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bangtanflirt · 17 days

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(Un)natural Instincts (Part 12)

*Series taglist is closed.

angst, fluff, smut

Pairings: OT7 x Fem Reader, Human CEO Reader, Human Assistant Yoongi, Wolf Hybrids Joon, Jin, Hobi, Jimin, Tae, and Kook.

Basic premise: You and your assistant end up rescuing six wolf hybrids. No part of the process is easy.

Part 1 > Part 2 > Part 3 > Part 4 > Part 5 > Part 6 > Part 7 > Part 8 > Part 9 > Part 10 > Part 11 > Part 12

General Warnings: Hybrid abuse and lab experimentation, drugs, hybrids as second-class citizens/owned property (Minors DNI, 18+ content)

Specific Warnings: discussions around SA triggers (mainly boundary setting, not angsty), one brief mention of a gunshot, gunshot wound, fear of punishments, hints to street crime violence, vague hints to smut

____

Hoseok watches as Taehyung gets lost in the painting, fascinated by how he repeatedly goes back and fixes each detail. It’s endearing, watching him bite his bottom lip in concentration.

“What’s that stuff you’re adding to the paint?”

“Poppyseed oil. It makes the paint dry slower.”

“You want it to dry slower?”

The younger one nods, “This way I can retouch whatever needs to be fixed without worrying about it drying.”

He hands his hyung the brush in his hand, which Hoseok swirls into the paint thinner before handing back clean.

“I didn’t know you could add stuff to the paint like that.”

“They’re called mediums. There's fast-drying ones too, which I’ll be using for the clothes and hair since I want to work in lots of separate layers for those.”

“This is already all too complicated for me.” Hoseok laughs, preferring to mindlessly watch the paint go down than think about drying times and layers.

Taehyung laughs, leaning in to give his hyung a peck on the cheek.

Jimin walks in at the exact time, smiling fondly at the scene. He brings in a platter of freshly cut fruit, most of which are Taehyung’s favorites.

“Fruit delivery!”

Hoseok brings the boy close, holding him by the waist as he opens his mouth for a piece. Taehyung follows, stopping his brushwork to be fed.

“How much longer until the painting’s done?” Jimin asks while popping a cut strawberry into the younger wolf’s mouth.

Taehyung holds up three fingers, mouth too distracted by the sweet fruit to speak.

“Three days?”

He nods.

“So three more days until you stop cooping up in here and pay more attention to me,” Jimin pouts.

“Are you actually getting jealous of Y/N’s late grandmother?” Taehyung teases, causing Hoseok to almost choke on a grape laughing.

It’s the sound again. The sound of Hoseok laughing. He seems completely oblivious as to how much it affects his packmates—how much love it fills in their hearts.

___

Jin reaches for Namjoon’s hand, attempting to soothe the worried wolf as they both wait for Jungkook to come out from his bath.

This isn’t going to be easy.

Joon says with furrowed brows alone.

He’s going to hate this.

Jin agrees with a light squeeze to his packmate’s fingers.

It wouldn’t be hard to convince an outsider that Jin and Namjoon can, in fact, read each other’s minds. Wouldn’t take much convincing at all, with how well the two communicate with just looks. But there’s no mind-reading abilities at play, just years of understanding each other.

They were the first two members of the pack, after all.

Namjoon still remembers the goosebumps on his arms when he first met Jin—it was the first time he’d ever felt the pull of a pack bond. A rush of adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine all creating a buzzing cocktail in his body when the older wolf smiled his way.

Jin wasn’t innocent either, he knew he was riling the usually-poised Alpha up the second he looked at him. It was a fun game, teasing and taunting the big bad wolf until he was taught a lesson behind some shabby hybrid bar neither of them remember the name of anymore.

Namjoon's mind wanders back to that night, amused at the idea of telling his younger self that he’d be starting his forever family with that gorgeous man he met in a rundown dive bar—that four more wonderful hybrids would walk into their life and make them complete.

He doesn’t think he’d tell his younger version about the lab. He wouldn’t want to know.

The bathroom door opens, and both pairs of wolf eyes focus in on the youngest.

“Hey Koo” Jin says in his sweetest tone.

Jungkook flashes a toothy grin to his packmates, shuffling over to give both a chaste kiss on the lips.

“We were actually waiting for you pup, wanted to talk to you about something.”

Namjoon’s solemn tone isn’t lost on the wolf, putting him on edge as he takes his place opposite them on the bed.

“Is something wrong?” His eyes nervously dart between the two older ones.

Jin decides to take the lead, going in with as much tact as possible.

“First of all, we just want to say how happy we are that the hormones effects are wearing off on you. It’s great seeing you be yourself again...”

Namjoon jumps in, feeling Jin’s nervousness take over, “…but we do have to be mindful of our situation pup. Pushing away y/n isn’t going to do us any favors here.”

“Or Yoongi.” Jin adds.

Jungkook almost rolls his eyes, but he manages to hold back.

“I’ll behave.” He grits out halfheartedly.

“I’m going to need you to be more convincing than that Koo.”

The wolf glares at his Alpha, a sign of defiance Namjoon is not in the mood to entertain.

“Stop being bratty before I spank it out of you pup.”

Jungkook’s gaze changes in an instant. The challenging glint in his eyes is replaced with something far more devastating—hurt. Jin’s hands reach for Namjoon’s shoulder, pulling him back before the situation escalates even more.

“Why stop at a spanking? Might as well put the Obedience collar back on so you can have the docile and well behaved pup you want so badly.”

He doesn’t wait to be dismissed, almost running out of the room before the other two can see his glossy eyes.

Jin lets out a dejected sigh, “You shouldn’t have brought up punishment baby.”

Namjoon knew it was a mistake the second the words left his mouth, but it was already too late then.

“I-I know…it was just instinct.” Guilt overtakes his features, regretting not thinking twice before speaking.

The moment Jungkook looked at him with that defiant stare, he couldn’t help but respond in the way he had a thousand times before the lab. Back when punishments were just a tool for an Alpha to reign in a bratty wolf—not synonymous with physical and psychological torture.

He knows he can’t discipline his pack the way other Alphas do anymore, not when they’ve had enough punishments to last three lifetimes.

Jin tugs on the younger wolf’s sleeve, pulling him back to Earth, “Go apologize and make it up to him.”

“What if he wants space from me?”

“We’re talking about Jungkook here, your clingiest pup.”

Jin isn’t wrong. Jungkook isn’t the type to want to be left alone when he’s upset.

Namjoon follows the scent trail carefully, grimacing at the smell of salt mixed into Jungkook’s signature vanilla. Salt meant tears, and tears meant his pup was cooping himself up in some corner and sobbing. It doesn’t take the Alpha long to find which corner exactly, as the not-so-small wolf can’t exactly hide behind a dresser the way he thinks he can. But that doesn’t stop him from trying—bundled up with his knees to his chest in one of the spare bedrooms.

“Koo, sweetheart…” He keeps his voice soft.

Jungkook simply sniffles in response, not daring to look up with the wet streaks on his face. If this was Taehyung or Jimin, he’d have heard a “go away” by now. But not his Koo. Despite his willful attitude, there’s nothing Jungkook wants more than to be babied when he’s crying.

Namjoon cautiously sits in front of the boy, leaving space to keep their bodies from touching.

“Hey pup, can you look at me please.”

With his face still buried in his knees, the wolf simply shakes his head in refusal.

“I’m sorry about what I said Koo. I shouldn’t have brought up punishment…and the last thing I want is for you—or anyone—to be on those drugs again.”

“You’re lying.” Jungkook finally raises his head, eyes watery and puffy, “I was easier to deal with when I had the collar on. I know it. You know it. Everybody knows it. Hell, even I wish I could turn off all these thoughts and just behave. But I can’t…that’s not me.” His voice breaks towards the end, sobs threatening to spill from his throat.

Panic flashes on Namjoon’s face, composed demeanor becoming harder to maintain as Jungkook lays all his insecurities bare. There’s a quiet rage bubbling in his stomach—pointed a little at Kang but mainly at himself. Rage for letting Jungkook’s self esteem get to this point.

He knew from the day that Jungkook came into their lives that he’d need to be extra careful with him. Unlike the others, who jumped eagerly into his arms at the promise of a pack bond, his youngest pup was nothing but stand offish and distrustful for months.

It’s not hard to see how little love Jungkook has known prior to the pack, but things aren’t supposed to be like that anymore. Namjoon knows it’s naïve to think that all of Jungkook’s scars would be healed by now—knowing just how many he has—but wishful thinking got the better of him.

The boy in front of him looks just as insecure as he did when they first met. Except he’s not hiding it with sarcastic remarks and cold stares anymore…at least not to his packmates.

Namjoon makes sure to not let his frustration show in his words, needing to be as calm as possible to not spook the distressed boy.

“But this you is the one we fell in love with baby, how could we ever prefer any other version over it? I’ll admit you’re not the easiest pup from time to time, but I’d rather you be the most difficult wolf in the world than put that collar back on you.”

“Then why do you keep taking y/n’s side? She wants me back on the collar. I can tell. Wants me to be the sweet sweet angel they brainwashed me into being.”

“She doesn’t want you on the collar either Koo, she just doesn’t know this version of you…and you aren’t exactly letting her in either—which I know is hard for you, I understand it’s asking a lot, but I’m not doing this because I’m taking her side. I just think we have an actual shot of being happy here. You trust me, don’t you baby?”

Jungkook nods. No matter how upset he is, it’s instinct to nod when Namjoon asks that question. Of course he trusts his Alpha. He’d follow Namjoon to the ends of the world if he asked him to.

“I…I’ll try. But please…d-don’t punish me if I c-can’t.” The last part is whispered, as if it’s a shameful declaration. It is, to some extent, shameful for Jungkook to admit—that he shivers at the mention of the tamest punishments now.

Namjoon’s heart drops to his stomach at the helpless bundle of nerves in front of him.

“I won’t baby. I promise. Will you please come to me?”

Jungkook doesn’t waste time to scoot his way over, making himself small as he seeks safety in Namjoon’s embrace. Namjoon breathes a bit lighter, relieved at Jungkook’s lack of hesitation—the last thing he wants is his pup to be wary of him.

___

Hoseok looks over from one brunette to the other, both fidgeting as they try to find their words.

“What is it pups?”

Jimin clears his throat, tightening his hold on Taehyung’s arm before speaking up.

“Um..we just wanted to ask…” no matter how hard he tries, he can’t get the words out, “it’s nothing hyung! Forget about it.”

Taehyung, although disappointed, follows in understanding. The two are ready to retreat, but their hyung isn’t having any of that.

“Wait!” their hyung pouts, not wanting to be left out, “whatever it is, you can ask me.”

“It’s selfish” Taehyung takes the words out of Jimin’s mouth.

Hoseok raises a brow, waiting for further explanation only to be met with an awkward silence.

“Since when have you two ever thought twice before asking me for things?”

It’s true. They normally didn’t hesitate to ask their Hobi hyung for whatever they wanted. Why would they? He was their hyung and they were his precious pups to spoil.

But this wasn’t a normal situation.

“Whatever it is, I won’t get mad. You know I never get mad at you guys.”

Jimin wishes Hobi didn’t add that part, as it only makes him feel more gross in the moment,

“Fuck, I can’t do it. Please, let’s all drop this.”

Hoseok, however, isn’t ready to drop the subject.

“What could it possibly be that you’re so scare—” he stops as soon as the realization hits.

Truthfully, he’s been preparing for this conversation. With everyone else going back to normal, Hoseok knew it was just a matter of time before intimacy would come back into the equation for the rest of them.

“Oh pups, you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine, really.”

Jimin raises a brow, wanting to make sure everyone’s on the same page. Hoseok continues on, assuring them that he isn’t misunderstanding the situation.

“If we’re being completely honest, I’m still not comfortable with the topic. There’s still a lot I need to work through to handle triggers around it, but whatever anyone else does is fine as long as I’m not asked to be part of it.”

“A-are you sure? With you tuning into your hybrid he—”

“I don’t tune in to anything in the house. Really guys, it’s fine! The only thing that’ll make me feel bad is if you hold yourselves back because of me.”

“We don’t want you just saying that for our sake hyung.”

Hoseok shakes his head with surety, “I’m not. As long as it’s away from me, I don’t mind.”

He punctuates with a smile, ruffling Tae’s hair to lighten the mood. It works on Taehyung, but Jimin’s brows are still furrowed.

“What about during our heats? Will you be okay next month?”

“I’ve talked to Y/N and Yoongi about it already. I’ll be staying with them at Yoongi’s place, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, I’m telling you that I’m more than okay. Please don’t walk on eggshells around me.”

Jimin nods, deciding it best to trust his hyung’s judgement. Hoseok knows what’s best for himself, and it’s not Jimin’s place to decide what should and shouldn’t bother the older wolf.

___

You take a step back, huffing at your sixth failed attempt before diving back in.

You’re Shin Y/N.

You’ve made businessmen shake in their boots at the sound of your heels clicking. You’ve revived dying companies with one meeting. So why can’t you move this pesky little bookshelf to the other side of your office?

It’s been over fifteen minutes, and you can’t get the thing to budge at all. However, if it’s one thing you are, it’s stubborn. So you close your eyes and focus all your energy on pushing. To your surprise, the wooden shelf actually starts sliding this time. Ecstatic, you open your eyes to navigate the room--only to be met with the last sight you’re expecting to see.

It’s Jungkook, covered head to toe in black, with a detached expression you can’t quite read. He nonchalantly drags the piece of furniture, waiting for you to tell him where to stop.

“Right there is fine.”

He props it next to the standing lamp, making sure it’s flush against the wall before letting go.

“Thank you.” You want to say more, but you’re afraid of saying something wrong.

“Whatever.” He stuffs his fists in his hoodie before heading towards the door.

“Wait!” You panic, realizing you said that out loud. You don’t want him to leave but have no clue what to say next. Instinctively, you say the first thing that comes to your mind.

“You’ve been wearing that hoodie a lot…I can buy you more if you like—”

“No thank you.”

Your shoulders shrink. You know it’s not right, but throwing money at your problems has worked out pretty well for you thus far. Not to mention, it’s a lot easier than being emotionally vulnerable. But if money wasn’t going to solve this, your hand’s been forced to try the other way.

“I miss you.”

The words hang heavy in the air, with your fear of being rejected growing by the minute.

The wolf simply scoffs.

“Miss me? You mean you miss having a little pet following all your commands.”

You take a deep breath, reminding yourself of Namjoon’s words to keep composure.

Relax. Jungkook’s a bit difficult to win over, but it’s not impossible. He’s still a sweetheart once he lets you in—really lets you in, without the drugs making him.

Drugs or no drugs, you’ve seen the way he looks at his Alpha with stars in his eyes, or the way he pouts to his Jin hyung when he wants something. Despite the cold front he’s put up with you, he’s as warm as ever to his packmates. There’s still hope as long as you keep trying.

“That’s not true, Jungkook. You can’t just decide what I’ve been feeling and make your judgements based on that. It’s not fair.”

He narrows his eyes, bringing his arms up across his chest in a defensive stance.

“You can’t miss what you’ve never known.”

“I miss you telling me your favorite parts of the shows you’ve watched…or ranking the snacks in the pantry…or just coming by to tell me about your day. Was all of that really just the drugs? Would the real you really be so miserable hanging out with me? Do you hate me that much?”

You try to hold it back, but your eyes start watering right as you say the last sentence. Luckily, no tears spill.

Jungkook is taken aback nonetheless, not expecting the answer he got. His eyes soften up ever so slightly, but not enough to douse the fire of unease you’re burning under.

“I don’t hate you,” he huffs, playing with where his hands meet inside the hoodie instead of meeting your gaze, “and I like living here. But I’m not going to wait for you at the door like a little puppy anymore. And I’m not going to expect you to treat me like my packmates do. You’re not a part of our pack.”

He’s not giving you a lot, but you’re grasping tight at the little assurance he does give. For now, a “I don’t hate you” seems like the best thing you’re going to get from him—and you’re not in any position to complain.

“I understand!” This time, you seem like the lost little puppy, wagging your tail for any approval you can get, “I’m not trying to impose on your pack. I know it’s not my place. I just…want to be friends? Whenever you’re ready to consider me one, I’ll be here.”

You don’t give him any time to respond, as the tears threatening to spill down have you brushing past before the hybrid fully processes what just happened.

Friend.

Somewhere between packmate and total stranger.

Jungkook’s never had a real one before.

He’d never had friends or family before the pack. Just an abandoned stray moving from one back alley to the next. The last time someone asked him to be “friends” was a couple months after he’d just turned eighteen—a wealthy Alpha looking for a fighter to make money off of. He’d agreed, desperate to get off the streets. It wasn’t a bad gig, but it didn’t exactly leave him feeling good either.

Days of nonstop practicing, and nights of nonstop fighting, all so his “friend” could squeeze every last dollar from the matches.

The other fighters didn’t want anything to do with him, with his constant wins getting on everyone else’s nerves. And everyone else in town didn’t want anything to do with him either, with his bloodied and bruised appearance not doing any favors. He got used to the routine—accepted that real friends weren’t in his cards, and that there was probably no pack waiting for him. A true lone wolf.

And he would’ve lived his entire life that way if his last opponent wasn’t such a sore loser. Well, specifically, if his sponsor wasn’t such a sore loser. He still flinches at the memory of being chased down those alleys, hearing gunshots followed by car alarms and shattering glass. It was ten on one, with half of them being wolves he’d defeated in the ring—all working to get their sponsor his money back.

He’d barely managed to escape, gripping where a bullet wound grazed his bloody leg, as he ran without looking back. He only stopped running when the adrenaline couldn’t keep him going any longer, finding himself lost in a neighboring town when his knees finally gave in.

That’s the first time he met Jimin and Taehyung, fingers interlocked and lost in each other’s company. They would’ve missed him if the streetlamp had fully gone out, but thankfully, the little flicker in the night was enough for Jimin’s eyes to meet that of the injured wolf.

If he wasn’t in searing pain, he would’ve felt the pull of the pack bond right when the other two did. But he couldn’t feel anything other than where the bullet ever-so-slightly missed, causing him to kick and scream the entire time the wolves tried to help.

“Relax, please relax. We need to stop the bleeding. What’s your name?”

“Get the fuck away from me. I swear to God I’ll break your bones if you keep touching me.”

Saying he was difficult is an understatement, but the two managed to pin him down just long enough to give emergency first aid.

That was the beginning of the long and messy road to adjusting Jungkook to the pack, navigating his hot temper and short fuse as the rest assured him the pull wasn’t temporary—that this pack, this family, would embrace him with enough love and tenderness to make up for all the years he’d been alone.

To you, to everyone outside, this Jungkook might seem difficult…but only he and his pack know just how gentle he is compared to his old self.

But the idea of this not being enough—of having to compete with the docile imitation of himself that the hormones made him—it was terrifying.

You said you wanted to be friends, but could anyone not bound by a pack bond truly accept Jungkook for the way he is? When there’s really nothing in it for them?

That’s never happened before.

____

A/N: It's good to be back!!!

Permanent Taglist: @skyys-universee @morelovefortn @seagulljk @shadowyjellyfishfest @m4gg13-g @wittyreader

Series Taglist [CLOSED]: @welcometomyworld13 @kalala22 @fxirytaetae @btsfluffsworld @belikejk @shycreationdreamland @danielle143 @singukieee @blackrockshooter780 @g-b-artist @i-have-no-life-charlie @sopemee @no-regrets-just-confusion @acciocriativity @ldysmfrst @amara-mars @caelumwrites @estrellaburnxd @borahaetelevision @on-1ce @fuckthinking @jaiele

#bts hybrid au #bts hybrid x reader #bts ot7 poly #ot7 x reader #bts angst #bts smut #bts fluff #hurt/comfort

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maireadralph · 2 months

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Entrapdak Zine 7 AND 8 - Submissions OPEN!

Trying something rather different and opening both this year's zines at the same time the email address is open more often that it's shut anyway

The Themes and Dates are as follows:

Zine 7 - Theme: Lucky - Deadline July 1st - countdown to deadline

Zine 8 - Theme: Wishes - Deadline Dec 2nd - countdown to deadline

If anyone needs an extension for any reason just get in touch, I don't ask questions as there is time allowed for this.

For anyone who's taken part in a previous Entrapdak Zine the submission guidelines are exactly the same as previous Zines. Anyone who's new or needs a refresher just have a quick read of the following Wall of Text under the Read More

BASIC GUIDELINES:

This Zine is:

A Digital Zine containing works created by the fans for the fans

100% Free

Preferred Language is English - other languages maybe used as long as there is an English translation available somewhere in the work (eg an author's note)

SFW content suitable for a Y7-PG13 age range (same as the show’s age rating)

I don't do this, just submit work to the email address before the deadline - I’d rather you have more time to work on your pieces

Anyone can submit regardless of age or skill level - this is not a job application - just follow the guidelines and email in your work

The email address to send work to is entrapdakzineisluvd[at]gmail.com (replace the [at] with @ I write it like this to prevent spam bots email me)

Submissions can be Fan Writing (poems, fan fiction, character analysis, eassys etc), Fan Art, or even photos of your Entrapdak IRL work (cosplays, fancrafts etc)! You can submit an older work that you have published online previously if you wish - or even update a work you submitted to a previous Zine! Just have fun!

Guidelines applicable to all work:

Content Age Rating:

Like the show this Zine will contain content rated Y7 and PG13 rated - so please no swearing, censored out swears (eg skulls or **s instead of actual swear words is okay)

No hate work of any kind - we're all here for a good time

There WILL BE NO NSFW or 18+ content - I will politely deny any work of this nature let's please keep this suitable for all ages thank you.

Beach/Summer other work with nudity is allowed please adhere to the minimum clothing requirements:

Male presenting character -> speedos/underpants

Female presenting character -> bikini/bra and underpants

Unsure? Use the female presenting criteria

Theme:

The July Issue theme is LUCKY The Dec issue this is WISHES

This theme is a suggestion and if you’d rather make an Entrapdak piece without incorporating the theme please feel free to do so. I want you to have fun!

Allowed Characters:

As long as both Entrapta and Hordak are the main focus and the piece follows Age Rating it will be allowed.

Other allowed characters in the Entrapdak family include Emily, Imp and the Clones (also known as Spacebats)…yes weirdly this also includes Horde Prime.

Other She-Ra characters will be allowed but Entrapdak is to be the core element.

Phew that’s a lotta text sorry about that - now on to the fun stuff! What sort of stuff is allowed?

Any AU, canon, Fanon, corssovers and head canons are all welcome. Make something Entrapdak related that’s PG13 rated and have fun!!

Fan Writing guidelines:

This includes fan fiction, analysis eassys, poetry or whatever else you’d like to write about.

For Fan Fic I would recommend a minimum of roughly one page length. As some people like a work count goal I'll set that at 1k words minimum, please just write what your story needs. If you’d like to write Chapters then please do, just make sure to label them!

Written work can be emailed in the body of text, sent as pdf attachment or as a link to a Google Doc - I can work with any of those.

Please include you name/username somewhere as it helps with the filing. If there’s no name on the piece I’ll add one at the start with the title.

Fan Art guidelines:

Fan art can include rough sketches, screencap redraws, comics (appox 1-10 pages length), coloured sketches or full colour pieces.

Fan art can be in the digital or traditional medium.

Traditional fan art can either be submitted as a photo or scanned, which ever you prefer.

Preferred sizing for Digital art is as follows, my aim to to have everything on International (UK) A4 paper sizing where possible*

2480px x 3508pm DPI 132

Portrait layout is preferred**

PNG is preferred but I will understand if you only wish to send a workable JPEG

The aspect ratio (width:height) of A4 paper is 1:1.4142 (1:√2)

If you need a template here’s one -> Here’s a prepared A4 Canvas PSD File (2480pm x 3508px 300DPI) if you’d like to download it and use it

Notes:

*Images outside these sizings are still okay but may end up with a white border on the edges due to the PDF publishing settings.

**Images in the landscape layout will get boarders when posted on a portrait page due to the PDF publishing settings, however if I receive landscape art I will make some extra pages at the end of the Zine and attempt to turn landscape art into a two page spread (which does look awesome!).

How to Take Part:

Make your work and email it to entrapdakzineisluvd[at]gmail.com by JULY 1st 2024 for the July/Lucky issue or by Dec 2nd for the Dec/Wishes issue

Please make sure to include your Social Media contacts and which name or username you wish to be identified by. If you forget to include social media details and have been a part of a previous Zine I’ll use the details I have on file

I will reply to confirm I have received the content and that’s it I take care of the rest!

Please note I DO NOT KEEP any records of anyone’s email addresses. When the Zine is out I batch delete all emails sent to the email address (this is usually done a week after the Zine is out) and I keep no further records of these address. I respect your email privacy at all times.

The only records I keep on Zine applications is a private Google Sheet that has the following details: Submitter’s name, rough description of the item submitted and their social media contacts. I’m the only person with access to this Google Sheet as I use this as a Master List reference when compiling the Zine

FAQs:

Why no Application form/Sign Up period?

I don’t want anyone to feel like they are applying for a job here, this is supposed to be fun.

Will there be Guest Artists or Guest Writers?

If they apply sure, I’m not advertising who applies to be a part of this Zine until it’s ready to be published. I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated just because a certain person has chosen to participate.

Can I submit more than one piece?

If you’d like to certainly! If you’d like to submit up to three pieces of art and 3 fan writings, sure go for it! I’m certainly not going to stop anyone having a good time

May I post a preview of my work to my Followers?

Sure! Bonus points if you link them to this post so that they can take part if they wish

May I post my work online?

I would ask if you could please wait until the issue featuring your work is published. Of course this does not apply if you are chosen to submit and older work - in this case may I ask that you edit or add to said post to mention the work was also used in the Zine?

Is this only for people with a [insert certain social media account here]?

Nope, this is for anyone who wants to take part. I only ask for a social media contact so that others who like you work for the Zine may follow you on your preferred social media platform.

Can I send an update to a piece?

Of course! Just let me know which piece you want to use and I’ll update on my end

Can I send another piece on later?

Of course that’s not a problem!

Ah I can’t get this done before the deadline - it’s almost ready!!! I need another day!!!!

Contact me - my Asks and PMs are always open or emailing the email address. There is extra time allowed for an extension for anyone who needs it with no questions asked to why it is needed. Just get in contact, I'll put you name on the Extension List and that extra time is yours. Once all names come in (or the deadline is reached) I will finish up my work and get the zine out. I will not be sending out a further reminder (because I’ll forget sorry 😅).

Why don’t you make the Extension time public?

Because I can’t finish up the Zine if extra stuff comes in at the last second - I get jittery enough with final deadlines so this is how I manage my stress

More Entrapdak Zines??

Sure why not? If the community still wants them I’ll keep compiling them ever three or so months. I’ve seen what us nerds can do!

Where can I find the finished Zine?

All finished Zines are all hosted on a shared Google Drive folder https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1My_hDY8NmOWV7v6z0sYi0TSvxv07WowX Please share it with your other Entrapdak friends when it is ready.

Thank you for making it all the way to the end of this WALL of TEXT. It’s pretty much exactly the same as the previous Zines but with a few minor edits.

#hordak #entrapta #entrapdak #fanzine #she ra and the princesses of power #entrapdak zine #fandom event #upcoming #upcoming event

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drarrily-we-row-along · 6 months

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Hey everyone.

Maybe some of you have noticed that my writing's been super sporadic since like June (if you haven't that's very okay) but I just wanted to write a little bit about what's been happening in my life because it's had a pretty big impact on my writing.

It turns out that I'm actually ace.

So, if you happen to notice an uptick in me writing fics with ace characters who still get to be loved, I'm just trying to process a thing.

Please feel free to skip the rest of this post if you're not interested in the harrowing journey of self discovery. I am absolutely giving too much information about my life, I'm just really working at processing everything and I'm hoping writing it out will help. And honestly, there have been some beautiful souls in the Tumblr community who have given me some beautiful encouragement (including but not limited to @basicallyahedgehog who answered an anon ask I sent them the other day with so much kindness and encouragement because I'd bawled my eyes out about one of their fics featuring ace Harry/Draco.).

(Anyway. If you want to read a ramble about all of the things I'm struggling with at the present moment, I'm gladly accepting advice and kindness at this time. Please read below the cut and chime in if you have anything hopeful to add.)

For most of my life I've pretty comfortably called myself a "picky bi" and in the past couple of years have labeled myself "demisexual" because I'm not sex repulsed; I've had sex, it was fine/good when it's with someone who I'm in love with. I moved on from the labeling, content with the label I'd given myself and whatnot.

It's been a minute (read: 8+ years) since I've been in a relationship that got to the point where I've considered having sex but I didn't really think all that much of it. In retrospect, I think this is largely because I've grown a lot in terms of self respect and honoring my own autonomy. Somewhere around 25, I started saying no when I didn't want something and if the other person didn't respect that decision they were not worth my time.

Anyway, it didn't really occur to me that perhaps going nearly a decade without thinking about/wanting to have sex with anyone (and without experiencing even vague aesthetic attraction to someone with only the odd exception here and there- some of you saw that post a couple of months ago, apparently just having the thought that someone is pretty isn't the same as attraction that allo people experience- so that panic now seems pretty unnecessary. It literally boggles my mind that people can just see a person they've never met and want to have sex with them. Anyway, I'm digressing.) Apparently, it's not a common occurrence even among demisexuals to go that long without thinking about sex if you have emotional intimacy with people (which I do). So fast forward to June when I went to a conference for lgbtqia christians and started listening to people talk about attraction.

To say that my experience of attraction and desire for sex is profoundly different than that of nearly all of the people that I talked to at that conference would be an understatement.

After that conference, I started talking to a lot of friends about their experience of attraction and their desire for sex (eventually this also included some new friends who are demi/ace) and have been a little flabbergasted by their responses. Suddenly, in light of the fact that my body doesn't interpret a lot of things the way that other peoples' seem to, a lot of things started to make sense.

I've been called a flirt (at best, and a [cock]tease in more unpleasant moments) my entire life because I always want to give people gentle physical affection; I love holding hands, touching people on the arm while we're having a conversation, playing with peoples' hair, hugging, leaning, the list is long- none of those things have ever felt like flirting to me. Every one of those actions was the end in itself, there was no artifice in my touches, no desire or even thought for more, but APPARENTLY that is not the thing that happens in a lot of peoples' bodies. It is incomprehensible to me that simple, affectionate touches are not something that everyone just wants to do to anyone that they harbor platonic affection for. This also applies to the way that I communicate with people. Again, I've been called a flirt, been told that I'm intense, been told that I'm trying to 'steal' peoples' boy/girl friends simply by being friends with them. APPARENTLY, showing "too much" interest in other peoples' lives and hobbies is flirting. APPARENTLY, getting really excited for people who are excited and doing cool things is flirting. Because (or so I have been told) the emotional energy I expend is too much to just be friends; surely, I have another angle.

Next, in terms of attraction, I experience attraction to beautiful things in nature in the same way that I experience it to people. If I'm being honest, nature makes my heart sing in a way that people usually don't. I can get caught up in the beauty of the world; the vastness of the ocean for literal hours, in the majesty of the mountains, the strength of trees, the way water carves a path through the rocks in glens and waterfalls. The world takes my breath away, it makes me weep just to exist in nature. Apparently, this in not everyone's experience of nature and apparently, many people who want to have sex don't think that trees, or bodies of water, or mountains have as much (or more, in my humble opinion) appeal than humans.

It's come to my attention that even the way that I have experienced heart break from relationships where I was "in love" and having sex is not the way that people typically experience heartbreak. All heart break feels the same to me; grieving leaving a job, grieving the death of a loved one, grieving horrible things that happen to my students, grieving the loss of friendships, and grieving the loss of a relationship feel like the same heart break. (Like some of those things hurt worse than others but the heart break over the loss of a relationship isn't worse.) One of my friends mentioned that I grieve the passing of summer into autumn (I fucking hate the winter) like the loss of a relationship and I wish I could say that she is wrong. I've been told my whole life that I experience my emotions too big and I just can't help but wonder if there is some sort of correlation there, but I digress.

The literal dream for my life is to have someone who wants to get in the car or on a plane and travel with me. Someone who I can make coffee for in the mornings and who wants to cook me dinner at night. Someone who wants to sit on the couch after a long day at work and talk about nothing, or watch a show, or just exist together. Someone who wants to dance with me in the kitchen, and hold my hand while we walk, who wants to smile at me while I ramble about nature. I want someone who wants to hold me when I cry, who wants to listen to me when I'm mad, someone who will remind me to take a break when I'm working too hard. The only thing that I actually want from a partner is just someone to do life with. It's not that I'm opposed to sex, it's just that it literally doesn't matter.

(So many things in past relationships, so many fights, so many of the reasons that I was left, so many things that I JUST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND make sense now. Or at least they're starting to.)

So. In the process of understanding this complete fuckery, of trying to put all of the pieces that haven't quite made sense in my life into order, in the end of July my best friend told me that she's in love with me.

And on the one hand, I'm fucking over the moon, delighted, honored, speechless, crazy-happy. She's literally the best person I have ever known, she's the kindest, sweetest, most loyal, loving, amazing human being to ever exist. She loves me so well, so completely, like all of the things that I said above that are my dream; that is her. We road trip together, and she lets me braid her hair, and we snuggle on the couch and watch movies, and we talk for hours (literally hours, when we road trip we go for 7-10 days at a time and I like do not shut the fuck up for more than like 5 minutes total the entire day and she loves me; loves listening to me talk about whatever is in my brain), and when I'm going on and on about how pretty things are in nature she looks at me like I'm the pretty thing (when I say, 'oh my gosh. that mountain, tree, lake, ocean, etc. is so beautiful.' she literally says 'you're so beautiful' and I am deceased, my heart can't take it, I can't fucking stop smiling- I don't even want to), and she lets me info dump about whatever I'm learning, and she loves my brain and my stupid adhd, and she plays me sappy love songs and sings them to me (and she sings in my car, sings to me even though she doesn't sing in front of people) and and and... she makes me feel like I'm good. She makes me feel like I'm all of the things that other people have said I'm not.

And I am constantly terrified of hurting her.

There are a variety of reasons we're not planning on having sex (partially because it's not really something that I want) that I'm not going to get into but I'm afraid of being what I've been to other people. I'm afraid of her feeling like I'm pushing her buttons because I just always want to be touching her (very platonically) like just having our shoulders bumping while we walk, or putting my head on her shoulder when we're on the couch, or letting our elbows press against one another while we're in the car. BUT what happens in our bodies when we're touching like that is really different. Like I described above, for me any type of touch is really the end goal in and of itself (if I'm braiding her hair, it's safe to assume that that is all I want to be doing. If I'm leaning against her on the couch, that too is what I'm wanting.) But that's not always how her body wants to interpret touch, even if she logically knows that I'm not intentionally teasing (she would never say that she feels like I'm trying to tease her, for the record, it's just the easiest way for me to articulate what it feels like could be happening).

And I love her so much, like so much; I'd do anything for her but it's not the same kind of love that she feels for me. By which I mean that she is just really gay and actively attracted to me emotionally/physically but for me if she started dating someone else, I'd be actually fine with that. If she was dating/having sex with someone I wouldn't be jealous, as long as we still get to be friends. (And maybe her dating would necessarily change the dynamic of our friendship and that would be really hard but that's a different mental exercise.) This isn't the way that she feels.

She is so special and important to me but even the way that we are aware of the other person's presence is different. For me, if I'm in a group of people and she's there, I'm aware of that on some level but it's not at the forefront of my mind. My brain is always sort of 'triaging' the people around me when they're my friends; who's being too quiet? who has been going through a rough patch with work/family, etc? who has an exciting new thing they need someone to squeal about with them? who hasn't been included in the conversation in too long? (see the paragraph above about flirting. haha.) She's there but she often isn't the first person I'm thinking about because I talk to her almost every day, I get to love her every day, and odds are good that we either drove together or will talk on the phone our way home from the event- I see the other people there less, so my brain just prioritizes them since I have less time to love them. (This is actually really good, healthy progress for me in terms of healthy attachment and not forming a codependent relationship. My therapist and I are really proud of the work I'm doing, but I'm digressing again.) For her, though, she always knows exactly where I am. It is work for her to pay attention to other conversations, work to be in a different room. In most situations, I am the person she defaults to thinking about and wanting to be near and she has to actively choose other things if she wants to. (And I don't mean to sound like an absolute asshole, it's not like I ignore her or anything, and I'm delighted for us to be in the same conversations, it's just a different way that we engage with the world.)

I love her so much. And I'm afraid of messing everything up. Of hurting her. Of asking too much of her without asking for anything at all. I try to let her be the one to initiate physical touch (or I ask first) because sometimes it's too hard on her body and that's fair. I feel frustrated with the different ways that we experience love for each other because the way that she loves me feels so good and safe to me and it makes me feel so happy. I'm afraid that the way that I love her doesn't feel as nice for her, that it feels less than, that the way I express my love and devotion isn't as good. I'm afraid that the way she loves me is going to wear her out. She always says she knows I love her just as much as she loves me, it's just different. She says she's okay, she says that the way I love her is good for her and she's happy. But it's hard to believe.

I'm afraid that she'll fall in love with someone else who can love her the way she loves and I won't matter to her anymore (partially because that's been my experience of people who have said they're in love with me). I'm afraid.

Is it even fair to entertain the idea of maybe having a whole life together? (we're already entertaining the ideas, already daydreaming about 'what if we lived together', where we're going on our next road trip, etc. And I'm terrified.) Is it asking her to give up too much? I would spend the rest of my life with her. I'd be good and kind to her, I would love her with so much tenderness. But is it enough? Am I enough with just the things that I have to give? Is it actually possible for someone to love me for just me and not for the ways that I could contort myself to be something I'm not?

I recognize the irony in what I'm asking. I know that that's what all of these hundreds of stories I've written here say, it's what I want to believe. But is it even possible when it's reality?

I don't know. Does anyone have any good advice? Any ace people out there living with a person who's in love with them? Does anyone have something that's lasted?

#please send help #c rambles #i'm ace and i'm having a hard time with it #genuinely- I do know this is way too much information #I won't blame anyone if no one reads all of this #but i'll love you forever if you reply with something that makes me feel a little less lost and terrified #ace

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 9 months

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I find it so interesting that with in the twist universe, the boys write things out in English and not Japanese. For instance, the Valentines Day cards having been written in English as well as the contract in the Octavinelle commercial. It feels very deliberate. As if to indicate that they are foreign and don't necessarily speak the same language, but the writers also want us to still understand what's being written so they write it in English. Idk I just think it's a neat way of depicting this without having to go full Tolkien.

Mmm, that's definitely an interesting topic 🤔 Most fantasy media doesn't go out of its way to invent entirely new languages for its use (I only know of Devil is a Part Timer! doing it). It's actually difficult to come up with an entirely new language; you don't just come up with substitutions for words, but also new meaningful symbols, pronunciations, grammar and syntax which governs how the and sounds, words can be arranged, and social rules for the language's use. It's just easier to use a preexisting language and then to come up with some excuse for why we can understand them (typically because of magic doing the translating for us, or plain old suspension of disbelief). In the case of TWST, I think there's a number of reasons why they decided to utilize English for its writing system:

Firstly! The main setting for the game, Night Raven College, is modelled after a British boarding school and England's education system in general. With such English roots, it only "makes sense" for the characters to also write in English. If we consider that Yana herself is involved with TWST, "English" is also an aesthetic that is very suited to her skillset, especially considering her other very popular work, Black Butler. (She really was a perfect pick for the job, huh?) Secondly! If TWST's intention always was to go international someday (which it has), English is a safe bet to go since it's considered a "global" or "universal" language. Not everyone knows it of course, but it's the closest thing we have to a "common" tongue, as the most people in the world speak it! Thirdly (and this is the big one)! In Japan, TWST's country of origin, English is seen as (for lack of a better term) "aesthetic" and even as a status symbol. One 2020 poll found that less than 30% of the Japanese population speak English at any level, and 2-8% speak English fluently. In other words, most Japanese people would not understand the level of English being used in TWST, from Azul's contracts to the wording on the Great Seven statues and more. (You can sort of get a grasp for how few Japanese people are fluent in English from the Valentine's Day Gifts, which are all written in English; it's the one time of year when Japanese fans behave like EN fans and ask around for translations of the cards rather than the other way around for generalized TWST content.) Now, continuing off the point I made about English being seen as a status symbol... It's typically the highly educated and/or the privileged of Japan that learn English to a fluent degree. Considering that NRC is seen as an elite institution, the fact that its students can fully articulate (ie use full sentences in complex ways) in English only adds to that feeling of "being elite" (at least for the Japanese audience). English also has the effect of making the world of TWST come across as more "foreign" and helps to simulate the "other-worldliness" of the TWST characters in general (again, because of how rare fluent English is in Japan). The effect is somewhat lost in TWST EN, as most things are in English and the material is presented to predominantly English-speaking audiences in the USA and Canada, although I guess you could make the argument that the spoken dialogue staying in Japanese makes up for that lost feeling of the writing seeming foreign.

So!! There's actually many different reasons (or perhaps a combination of all of these, or unintended side-effects of one of them) as to why the general writing system in TWST is English rather than Japanese.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst en #twisted wonderland en #disney twisted wonderland #notes from the writing raven #Black Butler #Kuroshitsuji #Devil is a Part Timer

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tendaysoftenzo · 2 years

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TEN DAYS OF TENZO: TENZOVEMBER EDITION

Every year, we are blown away by incredible submissions featuring our favourite adult ninja taxpayer. In keeping with that tradition, we will be hosting the event again in 2022!

We invite you all to share your fantastic Tenzo (aka Yamato) content from November 1st to 10th, 2022. There are prompts for each day, but if you think of something else for Tenzo and want to share it, the more the merrier! Hosted by @keepyourpantsongohan, @sloaners and @ohayohimawari.

(Art above courtesy of the wonderful @sloaners.)

Submission

All content formats are welcome! Art, fic, graphics, podcasts, AMVs, an interpretive dance shown through claymation. As long as it fits the vibe, go for it! Tag @tendaysoftenzo and/or use ‘#tendaysoftenzo’ as one of your first five tags on tumblr if you’d like us to see and share your work.

Prompts

Day 1, November 1st: Tenz-O-Ween (Holidays) | Supernatural

Day 2, November 2nd: I’m Helping | ANBU Casual Friday

Day 3, November 3rd: Here We Go Again | Home

Day 4, November 4th: Science Fiction | Wild West (Cowboys)

Day 5, November 5th: Kakashi | Marry Your Dad

Day 6, November 6th: Global Arts and Culture | What If

Day 7, November 7th: Hanakotoba (Language of Flowers) | Bonds

Day 8, November 8th: Tenzo’s Delivery Service (Ghibli) | Odd Jobs

Day 9, November 9th: Columbzo (Mystery) | Vacation

Day 10, November 10th: Tenzo’s Quarter Birthday* | Free Day

(*What’s a quarter birthday? Since we’re hosting this event in the fall, we are celebrating Tenzo’s birthday three months later! Like a half-birthday, but sillier.)

For more notes about prompts/submissions, please check our FAQ.

Rules

Both gen and pairing content are cool! Keep it reasonable and healthy.

Reader/self-inserts are not generally in the spirit of this character-focused event.

NSFW entries are allowed, provided they are clearly marked and under a cut. It goes without saying, but you must be 18+ if you are submitting NSFW content! Add warnings to any entry where necessary. Crop images and link externally as needed.

We won’t be accepting adult/minor or sensei/student romance of any kind, including ones where the characters are aged up. Depictions of rape/dub-con, incest, or explicit underage are not permitted and will not be considered as submissions. As always, we want to keep this event as inclusive of everyone’s comfort zones as possible. In the spirit of that, we hope you will create works that celebrate Tenzo!

If you have any questions, feel free to send us an ask! Have fun creating!

#yamato #tenzo #tenzou #yamato tenzo #tendaysoftenzo #ten days of tenzo #naruto events #announcements #mod gohan

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seonghwasblr-moved · 1 year

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An anon asked for a tutorial on how I make gifs, so here we go!

I believe that everyone with a decent computer can learn how to make gifs.

The programs I use are

Vapoursynth

Photoshop

Topaz denoise (a lot of people don’t use this)

This is the gif I will be making in this tutorial!

Step 1. Find what you want to gif!

Download the video you want to gif in the best quality you can find. This is where ts files are really good! Personally I don’t really mind giffing only 1080p videos, but better the quality, better the gif!

Step 2. Crop it using vapoursynth!

Using vapoursynth is a whole tutorial in itself. You can still make gifs without vapoursynth (or avisynth as some people use). You can just crop the gif in photoshop to the size you want. Vapoursynth is just good at doing so without losing a lot of the quality!

The width for tumblr posts are 540px (one gif), 268px (two gifs) and 177px for the outer gifs and 178px for the middle gif, when making three gifs!

This site has everything you need for vapoursynth!

I don’t really have any set settings. I switch it up a lot, but these are my settings for this gif!

Step 3. Import gif to photoshop!

(My photoshop is in Danish, but it should be the same place in any other language).

You do this by going files > import > video frames to layers

Then you choose the video you got from vapoursynth (if you didn’t use vapoursynth, you just choose the part of your original video you wanted!)

Now we have a basic gif!

Step 4. Colouring!

Now the fun part comes! We colour the gif! This is where your gif truly becomes your gif! Every content creator has their own style of colouring and it really just takes time to find what you really like! Just do whatever you like!

These are the ones you use for colouring! Just play around!

Here we have the gif with colour! I’m not going to do a colouring tutorial, because colouring is really just up to the person making the gif!

These are the adjustments I’ve used on this!

Again, sorry for the Danish!

Here are some of my psds (tho I always make a new one every time I do a gifset)! I feel like there’s a lot to learn through looking at other people’s psds! Just have fun with it!

Step 5. Sharpen (and topaz)

I more or less always sharpen the same way on every gif (depending on how sharp it already is).

To sharpen you have to make sure you’re working as a smart object! You have to make the frame animation into a timeline and the layerss into a smart object!

Timeline:

Smart object: Select all layers > filter > convert to smart

(or select all layers > right click > convert to smart)

It has to look like this

To sharpen you go to filter > sharpen > smart sharpen

These are my settings:

Then I go to topaz denoise! I don’t really have any set settings for this, I just do whatever feels right in the moment. Topaz denoise is also a whole other thing, but it’s easy once you figure it out! I made a video on how to use Topaz here (to help someone who asked)

youtube

Because I don’t like my gifs way too sharp, I always add a blur at 20-30% opasity!

Step 6. Save the gif!

Before saving the gif, make sure everything is as you want it to be! You also have to remember to set the frame delay! I usually go for 0.05 or 0.06!

To save go to files > export > save for web

These are my settings!

And there you have it! A finished gif!

If you are more of a visual video learner, here is a video I made of my giffing like over a year ago for a challenge!

youtube

My colouring has changed a lot since then tho! I also didn’t sharpen and use topaz in photoshop (I used a lot in vapoursynth)

I hope this was at least a little helpful! ^8^

#*m.gif #maja talks #ps tutorial #resources #ps resources #photoshop #I am not good with words but here we are

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thegeekiary · 1 month

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A Note from the Admin

It’s been a wild year for the blogging community. Too wild, actually.

Twitter has become a toxic place to interact with our followers and people are leaving it in droves (thanks, Musk). Additionally, AI has taken over Google search results which means a lot of the content we were known for has been pushed down and, frequently, moved entirely off the first page. Add on the usual longstanding website scrapers, who steal our content for their own website wholesale without permission, and we’ve seen a dramatic decrease in revenue. We made less than half of what we made in 2022 in 2023. And we don’t make a lot of money to begin with, so this has hit us pretty hard.

None of us have been able to do this full-time, though for many of us that is the dream. We don’t make what writers truly should for the work we put in, but we do it because we’re passionate about geek culture. Our advertising revenue is split among all the contributors based on their work volume, which means everyone who contributes to this website has been impacted by the Twitter and AI issues. As we were already struggling before, we’re absolutely floundering for revenue now.

Due to these dramatic changes, we have updated our Patreon with new tiers and kindly ask that you help support us through that avenue if you are able.

New Patreon Perks

The Zoo $3 – Everyone who pledges $3 a month will have access to our monthly wrap-up. This will be posted to Patreon, and we will work on getting it delivered directly to your inbox as well.

The Aviary $5 – Our most popular perk – a shout-out on the website and an optional link at the foot of our page – is still here for the same price. Only now you also get the monthly wrap-up as well.

Bird Feeders $8 – Get all of the above, plus twice annual stickers. These stickers will be themed around fandom, LGBTQ+ themes, and general Geekiary content. If our budget allows, we will send out more than two a year. Think Pride and Christmas-themed special editions! But we have to have enough pledges to make that happen.

The Top Perch $15 – Get all of the above, plus at least once annual merchandise shipped to you. This merchandise will vary, consisting of things like lanyards, pens, buttons, and maybe even shirts! The themes of the merchandise will be similar to what we’re offering for the stickers, and we will ship more than one per year if we get enough pledges.

Announcements for sticker and merchandise designs will be posted on social media. Anyone who pledges in the first six months (for stickers) or year (for other merch) will get what’s announced in the first post.

If you want to support us through Patreon, CLICK here.

Thank you for your continued support. We appreciate you.

-Admin Angel

#patreon

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minmodulation · 1 year

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New Ishiguro Interview on "Tengoku Daimayko/Heavenly Delusion" Anime (Rough Translation)

1) When did you first learn that an anime would be created based on your story? How did you feel about it?

I heard about it from the original editor about 3-4 years ago. At first, I didn't feel anything special. After all, proposals for creating anime are quite common, although their realization remains in question. I thought, "I don't think this is a suitable story for anime, although if someone sees the value of this content as animation, it may give me more confidence in the idea that worries me."

2) What were the goals set for the anime adaptation team?

I expressed the opinion that if the plot is transferred directly from the source material, then there is no meaningful load. I love the animation style and direction in anime, so I asked them to create a work that creates a sense of the need for existence in anime format. Also, in case of disagreements between the source material and the direction, the creative vision of the director and operators should be considered a priority, and they should create what they want instead of simply following the source material.

3) How is Isiguro-sensei involved in production?

My role is almost like a final check. I look at what has been created and say "It's all good" (laughs). The project is wonderful, so my set of compliments has started to run out. The production period coincided with the COVID period, so direct communication with my team was very limited.

4) Did you discuss the original plot and other aspects with the team?

At the first meeting with the animation studio, I told the director a nearly finished plot that had not yet been drawn. I couldn't help talking about the plot, but it was difficult (laughs). It was like the situation where "a future manga artist, a student at the university, can't debut because he only tells his friends the story without drawing it" (laughs).

4.1) Each character perfectly matches their image and it's amazing.

5) What is the opinion on the anime script?

I was told that the original work has a very convoluted structure and was written blindly, so consider it a draft. Therefore, when I read the script, I thought, "Oh, I see, this is a good decision. This is the right way." I even want to redraw the manga from the beginning, transforming the anime script into a drawn project.

6) What is the impression of the cast?

I was hardly involved in the selection of actors. At the final stage, I only said something like "Increase articulation a little." The studio carefully studied the dramatic roles and chose actors that matched, so each character perfectly matches their image and it's amazing. The performer of the role of Maru is very good in strong dramatic scenes, so I think we need to add more serious scenes for Maru in the original.

7) Can you tell us what awaits us in the 3rd episode and beyond?

The 3rd episode focuses on the memories of the main character, so even from this episode, you can understand the plot. The 3rd episode was so amazing that I had something to think about for several days. I even thought that I would buy the DVD just for this episode. Anyway, I would like you to watch the 3rd episode and continue watching the anime further.

8) Is the manga better?

No, the anime version surpasses the original. Everywhere, in every place, the anime is beautiful, but if we talk about the most noticeable aspect, it's the background colors. The flawlessness of the background picture is noticeable right away while watching. I would even say that the difference in airiness between the background of monochromatic lines in the manga and the background art in the anime is simply night and day.

9) Please say a few words for manga and anime fans.

"Tengoku Daimakyou" is a project that goes against the trend, where the essence is clear from the title, where the story unfolds over four pages, and where readers simply scroll through the manga on their phone screens. I think everyone involved in creating the anime also agrees with this, and they express it in the form of super-detailed originality. We promise to answer all open questions in the original, so if you're confused, you can go back and read again, and also watch more detailed movements and direction in the anime and flip them back and forth to not miss details and impressions. We would be grateful if you could join the project.

#masakazu ishiguro #heavenly delusion #tengoku daimakyou #tengoku daimakyo #interview #manga #anime

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defira85 · 1 year

Note

What would you recommend to someone thinking about starting with swtor in this day and age?

Huh that's actually a really good question, and it probably doesn't help that I've not been active for the last two years (they made some fairly substantial gameplay changes to the combat that I didn't like the sound of on paper, I have no personal experience with how it's played out and whether folks think it worked out well in the long term)

I'll put this under a cut to spare people's dashes, and if any friends have their own recommendations based on current gameplay and gearing PLEASE feel free to chip in:

The game has free to play options, and in theory it's entirely possible to play up to the fourth (fifth?) expansion without paying a cent. I don't necessarily think it's particularly as fun as it could be on F2P, because obviously they make things just that little bit more frustrating to try and coax you into spending money, but it's not bad. Just a little slower to progress. And really, if you're not sure if you want to invest in the game (time or money wise), downloading the F2P is a good trial move, because the base game is hands down superior to most of the expansions

There are 8 possible origin stories to choose from - four Republic aligned, and four Imperial aligned. Despite stylistically being the same 4 classes, the story telling has always been the strength of the game and the 8 original classes are all fantastic in their own ways. Admittedly, ask 8 people what they think the best or worse class story is and you'll get 8 different answers. I personally rank the Smuggler (a Han Solo-esqye self insert) as my least favourite, but I've got plenty of friends who think it's the best story. I would die for my Jedi Knight but I think the writing from the story is pretty outrageously bad in places. The Sith Warrior class story changed my life. So did the Imperial Agent, but again, I know people who think they're overrated. Just go with your heart and see what appeals to you when it introduces the class options

There are nine packs that I would consider expansions (more if you include mini gameplay expacs that introduced things like starfighter combat, they always have little brief story quests to explain their origin):

Rise of the Hutt Cartel (adds planet Makeb)

The Dread War (adds planet Oricon, technically a continuation of RotHC but different enough in scope that I would count it as separate)

Shadow of Revan (adds two planets, Rishi and Yavin 4)

Rise of the Emperor (adds planet Ziost, technically a continuation of SoR like TDW was for RotHC)

Knights of the Fallen Empire

Knights of the Eternal Throne

Fractured Alliances (technically a continuation of the last two, but adds Iokath as a playable area)

Onslaught (adds three planets Ossus, Onderon, Mek'Sha)

Legacy of the Sith (have not played so not sure!)

KotFE and KotET moved away from planetary expansions and did chaptered missions, so you couldn't visit the areas of the story unless you replayed the chapter, which was a pain if you enjoyed just running around exploring. Technically we got new planets Zakuul, Odessen and Iokath in those expansions, and Iokath did eventually introduce daily missions and explorable areas, but it wasn't the most popular addition to the canon

I personally enjoy KotFE and KotET because of the amount of time I invested in telling my character's stories in that time period, but I think that Shadow of Revan/Rise of the Emperor had the more compelling storytelling and gameplay. Rishi is for sure my favourite planet in the game, although Onderon comes close and I'm sure Zakuul would've won if we got more ability to just run around and explore

Basic gameplay is pretty straight forward if you've ever played an RPG or MMO before. It's entirely possible to play the vanilla stories without ever needing to play any group content, and you can just treat it like a solo player game with some extra fidgety NPCs in the background of your scenes and pretend they aren't other players. The group content - flashpoints (4 players) and operations (8 or 16 players)- are for the most part pretty great, and a lot of their stories bring more clarity to the main game. As the game gets into the expansions, they start introducing solo player flashpoints which then become the chaptered mission when you get to KotFE.

You also get access to companions right from your first planet, which is great! Every class starts with 5 companions, and that number grows as you get into the expansions. Some of the companions can be romanced, although unfortunately everyone was straight-gated up until Shadow of Revan. After that, earlier companions have occasionally been rewritten to be available to all genders, but not all of them which is frustrating at times. The relationships you build with the companions - whether it's romance or friendship or intense loathing - is genuinely such a great feature of the game, and it's something the later expansions have suffered from, not having your core team around you anymore.

SPEAKING OF, I WILL WARN YOU UP FRONT, SHAE IS NOT A ROMANCE OPTION :P I just don't happen to believe in being restricted to canon when it comes to these sorts of things. She's an NPC, and you can flirt with her now and then in the later expacs, but she's not smoochable.

I can't comment on the current combat system, or the current gearing system, as I've been out of active play for the last few years (ESO got me good) but I hear they've worked out some of the kinks from the revamp. I wasn't overly thrilled with it, as I've played fairly consistently since launch and this was going to be about the fifth complete overhaul of the combat and gearing since launch and after going to the trouble of getting all your characters the best gear multiple times only to be told you have to start from scratch AGAIN wears a little thin after awhile. But! If you're not planning on hardcore raiding, gearing changes shouldn't be that much of an issue

The housing system is fun but there's no real way to decorate well without pumping a lot of your own money into the game which is shitty. I've seen the light in ESO's crafting and being able to craft my own furniture is game-changing

Space combat is a nightmare. My spatial awareness becomes non-existent once I have to steer in a three dimensional space. I have one friend who loves it and used to play constantly but I couldn't ever get used to it

PVP is eh. I've had more fun in PVP in other games, but it's not bad.

The crafting system is fun, but unless you're making your own healing packs or dyes, its not really worth much. Sending your companions off on crafting missions can be fun though, as they come with teensy little snippets of lore and some of them are funny or intriguing. It can get expensive real fast though

The only thing I would caution against is that they've made some fairly unpopular changes just in the last month regarding the cost of quick travel to try and rein in the bloated in-game economy and it seems to have been implemented poorly and unfairly effects low to mid tier players as opposed to the high end players

If you have any questions after all of that, let me know! AND GOOD LUCK!!!

#swtor #The Old Republic

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mitsukiki-festival · 2 years

Text

MitsuKiki AU August 2022 Event

Hello, everyone! Sorry for the delay in announcing the upcoming MitsuKiki event, but we’ve been kinda busy and have been discussing about which prompts to use for this year’s event. (If enough people enjoy it, we may end up doing this again next year.)

The new event that will be coming up will be the MitsuKiki AU August 2022 event!!! As the name suggests, all of August will be dedicated to AUs for MitsuKiki. Meaning you have all of July to work on these prompts ahead of time. Or, if you don’t want to, then you can do them when the event starts. It’s up to you.

We have created a calendar containing the prompts for this year’s event. Needless to say, it took us awhile to figure out what prompts we wanted to do, since there were so many. We tried to keep as many of them as fluidly flexible as possible in order for you to come at these prompts from whichever direction you wish.

Here are the prompts:

Day 1: Fantasy AU Day 2: Teachers AU Day 3: Crime AU Day 4: Pirate AU Day 5: Regency AU Day 6: Hospital AU Day 7: Sports AU Day 8: Rivals AU Day 9: Wild West AU Day 10: Childhood Friends AU Day 11: Bodyguard AU Day 12: Medieval AU Day 13: Dragon AU Day 14: Way of the House Husband AU Day 15: Feudal Japan AU Day 16: Roommates AU Day 17: Retail AU Day 18: Civil War AU Day 19: Arranged Marriage AU Day 20: Hunger Games AU Day 21: Pacific Rim AU Day 22: Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts AU Day 23: Orchestra AU Day 24: WW1/WW2 AU Day 25: Royal Mountie AU Day 26: Flowershop AU Day 27: Curse AU Day 28: Fairytale AU Day 29: Butler/Maid AU Day 30: Star-Crossed Lovers AU Day 31: Free Choice

. .

(FYI, the “Civil War” prompt doesn’t have to be the American Civil War, but a Civil War of any nation or any time period. Heck, you could even do a Civil War AU for the canonverse! These prompts are meant to be as flexible as possible.)

…

This event is open to all kinds of fan-creations: fanfics, fanarts, fan mixes, comics, collages, etc! So don’t worry if you’re not a writer or artist.

Any Ao3-posted content will be in a Ao3 Collection. It’s called MitsuKiki AU August 2022 Collection. The link to it is here. If you need help becoming a member, just let us know via PM and we’ll add you on the members list.

We would suggest that you click the “Get Notifications” button so that you won’t have to worry about missing any future updates, but that’s up to you. If you already do that without the button, then do so.

Also, a reminder that late submissions are allowed up to the end of the year, so please don’t feel stressed if you aren’t able to take part during the event, or if you weren’t able to get all of the prompts done. Go at your own pace!

…

Also, anyone who completes the entire calendar is free to ask for a MitsuKiki fanfic request via PM. However, this is only OPTIONAL!!! You may choose not to ask for one if you do not wish it.

…

Also, please make sure you have fun. You don’t have to do every prompt, nor are you expected to produce more than one work. Please do whatever you’re able to do. This is a stress-free event, so please make sure to have fun! 💖 🥰

Sincerely,

— MitsuKiki Festival Mod Team

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dorky-zuko · 1 year

Note

Plz share your thoughts on the Mass Effect Endings (Both from a Watsonian perspective of "which ending choice is the best" and from a Doylist perspective of "were any of those endings a good way to end the trilogy?")

Look, you asked for it.

When the third game first came out and I reached the ending, I immediately shot the glowy kid because I thought he sucked, and then when nothing happened I decided to blow up the Reapers. Apologies to my new friends The Geth and the lovely EDI, but I’m hittin’ destroy every time lol. My dad, Captain Admiral Keith David Anderson, told me to do it.

After the DLC update however, now when you shoot starkid he gets real pissy and throws a tantrum, locking you into what is simultaneously the worst and best ending. The refuse ending is interesting to me because it really is the developers saying, okay, you didn’t like our endings, huh? Well here’s one where everyone dies instead, happy now??? And like, yeah! Even though everyone dies and the content is significantly, significantly truncated, at least it’s a real ending? At least it makes sense?

All three crucible endings are terrible because, let’s face it, the crucible suxs. From your Doylist perspective, it was dead on arrival, a dud the moment it was introduced into the plot on Mars. Really, all the crucible endings are bad because the whole set-up for ME3 is bad. It turns Mass Effect into a story about building a magic machine to make all your problems go away. No matter how the crucible ended up working it was never going to be narratively satisfying, because it’s just an enormous machine that beats the Reapers for you.

When you spend 2/3rds of your story writing your characters into a box, it’s bad form to start act three by handing them a box cutter.

So if the crucible sucking is the one of the one, two punch that is ME3’s terrible ending, the second punch is surely that we’re going into this game with the goal of explaining the Reapers. This gets even worse when you consider what they add in Leviathan, but even without that, making the Reapers a force with whom Shepard can discuss both the nature of life and the Reaper’s plan in relation to it at the end of the game is just pathetic. Both for Shepard AND for the Reapers.

When Sovergin says “You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it,” that’s all I need from the Reapers. When he says “rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance,” THAT’S ALL I NEED FROM THE REAPERS. When he says “there is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it”

That’s it, baybee. That’s the whole thing.

I don’t need the Reapers to be any more scrutable to me than an 8 year old child is to the ants that live in his ant farm. They work all day, living their little ant lives, toiling in obscurity, oblivious to the fact that the giant beyond the glass is even alive in the same way that they are. Oblivious to the fact that they are utterly at his mercy. And then one day he turns 9, and decides he’s too old to have an ant farm any more, so his parents come in with the pesticide, and then later they tell him the ants went to a farm upstate. The ants live and die, they build a civilization only to watch it fall, and the whole time they are utterly unaware of the factors that motivate the beings that control every part of their entire universe.

That’s the Reapers. Eternal and unknowable. Alive in a way organic beings can barely understand, motivated by forces that defy our every way of thinking.

Except of course, it’s not. The Reapers were built by the space squids who still, miraculously, live at 2181 Despoina Drive. They have incredibly simple motivations that can be explained in a single conversation. They want to pull a John Conner and stop the Terminator future, so every once in a while they come kill all organics before synthetics can do it first, even though if you’re not a loser you already made peace between the Geth and Quarians so their entire point is entirely refuted before the starkid has even started explaining it to you. Glowboy says "synthetics will always end up destroying organics," and Shepard is like, "my ship’s AI is alive, and I can't get her to stop boning my pilot. The only 'destroying' of organics she's wants to do is pulverizing Jeff's brittle-bone-disease pelvis!" Everything the starkid says about organics and synthetics being incompatible instantly rings hollow the moment he says it, and that's the entire basis for what the Reapers have been doing for like a hundred million years. It’s just so weak.

And then this weak ass kid who has given you no reason to believe he has any idea what he’s talking about gives you three options, none of which makes any sense. Grab these exposed wires and you’ll turn into a big blue reaper? Jump into this hole to give everyone in the galaxy magic green cyber eyes? Shoot this machine until it blows up nice and red hot, which is somehow the intended way to turn it on???

Why would I, or my Shepard, want to do any of these three things? All I want to do is shoot the starchild. He’s literally in charge of the Reapers, the bad guys who have been killing everybody for three games now. He seems chill with whichever crucible ending you pick, only becoming upset if you pick the refusal ending. Which is good, I hate him and I want him to be upset.

Look, if you wanted me to say which color ending is best, like I said at the start, it’s red. Illusive Man wanted to do blue, and he’s a chump, so I’m not picking blue. And I don’t really believe in green, it sounds too much like made-up space magic, and I’m not a hippy. I like EDI and the Geth, I really do, but the Reapies gotta go, my dudes. I’m sorry to all the robots out there, y’all we’re the real ones.

So yeah, the endings all suck individually and they also all suck collectively. Mass Effect 3 succeeds in a lot of ways, it has the best set pieces of the trilogy (2 has the best characters and 1 has the best narrative) and it has lots and lots of amazing payoff for narrative beats that have been set up throughout all three of the games. But the Reapers aren’t one of them. Best to just play Citadel DLC and end things after the party, pretend the writers decided to keep the ending ambiguous. That Shepard, they always keep you guessing. How are they gonna get outta this one? I guess we’ll never know.

#mass effect #ending discourse #what is it 2013 in here?#dorky zuko post #Remember the indoctrination theory?#shit was WILD

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mkjeong · 2 years

Text

Fallin’ all in you - JJH (part 5)

PROLOGUE - The second the door burst open, my eyes landed on him. The memories played smoothly like a song I’ve played many times before even after 8 years of trying to break that record, here we are sitting face to face like we used to back on that very rooftop. Only, now his eyes are void of emotions. Unlike the warmth of comfort we once shared, we’re strangers again.

Pairing/Characters - Jaehyun x Dayeon (oc fem reader), Jaemin x Si-eun (oc fem reader)

Genre/Category - angst, romance, enemies to lovers, enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers, exes to lover, rekindled romance, ceo!jaehyun, ceo!jaemin, mentions of mingyu, highschool to working

Content Warning - strong language, slightly implied 🔞 but nothing much, mentions of heartbreak

Status - on-going

Masterlist

The next day, after finishing school. Jaehyun took Dayeon’s bike back to her place. When entering the restaurant to inform Dayeon about her bike. He bumped into an older looking woman and he asked “Is Dayeon home yet?”

“Dayeon-ah THERE’S A HANDSOME CUSTOMER LOOKING FOR YOU” The lady shouted.

Dayeon came out and saw who was looking for her. “Mom?? Where is the handsome customer?” She turned to Jaehyun and said “Damn it! You scared the handsome customer away!” She shouted jokingly.

Her mom walked away while she laughing.

“I will break that damn bike.” Jaehyun teased back.

“Try me. I have insurance and I will report you.” She responded.

“Okay, now you can go.” Dayeon spoke.

“No, don't go yet, since it’s about dinner time might as well join us, handsome customer.” Dayeon’s mom initiated.

“No No No, mom he’s busy.” Dayeon talked back.

“Actually a meal sounds nice, thank you Mrs. Kim.” he replied

During dinner time, laughter and jokes were shared around the table. While finishing his meal, Jaehyun bid his goodbye to Dayeon’s family. Before he stepped out the door, Soyeon ran up to him and grabbed his pinky, looking up at him. “You have to visit us more often, Dayeon’s handsome friend.” “Yes, come over anytime dear.” said Mr. and Mrs. Kim.

“Thank you, I will.”

“Dayeon! What are you doing? Walk your friend out!” Her mother demanded.

While walking Jaehyun out. Jaehyun spoke up and said, “Thank you for this, it’s been a while since I had a home-cooked meal with people.” Dayeon smiled and waved him off.

After a month has passed, Jaehyun and Dayeon grew closer. Having a meal at her place every now and then. Not only did Dayeon get closer with Jaehyun but also with Si-eun. Dayeon has been switching back and forth from eating mostly with Jaehyun on the rooftop but also with Si-eun in the cafeteria. Exhausted from the switcharoo, she decided to invite Si-eun up there as well. Upon entering the rooftop, Si-eun was about to smile and wave at her best friend until her eyes landed on HIM.

“What the fuck is that ass doing here?” Si-eun exclaimed.

Everyone exchanged a look of confusion until they saw Si-eun's eyes on the boy sitting to the right of Jaehyun.

“Jaemin?” Dayeon asked.

“Yeah that asstwat!” Si-eun spat.

“Hello to you too Ms She hulk” Jaemin chuckled, clearly proud of his snarky remark.

“Fuck you, you ass” Si-eun said without forgetting to glare at him.

“I thought it was just going to be us and Jaehyun!” Si-eun asked Dayeon.

“Well I might’ve forgotten to mention that Jaemin here just recently broke up with his girlfriend so he’s eating with Jaehyun again…” Dayeon nervously laughed.

“God! Another one? Which one is this one? Sophia? Minji? Ji-in? Naeun? Yuna?” Si-eun suddenly paused.

“Oh come on, I’ve dated more, keep going” Jaemin said with his signature smile.

“Shut up, I’m tired” Si-eun replied and went to sit right next to Dayeon.

“So which one is it, Jaemin?” Dayeon asked.

“Sophia.” Jaemin casually said as he took a bite out of his lunch.

“What did you do this time?” Jaehyun sighed.

“She was boring so I dumped her,” Jaemin said casually.

“You’re disgusting. You man whore!” Si-eun said.

“Mmh, since I’m a man whore. Should I date you as well, you know add you to my long list of girlfriends” Jaemin said sending a wink across to Si-eun.

“Hahaha, dayeon if you don’t hold me back right now I will punch this man right in his stupid dumb face” Si-eun said with a big smile, somewhat a little evil.

The bickering continues among Si-eun and Jaemin whereas Jaehyun and Dayeon enjoyed the company of their friends.

“We should come here everyday, it’s nice,” Dayeon suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds good” Jaehyun answered.

“Yeah if I’m not busy, with you know…” Jaemin smirked.

“Call me only when he’s busy sucking off another bitch’s face,” Si-eun said. Before they could exchange another conversation, the bell interrupts and it’s time to pack away.

#nct 127 #jaehyun #jungjaehyun #jeong jaehyun #najaemin #jaemin #nct #nctdream #jungyuno #nct imagines #nct scenarios #jaehyun au #jaehyun series #jaehyun x reader #jaemin x reader #jaehyun x female reader jaemin x female reader #jaehyun x oc female reader #jaemin x oc female reader

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thumpersdae · 1 year

Text

tl;dr im changing the way i post my own artwork here, by having a goal of one (1) piece a week, posted on different days depending on what i have made. also im going to start to bring more attention to some of my other social medias. heres a helpful chart:

(more details under the cut)

So i've had a dedicated art blog on tumblr for a couple years now, and ive decided that maybe i could like, use it as a way to be better about making consistently.

basically, my issues with making and posting things in the past were me having issues figuring out how to pace my actual making in a way that is sustainable, and then also that creates these peaks/valleys in attention that i get for my work that are surprisingly frustrating. this made like 70% of this whole process emotionally uncomfortable at best, witch is a pretty uncool stat for a hobby im doing because i love it.

so now, instead of just posting whenever i have anything, i will be posting one piece of art a week. what day of the week it is will depend on the content of the thing im working on. ideally this will make it easier for me to manage doing at least one thing creative each week, without falling into the manic sort of "ive been awake for 28 hours and need to finish this and get 100000's of reblogs or ive failed" feelings i tend to get into.

also ive decided to start trying to be better about cross-posting and self promotion. ive had a Red-bubble for almost as long as ive had this tumblr and im going to try and be better about getting my more polished original work there. my Youtube has a couple AMVs and fan videos, theres not much, but i find it's a good place to keep animations, and i will be continuing to post similar things there. Ao3 is arguably the place i add to the most, ive been writing fics on and off there for 8 years, and will try to be better letting people here know when new things are up there.

also i have 2 new sites that im going to start working on. i started a Ko-fi because it felt silly not giving people the chance to support me if they wanted to be incredibly generous. i dont really expect anyone to contribute but you miss 100% of the free coffees you dont ask for (or something). also ive also built an OnlyFans, im planning on posting all of the visual art i will be posting on tumblr there for free, with the occasional paid post with more nsfw themes for people willing to pay for that sort of thing.

so thank you for reading about my update, i hope this means you'll see my stuff more regularly in the coming weeks. take care <3

#wordy wednesday #housekeeping #my art #self promotion #readmore please

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khoicesbyk · 1 year

Text

The Royal Romance.

Love Everlasting.

A/N: I had a different name and plot for this fic over a year ago. But after being in the RP community for more than a year, I've decided to write the current Royal Life of my favorite OTP.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 40K words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️).

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations @shewillreadyou @txemrn @twinkleallnight @peonierose

This goes without saying but MAJOR SHOUTOUT AND THANK YOU TO @shewillreadyou! I swear! She always helps me untangle the tangled mess that is known as my brain when it comes to writing and story ideas. I love you girl! 😘

Listen this chapter has 8 different ideas and story plots that I had all dumped into one chapter. Hence why it is so damn long. I just kept writing until I knew it was done. This will be a four-part chapter. This is part one.

Chapter 7.) One Last Goodbye. Part 1.

Shanelle was sitting at her desk going over her business model for Rys International with a fine tooth comb, when her phone started to vibrate. When she looked at who was calling her on FaceTime she rolled her eyes. It was her best friend's twin brother Cassian, who just happened to be her childhood ex-boyfriend.

“Hello?”

“What the hell is wrong with you Shanelle?” he asked.

“Excuse me?”

“When were you going to tell me Nina was in rehab?!”

Shanelle looked around like she was hearing things.

“First of all, who the fuck are you talking to like that? Second, I didn't tell you because it wasn't my story to tell.”

“I had a right to know!” he snapped at her.

“Cass. You got one more time to raise your voice at me before I make you a distant memory.”

Cassian backed down.

“When did this all happen?” he asked.

“The night she came home,” Shanelle replied.

Cass shook his head.

“Well, that explains why you walked right past me and didn't say anything that night at the hospital.”

“Your memory must be slipping. Because I stopped talking to you long before she came home. Why the hell would I have talked to you that night?” Shanelle asked.

“Because I'm her brother Princess,” he replied.

“That's Queen you dick!” she hissed.

“You should've told me, Shanelle.”

“Okay, I'm gonna say this again. No, I shouldn't have.”

“I'm her brother. I should've been kept in the loop.”

“Exactly. You’re her brother. Not your father. Although you constantly like to act like your dad.”

Shanelle watched him roll his eyes.

“How did she even get to rehab?” he asked.

“Not that I owe you an explanation but, remember when she moved in with me when I worked in D.C. for a few months?”

“Yeah, what about it?” he asked.

“That was the cover story we came up with to put your parents at ease. The truth is she wasn't staying with me, at least not the whole time. She was an hour away at an inpatient rehab facility in Virginia. And before you go flying off the rails, I called and checked on her every day. And she was allowed to come to my place on weekend passes. I made sure to keep up with the staff treating her. And when she got clean and felt strong enough, she went back to New York, and moved in with Chut and continued at an outpatient rehab facility.”

“And you didn't think I needed to know any of this?” he asked Shanelle.

“Nope. Not in the least. My priority was her and her well-being not you and your need to know. Besides, the last thing she needed at that time was you and your constant condescendence.” she replied.

“That is not fair and you know it Shanelle.”

“Yeah well, neither is life, Cass. But hey! We all gotta deal with it somehow.”

“Whatever.”

“Yeah. So are we done here?” she asked.

“No. I'm not letting you off the hook that easily,” he replied.

Shanelle groaned.

“Last time I checked, I don't answer to you. Hell, I don't answer anyone for that matter.”

“You could've told my parents. Hell, you could've told Chut or my brother. But you decided to keep your mouth shut. You decided to keep her family in the dark.”

“Yeah, I did. Because I had to, she begged me to keep quiet. It was the only way she would ever agree to go to rehab. So I swore to her that night that I would take it to my grave. Only she and I would know. She needed help, Cass. And I did what I had to do to get her that help. And if it bothers you that I didn't tell you or anyone else, then it's just gonna have to bother you. Because I will never apologize for helping her and not telling you about it.”

“You have a really misconstrued view of what loyalty means Shanelle.”

“First of all, go fuck yourself. Second, hello pot. My name is kettle. You wouldn't happen to be calling me black, would you?”

“I would've told you if the roles were reversed, Shanelle.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes.

“A.) you’re lying through your teeth. Which means B.) you wouldn't have said a damn thing to me.”

“I'm not lying.”

Shanelle pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I know I've said this to you before Cass, but I'll go ahead and say it again for old time's sake: you are a terrible fucking liar. You have a Tell, you idiot. And it's quite literally the easiest thing in the world to spot.”

She watched him cut his eyes at her.

“How did you even find this rehab place in Virginia?” he asked.

“The Cordonian Consulate hosted an event for a D.C. charity that provided rehab services to veterans. So I called the director of the charity and he put me in touch with the rehab facility and the rest is ancient history. Or it should be.” she replied.

“So you got her in for free?” he asked.

“Nope. I had to pay for it.”

“How were you able to do that?” he asked.

“I did what I always did. I signed my father’s signature on a check,” she replied.

“You committed check fraud?! What is wrong with you?!” he asked.

“Oh, I'm sorry. Are you complaining? You? Mr. ‘Hey Nelle. Listen um I don't mean to ask this but I'm a little short this month, do you think you can help me out a little bit?’ Are we really having THAT conversation?”

Cassian kept his mouth shut.

“Oh, well would you look at that? Sweet silence!”

Cass let out a frustrated sigh.

“How much was the check?” he asked.

Shanelle shrugged.

“$9,800.00 for six months inpatient,” she replied.

“Does your father know you forged his name on a check that big?”

“No, he doesn't. At least he doesn't know about it to my knowledge. But my husband knows about it.”

“Oh so you can tell him but you couldn't tell me?!” he asked.

Shanelle rolled her eyes.

“No, I didn't tell him. There was a 7-day hold put on the check because it was way over the international limit of $5,000.00.” she replied.

“Meaning what?” he asked.

“Meaning that since it was written from my dad’s Cordonian Account, it had to be cleared by The Royal Treasury. And at that time, Marquise was the head of the Treasury so he was the one who had to clear it.” she replied.

Cass scoffed.

“So he busted you?” he asked.

“Yeah. He figured out that my dad didn't write the check, so he called and asked why I wrote a check that big. All I told him was it was an emergency and that I needed the check cleared immediately. He cleared it and warned me never to write a check that big without telling him first. Otherwise, I would've had to get approval from either his father or my uncle at the time. And he knew that I would rather have a root canal from Edward Scissorhands without any Novocaine than face either one of them.” she replied.

Cass shook his head.

“You're lucky I don't have my badge anymore.”

“Oh bitch, please! Even if you had that stupid ass badge you still wouldn't have been able to do shit about it.”

“I could've busted you for check fraud Shanelle.”

“First off, you God awful twat, you were a low-level marshal! You couldn't bust anybody. Second, Diplomatic Immunity exists for a reason. Third, even if you were somehow able to bust me for it, you'd then have to turn around and explain every single check that I ever wrote for you, because of course there is a record of each check.”

She watched a muscle in his jaw tick.

“So in conclusion, I'm gonna need you to get off your self-righteous high horse. Because you are no hero. You love to act like one because you have a severely fucked up hero complex that isn't satisfied unless you’re riding in on your white horse to save the day, but you sir are no hero. Far fucking from it.”

“You always did know how to cover your tracks.” he sneered.

“I know you mean that to be an insult Cass, but I'm choosing to take it as a compliment. Because you’re right, I do know how to cover my tracks. That's why I'm a lot better at playing the game called life than you are.”

She watched as Cass rolled his eyes.

“Now, are we done?” she asked.

“I should be even more pissed at you than I actually am.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes.

“My dear Cassian. Allow me to say this so that it is crystal clear: I don't give a flying fuck about you being pissed at me. I did what I had to do and I would do it again.”

“That's the problem. But I am thankful that you were there for Nina. And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that.”

Shanelle scoffed.

“Classic Cassian Keane ladies and gentlemen. You are STILL the same pigheaded, impulsive, arrogant idiot that you have always been. You never change.”

Cass shook his head.

“Could be worse. You could've called me a son of a bitch.”

“Nope. Calling you a son of a bitch is an insult to your mother. I'd rather just call you a piece of shit.”

Cass sighed.

“Thank you, Shanelle. I don’t understand why she didn't lean on family. But at least she had you to turn to. And whether you believe me or not, that means a lot to me.”

Shanelle scoffed.

“You're right. I don't believe you. Not for a second. Because knowing you, you don't mean it. But you’re welcome all the same. She would've done the same thing for me.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Good. Now get ya sorry ass off my phone.”

“Bye Princess.”

With that Shanelle hung up the phone with a groan, just as her husband walked into her office.

“Uh oh. I know that look on your face. What happened?” he asked her.

“You will not believe who just called me,” she replied.

Marquise started to guess.

“Your father?”

“Nope.”

“Your cousin?”

“I would never be that lucky.”

“Okay then who called?” he asked.

“Good old Cassian Keane,” she replied.

Marquise rolled his eyes.

“Why did he call you? Also, why does he still have your number?” he asked.

“A.) It was a FaceTime call. B.) it was about Nina,” she replied.

“What about her? Is she okay?” he asked as he sat on the edge of her desk.

“She's fine. Do you remember the check I wrote from my dad’s account a few years ago for almost $10,000.00?” she asked.

“Yeah. What about it?” He replied.

“I wrote that check so she could get into rehab without anyone knowing.”

Marquise nodded.

“That's what you meant by it was an emergency.”

“Yeah.”

“So how did he find out about it?” he asked.

“Nina’s personal page on Instagram went dark a few days ago. And nobody could find her. So Cass and Lo hopped on a plane to New York and when they got to Nina’s they found Fentanyl in her bathroom.” she replied.

Marquise exhaled slowly.

“Damn.”

“It wasn't hers.”

“Then who's was it?” he asked.

“It was Sam’s.”

Marquise choked on a laugh.

“Wait! Are you telling me that Sam Dalton is using?” he asked.

“No. At least I hope not. It apparently belonged to his dead wife. And he carries it as a reminder to not be neglectful and be present in someone's life.” she replies.

“So, what does any of that have to do with you?” he asked.

“The boys got the girls and me together to talk about it and I let it slip that she had gone to rehab.” she replied with a sigh, “I can't believe I didn't trust her enough to know she would never go back. She probably hates me right now.”

That's when Marquise stood up and then pulled her to her feet and into his arms.

“Stop that. She doesn't hate you.”

“You don't understand, I promised her that no one would ever find out. Not even you. And I panicked and blurted it out to our entire family.”

“My love, that just proves why you’re her best friend. You kept this a secret from even me, your husband, for a reason. Just so you could protect Nina. You shouldn't feel guilty about that.”

“You sure?” she asked.

“Positive,” he replied before softly kissing her forehead.

“Then why do I feel so horrible?” she asked.

“Because I know you. I know how your emotions work. You feel like you betrayed her but I promise you that you didn't. She's not gonna love you any less because you told everyone. My love, you helped save her life. She can never hate you for that.” he replied.

Shanelle smiled softly.

“I don’t know why I'm so in my head about this.”

“Because that idiot called, riled you up, and it upset you that's why. You swore to your best friend who needed help at one of the most difficult times of her life that you wouldn't say anything. And no matter how upset your ex is, even he can't hold that against you.”

“How much do you wanna bet that he will?” she asked.

“If he does then I will deal with him,” he replied.

“Ever the Knight, my King.”

He chuckled low.

“For you? Always my Queen.”

Just then there was a knock on her office door from an attendant carrying a large box.

“Pardon me, Your Majesties. But this came for the Queen, and I was instructed by Mrs. Geaneaux to deliver it to you.” the attendant said as he set the box down.

“Thank you very much,” Shanelle replied with a smile.

“You're very Welcome, my Queen.” the attendant replied before he walked out.

Marquise looked at the box with an eyebrow raised.

“Now what could this be?” he asked as he reached for the box.

“Quit being nosy! It's addressed to me. Not you, Your Majesty.” Shanelle replied as she swatted his hand away.

“First of all, ow! That was uncalled for! Secondly, it's in my palace.”

“Our palace sir.” Shanelle corrected him.

Marquise shook his head with a smirk.

“Okay fine. It's our palace. Now, what's in the box?”

“What do you care?” she asked.

“Call it curiosity killing my cat,” he replied.

Shanelle rolled her eyes good-naturedly as she read the shipping label on the box.

“Ahh. This must be one of the boxes I had when I moved back to Boston. The shipping label is covering what it says is inside it.”

“What's in it?” he asks.

“Nosy ass!” she replied.

“Very. Now let's open this box.”

Shanelle took a letter opener out of her desk and opened the box. In it were several old photos, old birthday cards, her old diary, her high school yearbooks, and one item she had completely forgotten she had packed.

“Why do you have a jacket in this box?” Marquise asks as he peered inside.

“It's not mine,” she replied as she glanced at it.

“Okay, then whose jacket is it?”

“This is Cass’s letter jacket that he got our senior year.”

“Why do you still have his old letter jacket and why does it smell like mothballs?” he asks.

“Because he left it at my parent's house and never came to get it before I moved. I must've packed it out of habit.”

Shanelle saw the look on her husband's face and raised an eyebrow at him.

“You're not jealous are you, Your Majesty?” she asked teasingly.

“Hardly,” he replied.

“Liar.”

Marquise gave her a side-eye.

“I'm not lying.”

“Marquise, the same way I know when Cass is lying is the same way I know when you’re lying. You two dumbasses wear your jealousy, annoyance, and anger on your sleeves.”

Marquise had a disgusted look on his face.

“Did you just compare me to your ex?” he asked.

Shanelle shrugged with a smirk.

“I can not believe that you just compared me to him.”

“Not my fault you and him are two sides of the same idiot coin.”

“I don't have to stand here and take this slander from you! I'm a King dammit!”

“You forget how easily I can read people. Especially the two of you.”

“You dare insult your King?!” he asked in mocking disgust.

Shanelle winked at her husband.

“Yes, I dare to insult my King,” she replied with a smirk that matched his.

“That's it! I'm leaving! I will not just stand around and be insulted like this!”

Shanelle shook her head with a smile.

“See you later babe.”

“I'll see you later, my love.”

With a quick yet sweet kiss, Marquise was out the door. Leaving Shanelle to reminisce about her past life. Before she had kids, King, and a kingdom to call home.

As a kid growing up in Brooklyn, life was as simple as it gets for Shanelle. Her dad worked at the United Nations as Ambassador of Cordonia and her mother was a 5th-grade teacher at the time. She had her best friends Nina and Chutney. The three amigos. They were always together. Always running every classroom they were in together. Especially her mother’s 5th-grade class. Try as Shantel might, she couldn't separate the girls.

And then there was Cassian. He was her childhood sweetheart and she was his. They had been together for as long as she had known him and his twin sister. When her grandfather died, Cass was there. When she needed him, he was always there. Whether or not he liked getting bossed around by her was another story. Like the one time, they went to the movies.

“How much farther?” he asked her over his shoulder.

“Just a few more steps. Stop complaining,” she replied.

“My arms are getting tired, Princess.”

“Well, that's what you get for having pseudo-chivalry.”

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“It means you don't want me to carry anything because according to you, the guy in the relationship never lets the girl in the relationship carry anything, just for you to turn around and constantly complain about having to always carry everything,” she replied

“Okay, if I drop all this stuff because my arms fell off.”

“Cass, if you drop damn near 28 dollars worth of popcorn, candy, chili cheese dogs, drinks, and those nasty ass Coney corn dogs that you love so much, that I paid for, I will kick your ass from here to kingdom come.”

Cass grumbled under his breath but kept walking down the steps to their seats.

“Stop and turn to the right,” she said to him.

He stopped and turned to the right.

“Keep walking…and stop,” she instructed.

He walked 5 steps and then stopped.

“Now you can sit down.”

“Finally,” he said as he sat down slowly.

“Exactly. Now if you'd be so kind as to hand me my food.”

She took her chili cheese dogs, a box of M&M's, her drink, and a small popcorn and sat down. Cass looked over.

“Greedy ass.”

Shanelle set her drink down.

“You get three loaded corn dogs, two boxes of Peanut M&M's, one box of plain M&M's, a large Coke, and two boxes of Reese's Pieces on top of the large popcorn with extra butter and salt. But I'm the greedy one?” she asked.

“Yes. That’s way too many calories.” He replied.

“Hotshot, you’re literally eating your way to clogged arteries and type 2 diabetes. Also, you forget I have track practice after we leave here. So unlike you, I will burn these calories off.”

“Still too many calories, Princess.”

Just as Shanelle started to speak up the previews started.

“Saved by the previews,” Cass said triumphantly.

Shanelle rolled her eyes and went back to eating her food. Only to feel his arm around her shoulders. She laid her head on his shoulder.

“Wanna bite?” she asked him, holding up the chili cheese dog in her hand.

“Nah. I'm good. Thank you. By the way, what time is your track meet next Saturday?” he replied.

“1:00 PM. But I have to be there at 10:00 AM. Coach Howard’s orders.”

Cass scoffed.

“I still don't like her.”

Shanelle snickered.

“That's only because she said you have chicken legs. And she wasn't wrong.”

“Who's side are you on?” he asked.

“Mine,” she replied.

Cass rolled his eyes with a smile.

They were together all through middle and high school. Made plans to be together forever. Even though he had objections to always being bossed around by her. After graduating, each went off to different colleges. It was a long-distance relationship but they vowed to make it work. And it did work until it didn't.

They went from texting and checking in with each other every day. To once a day, to once a week, to sparingly, to complete radio silence throughout her freshman and sophomore years. And Shanelle couldn't figure out why. No matter how many times she texted or called, he never answered. So she decided to drive to see him at school. She had to know why he wouldn't talk to her.

After texting his then-classmate Robin, she hopped into her Jeep and drove 5 hours from Boston to Philadelphia to see him. When she pulled into the dorm parking lot, she met Robin outside.

“Hey, babe. Are you sure you’re okay?” Robin asked Shanelle.

“I will be once I talk to him. Have you seen him?” Shanelle replied.

Robin scoffed.

“Not lately. The knucklehead has been avoiding me.”

Shanelle shook her head.

“Probably because of me.”

“If that's true, I am gonna beat him within an inch of his life.”

Shanelle scoffed.

“You get whatever part of him that I don't beat, break, batter, or bruise.”

Robin nodded.

“He always said that you have a scary right hook.”

“And if he doesn't answer the door, you'll get a front-row seat to what happens.”

They walked into the coed dorm. When they got outside his dorm, Shanelle started to wonder if this was the right thing to do.

“Rob, can I ask you something?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Robin replied.

“Am I tripping? Should I even be here?” she asked.

“No, you’re not tripping and yes you should be here. You have tried to contact him every which way. And he's just been silent. At the very least he could explain why he's been silent. He owes you that.”

Shanelle closed her eyes and nodded.

“You're right. Thank you. That's why I like you. Well, that and the fact that since I'm not here to get on his ass, someone has to.”

“Thank you. And to think your man was scared for us to meet. And now he hates it that we met.”

Shanelle snickered.

“That's because we became friends and his worst nightmare.”

Just as Shanelle went to knock on the door, it swung open revealing a shocked and shirtless Cassian.

“What are you doing here Shanelle?” He asks.

“I came here looking for you. You haven't been answering the phone and apparently, you've been avoiding Robin. What is going on?” she replied.

“You shouldn't be here, Shanelle,” he said to her.

She turned to Robin.

“Give us a minute?” she asked.

“Sure. I gotta get ready for my next class anyway.” Robin replied.

“Okay. I'll text you later.”

Robin smiled at Shanelle before walking down the hall to her dorm. Shanelle watched her disappear around a corner before turning back to Cass.

“Go home, Princess. Now.”

“Not until you talk to me.”

“I can't.”

“The hell you mean you can't?!” she asks him.

“Look, you just gotta go,” he replied.

“I'm not going anywhere.”

“This is not the time for you to be stubborn!”

Shanelle scoffed.

“Pot meet kettle.”

“Shanelle please, just go. It's over. There's nothing left.”

“Cass, what are you talking about?” she asked.

“Us, Shanelle. There is no more us,” he replied.

“No. You're not serious.”

“Yeah. I'm serious. It's over between us. Go home.”

Shanelle was stunned.

“What is happening?” she asked.

“I have to do this. I have to let you go. So go. It's over. There is no more us.” he replies.

“Cass, why are you doing this?” she asks.

“I can't tell you,” he replied.

“What the hell do you mean?” she asks.

“I can't tell you and I'm not going to tell you. So go home!” he growled.

Shanelle took a step back from him. She couldn't believe what was happening. It was over.

“Wow. Okay then. I guess that's it. I got the answer to the question I had.”

“I'm sorry, Shanelle. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that.”

“No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that all I wanted was to get some kind of an answer. I'm sorry that the only place I was ever going to get that answer was from you. I'm sorry that I drove 5 fucking hours for those very answers. I'm sorry that I came all the way here with the hope that if I could've just talked to you and gotten to the bottom of the problem then maybe we could've fixed whatever the issue was between us. I'm sorry that I came all the way here for nothing.”

Shanelle closed her eyes to stop the tears from falling.

“Look Princess, I'm sorry.”

“You know. I always knew you were a lot of things, Cass. But never in my life did I think that you, of all the people in this world, would be a coward.”

“That's not fair Shanelle.”

“Oh! So you wanna talk about what's fair and what isn't?! Okay fine. Let's talk about it, shall we? So it's fair for you to break up with me without at least giving me the common courtesy and decency of telling me why, right? But it's not fair for me to call you a coward? Did I get that right?”

Cass just shook his head.

“Alright then. I guess I got what I came here for and now I can go.” Shanelle said to him with tears in her eyes.

“Shanelle, you can't drive back to Boston like this.”

She scoffed.

“Why the hell do you care, Cass? It's over between us, remember?” she said to him before walking out of the dorm.

Shanelle got in her Jeep and peeled out of the dorm parking lot without a second glance back. She got to a stoplight before tears blurred her vision and she couldn't see clearly enough to drive. So she pulled over into a grocery store parking lot, killed the engine, and broke down into tears. It was over. And there was no going back. There was no more pleading for answers. The only thing she could do was pick up the pieces of her broken heart, move on, and move forward.

Two weeks later after her abrupt breakup, Shanelle started taking classes at a local MMA gym. It was a way for her to channel her anger, learn self-defense, and ease her heartbreak. She spent the next two years, which was also the remainder of her college years going to that gym. She would be in the gym 3 times a week. But little did she know, she was being watched.

Every day she was at the gym, she would notice three guys always watching her. But she put it out of her mind. What she didn’t know was those three random guys were actually guards the Prince had assigned to follow her and keep tabs on her whereabouts. Within a few days, the guards had her routine down to a science. They knew when she was on campus, where she went for coffee and for lunch, how she trained at the gym, and things like that. Whatever the Prince wanted to know about her, his guards found out.

He had the guards set up a secret feed at the gym through its shoddy security system so he could watch her train in the gym. He was impressed with how good she was. He knew he would one day want to spar with her, so he began to study her fighting style with his lead guard Alex.

“She's good Marquise,” Alex said to him.

“Indeed. That's why we're practicing. I want her to be great. Not just good.”

“From what I've noticed, she's become a master at the chokehold and the armbar. Are you sure you'd want to spar with her?” Alex asked.

“Yes. By practicing I can learn how to counter her.” Marquise replied.

“Won't that just piss her off even more?” Alex asked.

“That's the point, Alex. The angrier she is, the more adrenaline. She's a fighter who's highly competitive and hates to lose. Now shall we get started?” Marquise asks.

“Sure. Although she and I are in different weight classes.” Alex replied.

“You'll be alright. This isn't the first time that I've tossed your sorry ass around like a rag doll and it won't be the last time that I've tossed your sorry ass around like a rag doll.”

The two smirked at each other before they began to train. Within 3 weeks, Marquise had her fighting style down and knew how to counter every move in her move set. All while she was none the wiser.

Meanwhile, Shanelle had another problem that had nothing to do with the Prince but everything to do with her best friend Nina, who had been kidnapped by her abusive ex. It had been 3 months since anyone had heard from Nina, but it didn't take long for her family and friends to realize why. Nina’s ex Slater had kidnapped her and had no plans of ever letting her see the light of day until Nina escaped and was able to make it home.

Shanelle had come home for Memorial Day weekend and was asleep when her phone started going off. It was Chutney.

“Helluh?” Shanelle answered half asleep.

“Wake up Nelle!” Chutney shouted. Causing Shanelle to bolt straight up in bed.

“What the hell Chut?” Shanelle asked, trying to get her bearings before turning on the bedside light in her room. “Why are you calling at…2 in the morning?”

“It's Nina,” Chutney replied.

Hearing Nina’s name sent a chill down Shanelle’s spine and she began to fear the worst.

“What about her Chut?” Shanelle asked.

“She's alive! I'm with her now.” Chutney replied.

“What?! What do you mean she's alive?!” Shanelle asked.

“She showed up at the hospital and they called me,” Chutney answered.

“What hospital?” Shanelle asks.

“Mercy Hospital.”

Shanelle looked at the time on her phone and made a decision.

“Chut I'm on my way. Do NOT let her leave! Do you hear me?!”

“Yes, I hear you. Just hurry.”

Shanelle threw on some clothes, grabbed her keys, and nearly broke the sound barrier trying to get to the hospital. She had just gotten into the hospital lobby when she saw Chutney.

“Where is she, Chut?” Shanelle asks.

“Down the hall. ER room 7. I was able to get her to get some sleep.”

Shanelle nodded.

“Go call your uncle. Tell him she's here and that she's alive.”

“Okay.”

Shanelle hugged Chutney who was shaking.

“It's okay babe. She's home. That's all that matters.”

“I know. I just…she's so scared Nelle.”

“I believe it. As I said, go call your uncle. I'm gonna go talk to her.”

Chutney nodded before going to call Nina’s dad. Shanelle walked down the hall as fast as she could until she got to Nina’s room. When she got there, her heart seized. Nina was alive and asleep at the moment. Shanelle was relieved, terrified, and angry. All at the same time.

“Nina?” Shanelle asked gently, rousing her from her sleep. Nina slowly woke up and looked sleepily at Shanelle.

“Nelle?” she asked.

“I'm here baby. I'm right here.” Shanelle replied while gently squeezing her hand.

Nina bursts into tears before she threw her arms around Shanelle.

“I am so happy to see you, baby.”

“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

Shanelle hugged her tighter.

“Don't you dare apologize. This wasn't your fault. This is that monster’s fault.”

Nina buried her face into Shanelle’s shoulder and cried.

“I messed up.”

“No one is mad at you Nina. Certainly not me. I just wanted you home and safe.”

Shanelle rocked her best friend as she cried.

“I trusted him. And he…”

“Shhh! Baby. You don't have to tell me.”

Nina looked at Shanelle before rolling up her sleeve. Revealing needle marks much to Shanelle’s horror.

“Oh my God.”

“The hospital gave me Narcan.”

Shanelle nodded slowly.

“Do you think you can answer a question for me?” she asked Nina.

Nina nodded.

“Are you going through withdrawals?” she asked her.

Rather than answer Nina just clung to Shanelle.

“My God. I'm so sorry.”

“I said no. I tried to stop him. But he forced me. I tried–”

“Shhh! It's okay babe. You do not need to tell me anything more if you're not ready. Okay?”

Nina nodded.

“But you need help. You need to get into rehab.”

“No. Shanelle no.”

“Listen to me. The Narcan the hospital gave you will only last for so long. I don't want to see you like this.”

“I can't afford rehab, Nelle. I can't.”

“You won't have to. I'll pay for it.”

“What?! No. I won't let you.”

Shanelle smiled at Nina with tears in her eyes.

“Try and stop me. I will do whatever I have to in order to get you the help you need.”

“You would?” Nina asks.

“Absofuckinglutely!” Shanelle replies.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yes. Whatever the costs are, I will pay for them. I don’t care.” Shanelle replied.

“Okay. I'll go. But you can't tell anyone. Please.”

“I swear to you. I won't tell a soul. It'll be our secret.”

Nina nodded tearily.

“Thank you.”

“It's what best friends are for. We stick together through thick and thin. I got your back. You got mine. Remember?”

Nina nodded just as Chutney returned.

“Nina, your parents and your brothers are here.” Chutney said to the girls.

“And that's my cue,” Shanelle said.

“You're leaving?” Nina asks.

“Yeah. I don't want to be around your brother right now.” Shanelle replied.

“Okay.”

Shanelle hugged Nina tightly.

“But I promise. I will come to check on you later. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

Shanelle stood up and dried her eyes.

“You call me whenever you need me, alright?”

Nina smiled at her.

“I love you, Princess.”

“I love you too baby. I'll see you soon.”

Shanelle hugged Chutney just as Nina's family showed up.

“Thank you for calling me,” she whispered to Chutney.

“Of course. We're the three amigos, remember? We always look out for each other.”

Shanelle walked down the hall walking past Cassian without so much as a second glance. Within a few days, Shanelle had Nina with her in D.C. and they were getting her settled into the rehab facility.

“Now you have my number, right?” Shanelle asked Nina.

“Yes, mom. I have your number.”

Shanelle snickered.

“If I want to deal with your sarcasm, I'll call your brother.”

The two laughed.

“I'll call you if I need anything.”

“Okay. I'm an hour away. Well, 30-45 minutes if I don't do the speed limit.”

Nina snorted before shaking her head.

“Get some rest, love.”

“Will do.”

A week after getting Nina settled, Shanelle was sitting on her couch flipping channels, when she got a surprise late-night FaceTime call from the Prince himself.

“Hello?”

“Well hello, Princess.”

“Good Evening Your Majesty.”

“It's Your Highness, love,” he replied, correcting her.

“Your Highness, what can I do for you?” she asks.

“I'll get right to it. Have you spoken to your father?” he asked.

“No. Not today anyway. Why?” she replied.

“Well because of a curious thing. Did you know he wrote a check for nearly $10,000.00?” he asks.

“No. I had no clue,” she replied.

“Are you sure, Princess?” he asks.

“Your Highness, why would I know anything about the checks he writes?” she replied.

“Because you see the thing is, he didn't write a check for nearly $10,000.00. And neither did your mother.”

Shanelle went quiet. She was busted.

“Princess, why are you writing checks in your father's name?” he asks.

She cursed under her breath.

“I had to. It was an emergency,” she replied.

“A $10,000.00 emergency?” he asks.

“Yes. How did you figure out he didn't write the check?” she replied.

“I'm glad you asked. It was quite easy actually, had he written it, he would've never gone over the international limit of $5,000.00. It's not his style. Not without alerting the Royal Treasury. But you on the other hand.”

Shanelle groaned.

“Also there's a hold on the check until it gets cleared by the Treasury.”

“What do you mean there's a hold on the check?” she asked.

“Every time a check is written over the allotted amount, a 7-day hold is placed on said check. It's standard procedure,” he replies.

“Would it be too much to ask for you to go ahead and clear the check?” she asked.

“It must be important to you,” he replied.

“It is. I need it cleared immediately. Please.”

The look on his face was unreadable and when he switched his camera off, Shanelle started to panic.

“Done.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes, Princess. It's been cleared,” he replies.

She let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Marquise.”

“You're welcome. Now I want you to listen to me and listen closely. Don't you ever write a check for that big of an amount without telling me first.”

“Why? What's the big deal?” she asked.

“The big deal is if I hadn't caught it and cleared the check you wrote in time, bad case it would've had to go to my father or worse case it would've gone to your uncle for clearance,” he replied.

The thought of having to deal with either one of them made Shanelle shudder.

“Exactly. So next time, if there is one, you are to let me know the minute you write the check. Do you understand?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied quietly.

“Listen, I'm not trying to scare you or reprimand you. I just know that my father and your uncle would've instantly rejected the check.”

Shanelle nodded.

“Again, thank you.”

“Of course. It is a curious thing though. What's so important that you had to write a check that big?” he asks.

“I can't tell you,” she replied.

“Must be serious.”

“The check didn't say?” she asked.

“No. It just shows me the check number, the amount written, and the routing numbers of the Treasury and the bank requesting that the hold be lifted.”

Shanelle internally sighed in relief.

“In other news, you look beautiful.”

“I look homeless.”

Marquise groaned.

“Just take the damn compliment, Princess.”

She broke out in a small smile.

“There's that pretty smile. Much better. That's what I like to see.”

“I've never seen you be all business-like. It's kinda hot.”

“Of course, you like it. You like it when someone else takes control. That way you can be as reckless as you want to be.”

Shanelle tried and failed to hide the blush on her cheeks.

“How was your day?” he asked.

“Long and arduous. How was yours?” she replied.

“Boring. Budgets, Cordonian tax laws and guidelines, and more budgets.”

“Oh, you poor thing. Are you at your Duchy?” she asked.

“No. I'm in my office at the palace,” he replied.

She grimaced.

“You sound thrilled.”

“Oh yeah. Positively enthralled.”

Shanelle snorted.

“Are you off the clock?” she asked.

“I've been off the clock for three hours now. I just had a few loose ends to tie up,” he replied.

“I didn't mean to keep you up so late.”

He waved her off.

“You weren't.”

“So you say.”

He smirked at her.

“I'm actually on my way to bed now that business is done. It's a shame you won't be there when I get there.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes.

“Oh my God! You're not even subtle.”

“I don't have the time or luxury to be.”

Shanelle shook her head.

“I know I'm going to regret this but hypothetically speaking, what would you do if I was there?” she asked.

Marquise cocked his head to the side with a smirk.

“Curious are you?” he replies.

“Morbidly.”

Marquise put a finger to his lips with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Let's see. Well for starters you wouldn't be wearing any clothes.”

“You pig!” she hissed.

“I'll be Wilbur if you be Charlotte.”

“Ugh! You are so fucking irritating.”

The smirk on his face made her thankful she was sitting down.

“Okay fine. So you wouldn't be completely naked. Is that better?” he asked.

“Much. Now continue. Correctly.” she replied.

“To be honest, you'd either already be asleep, laying across the bed flipping channels like you are now, or you'd be out on the balcony with a glass of wine watching the stars.”

“Not bad. And nowhere near as disrespectful as I thought you'd be. Also, I didn't know your room had a balcony.”

“Every room in my wing has a balcony.”

“You have an entire wing?!” she asked.

“Mmmhmm. 12 bedrooms all to myself. At least for now,” he replied.

“And here I am thinking that I'm a spoiled brat.”

“You are a spoiled brat Princess.” he quipped.

Shanelle shook her head.

“So let's say I was out on your balcony, what would you be doing?” she asks.

“Your curiosity must be killing you,” he replied.

“Humor me.”

“Very well. As you may know, I am a servant of the people. But none more than you, my future wife. I would always want you to be comfortable. No matter what. And nothing is more comfortable than a couples’ bubble bath.”

“Oh really?” she asks.

“Mmmhmm. It would help me forget my day and would give me a reason to put my hands all over you. If you know what I mean.”

Shanelle couldn't help but blush. And he noticed.

“It's okay to say you like the idea, Princess.”

“Okay fine. So I like the idea. I love bubble baths and as much as I hate to admit it, you are good with your hands.”

“There you go. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?” he asks.

“Get off my phone!” she replied with a smirk.

He smirked.

“Goodnight Shanelle. I'll talk to you soon.”

“Goodnight Marquise.”

When she hung up the phone she couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach. She turned off the TV and went to bed. When her head hit the pillow, she dozed off dreaming she was falling asleep in the Prince’s arms.

As the months went on, Shanelle watched her best friend flourish and become herself again in rehab then eventually move back home to New York while she stayed in D.C. Shanelle also found herself more and more enamored with the Prince. He would text and call her every day. He would have a dozen roses sent to her office every Friday. He was starting to wear her down. Not that she minded.

And it showed in one of their nightly FaceTime calls.

“So how did your parents meet?” he asks.

“My mom got a summer internship at the United Nations and would ride the elevator with my dad every day. She worked on the floor below him. And one day he finally mustered up the courage to ask Shantel Fletcher out on a date.” she replies.

“Your father has courage?” he asked.

Shanelle snickered.

“Yes, every here and again he does,” she replies.

“How long did this go on?” he asks.

“Maybe 3 weeks? They would go out for lunch every day until her internship ended and she had to go back to D.C.” she replied.

“And he chased her?” he asks.

“Yup. He transferred his assignment to the Consulate,” she replied.

“Talk about dedication.”

“He was in love. When mom found out she called him and told him to go home but he stayed. And they started dating again and then got married.”

“He got married and didn't tell his parents?” he asked.

“Yup. They got married at the D.C. magistrate with her parents as witnesses,” she replies.

“When was this?” he asked.

“June 1st, 1986,” she replied.

“That's a long time to be married to your dad.”

“She loves him. Someone has to.”

“Did you ever meet his parents?” he asks.

“Yes. The first time I ever went to Cordonia was because of them. It's how I was granted my title.” she replies.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yup. I actually met them by accident,” she replies.

“How'd that happen?” he asks.

“My parents had barely been married a year and a half when my mom got pregnant. She was excited while my dad was apprehensive,” she replies.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because he was sent to America to work for Cordonia, not get married and have a kid,” she replied.

Marquise nodded.

“I met them after the betrothal agreement was signed.”

“How old were you?” he asked.

“I was 10 months old. As I said before, I met them by accident,” she replies.

“How?” he asks.

“My dad had gone to the store for milk and eggs and more baby food. While my mom stayed and worked on her thesis paper,” she replies.

“Where were you?”

“I was in my room sleeping. It was naptime for me.”

“Where did you all live? Embassy Row?”

“Nope. We lived here at the apartment where I am now at the Consulate.”

“So what happened?”

“As I said, my dad was gone and it was just me and my mom. It was a pretty typical Saturday. Until there was a knock at the front door. My mom went to open the door and when she did there stood my grandparents.”

“Awkward…”

“Very. According to my mom, they stared at her and she stared back at them until my grandfather asked her who she was. That's when it clicked that mommy was staring at her in-laws.”

“Yikes!”

“Oh, it gets better. So when my mom realized who they were, she said ‘you must be Damien’s parents’.”

“Wait! She addressed the former Iron King of South Cordonia like a common parent?” Marquise asked with a cackle.

“Yup. And that's when my grandfather said, ‘young lady my name is King Dominic Miller. And this is my wife Queen Angelique. And we're here to see our son Prince Damien. Thank you’, according to her.”

“Well did she let them in or make them stand there?”

“I'm getting to that! Of course, she let them in. She had to move some of her papers and books out of the way first before they could sit down. And about 10 minutes after my grandparents arrived, my dad showed up carrying grocery bags. Much to his mother’s horror.”

“Oh. My. God!”

“You see, the former King and Queen didn't inform their youngest son they were coming. Based on a suggestion made by their eldest son.”

“Your uncle didn't tell them about you and your mom?” he asks.

“Nope. He thought it best they find out about us on their own,” she replies.

“So he set your father up?” he asked.

“Yup. They wanted to surprise him and boy did he get a surprise. And so did they,” she replies.

“Wow!”

“Just wait. I'm just getting to the good part. When my dad walked in, my mom looked at him and was like ‘when were you gonna tell me your parents were coming?’ to which my poor dumb daddy goes ‘I couldn't tell you because I had no idea they were coming.’”

Marquise cackled.

“So after my dad set the groceries down, my grandfather asked him who this common woman was, meaning my mom, and why was she there. And just as my mom got ready to respond, guess who woke up from their nap and was very fussy.”

“Uh oh!”

“Yeah. So my mom disappeared into my room and when she reemerged, she had me on her hip. My grandparents were stunned.”

Marquise stared at her.

“That's when my dad took me from my mom and turned to his parents and said ‘Father, mother, this is Shantel. My wife of two years. And this beautiful little girl is Shanelle. Our daughter. Your granddaughter.’ and as I said, his parents were stunned.”

“You know your grandfather had a reputation for being everything but quiet right?” he asks.

“That's what I've heard about him,” she replied.

“So what else happened?”

“After several minutes of my dad’s parents being in shock, his mother finally spoke up and asked if she could hold me. And he placed me in her arms. Which was a miracle, because when I was a baby, I didn't like being held by anyone except my parents and my grandma Venita. Apparently, my grandmother had this diamond brooch on her jacket lapel that I kept reaching for, and she took it off and gave it to me to hold. And that was the first time I had ever smiled at her.”

“Wow.”

“Apparently, I looked over at my grandfather and crawled into his lap and was giggling and waving my grandmother's brooch around. And according to my dad, that was the moment I melted my grandfather's heart.”

“Wow!”

Shanelle shrugged.

“I am their oldest grandchild after all. Anyways, after watching me play in my grandfather's arms, my grandmother asked my dad why he didn't tell them about me and my mom sooner.”

“What did he say?”

“He was honest. He said he just knew that if he showed up with my mom and me, they would reject his new family and disown him. And he couldn't take the risk of losing his family. Besides, he didn't want me to grow up in the palace. He wanted me to have as normal of a life as possible.”

Marquise nodded.

“So your dad does have a backbone?”

Shanelle snickered.

“I mean it's flimsy but yes, he has one.”

“What did your grandfather say to all that?” he asks.

“He was furious with my dad. According to my mom, he said he still should have been told that he had a granddaughter. And he was hurt and disappointed that my dad would think that they'd disown him. Because at that time, I was the oldest living child in the family, that meant that I would be the new heir to the throne.”

“You?” he asked.

“Yup. Me. Because you have to remember, Edward was not married and had no children. Which meant that if he died after taking the throne, South Cordonia would be without a Monarch. But because my dad had me…” she trailed off.

Marquise nodded.

“South Cordonia would have their Monarch.”

“Bingo! But that's not why he didn't tell them.”

“Why didn't he say anything?” he asked.

“He was afraid that something called a Coventus Nobilis would be called?”

Marquise whistled low.

“Yikes! No wonder he was afraid.”

“But why? What is a Coventus Nobilis?” she asks.

Marquise sighed.

“It's an old and antiquated law that dates back to when the 7 Great Houses Of Cordonia were the ruling body of all Cordonia,” he replied.

“What does that mean?”

“A Coventus Nobilis is a vote of no confidence.”

“No confidence in what?”

“If the safety and upbringing of a Royal heir is ever called into question by a Head Of House, a Coventus Nobilis can be convened to address the matter. And a vote of no confidence must be unanimously approved.”

“You're not making any sense.”

“Had a vote of no confidence been reached, your parents would've been stripped of custody of you.”

“WHAT?!”

“As I said, it's an old and antiquated law. It hasn't been called upon since at least the 1600s.”

“Can it be changed?” she asked.

“Nope. All Monarchs are forbidden from ever touching the law. That's what your father was really afraid of. And that's probably why he agreed to the betrothal agreement. It protected you in case your grandfather had the law called upon as King and tried to have you taken away from your parents.” he replied.

“He wouldn't have done that.”

“Shanelle, your grandfather was notoriously known as the Iron King. I'll let you figure out the rest.”

Shanelle exhaled slowly.

“Well, that explains why my grandfather extended his retirement by at least a year.”

“I remember that. Kinda.”

“Yeah, he extended it so I could have my coronation when I was 18 months old. That was the first time I had ever traveled to Cordonia. And it was on Easter Sunday so I had on my Easter Sunday dress with bows, barrettes, and those white shoes with frilly white socks. And because I was granted a title, my mom was too.”

“I'm sure. Your grandfather had to grant her a title. She was the Mother Of The Heir at the time.”

“But all I cared about that day was eating my first ever sugarcake. It was my grandmother's favorite too. That's why I love it so much. It came from her favorite bakery in Gianko.”

“I know that bakery. They make amazing Paninis.”

“Of course, you know it. You live there.”

Marquise smirked.

“I don’t remember much about it but, one of the last things my grandparents did with me before they died was they commissioned two portraits. An official Royal portrait of me with my parents and a portrait of me with the two of them.”

“Really?” he asks.

“Yup. Daddy is actually in Cordonia now. He always goes back for a month to lay flowers at his parent's graves. That and to bring me back a box of sugarcakes. Anyway, according to my dad, he hasn't seen those portraits in years. He thinks Edward may have gotten rid of them after their parents died.” she replies.

“Nah. He didn't. I can assure you of that.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because it's illegal to do so. Instead, he would've had to turn them over to the Cordonian Hall Of Archives.”

“Oh.”

Marquise noticed she was biting her lower lip.

“Shanelle?”

She let her bottom lip slip from in between her teeth.

“Huh?”

“You're biting your lip.”

“So?”

Marquise shook his head with a smirk.

“You only do that when you're scared to ask a question.”

She went quiet.

“Is there something that you want?” he asks.

She nodded her head yes.

“What is it, Princess? What do you want?”

“Will you look in the Archives for the portraits?” she asked.

“I mean of course I can. But why would I do that when it serves me no purpose?” he replies.

“You're gonna make me explain why I want you to look aren't you?” she asked.

“Naturally,” he replies.

Shanelle whined.

“My dad’s birthday is coming up and I want to be able to give him something special when he comes home. Also, I would love to have something to remember my grandparents by.”

“Very good. So you can be taught, I see.”

“Don't make me regret asking.”

“You won't. I'll put the call in to have them retrieved and sent to you before he leaves here. Shall I have them gift-wrapped as well?”

Shanelle snickered.

“I know you’re being funny but yes, I would like it if you could have them wrapped.”

“Consider it done.”

She smiled before hiding a yawn.

“Sorry about that.”

“Don't be. You should go get some sleep. I'll talk to you soon.”

“Goodnight Your Highness.”

“Goodnight my future wife,” he replied with a smirk.

Shanelle rolled her eyes before ending the call.

Sure enough, the portraits arrived a few weeks later gift-wrapped and in pristine condition. They arrived two days before she moved back home to New York just in time for her father's birthday. When she moved back in with her parents she had the portraits stored in the attic.

Being home felt good and weird at the same time. She had her job working for her dad's office at the United Nations. She had her friends who were happy to have her home for more girls' nights and gossip. She even had endless other suitors that were interested in her. Each suitor was wealthy, connected, and powerful. But none of them were as wealthy, connected, or powerful as the Prince.

Also, most of them were boring, stuck up, narcissistic, stuffy, and stiff. They were perfect for someone that didn't want anything out of life. Not her. She wasn't trying to be some diplomat’s smiling trophy. And at the end of the day, that's what she would be with those other men. So she skipped them and stuck with the one man that wouldn't turn her into the black version of a Stepford Wife. The Prince.

You have reached the end of part 1! Stay tuned for the next part!

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