#Wanted to add more characters but it'd get full quickly...

[ask-red-and-solomon]

The cover for the newest oneshots book!

[marley-manson]

You've got me really close to watching Xena, it sounds great lol, but I'm been assuming it's high energy and campy, and idk if I am in the mood for that at the moment. I was wondering what the watching experience is like a long those lines. I remember you saying something along the lines of it being like a cartoon? Maybe I'm wrong but, I'd appreciate it

It's SO great, but yes I can't deny that it is very campy lol.

And probably high energy too, but it depends what you mean by that. It's not like, super fast paced for instance, each episode unfolds at a reasonable rate. But the fight scenes are really exaggerated and cartoonish rather than realistic (eg Xena can leap 20 feet in the air sometimes), and the plots can often be quite silly.

Like, the episodes vary from dramatic episodes to comedy episodes and it's kind of notorious for tone whiplash that way, but I think a viewer gets used to it pretty quick, and it's something I like about the show now. But even dramatic episodes have unrealistic fight scenes, cartoony sound effects (the biggest fansite for the show is called 'whoosh' bc of the sound effect when someone turns their head quickly lol), and usually a decent amount of levity.

When I first sat down to watch it I quit during the first fight scene because I was cringing too much and I hadn't realized it'd be so over the top. But then I went back to it a couple months later, and by the third episode I had fully embraced the cheesiness and found myself loving it.

So really I think it does depend on the attitude you go into it with, like if you're more in the mood for something realistic and down to earth I wouldn't recommend Xena right now. But if you think you could get used to the campiness and enjoy the vibes, then it's an incredibly rewarding show imo with so much to love.

Also I made an episode guide here if you want to check it out if you find yourself in the mood for something fun and over the top rather than realistic. Just tells you which are essential episodes, and which are skippable if you want to check it out but don't want to commit to 6 full seasons.

OH also I should add that while the action is really over the top, I think the character work is excellent, esp with Xena and Gabrielle, with plenty of subtleties, great acting, great drama, etc. The show manages a great balancing act between campy silliness and fantastic character drama imo.

[bellamby]

I'm making a TFP dating sim and need Headcanons/character ideas!

I've recently returned to the Visual Novel space and want to make a Transformers Prime Visual novel.

Setting:

Because of how vague the context is for life before the war, I wanted to build the VN around the idea of what Cybertron was like in the golden age. For that, it'd be a great help for anyone with a headcanon for that time period to let me know (no matter how small or crazy it might be!)

I'll fit as many as possible into the full game!

Different starting points:

For the main friend/love interests, I wanted to add in some variation (Orion, Megatronus, and probably one more that's undecided).

I want the option for starting off in Iacon (Orion), Kaon (Megatronus), or the Sea of Rust, depending on which storyline you want to pick.

Hints to the Story:

For obvious reasons, I don't want to give TOO much away. But what I can tell you is that - in this unofficial spinoff - your choice in the first chapter of the game largely affects the version you play throughout.

You basically start out in Cybertron's golden age, choose a side, and the next chapter is about how that affiliation affects your relationships with the character you first chose.

Things get very intense very quickly. But we all love some Transformers drama.

Ideas:

I really want this to be a community project! I won't making any money off of it because of copyright law, so the idea is to make something that's just fun for TFP fans in general. Let me know you ideas, your headcanons, plot points you think would be cool, and characters (including OCs) that could make appearances!

Thanks for reading!

[hor3nee]

• Union •

Gojo and his arranged marriage with Reader.

CW/TW: Fem! Reader, Arranged marriage, BREIF Suggestive stuff, Corny Gojo, Reader & Gojo ages implied to be very young (18-23), Gojo typical flirting, SFW (Lmk if I should add anything else!)

Characters: Gojo x Reader

AN: Gojo is bitchless in this fic because I say so.

• Part 2 Here • AO3 Link •

Weddings aren't supposed to be this boring. In fairness, boring is better than a bad wedding. Could have a roadhouse-type fight between in-laws, an ex breaking through the doors proclaiming their undying love or a runaway bride. Or a runaway groom. Maybe he should've been a runaway groom? Internally, Gojo's sure it'd be more exciting than sitting in a room full of family and 'friends' who are discussing his marriage more than he's even caring to think of it.

"Congratulations to The Strongest and his bride." Another blanked-out random voice says giving polite blessings to him and the lady dressed in bridal wear beside him, you.

Satoru Gojo, the strongest, they call him, well he calls himself, and yes, he is, he without a doubt is the strongest. Born with the Six Eyes technique after ages of the Gojo clan, while relevant in the Jujutsu world, unable to have a child with such technique for so long, Gojo was instantly hailed heir, no questions asked.

And with all of that, comes responsibilities, that, as immature as the man acts, he does take care of. Responsibilities include many things other than killing curses though, responsibilities include managing the clan, doing his part in Jujutsu society, mentoring the students and keeping peace with the other clans. Just to list the few, less action-based responsibilities. Marriage is an obvious one as well.

And you're the bride.

He knew it was coming. It wasn't specifically because he was the strongest he was gonna be strung into a marriage as quickly as possible, though that played a role in it. He saw it with his parents, relatives, and the other clans, Zenin especially who practiced it most rigidly perhaps, marriage was a necessary part of holding a certain status, it's simply expected. Arranged are ideal.

It's not that he was forced into it either, everyone knows this is Satoru Gojo, he does whatever he wants. He gets whatever he wants, he's spoiled, both by the hands of Jujutsu society that almost worships him for his abilities and his own self, the ego he holds very proudly and very loudly that he shamelessly keeps up. If he wants something, he takes it, if he doesn't, he'll leave. He holds that sort of irrefutable power.

So he's okay with this, with marriage. With an arranged marriage, to you, whatever his reasons are that much is clear.

"You gonna eat that?" He's not asking really, he's already got his freakishly long arm drawled out on the table grabbing the plate out of yours. Fingers wriggling comically and he doesn't even make eye contact, looking at the slice of cake with a deeper passion than he bothered to look at you with. Not that you're expecting it, but.. you are the bride, he is on board.

"..Uh guess not." Is all you can reply, slightly awkwardly as he snatches the slice and gobbles it, humming like an overgrown toddler. Was he feeling as awkward too? He didn't look it, he looked fine, bored out of his over-active mind but not mad or anything. Much less mad at you, nor nervous. You're sat close, right by his side, being the main events the two of you of course, Gojo more so because he's the main event in everything in his life.

"This shit's good." He's moaning now, at cake. Almost makes you cringe but with that huge grin of overabundant confidence he has, he somehow makes it seem less cringe.

"Wedding cake's always good-" He gulps down another piece as he speaks. "Best part of any wedding."

Was that?.. Was that an insult? Felt like it, you're sat there all prettied up prim and proper to marry him, and you know he accepted this marriage and he's calling the cake the best part of the wedding? No, you can't even blame him. If anything you probably agree, save for the overly expensive gifts of cold hard cash the other clans and guests were leaving those were also good parts. Because this is, arranged.

You two, are, for the most part, strangers to each other. Together yes, married actually since you and him signed the legal documents no less than 10 minutes earlier into the wedding.

Still, it's awkward.

Soon the cake is gone, mostly by Gojo's abyss of a stomach, and the guests leave. Caterers clean up and family members give some last tidings before leaving. As well as you, and Gojo.

"So, do you think I'm hot?" He perks, sprawled on the couch with his formal wear lazily pulled off scattering around the floor from when he took it off the instant he was inside the residence. His residence, of course. A grin showing no signs of the tense awkwardness one would expect a young man freshly married to a wife he's only married to through arrangements would be. But no, he's Satoru Gojo, if there's one thing he has, it's an overwhelming amount of self-assurance.

"Do I- Do I think you're hot?" You reply, standing a bit awkwardly in front of him, still trying to process the fact you're sleeping here tonight, no for the rest of your life you'll be sleeping in this house. Home, you should call it, it is your home now. Might take time to properly digest that but it is.

"Yeah, am I hot?" The question is, by his expression, obviously self-explained. He IS attractive, with pretty big blue eyes, tall and decently built, and gorgeous lips too, he knows it, he knows he's hot. Gojo just likes to tease, he's a little shit. 

"I mean, am I attractive to YOU?" He asks again, putting more emphasis. For all the slightly passive-aggressive things he's said the evening and immature behaviour, the question is poised genuinely. He's smirking, humming almost as he asks but the way he looks at you it's also clear that he is asking you, seriously.

His gaze never breaks with yours, and though you only take a second to respond, it feels like an hour with the heavy weight of the situation in your brain and the almost stinging feeling of his wide baby blue bright eyes piercing through yours waiting for your response.

"You... Yes, you are attractive." He is, he knows that already though and that wasn't what he was asking. But you know that wasn't what he asking. His expression doesn't falter though, but there's an obvious disappointment, boredom more specifically in it at your lack of response. You're talking but the words are white paper plain, even you can taste it on your tongue, how chaste you sound. 

"I think you're attractive, too." His reply is more genuine than yours as well, maybe not genuine but a lot more emotion in it. Maybe he's just more confident, which he is no doubt. 

"Thanks-"

"Like, seriously." He whistles, christ that's jarring. "seriously hot." 

He's up off the couch before you can give another disingenuous 'thanks' and standing right in front of you, eyeing you down with little to no attempt to act ceremoniously, which he was showing at least the faintest ounce of at the wedding earlier. That gawky tension of whatever the hell the two of you have going on is back, but not for Gojo. He doesn't even have a semblance of humility in him to feel that tension that's burning inside of you right now.

"We're supposed to like each other, you know." He adds, keeping his eyes trained on your body shamelessly.

It feels like his hands are folded around you but they aren't, they're hanging loosely by his side all dangly as his limbs are, the man is a giant. It's more a feeling, suffocating, as though you've been cornered when you aren't. It's the middle of a decently spaced living room and the front door is unlocked. And Gojo, as devious as his smirk is, would never hold you by the binds of a pressured marriage. If anything, you were almost under the assumption he didn't care for you, or this marriage.

"I guess, yeah." You start. "You like me then?" You finish, a bit bolder now, he's seamlessly talking and you are married now, till death do you part as they say. Might as well match his energy.

"You bet I do, sweetheart." Petnames? Okay maybe too much, he might need to dial it down. But Gojo is Gojo, the strongest, an eccentric man. He doesn't 'dial it down' for anything, or anyone. You're his wife, and he likes what he sees. Smiling as he speaks, genuine and concise in his words, he means what he says. As confusing as this situation is, he is young, he's accepted it, and not begrudgingly at all. "I got me a pretty wife- you, you're my wife, so I like you." 

"Thanks Gojo." Ah, there it is, not disingenuous. Though minimal he picks up on it, you also mean it. Maybe not in the way he means it, maybe more than he means it, who knows, not him. Confident as he says he is with the ladies, he's never actually been with one before, this whole relationship shtick, marriage shtick, is new.

Marriage is built off of love, his elders told him, he saw in shitty rom-coms and pop songs blasting the radio. He'd like that, love, as much immaturity and disregard he’s shown at the wedding, the engagement, the arrangements when he first heard they'd picked a partner for him, it has appeal. And he wants it, and this woman, you, you're going to be the one to give it to him, love. Not today, not tonight. Maybe not in a month or a year, but it'll grow, and fester over time. He's sure, as he is in everything, this marriage will last.

"I'm tired as hell from all that wedding crap," Gojo says, his feet ever so minimally backing off so he isn't smothering you with his presence and wide sapphire-like eyes boring into your understandably unsure eyes. "There's a guest room, I'll sleep there and you can take the main bedroom-"

"I can sleep with you." You cut him off.

"In the guest bedroom??" He questions with a blink, okay so he's a bit stupid. That's okay though.

"No, with you, in our bedroom." You correct him, feeling more assured now, eased by Gojo's, thankfully.

"Right." The cheeky grin is back. Actually, it isn't very annoying anymore, it's kinda attractive. He is attractive that much is sure, but he's starting to be attractive to you. "Let's go sleep in OUR bed then, how's that sound?" 

"Sounds good."

It's oddly domestic, the walk to the bedroom he previously had all to himself, showing you the way, and showing you the bed you're gonna be sleeping in for the rest of your days. The way his slender fingers, which you were almost sure would poke out your eyes, gracefully helped you dissemble the layers of jewelry and fabrics you were dolled up in. His touch was feather-light, in stark contrast to his smug demeanour, making it clear, the boy has never undressed a lady.

Nothing goes further than that though, he doesn't push for anything more, and considering how new and confusing everything still is, you don't either. Instead choosing to lay back, and shut your eyes beside Gojo, letting exhaustion overtake you both and just sleep for the night.

Sleep beside your husband.

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

City of Heroes Not-Quite-Beginners Guide

There's a first layer of knowledge like "what's an enhancement" (It's basically equipment) and "how do I level up once I've got the xp" (talk to trainers) but watching a CoH Beginner's Guide I found there were a few things I wished he'd say:

Getting a Task Force Together: If you go into LFG under the Task Force tab you can mouseover the names of lit-up task forces and it'll show you the level range for the run. It also tells you who the character is that directs it. Then go into LFG Chat (find it with the mouseover popups by the chat bar) and type "LFM for [name of director], level [minimum level you read when mousing over the description]+ pst for invite." So for Positron 2 it'd be "LFM for Posi 2, level 11+ pst for invite." The main task forces are

Positron 1 and 2 in Steel Canyon

Synapse in Skyway City

Penelope Yin in Independence Port

Citadel in Talos Island

Manticore in Brickstown

Numina in Founder's Falls

While they don't show up on the minimap they're all within immediate view of the level trainer, who does.

When people reply that they're willing to come along, you click their name in the chat window and select Invite to Team from the popup.

Personally my netiquette is that I'm willing to repeat the posting in LFG once the number of party members has changed. Once I have someone I repost "LF6M..." for instance (team size for Task Forces is 8). It's also good for both courtesy and self-preservation to announce when the group's full. Otherwise you'll keep getting tells from people who want to join.

Archetype Origin: One of the largest jumps in power you'll receive is from set bonuses on matching enhancements. As you do plot-relevant content (storylines and task forces, mostly, but also battles against giant monsters) you'll receive Merits. These can be spent at Merit Vendors to get special enhancements that, as far as I know, can ONLY be obtained this way. Go into the list under your own Archetype (so, Defender if you're a Defender) and there will be two sets you can get, for a total of 12 enhancements. Each costs 100 merits, and the first stories that give merits are worth 3, so you won't be getting these immediately. But you can get your first by around level 20 if you're story-focused. And they're extremely powerful; sometimes enabling a whole different playstyle, such as effects that immediately recharge your buffs or drop you into stealth mid-combat.

Set Bonuses: It's also worth noting that set bonuses - on both AOs and Inventions (IOs) - are really strong. For instance you might get one where for having just 2 enhancements from the same set you get +7% accuracy on all attacks. Add a third and you get resistance to all crowd-control effects (like stun or hold). A fourth and you also recover energy more quickly. These don't stack infinitely, but they do stack a LOT. One drawback is they have to be on a single power. If you put the six pieces of an enhancement set like Scirocco's Dervish on different powers they're good enhancements, but you'll be missing out on the five Set Bonuses you get from having all of them. Personally I think this was a mistake, design-wise, but it is what it is.

Your First Invention: As soon as you go to Steel Canyon - maybe you're level 8 and you're joining in on Positron's first Task Force - there's a quest about inventions at the university. Doing this nets you a free IO, which is strong and which, while it can be outshone by later enhancements and need to be replaced for that reason, never stops giving its bonus due to your level. Where a level 20 Single-Origin Enhancement has no effect for a hero level 24 or higher, a level 20 Invention still provides its full value even to a level 50 player.

Ouroboros: You might be lucky enough to be near someone who drops a golden portal with an infinity serpent icon under it. If you click this it'll take you to Ouroboros, a pocket dimension outside of conventional time. This is important for lategame content and also a useful way to traverse the city, since entering Ouroboros grants you the ability to summon your own Ouroboros Portal once every 5 minutes and it has exits to several different areas of the city. If you're not lucky enough to have access to Ouroboros handed to you, Montague Castanella (also in the Steel Canyon University) has a quest chain that ends with your induction into the Midnighter Society. Once you're in, poke around the grounds until you find a crystal you can click on. It'll transport you to Cimerora, which is probably WAY beyond your current level, but going there means you're a time-traveler and grants you the Ouroboros Portal power if you didn't have it yet.

Ouroboros also has an area where you can simply select a storyline mission and run it - leveling down if necessary - so if you ran a few radio missions with friends and leveled out of a cool bit of lore you can still see it. This is also a good way to get Merits.

Team Transport: For 10 million inf you can get a power from the Pay-2-Win Vendor that summons a jet. This opens a popup for anyone in your party who stands close to it, for about the next 30 seconds, asking if they want to be transported to the entrance of the current mission. If you're in Skyway City and the next mission of your Task Force is in Boomtown, this can save your party about 5 minutes of just getting to the zone and traversing it to the mission door. If you're not spending a ton of money you can probably get this somewhere around level 20-25. If you're in a Task Force and someone in your team says "TT" in chat, don't go toward the subway station or the next mission: Go toward whoever said that! They're announcing that they're summoning the jet, so that a) people don't disperse and b) nobody else summons a TT at the same time, functionally wasting it. Once you've bought one your character has the power forever, but it does have a long cooldown (30 minutes).

[loaksky]

— 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮

the deets — lo'ak is the black sheep in the family, clinging to honor by a precarious thread. you are the well-loved songstress in the tribe. he should resent you for being everything he's not, but his fickle heart can't bring him to do so.

the who — lo'ak x fem omatikaya!reader

the word count — 10.2k (rip yall)

the tags — (one-sided) rivals-to-lovers, angsty angsty, hurt / comfort, reader gives lo'ak a big ol smooch (perhaps more than one), lo’ak is the biggest dumbass and because of this he’s mean asf, reader has a big ol heart and just really wants lo’ak to like her, aged!up characters for maturity’s sake. 

the warnings — language, lo'ak is in luv but doesn't realize it, he's in denial that the feelings could be reciprocated, this is super dramatic so put your seat belts on!

the notes — was feeling extra sad and wanted to write something self-indulgent. this lovely anon requested something, and i used their ask as inspiration to finish this beast. fine line, bags, and love in dark are the three main songs i listened to finish this, so if you wanna be in your feels, have a listen LMAO. despite all the support, i��m still so mf nervous posting this ejsjsjdjs

masterlist

SOMETHING UGLY KINDLES IN THE PIT of Lo'ak's stomach at the mere mention of your name. It's sour on his tongue, bitter in his brain. He doesn't know when he's started to feel like this, started to feel absolutely dreadful anytime he'd hear the timbre of your voice. 

It's warm, thick like nectar and it makes him sick. 

Ever since you all were little, the elders crooned over what a great girl you were growing into; strong, intelligent, beautiful. It made him boil how much they'd sing your praises, the high esteem everyone held you in as one of the clan's most talented. 

Something dull would pick at him being compared to his older brother, but nothing burned more than being compared to you. 

Maybe it's because it's always implied whenever your names share the same sentences, that lingering implication that he could be more like you. The clan fans the flames of your mere existence while Lo'ak is snuffed out like a dying fire. 

He hates it. He hates you. 

He thinks. 

It'd be easier to, if you were awful behind the scenes. Arrogant, stuck up, but you're none of those things. You're kind, gentle, mighty when you need to be. It doesn't help that you shine like the brightest star, engulfing everyone in your light, in your warmth. 

But Lo'ak resists. He sees right through you, sees right through every saccharine smile you send him. He can see it in your eyes, how you really see him. Despite standing a full head taller than you, he sees the way you look down your nose at him. 

It grates his nerves, how disgustingly sweet you are towards him despite all attempts to rebuff you. 

Certainly doesn’t soothe his ego when you always seem to be around the bend every time he gets bitched at by the clan, eyes soft and filled with pity. To add insult to injury, you frequently tail him like a shadow after these moments when all he wants is to be alone. 

Like now, you linger. 

It's after dinner and Kiri and Spider stand before him. They come together like the three points of a triangle and you stand an awkward distance away from them. 

Kiri notices you first, her face splitting into a big smile as she waves you over. 

Lo'ak breathes a deep sigh before locking eyes with Spider who tries his best to suppress an amused grin. 

“Hi,” you chirp and Lo'ak can't help but roll his eyes. 

Spider and Kiri greet you eagerly. Lo'ak simply nods his head in acknowledgement before tightening his fist around his dagger. 

“We going or what?” he finally says. 

You perk up. 

“Where are you guys heading off to?” you ask curiously, hands clasped behind your back.

Spider opens his mouth to answer, but Lo'ak cuts him off quickly. 

“No where important,” he says, unsure if you'll blab about their whereabouts to the elders, or worse, his parents. 

You roll your lips and shift on your feet. 

“Can I come?” you ask hesitantly, eyes hopeful. 

Kiri's smile grows as she links her arm with yours. 

“No,” he says sharply. “Absolutely not.” 

Your face falls and something pulls inside his chest when you fail meet his gaze, your frown barely perceptible. 

You make a move to pull from Kiri's grasp, but her arm tightens through yours. She levels Lo'ak with a weighty glare and you fidget uncomfortably under his narrowed eyes. 

“Don't worry about it,” you say, like someone's hit a reset button. You smile that pretty smile and Lo'ak wants to scream. "It's okay, I think Rutan needs help with clean up." 

You slip from Kiri's grasp and the three watch you walk off. 

“Do you always have to be such a bitch?” Spider scoffs a disbelieving laugh. 

“She's just gonna tag along so she can snitch,” Lo'ak grumbles. 

“Oh c'mon,” Kiri argues. “________ just wants friends.”

Lo'ak sneers. 

“I don't want to be friends with her,” he says firmly, knuckles white around the handle of his knife.

“Weirdo,” Spider mumbles. “She’s cute. Think she likes you.”

Lo'ak's spine stiffens.

“It's an act” Lo'ak grumbles. “She just wants to look good in front of the elders to keep up whatever nice girl show she's putting on.” 

Kiri rolls her eyes hard. 

There are moments when Lo'ak thinks he's being harsh, but he can't help himself. It's like he loses all semblance of a filter when it comes to you. 

“Hi, Lo'ak,” you greet him sweetly, lowering yourself onto the fallen log he's perched on, fashioning arrows to practice with later on in the evening with Neteyam. 

He shifts away from you, putting the distance of two bodies between the two of you as he pauses his task at hand. 

“Hi,” he says flatly. 

“Can I help?” you ask tentatively, fingers twitching towards one of the untouched sticks in a pile next to his feet. 

His kicks them closer to himself, out of your reach before leveling you with a sharp glare. 

“No thanks,” he says quickly and you recoil slowly, letting out a shaky laugh before fixing that stupid smile on your pretty face. 

“Oh, sorry,” you apologize, straightening in your seat. 

A silence so uncomfortably palpable settles over the two of you as you shift so that your knees are turned towards him. 

His throat bobs when his gaze travels from your little toes all the way up to your inquisitive gaze, golden and searching. It makes something unruly settle in his gut and he turns his attention back to carving his arrows. 

“Do you need something?” he breaks the silence finally. “I'm kinda busy.”

You bite your lip before scooting a little closer to Lo'ak's hunched figure. 

“My birthday's coming up,” you start. 

“I'm aware,” Lo'ak almost scoffs. 

It's all the clan has been able to talk about for the past few days. How they'd be able to prepare for the golden girl's next birth cycle and what they'd be able to do to make you smile the brightest. 

“Your birthday is a week before,” you state and his head whips towards you. 

“How do you know that?” he asks sharply, accusation heavy in his gruff tone. 

You flinch and he falters for a moment before your smile simply widens. 

“We grew up together, Lo'ak,” you say and the way his name sounds from your mouth sounds absolutely heavenly. “You're my friend.”

Friend. 

He scowls at the term.

“We're not friends,” he bites back. 

If the statement bothers you, you don't show it, simply tucking a strand of hair behind your ear before putting on a brave face. 

“I want to celebrate with you,” you say shyly. 

“Hard pass,” he says too quickly, gathering his sticks and fashioned arrows under his grasp. 

He leaves you in the clearing on your own.

You must be fucking with him. You have to be. It'd be the only explanation for why Jake pulls him aside a few nights later and tells him that you've requested to work with him and Neteyam during archery practice. 

“No,” he says stiffly, shaking his head. 

His dad levels him with a hard glare and Lo'ak sighs deeply. 

“She's a nuisance, Dad,” he argues. “Me and Neteyam are making good progress with our training and we'll have to start at square one if she joins.”

“Lo'ak, this isn't an ask,” Jake says sternly. 

“But, Dad!”

“Lo'ak.”

Lo'ak huffs, snatching his bow and quiver angrily before storming off. 

“You're doing great,” Neteyam says to you once the three of you have convened in the training circle. 

The three arrows you've shot have all landed within centimeters of the mark and to say that Neteyam is impressed is an understatement. Lo'ak, on the other hand, fumes not-so-silently as he tears his arrows from his target. 

Yet again, you have another person wrapped around your finger and it makes his blood simmer as he assumes his position at the marker and loads his arrow. It splinters through the air and hits the target right on the bullseye. The arrow punctures through the hide and lodges its way into the wood from the sheer force of Lo’ak’s shot. 

You start at him moon-eyed, lush lips breaking into a full smile. 

“Perfect shot,” you observe. “That was awesome.” 

Lo’ak scans your features hesitantly before his gaze flits to his older brother, waiting for any acknowledgment that he’d done a great job, but Neteyam is taking notes on the arrows still stuck in the fabric of your own target. 

His heart sinks. 

“Fuck this,” Lo’ak grumbles, bundling all of his belongings.

He stalks through the clearing, past his brother, to leave you two. 

He doesn’t know what fuels the fire more, the fact that Neteyam didn’t even bat an eye at the feat they’d been practicing for for the past three weeks because he was too immersed in you, or the fact that you bore witness to his first clean shot and gave him that sickeningly sweet smile that made his stomach turn. 

“Where are you going?” Neteyam sighs. 

“Somewhere you two aren’t,” he grumbles under his breath, ducking through the brush of the lofty forest. 

You lick your lips, locking eyes with Neteyam as you give him a bashful grin and slowly break away to follow Lo’ak’s path. 

He isn’t far ahead as you push through the vines and low-hanging leaves, the path lined with large plants and the spindly roots of the looming trees. The grass is plush between your toes as you scamper to follow Lo’ak from a distance, watching as his lithe body climbs through the dense flora. 

“Why are you following me?” he calls after a few dozen paces, stopping in the middle of the path to whirl on his heel. 

His golden eyes are syrupy, warm despite the edge, and you can’t help but flash him your pearly whites in a genuine smile that takes up your dimpled cheeks. 

“Why’d you run off?” you ask him. “You were doing so well!” 

His chest rises and falls with a scoff. 

“You can give it a rest, you know?” Lo’ak says flatly, fist so tight around his bow he feels like he’ll crush the wood. 

Your expression morphs, eyebrows furrowing in a way that makes Lo’ak throat bob, something pinching behind his ribcage. 

“What?” you ask, frown marring your pretty face. 

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but you can stop acting like you wanna be friends with me,” Lo’ak says matter-of-factly. 

“You are my friend,” you protest quietly. 

Lo’ak rolls his eyes. 

“Dude, whatever,” he mutters, turning his back on you. 

“Is it so wrong?” you murmur and he stops in his tracks, refusing to meet your gaze. “To be friends?” 

Friends. 

That stupid fucking word again.

Lo’ak bites his tongue and stalks off, leaving you on the path. 

Neteyam rips him a new one when he sees him at dinner later that night. Lo’ak hangs his head as Neteyam digs in.

“Is it so hard to be nice?” Neteyam asks, hand squeezing his shoulder as they stand a handful of meters away from the main circle. 

As his eyes wander, he notices you sitting with his sister, head thrown back in laughter that glitters and wafts with the rising smoke of the fire. He swallows turning his attention back to his older brother. 

“Just don’t like her,” he admits. “I want her to leave me alone.” 

“You don’t like her or you like her too much?” Neteyam asks, brow bone raised. 

Lo’ak’s face scrunches.

“Ew, no,” he blurts. “Why would I—”

“________ just wants to fit in,” he sighs. “She has trouble making friends.” 

“Yeah, I wonder why,” Lo’ak mocks. “I don’t know why Kiri and Spider are always up her ass, she’s—”

“Lo’ak,” Neteyam warns. 

“Dude, everyone is always ________ this, _________ that! I don’t understand what’s so great about her—”

A throat clears and the brothers both turn their attention to the newcomer. Lo’ak could groan in frustration seeing that you’ve abandoned your seat and now stand nearby with two wooden plates. 

“They’re going to start cleaning up soon,” you say hesitantly. “Wanted to bring you some.” 

Neteyam takes it graciously from you, nodding his head in thanks while Lo’ak stares down at the plate you’d arranged for him, abundant in vegetables and thick cuts of meat. 

“No thanks,” he says flatly.

You try to coax him. 

“C’mon Lo’ak, you say gently. “I know you haven’t eaten yet.” 

“No thanks,” he repeats stonily, holding his hand up. 

You offer up the plate again. 

“Lo’ak–“ 

“I said no thank you,” he grunts, annoyed. 

He’d only meant to push it back towards you, but one second it’s in your hands, the next you’re wearing dinner, the plate clattering onto the ground. 

“Lo’ak!” Neteyam scolds. 

“Shit, I didn’t–”

“It’s fine,” you breathe an airy laugh and Lo’ak freezes when he hears your breath hitch. “It was an accident.” 

“Oh, ________…” Neteyam sighs, but you’re picking up the plate and scurrying off, ignoring the nearby snickering. 

“Whatever you got going on, you need to cool it,” Jake scolds him in the family tent after dinner that night. “________ is a good girl, she’s trying to find her place. Can’t really do that if you’re gonna be a jerk to her all the time.” 

Lo’ak resists the urge to roll his eyes because, yet again, someone is sticking up for you, admonishing him about how he could be nicer, how he could take you under his wing, how he–

“What about me?” Lo’ak argues. “I tell her to leave me alone all the time, but she doesn’t listen. Why do I have to be nice to someone who doesn’t respect–”

“Cut the bullshit,” Jake thunders. “You haven’t even tried being her friend.” 

“Why should I?” Lo’ak counters. 

“Because maybe you two are more alike than you’d care to learn,” Jake says knowingly. “Now go apologize.” 

“Dad!” 

“Go, Lo’ak.” 

Lo’ak sucks in a deep breath before squeezing his eyes shut and blowing out through his nose. 

“Fine, fine, whatever,” he grumbles, ducking from the tent into the humid night air. 

He starts into the jungle, fingers brushing over the leaves and petals of the plants and flowers. He takes the moment to regulate his pounding heart in his chest before trying to wrack his brain for any words that he could scrounge into a believable apology. 

When he crosses the glowing waters of a skinny brook, something rustles nearby and his hand is on the hilt of his dagger in the blink of an eye. 

He turns to face the noise, knife drawn, but then you emerge and his body relaxes a fraction. 

“Fuck, ________, you scared me,” he sighs in relief. 

You fidget and swallow down the lump in your throat. 

“Sorry,” you say sheepishly. 

A brief silence dawns the two of you and Lo’ak notes that you’ve cleaned up from the evening meal’s debacle, now wearing a longer loincloth threaded with round pearlescent beads that refract the luminescence of the surrounding forest. 

Your grasp tightens around a leather bound journal and for a moment, he wonders what you could be writing about. 

When you follow his gaze, you shyly tuck the journal behind your back and give him an uneasy smile. 

“I wanted to–”

“I came to–”

Your words clash and you breathe a little laugh through your nose as you gaze at him with brilliant eyes. You start closing the distance and Lo’ak’s hands grow clammy. 

“You first,” you offer. 

Whatever threads of an apology he’d crafted in the moments prior have evaporated now that you stand before him, absolutely glowing. 

“Lo’ak?” Your head tilts and his cheeks warm. 

“Sorry,” he says hoarsely. “For what happened at dinner.” 

You shake your head quickly. 

“You don’t have to apologize,” you assure him, reaching out to touch him. 

He recoils, clearing his throat as he retreats to put an ample amount of distance between the two of you. 

You eye the berth and something shutters across your face as you rock back on your heels and flash him another uneasy smile. 

You haven’t even tried being her friend, his dad’s words echo like a call in the night. Maybe you two are more alike that you care to learn. 

Were you? You and Lo’ak were as different as they come, you molded by the love and adoration of the clan, him built up by the lessons and lectures he received from his parents and Neteyam. 

“Where are you going?” you ask, blowing by the previous conversation. 

He shrugs. 

“Dunno,” he admits. “I was looking for you.” 

The way you freeze is almost covert, your lips rolling as you try to hide the smile threatening to split your face. 

“Oh,” you hum. “Wanna go for a walk?” 

No, he wants to say. He absolutely does not want to spend anymore time with you than he has to. Likes to believe that he wouldn’t even bat an eye if he were to never see you again, but you’re looking at him expectantly and his dad’s words are like a mantra in his head, so he agrees begrudgingly. 

It’s awkward at first, silent except for the natural soundtrack of the vicarious jungle. But like you do so well, you break the silence and Lo’ak has to resist rolling his eyes for the third time that night. 

“What are your favorite colors?” you ask suddenly. 

“I dunno, green?” he offers. 

“Are you sure?” you laugh quietly. 

Lo’ak thinks a moment before nodding his head. 

“Yeah, green,” he finalizes. “And blue.” 

He barely notices that you’d fallen behind, and when he turns to look over his shoulder, he sees that you’re scratching something into your little journal. 

“And your favorite fruit?” you press, nose still between the pages. 

Lo’ak breathes out a laugh and your head shoots up. 

“What? You gonna send this list to the lab?” Lo’ak asks.

You give him a shy smile, shifting on your feet. 

“No,” you say softly, then whisper to yourself, “just compiling a list to win your heart.” 

Lo’ak barely hears you, ears twitching as his eyes narrow in confusion. 

“What?” he asks. 

You snap your notebook shut, shaking your head quickly as you pad through the grass to catch up to him. 

“Nothing.” 

Something ripples in the fabric after that night, you and Neteyam both notice when Lo’ak enters the training clearing the next afternoon and greets you with a nod instead of flat out ignoring your presence like he had the last training session. 

And you think that the moment is fleeting, a one off, but as the days progress, you realize that maybe Lo’ak is finally softening around you. 

He stays for entire lessons, the most minute of smiles twitching at his lips whenever you compliment his shots. He waits near the edge for you as you pack up your things, and while the walk back to the village is a quiet one, you bask in his company, triumphant when he doesn’t run off. 

And while your evening walks are few and far between, you savor the moments he affords you, wedging yourself between him the crumbling walls of his facade. 

Tonight is one of those moments, sitting on adjacent branches overlooking the lively forest, when Lo’ak lets you peek farther into his life than he’d originally intended. 

“He never understands,” he sighs, popping a few berries from his satchel past his lips. 

Tonight’s topic is his father and you listen intently, eyes fixed on the way he reclines on the branch and looks up at the stars. 

“I try hard, you know? To make everyone proud, but all they see is my failure,” he says, obviously annoyed. “No matter what I do, it’s not good enough.” 

“You do great things, Lo’ak,” you say quietly, the first words you’ve said all night. 

And like your voice is a reminder, Lo’ak’s spine goes rigid, throat bobbing as he realizes that he may have said too much to you. He’s getting too comfortable and you’re all the willing to absorb every insecurity and every worry he has. 

But something about quiet moments like these makes him loose-lipped, eyes fluttering to where you’ve got your notebook balanced in the seam of your thighs, scrawling something on the pages as you eat your own berries. 

The words are leaving him before he can stop them. 

“Easy for you to say,” he murmurs. “You’re perfect.” 

The laugh that escapes you startles him and a few of the berries he was about to devour slips from his fingers and plunk down the leaves.

“I’m not perfect,” you assure him. 

“Only someone who’s perfect would say that,” Lo’ak grumbles, peering over the edge of the branches to spot his fallen fruit. “The whole village loves you, everyone’s always so ready to bat for you.” 

You look down at the pages of your journal with a sad smile. 

“It’s a lot of pressure,” you admit quietly. “Everyone’s watching your every move, waiting for you to mess up.” 

Lo’ak shifts uncomfortably.

You continue. 

“And most of the villagers our age don’t like me,” you say, thumbing one of the pages. “They say I kiss ass, that I’m always trying to keep a leg up.” 

Lo’ak winces, knowing that he’s the source of at least one of those sentiments. 

“The elders think you’re honorable,” Lo’ak argues gently. “You’re talented, you have something to offer the people.” 

“Honor means nothing if you’re bound by it,” you say finally, closing the cover to your journal. “If anything, I want to be more like you.” 

“Like me?” Lo’ak asks incredulously, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

You nod, smiling at him. 

“Yeah,” you whisper. “I think you’re brave, fearless. And even if you care what people think, you do what you want.”

Lo’ak is quiet, taken aback by your confession.

Before he can respond, you’re gathering your things, bidding him a warm farewell as you begin climbing down the tree to disappear into the night. 

After that night, you think that maybe you’re just imagining things, that you’re reading too much into the fact that Lo’ak has begun to finally act like you exist, but then Kiri says something and the hope sends your heart soaring. 

“Seems like he finally got his head out of his ass,” she says a few mornings later as you two stand near a shallow stream, eyes peeled for any fish you two could bring back to the village. 

“Think so?” you ask nervously, arrow trapping the flailing fish to the pebbles of the stream’s bed. 

Kiri shrugs. 

“He actually pays you mind now,” Kiri observes. “That’s a step up for sure. I think you just need to spend more time with him.” 

You smile, splashing through shallow waters to capture the fish and add it to the growing pile in the basket between you and the middle Sully. 

“Yeah?” you wonder

So you test the theory, basket filled with various peeled fruits and a little container of nectar you squeezed from the petals of a flower. 

It doesn’t take long to hunt him down. When you enter the training circle, he’s packing up his things, quiver strapped to his back and bow in his fist. 

Before you make yourself known, he’s turning on his heel to face you, eyes wild as he swallows down the lump in his throat. 

He’d be the last to admit that the last night you two spent together was branded in his brain, that his mouth had dried up so much so he felt his tongue could crack.

There were so many implications in your words and it horrified him, scared him so much that he knew he couldn’t let you that close again. 

But now you stand before him, pretty as can be, hopeful even, and he’s at a war with himself, absolutely caught between resenting you for being everything he’s not and giving into the draw. 

“Hi,” you greet, basket heavy in your hands. 

You look more radiant than usual, skirt brushing the forest floor, the woven vine of your top banded to expose your midriff. 

“Hey,” he replies hesitantly. 

“Where you going?” you ask curiously.

His throat bobs as he gestures behind him. 

“Hunting,” is all he says.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” you ask eagerly.

He doesn’t. He shouldn’t. Because things are shifting and he’s not sure if he’ll be able to stomach the change. If he’ll be able to admit to himself that you’re wearing him thin, that you make him feel things he’s never felt before and that it makes him feel like he has no control. 

Because when it boils down to it, you make him lose control, make him lose his filter, and make him feel every emotion twice as hard. 

“No,” he says.

And in that moment, you feel like you’re back at square one, watching as his eyes turn stony and his jaw sets firmly. 

“You shouldn’t go hunting on your own,” you say softly. “Will someone be with you?” 

“It’s fine,” he argues. “I’m fine.” 

“I can go with you!” you offer. “I thought maybe we could sit by the stream and talk, but we can go hunting instead. We can–” 

“No,” he says again, pinning you with eyes so lethal, it makes you wonder if you really had imagined the moments you shared with him, if you had imagined Kiri telling you that she saw it too. 

You try again anyways. 

“It’ll be good practice and–”

“I said no, ________,” he barks. “You’re dead weight and I want to be alone.” 

Your lips seal and you bite the inside of your cheek. 

Lo’ak could nearly scream in frustration when he notices the way your shoulders sag and it makes something in his heart cinch. 

“Okay,” you agree, nodding quickly. “Be safe and–”

The words die on your tongue when you notice the look of annoyance on Lo’ak’s face. 

Lo’ak is in deep shit, you come to find out hours later. 

You sit outside of the training circle, knowing that Lo’ak will return down the path after his hunting trip. What you don’t expect, however, is Jake and Neytiri emerging with the entire line of Sully kids and Spider.

Jake grips the back of Lo’ak’s neck tightly as they march past wandering eyes, straight to the family tent. You don’t miss his wounds though, varying in depth, some bleeding, some sore. 

You’re hot on their heels, standing right outside of the entrance as Jake tears into the middle Sully. 

“Time and time again, I have to get on your ass for doing the complete opposite of what I ask you to do!” Jake’s voice is thunderous inside the tent. “Do you not realize that you not only risked your life but your sisters’ too?”

There’s a beat of silence before Jake continues, obviously pacing from the way his volume fluctuates. 

“And what were you thinking bringing Tuk? She’s nine, Lo’ak!” he shouts, the anger and the hurt evident in his tone. 

“I’m sorry,” Lo’ak mumbles. 

“Yeah, I bet you are!” Jake scolds. “I don’t ask for much. All I want is for you stay in line. Just stay out of trouble and work hard on your training. I paired you with ________ and Neteyam in hopes that maybe you’ll tighten up and be more like them, but you’re always disappointing me.” 

You frown. 

Whatever Lo’ak had done probably didn’t warrant such deep admonishment and something tugs especially hard at your heartstrings knowing that all he wants to do is make his dad proud. 

“You’re surrounded by good influences, but you always have to go against the grain, Lo’ak,” Jake says, the edge in his tone softening. “I’m getting tired of the bullshit, son. You need to clean up your act. Hear me?” 

“Yes sir,” Lo’ak says quietly, voice almost a whisper behind the hide of the tent. 

“Now go get yourself cleaned up,” Jake huffs. 

Your spine is straightening when you hear foot steps closing in, holding your breath as the flap to the tent billows open and Lo’ak is emerging.

His eyes flit to yours and his expression sours further. 

“Lo’ak,” you murmur, reaching out to him. 

He’s shrugging you away, wincing when a wound on his shoulder stretches especially taut. 

“You’re hurt,” you say quietly. “I’ll–”

“Leave me alone,” he says, eerily level. 

“But you’re–”

“I said leave me alone, ________,” he warns, pushing past you in what should be the pursuit of his grandmother’s quarters.

Instead he’s making a beeline for the jungle. 

You’d seen the look in his eye before he stonewalled you, seen the hurt and heaviness that most people didn’t seem to notice because he was always so adventurous and carefree. 

You follow after him. 

“Lo’ak, you know he’s only worried for you,” you try to reason gently, fingers reaching for his own as you duck under massive leaves and fluttering insects. 

He whirls to face you, swatting your hand away. 

“Don’t fucking touch me,” he bites. “You don’t know anything.” 

You swallow, holding your hand to your chest as you watch him lay down every brick to wall himself off. 

He hates it. He hates how you look at him, how you seem to pity the life he has to live. It makes him sick, thinking that you two have it the same. He’d rather be hated for being great than hated for being a let down. It’s insulting, how you think you know how it feels. 

“Let’s go back. I’ll wrap your wounds and–”

“Of course, clan’s golden girl is gonna patch me up and make it all better, huh?” he seethes facetiously. ���Just fuck off!” 

You flinch, blinking at the boy you holds so much rage in front of you. 

“I know you’re hurting, but you don’t have to be mean,” you whisper, taking in a shuddering breath to will yourself not to cry. 

“Mean? Mean?” Lo’ak bristles. “I’ve tried telling you to lay off nicely, tried telling you to just leave me alone, but you don’t listen. You just pry and overstep and you make every little thing about you! Oh, it’s so much pressure, villagers our age hate me, of course they would! You already have everything and just have to go rub salt in the wound!” 

You shrink, eyes welling as your lip trembles. 

“Lo’ak, stop,” you whimper. 

“We’re not friends, ________.We never were and we never will because I don’t like you,” he spits. “Now please, for the love of god, will you just leave me alone!” 

The forest is silent save for Lo’ak’s ragged breathing, fists clenched as he glares down at you. 

“I-” Your breath hitches and you choke out an apology. “I’m sorry.” 

Lo’ak’s heart softens a fraction as you take a step back, turning quickly on your heel. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” you rasp, tripping over your own feet as you stumble into a run, putting as much space as you can between you and the middle child who stands in the middle of the forest, unable to wrangle every harsh word he’d said to force back down his throat. 

You dropped your journal. 

Lo’ak is sure you’re looking for it, know that you’ve always got your nose stuck in it. You had dropped it running off and now he has its leather bound in his hands. 

It’s been a couple of nights since the faithful evening he’d blown his top and he’d only seen whispers of you. It was so unlike you to disappear, to not be entertaining the masses as they fell to your feet. 

He’d cooled off significantly, and when he replayed the conversation in his head, he winced, body folding in on itself as he realizes how harsh he’d been. 

“Are you actually thinking thoughts?” Spider claps him on the shoulder, startling him so badly he drops the journal. 

It lands spine down, the pages fluttering open. 

He chances a peek before Spider is rounding his lithe figure to pick up the notebook. All he makes out is a rough sketch. 

“You write?” Spider asks, intrigued. 

“No, it’s ________’s,” Lo’ak answers. 

“Oh, your little girlfriend’s?” 

Lo’ak gives the human a cross look, snatching the book from his grasp as he stands up.

“Trouble in paradise?” Spider pries, scurrying to keep up with Lo’ak’s long strides. 

A beat of silence before Lo’ak finally answers. 

“Made her cry,” he mumbles, embarrassed. 

Spider winces behind him. 

“You serious?” 

Lo’ak sighs. 

“Yes, dude, fuck,” he breathes, hand coming to the back of his neck. “I don’t know what came over me. Dad was ripping me a new one and Neteyam already chewed me out before they got there and she was being annoying, so I just…” 

“Bro,” Spider scoffs in disbelief, scratching the back of his head. “You’re a real dickhead sometimes.” 

Lo’ak’s eyes wander as he shifts uncomfortably, feeling incredibly small as his friend glares up at him. 

“I mean, I told her I wanted to be left alone!” Lo’ak tries to defend weakly. “I- I didn’t mean to.” 

“She likes you a lot, dude,” Spider reiterates. “She just wants you to like her back.” 

Despite the glaring signs, Lo’ak has trouble believing that your feelings for him far surpass charity work. They couldn’t, it was impossible. Because at the end of the day, you’re you and he’s…him. 

He opens his mouth to say something, but Spider beats him to it.

“Did you at least apologize?” 

Lo’ak squirms.

“Dude!” 

“Look, I know, I know,” he tries to assuage the situation. 

“________ is literally the sweetest girl in the entire clan you just–“ 

“I get it, bro, I get it!” Lo’ak huffs. 

“Get your head out of your ass,” Spider says. “She might not stick around long enough for you to realize.” 

“Realize what?” Lo’ak snaps. 

“Are you really gonna play stupid right now?” 

He blinks at the human. 

“You like ________,” Spider says matter-of-factly. “You always have, ever since we were kids.” 

“Oh, piss off,” Lo’ak grumbles.

“Dude, you’re literally my best friend, but I sometimes I wanna shove my foot so far up your–”

“I do not like ________,” Lo’ak says sharply. 

“Everyone sees it but you, dipshit,” Spider scoffs. “You like her, but you’re scared. She’s perfect and she intimidates you. Think she’s gonna see you for what you really are and turn her back on you like everyone else does when you fuck up, but she’s not like that, Lo’ak. She’s been there whether you like it or not. But she might not always.” 

Lo’ak swallows down the knot in his throat, fingers tightening around the notebook. 

“Everything clicking?” Spider asks knowingly. 

Lo’ak throws him a final narrowed glare before stalking off. 

It’s Lo’ak’s birthday and just like every orbit, he spends it alone in the forest.

At first, he’d been burdened with the weight of hurting your feelings, but now his conversation with Spider weighs heavy on him as he climbs dirt walkways and flowered paths. 

It doesn’t help that your notebook weighs heavy in his satchel, a silent reminder that he still has a piece of you while you cling to his peace of mind. 

I think you’re brave, fearless. They’re the words you uttered to him that fateful night you turned the reality of you two on its axis. 

As he splices all the moments you two shared like a reel, he realizes that it’s endless. That you’re always there, you’d always been there, like a layer of impenetrable atmosphere surrounding him. 

He really should apologize, he knows this much, but you’ve disappeared like a wisp of smoke. Training sessions have returned to a sibling affair and he’s too prideful to ask about you. 

It’s almost eclipse when he begins making his way back for the evening meal, knowing that a scolding will await if he arrives even a minute late. 

After what had happened with you, he was lying low, trying to diminish his blip from the radar.

As he closes in on the village’s main circle, he notes that it’s quiet. A little too quiet. It puts him on edge, makes him draw his bow and feel around for an arrow in his quiver. 

A few more paces and he’s broken into the clearing, a few stragglers milling about. Another half a dozen steps and it’s like the forest melts into a celebration, whorls of blue pouring into the circle as villagers begin trilling. 

Lo’ak is hoisted into the air as the dying fire in the center of the camp begins to slowly roar. 

“Happy birthday, baby bro!” Neteyam caws loudly as they begin jostling him into the air, chanting and dancing as the dense crowd of clanspeople celebrate him.

It’s like time slows as he peers from side to side eagerly, seeing the way Spider, Kiri and Tuk dance happily among his people. Jake and Neytiri stand near the fire, smiles wide when they see the look of awe on their middle son’s face. 

When he’s finally set on his feet, he wobbles, childlike as he turns, taking in the glowing streamers that crisscross between the tents. Flowers of green and blue thread through the vines, gleaming like lamplight as the forest buzzes around them. 

“Wha– What is all this?” Lo’ak croaks in disbelief, eyes flitting wildly as he notices Norm and Max standing next to a table they’d hauled from the pod to the circle, piled high with meats and vegetables wrapped in leaves. 

A platter of yovo fruits, his favorite, are at the center, surrounded by a painted sign with his name and the handprints of dozens of villagers on it. 

“You survived another orbit!” Neteyam laughs heartily, head-locking the younger boy before roughly digging his knuckles into the top of his head. 

A laugh bubbles from Lo’ak’s lips, swatting his brother away as villagers and clan members he’d grown up with approach him one by one to greet him. 

As the night progresses, he doesn’t even realize he’s searching until your mother approaches and his spine goes rigid, cheeks warming under her piercing gaze. 

“From my ________,” she says, setting a pouch into his palms. “She toiled over these for many eclipses. Please take care.” 

Lo’ak’s nod is delayed as his satchel shifts on his shoulders, a dull reminder that your journal still remains with him, begging to be read. 

“Where– Where is she?” he asks suddenly, feeling your absence all the more now that your gift sits in the palm of his hand. 

“My daughter does not feel well,” your mother says simply. “She wished to be excused from the festivities.” 

His chest feels hollow, stomach tight as his cheeks burn. You’d mentioned this to him, all those days ago in the training circle, about wanting to celebrate with him. 

His eyes flit to the flowers looped through the vines, the mountain of yovo fruits, the gift in his hands. He doesn’t want to be presumptuous. Doesn’t want to fuel the tiniest ember of hope in chest, but he can’t help it. 

He can’t help but read into it, into the implications of this celebration you’d planned all for him, into every word you uttered to him in the quiet of the forest’s chirping. 

It’s all it takes for him to lock himself in his own head. The feast melts into the background, dull, as his eyes cut the crowd for you. 

You have to be here, gotta be hanging around the outskirts silently. The idea taunts him, makes his gut twist hard as images of you dancing in the circle, singing to him, celebrating him, loving him—

Lo’ak freezes, blinking incredulously at the thought that’d just crossed his brain. It makes him queasy, makes the regret and the guilt gnaw at every nerve ending as your crying face flashes like an unwanted slideshow in his brain. 

It’s all he can think about as the festivities die, as villagers begin turning in the for the night and he helps his family clean up the aftermath of another orbit finally finished. 

Spider helps Tuk and Neteyam near the fire, and as Lo’ak moves through the motions like he’s caught in a tide, Kiri watches, knowing all too well what consumes her brother’s mind. 

It isn’t until Lo’ak is shrouded by the stillness of the early morning, his family tucked in their tent, bodies and limbs splayed as they sleep together, that he sits in a swinging hammock, your journal and the pouch in his lap. 

It feels wrong, the way he thumbs the cover, working up the courage to turn it open. But Ewya, fate, would have never left it in his wake if it wasn’t meant to be read.

As his finger ghosts the etchings of the front cover, worn and loved by you, something tickles his leg as he admires the leather. He blinks in disbelief when he sees a singular woodsprite resting against his thigh. 

Before he loses his nerve, he’s opening the pages with bated breath. 

Recipes, nature notes, short thoughts fill the sheets and Lo’ak feels like he’s reading into your brain, seeing all the little things no one bothers to know. 

he is like the sun,

shines so bright,

but burns the closer you get. 

Lo’ak’s pointer finger glosses over the ink, over your curly handwriting. 

he is so incredible, but he doesn’t even know it. i want to shout it to every creature in the forest, every tree and every flower. oh, how i wish to be as fearless as him. 

His chest heaves as the words blur. 

Fearless. 

Fearless. 

Fearless. 

In this moment, he feels everything but. He feels like a coward. 

He continues to flip, throat lodged as he sees drawings, both rough sketches and full renderings. He hadn’t even known that you liked to draw, yet here he was, observing his home through your artistic eye. 

Flowers, leaves, trees, creatures, insects, fruits mar the stained papers, etched like it’d been caught in real time. 

likes green and blue. 

likes yovo fruits. 

The entry from the day you’d first walked with him through the forest. 

When he turns the page, his breath hitches. 

In full color, you’d captured his bullseye from your first training session. His back taut from the release, expression shaded stoic. He looked mighty, like the strongest warrior, and it was all through your eyes. 

Lo’ak doesn’t even realize he’s crying until the bullseye in the illustration bleeds from a fallen tear. Another one drips from his chin, then another. 

The next page is the night you two had poured your hearts out to each other. Again, in full color, he’s watching the stars. You don’t leave out the glow of the freckles that smatter his face and body, don’t miss the smile that plays at his lips as he quietly points out that his dad had come from a star. 

He flips again and different iterations and designs for what seems like jewelry litters the pages, shaded with different colors of blue and green, marked with varying notes, x’s marking through ideas you didn’t like. 

Lo’ak remembers the pouch, sitting untouched in his lap, and his shaky fingers undo the ties. He shakes the contents on the flat of the notebook and the most intricate beadwork fits into the crease. 

His eyes widen as he picks up the necklace in a trembling hand, the eclipsing sun catching the etching in the flat stones. 

Four five-fingered hands and four four-fingered ones, each separated by jewels scavenged and cleaned from the bed of the glowing river. 

A small scroll flutters from the pouch and Lo’ak chokes back as sob as he unrolls the hide. 

Happy Birthday, Lo’ak. I am always grateful to know someone like you. May your next orbit be filled with endless blessings from Ewya and may you see yourself how I see you. 

You see him, he realizes. You’re his supporter, a silent force that consumes every insecurity and swallows every doubt. You believe in him more than he believes in himself. 

He stands from the hammock and runs. 

You’re sitting in the same tree the two of you had rested in the night you’d confided in Lo’ak, watching as the sun eclipses and begins to light up the sparkling forest.

Something rustles and you sit up, hand on the hilt of your dagger as you search the area for movement.

As your eyes lock on the source, you almost wish it had been a beast coming to devour you whole. But as Lo’ak climbs the branches of the tree quickly, you feel the dread begin to solidify in your veins. 

You take your satchel, hanging from a nearby branch and sling it over your shoulder, pulling your shawl over your head to prepare for your escape. 

“________, wait,” he chokes breathlessly. “Please.” 

You feel like crying all over again, feel so unbelievably stupid thinking that Lo’ak would ever see you the way that you see him. 

You pause a beat as he settles on the branch across from yours, chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath. 

Something glints in the sun and your eyes widen when you see that Lo’ak has fastened the necklace you made him around his neck, right above the the leather chain that holds his beloved claw charm. 

“You’re wearing it,” you whisper, lips twitching into a frown as you try your best to keep your tears at bay. 

“I’m sorry, ________,” Lo’ak apologizes hoarsely. “Fuck, you don’t understand how sorry I am.” 

The tears well on their own. 

We’re not friends. We never were and we never will. 

The words haunt you like a broken record and you shake your head, moving from your perch to move down the branches. 

“Wait, wait,” Lo’ak pleads. “Please don’t go, I–”

“I hate you,” you whisper. “I hate you, Lo’ak.” 

He freezes, watching as you balance on a branch below. 

“I tried so hard to be your friend,” you whimper, angrily wiping away your tears. “You’re amazing. You’re strong, and you’re fearless, and you are everything I want to be, but you’re heartless.” 

Lo’ak lets out a shuddering breath, a chill running down his spine as you look up at him like he’d smashed every star in the sky. 

“I wanted to be with you, you know?” you let out a watery laugh. “I hoped that maybe if I stuck it out, you’d see how much I cared, how badly I wanted to be with you, even if it was from a distance.” 

“I do, _________, I do!” he argues. 

He hadn’t always, but he sees it now. He sees you. 

You shake your head again.

“You don’t,” you sigh, voice trembling. “It’s my fault anyways. You were right. You told me to leave you alone and I was being too much.” 

“Stop–”

“Let this be the last time,” you assure him. “Let’s just– Let’s pretend we never met.”

“No, _________. Wait!” 

You’re climbing down the tree and disappearing into the brush and, like a fleck of ash, you’re disintegrating into nothingness. 

Most people think he’s being moody, that he’s just been scolded by his father or older brother, but Neytiri knows better. 

She sees the way her son has changed over the course of the past few weeks. She knows there is a great burden that he carries, but much like her beloved and her eldest, he suffers in silence. 

“Maitan,” she says quietly, brushing a braid from his face as he folds the leaves around a chunk of steaming meat. 

Lo’ak pauses almost imperceptibly, but continues his task. 

It isn’t like him to stay home and work with Neytiri. If anything, he’d be the first one out of the tent, Tuk, Spider, and Kiri tailing after him as they galavant through the endless forest. 

“Something weighs heavy in your heart,” she tries again, hand coming over his. 

Lo’ak stops and leans back, unable to meet his mother’s searching gaze. 

“I hurt someone,” he says quietly. 

Neytiri stiffens.

“What?” 

“I hurt someone I care about,” Lo’ak admits. You’d called him fearless, strong. He needed to live by your word. “I hurt her and I don’t know how to fix it.” 

“Oh, Lo’ak,” she murmurs, squeezing his hand gently. 

Her face has softened as she takes in his stony expression. 

“My son, some things cannot be fixed,” she says honestly. “But all things require great effort. Sometimes those efforts will fall through, but that is the natural order of life.” 

Lo’ak swallows. 

“Whoever this special person is, if you have hurt her, she deserves the full effort of your heart, no?” 

You do, he knows you do. You deserve every last effort. But a niggling streak of insecurity tells him that you don’t deserve someone like him. You don’t deserve someone who takes your affections for granted. You deserve someone who will love you with every breath, who will love you fearlessly. 

“I really messed things up, Mom,” Lo’ak says quietly. “I don’t…” 

Neytiri’s hand comes to Lo’ak chest. 

“The night I first met your father, Ewya gave me sign,” she says. “He has a pure, strong heart. You do too.” 

Lo’ak swallows. 

“Be brave, Maitan,” she says. “Sometimes that is enough.” 

Lo’ak’s fingers hurt from picking berries.

His cuticles bleed, pricked by the thorns of the fruit’s bush. Kiri hums beside him, weaving a little bag out of ropes of thin vines. 

“You’re not gonna help me?” he whines. 

“Why should I help you with your mess?” 

You look beautiful under the glow of the evening meal’s crackling fire. It’s the first time you’ve emerged since before Lo’ak’s birthday feast and you’re being flocked by elders and villagers, wishing you well and asking about your supposed ailment. 

He sits across the fire, fists tight as he searches for a lull in the crowd. 

Spider snickers next to him, devouring the contents of his plate like he’s starved, watching Lo’ak’s useless pining like a show. 

Be brave. 

He’s standing to his feet before he can back out, crossing the circle to approach you. The villagers watch like they know something he doesn’t and the nerves are eating away at him as he steps into your space. 

You look up from your conversation with a girl your age, the smile slipping from your lips. 

“Can we talk?” Lo’ak asks, eyes wandering to watch the way everyone watches him. 

You remain jaded.

“Now’s not a good time,” you say quietly and a few onlookers snicker in the background. “________,” Lo’ak tries again. 

You stare up at him, the shadow of the fire dancing over your features as you seemingly look right through him. It’s humiliating, the way you remain seated and watch him fidget, but he figures he deserves the cold shoulder after months, years of casting you to the side. 

“Let’s go?” you ask the girl, nodding your head over your shoulder. 

The girl chances a glance between you and Lo’ak, noticing the telltale sign of your work etched into the stones of the choker he hadn’t taken off since his birthday. 

She gives him a sympathetic smile as she follows after you. 

He’s going to have to try a lot harder than he has, he realizes as your birthday looms right around the corner. The next eclipse, in fact. 

He’s losing hope, losing courage, but he can’t give up on you two just yet. 

He makes sure the berries he picked the days prior are packed tightly in his bag, the lid to the nectar fastened, and his present wrapped nicely. 

It’s his last hope, his last shot to make things right. 

Spider, Tuk, and Neytiri surround him, Neteyam and Jake off on a hunt. 

They’d all been privy to the fact, aiding him in his endeavors as he organized his final grapple with your heart. 

“Kiri said she’ll bring her right before eclipse,” Spider says, peeking from the flap of the tent. “That’s in, like, minutes.” 

Lo’ak is nervous. Doesn’t know what he’ll do if he loses you for good, but he knows he has to give it his best effort. It’s the least you deserve. 

Be brave. Sometimes that is enough. 

Lo’ak glances at his mom and she gives him a warm smile, ruffling his braids. 

“You are the son of Toruk Makto,” she assures him, pinching his cheek. “There is nothing you cannot do.” 

The words are carved into his brain as he rushes through the forest, the the stream that the curls and bends through the forest. It glows beautifully at night and that is his final push. 

“Wait, give me like three seconds, I left something.” Kiri’s voice is muffled behind the trees. 

“Huh?” Lo’ak sees the way your head tilts through an opening in the foliage. 

“I’ll only be a second!” 

“Wait, Kiri!” 

Kiri is running straight for him, comes barreling through the bushes, and continues down the path. 

“Good luck, egghead!”

Lo’ak takes in a final breath to quell the tremor in his hands before ducking through the bushes to reveal himself. 

You’re sitting on the embankment, on a woven mat that Kiri had laid out for you two, decorative vines edging the seams. 

“Oh, you were–”

You peer over your shoulder and your expression falls. 

“Lo’ak…” 

“Happy birthday, ________,” he breathes. 

You don’t look amused, slinging your bag over you shoulder as you rise to your feet. 

“Kiri and I are hanging out,” you tell him. 

He scratches the back of his head. 

“I…I had Kiri bring you here because I knew that you wouldn’t come with me if I asked,” he admits. “And of course, I don’t blame you, but I– I just really need to talk to you.” 

You bite the inside of your cheek, unable to look him in his eyes as he draws nearer. 

“Just give me some time, please,” he pleads. 

You finally meet his gaze, searching his eyes as he looks down at you earnestly. 

You give him the tiniest nod, reluctantly shedding your satchel to reassume your seat on the mat. 

The waters rush gently, like a song as Lo’ak lowers himself next to you.

His palms are clammy as he fidgets in his seat, the scent of herbs and flowers wafting from your dewy skin. He can’t bring himself to look at you, afraid that every sentiment he’d crafted in the hours of the night will escape him, so he watches the bubbling of the stream. 

“Well?” you whisper, like you don’t want to shatter the fragile sheath of peace that layers you. 

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “I know I’ve said it already, but I really am, ________.” 

“I know,” you murmur and his gaze flits to yours. “Even if you don’t act like it, you have a good heart, Lo’ak. You feel everything, even the things you don’t want to.” 

He swallows.

“I didn’t mean it,” he says carefully. “I was mad and I took it out on you. That wasn’t fair.” 

You sit silently, knees hugged to your chest. Your cheek rests against your knee, watching Lo’ak with seeing eyes. It makes him trip over his words. 

“My whole life, I’ve always been compared to Neteyam,” he says. “The entire village would whisper about me and how I was nothing like the mighty warrior.” 

When he glances at you, he notices your fingers twitch, like you want to reach out to him. 

He squashes his fears and turns to face you, five-fingered hand coming up to thread with your four. You watch the union, uncertainty obvious in the way you tense, but Lo’ak squeezes. 

“And then when we started growing up, you were just another person I had to live up to,” Lo’ak whispers. “You’re perfect, ________. You’re kind, and you’re smart, talented. You’re everything I’m not and it made me hate you.” 

You shrink, but Lo’ak pulls you towards him, hand coming up to brush your cheek. 

“But you’re all of that and more,” he continues, the words gushing like a river. “You’re always there, you support me and you defend me and see things I don’t.” 

You become shy under his gaze because for the first time, he’s seeing you. He’s seeing you for every single thing you’ve been to him and it makes your stomach knot. 

“I have something to tell you,” he says. “Please don’t be mad at me.” 

Your gaze is soft, palm still in his as he turns and reaches into the bag he discarded next to him. Your eyes widen when he produces your notebook, edges curled the slightest as he hands it to you. 

“My journal,” you say, taking it from him quickly. “I’ve been looking for this. Why- Why do you have it?” 

He looks guilty, lips rolling as he avoids your gaze. 

“Did you…” 

“I wasn’t going to,” he admits. “But there were woodsprites and I knew it was a s–”

“Lo’ak this is private,” you murmur incredulously. “Why would you read this?” 

“How long, ________?” he asks quietly, grip on your hand tightening. 

“Lo’ak, don’t–”

“How long?” he presses desperately. 

Your eyes are watering, like that wicked night all over again and Lo’ak begs Eywa for the final push. 

“Since we were ten,” you whisper brokenly. “It was my first performance and it was so stupid, but I was throwing up because I was nervous and you talked me through it.” 

Lo’ak is stunned, the memory like the faintest of outlines. 

“We didn’t even know each other that well,” you hiccup. “But you patted me on the back and you gave me this–”

You pull your fingers from his grasp and flip the journal to the last page, revealing a hidden pocket. Your nimble fingers pull a tattered string, the remnants of a vine, threaded with wilted flower petals, preserved from being pressed inside your notebook.

“You said that they made you make it during lessons,” you say, breath hitching. “That it’d be my good luck.” 

He’d forgotten all about the memory completely, too caught up in driving whatever wedge he could between you two, building up walls to seal you out. 

“And you kept it this whole time?” he asks, face scrunched in disbelief. 

“I’d hold on to anything you give me,” you admit in defeat. “Heartbreak included.” 

He lets out a shaky breath. 

“________, I’m so sorry,” he repeats, hand coming up to your neck. “You have to know that. I’m really fucking stupid, but if you give us a shot, I won’t mess it up.” 

Your hand comes up to his wrist, crumpling as you bow your head. 

“Don’t do this to me,” you beg, moving to break away from him. 

“Please.” 

His hold tightens, other hand twining with yours. 

“If I…if I give myself to you, I’m giving you everything,” you say hesitantly. “If you break this, you break me. I don’t think I can come back from this.” 

Lo’ak presses his forehead to yours, breath warm against your lips as he searches your gaze for any semblance of hope. 

“This is me being fearless, ________,” he whispers. 

You melt, pressing your lips to his tentatively. He’s frozen for the shortest of moments before relenting, pushing up onto his knees to deepen the kiss. 

He’s cradling your face and your hands are wandering and Lo’ak can’t help but think he could get used to loving you. 

To being loved by you. 

BONUS

“I was gonna give it to you on your birthday,” Lo’ak says sheepishly a few nights later under the stars. “But, you know…” 

Your usual place among the branches of the looming trees have a lot of memories both bitter and sweet, but you suppose you could make new ones. 

“You don’t have to give me anything,” you say sweetly, tail swishing to wrap around his ankle. “You’re all I need.” 

Lo’ak doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to your saccharine words if the pounding in his chest is anything to go by. 

His hands are shaky as he pushes the hide towards you, a bow made of vine tied neatly around the gift. 

“Wanted to,” he says simply, moving the hair from you face to see your reaction better. “Open it.” 

You’re gentle with the present, like you are with most things, but eager to see what he’d gotten you. 

A tiny gasp falls from your lips when you finally see it, wide eyes meeting his as you free the jars of paints he’d mashed up, the brushes he fashioned, and the brand new journal he bound himself. 

“Lo’ak, wow…” 

“So you can paint me more,” he says, then adds timidly. “Or maybe us. Maybe you could paint us.” 

an — holy shit guys, this was such a big project for me because i really wanted to dive into so many different things in this fic. to everyone who was waiting patiently, thank you sososo much. as usual, i took a lot of creative liberties with this one, but i hope you guys enjoyed nonetheless! although requests are paused for me to catch up, like always, if you wanna chat with me about literally anything, my askbox is open. lots of love hehehe :) xx

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neng © 2023

taglist: @nao-cchi , @jkiminpark , @philiasoul @amart-e , @s-u-t , @netesbby , @tayswiftlovebot , @dumb-fawkin-bitch , @ewackmn

[semiverbal-culture-is]

Hi! I'm working on a story with a semiverbal autistic dragon in it (I like dragons). I'm autistic, but I'm not sure if I'm considered semiverbal or not, and don't want to risk talking over semiverbal autistics on their own experiences if I'm not. Since it's a passion project I can't pay for semiverbal autistics to help me, but I was wondering if you had any tips or resources, things you really like or dislike seeing in semiverbal rep, etc.

Sorry if this is a bad place or way to ask, I'm just too anxious to ask directly, and I figured this way I may also get other semiverbal input. I also don't really have another way to reach out except on Tumblr. Sorry again if this is in any way bothersome, I hope you have a good time!

I don't know of any resources on semiverbalness I could give you (if anyone has some please link in the reblogs or comments) but I can give some tips!

1, have your dragon occasionally use some type of AAC! You have many options here like communication cards, ASL, TTS, and AAC apps and machines that compile different phrases and you can tap on them to have it say them. There's so many different kinds so be sure to research before you pick one.

2, for short phrases and such, semiverbal people usually prefer nonverbal communication over speaking. A wave instead of saying hello or goodbye, a nod/head shake instead of saying yes or no, a shrug instead of saying maybe or I don't know, stuff like that. It's so much easier than words to quickly convey information.

3, some semiverbal people have a "word limit," or basically how much we can speak in a day. This differs from person to person as some can have multiple full conversations and some can only say a couple sentences. It'd be useful to determine roughly where your dragon's "word limit" is. So when that "word limit" is met, you know when to have them use more AAC and nonverbal communication.

4, goes along with the "word limit" thing. If we know that we'll need to talk later, we might "save our words" by using more AAC and nonverbal communication even if we can talk.

5, around friends, we'll usually use AAC to be more comfortable. But around strangers, we may prefer to talk whether to mask or to just avoid confusing them. Many strangers may not know how to talk to people using AAC, so it's easier to speak.

A couple things to avoid would be 1, treating your character like an object when they can't talk. I have seen this so many times and it's so annoying! Make sure they're always being considered as a person/dragon (unless the treatment is being portrayed negatively). 2, unrealistic portrayal of AAC. Make sure whatever AAC you pick you do your research on! A lot of AAC requires patience from those around as we can't respond immediately.

That's about all I can think of, fellow semiverbal people are welcome to add on!

[prof-peach]

if fans wanted to include peach in stuff they write, would that be okay? and how would they write peach's personality? aside from "FIGHT ME" anyway, i think that much is a given lol. i only really write the anime characters 'cause that's what i know, but it sounds like it'd be kinda fun to try making a version of ash that fits into this blog's universe! nerf'd Obviously, but i think she'd probably appreciate how hands-on he gets when training his pokemon!

Ok, I get a lot of these messages, and I often hear folks wanting to throw peach into their stories and comics and writings, and I will always simply ask that if it’s published online publicly, to be linked to it so I can snoop and enjoy the content too. If someone asks about her in your work, let them know about the blog I guess? But literally I love that people take this stuff, these characters and stories, and make new stuff with it. No ones making money off my work here? So where’s the issue? Go for it buddy, knock yourself out, I’m all for it.

For you, and all the others out there who want to add peach, and other characters to your world building, I will give you a detailed rundown of the main lot, and how they behave, what they do, how they function. You can use that, use bits, or use none of it, I do not mind at all. If you’re creating something, you’re in control, not me.

So, peach doesn’t actually fight people as much as you’d think. She’s very aware most cannot and do not want to do that, and so she likes to keep to herself with regards to that aspect of her life, she doesn’t ask to spar with people, or even bring it up at all, but people ask her all the time, even if they clearly would lose or become hurt should she miscalculate during the fight. She looks at people like they usually create problems, and often has a somewhat reserved nature to other humans. You have to work quite hard to get anything more than formalities out of her. She will dead-pan handle people with blunt and very to-the-point statements, aid whenever possible, but very quickly get back to handling the Pokemon she so carefully tends. Her focus is clear, she’s all about hard work, her very small select family, and the Pokemon.

Her brutal, loud and brash personality only comes out with friends, family, difficult humans, OR any Pokemon. She will joke and laugh and play with Pokemon, but clam up around humans, maintaining tight body language and generally will be a little cold by regular standards. She does however have some weaknesses in this emotionless shield she puts up. When peach was young she was always angry, which swung so fast to sadness, back and forth. Her teenage years it just got worse and worse, it was crippling at points. She is to this day, full of fire and rage, even sadness, but now she has learnt to control it, to use it. When she sees that in others, it’s familiar, and she is pushed to drop the front, and be very real with the person. Underdogs I suppose, people who get bad reps, but deserve the same as everyone else. She can’t ignore it.

Once you start to pry open her personality, you’ll find she’s a lot more laid back and fun than originally appeared, you just have to work hard to find that side of her. She will meme reference, can’t dance to save her life, loves her coffee, and can be caught in quiet contemplation while gardening. This hobby is her calmest, and often is why she can stay so level headed when her quiet rage boils up again. Without time outside she will become grouchy, a little snippy, and lethargic. Will not go in the ocean for any reason other than life or death, is fine with ponds and rivers, or water at wading height. Likes the rain.

With regards to her training others, they usually have to tolerate her somewhat strict nature. She is a little....unforgiving, holds a grudge if you make a lot of mistakes, and has no tolerance for ignorance in the age of information that we all live in. In previous posts I’ve mentioned she’s only recently selected two students, after many years of testing kids who want to learn from her. Hundred tried out, only two have ever been approved. How she teaches is very fast paced, be prepared to get some scrapes and bruises, she will test your physical and emotional tolerances with intense tasks, carefully watching students like a hawk. Bad posture in your stance? She’ll be the first to tell you to sort it out. Not hearing your Pokemon partner? Right, now you spend the day without using words trying to communicate, let’s see how you like not being listened to.

This is a woman who has spent her life saying very little, and watching everything, she watches Pokemon and can see an issue from a mile off, and in battles, her observations are why she can react fast, and chose effective strategy to avoid damage and achieve results. Don’t let her body fool you, her strongest asset is analysing, watching, planning. Those skills have over the years transferred to people too. As a student, mistakes don’t go unnoticed with this professor.

Her methods are harsh but fair, and should you prove yourself, she will protect you with her life.

Because of her disinterest in kids and lots of noise, she does pass the training of students on to the other staff members whenever possible. Grey takes on the lions share of battle lessons, he is far calmer, more open and friendly, with patience for people, and an empathy that peach sometimes struggles to have. When you go through a lot of harsh training, and difficult events, it’s hard to change how you feel or think, with peach, well, she’s been through it. Most do not come out the other end in one piece, but she did, and it made her strong. You may think I mean strong like buff and big, and yeah sure she is, but I mean it mentally more than anything. Peach will not quit. She has learnt to destroy the boundaries that stop people getting hurt, gone is the fear that freezes you in your tracks, that feeling that you’ll pass out if you go one more step. She’s learnt to ignore it.

This means she’s a little forgetful at how it is to be normal, to be vulnerable and soft and squishy like students so usually are.

She has her issues, but for the most part, visitors get a laugh, a smile, a calm assertive confidence, and facts. She will indulge those who have genuine interest, or show a connection with nature, an understanding of the balance that needs to be struck for everyone to live well together.

Despite her many flaws, she’s fiercely protective, and will go above and beyond to defend the island, it’s staff, the Pokemon and the visitors. Injustice is her biggest gripe, along with littering, and she doesn’t stand by quietly if something happens that seems unfair.

You will not see her without Valka, her vulpix, close by. That Pokemon doesn’t like to be touched by strangers, at all, and will run the second someone comes at her with that intent. Peach will scold you for pushing yourself onto her, should you persistently try to get close to pet Val. They are in sync, if peach is sad, Val is sad, if Val is stressed, peach is stressed, and so on. They are inherently connected, it’s just been that long, the psychic bridge between them has been built, and reinforced over the years.

The only other Pokemon who follows her so endlessly is Booker, a teddiursa who’s pretty rough looking. He quietly trots behind, grouchy and stoic, they fight closely together a lot. He lost his mom a long time ago to poachers, and peach took him in, and changed her whole life for him. Not many people know, but Booker was the reason she left the rangers, changed career, and got so strong. Will tolerate people petting him but isn’t keen at all, grumbles a lot and tries to move away.

You may also need to know about the others, for the sake of writing, she here a few more bits that may be important to you, or others wanting to do this.

Grey is very tall, very burly, composed, tells bad dad jokes, is a bit of a goof if allowed to be. If he sees a pun, he’ll say it. Can’t help himself. Very nice guy to work with, good at keeping people calm and grounded. Pokemon are drawn to him like a moth to a flame, he gives off warm energy, and has inhuman amounts of patience. If you wrong his family however, he will snap back.

He grew up in the city, loves to swim and hike and cycle, can snowboard, is really sporty. A total brain box with held items, and boosting stats. He will explore many paths, to make sure visitors and students get the information they need, in a way that can be remembered and retained for later. Is a huge guy, but will get on the floor to play with a tiny Pokemon. Treats big “meaner” looking species like babies, very good with all pokemon.

His free time is spent either tinkering, swimming, or trimming his bonsai trees. This guy stares at screens a lot, so appreciates time away from them. Peach built him his own little greenhouse for his trees and tools, which he keeps clean and loves dearly.

His methods as a teacher are built around fun and games, he makes hard work easier to do by distracting trainers from the difficult bits, and focusing in on something more interesting or compelling.

His most commonly seen Pokemon would be a houndoom, Saxon, old battle veteran, retired now to herding and being a good boy. Very gentle, loves a pet.

Pari, now a fully fledged nurse, often oversees the labs front desk and pokecentre features, such as healing pokemon, and informing trainers who come to visit. Her skills with eggs and hatchlings is high, she’s great with younger Pokemon, and hands out good advice to trainers a lot. She’s not a fighter, never was, but can find any file, any study, any book, and any refrence you may need. A true bookworm, loves her romance novels, chat shows and upbeat celebrity gossip mags. Will cry at a lot of stuff, be it sad or happy.

She’s got a seriously upbeat personality, but if caught off guard or shocked, she gets a little flustered. Too much chaos will overwhelm her, but usually she’s on top of things. The years spent on the island have made her better at maintaining composure in emergencies. With lots of siblings, she’s very competent with others, and has a good ability to disarm cagey people with her jolly nature. Because of this, she can sometimes gain information from trainers that some of the more harsh professors may not have access to. Charming is a word for it.

Her partners are an eevee, and a happiny. They are quite sweet and well adjusted, the eevee gets a bit bouncy if you get it too excited.

[disenchantedif]

LMAO in the Cam/Theo poly is is double whiplash then? 😂😂 Like "damn I wish I'd done that... wait 😰" then after learning it was Theo it'd be "damn I wish they'd give me one too... WAIT 😰😱" actually it all gets funnier in the poly routes 🤣 like Viktor quietly suffering all "this is fine 😀" trying to be happy for MC and comfort Theo, who's just seething 😭😭

Poly reactions to the hickey now because this is too good to pass up lmao 😭

Random pronouns for the characters that apply!

Cameron/Theo

Cameron notices the hickey almost immediately. It should be hard to spot because you avoid them like the plague, but they've been paying close attention to you recently.

Why? They're worried, of course. You've seemed even more unstable recently, something to do with Charlie and Harlow as far as they can tell. You seem like you might do something drastic and that...scares them. A lot.

They'd worry like this over anyone, of course.

Of course...

So of course when they spot the hickey, they're shocked. Then they think, immediately after the static in their brain shuts off, that they wish they'd been the one to give it to you.

Wait.

Then they see Theo slip an arm subtly around your waist and realize just who gave you the hickey.

They wish she would give them one too.

Wait.

Wait.

Oh fuck.

Cameron/Luci

Lucien is pretty sure he and Cam spot the hickey at the exact same time. He sees his best friend pause and suck in a sharp breath.

"I have a problem." Cameron grabs him by the arm and drags him behind a couple of bushes, "I have such a big problem."

Lucien raises an eyebrow.

"I wanted to give them that."

Now both brows are raised, but not in surprise.

"Uh..." Cameron hesitates, "Did you-?"

"Also want to give them that? Yes." He shrugs, "I can't though."

Cameron frowns slightly, "You shouldn't-"

To throw him off and skip another lecture about the wonders of seeking forgiveness, Lucien adds, "I'd give you one, too, if you wanted."

Then he walks away very quickly.

Cameron's brain short circuits for a solid ten minutes.

Viktor/Luci

Lucien sees the hickey and his heart hurts. Aches, almost.

Then he sees Viktor on your arm and almost feels like throwing up.

It's fitting that the two people he's slowly realized he's in love with would find peace with each other. He doesn't deserve you or Viktor; he's well aware of that. He abandoned you both when you needed him most and this is the penance that he'll pay.

Still, he looks up from across the cafeteria. You're sitting with your back towards him, but Viktor somehow manages to catch his eye.

The blue and gold stare is hard and full of mistrust. Viktor is a typical Draca when it comes to protecting what is theirs, be it friends and family or a hoard of gold. They are fierce, and Lucien knows his old friend expects nothing but the worst from him.

He leaves soon after that, feeling two sets of eyes following him from his table to the doorway.

Cameron/Avery

Neither of them are entirely sure how it all went down. Either way, the three of you ended up on your broken-down couch, the three-way kiss slowly figuring itself out.

Cameron vaguely remembers Avery burning in jealousy. She had realized she'd like to give you a hickey, maybe. Both of you. Avery and you.

She was in love with both of you. Both of you. Her destined nemesis and the person whose life she ruined.

The past and future both seem far away and hazy as Avery reaches a hesitant hand out to touch her on the shoulder. She grabs the other woman with vigor and reels her in.

After making out for a solid twenty minutes, they discover the "hickey" was the result of Viktor accidentally smacking you across the neck with a broom. Something about him and Theo trying to race? Apparently, Theo cheated, having wings, which is no surprise.

Still, the jealousy got them where they all needed to be.

Charlie/Avery

Charles is utterly clueless about their own feelings most of the time, but he catches on quicker in this case. He sees how absolutely brimming with jealousy Avery is, something he's never seen before in his couple of years of knowing the man, and realizes he might be jealous too.

Jealous of who is the question.

He's had a crush on Avery for forever. Ever since he was a dumb freshly twenty-year-old visiting Canada for the summer and absolutely falling for the cute waiter who was definitely supernatural.

On the other hand, it's been a while since they've seen each other, and since the whole Phantom cat jumped out of the bag.

You, though.

Wow.

You were great. And seeing that hickey, right there on your collarbone just above the neckline of your shirt, kind of makes him a bit furious.

So who is he jealous of? You, for making Avery jealous? Or Avery, for having a crush on you?

Oh fuck, it's both. It's both, isn't it?

A quick phone call to his moms confirms that yes, it's both. Also, yes, he's totally screwed.

Viktor/Theo

"Just calm down," Viktor says, patting Theodore's shoulder soothingly.

"I can't." The other man responds, "I love them and they have a hickey. Someone else gave them that."

"You are quite literally preaching to the choir here. Just be happy for them."

"I know, I know. I can't though." He groans and rolls over onto his back, looking up at Viktor morosely, "It's just...ugh."

He groans, shoving a pillow in his face. Viktor takes the pillow away gently, rolling his eyes.

"No smothering yourself."

"I kind of want to right now." Theo huffs, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Viktor raises an eyebrow, "Pine after someone completely clueless?"

"Yeah."

The Draca gives him a deadpan stare, "Well, I'm certainly an expert, seeing as you're both emotionally inept."

He stands just as quickly as he entered, leaving Theo gaping where he's sat up on his elbows.

"Wait!" He almost trips over his sheets exiting the bed, "Wait, Viktor! Get the fuck back here, you shit! You can't just say that and walk off!"

"Just did." He calls back down the hallway.

Theo races after him, lunging forward to grab him before he could head for the door. They both end up on the floor, Viktor squirming and kicking to get out of the impromptu bear hug and Theo clinging even tighter.

That's how you find them when you enter your dorm, both brows raising at the scene. Theo opens an arm, offering an invite to the cuddle pile, and you figure why not.

Viktor sighs, knowing the both of you will be the death of him eventually.

[manic-pixie-dream-dude]

Ooo, cracked moonstone!Varian AU? I wanna hear more about that! And if it has any varipunzel elements to it, because sun and moon parings are just 👌

!!!! Thank you for the interest!!!!

This AU in its broadest strokes is me mixing all my love for var with my Opinion Saltmine over the lost potential into a "what if Varian's character and his relationship w Raps was used to its full potential and we added emotional + physical pain for flavor" concoction lmao.

(ramble as per usual under the cut. Enjoy!)

It started cus I just... couldn't get over how Var's motivation became a punchline to a joke in S3. He never got to develop or mature even though he's aged like everyone else. I also had gripes w Moon!Cass and her character/relationship development. This is me having fun while trying to rectify that.

In terms of the story, I wanted Varian to start with a shard because I really liked how it'd visually resemble his one blue hair stripe. And the idea of that shard acting as a compass pin was also a very "Aha! 💡" moment for me lol.

Personally, I think it'd be neat if the moonstone was just. Fuckt Up. if Raps had held it first, it would've mended itself permanently with the healing incantation, but she doesn't, and the result is an item that inherently embodies hurt and death, now unstable and hurting its holder.

Note: I placed the opal over Varian's heart because having something directly harm such a vital organ was interesting. With it, he's hurting but without it, he might hurt even more.

I love to put my fave character in situations where they're doomed one way or another :))

--

Also yes ABSOLUTELY there's varipunzel ajdjaksk. It was sorta inevitable that the plot ended up surrounding their relationship! oh to be celestially tethered with your friend-turned-enemy......

Though the relationship isn't like Moon!Cass and Raps. It's the opposite if anything. They're on the same side when they finally get to the moonstone, both having the full intention of fixing the opal before Raps can do her Thing.

(But then Cass' Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal further fucks w everything, but that's neither here nor there.)

The progression here is more of a slow-burn 'friends to enemies to rekindled friends to "Oh my God we just wanna hang out but Evil Bitch Diety and her goons refuse to leave us alone" to lovers'.

I mentioned this in my meta post but I don't think how quickly both were to anger made much sense character-wise. Varian is a supposedly lonely kid, he'd be more forgiving of his (all things considered) first and best friend. Raps is a compassionate and empathetic person who'd be more distraught with the progression of events.

Both of them figuring out their emotions while apart and then when together is big a part of this AU. Their relationship goes from mutual hurt to mutual understanding and a desire to try again, learn to trust again.

Plus! There's the mirroring of the arcs. The grind-my-teeth-to-dust potential that I wanna expand on. Varian grapples with making his own destiny and purpose and position amidst the chaos that is his life while Rapunzel grapples with the stress of having a set destiny while balancing her friendships at the same time.

Both their arcs occur simultaneously! They gotta have long-lasting effects on each other!! THEY GOTTA!!

Even in canon, Varian is something that stays with Rapunzel for A While. I wanna see Rapunzel give him hope for the world and inspires him to become a better person!!! And for Varian to ground her and inspires her to see the world from a different perspective and become a better future queen in turn!!!!

--

I also wanna mention the other characters! I don't care for Fook Hoot nor Shorty if I'm being honest but I do care for the rest of the gang. Specifically Cass and Eugene. In summary, Eugene being the person who can understand Cass where Raps doesn't is interesting and could really be used to develop their friendship.

Cass having a bond with more than one person would add to the shock of her betraying the team methinks. Right when you think she's finding comradery, things go to shit.

Also, she's still an antagonist/antagonist-adjacent, but driven with fear abt raps fully abandoning her if she finds out abt the whole Gothel thing rather than anger. Again.... doesn't make sense for it to be the main emotion when there's Other Stuff going on. This is a long way to say I'm smacking some abandonment issues onto her.

--

But yeah! That's the gist for now. I really hope I get to make a whole post with the actual plot some other time, I've got Many Thoughts for this AU.

Thanks a bunch if you read up until this point! As a gift, here's wip:

[eyndr-stories]

To Be Alive (FNAF SB fanfic) C7 - Over My Dead Body

In summary:

At long last, the thrilling continuation of 'To Be Human'! There are more shenanigans for Star and co to get up to, and new horrors to be subjected to! Not to mention, Eclipse is still at large and up to no good... As 'To Be Human' is a self contained stand-alone story, one could very well choose to leave the adventure as is! Considering there are some heavier themes in this one (biggest thing here being death, specifically) that's exactly what I would recommend you do if you like everything very much the way it ended in 'To Be Human'. This story is an exploration of a few ideas I wanted to work with left over from the first story, and a way to tie up some very minor loose ends, as well as a return to some characters and a world I had a lot of fun with.

Things To Know:

Reader insert! Y/N is not used and gender is not specified, though the reader does have a blorbo-appointed name (Star)

Non-specified relationships between reader and Sun & Moon, this can be read as pals, family, partners, whatever you like, totally up to your interpretation

Sun & Moon are separate bots and referred to with gender neutral pronouns

The reader and other characters are often in mortal peril! This world is full of Funky Creatures (other than you) and some of them attack and hurt several characters, including the reader character

Some blood and minor gore

Occasional swearing

Death

(as always, let me know if I should add anything!)

Ao3 link: Right here!

Start reading here: Chapter 1

Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

C7 - Over My Dead Body

     With Foxy's directions, Star was able to get close enough to Eclipse's hideout to spot one of their goons heading back to base. The hard part was getting in.

     Star considered their options. They could barge in, fists swinging, but they had no idea what they'd be up against in there. They didn’t think they could take on more than one robot at once. The goons were only about as big as them, and with their wheels they might have trouble getting back up if Star could knock them over. They were still made of metal though, and likely wouldn't just stand around and let Star tip them over.

     That left sneaking in somehow. Turning back wasn't an option. Star's impulses were screaming at them, they had to get in there and make sure Sun and Moon were safe.

     They reconsidered barreling in as they sat in view of the gate and waited for some sort of opportunity. Without feeling much even in the ways of pain or fear, they might get pretty far. They rationalized it'd be easier to get in the sneaky way, and so they were patient.

     Another goon came rolling up to the gate, likely one of the ones that had chased unsuccessfully after Foxy. Star watched the goon approach the gate, stop and tap something on the wall that Star couldn't see, then roll past as the gate swung open. The goon rolled into a small building beyond and vanished through the door.

     Star looked around, making sure the coast was clear, then hurried across the street.

     The chain link gate was unimpressive. Star might have just climbed over it, but there was barbed wire along the top. Star turned to the wall and investigated the hard plaster. There was some sort of electrical box here. It was closed, but unlocked. Star popped it open. On the inside of the box's lid was a label, written in the bot's language. Star wasn't exactly fluent, but they knew enough to be able to read the simple label.

     'LOCK WHEN NOT IN USE,' it read.

     Star pressed the large black button and shut the box. The gate swung open, allowing them entrance. They hurried over to the small building, then peeked through the door. The room was relatively small, and somehow empty. Star frowned and stepped inside, quickly closing the door behind them. A second pair of metal doors slid shut, blocking the outside door from view. They were sure that goon had come in here. Where had they gone?

     The entire room shuddered. Star's stomach dropped as the room slowly began to move. All at once, Star realized what this was- they'd been in a moving room countless times before. There was one back at their shelter in the woods. This was an elevator.

     Star shifted through information in their brain, trying to recall everything they knew about elevators. They found the panel where you were meant to select your desired floor, but they hadn't pressed any of the few buttons there. That meant someone else had called the elevator, and there'd likely be someone waiting for Star on the other side of the doors once the elevator reached its destination.

     Star looked around. There was nowhere to hide, the room was empty. The elevator stopped. Star quickly moved against the wall as the doors slid open. They crouched down and waited a moment. A goon rolled in, past the doors. Star quickly darted out beyond the doors before the bot could turn around.

     Luckily, the narrow hall Star found themself in was otherwise unoccupied. There were several doors, and a few turns. Once the elevator doors had closed behind them, Star straightened up and started to move. There was a lot of ground to search, and no time to waste.

~~~

     "Give it a rest, Moon. This wall is one giant magnet."

     Moon scowled at Sun, but finally stopped struggling. They weren't getting anywhere, and they'd been trying since the two of them had woken up here, magnetized to the wall and effectively stuck in place.

     The room was plain and dimly lit. there was one narrow door, in the wall to their left. The hall outside was bright, casting a long rectangle of white light across the floor. The smell of cleaning chemicals hung heavy in the air.

     "I didn't see who attacked us. Did you?" Moon asked.

     "Just barely. One of Eclipse's employees," Sun said.

     "We should have been more careful. Worn disguises, something."

     Sun sighed. "I'm just glad Star wasn't with us."

     Moon glanced at Sun. They couldn't turn their head very far, but they could just see Sun and their faintly glowing rays right at the edge of their view. "Sun… we should talk about Star."

     Sun looked down. They said nothing.

     Moon huffed. "You know I'm not good with communication and feelings and all that. Sun, I'm just… I think we might have done something… wrong. Messed something up with Star, I mean. I know you want them to be okay again, I do too. But…"

     "I know they're different. I know, Moon. What do you want me to do? Distance myself from them like you're doing just because they're not the same?" Sun questioned.

     At Moon's shocked silence, Sun went on.

     "I don't mean to be harsh. I know this is hard, and we're both struggling, but we shouldn't let the consequences of that affect Star."

     Moon's knee jerk reaction was to be defensive, but they challenged the thought and put it aside. "…You're right." Moon paused, gathering their thoughts. "I have been… distant. It wasn't a conscious choice I made, I just… I actually realized earlier today how I've been behaving myself. I just don't know… what to do. Or how to feel. I thought once we brought them back everything would be okay again, Star would be back and things would be like they were."

     "They've been through a lot, Moon. Honestly, I don't know what to do either, but I do know that I love Star and that's not going to change. I'm just trying to be patient. Star's still healing. They're already doing better with their breathing issue! So we just have to wait, and do what we can to help, and if we did mess something up when we brought them back then we can fix it."

     "I love Star too. And I don't mind giving them whatever time and support they need. But…" Moon closed their eyes. "Sun… I'm worried… I don't know if this is something we can fix."

     "I can't believe you'd loose hope so easily," Sun chided. "We'll fix it if it needs fixing and everything will be okay. We have to get out of here first, though. We can't… we can't leave Star like that, they need our help. And we're still the only two bots who know about the cure to the toxin, we need to make sure that information isn't lost with us, in case the humans come back to Earth some day." Sun looked around again, as if they'd find something new along these empty walls.

     "I sure would like to get out of here," Moon grumbled. "There's a lot of things I'd regret leaving unfinished, if we can't make it out of here. Not only all of that but our work, research on the local flora and fauna. I know we've been focused on a cure for Star and the other humans, but the more we learn, it stands to reason the better equipped we'd be at keeping everyone safe from the more dangerous creatures we share this world with." Moon paused. "Not to mention, I've left… certain things unsaid with certain people."

     Sun glanced over at Moon. "Oh?"

     Moon looked away.

     "Certain people… like maaaaaaybe Bonnie?" Sun prompted.

     Moon heaved a sigh. "It's a long story."

     "I'm not going anywhere," Sun said. "Commonnn, tell me please?? I've been curious for so long!"

     "Alright, alright." Moon rolled their eyes. "It's not even all that interesting. We just… we used to date, and-"

     "You and Bonnie dated?!" Sun exclaimed.

     "Shhh! Jeez, not so loud." Moon was regretting saying anything. Even so, they reluctantly went on. "We dated. It was a really, really long time ago. Way before I met you. We… broke up. Obviously. Or… okay. Bonnie ended things. For reasons you can probably guess."

     "Too much of a workaholic." Sun 'tsk'ed.

     "No. I mean yeah, but that wasn't why. Or, might have been part of it, but… He ended things because of my trouble with… emotions. And talking to others about said emotions. And my cynical paranoid nature. I wasn't exactly easy to talk to."

     "Ah, I see. I had no idea. I mean, you? Hard to talk to?? No way," Sun teased.

     "Sun."

     "Sorry, just teasing."

     "Anyways." Moon gave Sun a tired look. "We'd been apart for a while when I met you. I still can't believe you and Freddy were friends before any of this."

     "He was my supply guy! A lot of my first machines I built with parts he got for me. And he's such a nice guy, it's hard not to be friends with him," Sun said.

     "Right. Well, if you recall, in your efforts to get me to stop being such an uptight recluse, you introduced me to your friends at the repair shop. Of course, I already knew Bonnie. I don't think either of us were ever expecting to see each other again. But when I saw him with Freddy, I got… ugh." Moon scowled. "I got defensive, and I… Bonnie and I talked. Er… had a small fight. And I said some things I shouldn't have. We sort of just… agreed to be civil with each other for the sake of not making you or anyone else upset, and the two of us would just never speak again. And that's what we've been doing. Eventually I realized I'd been a huge jerk, and I've got a lot to apologize for. But… I don't know. It's been so long now, I don't know if Bonnie's still mad or would even care. It's easier just to let things be as they are."

     "Aw, Moon…" Sun wanted to give Moon a hug, but they were still stuck to the wall. "I think you should talk to Bonnie. I'm sure that he'd appreciate an apology, no matter how late it may be."

     "Yeah… I probably should. On the other hand, if we get decommissioned by Eclipse, I won't have to worry about it at all."

     "Moon," Sun scolded.

     "What? I'm just joking."

~~~

     Star peeked through another door's window. They did a double take when they spotted a familiar pair of blue and yellow bots in the room beyond. Relieved, they threw the door open and stepped inside.

     "Star!!" Sun cried.

     "What are you doing here?? How'd you find us?" Moon asked.

     Star approached the wall Sun and Moon were stuck to. They couldn't find any restraints, and were confused as to why Sun and Moon couldn't seem to move, until they got closer to the wall and felt an odd pull in their chest. Their skin stretched uncomfortably as the device in their chest was pulled towards the wall. The wall was magnetized, pulling anything metal in towards it. Star took a step back away from the wall.

     "Foxy found you, actually." Star explained everything as quickly and simply as they could. They looked around as they did, trying to find some sort of control panel or off switch somewhere. They couldn't figure it out.

     "I'm afraid you won't find the switch that easily."

     Star turned to see Eclipse standing in the doorway. They waggled a small device tauntingly at them. That had to be the control for the wall. Star started walking towards Eclipse, who quickly stepped back into the hall and shut the door.

     "None of that now, dear." Eclipse's eyes narrowed as they stared disdainfully down at Star. "I don't have any interest in you anymore, but I still can't have you getting in my way. I am always paid what's owed to me, and today I intend to collect." Eclipse cast a glare at Sun and Moon.

     "Over my dead body," Star threatened.

     "That's exactly what I intended." Eclipse smiled. They opened the door, just quickly enough to push in someone else. "Take care of them," Eclipse ordered, locking the door behind the stranger.

     Star was momentarily frozen. The stranger they were faced with was…

     Another human.

     This human was bigger, and decidedly off, but there was no doubt about it. They were human.

     "No…" Sun gasped. They recognized that human, as did Moon.

     "How did they manage…" Moon trailed off.

     This human was one of their past attempts, one of the more recent prototypes before Star. One of their arms was longer than the other. Their face was warped. They stood hunched over, and looked just all around… uncomfortable. Apparently, Eclipse had figured out how to complete their work, with one of the prototypes they'd taken from Sun and Moon.

     The human eyed Star for only a moment before carrying out their orders without question. They raised two beefy fists and started swinging. Star snapped out of their stupor and moved, jumping back out of the way and quickly raising their own fists.

     The other human was slow and clumsy, and something about the way they moved wasn't quite… right. Almost like they hadn't gotten the hang of their own body yet. They were, however, also very powerful and unpredictable. Star did their best to keep distance between them, but the room was only so big. The other human swung, and suddenly Star was looking at the wall. There was a dull pain in their jaw. They swiveled their head back towards the other human. They narrowly ducked below another hit, then launched a fist into the other human's gut.

     The other human winced and whined in pain, falling back a step, but they didn't back down. They threw another punch. Star hit them again, this time in the side, causing the human to yelp. They whacked Star hard enough to send them stumbling back, but Star didn't feel much beyond a discomfort in their chest as the device implanted there was jostled. Star took another hit while they were off balance, a punch that would have sent them crashing to the ground, had the wall behind them not been there to break their fall. They pushed off the wall just as the other human threw another punch, hitting the wall instead. The other human cried out and cradled their knuckles for a moment, face contorted in pain.

     Star regained their balance, but hesitated. They stared at the other human as a thought worked its way through their head.

     What do you have that I don't? What am I missing??

     This other human seemed to be feeling things. They sounded and looked like they were feeling a good deal of pain. Star was willing to bet they hadn't been alive long enough to feel much pain at all, so they were likely feeling things even more strongly than normal. Yet Star still wasn't feeling much of anything. Not even pain.

     Star knew they'd suffered some brain damage. They reasoned that had to be why, but something still felt off. They still felt something was missing, beyond the lack of feeling. Something much bigger.

     Star was distracted. The other human took their opening, winding back and hitting Star with a punch powerful enough to finally knock them down. Star stared up at the ceiling as the other human came back into view, closing in to finish the job. Star could hear Sun and Moon both yelling for them, yelling a name that… didn't fit.

     Realization came to them at long last.

     Star is dead.

     They might be walking around and talking, but they were still dead, and there was nothing anyone could do about that. They weren't coming back, no matter how much anyone wanted them to. Sun and Moon wanted them to be Star, but they couldn't, because Star was dead.

     Star wasn't sure who they were, if not Star, but the certainty that they weren't Star resounded in their head.

     They stared up at the other human, who was raising two fists up high, ready to slam them down over Star's skull.

     Star might be dead, but they were still human. And they weren't going to give up that easily.

     Star rolled, dodging the hit. They got up as the other human regained their balance. Star threw a punch and missed. The other human grabbed them and threw them back against the wall. Star's vision shook as their head cracked against the wall. They bounced back, not missing a beat. They punched the other human square in the nose. They felt the bone break under their knuckles.

     The other human screamed, suddenly in the most pain they'd ever felt in their life. Star was already winding back for another hit. Fight turned into flight, and the other human fled. They fumbled with a device in their pocket, managing to unlock the door. They shoved past Eclipse and kept running, ignoring Eclipse's yelling.

     Eclipse glowered and turned back to Star. "Fine. If I have to deal with you myself… so be it." They stepped into the room.

     Star didn't hesitate to charge them. While punching metal didn't affect Star as much as it should have, it also didn't affect Eclipse much either. Eclipse was much faster than the other human had been. All it took was a moment, and Eclipse had managed to snap Star's neck. Star went down.

     "Disgusting. Now I have to clean again," Eclipse complained. "Would you two stop screaming already?? I'll be taking care of the two of you in a moment."

     Sun and Moon did stop screaming, but they weren't looking at Eclipse. Eclipse frowned and followed their line of sight to see Star somehow getting back up on their feet.

     Star cracked their neck, then turned a withering glare on Eclipse. They raised their fists.

     Eclipse downed them again. It wasn't much of a fight, Star simply didn't have the same strength as the looming metal robot did.

     "Don't make me do that again," Eclipse threatened. "As if that scientist I abducted wasn't dirty and messy enough already. Now I've got a gross squishy human mess to clean…"

     Star, once again, got back up. "Of course it was you. Should have known… once your batteries aren't needed anymore, you'll be obsolete."

     Eclipse's expression was somewhere between annoyed and baffled. "How are you not deactivated?"

     Star raised their fists once more. "I'm already dead."

     Eclipse was starting to get concerned. Star could see it on their face. All they needed was an opening, and Star could grab the wall control off of Eclipse.

     Eclipse landed another hit, this one square in Star's chest. There was a loud BANG as metal hit metal. Eclipse cocked their head curiously at the sound. They paused.

     Star paused as well as they suddenly realized they were in trouble.

     Before Star could do anything though, Eclipse grabbed them and threw another punch at the device in Star's chest. There was another loud BANG. Eclipse stretched out the fingers of a fist, then launched their hand into the device, tearing a hole through Star's hoodie. Eclipse's hand closed around metal and pulled violently back out, ripping a hole in the device, taking a cascade of sparks and small bits of metal with it.

     Eclipse tossed the chunk they'd ripped out and crushed aside as Star fell once more. This time, they couldn't get back up. They tried and pushed and strained, but their body was no longer running well enough to do more than push weakly at the floor. Star stared down at the hole in their chest, in the device. The skin all around the edge of the device was inflamed and agitated. Star could barely feel it. They could barely move. They couldn't do anything as Eclipse stalked across the room towards Sun and Moon, finally unhindered.

     Darkness was creeping in along the edges of Star's vision. They strained uselessly as Eclipse grabbed Sun's faceplate, the tips of their fingers fitting between orange triangles. Eclipse strained as they forced their fingers to close, slowly starting to crush Sun's head.

     Star barely noticed the door had flown open until there were bots streaming in, most of them unfamiliar. They all wore similar shiny plates on their backs, spelling something Star couldn't focus enough on to read. These bots- the authorities, Star realized- rushed to arrest Eclipse.

     The last thing Star saw before the darkness fully closed in was Sun and Moon, freed from the wall, rushing towards them.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Do you ever wonder if Shannon was intending to create some sort of backstory for Cassius Sencen at some point? Because (and this might not have happened since I haven’t read the books in a while) I think I remember Sophie finding out he used to be bullied or something? So I thought that Shannon might’ve been intending to give him some sort of backstory or add more complexity to his character, but then it was just dropped out of nowhere? So I don’t really know anymore.

Good question! I don't think she intended for him to have a full backstory and be a fully rounded character we know everything about, but I do think she wanted him to be less one-dimensional. And in doing so she explained his past instead of his future, if that makes sense, which is why it feels dropped off.

You're remembering correctly! In Legacy, when Sophie searches Lord Cassius's mind (without telling Fitz), she looks at a memory of him getting bullied and thinking to himself how he'd show everyone, he'd prove everyone wrong about him. This wasn't for us to sympathize with him or to be like "oh he's just misunderstood" or anything, but I think it was instead to give context and background to who he is and why he does the things he does. His purpose in the story is to be mean to Keefe. To make Keefe the way he is, to give some sort of explanation or context as to why Keefe is resistant to authority, has problems with his family, and struggles with self-esteem, among other things. He is one of the main sources of Keefe's struggles up until Gisela is revealed to be part of the Neverseen, and then it's both of them giving him hell.

But characters just being mean to people for no reason? That gets bland very quickly, especially for a character that keeps coming back. If we only saw Cassius once or twice, it'd be understandable and we wouldn't need much more context, but because he shows up fairly frequently and interacts with more complexity, we need to know something about him. Why is he such an asshole, why does he tear up Keefe's drawings, why is reputation so important to him? Reading about him just saying these things and being so unpleasant again and again without knowing anything about him grows old!

For someone with his impact throughout the beginning of the series (majorly shaping one of the main characters and providing information) he needs to have more to him than being mean. So we learn that he was bullied, and that he creates a carefully calculated front to display to other people, and that he thinks withholding love from Keefe is in his best interest. And while we don't like him, it finally explains why he is the way he is. Not an excuse, but an explanation. Enough that we can be satisfied that he isn't this empty, repetitive character. That even if his purpose is to be a bad person in the story, there's a reasoning to it

Because he was bullied he became obsessed with his reputation, and it motivated him to become the person he is, hard and ruthless and accomplished and notable. He achieved things, and he credits that to the pain he experienced. The hardship and being hated and unloved and the need to prove himself, that's what drove him. Spite and pain. So now we know why he doesn't show Keefe his love, because he thinks Keefe needs motivation and he's trying to give it to him. He thinks if Keefe feels the need to prove himself he'll work harder, because that's what Cassius did. And because he values reputation, he thinks Keefe should to. In a way, he's trying to put Keefe into the same situation he was in.

It doesn't mean any of what he did was right. It doesn't make it okay that he yelled at Keefe and tore up his drawings. It doesn't mean he deserves forgiveness. But now we know why he's the way he is, what he values and what motivates him. And that's enough

It explains everything he's done in the past, because that's when he had the most impact. And now that we're towards the end, this knowledge explains the questions that were in the back of our heads about him (that is if you had any. I don't know if anyone else did).

we don't need to know anything else about him. We know what's important to him and why he acts the way he does, and we know that it's not okay. We don't need to know more, because I don't think he's going to have a bigger impact. He has his role in the story and the little we know explains it, and that's sufficient, so maybe that's why it feels dropped off!

anyway, I might've gotten a little off topic but hopefully that answers your question! if not I'm always happy to talk more!

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes

Sequel to A Forgotten Memory

Now facing an internal battle between her heart and mind, Samantha faces her fears and searches for the truth. Will she accept the past? Will she listen to her heart? Or will she let her memories get the best of her?

Chapter 10 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

Previous Chapter : Roach - A SurPRICE Visit

What is this o.O

The Heart knows what the Brain Doesn't

Samantha Coleman

141's High Value Individual

Task Force 141 Base - General Shepherd's Office

The base was quiet. Everyone else fled off to their mission and all Samantha could think about is Alex. But why? Maxine told her he wanted to meet him, but Alex told her it's because she dropped her pendant. Whose story is she going to believe in? She could feel her heart beat differently ever since she saw him with General Shepherd. Her whole body except for her brain reacted to his presence. She even felt weak after slapping him, it's like her brain commanded it but her hands wanted to disobey. Who is he?

Maxine passed by with an apple she got from the kitchen counter.

"Sam, you okay?" she asked, biting the fruit and sitting in the chair across from her.

"I've been thinking… about how you knew Alex and how she knows me…" she sighed, it was relieving to let out all her bottled thoughts, especially that now they're both alone.

"Well, we met in a bar. Had a few drinks then showed me a photo of you." she said, holding her hand.

"I honestly believed he did know you and tried to lengthen the conversation, just so I know he's good enough and knows a lot. He actually aced the test but he was very drunk when I told her to meet again. After that He showed up the next day and I had to work. Whatever happened after my shift was- ow." she interrupted herself because of a minor pain from recalling her memories. She still hasn't been able to remember all of them, even after a lot of sleep.

"Yeah. That's about it on your side. Mine's just that… He looked creepy, his eyes felt like he was looking for me in a weird way and so I ran. After that life continued. You went on a leave and I resumed working." She supplied, staring at the grey walls of the mess hall.

"I wish I'd remember where I went on that vacation. It'd be cool." Max commented, crunching on another bite.

"My heart… beats differently when he's near. It's like he's really familiar." She whispered.

"Oh. Someone's been struck by the Cupid. He is attractive though. Without those ink, he'd probably be your type." Max teased, winking at her and nudging her. Samantha was serious, though.

"Look. I admit my heart feels something for him. It's a mix of guilt and longing. But why would I long for someone I just met?" She sighed and dropped her head on the table, groaning as her mind and her heart battled against the inconsistencies.

"Look. It's not too crowded here. Maybe we could do some research by their library!" Max suggested, creating finger guns and humming the Mission Impossible theme song as she stood up and went to the library. Samantha chuckled.

"So we're spies now?!" She placed a hand on her forehead as she followed her wacky best friend.

Maxine typed down Alex on the search bar, his public profile appeared and they began reading his file. It was all basic ideas, Nationality, Height, his name was redacted and they couldn't bypass it so they just ignored it and headed to the next term.

"CIA Agent Alex helped locate and detain CIA Mole." Samantha read with her mouth. Maxine quickly clicked the article and photos of her appeared on almost every page.

Unlike Maxine, these notes didn't hurt her mind except it hurt her heart that she treated him that way, after all this time. He was there to save her. He located you through Maxine to save you from the same captors that played with your brain months ago.

"Ooooh. It says here you two were safely housed in a remote safehouse for almost a month. Really Sam? Maybe something happened within that time? Can you please remember how he looked underneath those clothes. For me?" she giggled. Samantha knew she was joking but it was an honest possibility.

Could it be that she fell for the guy that saved her and sat with her for almost a month? Or the two of them fell in love? Her heart was racing as the possibilities overloaded her brain, her cheeks started to blush as her thoughts consumed her. This wasn't her mind talking to her, it was her heart. It's reminding her of Alex.

"Oh. Shit." Maxine muttered and Sam snapped back to reality, putting her hand on Max's shoulders and looked into the screen once again.

Due to a special favor promised by Samantha's father, he has authorized to apply an MK Ultra procedure to her, whose main intention is to Alter her memories of the IP Address along with the events that happened prior to kidnapping.

"You agreed to forget him?" Max looked at her, a frown formed as she started to console her.

"I guess so… Maybe something happened between us." She sobbed. She didn't want to cry, but the realization set in on her. They met, they bonded and she forced herself to forget him. No wonder Alex felt sad after being slapped.

"I want to ask him about us." Sam said with determination. Maxine liked the confidence but was also concerned about her feelings.

"What if you wanted to forget him, that's why you did it? Would you be ready to feel the sadness all over again?" Maxine asked. Samantha paused for a while. She made sense but her gut is telling her to push through her initial plan.

"I'm sorry Max, but I made my choice. I have to know everything about us, Whatever it Takes." she said.

"I'm here to support you. After all, you're the only memory I have left. They took everything. I don't know why but my memory began when I moved in. That's where my story started. Maybe there's a reason for it so, here I am for you. You're my family." she said, hugging her tight.

"Well, you could add a few more people in your family." she smiled.

"Yeah. It's full of tough looking brothers ready to protect us. And one soft Gary." she noted.

"He is a sweetheart, huh?" Samantha asked, getting a hint of something else from her.

"Well, he talks a lot and he gets me sometimes. It's a shame he's always out there saving the world." Max chuckled. Samantha froze.

"I know you want this to work..."

"This is our proposed digital art for our ad…"

"... and I know in my heart that I do too…"

"The colors need to be more vibrant!"

"...but I can't live loving you with worry in my heart..."

"I'm staying a little bit longer, See you tomorrow!"

"... and I don't want to be the reason that you'll stop saving the world. I know you want that. It's your job to. It's what you built your whole life to become..."

Her head started projecting two realities, it confused her. Which was right and which was wrong? She knew the work one was right, but the memories she just made right now while crying in front of Alex made more sense. Which was real? Which was fake?

"Sam! You okay?" Maxine snapped her fingers and Samantha blinked rapidly.

"I'm going crazy Max." she panted.

"What's wrong?" she consoled.

"My memories. They're all wrong. Why did I agree to this?" Samantha continued breathing heavily.

"Well, for starters. It's to forget that IP Address you memorized as a kid."

"But why did they change the recent ones too? Did I decide that my time spent with Alex is worth forgetting? Did he break my heart or did I break his?" She sighed. She knew for herself that she was unable to love again because of her loss, but what if Alex made it right for her? Alex did something that helped her move on? That's why her heart felt yearning for him?

"Sam. I'm no love doctor but if this really bothers you, you should talk to him. I have no idea when they'll get back but I'm looking forward to your resolution." She patted her shoulders and gave her a soft hug. Samantha felt like crying, but why?

~

After a while, Samantha actually had the courage to ask about Alex's whereabouts. Word has it that he's being redeployed to Germany to investigate another alleged Augustus base and that they had no idea when he'll be back.

This worries Samantha because they already heard about a transfer of authority, which in simple words meant : You're leaving the base. And that meant she won't see Alex anymore.

Maxine and Samantha sat on their beds at the infirmary to recover once again, both of them fell quiet as the news they got started to bother them. They already got attached to the people in the base and were sure that they're going to miss them. All they could do is hope that the team gets home before they leave the base.

“You think Alex will be okay?” Samantha shifted her sleeping position to Maxine, who was still awake humming to soothing melodies. Maxine shifted to face her too and smiled.

“You’re worried.” She teased, making her smile and giggle.

“Well, my heart told me I have to worry…”

“That’s normal. And don’t you worry ‘bout a thing… He’s a tough guy, remember? He’s trained to survive such harsh conditions. That’s what his file said, right?” She reminded Samantha, giving her an assuring smile. Samantha shrugged off her worry and closed her eyes. She started to imagine what it felt like being with him, based on information from his file. She can’t help but smile at her crazy idea. She felt like a teenager all over again, obsessing herself on fictional characters she watched on TV, since she could only base his personality on words alone. But she did remember how his cheeks felt, from the slap, and placed her palm on her cheek as well. It felt like he was with her and her heart felt excited as she awaited for his return.

Next Chapter : The Berlin Tower

NOTIFICATION SQUAD MY BELOVED ❤️

@smokeywhalee @enderio @samatedeansbroccoli @whimsywispsblog @beemybee @ricinbach

[i-love-charles]

Another smut idea! I think it'd be a bit fun to see Charles, Javier, Lenny, and Arthur roleplaying out a bit of a big bad outlaw x sweet little innocent scenario. So many things could happen. ;)

Hope you enjoy, bb!

Arthur

You and Arthur had both talked about wanting to spice up your sex life in some way and one day, after seeing Arthur strolling towards you for some private comfort after a long day of robberies and shootouts you had asked Arthur, in the spur of the moment, to keep his outlaw gear on - gun holster, bandoleer, hat and big boots.

It took some convincing for Arthur to try out role-playing because he was the ‘big bad cowboy’ all day already and when he was with you he just wanted to be himself and relax, especially during sex.

After your first time trying role-play out together you had both fell in love with the innocent girl/rowdy outlaw dynamic and immediately began adopting the kink into your sex life whenever you were both feeling a little more playful than usual.

Arthur loved to tie his neckerchief around your wrists and sometimes you would even toy around with the idea of consensual non-consent although it was definitely a rare incorporation.

Arthur really loved to talk down to you and degrade you during this, although after he would definitely be quick to apologise and make sure your feelings weren’t hurt. If he said something particularly harsh, he would break character and apologise and then you would continue the fun after you had reassured Arthur enough.

“You like when this outlaw has his way with you, don’t you, ___?”

“Such a bad girl, what would your parents say if they found out about what I’m doing to you?”

More than once Arthur had used his lasso on you to keep you bound, with your permission of course, only this just turned you on even more.

Javier

Javier had been the one to bring up role-playing to you as he had desperately wanted to act out the idea of being the Mexican revolutionary on the run from the law that takes a sweet, innocent girl hostage to keep the police at bay - but also takes the girls virginity.

Javier absolutely loved the idea of you playing a virgin girl that gives yourself to the scary criminal stranger. The role-playing was even so intricate and exciting between Javier that sometimes you actually did feel like a virgin experiencing raw sex for the first time.

Javier had off massively to degrading you in Spanish while you acted out this scenario - consensual non-consent role-play was often included when you both felt extra sinister and playful.

Javier would sometimes encourage you to use racially aggravated language against him because it would only give him a bigger ego towards fucking you senseless to get back at you. Of course, he knew you didn’t mean anything bad you said because you loved him and that you were just playing along.

“Tell me you love this greaser cock fucking you, puta.”

“How does it feel to be taken for the first time, against your will?”

One time you had even incorporated Javier’s guns into the mix - making sure they weren’t loaded beforehand - and he held the barrel to your head as you deep-throated him. You loved the idea of being forced to do these things, and the cold metal of the gun against your skin only added to your sensitivity and excitement.

Charles

Charles had found out about your role-playing kink during sex by accident: he had been spanking you and without even thinking you had said something along the lines of “Just fuck me, gunslinger.” He chose to ignore it and only acknowledged after you’d both finished.

Charles had originally not wanted to experiment with it because he openly preferred to be vanilla in the bedroom, only after trying it out drunkenly one night, and it being some of the best sex you’d both had together, it became a rare but welcome edition to your sex life.

For him, he preferred to play more on the innocent, sweet girl than the big bad outlaw guy because he liked to put all of his focus on your pleasure and your enjoyment, however he had to admit it did boost his ego secretly to be the dominating one while you fucked.

Instead of Charles incorporating his ‘gunslinger gear’ to add to the mood he would just use his hands instead because he had a huge thing for utilising his strength against you, whether that be for lifting you up, holding you down, spanking you, or just making you feel innocent and helpless.

Also, because Charles was not particularly loud of verbal during sex he would rely heavily on his body and his strength to do the role-playing for him. Despite all of this, he would take any opportunity available during your role-playing to quickly break character and remind you that he loves you.

If he got particularly into the role-play and felt as though he’d taken it too far with with his vigour and roughness, even if you’d given him the go to do so, he would make if up to you after your role-playing session by making love to you.

Lenny

You and Lenny had tried role-playing numerous times after hearing of Karen’s erotic exploits on the subject, and found out quickly that you both enjoyed it massively because it allowed you both to express yourselves in ways you wish you could with the outside world.

For Lenny role-playing was a power-trip but not one with malicious intent. Due to him being a relatively new addition to the gang while simultaneously being the youngest; he was quite often treated like a baby and given the easier jobs by the rest of the men - so while role-playing it allowed him to act out his fantasy of being the stubborn and dominant gunslinger he wished to be. You let him live this out with you because you loved to see his take charge, knowing full well he’d never dream of hurting you regardless.

For you role-playing was about letting yourself go and really settling back into the dynamic of the innocent and sweet beauty that goes against everything to stands for to sleep with a dangerous criminal.

Lenny is very verbal when it comes to acting out this; he likes to tell you what his dominant cowboy persona is going to do to you and definitely gets off at your noises of approval in response to his dirty talk.

“Gonna’ fuck you better than any man ever will.”

“You’re not gonna’ walk after this big bad outlaws finished with you, ____.”

Lenny would go for hours at this game because, of his youth, his stamina was more than impressive and by the time you’d both finished you would be sore all over from the evidence of his excitement.