Trash Panda

Beyond Expectations [AHeartlessNobody & Summer]

Dang, that sounds super complex. I like it cx How far did you get when you were writing/drawing for it originally?

It's interesting to me how many different directions you can go with the Lunairan people.
I definitely took it in a more dystopian direction, because I like the idea of their leaders taking total control while everyone is panicking about where they're going to go now that their home planet is uninhabitable. I imagine their original leaders meant the takeover for good, but the ones who followed slowly changed the government structure to be more corrupt. If you've ever heard the saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely," that's sort of the premise I used ^^

I've only worked on one story on my own (another dystopian xD). It's sort of a 'what if' scenario of future America if microchipping gets put in place. I did a lot of research on the science behind microchipping and the ways it could be negatively used by the government. It's a little conspiracy-theorist, but it makes for a really interesting plot cx The main characters are a girl who is fully apart of the society and a guy who is part of a small group called the Grid Ghosts (they're families that refuse to microchip their children)

Anyway, it's a lot more complex than that, but I won't bother sharing all of the details unless you want them lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow is so excited to travel with Penelope again cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The following morning, Crow woke up early with the first light of the sun. Since he had been sleeping outside and had nothing to block out the light to keep resting, he decided he might as well get up and make some use of the extra time he’d been granted. Sitting up on his bed, he stretched tiredly in an attempt to loosen his muscles that had grown stiff from sleeping on the rough ground. He was feeling especially sore today, as he had wanted to travel light, so he hadn’t brought a mat or anything else to put beneath his bedroll for cushioning.

Accepting the fact that he was just going to have to put up with the faint ache in his back, he stood up and began clearing out his campsite. He rolled up his bed and destroyed the remains of the fire he had built to remove any sign that he had been there. Once he was satisfied that anyone who passed through wouldn’t notice that someone had made camp in the area, he shouldered his bag and headed back to Whitebridge to visit the market.

It seemed that even though there had been battles recently, the villagers were intent on keeping up with their usual routines, just like the ones he had seen in Silverpool when he had been visiting Evelyn. He looked over the bustling crowds that were buying and selling various products at stands that had been set up along the edges of a wide road. If he didn’t know better, he never would have guessed they had just endured two battles. Their hardiness was inspiring.

He walked along the outside of the crowd, eyeing different merchants as he looked for the ones who were selling food. It didn’t take long before he spotted a woman with loaves of leavened bread. Weaving between the villagers, he made his way over to her, purchasing some of the bread from her as well as a few other food products from the other vendors near her stand. Once he had bought everything he needed, he stepped aside to get out of the way of the other peasants who were trying to buy food.

He frowned as he peered into his nearly empty coin purse. It hadn’t taken much to exhaust the money he had brought from his camp. Sighing to himself, he shoved the pouch back into his pocket and folded him arms over his chest as he looked out over the bustling market. Since he had woken up early, he still had a bit of time left before he was supposed to meet with the knights. Perhaps he could get lucky and sell off enough of the medicines to bring back some gold for his companions.

Having come to a decision, he walked along the row of merchants until he found an empty spot where he could set up his own makeshift station. He slipped his bag from his shoulders and pulled out his bedroll, unfurling it and laying it out on the ground. It would have to suffice, since he didn’t have a wooden stand like the other vendors who set up in Whitebridge regularly. Once he had flattened the blanket, he began pulling the containers of medicine out of his bag and setting them out on top of it where they would be visible to the villagers who walked by. It wasn’t the most visually appealing merchant stand in the market, but he hoped that would just attract more people who would be curious to see what he was selling.

With everything set up and ready, he stood behind the blanket and glanced around the area to make sure there were no guards before he lowered the hood of his cloak. In addition to having an unusual station, he intended to use his reputation to draw people in, since it was known amongst the outer villages that whatever he stole came from nobles and was therefore of high quality.

As expected, it didn’t take long before peasants began to gather to see what he had to offer.

--

By midday, Crow had managed to sell off half of the medicines he had brought. He had hoped to sell more, but most of the villagers of Whitebridge couldn’t afford the price he’d needed to set in order to bring back enough money for himself and his companions to make it until the fall season. Wanting to be generous, he hadn’t made his wares too costly, but most of the peasants only had copper coins to spare, which was simply too little for him to accept, even though he wished he could.

He exhaled sadly as he made his way back to the road where he was going to meet with the knights. After seeing the desperation on the villagers’ faces for noble medicine, he was tempted to go back to raid the knights’ camp for more, just to give it to them without asking for gold in return. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that, especially after the knights had lost more than half of their supplies to Jaxon’s thieves. They needed what they had left to make it through the war, and he couldn’t justify sabotaging his own kingdom to give the peasants of Whitebridge free medicine. All care for the outcome of the war aside, he wanted to make sure Penelope was safe, and tampering with the nobles’ remaining supplies would put her at risk if Younis attacked.

When he reached the edge of the village, he leaned against a tree and watched the road that led into the southern part of the forest. His heart beat a little quicker with excitement at the thought of seeing Penelope again and finding out if her baroness had agreed to let her travel to Aramoor with him. Now that the prospect of traveling with her had been put on the table, his hopes had risen that they wouldn’t have to part for the next few days, and he couldn’t wait to find out if she had convinced her leader to let her go.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he tapped his index finger against his bicep, fidgeting with nervous energy as he waited for the knights to reach him.

Beyond Expectations [AHeartlessNobody & Summer]

We don't really want kids, but I definitely intend to share pictures with our other married friends.
Or y'know, if we end up having an unplanned kid, I guess I could show them too xD

Applicable

There are no mistakes, only happy little accidents

- Bob Ross

That's super cool. It's always great when you get new family like that. I really like my brother's wife's family, but they live in New York, so we only got to hang out at their wedding. I miss their dog so much :'c

I'm super interested in that idea, but I dunno if I've got time to pick up another RP, unfortunately ^^;
I'm already in 2/3 (one of them only gets new posts about once a month, so it only kind of counts) and I promised another person that I would start one with her once my semester ends, so she's got dibs on my 4th lol

Also, I definitely don't judge you because that's better than anything I could draw xD
I actually just bought myself a drawing tablet (it's coming in tomorrow!!) because I really want to get better at graphic art, but it's gonna take a whole lot of practice and YouTube lessons, since I haven't picked up an art pen since high school.
If I ever get good, I could totally make some art for this RP cx

Also, I'm low key impressed you managed to hold onto those drawings for seven years. I have no idea where any of my old drawings are, and it's only been less than three for me xD

Out of curiosity, what's your story about? Like what's the plot, I mean? :)

Beyond Expectations [AHeartlessNobody & Summer]

Nice! It's cool that you all get along so well. I get along with my husband's family alright, but they're all a little weird xD
His mom's side is all rednecks, and his dad's side is literally Amish.
Our wedding photos for his fam look like a costume festival for pilgrims and cowboys lmao
They're cool people, but I dunno if I'd hang out with them often even if they lived near us xD
My side of the family is the awesome ones B3 My husband likes them a lot, so we drive down to visit them every once in a while

Beyond Expectations [AHeartlessNobody & Summer]

Nice! Glad you guys had fun cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Too bad nobody will listen to him right away xD

I'm also thinking Jaxon will approach Crow either near the end of their trip to Aramoor or sometime after it's over.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow was glad that Penelope said midday would work for her. He didn’t want to wait too long before they would see each other again, and now that they were able to meet daily, he felt a bit spoiled. He also liked the time of their meeting tomorrow because he had some things he wanted to get done in the morning as well. There was a marketplace in Whitebridge, so he intended to stock up on some extra food for their journey to Aramoor as well as try to sell off some of the medicines he had stolen from the knights’ camp. After all, it would be suspicious if he returned to his own camp at the end of the week without having sold off a single one. It would be a more believable lie if he told his companions that there weren’t as many buyers as they had been expecting in Wheldrake.

As she slowed to a stop again, he followed her lead more eagerly now that he wasn’t worried that she was mad at him. He leaned in to meet her as she kissed him, relishing the feeling of her soft lips against his. Even though they were able to see each other more often, they still didn’t have many opportunities to be alone, so he intended to enjoy every moment they had to themselves. When she pulled back again, he grinned back at her, finding her enthusiasm infectious. “I can’t wait for that,” he said in agreement, touching another swift kiss to her lips. The thought of traveling with her again—even if they were joined by Olivia and Gavin—excited him. The company of the other knights was worth it to him as long as it meant he didn’t have to part with her for a few days.

“I love you too,” he smiled at her affectionately. “See you then.” As she pulled away from him to rejoin her comrades, he lingered on the edge of the road to watch her go. He was happy that even though their end to the day hadn’t been the smoothest, they had still found a way to move forward without letting his mistake hurt their relationship. He sighed contentedly, turning to head off the street into the surrounding forest as the time grew near for him to settle down for the night.

It didn’t take long for him to find a good spot to make his camp. Not far from the southwestern edge of the village, he came across a small clearing that was just far enough from Whitebridge that the local knights wouldn’t see him. Immediately, he got to work setting up his bedroll and building a small fire. Having not eaten since lunch, he was famished and wanted to prepare a quick supper for himself before he went to sleep.

He pulled a small pot from his bag and filled it with water from one of the flasks he had brought, propping it over the fire to cook some vegetables. While he waited for the water to come to a boil, he sat down by the edge of the fire and leaned back on the palms of his hands, stretching out his legs contentedly. Camping alone like this reminded him of his life before he had met Simon, Rikki, and Alistair. Even though he found it lonely in the long term, he still enjoyed the peacefulness of sitting alone by a fire at night on occasion. It gave him a chance to clear his head.

Crow lifted his gaze to the stars overhead, watching them flicker against the blackened sky. Spending time by himself also tended to make him a little more philosophical. He found that his mind often wandered to questions for which he had no answer, such as what his purpose was or whether his mother’s spirit really was watching him from the afterlife. Such thoughts tended to make him melancholic, so he put them aside, instead focusing on his excitement at seeing Penelope again the next day.

Once the food in the pot had finished cooking, he enjoyed a decent supper of vegetables and dark bread. It wasn’t the most filling meal, but it was enough to make his hunger subside for now, so he had no complaints. Standing up from the ground, he set his pot aside and tossed dirt over the fire until it went out. After that was done, he finally made his way over to his bed and laid down for the night, yawning broadly as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Beyond Expectations [AHeartlessNobody & Summer]

No worries! Did you have a good time with your brother?

Sweet. I'm looking forward to it ^^

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

That's good xD
He's kind of a mess