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naiche-of-pride · 6 months

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Mika x Freminet

A/N: My second work to be posted on here ever. Constructive criticism is welcome, I hope you enjoy the story.

The geography of Fontaine is one that many cartographers would consider "impossible". Even the most renowned cartographer would have no choice but to concede to the watery terrain that overtakes the country.

After all, how could one possibly create a map when majority contains bodies of water, and barely any land to take mark of?

That is where our surveyor, Mika Schmidt comes to play.

He, as a front-line surveyor to the Knights of Favonius, has a long term dream to be an expert cartographer.

And what better way to prove his skills than to map a country considered impossible?

Sitting by the Marcotte Station, he lightly presses his graph onto the parchment, another piece underneath incase he makes a big enough to warrant a replacement.

He was tasked to create a map, one underwater and another above water. Whilst he had no clue what they would be used for, he had no qualms against it.

He did quite enjoy cartography after all.

"Hm… Marcotte Station's trail takes a 26° curve that leads over to the Fountain of Lucine… and then the Fountain of Lucine has 2 parallel 90° turns, one destroyed and another leading to…"

He pauses, looking up from his map to check around once he realized he was mumbling. Fortunately, only an old man was nearby, and he seemed to be quite amused.

"Oh- I- I'm sorry Sir. I hope I didn't disturb you." Mika stutters out, feeling flustered at possibly disturbing this man, who seemed to enjoy his time by the pond.

The old man huffed. "Please! It's no bother young man. Say, you're making a map, yes?"

He perks up. "Yes, indeed I am! I was tasked to map out the area and survey Fontaine for a while."

The old man sighs, before chuckling in amusement. "You're quite bold, young man. Fontaine is quite hard to map out after all, with the large bodies of water that takes up majority of your map."

Mika only grins shakily, eyebrows furrowed as a shaky breathe escapes his lungs. "Well… I do think that venturing deep into the water would be- terrible if trying to sketch out a map. But it's necessary. No matter how hard it is, just putting a bit of effort would allow you to at the very least get the general locations that may be of import." Mika explains.

"And- quite honestly I'm terrified of the ocean. I don't think I could continue swimming and diving for hours without going back up to the surface no matter how easy it may be for me to breathe underwater. But I'm also the surveyor so I should at the very least understand the locations we deal with as a team."

"It would be terrible of me to just- neglect my duty due to my fear of the deep and possibly put others in danger. They don't have my experience after all, and I know that they too wouldn't be able to handle the deep. Mondstadt never had such deep waters before so it's still new, but I'm sure I'll adapt!" he paused, before shrinking, catching himself.

"Sorry, was I rambling?"

The old man didn't stop his laugh, hand to his stomach as he wiped his tears. "You're a funny boy, but also a worry wart."

Mika smiles hesitantly, unsure if he were talking down to him or merely praising him.

"Well, you should get on with your map then, and be careful around the water." The old man warned.

"You can go ask one of the divers to join you underwater, though you should seal your parchment before diving anywhere. Wouldn't want your map to be ruined, do you?" The old man jested, to which Mika smiled in shyness and appreciation.

"Yes, thank you Sir! I'll do my best!"

(((♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡)))

Well.

He didn't… really do his best.

He had been taking a Fontaine Aircraft, finding it convenient when sketching out the general terrain shape before he adds any details…

When the aircraft suddenly started turning.

At first, he hadn't noticed, much too busy sketching the Beryl Region to notice the slow tipping of the ship.

Soon enough, he started to realize the tilted flooring.

"What the-?" He muttered in confusion, pulling away from the edge of the aircraft to look around the floor. He felt himself slowly slip, and so he unconsciously held onto a pole.

A large gust of wind suddenly came.

And the aircraft tipped over.

"Oh gosh-!" He yelped, hand gripping onto his items as he held onto one of the poles on the aircraft.

"No no no no no no no no no not now-!"

He tried his best to grip onto the metal pole, hoping that the aircraft would tilt back and this was just some false alarm.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be the case.

He slipped.

His eyes widened as he felt his body turn weightless, knowing that the height of the fall making the impact all the more painful.

He gasps right before he hits the water, map in hand as he feels himself submerged. His back ached, his ears popped, his eyes shut tightly as he threatened to get out.

Once in the water, his eyes opened, and his body was heavy. He couldn't help the panic that arose in his system when he felt himself sink deeper.

No no this can't be happening-! He thought, tears emitting his eyes as he tried to move his body.

But he was shocked and frozen due to the impact, not a single muscle cooperating with his body.

The fall had punched all the air out of his lungs, making him wheeze as he tries to breathe in.

To think that he would die, all because he dared to map a country of water.

He felt his vision start to blot, black dots fading in and our of his peripheral vision as his eyelids grew heavy.

"No- wait-!"

He couldn't do anything, body fully out of commission.

Before he fell unconscious, he caught sight of a person with a helmet. A diving helmet.

He couldn't help but reach out.

The person swam at him quickly, hand touching theirs right when he finally falls unconscious.

He couldn't help but wonder, ever so slightly.

Perhaps they wouldn't mind helping him map the underwater part of Fontaine?

♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤

He chokes, coughing as his body lurches. Now sitting upright, he spits out and coughs out water, body shaking as he greedily breathes in the air he used to take for granted.

After an experience like that, no person would take breathing for granted again. He thought bitterly, tears running down his cheeks as he wipes his mouth clean.

His eyes turn back to the person who had saved him, seeing them in the helmet and casual clothes.

Do all Fontainian's wear such casual clothing while diving? He wondered, but quickly shoved this thought aside.

"I… I thank you." He stammers, voice wispy and hoarse as he shakily smiles at the other. "I… I didn't think anyone would be able to help me-"

The other only nods, awkwardly standing up as they fiddled with their hands.

Mika guessed they didn't quite like speaking, so he didn't bother, checking his messenger bag. He couldn't help but groan, regretful and disappointed. "I lost my graphite… and the map." He mutters.

"The map." He shook when he heard the voice, turning to helmet wearing person, who awkwardly fiddled with their pockets, before pulling out parchment covered in… is that slime condensate?

"I… I wrapped it in slime condesate. To keep it... dry-ish before it got thoroughly soaked." The person spoke, coughing before offering it over to Mika. He hesitantly takes it, opening the rather slimy parchment, only to see the writings intact and- barely wet.

He couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face, turning to the helmet person with a smile. "Thank you-! I had- I thought I'd have to remake it, all this progress… Gosh, i-" he stumbled, standing up really quickly.

"Thank you, truly! I- I'm Mika Schmidt. A front-line surveyor for the Knights of Favonius!" He puts out his hand, eagerly waiting for a handshake.

The other freezes but hesitantly shakes his hand. "I… I'm Freminet. Professional diver."

While Mika was quite a shy person… well, Freminet did save him after all. I'm sure he had all the rights to try and befriend his savior.

"If you weren't there, I would've passed on! Please, allow me to treat you or something. I owe you my life." Mika pleaded, much to thankful that this random person had not only saved his life, but had saved his hard work.

Freminet awkwardly waves his hand. "Its fine, really. You don't- need to treat me to anything." He awkwardly stutters out.

Mika hums, eyebrows furrowed before sighing. "Ok, but-! If… if its no bother. If you don't mind…" he hesitated.

He wished to ask Freminet questions about the sea terrain of Fontaine, since the other was a diver after all.

But then again, the other had already saved his life.

It seems Freminet noticed his hesitation and cleared his throat. "You… you can ask me questions." He awkwardly allowed, to which Mika beamed, a hint of embarrassment on his face as he grabbed his surprisingly-dry notepad from his not-so-dry bag.

"Thank you…! I promise I won't take much of your time."

(((♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡)))

Mika seemed to be going back on his word often today, as he had somehow roped Freminet into a conversation for about 3-4 hours. The previously bright and cloudy now dim and dreary.

"So you're saying there are waterproof mechs that currently circulate around Fontaine's water terrain?" Mika asked in astonishment, as Freminet nodded energetically.

"Indeed. It was placed there to survey and patrol the waters. Specifically to search out, repel, and exterminate any life forms that may threaten any of the underwater equipment."

Freminet shrugs. "Fortunately, there are quite few of them, usually only hanging around underwater sites and underwater shipwrecks. So there is no need to worry about accidentally encountering them."

Only now did Mika notice that Freminet hadn't taken off his helmet throughout the 3-4 hours they had conversed. But it was… quite far into the conversation already, it'd be rude to ask for him to take it off.

Instead, he writes the information down, a smile on his face as he thinks of what he's learnt.

"Fascinating. Its absolutely admirable that Fontaine deploys such helpful mechanisms. Yet then again, it's Fontaine. The country is quite known for its innovation after all. Though, it makes me wonder if the mechas run on any type of energy that's particular only to Fontaine? It'd be quite useful if Inazuma would be able to harness it, able to warn ships if they are to head into electro-infused waters-"

He continued rambling on, thoughts pacing through several opportunities that underwater mechanisms could possibly help in achieving.

All the while Freminet watches Mika with amusement and fondness in his eyes. He fiddled with his helmet, not even noticing the small smile that had appeared on his face since he was interrogated by this… curious surveyor.

He's quite a chatty one, isn't he? He thought to himself, chuckling quietly.

He had actually been quite panicked earlier, when he had noticed Mika fall from the aircraft and sink down into the water. He never even thought he could swim that fast, until the adrenaline kicked in.

Although, he felt guilty.

What would've happened if he hadn't gotten there in time?

What if he was just a few seconds too late?

What would've happened to Mika?

He shook his head, rattling the helmet as he did. It was no use to dwell on what could've happened. For now, he was… just glad he was able to save the surveyor.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I ramble too much again?" Mika's regretful voice rung, snapping him out of his thought as he nervously laughed.

"Oh! No, sorry I was just surprised by how much you've considered." Freminet answered softly, as Mika smiles hesitantly. "I mean… I'm a surveyor, so I kinda need to take everything into account, especially if I want to make sure everyone in the team is safe…"

Mika pauses, eyes flickering to the sky before he stood up, shocked. "Oh goodness, I'm sorry, I must've taken up so much of your time."

Freminet clears his throat, hiding his involuntary giggle as he stood up as well, dusting off the sand that might've stuck onto his clothes.

"It's fine, really." Freminet says gently. "I didn't really have anything else to be doing anyway. And I quite enjoyed the conversation." Mika flustered, smiling with a chuckle.

"Then I hope it'll be alright if I were to seek you out again?" Mika asked, hope in his voice. Freminet paused, feeling his heart start to beat.

His palms turned sweaty, and he felt himself hesitant.

He… didn't find Mika's company terrible… but for someone to seek him out…

It was just…

He snapped out of his stupor, awkwardly answering. "Sure! I mean- sure. I don't- I don't mind. If- if you have any questions. I don't mind answering them."

Mika couldn't help the quiet laugh that bubbled out of his chest due to how Freminet reacted, but nodded.

"Then, thank you again for saving me and the map I had worked so hard on. I hope you get home safe."

Fremient nods stiffly. "You too. Uh… hope the- aircraft doesn't get tipped like before." He tried to jest, but the awkward delivery only made Mika giggle.

"I could only hope. It'd be a shame if I fell like that again." Mika sighed in helplessness.

On a sudden whim, Freminet spoke. "I… I'll try to catch you the next time you fall."

Silence overtook them, both parties equally shocked by the sudden comment.

Before Mika laughed, and Freminet placed a hand on his helmets screen.

"...forget I said anything please." Freminet pleaded, whilst Mika tried to silence himself.

"I'm sorry I just- pfft"

Mika's laugh was contagious, and Freminet found himself laughing along. His voice and laugh being just as distorted as his voice, which only made Mika laugh even harder.

"I- I'm sorry. That was rude." Mika finally found his composure, covering his mouth as he turns pink in shame.

"Its- its fine. I mean, it was kinda funny." Freminet rubs the back of his neck.

"Well… I don't mind if you catch me next time I fall." Mika replied, a soft smile on his face. "I mean, you've saved me once. I think I could at least guarantee that you'd save me again. Then, I'd owe you my life twice."

Freminet grunts in slight embarrassment. "I would save you regardless of you owing me."

Mika huffs in helplessness, shaking his head before waving. "Well, I'll be actually going now, Freminet. I'll see you when I see you."

Freminet waves hesitantly, watching as Mika turns his back and starts walking away.

And while usually Freminet wouldn't mind others not knowing his face…

He quickly took off the helmet, wiping his cheeks to hide his blush as he called out.

"Mika-!"

The surveyor paused, turning around in curiosity before his eyes widened in shock. He had accepted early into the conversation that Freminet was more comfortable with his helmet than without it.

But…

He didn't think Freminet was this handsome.

Mika felt his face turn red as Freminet smiled at him wonkily.

"Uh- don't hesitate to call me if you see me around the Court!" He said, voice raspy and shaking.

The Mondstadtian couldn't help the endeared smile that appeared on his own face. "Sure! I'll show you my maps once I'm done. You deserve to see what you've saved, after all."

And with that, Mika left.

With a semi red face and his bag clutched tight around him.

Whilst the entire Fontaine Aircraft was traumatizing…

"I'm sure Sir Varka wouldn't mind me asking for more parchment if a few more of them get wet.." He muttered, lips in a giddy smile as he ventured towards the large fossilized skull in the distance.

He got a friend out of it.

Perhaps water wasn't that bad after all.

#genshin impact #mika x freminet #mika genshin impact #freminet #freminet genshin #genshin #fontaine #fremika

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secretswiftymarvelfan · 8 months

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Boston Bears Series: Rugby Explained

I'm gonna preface this by saying I'm not an expert and this isn't everything explained, but if you were to watch a match after reading it you will probably understand it a bit better! (and the world cup starting this week is the best time to do so!) if you have any questions drop me an ask or message and I'll get my rugby-playing brother to answer them!

Firstly I am aware there is a professional rugby league in the USA, however, because Rugby is a much smaller sport in the US compared to the UK, I have modelled this series on how to UK rugby premiership operates!

There are 15 players on the pitch each with different positions, which are noted by their numbers (rugby players don’t have personal numbers like hockey or soccer). Players 1-8 are in the scrum also known as forwards, 9 is the scrum half. Players 10 - 15 are the backs.

Points:

Try = 5 points

Conversion = 2 points (the kick for the posts immediately after a try, position of the kick decided by where the try was scored so you'll see players trying to score as close the posts as possible)

Penalty Kick = 3 points

Penalty Try = 7 points (awarded when foul play prevented a try from being scored)

Aim of the game:

Getting the ball from one end of the pitch to the other to score a try (like a touchdown but the player has to be in contact with the ball when they put it down)

The ball if passed, has to be passed backwards, otherwise it's a forwards pass and a penalty is given to the opposite team. The ball can only travel forward if kicked, often done to gain territory but the ball is then in the hands of the opposition. If the ball is knocked forward by a hand or any part of the body it is called a knock on and that is a foul and a penalty is awarded to the other team (or a yellow card is given if it was deliberate)

A tackle is performed to prevent the forward movement of the team on the offence. Tackles must be made below the shoulders, otherwise it is a high tackle which can result in a yellow or red card depending on the degree of danger. Players cannot be tackled when in the air to catch a ball. Tip tackles are also not allowed due to their danger, the tackled player cannot go past the horizontal.

After a tackle it is then a ruck. This is when the two teams fight for possession of the ball. Players from both teams enter the ruck to gain possession, the offensive team will have players protecting the ball, while another player retrieves it from the tackled player. The player who performed the tackle must roll away before engaging in a ruck, other players on the defending team can gain possession by grabbing the ball or forcing the tackled player to forfeit a penalty (forcing the player to hold onto the ball). If the defending team gain possession they have 'turned it over'. Any player fighting for the ball must have all their body weight on their feet, otherwise they are off their feet and a penalty is given. A ruck is the most confusing part of rugby.

After a penalty is given the team who is awarded the penalty have multiple options on how they can take it:

A kick to the posts - usually done to guarantee points on the scoreboard and if they are in range of the opposition's posts. The position/angle of the kick depends on where the penalty was conceded.

A free kick - either done as a quick tap of the ball (sometimes done as a quick start to prevent the other team resetting), or a kick to the touch line which results in a line out with the throw in being awarded to the same team who was awarded the penalty.

A Scrum (as seen poorly executed in FRIENDS!) - This involves the 8 scrum players from each team (usually the largest players on the team) they bind together into a pack and push against the opposite teams scrum, the scrum-half of the team awarded the penalty puts the ball into the scrum and the two teams fight for possession, the hooker of each time hooking the ball back with their foot. Scrums can cause as many penalties as they resolve as each team is trying to force the other to collapse it or turn it.

A line out - is when the ball goes into touch (out of bounds). The two teams form a line each with a player throwing a ball between those two lines. The team throwing the ball in while have decided on a call which decides if they’re throwing the ball to the front, middle or back of the line, and where in the line up the player is getting lifted to catch the ball. The opposition will also try to anticipate where the ball is being thrown and try and catch it themselves, or they will prepare for a maul.

A maul typically occurs after a line out and its similar to a scrum in that its a pack of players protecting the ball and using their weight to drive forward towards the try line, while the other players will be trying to push them back.

Yellow cards vs Red Card

Yellow cards send players off the pitch for 10 minutes (to the sin bin)

Red cards sent players off for the rest of the match (relatively rare, usually for dangerous play)

The League

The league works by each team playing each other twice, once at home and once away. The outcome of the match determines how many points the team win.

Win = 4 points

Draw= 2 points

Loss = 0 points

Bonus point win = when a team wins with 4 or more tries

Bonus point loss= when a team loses within 7 points of the winning team

The 4 teams with the most teams at the end of the regular season enter the playoffs. The 1st team plays the 4th, the 2nd plays the 3rd. Whoever wins those matches goes to play the final (usually played at Twickenham (England's stadium) but in this series, it will be played by whoever had the most points)

Okay so thats kinda the basics! I'm not an expert but I've tried to explain it as best as I can without making it too complicated, there is a lot more too rugby but this is what you see in every match! The best way to learn is to just watch a game, they're only 80 minutes in total so a relatively quick watch (and the injuries are very rarely very bad! so if you worried about that don't be! A lot of the rules in rugby are to protect the players!)

Like I've said though if you have any questions let me know and enjoy the series and the World Cup!

#niamh writes #niamh explains rugby

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john-langley-bristol-blogger · 1 year

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And WHO exactly is Sam Smith?

Opinions will no doubt be divided when it comes to answering that particular question, I'm sure, and not all favourable either. From my iconoclastic viewpoint, as ever, I would say he, yes, HE has mastered the ability to infinitely crawl up his own backside and out again more successfully than anything Houdini could have achieved as an escapologist.

Why? Because Sam Smith in reality is nothing more than an illusion. A manufactured figure who would be an absolute nothing if it wasn't for the spotlight of television and a pawn in that particular game that sucks up to HIS own vanity. You see, years ago in order to become a 'celebrity' you'd have had to work your way up from the bottom of the ladder, touring the clubs night after night, building your following, and then getting noticed if you were lucky enough and proved your talent. Even though that still didn't guarantee any promise of real success to superstar level.

If you've never heard of a rock band called 'Dumpy's Rusty Nuts' then count this as your introduction to them. Not that I'm in any way an expert fan or anything, I'm simply aware of their existence and the fact they've been around a very long time and are hugely, and I mean hugely successful. They've built their fanbase from sheer hard work, trudging up and down motorways to venue after venue, night after night, and relentlessly pursuing their passion for playing to audiences that range from hundreds into stadium numbers supporting much bigger artists, and can quite rightly qualify for the title 'legendary'.

Sam Smith, on the other hand, is nothing more than a manufactured puppet of an industry that views him as a mere product of its own making, and to be honest, I feel sorry for HIM as much as I do for those who have bought into HIS brand of egotistical bullshit. Like so many acts before HIM, he's become a creation who serves a purpose until such time as HIS bubble bursts and the next potential to extensively hype turns up. Like the majority before him though, he's so far up HIS own rear end with ego that he believes HE is something HE isn't, and somehow God's gift to a music industry that quite frankly couldn't give a damn as long as they're making money out of HIM while it lasts, and so, consequently the entire entertainment industry will mollycoddle him, blow constant smoke up HIS backside by sycophantly telling HIM how wonderful HE is because they know HE'LL buy into their grovelling, doff capping, yes sir, no sir, three bags full, sir, have whatever you want that makes you happy, further ego-inflating bullshit as everything about him screams ME, ME, look at ME, and how wonderful 'I' believe 'I' AM!

Just how people don't see through this bullshit amazes me. Have we really, honestly, and actually turned into a nation of such sheeple that we've come to the stage where we simply and readily buy into such bullshit with eyes wide closed?

How is it that we are so, so easily led as to not think that everyone in the background of this Sam Smith phenomenon isn't in it for what they can get out of it? The manager who takes a cut, the agent, the record label, the publicist, the costume designer, the make-up artist, the accountant, the tour manager, the personal assistant etc, etc - and all rubbing their hands from the smell of potential lucre as long as HE remains flavour of the month.

Now, I'm not against anyone earning an honest living, and neither am I suggesting there is anything dishonest within the Sam Smith circle of business interests, I simply find this entire sycophantic industry that relies on having to manufacture talent in order to sustain itself quite false and putrifying, and yes, while I concede to the fact that Dumpy's Rusty Nuts will also have their outgoings in terms of fees to management and an agent, and probably others along the way of their career they are more celebrity than Sam Smith can ever hope to be without the ego and publicity machine that has hyped HIM to faux-stardom, and in some circles at least, will live to achieve more in their forty plus year career than HE can ever hope for.

#john langley bristol writer #john langley author #john langley blog #john langley bristol #sam smith #Dumpy's Rusty Nuts #capitol #songs #tumblr #google #john langley death's door diaries bristol #death door diaries

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mydetheturk · 9 months

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What order should I watch/read trigun? Like anime first before maximum? Or does it matter or not? I really do want to get into maximum because I heard nothing but good things about it!

oh! um. Hi? I don't think i'm an expert or anything but i can do my best?

you. You probably don't wanna do what i did, which was: only just get into trigun when stampede came out, watch the first three episodes, think to yourself "damn this is cool. three episode rule really kicked in hard. this is a compliment," watch weekly until episode 6, find out hulu has the original anime dubbed and proceed to watch that in about 3 days, continue watching tristamp for another couple weeks, find the overhaul project of the manga, read a volume or two a night until you've started volume 8, at which point you read the rest of volumes 8-14 in a blur (pausing for a cry at volume 10), at which point the last two episodes of season one of tristamp have yet to come out; your roommate makes you watch badlands rumble with them the same night you watch the season finale, JUST so they can watch you watch wolfwood say the gayest sentence you've ever heard with your own two ears.

follow all of this up with the trigun book club (started by @trigunbookclub) to actually figure out what the fuck you were reading in the first place.

um.

if you want to start with one of the anime, you can either start with tristamp or trigun 98 first - tristamp season one is 12 episodes and its set up as a prequel series. trigun 98 is mostly vibes, but its really fun - in its defense, the only thing out of trigun the manga at the time was the two volumes of trigun and maybe the first volume or two of trimax? tristamp is working with the whole of trimax, and if you read trimax before watching tristamp you'll catch stuff! there's also stuff in trimax that reference the 98 anime! its a very self-referential series. (complimentary)

or you can jump right into trimax! i recommend the translation done by @trigun-manga-overhaul - they've done a really good job of translating it and keeping things consistent. dark horse has the official release, and i can't say anything for or against it atm because i am still working my way through it. i don't have all the volumes and i haven't just gotten the digital version yet. i keep forgetting

it's fairly heavy in tone though - themes such as bodily autonomy come up, assault of various kinds, body horrors, mental illnesses, just a whole host of things. Nightow does a really good job handling them, imo. plus the art is insane! in a genuinely good way! i love how nightow lets us sit with things sometimes!

Nightow also has really lovely pieces of perspective art and there are so many times while reading (and rereading) the manga I've just left the image open if I've got the overhaul translation up or sat my physical dark horse copy (the single volumes are hard to get (prohibitively expensive in the used manga market, even for someone with a 50% discount thanks to work) but dark horse is putting out a deluxe edition starting this fall (oct '23)) down and just. soaked it in. i know I've got posts in my book club tag talking about how nightow's art Works Thematically

(despite the "goofy" part in my title, there aren't a ton of goofs in trimax or tristamp, but the ones that are there genuinely make it hurt more. this is a compliment. it's a little Pratchett-esque in this way.)

(trigun is a fucked up scifi western, and it changed my brain chemistry. this is important for you to know. it will change your brain chemistry. are you prepared for the consequences?)

(i did pose this to some peeps & they suggest 98/trimax/tristamp, just because 98 prepares you for the art style in trimax where tristamp has so many references to trimax. they did concede that i while i might have had the weirdest way of getting into trigun, it might have actually been the most well rounded. jury's out getting peer-reviewed)

Genuinely sorry about the wall of text, and I hope it makes sense! Enjoy Trigun! have fun getting your brain rewired!

#trigun #trigun stampede #trigun maximum #myde talks #asks #tristamp #trimax #long post #this is absolutely a wall of text i hope it makes sense #i stared at this post for a while after finishing writing it like god i hope this makes sense #and then i shouted FUCK IT IM DOING IT LIVE #and am pressing the post button 🥰🦑

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drdemonprince · 1 year

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Hello Dr Demon Prince!

Which of your books would you recommend that I start with?

For context: I'm autistic, cis male, middle class background, mid 20s, went to university and finally finally figured out I also have ADHD and I swear if what people say about ADHD meds is true I'm going to go super saiyan in *checks waiting list* about 4 years 😭

I don't know if I'll read both as I have quite a lot of books in my queue, and I'd also like to give it to my mother to read because she works at a school and while she was always great at advocating for me (and I love her muchly & am very grateful) she refuses to concede that she is very much that kind of "parent of an autistic child, considers herself an expert (has read like 1 book by an autistic adult)" and while I am no longer a child, she is still that kind of parent.

Not only that but everyone she works with at the school considers her an expert on autistic kids (because truth be told she sort of is, at least comparatively, as I was the first diagnosed autistic kid to go through that school and it changed a lot & for the better because of the two of us - we really had to fight & stamped out a lot of that "naughty boy syndrome" old style of strict english teaching bullshit). But when I try to explain things to her like hans asperger (*ptoo*💦) or how medicalisation can function as a very limiting mode of imagining autism, she just will not take it from me.

With that chunk of info in mind (so much text, so sorry) which would you recommend for both of us?

Thank you so much, and even if you don't get around to answering this I just want to say that I have been literally saying ever since I was a little kid that it's autistic people who need to write about autism - the older I've gotten the more I've learned that autistic-kid me was very right about a hell of a lot (not to toot my own tooter) - so I've basically been waiting for you to do what you're doing my whole life and it kicks ass that you are - I intend to do the same in my own work!

Keep kicking ass!

- J

For you, I'd recommend the audiobook of Laziness Does Not Exist first. AuDHDers and adhders in general have a much better time with the audiobook, and that book discusses a lot of traumas common to both populations.

For your mom, I'd say start with Unmasking Autism, whatever format she likes. But maybe also audiobook because I think the info comes across as more of a persuasive emotional appeal that way!

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prince-rowan-of-the-forest · 1 year

Text

Crown Princes and Butterfly Wings (3/?)

Chapter 2 : Friendly Stranger

----

Our pair of adventurers becomes a trio, because neither Logan nor Roman have a clue what they're doing. At least now they have an expert on adventuring to help them out.

<- Previous | First | Next ->

@cutebisexualmess :)

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Sorry about the lack of a chapter last week! It was Christmas, as I'm fairly certain most people are aware of even if they don't celebrate, so I was really busy. Not to mention I mass-posted nine chapters of a fic (go read it if you want, it's on my page) in three days and I didn't want to bombard people, so I kind of skipped a week with this one, haha. Oops.

----

Warnings: Roman is still kinda loopy at the beginning

----

"Roman?" The prince heard Logan yell from across the garden and seconds later the tiefling was in front of him, giving him a once over before turning to the person who had helped him. "What happened to him? Did you do this?"

"Wha- no! No, of course not!" they cried. "Is- is he your friend? He wasn't looking too good and he said to bring him to the fountain so I just-"

"Hey Logie," Roman said, only half aware of what he was saying. "I ate'a weird cake mmm- mn- now I'm here…"

Logan stared at him, baffled, before sighing, and chiding him in a tone of voice Roman thought made him sound like a dad. "This is why we don't accept random food from strangers, you dunce."

"'m already feeling better though." Roman shrugged. "Thanks to glasses."

The person giggled. Roman could see them better now, they had curly dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and they weren’t dressed nearly as classy as he or Logan were, but the puffy blouse and bluish-grey overalls made him look rather friendly, so Roman didn’t mind.

"I'm Patton!" he said with a smile. "Always happy to help!"

"Are you familiar with this area?" Logan asked him. "I believe it would be the best course of action to find somewhere to stay after this… incident.”

"Um- well I only just got here myself! But I need somewhere to stay too, so I'm sure we could look together?" Patton said, with a blinding grin. "There should be some kind of inn nearby, there always is!"

“Alright…” Logan said slowly. “I will- concede that you likely know more about this process than we do, so I will agree to going with you.”

“Um- cool!” Patton said, his smile not faltering in the face of Logan’s slight strange way of words.

“Logaaaan- your words are loopy,” Roman whined, “Talk normal for once.”

“I am simply talking formally, Roman, and you should aspire to do the same,” Logan chastised. Patton giggled.

“And you’re the one who’s loopy, mister,” Patton said before standing up and shifting a big backpack that Roman had completely missed before onto his shoulders. It was a pretty big pack, almost as big as Logan’s, this guy must be travelling too. Roman thought, “Anyways, c’mon, I think I saw an inn on the way over here.”

Roman tried to stand up before tripping over his own feet. The only reason he didn’t fall face first onto the paved path of the garden was Patton’s quick reflexes. He quickly righted Roman again, but this time he slung one of Roman’s arms around his shoulders and let the—much taller mind you—man lean on him.

“I can take him,” Logan offered as he watched Patton- not struggle, per say, but he did look slightly off balance.

“Don’t you worry.” Patton smiled. “I’m stronger than I look! And besides, you’re already carrying that big ol’ pack! I wouldn’t want to put more weight on you!”

“You calling me dead weight, glasses,” Roman slurred, while Logan muttered about the fact that Patton was also carrying a similarly sized pack.

“Of course not.” Patton laughed again, it almost felt like they were already best friends, like they’d known each other for years. “But you are pretty tall.”

“Comes with the high social class,” Roman giggled with a lopsided smile, obviously finding his own joke way more funny than it actually was in his state.

“Well that would explain why I’m so short,” Patton said. “Come on now, buddy, we gotta go.”

Together the three of them found the closest inn and Logan paid for Patton’s room as a thank you for rescuing Roman from his own shenanigans before they parted ways. Or, so they thought as Logan forced Roman to take a nap in their room while he busied himself studying the maps they had brought in an attempt to work out where they should go next.

—-

“Are you feeling well enough to discuss our journey?” Logan asked him as they waited for their food to be brought out. They were eating at the inn, because Logan didn’t trust him when he said he was fine enough for them to go and find somewhere nicer to eat.

“Yes,” Roman nodded. “I’ve told you already, Logan, after that nap I’m feeling better than ever!”

“Good, but please keep in mind your volume, we are in an unfamiliar space and I am not yet sure I have quite figured out the etiquette,” Logan told him quietly.

“You worry so much, Logan,” Roman said, rolling his eyes, but he did lower his voice, much to Logan’s gratitude.

“Thank you, now if you’re willing to be quieter about it,” Logan said, pulling out one of the maps he had been looking at before, “I would like to discuss the route we should take.”

“We have no idea where he’s going,” Roman said, looking at the map and then at Logan, “There are- hundreds of towns and villages in this kingdom, we can hardly search all of them.”

“No, you are correct we cannot,” Logan agreed. “It would take us years.”

“Then… what do we do?”

“I don’t suppose you remembered to bring anything with you that belonged to him, did you?” Logan asked slowly, “If so, I could perform a fairly simple tracking spell…”

Roman felt a little sheepish, why the hell hadn’t he brought something? It was obvious they needed a way to actually try and find Remus! It was true that it had been on the list Logan had given him and he just… hadn’t. Roman knew they had to find Remus—the Kings of this land may be his fathers, but that didn’t mean Roman could disobey orders—but then again… Remus was his brother, and he couldn’t just- do that to him. So… he’d just keep playing dumb, dumb was safe and didn’t want him to answer any complex moral problems.

“No I… forgot about that,” Roman said slowly, shaking his head. Logan sighed.

“Of course you did.” Logan shook his head. “There are more complicated spells that could be used, but almost all of them require an personal item… We may have to find somewhere that I can read up on magic spells. I know there are some that can do what we need… but I am unfamiliar with them.”

“H-hey um-” Roman jumped, looking up at the voice only to find Patton lingering a few steps away from the table, wringing his hands. He looked so nervous, looking down at the floor, Roman felt a little bad. “Sorry for- um- overhearing, but- but I heard you were looking for someone…”

“That’s true, though it is a private matter,” Logan said, eyeing Patton without turning his head, clasping his hands over the map that was still spread on the table.

“Oh! I completely understand!” Patton quickly assured, raising his hands. “I just- it’s… kinda obvious that you’re new to this- or you wouldn’t be talking about something private in a bar- but I’ve been travelling for the last- um- eight? years? So I thought I might have some advice you guys could use…”

“...Alright.” Logan nodded. “You said we shouldn’t be talking here… is there somewhere better?”

“Aboslutely, if um- if you don’t want people hearing about whatever it is you’re doing, this is probably one of the worst places to be talking.” Patton chuckled. “Taverns and inns are the number one spot for gossip. If you want information, you come here, if we want to have a secretive conversion, we should go to your room, or mine- either way.”

“If that’s so,” Roman said, “I suppose we should continue this conversation once we have finished eating.”

“I didn’t mean to intrude on your dinner!” Patton yelped, stepping back. “I’m so sorry! You didn’t have any food, so I just assumed- I’m sorry for interrupting!”

“It’s alright,” Roman said immediately, and he noticed Logan relax from the corner of his eye, “You’re trying to help us, and you helped me earlier as well, I owe you.”

“No- no you don’t.” Patton shook his head. “I don’t expect anything in return! I just- I like helping people.”

“Still.” Roman shook his head with a smile. “Feel free to sit, if you’d like.”

Logan gave him a skeptical look and Roman just shrugged with a smile. He knew trusting strangers wasn’t a good idea (Logan had lectured him on it for fifteen minutes after they had left the castle) but Patton… Roman couldn’t help but like him. He was just so… friendly. But not just on the outside—Roman considered himself a fairly good judge of character and there was absolutely nothing about Patton’s niceness that seemed off in the slightest.

With an awkward smile, Patton pulled over a chair from the next table and sat down with them. Logan put away the map just as someone brought over their food and they ate in silence, with just the sound of other people having their own conversations in the background.

When they finished, Logan led Roman and Patton up the stairs and to the room they had rented for the night before taking out the map once again and laying it across the small table in the corner of the room. The three stood around it.

“Ok! So,” Patton started, looking at the map, “You’re looking for someone?”

“Yes.” Logan nodded.

“Can you, um, tell me who?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be a secret,” Roman said with an apologetic smile. Logan glared at him.

“Of course it’s supposed to be secret, Roman, that’s the whole reason we’re here and not someone much more capable.”

“Alright, um, not knowing who we’re looking for might make things more difficult.”

“My brother,” Roman said slowly. “I can’t tell you much more than that, but we’re looking for my brother.”

“Does he look like you?” Patton asked, tilting his head.

“They are twins,” Logan said with a sigh.

Roman nodded, “But he has a silver streak instead of gold, and green eyes instead of red.”

Laughing made Patton’s eyes crinkle at the corners and Roman couldn’t help how it made him smile. “So you’re… opposites?”

“Pretty much, yes,” Roman said with a shrug.

“Ok, so if you’re looking for information, you’re going to want to go here,” Patton told them, pointing at the map. The town his finger pointed at wasn’t that far away, though it was distinctly separate from the capital. “Mirefeld is known for its gossip, they have a pretty big trade and travel route going straight through the village, if anyone knows something about your brother, I’ll bet it’ll be someone there.”

“Mirefeld…” Roman said slowly, before lighting up. “Oh! I’ve heard of that, aren’t uh- aren’t they known for being a big meeting place for crooks and thieves too?”

“I believe so,” Logan said, nodding, before looking suspiciously at Patton. “Why would you wish for us to go somewhere with such a reputation for crime?”

“They’re the ones with all the gossip,” Patton said with a shrug, “And usually they’ll leave you alone, especially if you’re careful. I go there often and I haven’t had a single penny stolen yet… It’s kind of like a safe haven, I guess. I’m not trying to trick you, I swear.”

“This town is at roughly a three days walk from here,” Logan said with a sigh. “We’ll have to set off early tomorrow if we want to head in that direction.”

“Walk?” Patton blanched.

“I am unable to ride a horse,” Logan deadpanned, gesturing to his own legs. “I am not built for such an activity, and I’m fairly certain we don’t have the funds to buy a carriage.”

Patton flushed and looked away. “R-right- um- yeah that makes sense, sorry.”

“There’s no towns between here and Mirefeld,” Roman pointed out, still looking at the map, “Where will we stay for the nights we’re on the road?”

“Well sometimes there's outposts…” Patton said, “but I don’t think there’s any on the way to Mirefeld.”

“I suppose that means we will have to sleep on the road, then,” Logan said, eyes narrowing. “Which means we’ll need to allow time to buy some equipment, which means we will likely not be leaving until the day after tomorrow.”

Patton burst out in laughter. “Wait- wait- you don’t- you don’t even have camping equipment? What on earth have you got in that big bag of yours?”

Staring, Roman watched as Logan’s cheeks went purple—the guy was blushing. Roman was pretty sure he’d never seen Logan blush, Roman could barely keep down a laugh. Patton didn’t seem to have the same control.

“I… have brought with me multiple spellbooks and supplies for said spells,” Logan said, his tone carefully steady. “As well as a few others that I have been meaning to read for recreational purposes, and of course I brought a few journals to write down everything we learn on our travels.”

Roman stared at him. “You brought a library and have the audacity to call me the dumb one?”

“Excuse you, I am undoubtedly smarter than you,” Logan said.

“Yeah well at least I thought to bring spare clothes.” Roman rolled his eyes. Patton laughed again as Logan went even more purple, and his- literal- constellation of freckles dimmed slightly.

“It’s alright,” Patton said. “We can go on a shopping trip tomorrow- um- that is- if you’re both ok with me coming with you? I don’t- mean to be presumptuous-”

“Patton,” Roman interrupted, “I understand you seem to be nervous around us, but we’ve already proved multiple times that neither of us have a single clue what we’re doing. I for one would be delighted to have someone who actually knows travelling etiquette with us for this journey, Logan?”

“I believe… your company would be… beneficial,” Logan said eventually, after seemingly much consideration.

“Ok! Great- um- I guess I’ll leave you both be, then?” Patton said, already backing away from them. “I’ll- I’ll see you both downstairs in the morning?”

“Indeed!” Roman said with a nod of his head. “Sleep well, friend.”

“Um- you too!” Patton called, before bolting from the room.

It was a few minutes after Patton left before one of them spoke. Honestly, Roman was surprised it was Logan.

“He is… odd.”

Roman couldn’t help but burst out laughing against “Oh my- goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush so much! I need to get him to reveal his secrets!”

“Respectfully, your highness, shut up,” Logan said, before walking over to one of the beds and sitting down. Roman just grinned and winked at him. “Go to sleep, you fool, we have a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Yeah yeah, got it, Mr. ‘I’m going to bring a library on a travelling expedition,’” Roman said, before lifting his bag onto the bed and removing the nightclothes he had brought with him. He heard Logan scoff, but he was fairly sure it was fond.

Roman couldn’t help but smile as he settled down for the night. The bed was nowhere close to as comfortable as the one he slept in back at the palace, not even to mention that it was a single compared to his usual bed which was likely large enough to fit five people at a squeeze, but somehow he found that it really didn’t matter. He had spent the day in the city, hell he’d even made a friend—he was fairly certain he’d never made a real friend by himself since he’d befriended Logan, and even that wasn’t really his own doing. Logan was two years older than him and Remus, so they’d basically grown up together anyway.

His thoughts were getting off topic, but he’d made a friend, which was… amazing, in itself, and Patton was going to help them with their journey! So now their party was of three instead of two.

All things considered, this journey was shaping up to be an incredibly good one.

<- Previous | First | Next ->

#sanders sides #fanfic #fanfiction #sanders sides fanfiction #rowans writings #rowans fantasyau #roman sanders #ts roman #logan sanders #patton sanders #ts logan #ts patton

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ketzwrites · 2 years

Note

Can you do 27 with wolfstar?

Yes, I can! Here we go, nonny.

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

Sirius knows he fucked up. He knows. Which is exceedingly rare nowadays. At some point in the last couple of years, Sirius lost the ability to tell when he is choosing to piss people off or when he is just being himself.

That doesn’t bother him anymore. There’s a war raging outside of Hogwarts’ walls, his horrible family is financing blood supremacists with the inheritance they’ve denied him. Sirius can’t care less whether people get upset over him being bloody rude.

Well, unless the one he upsets is Moony. That changes things, obviously.

And that’s why Sirius is currently searching for his boyfriend everywhere in this much-too-big castle. He’s checked every single place he can think of. The library. The common room. Their dorm. The shrieking shack. The prefect’s bathroom. Behind the greenhouses. The bloody wish room that they haven’t yet figured out how to put on the Map. Everywhere.

Peter is no help, as usual. Sirius finds him near the kitchens, talking to the Hufflepuff he was trying to snog last night at the party. Neither has seen Remus, so Sirius warns the poor girl about Peter’s dragon scale infection before he leaves. Serves Wormtail right for being so useless.

James is at training, of course. He’s the Quidditch captain so, more often than not, that’s where he’ll be. Sirius checks the time. Another forty minutes before James is available to help him look for Remus. At this point, that might be Sirius’ best chance. James always knows where to look when one of them decides to hide. At least, he does when it comes to Sirius.

Worst case scenario, Lily will be there and she’s also pretty good when it comes to Remus-related crises. Thank Merlin she’s decided to give James a chance. That big brain of hers is so much more accessible that way.

Sirius walks to the Quidditch pitch lazily. He considers turning into Padfoot and wasting some of his anxious energy in the Forbidden Forest but ultimately decides against it. He wants to catch James as soon as training ends and dogs aren’t famous for timekeeping.

As soon as he gets to the pitch, though, Sirius realises how daft he’s been. Remus is deliberately avoiding him. Remus is also bloody smart. So, yeah. It shouldn’t come as a shock to find Remus in the one place he knows Sirius would never look for him. The Quidditch pitch.

And there he is, sitting at the stalls, nose buried in a book. Smart fucking bastard.

Sirius plants himself next to Remus. He notices how Remus’ shoulders tense and that his eyes stop moving but Remus doesn’t deliberately acknowledge his presence in any way. No matter. If he is not walking away, that’s a victory in Sirius’ book.

“So,” he says because Moony is not going to start this conversation anytime soon, “about last night.”

“Forget about last night,” Remus says flatly, still not looking at him.

Sirius turns fully to him. “What if I don’t want to?”

“Think about it quietly, then, on your own time.”

“Oh, come off it. I know you’re upset, Moony.”

Remus closes his book. “Yes, Sirius, I am upset. Ergo, I'm avoiding you.”

“That’s one way to go about it,” Sirius concedes. “Shall I present another? We could talk about it.”

“Option rejected.”

“How about we stand in silence, you with your book, me with my guilt over last night?”

“Option rejected.”

“How about I just leave?”

“Yes, that’d be grand. Cheers.”

Sirius smiles. “Well, option bloody rejected, love. You and I can both play this game. That’s what it means to be in a relationship or so Prongs tells me. And he’s the expert.”

Remus sighs heavily and finally looks at him. “I’m upset, yes. But I know I don't have the right to be. It’s not like you snogged that girl. She tried to snog you. I saw it going down.”

Relief washes over Sirius. He didn’t mean to dance with Agnes, not really. She just happened to be dancing nearby where Sirius was dancing in the first place. He only realised she was dancing far too close when it was too late and their lips were touching. Honest mistake, but it did happen right in front where Remus was obliterating a drinking game.

“So… What are you upset about, exactly?” Sirius asks because even though that’s been cleared up, Remus still has his brow furrowed.

“I… I guess…” Remus grimaces and covers his face with his book. “It’s so stupid.”

Sirius nudges him with his knee. “Tell me anyway?”

Remus shakes his head. “It’s just… Girls are always trying to get with you or Prongs. I wish they… didn’t.”

“No girl is trying to get with Prongs anymore. Nobody is daft enough to cross Lily like that.” Sirius can see the tension rising on Remus’ body as he braces for what is inevitably coming next. Still, Sirius persists. “If people knew about us–”

“No.”

Sirius shakes his head. It’s a dead-end, this argument. He shrugs. “I’ll stop dancing at parties, then.”

That makes Remus stare openly at him. “But you love to dance.”

“And I’m great at it too,” Sirius says. “But I love you more.”

Remus frowns. Not the reaction Sirius expects from a love declaration but that is Moony for you. He never does what Sirius expects him to do.

Instead, Remus surprises him. This time is no different. He touches their knees together again and the warmth of it grounds Sirius to that moment. It’s such a small thing, insignificant in the grand scheme of things. They’ve done so much more than touch knees, touched so much more, tasted so much more. But right now, Sirius’ entire world is that little thing.

“Don’t stop dancing,” Remus says quietly. “I love watching you dance.”

Sirius smiles. That doesn’t solve their problem, not even close. But he doesn’t care. Not when Remus is looking at him like that, with a smile of his own playing on his lips.

“Alright, then,” Sirius whispers. “I’ll keep dancing just for you, Moony.”

Remus finally allows the smile to take his lips. “I’m not upset anymore.”

Sirius beams and gestures to the pitch. “Do you want to get out of here, then?”

“Desperately.”

Laughing, Sirius stands up. “Let’s see if that wish room can really fulfill all of our desires.”

Remus snorts but also gets up. “Oh… Another thing.”

“Yes?”

“I love you too.”

Send me a marauder era pairing and a number

#wolfstar #wolfstar fanfic #marauders #marauders + prompts

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youcansaveyourprogresshere · 1 month

Text

Dispatches from GDC 2024 Day 1

Oh boy! Baby's first GDC! A short hike through beautiful San Francisco and I'm there, one of the greatest gatherings of designers, developers, engineers, and business experts in the games industry this side of the Pacific Ocean. I'm among my people, the next chapter of my professional life is about to begin.

Wait, no. This is still Yerba Buena Gardens and market center. I go out to the sky bridge and look out to my right, I can see the banners on the posts and people moving but where's ...?

That's Moscone* Center, in the opposite direction I was looking. It's a huge building, and that's just the South Hall. After collecting my badge (thank you to Valencia, who was working the booth) I am compelled to wander. I arrived too late in the morning to attend the 9:30AM sessions, I'm stuck in conference limbo until I can figure out where I want to be and when I want to be there. This must be why people plan their schedules out ahead of time.

Fast forward to 2:40PM and I'm finally attending my first session of my first GDC, "The Strange Within The Familiar How Once Human Designed Its Supernatural Open World" w/ presenter Peng "Victoria" Sun, here on behalf of Netease Games and Starry Studio. Once Human is an open world shooter, they're planning for a Q3 2024 release. Seems kind of strange to have a presentation on a game that doesn't have a release date yet, but hey: what do I know? Peng Sun's thesis is combining a mundane object with a supernatural quality is a good formula for producing content. Once Human originally had zombies as an entry level critter for players to take shots at, which Peng concedes is underwhelming. But give that zombie a theater spotlight for a head and suddenly we have the watcher. The monsters are really lovely, there's an undead plane that flaps its wings like a bird, there's a haunted bus that walks on big, ghoulish arms. I can't help but feel like this was an extended advertisement for the game, but who can blame them. Everybody's gotta make a buck.

Okay next talk, "Digital Thriving in a Post-Pandemic World: A Pro-Social Blueprint"; moderator Matt Lee, panelists Charly Harbord, PhD; Elizabeth Kilmer, PhD; Tim Nixon, not a PhD but I don't hold that against you Tim; Attila Szantner, who I'm pretty sure has a doctorate; and Kimberly Voll, who is also a Dr.. I wonder if they offer college credit for attending this session. Digital thriving is an important idea, facilitating virtual spaces where people can be their full, authentic selves. Dr. Kilmer points out this perspective on games as virtual habitats is great because instead of a bare minimum (well no one got death threats on our server this week so I call that a win!) it's a most positive outcome approach** to developing social games. What if we designed worlds that could help people be there best selves?

It's a great panel of very smart people, but eventually time is up. After an hour of talking about ways to make your game space a welcoming environment for everyone it's time for the post-talk off site. And what better social space than Tequila Mockingbird, a local bar.

I walk out of South Hall for the last time that day, torn between whether to go get drunk with GDC or head back to the hotel. The sun is going down, it's getting chilly, and I didn't pack a jacket. I do a web search for "flip a coin" and let google tell whether I should "Heads" back to the hotel or listen to more "Tails" at a tequila bar. The website tells me it's heads, so I start making the trek homeward. I don't really want to be out after dark.

Footnotes (feetnotes? anyway)

1 The "e" at the end is phonetic, you say it aloud

2 "Most positive outcome approach" is my phrasing, not Dr. Kilmer's. I think she put it much more eloquently.

#GDC2024

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criticalbennifer · 8 months

Text

LA VIDA LOPEZ

Jennifer Lopez Gives the Lowdown on Marriage, Movies, and Ben’s Big Night Out

On the eve of her wedding, Jennifer Lopez speaks out about her past few tumultuous months–from the recent tabloid furor and the Gigli debacle to romantic infidelity, the beauty business, and, of course, Ben.

By: Aaron Gell

Oct. 1, 2003

Jennifer Lopez would rather not talk about the worldwide code-red state of emergency that is her personal life – the pending nuptials, the estranged former manager, the possibly misbehaving fiancé, et cetera.

Who can blame her?

“It’s our life, its not a television show,” the actress, singer and powerhouse multihyphenate says plaintively, sitting sideways on a creamy leather sofa in a set trailer in Winnipeg, Canada, where she’s filming the romantic comedy Shall We Dance? Her nut-brown skin is flawless as usual, her hair is pulled back, and she’s wearing a pair of grey sweatpants from her clothing line, JLo by Jennifer Lopez, and a white Cosabella T-shit – all to casually devastating effect. (Her engagement ring is, for the moment, stowed in a nearby safe while she works.) “Believe me, I’d like nothing better than to sit here and shoot the s— with you,” she adds, protectively hugging a throw pillow between her knees like a plush teddy bear, “but I also want to live a happy life.”

So, no. As to the particulars of the gown or the ceremony or the centerpieces, she ain’t saying. For that matter, she’s not about to admit whether she and Ben are having a spat, either.

Lopez, who turned 33 in July, ascribes this reticence to the breathless tabloid free-for-all – complete with expert body-language analysis, handy relationship flowcharts and extreme telephoto close-ups of the most famous ring since Frodo’ s – that surrounds the couple’s every move and had, in the weeks preceding our interview, gone thermonuclear. “Literally, there’s someone shooting into my house with cameras,” she says. “I go out, and I’m going to be followed by six cars. All day long. You say to yourself, ‘It will pass. This is not who I really am. ‘But you’ re a person, and it hurts.”

Doing the occasional interview is fine, she says, part of the job. “But if you’re in the paper every damn day, people are like, ‘Who cares?’ And then nobody goes to see your movie!” She’s referring, of course, to the ill-fated Gigli, in which she and Affleck costarred. “It’s like, ‘Why should we? We see her every day,’ and then you’re like, ‘Wait a minute! That’s the only reason I’m doing this!’ “

“So we made a decision,” she continues, shaking her tight ponytail resolutely. “I’m just not going to talk about any personal stuff.”

That’s the plan, anyway. But there’s a problem. Well, two. The first is that Lopez’s personal life has always been so thoroughly intertwined with her work that it would take a team of arthroscopic surgeons to separate the strands.

Take for example, her new fragrance, Still Jennifer Lopez, the forthcoming launch of which is the sole reason her solidly built but affable bodyguard, B.O.B., has allowed a reporter to cross the carpeted threshold of her trailer in the first place. Not only does the perfume share its name with a love song from Lopez’s latest album, This Is Me…Then, but it recalls the chorus of the record’s hit single “Jenny From the Block”: “Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got/I’m still, I’m still Jenny from the block” In addition to which, the scent’s advertising tag line, “In the eye of the storm, I am still Jennifer Lopez,” is an explicit reference to her rather remarkable poise amid the flurry of activity that – now more than ever – surrounds her. And the bottle’s elaborate packaging, featuring a removable faux-diamond ring perched on its neck, immediately brings to mind the $6.1 million pink bauble, custom-designed by Harry Winston, she received upon her engagement to Affleck. While insisting that the bottle design is not a reference to her own betrothal-“Why didn’t we make it pink, then?” she asks – Lopez concedes that the similarities are striking. “It did kind of occur to us later on,” she says with a laugh.

Such interconnectedness is the essence of Lopezland, a supremely polished multimedia hall of mirrors in which every facet seems to reflect in every other, endlessly amplifying the star’s own light. To wit, her four multiplatinum albums are largely autobiographical, brimming with direct references to her romances with Sean “P. Diddy” Combs (who also produced her debut, On the 6), Cris Judd (who danced in and choreographed her TV concert special, “Let’s Get Loud”) and Affleck (who appears in the video for ”Jenny From the Block” and is the subject of “Dear Ben”). Meanwhile, such films as Selena, The Wedding Planner and Maid in Manhattan have-perhaps unintentionally bathed Lopez’s own oft-repeated biographical story in their fairy-tale Hollywood glow.

The second problem with the newly reticent, self-protective Lopez is that, frankly, it’s not her. She is, by nature, a defiantly unguarded person. As anyone who witnessed the sartorial game of chicken she played with that rainforest-green Versace dress at the 2000 Grammys already knows, circumspection is not really Lopez’s thing. “I push myself to the limits,” she says. “I take risks. I keep myself on edge. That’s just the animal in me.”

So, sashaying right up to the edge of her own vow of silence, Lopez eschews any direct wedding talk – refusing to confirm reports that September 14 is the big day – but seems happy enough to chat about the “major transition” about to take place for her. “I’m really excited about making more time for my personal life, and making decisions that aren’t all about me,” she says. “Just having another person; a family to consider; I am so looking forward to that in my life. I have been for a long time.”

From which one might well surmise that her relationship with Affleck is …fine? “Yes!” she affirms with a warm smile. “This relationship is the best thing in my life.”

The question has taken on some urgency of late, after The National Enquirer revealed that Affleck, who spent the summer filming a movie in Vancouver, had visited a strip club on the very night that the actor and his betrothed were seen gushing about their domestic bliss in a very special “Dateline NBC.” To be sure, ogling go-go dancers is something of a prewedding tradition. But it was the other details reported by the paper – that Ben had cheated on Jen with one (or was it three?) of the strippers, and that said dalliance might have been captured on video – that soon had People and US Weekly musing, in lemon yellow 80-point cover type, IS THE WEDDING STILL ON? and WILL J.LO FORGIVE HIM?

“For me, it wasn’t an issue,” Lopez says impassively of Affleck’s night on the town. “We talk every day. I know what he does, he knows what I do. We don’t have those kind of secrets. What they put in the paper is not what happened, so it doesn’t matter. But watching that get so blown out of proportion, I was like, Wow, so this is where we’re at: You can’t walk into a place and hang out with a couple of friends without it turning into a national scandal. It was ridiculous.”

Lopez adds that she never had the slightest doubt that the reports’ more salacious details were “straight falsehoods, straight lies,” as she puts it. “Because I knew he had gone! And I knew [the story was coming out] beforehand. He’s like, ‘Hey, the Enquirer is doing a story, and I called my lawyer today,’ and I was thinking, Oh, God. I knew it was going to be a big deal in the press, but I didn’t know it was going to be like that, the cover of eight magazines at once. It’s like, This can’t be that interesting. But I guess it was. We sat there and read the articles together and said, ‘This is just insane.’ It sounds ridiculous, if you read it. It sounds so stupid! It’s like, If you’re single and 21, you wouldn’t do things like that. It’s just crazy!”

Male infidelity has been something of a leitmotif in Lopez’s work-beginning with one of her first acting roles, on “Second Chances,” a short-lived TV drama in which she played a bride with cold feet. “I do,” she declares at the altar, waiting just a beat before adding, “have reservations.” As gasps erupt from the pews, she berates the groom: ”You slept with a stripper last night!” Likewise, her characters in both The Wedding Planner and Enough deal with cheating lovers, and any number of her songs explore the subject, most prominently her very first single, “If You Had My Love,” with the fierce declaration, “First of all, I won’t have you cheating on me.”

Despite which, Lopez scoffs at the notion that men are somehow evolutionarily wired for infidelity. “They can be faithful,” she says. “They just have to want to. I don’t think it’s natural for anyone, honestly. But it’s considered more acceptable for men to cheat. It’s like men go, ‘Oh, I can’t be with just one woman…,’ But hey, it’s hard for women too, you know? Hel-lo! It’s hard for us too! Which is why I think we give our men such a hard time. It’s like, Hey, if I can [be faithful], you can do it too. Trust me.”

That said, Lopez, who became engaged to Affleck before her divorce from Judd was final, does not consider fidelity to be the only key to a good relationship. “I think you have to be honest, more than anything,” she says. “Communication, fidelity… it’s all very important, but it depends on what kind of relationship you’re in.” Indeed, Lopez has admitted she suspected P. Diddy of cheating on her when they were together, and that she put up with it. “For a little while, yes, but not in the end,” she points out now, narrowing her eyes.

Which is not to say that there aren’t some fundamental differences between the sexes. “It’s the difference between ‘me’ and ‘we,'” she explains. “Men operate from their own universe, and women are focused on family, keeping it together. Because we’re caretakers by nature – we give birth, we have to take care of that baby – and men don’t have that experience. They have to bring home the bacon, that kind of stuff. Those are different sensibilities.”

In the “Dateline NBC” interview, Lopez set eyeballs a-rolling when she declared adoringly that “Ben wears the pants” in the relationship, but in light of the extraordinary power she exercises over her business affairs, Lopez makes no apologies for seeking a more traditional female role at home. “It’s about being able to feel safe somewhere,” she explains. “That doesn’t mean I’m not a strong, independent woman. But I think when you’ re in a relationship, you have to submit to a certain extent.”

That attitude is a far cry from that of Ricki, the lesbian organized-crime enforcer she played in Gigli, who jousts relentlessly about the relative merits of men and women with another hired gun, played by Affleck – before, inevitably, falling into bed with him. Given the vehement hostility the film aroused, it might not be out of line to attribute some of the response to the sexual insecurity of male movie critics (still the overwhelming majority) unnerved by the sight of a beautiful woman, in the midst of a rather suggestive yoga routine, comparing their anatomy to a “sea slug.”

Indeed, one of the few critics who dared to say anything nice about Gigli was a woman, Variety‘s Amy Dawes, who says her write-up prompted readers to flood her inbox with hate mail and her boss, Peter Bart, to relieve her of her reviewing duties. “I felt like the Dixie Chicks!” Dawes says. “It’s not like the war in Iraq, it’s a movie – but there was the same intolerance of a differing opinion.”

Lopez suspects that the media obsession with her love life had a lot to do with the film’s poor reception, something she’d feared for months. “I kept warning my mom,” she recalls. “I said, ‘Mom, we’re gonna get killed.”‘

Asked how she thought such immortal lines as “It’s turkey time-gobble, gobble” and “My penis sneezes” would go over with audiences, she laughs. “It’s genius! Look, I thought it was risky, but I also felt it was juicy,” she says. “It was tough stuff to work with.” As for playing a lesbian (albeit a wobbly one), Lopez didn’t hesitate. “It didn’t define who she was,” she explains, “so it didn’t bother me. To be honest, if I actually had to do a love scene with a woman I maybe would have thought twice about it, because I’ve never done anything like that, in real life or on film. That would have been a thing like, Am I going to be able to let go that much? But it wasn’t in the script.”

As for the final product, Lopez thinks it still hasn’t gotten a fair shake. “People are saying there was no chemistry,” she says incredulously. “That’s insane! There’s crazy chemistry! Look, I’m tougher on myself than any critic can ever be. The movie had places where it didn’t work, and that’s fine. Review that. But don’t just be an ass to be an ass, you know?

“I really think it will have a resurgence on cable!” she adds. “Now people may look at me and say, ‘She’s totally off her f—ing rocker,’ but hey, that’s my theory.”

There’s little chance the film will do lasting harm to her career, but Lopez has often admitted feeling that her Bentley convertible could suddenly turn back into a pumpkin. “This business breeds that type of sensibility,” she says. “There’s always somebody there to take your place –they tell you that the first time you walk into an audition. You’re only as good as your last this or that, and you have to have something in the can.” She does: Along with Shall We Dance?, which costars Richard Gere, Lopez will appear in Jersey Girl, again with Affleck, and in the forthcoming Lasse Halstrom drama, An Unfinished Life, opposite Robert Redford.

Even so, it’s hardly surprising that Lopez is feeling especially vulnerable these days. In addition to the tabloid rumors and the Gigli mess, she’s in the middle of an acrimonious split from her longtime manager, Benny Medina, whom she says called recently to check in on her. “He said, ‘I just want you to know I’m always your friend and I’m always here for you,'” she says, growing a bit misty. “With all the craziness going on, that really meant something to me. Benny was one of my best friends. Right now the wounds are still fresh-for both of us. It’s a transition period for me and for him to move on to a different section of our lives without the comfort of each other. Business is not easy, but I think it was really important for my own growth to kind of let go of the crutch.”

As it happens, Medina isn’t the only casualty of recent personnel changes in Lopez’s camp. She replaced her publicity firm, Rogers & Cowan, with Dan Klores Communications, a firm known for its crisis-management savvy. And on the agency front, she has raised eyebrows in Hollywood by bouncing from ICM to Endeavor to CM and back to Endeavor in less than a year. “It’s not as complicated as people make it out to be,” she says. “I’ve been doing a little juggling. You have to put the right people in place for your team to feel good. After getting out of that comfort zone I was in for a long time, I have to be a little bit more hands-on about decisions. To be honest, I feel a little orphaned right now, but I think that’s part of growing. The people I’m working with now are really smart and good at what they do.” Even so, when asked if she’s got the mix right, she admits, “It’s too early to tell.”

Despite all the turmoil, Lopez remains a world-class superstar at the top of her game. The well-received This Is Me… Then, has spawned two Top 10 singles. Her first fragrance, Glow by J.Lo, launched last September, is a runaway success. According to Catherine Walsh, vice president of the cosmetics company Lancaster, which markets Glow, the scent is ranked No.1 globally in terms of units sold ”You don’t come across a Jennifer Lopez every day,” Walsh says. Expectations are therefore quite high for Still, which includes notes of sake, Earl Grey tea, honeysuckle and sandalwood. And the fragrances are just the beginning of an ambitious House of J.Lo beauty line, including cosmetics, skin care and hair products. (Not bad for a woman whose fragrance career started at a nondescript shack in a Bronx parking lot – “Like one of those places you see that says FLATS FIXED,” Lopez recalls-where she peddled bootleg versions of Poison and other blockbuster scents of the day.) This fall the company is introducing something called the Glow Kit, a promotional sampler based on the makeup Lopez sports in the scent’s marketing materials. “The idea is to say, ‘You can capture this look,'” Walsh explains. “It’s a way to test the waters.”

Meanwhile, after a shaky start, Lopez’s Sweetface Fashion Co. is beginning to find some traction. The company’s president and CEO, Denise Seegal, describes the line as “sexy, clean, fun, girly clothing,” adding that the recently launched accessories line is doing well and that handbags, intimate apparel, footwear and outerwear are also on the drawing board for 2004. ”Jennifer has been so successful in the past two years, and that has added a positive halo to the total branding,” Seegal notes. “But the product itself, in order to have longevity, has to be the best. Whatever happens regarding a film or a CD, the brand has to stand on its own.”

Lopez agrees. “When you put the name J.Lo on a piece of clothing,” she says, “you have a lot of stuff that comes along with that. That wasn’t my choice. I fight it to this day. Because ultimately, it’s not about my name, it’s about the product.”

Indeed, from her point of view, the whole J.Lo thing has gotten way out of hand. “I was never like, ‘Call me J.Lo!”‘ Lopez insists. “I named the album J.Lo, but now I think I was crazy. When something sticks like that, you really just don’t quite understand it, and you want your name back. You’re like, ‘Please, call me Jennifer. I was fine with that for 20, 30 years.…’ ”

Besides, ”Jennifer” carries none of the baggage associated with “J.Lo,” which brings to mind the whole music-diva persona that has bedeviled Lopez for years. It’s a reputation her friends and colleagues say is unwarranted. “Sure, she likes her diamonds, and there’s that bling-bling side to her,” says Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, who before becoming a partner at Revolution Films was Lopez’s agent at ICM. “But there’s also a side of her that’s very simple and caring and vulnerable.”

“I like dressing up and being glamorous,” Lopez says. “But for somebody like me, who really didn’t have that much, to have things is fun. It’s just really base and simple! I like looking nice. But I think people want to judge a book by its cover, and they just go, ‘Ugh, what a diva. Just look at her!'”

Notes Goldsmith-Thomas: “If being a diva is getting up at five in the morning, going to a movie set, leaving to go work on an album, then going home and doing the whole thing again, then fine. But I’ve never seen anybody work as hard as her. She worked for every opportunity she’s ever had. She wasn’t given anything.”

As a result, Lopez has an unshakable confidence in her own point of view. Goldsmith-Thomas was herself fired by Lopez after one too many disagreements (among other things, she argued strenuously against The Dress). But the two maintained a tight bond; Goldsmith-Thomas, who produced Maid in Manhattan, brought the film to her former client and still gets together with Lopez for the occasional TV night, including a recent “Mary Tyler Moore” marathon. “Jennifer will listen to other opinions,” she says, “but if you try to tell her the rules, she goes the opposite direction.”

As Lopez says matter-of-factly, “I always try to explain to everyone I’m in business with, the usual rules don’t apply to me. I’m just in a different thing, and I have to go with my gut on every specific little issue. I just make my own rules.” For the most part, the approach has worked marvelously. On the refrigerator in her trailer, Lopez has taped up a collection of supportive clippings sent by relatives over the past few difficult months. One, a newspaper horoscope for her sign, Leo, sums things up fairly well: “Your life is about to change for the better,” it reads. “You are now on the throne and will be able to rule all that you survey. Your patience has been tested, but it will be worth it in matters of love and career

#jennifer lopez #jlo #press/article #w magazine #2003

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artificertrary · 1 year

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120322 - Mid-ness

Might fuck around and use this blog for blogging.

So during my surprisingly okay Thanksgiving, I was reminded that my dad was still thinking about what I said regarding gender confirmation surgery. Though, it was kind of a mixed answer.

On one hand, I'm glad he's actually thinking about it and not immediately recoiling at the idea of me getting elective surgery to permanently change the shape of my body.

On the other, his idea is to talk to "an expert on this sort of thing" so he can get all the facts about the procedure. And the good thing is he's turning to my queer, pro-trans aunt for guidance on this to find resources.

At the same time it's a bit disappointing, I've told him he can ask me anything about this procedure, why I want it, the research I've done, but he doesn't want to go to me with those questions.

I do understand though that it's somewhat of an emotionally-charged topic, and I respect that he is recognizing that he might not be able to hear what I have to say.

Though that always feels kind of sore realizing that a parent won't listen to you no matter how might experience and research you've put in to explaining this.

It just feels like I'm being treated like a kid despite the fact that I am an adult who pays taxes and science is literally what I do for a job.

Though I am still on his health insurance so I will have to concede some things.

I think it was also not great combining with the multiple times my mom referred to me as "too sensitive" and remarked on how emotionally sensitive I was. Yet she also insisted that we have an adult relationship now?

And weirdly enough...some part of it was comforting. Being fretted over and what not. I don't always feel like I am a full adult or capable of taking care of my life...sometimes it's comforting to be treated like a kid even though it's frustrating and leads to more hurt later on.

Ugh, but at the same time, I know I am capable of living on my own and taking care of myself. It's just this script/narrative of helplessness that I feed myself that I'm too ill, too distracted, and yes, too sensitive to truly thrive on my own. And this coddling reinforces that narrative.

But I have to remind myself that my parents show care in ways I don't always recognize, and that their goal isn't to make me dependent on them. They're not masterminds, they're just people. And human interaction is messy because everyone is operating on their own assumptions and ideals.

But on a different note, my dad is in the hospital this weekend getting his heart tested. It's a precautionary thing because of some concerning swelling, but it still is a bit scary. I hope he's doing okay.

I don't think my dad handles his own mortality very well or the fragility of human existence. But it's not up to me to explore that with him, he really should just see a therapist. It is not my job to fix my parents, it never was.

But I do care a lot about him, I just need to care about him in like...a healthy way, a healthy amount of care. My mom is completely capable of having those conversations with my dad...at least I hope so.

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casperthinks · 2 years

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You don’t have to pretend to have the moral high ground when you just want to be angry.

I know that things are stressful and upsetting and that the intent of strangers is hard to parse. And I’m not judging you for being easily upset. I am easily upset by a great many things. I have been called ‘oversensitive’ more than any other word. But most discourse on Tumblr is just yelling at people to convince them you were already right. It’s not about reaching a consensus, it’s not about making sure you understand each other. And that’s fine too. As an autistic person, I am something of an expert on the fruitless endeavor of finding common ground with people with whom I have no shared assumptions and who do not want to have common ground with me. It’s only worth doing this when everyone involved is doing it. But to only pretend to do it is to further muddy the waters and exacerbate the very problem that makes it hard for you to approach this differently.

It’s not a sin to lack the moral high ground. I’ve had it and lost it, and the view is underwhelming. You get to just be annoyed, you don’t have to also be right. And you don’t have to be wrong, either, if you don’t go picking fights with strangers.

Arguments like that are never about what they seem to be about. They are, instead, about being upset that people don’t understand you correctly, while being too anxious about not being able to trust them to genuinely engage in a manner that would lead to understanding. (Which is an issue with most complicated topics in most places, not only here.) A lot of people I’ve met have a hard time with the idea that this is a phenomenon that occurs and that pretending it doesn’t work exactly the way that it does won’t actually make it go away. My hope is that by laying out the actual motivation people tend to have, i.e. needing to feel justified and morally correct in being upset, and then explicitly saying that it’s not a worthwhile status to pursue (because you’re allowed to be upset by something either way), it will give you a chance to question what they’re doing next time you want to engage with something like that.

I’m not trying to chastise or dismiss you. I’m not asking you to “get over it” or “let people do what they want”, because you don’t want to and won’t. And because I get told to get over shit all the time and it doesn’t help. I am trying to break up the dichotomy of “Don’t be bothered” / “Argue until everyone concedes you were right”, which comes from a place of only being able to find closure with your own unpleasant emotions from an external source.

That’s an experience that I really understand. I grew up having my emotional state dictated by an abusive parent. If something was wrong with him, I wasn’t allowed to feel okay until he said so. If that’s a message that you receive early on, it’s easy to carry it with you and mistakenly conclude that your only option when you’re upset is to eradicate that which upsets you and be crowned the Sole Victor of the Discourse War (because then You’re the authority who can dictate your emotions, and you get to break out of it), and that if you don’t do that, your feelings maybe aren’t real. So you do it to prove to yourself that they are.

But you don't actually have to. It's okay. You're allowed to be okay even when everything isn't perfectly fine.

#mine #therapy with Casper #Mental health

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alexiethymia · 2 years

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you can somehow appreciate the little background tidbits gosho adds during a reread. it only dawns on me now that as someone who knew toichi was kaitou kid, of course yuusaku would be friends with his ‘nemesis’ in the police force and neighbor.

if the nakamoris and kurobas were close [which seems to be the case with how they’re neighbors and how ginzo treats kaito almost like a son even; he’s fine with the idea of kaito and aoko getting married for example, in contrast to kogoro who reacts belligerently, and part of me thinks it’s because he sympathizes with kaito who has lost his father, the same way aoko lost (presumably) her mother], then it would make sense for the nakamoris to be close to the kudos too.

what’s intriguing here is that ginzo is possessive over his jurisdiction over kaitou kid. he bites off megure’s head for any perceived interference, but here, he willingly asks yuusaku for help?? ‘Upon his request’, he says. I don’t think it’s just yuusaku’s exceptional ability, but the fact that they are actually friends, possibly through toichi. And perhaps maybe he concedes that yuusaku is as much of a kid expert as him.

meanwhile, the kudos are also connected to the mouris because yukiko went to school together and was (presumably) good friends with both eri and kogoro. (in other words, shinichi is, somehow, connected to the mouris through his mother’s side, to the nakamoris through his father’s side, and to the kurobas through both his mother’s and father’s side). gosho please, I love bo plot progression, but pleeeease let these little sprinkles of info go somewhere. I am still holding on to your answer of ‘I wonder...’ when a fan asked what would happen if Shinichi and Ran ever met Kaito and Aoko.

#dcmk #detco #detective conan #kudo shinichi #magic kaito #mouri ran #kuroba kaito #nakamori aoko #kaitou kid #kudo yuusaku #nakamori ginzo #kuroba toichi #kudo yukiko #kisaki eri #mouri kogoro #ramblings about dcmk #kaiao

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elijahs-wife · 3 years

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butterflies

requested by @lessons-you-taught: “first of all, I love love love your writing. as much as I love Elijah Mikaelson, I'd love to read a fluffy imagine with Klaus where the reader wants to get her nails done so bad. him being the artiste he is, decides to do some fun, cute nail art for her. like "i'm the big bad alpha, I can do anything" so, he actually gets so obsessed over doing it for her that he plans what to do and paints it so perfectly. the result is super cute.” thank you for requesting this and also for the lovely compliments!! i’m not sure how good it is but i didn’t want to make it overly fluffy and ooc, but i had fun writing it so i hope you like it 💘

pairing: klaus mikaelson x fem!reader

word count: 1.1k

warnings: not canon, mention of a pandemic, fluff (?), klaus is a cocky bastard

a/n: these nails are the ones i was inspired by!! i think the tiny header looks good, i might do it for more of my fics. also, this is set in the early months of the pandemic. like and reblog this if you enjoy it <3

my masterlist

The past month had been such a rollercoaster for you, what with getting used to working from home, not being able to go outside and dealing with this pandemic-induced cabin fever. You were beyond glad that Klaus had been there the entire time to keep you sane; as soon as lockdown had been announced in NOLA, he'd insisted that you come and stay at the compound with him and his family, saying that you would be safer with him—although he would later admit that it was mostly because he didn't want to go for weeks without seeing you.

After getting into the swing of staying at home, you had gotten much more productive with your newfound free time, trying out hobbies like baking, learning how to play Elijah's piano, even knitting (Klaus laughed very hard at that one—you had only managed to make half a scraggly scarf before giving up out of boredom) but today, you weren't feeling it at all. All you wanted to do was go outside and indulge in a little superficial self-care and get your nails done. Your natural nails had grown much stronger and reached a nice length, so you had filed them into a pretty, almond shape. However, you were absolutely rubbish at painting them yourself, which you attributed to having the shakiest hands on Earth.

Staring at the Pinterest board open on your phone that showed you pictures of all the gorgeous nails that you couldn’t have, you walked into you and Klaus' shared bedroom where he was seated on a futon, silently sketching. None of the shops in the Quarter were open, let alone a nail spa. With an exaggerated sigh, you flopped onto the mattress, making your boyfriend momentarily glance up from his sketchbook. "What's got you in a huff?" he asked, directing his gaze back to the pencil and paper in his hands.

"I want to do this pretty design on my nails, but my lack of artistic skill doesn't permit me to actually do it," you pouted, staring at your screen wistfully. You had Klaus’ attention now—he was staring at you, looking unusually thoughtful for a few moments before setting his sketch down and walking over to you. “Let me have a look at it, then,” he said, sitting next to you on the bed and waiting expectantly, although you weren’t quite sure for what. You showed him the picture; nude-coloured nails with an orangey-red butterfly pattern on them. You ached to see them on yourself.

He nodded lightly and handed your phone back to you, saying “Alright, I can paint your nails for you.” You stared at him for a while, not knowing if he was being sincere or not, but there was no sign of a joke on his face—he was dead serious, and you couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a laugh that was a little too loud for his liking. The mere thought of Klaus using nail polish, even if it wasn’t on himself, was so bizarre. “What’s so amusing?” His brow was furrowed, lips stretched in a thin, straight line.

Trying your best to swallow the rest of your giggles, you replied, “I’m sorry, it’s just… you don’t seem like the type to paint his girlfriend’s nails. At all. Are you sure you can do this?” The slight frown on his face melted away and was replaced by a quick eye roll and a chortle. “Sweetheart, I’m an artist. I can paint on actual canvas—one of my paintings is hanging in the Hermitage right now, for crying out loud. I think I can handle a few bloody butterflies on a fingernail.”

“Yeah, but oil paints and nail polish are two drastically different mediums,” you retorted; the corners of his mouth turned up into his usual, devilish smirk, his eyes twinkling with the kind of confidence that only came with a massive ego. “I’m the Klaus Mikaelson, love. There’s nothing that I can’t do.”

You snorted derisively, but then raised both hands in mock surrender, “Alright, alright, you can give it a go,” you conceded. “It had better be gorgeous though, after all that ‘I’m the Klaus Mikaelson’ crap you just spewed.” You deepened your voice comically to imitate him before you burst out laughing.

He rolled his eyes again, but you didn’t miss the soft chuckle that left his raspberry lips.

***

You were sitting at the small desk that was previously in the very corner of the room, that was now near the window—Klaus moved it there, for lighting reasons, he said—while he grabbed his thinnest paintbrushes from his supply. He needed to make fine lines when painting those butterflies. It didn’t take very long, he was sitting opposite you in a few minutes. You had brought all the bottles of nail polish that he would need, and he was ready to get started.

He blew through the clear base coat and the pinkish-nude nail polish in no time, using only a few swipes to cover the entire nail bed with such precision and neatness that if you hadn’t known better, you would have thought he was a manicurist in a previous life. “How am I doing so far?” he smirked, while you both waited for your nails to dry. Stretching your arm out to look at them from a distance, you nodded approvingly, “You’ve done very well,” you admitted as he gave you a smug grin. “Don’t get cocky now, Klaus,” you advised him, “you still have the pattern to paint on.”

Smiling, he picked up the finest paintbrush that was on the table. “Let me show you my artistic skill,” he said, and started work, using black nail polish to draw the outline of the butterfly. He worked in total silence, his face completely still with concentration, eyes trained on the strokes of the bristles—and he worked fast. His talents would never fail to amaze you, apparently. It felt like no time at all had passed by and he was already filling in the colours of the wings. You watched him in awe as he painted the red in with just a few expert flicks of his wrist, and he was done.

“Okay, I am never doubting your skills again,” you said, examining the very pretty butterflies that were now frolicking on your nails, “this looks incredible.” You felt him kiss the top of your head—you couldn’t even draw your eyes away from the masterpiece—as he murmured a thank you, before heading back to his futon and sketchpad. “Wait!” you exclaimed, and he turned back to face you. “How did you even do that so quickly? You took like, what, ten minutes tops?”

The twinkle in his eyes returned, and he couldn’t stop the impish grin on his face. “I told you, love, I’m the Klaus Mikaelson. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

#klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson x reader #klaus mikaelson imagine #klaus mikaelson fluff #the originals fanfic #the originals fanfiction

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chaoticpuff17 · 3 years

Text

When the Chips are Down

part 9

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The next day came much too slowly. Y/N hated bed rest, and the constantly squirming future futbol star in her belly didn’t make finding a comfortable position easy. Namjoon also didn’t make bed rest any easier. The man was an expert at hovering. When he said bed rest, he meant bed rest. He didn’t let her so much as get up to use the bathroom by herself. Supposedly if she was up for even a moment without him watching, she and the baby would go into distress again. Perhaps on someone else the hovering would have been sweet, but it was Namjoon, and all she wanted to do was throttle him. She restrained herself though, if only for the sake of their new deal and the fact she wasn’t sure she could beat him in a fight with her belly so big.

“You should really eat something.” He sighed, fully dressed and ready for the day as he sat beside her watching her pick at the food on the tray that Miss In had brought up for breakfast. “It’s good for the baby.”

“I’m aware.” she shot back dryly, as she continued to poke at the food in distaste instead of eating it.

“Just a little.” he tried to conceal a smile, finding her little frown adorable, even if he couldn’t allow her petulant refusal to eat in the mornings. There was only a few weeks left until the baby arrived, and he wanted them both to be as strong and healthy as possible.

She turned to him, looking both tired and completely unimpressed. “I’m not a child, Namjoon.”

“I know that, jagi, but the baby…”

She took a deep breath, counting to ten to keep her temper in check. Mornings had been rough for her for the majority of the pregnancy. Morning sickness that was meant to go away half way through the pregnancy lingered, and true to its name, it liked to hit her in the morning.

“I am aware that there’s a baby. I’m the one whose organs it's using as a punching bag. I know what I’m doing.”

“Just a little. Please.” he did his best to keep his own temper in check, knowing full well that their truce was still fragile, but he was only trying to look out for them.

“Fine.” she growled, gritting her teeth.

“Thank you.” he leaned over, pressing a kiss to her temple with a smile. “The new doctor will be stopping by today to check on you and the baby. I’m sorry I can’t be there for it, but I need to get things in order before the baby comes.”

She nodded, taking a reluctant bite of breakfast. “That’s fine.”

“Your sister will be here though.”

She perked up at that. “Iyla?”

He smiled, relieved to see her something other than ornery. “I thought you would like to have her with you, and I did promise you could see her today.” He loved the bright smile that spread over her features. He only wished that she would smile like that for him once in a while. “Jin will be coming by as well, just to make sure that everything is in order with the new doctor.”

“No shooting this one.” she grumbled, taking another small bite.

“No shooting.” he promised.

After breakfast, where he forced her to choke down a minimal amount of porridge despite her still tender stomach, Namjoon was off to work, and she was more than happy to see him go. It gave her freedom to attempt sneaking her way out of bed, a plan that was quickly squashed by Miss In who had a gaggle of maids constantly checking up on her if she wasn’t there herself. She wanted to be dressed in something other than pajamas, but that apparently wasn’t going to happen.

“Y/N!” a wonderfully familiar voice called right before the ball of energy that was her sister came barrelling into her, smooshing them both back against the pillows.

“Hey, Iya.” she whispered, squeezing her sister tight and ignoring Hoseok who lingered at the door. “We’re fine, Hoseok. I’m sure Namjoon needs you for something or another.” the man didn’t move. “There are guards everywhere, and Miss In checks in every twenty minutes it seems. Do you really want to be here for my check up?”

“Probably not.” he shrugged, smiling slightly. “I’ll wait till the kid’s born to coo over pictures.” He turned a sharp eye to Iyla who was still curled tightly around her sister. “I’ll be back later to pick you up, okay?” she didn’t say anything, and Hoseok sighed tiredly before making his exit. “Good luck with the check up.”

Both women waited for Hoseok to leave before they said anything else.

“You’re okay right?” her sister pulled back, scanning her over once they were both sure Hoseok was gone. “You were so upset when I left, and you had pain in your belly. Is the baby okay?”

“Baby is fine, but are you okay?” she lifted her hands up, gently cupping her face. “Hoseok didn’t hurt you at all?”

She shook her head, causing a few stray strands to fall out of the bun that sat messily on top of her head. “I’m fine. He’s not the most pleasant,” she grimaced. “But he didn’t hurt me.”

“Good. That's good.” she flopped back onto the mattress in relief. “So what are we doing today?”

“I’m on bed rest.” the news was met with a sympathetic ‘oof’ from her sister. “But the new doctor is coming today to do a check up, so you’ll probably get to see the ultrasound.”

“New doctor?” Iyla propped herself up on her elbows. “What happened to the old doctor?”

“Namjoon shot her.”

“And I thought mine was bad.” she huffed, laying back down. “Are we better or worse off than with Marcus?” she turned looking at her sister with a serious expression that wasn’t typical of her.

Y/N sighed, settling herself back against the pillows as well. That really was the question. Were they better off? She’d told Namjoon that he was worse than Marcus, but was it actually true or had she just said it to rile him?

“Well, I’m not getting beat up every other day.” she offered weakly.

“Y/N.”

“I made a deal.” she admitted, resting a hand over her belly.

“What kind of deal did you make?”

“They can’t hurt us. They can’t do anything that Marcus did, and I arranged for him to let Mark, the guy who helped me escape, go unharmed. The catch is we can’t leave, or at least I can’t. I made no such promise for you. If you find a window, you take it.”

“I’m not leaving you here alone!” she argued, sitting up and glaring at her sister. “If I’m leaving, I’m taking you and the peanut with me.”

“I can’t.” she shook her head sadly. “I’ve gotten out of here twice, and neither was without help, and both times ended badly. I got Jackson killed, Iya.”

“We run together. We go back to the states!”

“We don’t have phones. We don’t have passports.”

“We get to the embassy!”

Y/N shook her head. “We have no way of getting to Seoul. You’d have a much better chance of getting out of here without dragging a pregnant lady with you, and how exactly do you think we’re going to get out of here? There are guards everywhere, and I don’t think Namjoon is going to be taking any chances with the baby due in a few weeks.”

“We have to try!”

“If I leave the deal is broken, and there is no protection for either of us. If you have a chance to go, you take it, and you don’t look back.”

“I can’t leave you here!” she cried. “Are you insane!”

“Your sister has a point.” a new voice called from the door pulling both of their attention to Sen who stood there with her little boy perched on her hip. “But even if you have a chance it won’t end well for you. Hoseok isn’t a man to cross. He can be sweet if he wants to, but there’s a whole lot of crazy behind that sunshiney exterior. You’re safer here where you have family to look out for you.”

“And who are you?” Iyla growled, protectively scooting closer to her sister.

“This is Sen.” Y/N placed a calm hand on Iyla’s shoulder. “She’s Yoongi’s wife, not by choice.”

“What’s she doing here?”

“Came to check in on you and the baby.”

“You’re not needed.”

“She’s a friend.” Y/N scolded, lightly smacking Iyla’s shoulder. “Don’t be rude.”

“Well, then we take her too!” Iyal conceded, already getting fired up again.

“Right.” both older women scoffed.

“How are you planning to sneak you, me, a baby, and a pregnant lady out of here?” Sen asked arching an elegant brow. “I’m not risking Yoonho. Taehyung might be busy with his girl, but he has eyes everywhere, and I’m betting Hoseok had Jin stick one of Taehyng’s trackers in you just like Yoongi did me. They’re a little paranoid if you hadn’t noticed. Two out of seven have had pregnant women slip away from them. Apparently, it’s a little traumatizing.”

That shut Iyla right up, if only for a moment. “We can take the trackers out!” Her voice was more frantic now as she grasped at straws.

“Done that.” Y/N grimaced at the memory. “It wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

“We can’t do nothing!”

“You’re not doing nothing.” Sen assured her. “You’re keeping your head down and keeping safe.”

“I can’t risk any more travel with the baby.” Y/N added softly. “I almost went into labor yesterday. But you’re safe so long as I keep up my end of the deal.”

“What about you?” Iyla insisted, gaze heated as her eyes darted between the two older women. “You’re content to just sit here and play house?”

“I’d rather you be safe.” Y/N took her little sister’s hand in hers. “I won’t have you go through what I went through with Marcus, and at least this way, you have some level of protection.”

“It’s not fair!”

“I know.” she agreed softly. “But it’s the best I can do for now.”

“Namjoon’s not going to hurt her.” Sen promised. “He went crazy when she was gone. He might be a raging psychopath, but he has some sort of twisted love for your sister. So long as she and the baby are here with him, she’ll be okay.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“It’s the best we can do.”

“What’s the best you can do?” Jin asked, popping into the room with a rather pale looking Hayan trailing behind him. “Good to see you again, Iyla. How’s the arm?” he asked, nodding towards the arm where he’d inserted the chip.

“Great.” she hissed, glaring at him. “What’s the quack doing here?”

“I’m offended! I offered to play Narts with you!”

“Quack.” She grumbled, scooting even closer to her sister.

“He’s here for the appointment, Iya.”

Jin perked up, turning his attention to the very pregnant woman. “And how is our gorgeous mom to be today?”

“I’d be a whole lot better if I wasn’t on bed rest.”

Jin laughed, and Hayan made her way over to the bed, perching on the edge and sending Y/N a small attempt at a smile. “Just for a few days. It’ll put all our minds at ease after the scare you gave us yesterday and all the stress Namjoon’s put you through.”

“Hi, Hayan. You doing okay?” the other woman nodded slightly, but it was clear to everyone in the room she was still shaken.

“I wanted her to stay home and rest, but she wanted to see how you were doing.” Jin sighed dramatically. “It’s my lot in life to be surrounded by gorgeous stubborn women.”

“How’s the baby?” Hayan asked, voice soft.

“Kicking.”

“Kicking is good.” Jin nodded. “The new doctor should be here soon, and then we should be able to take a proper look at you and baby. Are all you ladies staying for the check up?” It was a question addressed to all of them, but they all knew that it was Y/N who was meant to answer.

“As long as no one but the doctor is checking things down there, we’re fine.”

“Okay.” Jin clapped his hands together. “I am going to ask that everyone who isn’t Iyla go sit over there, except you.” he reached out, lifting Yoonho right out of Sen’s arms. “You get to stay with Uncle Jinnie, spend some time away from stinky old Yoongi.”

The little boy stared at him, completely unimpressed looking so much like his father before he started fussing for absolutely no reason, reaching up with one chubby little fist to roughly grab a lock of Jin’s hair and yanking.

“Ow! Okay! Okay!” Jin handed the baby back. “Not today then. He gets more like his dad every day.” he huffed, pouting as yoonho settled back into his mother’s arms.

“He cries for Yoongi too.” Sen offered as a consolation, bouncing the baby lightly. “He’s a momma’s boy.”

“More like his dad every day.” Jin muttered again, shaking his head sadly.

“Buin.” Miss In called from the door. “The doctor has arrived.” the woman stepped aside to reveal a different woman dressed professionally with her hair neatly pinned to the top of her head.

“Buin.” the woman bowed respectfully. “I’m Dr. Yang. I’ll be taking over your prenatal and postnatal care.”

“Dr. Yang.” she greeted eyeing the woman warily.

Miss In had done a wonderful job of cleaning the master bedroom and at record speed as well, but the memory of what had happened just the other day was still fresh in everyone’s minds.

She could tell just by looking at the woman, it was going to be a long day.

part 10

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ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole · 3 years

Text

Claiming Ones Own

This chapter was a pain to write. It's not perfect but will do as brain seems to want to focus on the next chapter hay ho! Enjoy. Cross posted on AO3.

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Chapter 4 - Bedtime Disasters

By the time the trio had finished their meal it was late/early, depending on your viewpoint, but one thing was certain was that it was past Marie’s bedtime. This may have been a good point to try and get her to sleep, but given that a) they are bats, sleep is for the weak as Tim would state and b) Marie had been fed probably not the wisest proportion of chocolate in the last few hours, sleep was not really on the cards any time soon.

Cass and Jason worked in tandem clearing the table and storing what remained of the takeaway in the fridge. Jason had managed to demolish a significant amount unsurprisingly, so there wasn’t much to box up. Marie stood fascinated, watching the adults dance around each other with practiced ease, taking in all the subtle communication they gave to each other.

As Cass started to wash up the dishes, Jason sighed and set off towards the bathroom. Despite his grumbling’s Jason knew it was his safest course of action. The Alfred threat looming over him was not worth the energy fighting over and simpler to just do the task. Alfred, for all his neutrality, was wrapped around Cass’s little finger (much like Bruce), and now Cass was providing him with a great grandchild would give her more protection of Alfreds disappointment. He doubted it would be long till Pixie learnt that skill from Cass either. Pixie had a charm about her and was already working her magic on him and Cass.

Seeing Jason leave, Marie bouncing with unspent energy, quietly followed to see what he was up to. Washing dishes seemed boring to her, and she had already seen the kitchen. She knew where the chocolate was stored which was the key important factor. Silently she shadowed Jason, that was until he went towards the remains of the battle zone.

“No trick here Pixie, I’m just cleaning up the mess. I’m not gonna get you wet, promise. You can watch if ya like or have a look around the apartment. No escaping or running, we’ve just got ya and don’t want to have to save you again from some more bastards!”

The little huff of air as her response got Jason to chuckle. “We care about you Pixie. Cass claiming ya means your family now. Like it or not you’re stuck with us. Cass won’t give you up easily” Jason replied before starting work on tidying the bathroom.

Marie flitted around the apartment observing them both, wondering off briefly exploring before returning to see where they were. Over the meal they gained a small amount of trust, it was clear to see they meant her no harm so was letting some of her walls down for the moment appeared to be ok. She didn’t completely trust them but she didn’t not trust them.

During her apartment adventures Maria found a thing with buttons on. Inquisitively she pressed some of the buttons. She squeaked in surprise as the TV turned on. Cass heard the noise escaping her daughter and ran into the room in a panic. Heart pounding. Was her daughter ok? Has she hurt herself? Has someone however unlikely broken in?!!!

Relief flooded through Cass as she arrived on the scene, Marie hypnotised by the tv showing some baking show. Easing into a smile, Cass went and grabbed a couple of blankets and draped one round her shoulders and one around Maries. Gently guiding Marie to her lap on the sofa they both snuggled on the sofa to watch the baking show while Jason finished off.

When Jason finished, he found the pair fast asleep wrapped up tight in blankets with the TV and lights still on. As he turned the TV and lights off, two drowsy heads glared at him as he backed away before settling down to sleep. ‘Pixie is such a mini Cass in the making’ flashed through his head.

Jason woke to loud banging on his door, groggily he sat up and with a sleep ladened voice groaned, “What do you want Cass”. The woman barged into his room, “Missing” ‘Marie is missing!!! We slept on the sofa, when I woke, she was gone!’ “Help Jay!!”. Slowly shaking he sleep out of his body, Jason finally registered what Cass was saying and appearance. Cass was unnervingly jittery and had glimmers of fear and worry marking her face. To catch Cass’s mask cracking freaked Jason out.

“Fuck” Jason jumped out of bed. His head finally catching up with the conversation. Cass was scared. Pixie had disappeared between the time he’d gone to bed and Cass waking up. Street kids were tricky, they knew how to escape and avoid trouble. Giving what they saw of her on the streets, she had the potential to slip out the apartment without triggering the alarms. They were set up for those slipping in, not out. He thought that they had reassured her enough to stay the night and well hopefully trust them.

“Shit! Fuck! Where have you looked Cass? Are you sure she’s left the apartment?” grabbing some joggers to slip on, Jason walked over to the semi frantic Cass.

‘Looked in living room and bedroom. I couldn’t see her. Doors and windows locked still don’t think she left but I’ Cass looked up at Jason, her anxiety was showing ‘I panicked. Need help to find her’

Systematically the pair hunted the apartment. Looking in all the unusual places a child could hide. Pixie was appearing to be an expert at disappearing.

Throwing caution to the wind Jason looked in the blanket cupboard. Almost missing it, Jason could see a glimpse of hair poking out. Jason could only smile. His niece was hidden, you could barely see her, under the pile of blankets and right at the back so only if you were seriously looking for her. Leaving the girl who seemed content to rest Jason strode off to find Cass.

“Hey Cass, you can chill now. I found your gremlin. She is in the blanket cupboard all nested and asleep still.”

The visible effect of those words surprised Jason as tension and anxiety left his sister’s body. ‘Thank you Jay’. His niece had really wormed her way into Cass’s heart, and his heart too.

…………….

Being a mother was surprisingly more complex than Cass had thought as she reviewed her first almost week.

Meal times had been an interesting challenge to overcome with Marie demanding chocolate ALL the time. That was until Cass thought of chocolate milk. This seemed to appease her quirky child, so though at times convincing her to try new things was harder than it should be, Marie was more co-operative. At least now meals were not food covered in chocolate spread or succumbing to chocolate bar demands.

Taking Marie shopping had also been an experience she, and Jay, would rather forget. Marie disappearing for 30 minutes had caused an awful lot of fraught feelings for Cass and Jason as they hunted manically for her. When Marie reappeared she seemed quite content with a collection of jewellery and nonplussed about the chaos and anxiety she’d left behind her. Her pickpocketing habits would need to be addressed as she kept the ring she obtained but she gifted the rest to Jason and Cass. The gift given would have been sweet if it a) wasn’t stolen and b) she didn’t think that she needed to buy love/care. Shopping also unraveled that the girl was particularly picky about clothes and distrustful of strangers. All in all, it resulted in a lot of stress for the Wayne adoptees. Shopping trips were now off the table for a while if Marie was involved.

Though these were issues and problems, Cass felt she had managed to overcome them or at least manage to for the most part. Ok, that was a lie but she had plans semi in place.

Her current headache at this moment in time was sleep! Well more the waking. She wasn’t sure how she would survive a month of parenthood at this rate. Every, and she really did mean every, morning Marie was missing only to be found in another location. It was causing her more distress that she’d like to admit.

She had hoped that the first blanket nest situation the first night was a one off. Turns out that was a no. Jason was finding it all too amusing as well!

After night 1, night 2 was spent coaching Marie to sleep in her bed. Buying a new bed hadn’t crossed their minds after the shopping fiasco, and Jason wasn’t currently willing to relinquish the spare room. Something about his guns and personal space. Getting her into a soft bed still required too much chocolate bribery. Waking up to Marie missing. Again. Freaked Cass out. Eventually she was sound curled up in a suitcase on top of the wardrobe.

Night 3 Cass slept in the bed with Marie, hoping that it would convince her to stay in the bed all night. That failed when she was found asleep under the bed. At least that time it was semi easy to find the girl.

Night 4 Cass burrito’d and swaddled the girl up in blankets. Restricting her movements may help her settle and remain in bed. That failed too. Marie was found sleeping in Cass’s wardrobe this time. Slightly easier to find again.

By night 5 Cass was close to pulling her hair out. The morning drama’s were getting to her and Jason finally conceded the spare bedroom to her daughter. The amusement was still there but not as strong. That was a sort of win, Marie gaining her own space and hopefully learning to trust them more.

That was a complete disaster as Marie disappeared again this time. The girl was eventually found wrapped in a blanket nest in the kitchen cupboard amazingly hidden behind the food. An impressive way to hide. Chocolate wrappers were also found.

‘Jay! Help. I don’t understand. Why won’t she stay in bed? What am I doing wrong?’

“You’re doing great Cass! Chill a bit. Pixie is eating more than chocolate and we are finding her quicker each day. She’ll run out of new hiding places soon which will mean we will find out her favourite space to sleep”

‘Nooo Jaaay! Help! Please she needs to learn to sleep in bed. I can’t introduce her to Alfred otherwise. He’d want to meet her. Which brings the rest of them. And I don’t want to loose her! The others would be too much!! Please! Please! Pleeeease Jay!!! For Alfred if not meee!"

Jason could do without the morning stress too and Cass did raise a good point about Alfred and the rest of the bats. Sighing, Jason pondered over what Pixie was doing and recalled his time adjusting to the manor.

“Cass, she likes small safe, hidden spaces. Open spaces leave her vulnerable and open to attack. I think she knows that we won’t do that, but it's a hard habit to break. Plus she is a stubborn girl, a true bat I guess. I know I didn’t like the big rooms at the manor to begin with. Perhaps we can create a safe nest in her room to see if she’ll stay. A small safe space. The room is too big currently for her to be used to it.”

Smiling Cass nodded. The logic sort of followed.

That evening Cass and Jason worked together to make a blanket fort nest in the corner of the room. Marie watching with curious eyes. Playing with the ring she’d taken to wearing on a chain. When Cass started to take the bedding off the bed into the blanket fort, Maries eyes’ turned to saucers as she worked out what was happening. Tugging on Cass’s arm ‘Marie help?’ caused Cass to smile in pride and nod. Marie was starting to sign more delighting Cass and semi trusting them.

The next morning Cass woke to find Marie still dozing in her blanket fort and smiled! This obstacle was conquered.

Note: thank you to PickledPlumFan on AO3 for the chocolate milk idea/concept.

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#maribat #maribat au #claiming ones own #marinette x cass #marinette x jason #found family #ml x dc #mlb x dc #dc x ml #dc x mlb #platonic

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