto's abilities were a cause of concern for his parents, with the potential for it to have actually translated into fear. he does seem to have a special place in his heart for chosen families. i think that suggests a difficult home life. we can only speculate how bad it was though. enough for him to go through with him killing his parents nonchalantly, as far as we know. abuse wouldn't be a wildly off-base assumption.

(2) i think gojo's character is definitely marked by his station in society. the good and the bad that come with it. people really don't tend to talk about the bounty on his head, bc it's such an "oh, by the way" fact that gege fits into the story. gege probably mulled over it though (he's a serious overthinker). so i don't think it's something ppl should dismiss when thinking about gojo's psychology. some of his self-imposed isolation can be traced back to instances like it.

as an older kid and a tween, especially. i would guess gojo was probably asking himself stuff like who can he trust in this world? who can he open up to? when the world is out to kill him. the bounty on his head also probably accustomed him to solve problems with power/violence.

i think this mindset was disrupted by geto in high school, though. gojo grows to be quite generous with his trust after him. he has a lot of faith in others as an adult. so i think geto, on top of everything, inadvertently helped gojo heal and process some of his pain from childhood.

i say this bc the disconnect gojo seems to refer to in ch 236, seems different. more a result of the higher state of mind he acquires. he basically tells geto in the afterlife that it isn't rooted in loneliness, after all. which i also take to mean, not necessarily in childhood trauma by that point. but a sense that no one can possibly understand what it means to be strong— and still be powerless.

that's why i believe gojo wasn't being punished for his humanity so much as being taught a lesson on how power can only take him so far— time and time again.

this whole lesson sets up the world to be able to move on without him. life doesn't ultimately hinge on one person and i think gojo knows this to be true, which is why he's always so.. relaxed when he's taken out of the equation. while everyone else scrambles to put him back in. (funnily enough, even fans do this). 

ppl look at him and think he's above them. when inevitably, he'll die, just as all beings do. which i think is what the following sequence was about, too. and what gojo mostly meant when he said "he alone is the honored one [to come to knows this]"(in contrast to when gege used it for sukuna(x) who goes on to distinguish himself from gojo in the way he only pleases/satisfies himself). the saying has several connotations (x).

hope that makes sense!

#jjk meta #asks

[nyaagolor]

I like the Nemona autism post! Think you’ll make a comic about her friends like Arven, Penny, and MC helping her with her insecurities?

I have a really hard time with comics that aren't silly so I wrote this instead. SV quartet is both very fun to write and also a nightmare because none of them have an ounce of tact as a side effect of being 16. Anyways THANK U!!

-

Violeta hadn’t realized Nemona was trailing off until the sudden silence snapped her back to attention. The others seemed to have noticed it too, because Arven had stopped mid-bread-buttering and Penny was doing a terrible job at pretending she wasn’t stealing glances at Nemona, her phone game abandoned. Nemona was already doing that thing that Violeta had come to expect from her, head slightly bowed and holding her braced arm to her chest like she was curling in on herself. She was the one to finally break the silence, and not to resume her rambling on the history of Johtoian boom teams. 

“Do you guys think I’m, like, annoying?” Nemona asked. She seemed genuinely bothered by this out of the blue revelation, fidgeting with her tie and furrowing her brows as she flicked her gaze to each of her friends in turn. Violeta was not proud of the way she paused. Arven frowned, his gaze laser focused on the sandwich in front of him. Penny made a little noise in the back of her throat, expression pinched as she struggled to find the right words. 

“Oh,” Nemona replied, the earlier enthusiasm gone from her voice like a deflated balloon. She shook her head and continued with a practiced monotony that sounded like she was reading off a script. “I’m uh… that was really inconsiderate of me. I’ll try to keep your interests in mind more when I talk. It’s rude to dominate conversations, and I… uh… sorry.” 

“Hey, uh,” Penny interrupted her, concern written all over her face. “You’re not annoying, just… a lot sometimes?” She grimaced as though finding the right words was physically painful. 

“Yeah!” Arven added. “I like hearing you talk about stuff. I don’t like, get it– I’m not smart like you– but it’s uh. Nice?”

“You’re not annoying,” Violeta finally said. “It’s just… you talk a lot about stuff most people don’t care about.”

Nemona looked completely crestfallen. “Yeah,” she said, back to fidgeting with her tie. “I um. I realized you all looked really bored and I didn’t really know when you started looking bored and I realized I was probably annoying you all but you were too afraid to say anything, my mom always says I’m kinda intimidating when I'm like this and that’s why no one wants to be my friend. And, uh, the doctor tells me that people don’t like it when someone talks too much because they look selfish and I’m not like that, I care about your interests too but it’s re–”

“Hey,” Arven cut her off, looking wildly uncomfortable. “That’s not, I don’t think… That’s not true.”

“Which part?” Nemona asked. Arven waved the butter knife around like he could pluck the words out of the air. 

“All that weird stuff you were talking about, the whole uh, no one wanting to be your friend thing. We’re your friends.” Penny nodded along. “I actually like it when you talk a lot, it means I don’t have to. It’s cool when you talk about stuff and I can just be on my phone or whatever. It makes things not awkward.”

“I’m not bored,” Violeta added. “And I don’t think Penny is either, her face just looks like that.”

Penny shot a look Violeta’s way, huffing. 

“Yeah!” Arven reaffirmed. “It’s nice when you talk about stuff you like while I’m making sandwiches, it’s kinda calming in a way.”

“I just like hearing my friend talk about something she likes,” Violeta said.

Nemona’s expression started to brighten. “Really? You’re not mad?”

Arven waved a hand. “Ramble away.”

“Sometimes you just gotta infodump,” Penny reaffirmed, getting a quizzical look from Violeta and Arven. Nemona sat back, smile back on her face as she bounced her leg and stared up at the sky. Nemona’s excited rambling came back as quickly as it had gone, gaining confidence with each word. 

“Ok, where was I…”

#new hc nemona's parents made her go to ABA #nemona #penny #arven #pokemon sv #oc: violeta #writing #ask #mod vex

[echoedcrosshairs]

Just Cad / Cad Bane x F Reader

After reading @sinisterexaggerator post about Cad being depressed it gave me a angst/fluff idea if you haven’t read it you should & @dreamswithghosts for gif

Summary: After pairing with you Bane kept you around, one day he drops you off realizing he made a grave mistake seeing you take a bounty with the last people he ever wants to see again.

/ Bad Batch Era Bane / ~> might rewrite and develop more but idk

Warning: Angst, Fluff, Rough Cowboy & Cuddly Cowboy, mild adult subject. PG-13

Word count: 3.1k

After completing the score, Bane had grown more quiet than normal. He was already a man of a few words but the silence was heavy in the air, even Todo had been quietly sitting in his copilot chair. It hadn't been a high stakes bounty or a high profile case, it was open and closed the closes one would get to easy money in this line of work. You spun your chair in a circle groaning before getting up and wrapping your arms around the silent Duros keeping yourself under his hat not to knock it off. Smelling the familiar blaster traces and leather on him, he didn't even try to pry you off.

"Okay, Cowboy, what is it?" you asked letting the concern lace your voice.

"Nuff'in."

"Cad Bane, don't you lie to me," you said pulling yours arms off him staring down at the brim of his hat, "What is it? Bounty too boring? Let's find any another to do."

"Dat ain't it."

"So tell me!" you said impatiently.

"Droppin you off."

Your blood ran cold, time stood still looking down at him and it was if reality was breaking, "For how long?" his silence was answer enough. You went back to your seat but you couldn't sit still, your leg bounced wildly. You got up headed to the bunk room, you looked down at his bunk shaking your head grabbing your stuff off the top bunk and mini closet. Both of you weren't a couple but why did it hurt like a break up? You thudded your ahead against the shelf of the bunk trying to pull yourself together. Sure there had been moments where glances lasted longer than they should have or nights where a little to much was drank that opened him up to talk or maybe the occasional hug to the man you considered a friend. Thought was, you mentally corrected, but was never more than that so why was he kicking you out? You wanted to demand answers but you knew once he made up his mind that was it.

You unholstered his LL-30 copy you had on for the bounty just incase nothing had gone to plan, you laid it on his bunk not having enough strength to face him. Bane was a cold blooded killer, most would consider this a blessing but you knew him deeper down than most there was still a person underneath those sharp teeth and crimson eyes. For a man who had it all, the title of the best, the first pick of any bounty he the fear and respect that came along with that there was always something under the surface the loomed over him that you couldn't describe other than lonesome.

You took yourself down to the ramp bay with the two duffels in tow. Minutes went by, you heard the metal of his respirator and the click of his boots against the floor, "I still don't understand why..." you paused to take a deep breath, "I guess I'll see you when I see you, Cowboy," you uttered at his shadow waiting by the ramp.

"Ya betta off."

"I'm better off? I'm better off with the one person I trust."

"Dat's a weakness a cute lil lady likya can' afford."

You turned to him gawking, "Bane did you just call me cute?"

"Ya know whatta mean'" he grumbled looking at you, "ain't this no place for ya." His skin crawled at the hurt in your features and the surprise at the comment, she don' know... he realized. He exhaled, "Missy, ya gotten too close to ma, I don' wancha gettin hurt over meh ya can' ghet close to people in dis profession."

"That should be my decision, Bane..." you looked down to see the ramp lowering you stood at the top of it not wanting to crumble, "You hear me, Cad, I love you," your stomach fell at the confession and it took every ounce of strength to hold it together as you walked down, "Just so you know someone in this universe does."

Bane quickly hit the ramp button the moment you were off, he leaned against the wall supporting himself. He allowed himself a few tears instantly regretting it when Todo showed up.

"Mr. Bane you are crying," Todo said worried.

"No kiddin" Bane grumbled pulling himself up by the boot scraps.

"You should go-" Todo started before Bane cut in, "Quit ya yappin, da woman is a risk."

"A risk to your heart maybe," Todo said sourly.

"What was dat?" Bane growled.

"You don't let anyone close anymore, it was obvious how you felt about each other."

Banes fingers found the metal plate on his head, "Lets go, Todo," no one knew him not really or what was going on in his head, left for dead on one of his bad days by so called colleagues. He wanted to spat at the memory of falling and Boba. If they didn't understand him to see what was wrong no one would. Being abandoned by Jango, he didn't want to go through that again but  ain't dat what I just did to 'er...? Bane frustratedly kicking the wall, "Dang nabbit," he gridded out at how hard he had kicked it.

"Mr. Bane, I do insist you go fix this," Todo said putting his hands on his hips floating himself to Bane's eye level, "before she gets to far."

"Shut it, droid. 'I know wat I'm do'in."

"I don't think you do if your kicking your precious ship."

Bane growled stalking back off to the cockpit and slumped into the set staring out the window finding you walking away. His eyes trailed you until you were no longer visible as you disappeared deep into the streets. A familiar ache formed in his chest causing his finger to drum against the armrest of the chair, he wanted to take off and continue but he couldn't bring himself to start the ship. Bane had forgotten to shut off the alert for when you got to far from him, it dinged almost causing him to jump. He looked down seeing a bounty rooster with your name on it, drat woman you haven' been gone fora hour, his frozen blood boiled seeing who you were signed up with.

"She don' know 'em," he seethed seeing both Boba's and Bossk's names along with a couple other less noticeable hunters names.

"You did terminate your partnership with her, Mr. Bane," Todo pointed out, "It's only natural she continues with others. However if we retrieve her..."

"Can' care 'bout er," Bane affirmed but didn't make it any easier then he saw Embo's name on the list, "Ya getting ya way this once," he growled getting up heading into the bunk room eyes narrowing on the blaster, "She ain't even armed," he hissed holstering it.

"We will find the annoying mammal," Todo hated having her around causing Bane to split his attention but he seemed more like his old self having her around.

"Betta find her fast before dey leave."

Info fob took you to a run down busted cantina that definitely shouldn't have had their license to operate but it was the perfect out of sight place for Hunters to met up, which you suspected is the only reason the establishment was still open. You didn't know anyone from the list but you easily picked them out in the small crowd clustered in the back and the anxious looking people around them. You slide into booth introducing yourself, all of them glared at you.

"Is there something on my face?" You asked nervously.

"Nothing," the one called Boba's say, "Didn't realize your ball would give you enough chain to be by yourself without him."

"Bane...?" You asked stupidly which got a stupid reply of yes, "We're not a team anymore, he dropped me here and is probably long gone."

Boba hitched an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

"What does he need with a geek like me anyway, he has that droid anyway."

"We should get going, Bossk is going to meet up with us on the ship." All of you got up after Boba following him to the ship dock. You didn't even think twice about it even with Boba's connotation about Bane made it seem like they were less that associates it would be off whatever world this was.

Shuffling into the seat you heard the Trandoshan's breathing and turned around watching him stroll in sniffing, "I recognizess your ssmell but I don't recognizess you."

You rolled your eyes greeting him with your name and your former partner, "Is it really that big of a deal?" you muttered to yourself.

"Only to a select few."

Before you took off you saw it, the Justifier still docked and a blue figure staring straight at you. No one else seemed to noticed him in the distance and the ship took off towards everywhere the assignment was. You hadn't even bothered checking other then it was off planet. You fidgeted in your seat trying to shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Whatss iss it?" Bossk hissed.

"I feel... like we're being followed... I can't explain it."

"Bane," Boba growled, "Anyone want to say hi?" he said sarcastically before the ship got one single blast.

Your pad started beeping, "Are you farking kidding me?" you grumbled pulling it out staring at it, Ghet back on da ship, now, 'You made me leave,' you replied, "Let's go."

Boba punched it, hitting light speed to get out of there, "What did he want?"

"Me," you mumbled. You pulled your legs up to your chest wrapping your arms around them letting your head slump against the seat. You eyed the room discreetly, feeling dejected but wondering why he didn't want you around them if that was what this was about. Your pad went off again, I'm comin, don' trust'em.

"I take it you don't know?" Boba said.

"Don't know what?"

"Bane was one of my mentors. Absolutely cruel to me; irony because my father was his mentor. One day while we were out on a bounty, Bane didn't care about how we went about it or if we even completed it. Him and I dueled for leadership, he lost and somehow lived."

"Oh..." you had wondered about the metal plate, remembering how every time you asked how belligerent he got especially after a couple drinks.  You were very aware of Bane's temper and ruthless but unlike them you understood there had to be a deeper reason, at least there had to be... right? "Well he's coming," you didn't know what else to say. You saw the silent conversation between Bossk and Boba wondering if you were about to catch in the crossfire, "What's the plan?"

"We'll see what he does when we land."

The moment you land hell erupts you and boba barely getting off the ramp finding Bane there guns drawn glaring, "Wan'da little lady, hand'er over," he was staring directly at Boba. If his eyes weren't already crimson they would have been with the rage rolling off of him. His pinky tapped against the butt of the gun waiting, he wanted to look at you but didn't want a distraction in cause this went south.

"We're busy," Boba glared Bossk and Embo following standing behind us, "You're the one who's going to hurt her Bane, not us," Boba added.

"Bessst be leaving," Bossk hissed.

"Gimme the girl an' I'll be gone," he watched fangs bared as Bossk pointed his blaster at your head and it was not on stun, "Don' dink 'bout it."

"Bane..." fear laced your voice as much as you tried to hide it your eyes looking at the blaster then at him, "I don't know what's going on in your head but please, go."

"What ya said gave meh to much to dink'bout, so yer comin with meh," he exhaled calculating how fast he could shoot and drop them before they dropped you realizing his odds were good but not great.

"Cowboy, it's been a great ride... but for me, you have to go," we're you putting his safety over yours? The things people do in the name of love, by the look in his face you no one had ever done that for him.

He snarled looking at them but he backed into the shadows furious at himself for stepping away. He listened for what seemed forever when he heard one blaster shot ring out. Bane seethed fist curling around his pistols even more enraged that he let his emotions get the better of him m. He'd uncharacteristically shown his weakness the one thing he had tried to strengthen Boba against so he wouldn't make the same mistake his father did and they killed you for being his. Bane wanted to turn around, stand his ground and make them pay but the pleading in your voice for him to go kept him walking, He'd face worse odds before but there was a time and place for revenge.

"Mr. Bane?" Todo asked.

"Dey killed her," he said, his voice laced with defeat as he climbed back into the Justifer, alone.

"That sshould buy uss time," Bossk hissed.

"That farking hurt!" You snapped grabbing the wound, Embo already returning with the med kit.

"Had to make it convincing," Boba shrugged, "Complete this bounty, you won't need to worry about needing Bane to make a name for yourself."

"No but I'll have to worry about you sticking your neck out for me, we both know he'll be back with a vengeance," you had a choice, you could earn yourself the respect to work alone or you could keep them from waring each other.

Bane put a leg up on the dash letting the other bounce realizing how much of his life had fallen apart, mentor dead, person he considered a friend turned out to a Jedi in disguise, getting injured, losing a major bounty and now this. He stuck a toothpick between his teeth and set his hat in his lap wondering about the exactly moment everything went wrong.

"Mr. Bane! Look!" Todo said pointing the limping figure towards the ship.

Bane didn't look he put his hat back on and ran to the ramp, "Yer alive," he said dumb founded grabbing your limping form from the bottom of it.

"Don't make me regret un-faking my death," you gridded out the steps up the ramp causing the pain in your leg to make you grunt, "Already regret it," you groaned forcing yourself to sit down the moment you were up the ramp.

"Why'd ya do it?"

"Come back? I didn't want you blaming yourself, the bounty was tempting however," you admitted, "could have made a name for myself," you mumbled.

" 'gain why didn' ya?" Bane poked.

"Don't make me say it again," you groaned standing up finally feeling the patch start to work, "First time was bad enough," because it had, it had hurt to admit the truth. You never had the intention of telling him, happy to just let things be but there was rarely a moment you couldn't read him and standing there dropping you off there was nothing you understood then again trying to get you back the look on his face said he going to go down a war path he couldn't come back from and it would have been your fault if he got killed. You blinked as you felt his arm reach out and curl around you vice gripping you to his lean frame, "Bane?"

"Cad," he grumbled breathing in your scent no longer able to smell the iron over powering it, "just Cad."

You put your arms around him, not once had he ever voluntarily hugged you or hugged back, you felt his chest rumble almost like a pur. Your face nervously smiled not wanting to say anything, he tried to pull away but you pulled him closer listening to it, "I like it, although would be better without these," you said tapping the breathing tubes. He didn't even hesitate removing them dropping them to the floor before returning his arm around you. You seemed to melt closer to him, it sounded more authentic without the metal rattle.

His pulled his arm away, “Leave it,” he said looking down at the breathing piece tugging you by the hand to the cockpit, “Gotta gehet da ship outta here,” he said dropping your hand as he slide into the pilots seat.

Much to Todo’s hovering annoyance you took the copilot seat, “I hope you prematurely take off your patch.”

You rolled your eyes snatching the droid mid air and hugging him, “Careful lil fella, I might give ya an accent like Bane’s and make you sing,” you teased releasing the companion, you chuckling as that instilled the fear of the maker in him because he knew how good and fast you could reprogram him.

“Mr. Bane you’re not going to let her… right?!”

The Duros chuckled, “Maybeh.”

“I’m going to go lay down,” you yawned forgetting how draining the patches were. It didn’t take long before you heard foot steps behind you, stalking your movement to the bunk room.

“Don’ dink bout hopin up there,” he voiced watching you look up, “ ‘mer,” he said taking off his hat resting it on a post and climbed into the bunk. He watched you stare at him, “ ‘Mer, ain’t gonna bite ya,” he watched you climb in and he wrapped himself around you practically half laying on you. Life had broken him down, but thinking you were dead had destroyed him albeit temporarily. He felt your arm wrap around him feeling nails lightly in his back not lustful but in need of his solidarity. Bane’s lip twitched as that infernal purring started again.

“What do have you have to think about?”

“Ya really didn’ know how I feel?” He whispered.

It was weird seeing the bounty hunter who astutes confidence and authority in every moment seem so.. just human, “No. I never expected to see you again either.” The purring stopped replaced with a momentary growl, “Bane?” You said tilting your head to him, “What is it?” He was silent. “Cad?”

“Da feelin’ mutual,” he felt compelled to say after hearing his name on your lips. The purring started and he heard you make a small happy hmm noise. He didn’t need to say it, you both knew what he meant. “When it’s meh and you, it’s Cad.”

“Cad,” the name rolled off your tongue like expensive spotchka, “Only I get to call you?” he nodded. Your hand roamed his head gently and the other light stroked his back, “I don’t regret it anymore,” you teased, “so cowboy, what’s next?”

“For ya missy? Go ta’bed, wanna enjoy dis,” he said exhaling enjoying the scent of you and feel of you finally touching him, “Maybeh we go ta’beh,” he mumbled feeling heavier and suddenly tired.

“Let’s go to bed… Cad,” you smiled turning a little more into the blue space cowboy’s embrace hearing the pur slowly stop as both of you fell asleep.

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