#also using them to practice with human designs would be a neat way to eventually work on my versions of humanized thomas characters

[samsaraandbeyond]

OC Introduction: Zhel

Art drawn by Teh-Ray

Azel was the first OC of mine I ever had and he wasn’t even mine starting out. (Which makes Azel the first of the Original Eight of my childhood.)

During my childhood, my brother and I were super into this Doom engine named SkullTag. SkullTag had bots that would randomly send chat messages depending on certain situations and my brother had learned how to create his own. Among one of bots he created was Azel, a trash-talky character that would complain about most of his deaths, talked shit about his kills, and would back any possible compliment towards his opponents with sarcasm.

He was my favorite bot to spawn in whenever I played. This is eventually why I took the name for myself to use online.

Design

Azel went through a lot of iterations throughout the years. From a human super soldier that would always resurrect from a single cell, to a regular human that had energy blast attacks, to a werewolf (a design I kept around!), to the cat they are now. I never had a static design for them in my head until around 2021. Before that, I always imagined them with the appearance of Strifeguy from Strife (the skin he used in SkullTag) and Rock Howard from King of Fighters.

The design I eventually settled on was a cat. I don’t know why. It just seemed fitting. I did have a slight obsession with Jubei from Blazblue for a bit which might explain it. The name was eventually changed to Zhel and his gender was altered for reasons explained under Backstory.

Zhel is also neurodivergent and written with OCD in mind!

Abilities / Traits

A Cat and Their Umbrella

Setsuka (Soul Calibur)

An unorthodox weapon but a weapon nonetheless. Zhel’s umbrella can defend against a surprising variety of attacks.

It was originally given to Zhel for aesthetic purposes but the idea of a cat carrying an umbrella around because the catty stereotype of hating being wet stuck with me. (Zhel is very okay with being wet.)

“I just think umbrellas are neat!” - Zhel

SO MUCH FUN, AND EASY TO DO, ROUND IT GOES-

Bridget (Guilty Gear)

At first the yo-yo was simply a way to ease their nerves, then one day bandits attacked and Zhel improvised.

“...I can’t believe that worked.” - Zhel

“Samsara guide me!” And Then It Does

Shun’ei (King of Fighters)

Zhel had become so attuned with Samsara that they manifested a tulpa from its otherworldly energy for assistance in combat. Expect to be assaulted by the limbs of an unseen being.

“I’m never alone.” - Zhel

Expert Support Magic Mastery

Disgaea 7

The little kitty always wants to be useful to someone.

Zhel is experienced in the magic arts of healing allies and enhancing their abilities. These techniques can also be used on Zhel themselves and can make them a threat in combat even when confronted alone.

“With my blessings, you’ll become the best version of yourself.” - Zhel

First Aid Specialist

Healing magic off the table? They can work with what they have.

Zhel is educated in the ways of the organic body. They have knowledge of various diseases, poisons, their symptoms, knows the proper procedures for tending to a variety of injuries and conditions, and can improvise solutions should proper tools not be available.

"I have a lot of practice with this sort of thing, hehe.” - Zhel

Personality

Zhel is an energetic one, always wanting to impress or help those they consider close to them. They have a tendency to become overly-attached to people easily. On top of all of this, their social skills could use some work.

“I can assist you if you’d like!” - Zhel

Backstory

[Content Warnings: Bullying, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts]

Context

What I experienced through those days began showing its effects on Azel. He went from a goofy character with no real backstory to the embodiment of my frustrations. I used him as an outlet for my emotions. My writing for Azel began to revolve around a world where I had committed suicide and became him. Suicide and self-harm was a prevalent part of his backstory. A power fantasy without the power.

That was Azel’s final development for the longest time. I held onto that mindset for years. Once I got out of that mental pit, I wanted to go back to revisit him; he was my first OC after all.

I changed Azel’s name to Zhel. I felt like I had done more with Azel’s name than Azel himself had and I didn’t want him to represent me more than he already had before. I wanted Azel to be his own person without my baggage. To distance him further from me and because I like characters like this, Azel became androgynous in gender presentation along with the new cat form.

I’ll be referring to Azel as their new name from here on.

I kept the suicide backstory for them. It’d probably be wiser to alter it considering I’ve moved on from that, but just because I’ve moved on doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the experience. I don’t think I’ll ever forget what I went through and pretending it didn’t happen seems pointless in the long run.

After Zhel had taken their own life, their soul was left in an empty void with no memory of who they used to be. After spending an unknown amount of time there, Samsara had found them and transported Zhel into their world. Thankful for this, Zhel swore loyalty to Samsara as it was the (literal) first being to show them a gesture of kindness.

Wanting to oblige the cat’s request, they were sent to a special pocket dimension where several “stories” would unfold with Zhel being thrown into the leading role. How Zhel overcame these trials would be closely observed.

Zhel would eventually pass the tests they had asked for. In honor of their success, Samsara had given Zhel the title and job of “Overseer of Samsara”.

I’d say they’re a good representation of my mindset back then. Even a bit of representation regarding my mindset now.

All in all, I’d say Zhel is happy with their situation now. They have more than enough characters alongside them to be acquainted with.

“Let’s see what stories we can tell, hm?” - Zhel

See also:

Orea: Zhel’s Nomurian Counterpart

[fiiniaofficial]

whats your favorite thing to draw?

This depends a little bit, so I apologize for the long answer!

When making a design/character

This is a little zoomed in screenshot from an old TTRPG character I am redrawing right now.

Incorporating something that is important to the character, even if an outside viewer will not know, not understand or pick up on that detail.

For specifically the drawing aspect; something that feels very human and not fictional, if that makes any sense. I don't always show these things or explain them to others though. But for this character as the example:

This character has a younger sister, same height and around the same size in clothing.

She is a very rowdy and chaotic person who loves the adrenaline she gets out of a fight or running through an "obstacle course" in the woods. So her clothes would always get messed up.

Her brother however always takes the time to help her fix her clothes. Though not very good at it, though not knowing what techniques to use, he always stitches them back up. But seeing as his job always looks terrible, he tries to embroider yellow flowers next to the stitches.

As he prioritizes his sister over himself, he eventually buys new clothes for her and takes her old ones. Leaving him with the messily embroidered shirt and fixed gloves.

So I like adding things that say something important about their character or person, whether that will be known to others or not.

Poster-esque things?

I like adding text and bubble or sparkly effects at the end of things, no matter how unnecessary or worse it makes the final product look.

And I honestly have no idea why either.

Body part

This is a very wide screenshot, but when it comes to drawings I quite like drawing hands. It's the second most expressive thing on the human body after the face.

Fun advice for anybody interested in making comics: training your ass off on practicing drawing hands will give you an amazing opportunity to make expressive panels. People tend to hide their emotions in their hands, and use them a lot when speaking or showing emotions.

A hand's look also says a lot about the person themselves, so making unique looking hands for certain characters when designing them is a neat little thing you can think about if you want to add some flavor to them.

Do they bite their own nails or fingers out of stress?

Are all fingers uninjured or do they have visible bents?

Hand injuries from their type of work?

Permanent paint stains?

Etc.

If you look at your own hands you might notice little things like that too. A big part of your life can be told based on your hands alone.

If I look at my hands I have a lot of scars from my first year at college, where I originally went restaurant/baking/butcher course. Injuries from being clumsy and injuries from when I saved a friend from an oil burn in class.

I also have two fingers permanently bent and twisted from when I tried doing basketball as a young kid and teenager, where I kept messing up with the ball and constantly got injured before giving up.

I do have some more quirks on my hands since I use them daily.

But what my hands say about me is that I am very clumsy and bad at typically controlling my body.

I have battle scars on my hands reminding me about a good deed I did one time, and that despite the incredible excruciating pain I was in for weeks, I survived it and am doing fine now.

But long talk short, hands say a lot about who the person is and what they have been through. This is why that is my favourite body part to draw. Every hand is unique in their own way, just like a person.

[ll33c0ji1]

Wait did Cana gib Gray his first kissy like on the cheek after a fight or something cause’ that’s my headcanon.

First kith after he haymakered some guy trying to sneak up on her during a fight 🥺🥺

I'm always down for Loke/Leo headcanons too, because as time went on the manga just kind of stopped having time for him, like I don't think he got a single great moment for himself after the Zoldeo fight in Tenrou.

No because it actually really fuckijg sucks that he was done dirty like this. Admittedly, I focus on characters in their entirety and interactions in relationships when it comes to fandoms (I’m a little intimidated when it comes to theorising magic but it’s fun, I just don’t do it that often 💔). I definitely think Loke was the guilds main ‘informant’ and spy guy, like he has contacts that keep him updated on the workings of the world and hes really good with social manipulation (courtesy of living for a long time and just observing humans).

Also him and Bickslow are the surprise duo no one asked for and yet everyone can appreciate. Because Bickslow KNEW shit was going down for Loke but didn’t want to out him. And they bonded over it slightly even though Loke was shit scared and dying.

You said dark magic headcanons? I heard dark magic headcanons.

PLEASE DO I HAVE YOUR PERMISSION TO ADOPT. I love the idea of creatures in the shadows and Zero as a genuine demon??? Yes. The implications? Absolutely delicious. I want to draw the creatures in the shadows (and men interested in dating).

Mirajane’s demon soul magic and demon slayer magic are also yummy to think about.

Dark, curses, illusions, charm, black magic. Using ‘good’ magic for bad..

I love morality struggles and being forced to acknowledge oneself in their entirety. Human nature getting fucked around with is always entertaining.

🥺🥺🥺 That's very sweet!!! I don't actually have much to go on right now, 'cause it's just a magic concept the way all my characters start out, but his name is David Simoni and he's a sculptor who practices both Stone Make and Metal Make molding magic, and is skilled enough at both to incorporate them and basically sculpt out of whatever he likes, with any number of material compositions or structural integrities. But if he got strong enough he could basically use Dynamic molding magic (the type that moves) to make a functional terracotta army and I think that's neat.

I understand 😫 nonetheless the option will always be open when you eventually get around to a design of Sir David. Terracotta armies would be both terrifying and awe inspiring. I do love an artist who speaks life into their work.

My ocs are usually made when I want to world build (or I’m in the mood to be self-indulgent and it’s relational) and when I say world build I mean expand on places or concepts that were just briefly mentioned in the story. So like for Naruto, I want to expand on kiri, daimyos, root. For ft it’s the other lands like Iceberg, Seven, the celestial world, dark guilds, demons and the like.

I like expanding on magic but it’s not something I’m very practiced in 💔

I don't know yet, but I know I want to bring back Erigor, Kageyama, and Shagotte. I'm thinking Shagotte went off and made her own guild and it consists of a lot of exceeds and a lot of reformed criminals, kinda like Crime Sorciere but with less Jellal 🤢 Fernandes.

The way you’d catch me eating this up.

my brother in christ those are core cast members

Shhhshhhsh, you must forgive me for my blunder. Team Natsu is the core and then it slowly fades to background as more characters join 🥺 they’re interchangeable depending on their relevancy to the plot at any given moment

-

I didn’t know about Cana’s crush but it makes so much sense. I love that he’s got both purple flare and transformation magic (and the fact that he twins with Wakaba for it)

If I manage to take this fan guild anywhere for a fanfiction, Kageyama is gonna be in it with vastly expanded knowledge about dark magic cuz he was supposedly a dispeller and was literally able to track down and alter the magic on one of Zeref’s demons.

The arc may have been small but Kageyama kept it strong. And I would love to hear anything about dark magic, what exactly are you thinking about with your ff idea?

I have an OC with molding/maker magic.

If you have any descriptions or art, I would love to draw them.

I love how Simon’s darkness magic was more about the physicality of darkness than evil.

This EXACTLY. From his backstory to his character coupled with his magic, Simon was a character I originally overlooked but since coming back to ft, I see him in a new light. The fact that his use of darkness magic fits how he went about the tower of heaven arc makes me froth at the mouth.

Natsu Dragion

I stand by you with pathetic men, something about them..

Orga and Laxus should’ve fucked.

They did in my head, two big lightning men and you’re telling me they didn’t get in bed together? Blasphemy. Both of their aesthetics give me strong artistic urges. Laxus took Orga back to his penthouse and he freaked it.

-

Mirajane has big dick energy, trusted confident for the entire guild and has crazy good memory (necessary because she wants to know everyone’s orders and also it’s essential for her gossip).

Aside from Cana’s drinking tendencies, card reading and daddy issues. She’s stolen most of the first kisses from her generation in the guild. She starts her day off with a card reading to ‘prepare’ her and is heavily reliant on vibes.

Loke is a lover boy with pathetic man tendencies. He has many silver key flings and considers himself a love guru. I froth over the entire concept of celestial magic.

[phoenixyfriend]

SW Suddenly-Omegaverse AU: Surrogacy, Worldbuilding, Obi-Mom

Truly the main irony of all this is that everyone considers Obi-Wan the Better Omega but Anakin is the one who's actually 👀👀👀 about pregnancy

Obi-Wan: I have the deepest respect for those who do it, but the idea of growing another person inside of me is weird and gross, no, thank you.

Meanwhile Anakin is like. Immediate baby fever. Someone actually approaches him like "hey... there are forms you can fill out to request an exception for pregnancy, and like... regulations" because he's that obvious about it.

I assume that if they've got safety nets for accidental pregnancies, then they're probably aware that there are people who want to do it on purpose? I feel like in an omegaverse where 'biological imperative to procreate' can be so much more intense, then maybe there's old precedent that stuck around even after suppressants got most of those hormones under better control.

Bit torn. Just know I want Anakin to Make Baby.

"Anakin, what are you--" "Do you think offering to be someone's surrogate would be acceptable to the council as a way to be pregnant without getting attached." "...what." "They'd probably accept that as a way to practice not getting attached, right?" "N...no, that's not... what?"

Anakin approaching Bail and Breha and being like “Do you... still want a kid? I would provide a kid. Do you want one here*?”

* in this dimension

Great way to give up the baby as a parent because he'd still be able to see them once in a while but also like... it's not HIS kid, technically. He can be a cool uncle who happened to give birth, which is distant enough to not be 'attached,' but close enough that his Tatooine-raised 'must ensure family is safe whenever possible' background doesn't flip out. It helps that 'Core World Royalty' is like... a top-tier family to be raised in.

(It would have to be post-war because he probably shouldn’t be risking his life while very pregnant. He needs to be reminded of that sometimes.)

Bail/Breha is an alpha/alpha relationship and while a pregnancy is still possible,* it’s a whole lot more difficult, and that's on top of Breha's canon medical issues that resulted in her heart and lungs getting replaced.

* AFAB alphas can get pregnant, and AMAB omegas can inseminate, but the success rate on that angle is much lower than the 'traditional' alpha/omega roles, as is any attempt at reproduction outside rut/heat. They're low-fertility overall for the non-dominant aspect of their reproductive system, which... ha, Anakin and Obi-Wan try to get explanations for why the senary system works the way it does, but it's a very longform history lesson that comes down to 'idk this got cemented so long ago that nobody really knows why anymore.'

AKA "why do you title these roles male omega and female alpha instead of intersex omega and intersex alpha since both parties have both genitals."

ANYWAY

Anakin: I want to make babies. But I don't want to get kicked out of the order. But I don't want to give up my own babies for adoption. But I can't keep my own babies if I want to stay a Jedi. So basically I want to have someone else's babies? Anakin: ...wait shit that's just surrogacy.

Anakin, calling up Obi-Wan: Hey are the Organas still struggling to have a kid? Obi-Wan: ...not really your business. Anakin: You're friends with Bail again though, right? Obi-Wan: I am, but-- Anakin: Do you think they'd want me to be a surrogate? Obi-Wan: What.

I can't decide if it's funnier for the Order to be like "I mean... technically there's no rules against this?" or if this is a precedent set by at least three omegas every generation because that's just how a/b/o manifested for omegas in a biological and cultural sense.

Bail: Wait, your former apprentice is... volunteering... to be our surrogate. Obi-Wan, exhausted: Yes. Bail: He barely knows us. Obi-Wan: He respects you and you're the closest people he knows that want a child and would be good parents. Bail: And he's just... volunteering? Obi-Wan: Yes. Also, you did say your primary worry was that a surrogate might be targeted for assassination and you couldn't ask someone to risk that, right? Anakin is very much able to avoid assassins, and would be staying primarily in the Temple anyway. Very safe, and not particularly scared of assassins in the first place. Bail: Your words say you approve, but your tone says otherwise. Obi-Wan: Anakin considers me his father. I'm not old enough to be a grandparent. Bail: Ah.

Anakin is a surrogate and enjoys it and everything is fine and then like a year later he's accidentally pregnant with his own and Rex's kid, and nobody knows how to ask if it's actually an accident.

A suggestion from @gelpenss:

OH MAN i.... have to drive home. But I just had a thought about like. I always want to poke at Betas in A/B/O like are they “normal” or different from our standard or.... but ANYWAY assuming they have a pheromonal thing I just think it would be neat if betas had the ability to be the Bucket of Cold Water. Like if caught early enough, and with the caveat it’s not permanent, a beta could arrest a rut or heat in its tracks until a more ideal time. Like. They aren’t birth control. But they are the remind me later button.

Okay done driving I am Returned to bring up why I brought up betas and it’s this: well okay 1. It plays nice with a popular but inaccurate dog breeding urban legend that female dogs will like, delay heat cycles? so that the bitches above them in pack hierarchy have first choice of mate selection. And I think in omegaverse it would be cool if that was a Bio Fact, and also historically enforced by the third designation. 2. It gives me an excuse to have betas have the Most Sensitive sense of smell because it’s their “job” to pick up on things before they go too far to be put on pause. 3. I’m just thinkin ‘bout a beta clone [...] just hovering around Obi-Wan because they found out how much stress his heat cycle causes and they’re like “okay cool I will help make sure it does Not”

I want to like a/b/o verses but betas niggle at me. I want to give them a hat and a Function that woulda helped before modern medicine.

I'm not sure how I feel about betas being able to delay heats, but I do like the idea of them having a more sensitive sense of pheromone smell than most. Most aliens assume it's omegas with the best sense of smell, and betas with the worst, but it's more complicated than that because they all specialize: Alphas are actually less attuned to pheromone smells, but more attuned to things that were useful back when humans were still a hunter-gatherer species. Omegas tend to be heightened towards danger smells like fire or aggression, and pheromones relating to children/care. Betas, as suggested above, are very sensitive to pheromone changes relating to mood and behavior of the community around them.

I like the idea that betas were historically the ones that ended up taking care children, unmated omegas, and so on during people's heats and ruts, because they kept their heads about themselves long enough to do things like cook and clean while someone was reeking of hormones. The checks and balances work out that betas may have lower fertility, but it makes them better able to support the network around them.

It works in with humanity's general collective history of thriving the most when working as a community.

Given that I decided that this is Jangobi, the clones might all subconsciously view Obi-Wan as Mom. Not intentionally, but, you know... Obi-Wan the not-evil stepmother. He doesn't know how he got into this situation, but he sure is here, and he sure as hell doesn't know how to get out.

Obi-Wan "I don't need to get pregnant, I have three million stepchildren" Kenobi

I definitely love "clones all want to make Obi-Wan's heats less stressful" but like in a different way from Whatever The Fuck Anakin's Got Going On.

Obi-Wan using the force to dull the pain in a Shiny's broken leg while the medic works on it and the Shiny just mumbles "Thanks mom" and everyone gets very embarrassed and pretends it didn't happen.

But then it happens again. And again.

Obi-Wan asks for an explanation from Cody and gets a halting response that, since Jango is technically their father, and his scent has been all over Obi-Wan recently... and Obi-Wan puts in a lot of effort to take care of them all.......

Anakin overhears the clones calling Obi-Wan "mom" and just. The most judgmental eyebrow raise.... Mostly in the sense of "You never let me call you dad" "Thought you said you weren't anyone's parent." "Hey, hey, Obi-Wan. What the fuck."

BOBA. BOBA ABSOLUTELY CALLS OBI-WAN MOM WHENEVER POSSIBLE. IT'S DEEPLY FRUSTRATING.

Obi-Wan eventually manages to admit that he's uncomfortable with it at minimum because of the gendering the word has for him, can they at least use the neutral 'buir' instead?

Word spreads like fire, takes like two days max for everyone to switch.

(Anakin demands cuddles as compensation for not getting to call Obi-Wan any true parental term for years.)

[demonologistfucker]

MC wants to meet some Creatures - Obey Me! Brother’s - Fluff

Gn!mc asks one of the brothers to take them to find a magical creature. This is for the main brothers, but if people want one for the newly datables just ask! I would love to do more <3

Lucifer

Is Cerberus not enough? We can go down and pet him if you like 

It’s going to take some convincing to get this trip to happen. Needlessly risking the human's life just to see something neat? I think not 

But your eyes were so big when you asked… fine. He’ll find something worthwhile that isn’t going to get you killed

Prep for the trip is Lucifer covering you in about 50 different protection spells. 

Then you’ll be flying. Hold on tightly and try not to look directly into the wind. That’s not good for your human eyes. Lucifer’s arms are firm around you as his wings stretch out. With a push you’re off. Being lifted from the ground purely from the strength of his wings? It’s an undescribable feeling. 

Soon you are out of the Devildom and flying above the Hell Wilds. A vast landscape of all sorts of terrors. From red grasses that could cut through bone, or the vast tar fields that bubble toxic gas. There is a beauty to it. Especially if you are safe above it all.

A large canyon comes into sight. “This canyon was cut by Lotan’s first rampage, and where Levi made Lotan his pet.” Lucifer begins to descend. Swooping down in a tight spiral to slip into the canyon. 

It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then you can see something glowing. Many somethings glowing. They crawl over the canyon sides. They are nothing like you’ve seen before, but if you were to pin down to something earth like… they are most similar to sea slugs? But they have legs and bright, piercing eyes. With beautiful fins running down their back. Each looks to be a droplet of a rainbow. 

“Gems left in the earth can collect enough magic to come to life.” They have no name, but they could fit in the palm of your hand. Tho please don’t touch they are highly condensed magical creatures and could shred your human body without meaning too.

Mammon

“Can I trust you?” He looks at you with surprising serious. Though he’s scratching his chin which makes it a little hard to take him seriously. When you say Of Course, Mammon quickly cracks into a grin. “Alright, give me a day, but-” He just starts nodding and runs off. Delighted with his own idea too much to tell you more

The Next day you meet Mammon outside the house of lamentation. He is already in his demon form and has a large sack in his hands. Which appears to be full of weird trinkets and a whole lot of grimm. 

Where are you going? The Hell Wilds. Which is… so unhelpful because the Hell wilds are nearly infinite. 

Mammon scoops you up bridle style, and then you’re off into the air. Mammon cannot stop smiling, “I haven’t taken anyone here before.” He mainly says this too himself. But looks at you with so much delighted you can’t help but blush. 

This would be a much longer flight if Mammon wasn’t so good at using the air currents to his advantage. Diving to catch the updraft that send you both rocketing through the air. You’re at not risk of danger. Mammon wouldn’t let that happen to you, but it does feel like a roller coaster. When you level out, you’re facing a dark mountain. It cuts into the air with jagged certainty. Mammon lands halfway up its sides. 

“She doesn’t like it when I fly into the nest. So we’ll have to walk to the rest.” If you ask any questions about what is happening. His response is a grin. “You know how Crows and I get along? Well… this is where that started.”

The mountain is only partial rock. The rest is ash, twigs and mud stuck together to keep the mountain from falling apart. Crows and ravens sit perched along the cliff sides. Some crows come flying to the mountain with fresh mud to repair parts of the mountain. The dark birds watch you and Mammon with intense, unrelenting eyes. Mammon smiles to them, and carries on with ease. 

The path winds up to a crack in the side of the mountain. Mammon gestures for you to wait outside while he walks in first. You can hear something massive stir. The rustle of feathers and the scratch of claws against stone. Then Mammon pokes his head out and beckons you in.

Curled within the mountain is a great beast. It’s hard to tell one part from another because she is massive, and her dark feathers blend into each other. Her head is stuffed into the bag Mammon brought. When she sits up, she has a golden cup in her maw. The Crow Drake is stunning and terrifying. Her eyes are molten red, and her teeth cut through the gold. 

The Crow Drake is the matriarch from all the crows and ravens in Hell. When Mammon was young, he fled to this mountain and was given a drake’s comforts. As well as his first crow familiar. 

She reaches up to get a good look at you. Her beak pressing against you. Nudging you around and bringing her eyes right up to yours. Then she sits back and let's out a satisfied sqwaks. Mammon is about to say something when the Crow Drake leans over and picks him up by the collar of his jacket. Mammon is plopped onto her soft back, and she begins preening his hair. Making little noises every once in a while. “I know I used too much conditioner, stop harassing me” Mammon is blushing fiercely. 

Levi

“Gah! Why can’t Lotan be more gentle.” Levi really wants you to meet Lotan, but it’s highly likely that Lotan would try to kill you the moment you met. All the photos of Lotan have been just… blue scales, or a big eyeball. 

But Lotan is one of many Sea serpents. Actually, there are all sorts of magical creatures in the sea, and Levi is going to tell you about All of them. While he tries to figure out how to make sure you can breathe underwater. 

“I am not allowed near the merfolk palace though, so... Can’t take you there.” If pushed on the matter, he will turn red and stammer about how Lotan just wanted a snack. 

He found a spell! He’ll need Solomon’s help, but it should give you 24 hours of breathing underwater. Now it’s time to go into his tank. 

Did you assume that he just had a normal wall sized fish tank? Of course not. The back wall has been turned into a convenient portal to The Ocean. It’s not an earth ocean, and hell doesn’t actually have a lot of clean water. This Ocean is an in between realm that connects to the abstract of earth’s waters, and all the magic that one could possibly find in those depths. 

At first Levi gets distracted showing you all the fish. Look at the coral! And the trigger Fish! Oh, what a pretty anemone. He’s so caught up in showing you around that he’s not even embarrassed to be holding your hand the whole time.

 Levi is such a strong swimmer he barely even notices dragging you along with him. His tail easily propels you both forward, and with great agility he can swim through the coral reefs. Then you hit the edge. Suddenly there is a vast nothing below you. Light fades below. 

Down you go! It would be more unsettling if you didn’t have leviathan right besides you. Who is practically vibrating with his excitement. Underwater Levi looks so much more comfortable. Moving with such ease and without any hesitation.

You can feel the water begin to shift as something Massive approaches. Levi pauses and let's out a trill. Which is met by a deep noise that rattles your bones. 

Red is a hard color to see in the deep ocean. Not enough light in that wave length can reach that far down. So at first it’s just a dark dot in the distances. Then it’s brilliant red head comes surging towards you. The water rushes around as the sea serpent begins to swim in a spiral around you and Leviathan. Leviathan is beaming and spinning around to keep up with the Serpent’s face. Letting out happy trills sporadically. 

Eventually the Sea Serpent settles down and lets its body relax out. The Serpent stretches out so far that it’s back fines look so small. Yet their face is larger than a bus. The Serpent looks at you for a long while, and then it flicks it head upward. Which makes Leviathan blush a vibrant red. 

She approves

Satan

Satan needs two weeks to prepare! But he has an idea. How do you feel about sewers?

“The Devildom aqueducts are actually one of the cleanest places in hell. It’s really an astounding work of engineering-” he goes on for a while about all the intricate workings. Seems there is a lot of plant filtering the waters, as well as creatures that can digest what the plants can’t process. 

Satan gives you one of his books of magic. “I am their friend, but if you want them to accept your presence, it’s best to provide a gift. To show you mean well.” Unlike the others, Satan will give you a heads-up on whom you’re about to meet. Though, he gives the explanation as you’re walking towards the sewer’s entrance. 

“Their name is Elos, and they are one of the oldest chimera’s alive. They were created in less than stellar circumstances, but handled it rather well.” By eating their creator. “Now they used the leftover alchemical equipment to do their own studying, as well as keep the aqueduct ecosystem in balance.”

The entrance looks like any other sewer grate in a city. Satan can easily move the heavy cover off, and watches as you begin to climb down the ladder. Satan closes the cover as he starts his descent. The sewers are Massive. The tunnel is about 20 feet wide and 20 tall. A perfect circle, except for the walk ways going along the side. A sort of seaweed is growing at the bottom of the waterways. Little fish duck in and out of the waving reeds. Further in more plants grow along the side. Some areas have full banks that cover the waterways. You can also see long claw marks running along the sides of the tunnel. As well as the residue of a recent magical explosion. “Hmm, looks like Elos got annoying company.” Satan smirks at the blast marks. 

One of the original designers of the sewers was the grand wizard who made Elos. So there is a laboratory at the dead center of the sewer system. If one were to look at the blueprints, you’d be able to see a magic circle drawn by the tunnels. Well almost one. Those plans were later worked over to fix the functionality of the sewer system for the devildom. Elos didn’t want to do any city wide magic, so they aren’t really upset about it. 

Outside of Elos’s laboratory is a large blue door. Painted on it are bright yellow runes that start to shimmer green as Satan approaches. Satan knocks, and it’s a full three minutes before the sound of the door unlocking. With effort, it swings inwards, and the smell of chemicals and herbs assaults your nostrils. 

Satan goes about the polite introduction. Leading you into the laboratory, but it’s hard to pay attention. There are so many strange machines littered across the room, and Elos themself is a feat to understand. Their face is divided into three parts, one of a bull, one of a woman, and the other of an ape. They have large arms with hands that drag across the floor. Their fingers are thin claws of a bird. Chest comes from some great lizard not from earth. Hide legs appear to be lion like, and its tail is an arched scorpion stinger. Elos looks at you with deep eyes. 

When you present the spell book Satan gave you. Elos sneers at you but takes the book. “A gift provided from someone else is weaker… but will do.” her voice is a dry and raspy. Speaking with vocal cords never crafted for such intricate language. 

Asmodeous

“Want to meet some of the lovelies that help me torment souls?!”  

They’re the creature Asmodeous has easy access to, so I recommend saying yes if you want to go with him

“They’re for a very specific time of person. The sort who think their beauty makes up for all the harm they caused.” A dark look smolders in Asmo’s eyes, but when he looks at you, it softens. Back to his normal bright heart eyes. 

Asmo summons a cab to drive you both to the outskirts of the devildom. To… a ranch? Soft green meadows stretch out as far as you can see. Wooden fences mark the edge of the road. When you look close, you can see sigils carved into the posts. 

Out in the field you can see them. Powerful horses with glimmering spiraled horns. Some are pure white with long wavy mains, but they are as diverse as any herd of horses. 

“My beautiful unicorns,” Asmo leans over the fences to get a better look at them. “You’ll get to have a closer look at those in the stables right now. They won’t be too happy about being locked up, but they’re so wonderful just to look at.”

These unicorns come from more of a… vicious tradition. Their diets are completely carnivorous and with a strong preference for humans. 

While you enter the stables, Asmo explains that these stables are more for necessary check-ups, and not where the unicorns stayed. They had their own dens somewhere in the meadows. Asmo hadn’t cared to find it, but it is out there. 

So the unicorns that are in are here to have a thorough cleaning by one of the stable works. No you cannot help I’m afraid. These Unicorns would not be able to tell you apart from the souls they are encouraged to feast upon. All the other folk who work at the stable are non-human, and they still get bite. What’s worse is when a Unicorn decided to charge. 

To make sure none of that happens, you’ll be safely on the other side of the door. Even though you can’t get close. You still can see the Unicorns very well. They are beautiful creatures. The shortest is still taller than the average horses. With eyes set more forward on their skull, and sharp angular bodies. Their legs are less brittle. With hooves that are divined into three sharp angles. 

While most of the unicorns with in the stable seem antsy to leave. They all give their own greeting to Asmo. A dappled gray is the most affectionate. Letting Asmo pet the sides of their face, and rubbing up against Asmo’s head. It looks at you with curiosity. Sniffs the air and whinnies. “I know,” Asmo coos. “They are very tasty looking, but you can’t have any. I want this human to stick around.” The Unicorn snorts and flicks it tail in annoyance.

Beelzebub

His eyes light up when you ask to meet some magical creatures. “We won’t have to go too far… but we should wait till the house is quiet.” Que Mammon sprinting through the hallways trying to out run Lucifer. “They don’t like the ruckus.”

Beel asks you to meet him in the kitchen once everyone else has gone to their rooms. When you enter you find him setting out a tray with a dish of milk, honey, and some crackers. He then hands you a block of cheese. “Cut up some cubes of this.” and so you do. Beel doesn’t take any food from the tray, but he does rummage in the fridge while you get the cheese ready. 

Once it’s all ready, Beel sets the tray in the middle of the counter. He then pulls out a little golden bell, and rings it.  There is a beat of silence, and then doors you had never seen before open. One door is tucked into the wall trim, another in the backspace, and a third underneath the cabinets. Who comes tumbling out are small fuzzy creatures. They walk on their hind legs, and have large flat faces. Almost like a bat, but their eyes are old and wise. They are dressed in hand stitched clothes made from old table clothes, towels, or other scraps of fabric they could steal without much fuss. 

“Who is this?!” One of them points pocket knife at you. “My friend,” Beel says and when he looks at you he can’t help but smile. “Hmm… did your friend cut this cheese?” Beel nods. “Next time make them smaller. Our children will struggle to hold these.”

These are House Brownies. A type of fae that can be found in most loving homes. They are a people of high standards but with over whelming big hearts. Beel is the main reason the house brownies live within the house of lamentation. No one else remembers to set out food for them. So no one else gets the help of the Brownies. Beel however often finds that his chores have been done for him, and snacks are often left on his bed side table. Small snack since the brownies can’t carry too much, but he deeply appreciates it. 

Brownies are some of the easiest fae to talk with. The worst you can do is hurt their pride, but they are quick to accept earnest apologies. Not the sort of fae who will steal your name and trick you into dancing yourself to death… well… There have been a couple brownies who have done that. But the people were true assholes. 

One of the brownies who is dress in a floral dress comes up to you. They give you a once over, and then start to climb up the back of your shirt. Now on your shoulder, the Brownie sniffs your face and pokes your cheeks. The Brownie’s whiskers tickle, and it’s hard not to react. But their fur is so soft, and they smell like honey and clove. 

“You should have brought this one sooner.” The floral Brownie says in a sing-song voice. “They can bring us human snacks, yes?” “I want a candy!” Another brownie cheers. “Are human homes as noisy as demon homes?” “What is a cat? We hear the mean one speak of them, but never have seen them.” “Is cat friend or foe to the brownie?” Another brownie is now climbing you. This one decided to perch on the top of your head. “Human smells nice. Keep them Beel.”

Belphegor

“Okay, but you’re paying for their snacks.”

Which turned out to be nearly ten pounds of red meat. You’re also the one who has to carry the bag as you walk into the properly sketchy parts of the Devildom city. Belphegor looks as nonchalant as normal. Except for when he needs to glare at any other Demon who might start making eyes at you. 

Now it’s into the dark alleys you go. Winding past business and into tight brick alley ways. The surrounding buildings seem to tower up through the sky. Blocking the darkness above. There is even a hint of sulfur in the air. 

“Alright, set the meat down.” Belphegor stops at the intersection of four alley ways. It makes a small circle in the middle. The ground is dark and stained from years of murk. Moss grows up the walls, and blooms in the cracks. You set the meat down and then back up next to Belphegor. “Are you nervous?” He grins a little and then brings his fingers to his lips and whistles Loud. 

You can hear them running. Many heavy feet charging down the paths. They’re coming from every direction, and now hear their panting breath. Growling and snarls as they try to be the first to reach their meal. 

If you thought earthly wolves are big. You are blown away by the size of hellhounds. They keep their heads low but still stand at least three feet tall. Their teeth are as black as their fur, and they have barbed tails that whip back and forth in a frenzy. The Hell hounds are at first completely distracted by the food left out for them. 

“When they’re not hungry, they’re really sweet.” Belphegor crosses his arms and leans back against the wall. Patiently waiting for the Hell Hounds to calm down. “They’re in the city to hunt down pests. Lucifer see’s them as exterminators,” One of the Hell Hounds now trots over to Belphegor. It rams its head into his stomach, demanding attention. Belphie laughs a little and starts to scratch its ears. Now content that it’s getting love. The Hell Hound eyes you. First a sniff, and then it tries to bite your clothes. “Hey,” Belphie says in a stern voice, and that’s all the Hound needed. You’re not food? Well then you must be friend too. 

The message is spread through the rest of the pack, and soon you are surrounded. The Hell Hounds breath is rancid, and they will not stop trying to give you kisses. 

Two of the hounds manage to get Belphie on the ground, and sit on top of him. Belphie’s face is flushed, and he only tries to get them off half-heartedly. Then accepts their cuddles and closes his eyes. “They’re not allowed in the house. So I come here a lot… you can join me next time if you want.”

A/N: Thank you @squidubus for the great idea of Mama Crow Drake preening Mammon’s hair. I luuuv uuuu

[sevensided]

how did you get into writing fic? i'd love to start but idk even where to begin! I loved adats so I was wondering do you have any advice?

Oh my goodness! I am so flattered you’ve asked me this. Yes, I can absolutely help. I’ll throw a bunch of rambling under the cut.

I started writing fic probably when I was... sixteen years old? A lot of my early works were oneshots. I couldn’t figure out how to do anything plot heavy for the life of me, so I just stuck to AUs or whatever I felt like. I wasn’t in any particular fandom -- I really wrote whatever I had ideas for. I remember I tried once to do a plot-heavy story and I received a review absolutely ripping it to shreds. Like, it was so cruel I cried lol. I ended up deleting the fic. Years later, I get what they were trying to say (basically, more substance, less style), but at the time it cut to the quick. Really, it was only when I was in my twenties that I started writing work that was longer and/or better.

The fandom that helped me actually write plot heavy work was a historical-based fandom. As I’m a historian, it was perfect. I got to use my research skills and knowledge to create works that, above all, aimed to feel authentic. I mainly read historical fiction, so I was familiar with how that genre worked. Miraculously, people loved my work. I think I wrote about ~200k in the period of a year? These were several short stories (20-40k) and a few oneshot filler fics. While I was part of this fandom I also helped organise a Big Bang which was a lot of hard work but was extremely rewarding. Along with that, I interacted mainly with other fic writers, so I spent a lot of time chatting to people about ideas and encouraging other writers, and it just created a lovely medley where no concept was impossible or any line of dialogue too difficult. We supported each other and it was truly like a little commune. I gradually stepped away from the fandom mainly because it was just a part of my life at a very specific time, and almost as soon as that time was over, my love for that story/ship faded, but I firmly believe I figured out a lot of how/what I do now purely through that experience.

Regarding ADATS

With ADATS, it stemmed entirely from wanting to “explain” three months in canon (at the end of season three). I was interested in the idea of season four setting up Will/Mike in canon, and I wanted to test the source material to see if I could draw from what already existed to create something authentic. I began with that simple idea: what happened from July to October in 1985? Then I thought about the major themes I wanted to hit -- family, friendship, coming of age, sexuality -- and I nested them around the bigger concept: how do I get Mike from being ostensibly straight to realising he is gay? That meant thinking of two steps: Mike discovering his attraction to guys; Mike discovering his attraction to Will. Those two concepts were separate “arcs” that needed addressing in different ways. Balance was key to weaving them together and making the reader feel like they knew what was coming (and that they felt smart for putting the pieces together) without just rushing through and going “now kiss!” That’s partly why ADATS needs a sequel, lol: because it’s not finished!

Writing process

The first thing I do when I start to get an idea is I write it down. Sounds obvious. But when you have a killer line of dialogue come to you in the shower and you think “I’ll remember that” -- reader, you will not remember it. You gotta get it down ASAP! I do that the whole way through, as generally I’ll be thinking of scenes I’m stuck on and then it’ll just come to me and I’ll quickly jot it down.

The next thing -- or what I do in the meantime -- is start structuring. I plan. I try to plan a lot. Sometimes it’s okay to write “and something happens here to get them here”, because you’ll figure it out later, but for the most part I’ve discovered that planning is like gold and you can’t get enough of it. I break my work up into generally 3-4 parts/sections, and I treat each section like a mini story. So each part needs a conflict and resolution, and it needs to flow into the next section. You need to have a feeling of things evolving and maturing. Once I’ve planned those little bits, I start thinking about the bigger plot arc and how I can drop in hints along the way. I’m probably not a subtle or skilled enough writer to yet pull off that sort of gasping twist you get in really excellent books, but I’m trying to get there. It’s hard, is what I’m trying to say, but that’s okay, because we’re all learning.

Then I generally do aesthetic stuff. Sounds stupid, probably. But nothing helps me get more into a mood than doing a Pinterest board or -- most of all -- making a Spotify mix. I start thinking about the vibe and the general atmosphere, and then I almost exclusively listen to that mix when I’m working. Sort of like muscle memory? Just to get the creative juices associated with that particular selection of songs.

Another thing I’ll do along with plot structure is character structure. This is a biggie. I mean, a story is nothing without characters. So I’ll just jot down a bunch of bullet points of characters and particular aspects that I want to highlight or remember. I hate continuity errors in fiction. Like, if someone says they work on Maple Street but later in the fic they’re working on Pine Street. I hate that. So I keep note of specific things that my main character might notice at repeated points in the story (colours, places, smells, names, sounds -- so they’re all consistent even as the narrative evolves). That’s another thing -- your characters’ motivations. Not everyone is going to be a huge player, but they all do serve a purpose. The most important character is obviously your main character. I personally think it’s important to let your M.C. be an arse at times. They’re going to be mean, they’re going to misinterpret things or fly off the handle... just let ‘em. Let them be wretched humans, and then bring them back and make them realise what they’ve done. Let them learn! I love consequences in fiction, lol.

At the same time, I’ll probably start writing. We’ve already written down some snippets of neat dialogue or descriptions, but now we should start the actual process. For me, I used to start at the beginning. Usually this was the most fleshed out anyway: I’ll have a clear idea of the beginning and the end, but nothing in the middle. These days, if I have a scene in mind that I can’t forget, I’ll just write it. It will possibly get scrapped or rewritten, but that’s okay, because at least you’ve got it down and now you can devote your brain power to something useful (like figuring out what the middle is supposed to be). I’ll have half a dozen of totally out of context scenes just littered in my Word document that I’ll add to as I go along. Eventually, though, you’re going to start writing properly, and that’s when you write your opening scene.

Opening scenes: super important. Every time I write a scene I think: what is the point of this? What do I want the reader to learn or takeaway? Sometimes you do have filler scenes, but they also serve a different purpose (perhaps to establish a group dynamic or to explore/describe a character’s surroundings). Mainly, though, every scene should push something forward in some way, whether it’s character development or a plot point. So, with an opening scene, I always think you have to establish: where you are; who you are; what they are doing; where they’ve come from (in a philosophical and practical sense); and where they’re going (ditto). That doesn’t have to happen in the first paragraph -- that would be silly. But if you sprinkle that information in over time it’ll gradually build up a picture of your character and that way the reader can get an idea of who they are. You basically need to give a snapshot of what your story is about. This also goes back to the character creator stuff: where they are at the start should be different to where they end up. How that happens is, of course, because of plot, and because you’ve structured everything to the nth degree, we’ve got a very clear progression of that character’s growth (/s easier said than done lol).

General advice

Write down everything: every idea, a bit of dialogue, a description, whatever. Write it down. Doesn’t have to be neat. Just has to be on paper. You can’t remember everything, so if you’re spending time trying to hold those things in your head, it’s taking up space for new ideas to come along.

Structure, plan, structure, plan. Sometimes it’s boring and I hate it. Other times, when I’ve not written in a few days and I open the Word doc and think wtf is this supposed to be, I am very grateful for Past Me for leaving such detailed notes. Seriously, it helps so much. Oneshots don’t really need planning, in my experience. You just get those out there. But multi-chaptered stories really do, even ones that “just” focus on a relationship.

Whatever you want to write, commit to it. Space goblins invade Hawkins? Do it. Eleven and Max find themselves in a cult akin to Midsommar (2019) and must escape? Yes. Just... whatever you want to do, remember that you’re writing it for you. Write what most interests you, what makes you when you reread it go AHHHHH I LOVE THIS!! Because that makes it a thousand times easier to actually get on with the writing when you enjoy what you’re doing.

Write a lot. Every day, if you can, or at least at designated times. Occasionally I have a very specific headspace/vibe I have to be in, but sometimes it just hits me and I’ll say to my partner “I need to write now” and just disappear, lol. The more you write the more you write. It’s so, so, so true. Cannot emphasise this enough. When I wrote that ~200k in twelve months? It was because I literally wrote every. day. Or near enough. Remember that some days you’ll write 200 words, and other days you’ll write 20k (this happened to me with ADATS -- part of the reason I finished it so quickly was because I had sprints of writing 10k+ at a time that only happened because I was in the rhythm of it). Write, write, write. Who cares if it’s crap! No one will see it until you are ready. In the meantime, just write!

Probably last of all (although I could go on and on) is connect with other writers. If you’re struggling to start, sometimes just talking about it can help a huge amount. I hope it goes without saying that you can message me whenever you want, anon or not, and I will talk to you. We can talk about ideas or I can beta stuff, whatever you want! Find like-minded people and talk to them about what you want to do. Another thing this helps is in advertising your work when you do publish. I see a lot of first time fic writers get super down because they publish their magnum opus on AO3 but no one comments. Honestly, it’s because no one knows you’ve published! You don’t have to be tooting your own horn every which way, but just actively talking about your work and even collaborating with other content creators with get you hyped and other people too (and the input and encouragement other fandom members give is just... out of this world. Anon messages helped me finish ADATS when I was really worried I wouldn’t [that’s the truth]. Seriously, support is everything). When you have people excited about your work, you get excited. It’s really as simple as that.

I could go on but this is already horrendously long. I hope even a bit of this helps! If you want to chat or have any more questions, just hit me up any time.

[bestbonnist]

Chapter 138.2

With Mizuha we're entering territory where it's difficult to tell when she's in control of herself and when the Left Hand. But although the Left Hand has employed the "i wouwdn't huwt anyone, i'm babey" strategy in the past after fatally wounding Tonari, we know that Mizuha normally takes care to be cordial with her peers, and she goes out of her way keep Izumi happy, so it's natural that she would feel guilty after learning what happened to Rikuya even though it is not her fault, it was the Left Hand taking advantage of her emotions.

Interesting how the first person Mizuha seeks out to talk to about her distress is Hanna, even going to the club room early to see her, instead of Fushi. I've touched on this before, but ever since Mizuha asked Hanna if she'd be sad if she died and got an answer that inadvertently hurt her, she's been occasionally setting up these tests to see how Hanna will react. Judging whether or not she wears the feather hairband Mizuha gave her, that kind of thing. Although Hanna answers honestly and reciprocates her hug, at this point Mizuha distrusts Hanna's words to the point where she feels it's all fake affection, which is why she looked so dead-eyed during the hug. Whether that was upsetting enough for her to switch to the Left Hand, or the Left Hand doesn't need an emotional trigger to take over anymore, I don't know.

I was a little surprised to see that Fushi had recreated the same naginata that Hayase's successors use because usually they stay the fuck away from things that remind them of Hayase, like how they've never once used any of her descendants' forms even though they're probably great for combat. It's also unnecessary for them to actually have the naginata with them, which really goes to show how much this is bothering them, I guess.

The three panels of Hayase, Hisame, and Kahaku are neat, because Hayase's standing directly in front of Fushi like when they first met, only memory has painted her in a disturbing light, and she's looking down at Fushi. Hisame on the other hand is positioned by Fushi's side, but looking up to them similarly to how she metaphorically looks up at them in adoration. Kahaku's also by Fushi's side, but he and his naginata are facing in the opposite direction of Hayase and Hisame.

Fushi's thoughts confirmed that they're not interested in fighting the Defense Corps. even if they're knockers, which is alright. I guess they saw the Defense Corps. as their allies even if they weren't that close. It's not really that important, but they used to loathe the Defense Corps., but unlike with Mizuha they're not making a conscious effort to give them the benefit of the doubt. It's a change they're unaware of.

I guess the Left Hand decided that it wanted Funa's knocker around full-time/it thought Funa wasn't a good person who needed to be "purged." Which also falls in line with the "targeting people who fuck with Mizuha" thing it's got going on.

The naginata Mizuha's using also has the same design as Hayase's (and of course she can use a naginata. She was in the fucking naginata CLUB! This is a note for me, because I overlooked this crucial piece of information). She probably got it from her grandpa.

Seeing Fushi is shocking enough to snap Mizuha out of it, and their whole confrontation is reminiscent of what happened with Kahaku, although stabbing someone in the stomach is tame compared to butchering three people with a cleaver. Although with Kahaku, Fushi didn't try to stop him or interfere at all. Connect that with what ended up happening to Kahaku, and what they now know about how knockers take over bodies, of course Fushi backs off and tries to support her. Even though now they've practically confirmed that Mizuha has the Left Hand and is behind the Defense Corps. business.

For me the most disturbing part of this chapter was when Fushi was distracted by Funa dying in front of them and Mizuha looked over at them in joy. Like, that wasn't her face, that was the Left Hand. So the Left Hand is manipulating Mizuha to get to Fushi and milking their guilt for all it's worth. I don't know why it still wants Fushi now that knockers can inhabit human bodies whenever they feel like it.

And now Mizuha has asked Fushi to love her. And they'll agree, because they're a pushover for Mizuha, but eventually Mizuha will ask them to prove it and they'll either have to do something they'll seriously uncomfortable with or the truth will come out and Mizuha will be heartbroken. Or both.

[dontasktheradiodemon]

Reading Area #1 (1/18/2021)

Click here if you’re like “What the heck is this about?”

Valera @autokrates joins Kyxs @usedhearts while reading in the library and pulls out some tea. They hang out and chat about, among other things, Kyxs's death, magic, weird inhuman reproduction, and alien/infernal politics.

Kyxs

Books always attracted him, like a fly to honey, and so it's no wonder that he finally ends up in the library. Most of the volumes on the shelves, he couldn't even read the titles of, but he'd found a nice sci-fi novel in a shelf and sat down with that, just casually flipping through it and skimming.

Valera

Hope Kyxs didn't think he'd get alone time, even in an estate big enough to get lost in. Here comes Valera, a leather bound alien text shoved under one arm, the other holding an oversized mug of tea. To their credit, they offer a little murbling trill in greeting before taking a seat across the way from him in a piled up coil of tail and armchair cushions hidden under a throw blanket. Ohoho, this fish is ready to get COZY.

Kyxs

He looked up with a blink when she entered, but smiled her way. He slowly shut his book and held it in his lap.

"Hey, Val, haven't had a chance to see you yet, nor a chance to thank you for inviting me along. This--" He gestured around them. "Is way better than being in a bunker waiting things out. I'm having a blast."

Valera

"So I can imagine!" They grin, then cock their head to the side and rearrange themselves so they can lean in to get a closer look at their guest.

"Extermination day is your..." Ahem. "*Death Day,* right?" They sound it out carefully, a clear division between two words that didn't belong together in their mind. "Happy Death Day, Kyxs. I hope you've been able to enjoy this one more than the last."

Kyxs

He chuckled, giving a nod. "It is, and thanks. Yeah, usually I have a drink of whiskey with Alastor and listen to the radio waves through the extermination and that's all. Having mixed drinks with my boyfriend and hanging out on a beach side island mansion? Maaaajor upgrade."

Kyxs laughed a little more. "So, still weird to know that we're all dead humans, huh?"

Valera

"Very." They snort, turning to put their tea on the end table next to their chair. "I've seen plenty of humans die, but not as many start walking and talking in new form right afterwards."

They tap the edge of their book, humming as they watch him. "I'm glad I could provide a change of pace for you and yours. I almost didn't offer! I thought it might be too forward with how little we actually know each other, and I'm a TERRIBLE judge on how humans or ex-humans will respond to... Anything, honestly."

Kyxs

"Well, I'm glad you did." He shrugged a bit, leaning his elbow on the arm of his chair.

"Y'know what the worst part of arriving in Hell is? The drop. One minute, you're dying peacefully, and then next--" They lift a hand, making a motion with a finger like something falling. A cartoon sound effect of falling and then a comedic smacking sound play on the air. It's as smooch as any Alastor's effects, but it's clear he's been practicing with the noises.

"You're falling and splatting on the ground. I had the unlucky fortune to do that a few scant minutes before the Extermination kicked off for that year, and as jarring as it is to just fall in, falling in on Extermination day is worse."

Valera

A frown. "I'm surprised you survived. Well, I mean.."  A dip of the head. "You *didn't*, obviously. But you didn't *double* die. How did

freshly fallen sinner not immediately get exterminated? You'd have been a walking target!"

Kyxs

"Simple: Alastor. He was waiting for me when I dropped in, immediately got me up and rushed me to a bunker. Didn't even ask anything of me until after the Extermination." He shrugged a bit.

"Without him, I'd have been double dead for sure."

Valera

"Ah. Must have been a fan of your work." They're just going to take a sip of their tea, don't mind them. They know you, sad radio boy.

Kyxs

His mouth snapped shut, but his expression is a familiar static smile. Kyxs takes a moment to blink and then take a breath, relaxing. He just had to remind himself that they were an alien, maybe they wouldn't judge him like other humans would?

"....Yeah. He was. He followed me, listening in via the radios around me, watching what I was doing. Said he liked my style, but that I could have more flair, more power. Offered to teach me, if I worked for him in exchange. I took the deal." He tries his best to act casual, but his next shrug is a little too stiff.

Valera

They watch him stiffen up, and roll their eyes at his carefully manufactured casual mannerisms. "Here's a little tip from your local theater major, kid. Alastor can get away with the stiffly smiling puppet man act because that's how he *always* is. If you flip the switch on suddenly, everyone is going to notice and be on edge."

Ssssip. Mm, good tea. "Anyway. Making a Deal with Alastor was stupid, obviously, but I'm glad it's working out."

Kyxs

He sighed. "I know, I'm working on it. I only have high school theater to rely on." He laughed, crossing his legs.

"Eh, not as stupid as some people might think. Alastor's actually reasonable, mostly. If he respects you, which I was fortunate enough to earn by my actions in life. He'll give you good terms then, but if you're an idiot and act like one around him, well..." He trailed off and shrugged.

Valera

"Earning his respect doesn't seem that hard... Unless you also want him to fear you just a bit." They grin, all teeth.

"Not that I'd know. I have *no* idea if any Alastors out there respect me. But I do have things they want, and that's good enough. The only ones I make deals with are the ones I know have a vested interest in my survival."

Kyxs

"I don't know about that, there's not much Alastor fears." He took a breath, his hand playing with the pages of the shut book on his lap.

"Which ones are vested in your survival? Or are you not allowed to say?"

Valera

"I disagree MOST heartily, dear boy! There's plenty he fears. But if you haven't figured out what yet, I'm certainly not going to tell you and ruin his fun!" They crack their book open, setting it in their lap as they tug the throw up over their shoulders. Hoohoo cozy time.

"I could tell you specifics, but I wouldn't benefit from you knowing. Suffice to say, the ones that like going to Earth for visits or ingredients make an effort to keep in my good graces. Free rides are hard to come by."

Kyxs

He nodded. "True, I don't know much about what other Alastors fear, only the one I know. Who can say which ones of them have the same fears?"

He leaned over, tilting his head to try and get a peek at her book. "What're you reading?"

Valera

A few seconds of watching him crane his neck, and they obligingly turn the book sideways so he can see text he absolutely can't understand. It was reflex, don't question it too much.

"This? Nothing special, really. It's a book on chronomancy, time manipulation and the like. This one is about creating pockets of reality where time is dilated. Not terribly useful to me, but I like to study the basics of anything I can."

Kyxs

She was right, he could't read it, but he enjoyed being able to see the script, it looked nice. That explination flew over his head, though, and he blinked. "Soooo, time travel? What's.....time dilation?"

Valera

"Time dilation is.." They pull the book back, brows furrowing. "To simplify it to an absurd degree, time dilation is where time slows down. So this teaches you the theory behind creating pockets of space where time slows to a crawl relative to the world outside of it."

Kyxs

"Think I read a fantasy western where someone could do that. Had to burn a metal with Allomancy to do it, though." He chuckled. "But that's....neat? Is that something you can do?"

Valera

"Oh yeah, totally." They toss the book at Kyxs, watching as it freezes in midair, then seems to fall in slow motion.

"I already learned how to break this kind of magic at its zenith, but I did it with brute force. I'm studying the theory to learn how to pick it apart instead of just smashing it with a metaphorical hammer. Because eventually I wont be able to just" here they whip out the airquotes, voice turning exasperated "'orbital drop kick' my way to victory."

Kyxs

Kyxs blinked as the book froze and watched as it kept slowly moving towards him.

"Orbital drop kick, huh? So you got a lot of raw power but no finesse?"

Valera

"Oh, uh. Yeah." They roll their eyes, reaching out to pluck the book from the air before it went too far.

"I ruin a lot of things, losing control of spells. There's actually a spot in one of my off planet estates that infinitely spawns chickens because I overcharged one part of a time weave." A pause. "So if you're ever hungry, paradox chicken is cheap."

Kyxs

Kyxs blinked again, and then laughed, putting his face in his hand. "Paradox chicken?"

He lifted his head and, still giggling, continued. "So, is it just a planet of chickens now, or do they disappear after a while?"

Valera

They snort, waving a hand dismissively as they settle back into their coils. "I put a portal underneath the point that whisks them away to a processing facility. But it sure LOOKED like it was going to turn into a chicken planet for a while there. I didn't exactly have a response plan ready for *an endless flood of chickens*."

Kyxs

"Endless chickens. You could solve world hunger-- or actually, ALL worlds hunger." He laughed again.

"Okay, what else have you fucked up magically?" He looks legitimately excited by this.

Valera

They sniff. "Oh you want to hear about all my FAILURES huh? Not my dazzling successes? I broke an entire MOON out of a time freeze you know!"

A moment, and then they drop the act, grinning again. "Veci learn to channel our magic through boards carved with symbols. They're rigidly designed and have a bunch of redundancies to keep dumbass kids from hurting themselves. They do all sorts of things, and ONLY those things. So I, of course, wired a bunch of them together and powered them all at once."

A long sigh. "Long story short, the whole kit and kaboodle went flying off into low orbit and is probably still going."

Kyxs

Kyxs laughed, harder this time. "Oh my god! Just bam, zoom! Off it goes! That's incredible."

He sighed and wiped at his eye. "Reminds me of when Alastor started teaching me magic-- nearly broke every piece of radio equipment I touched."

Valera

His host watches him, fins twitching as they hold their mug of tea in cupped hands. "Aw, hatchling's growing pains. I assume you've gotten better control since then?"

Kyxs

"Oh yeah, a lot better. I still don't have the simple finesse and control that Alastor does, but I'm also not a full fledged radio demon yet." He shrugged.

"I still have to concentrate for stuff that comes naturally to Alastor." To prove his point, an audience gave sporadic clapping after he spoke and he sighed.

"Like that. Still need to whip my audience into shape."

Valera

"So I've heard! You don't inspire the same fear, but you also didn't exactly spring into Hell fully formed and blasting Overlords with unfathomable power. Or whatever. I wasn't there for it, I'm sure his manifestation was greatly exaggerated."

Kyxs

Kyxs rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged a bit. "I dunno, I've looked into it, quite a bit, and most reports are shockingly accurate from what I can tell. Alastor doesn't like to talk about the specifics a lot, though. But he did kill just...a whole fuckton of sinners."

Valera

They shrug. "Sinners die all the time. But we're focusing on you here. Do you MIND that people aren't as afraid of you?"

Kyxs

"Not really? Like everyone's _so_ afraid of Alastor that he can't do much of anything without people running in terror. I can go places and do things on his behalf and even then people won't just up and run because of my mere presence. Being feared to that extent's gotta be tiring." He shrugs back.

Valera

Sip-- Oh, they're out of tea. Ah well. "Speaking from experience? Exhausting. Especially for someone who was previous used to being well liked. You should feel bad for him, but only a little. He did choose to do all that murder after all."

Kyxs

His head tilted, looking curious. "People feared you? Like they do Alastor? But....you're so nice?" His bright green eyes squinted.

"Though considering you can make a chicken paradox, I guess getting on your bad side is a bad idea."

Valera

Well, if he's going to say his piece.. They carefully set the empty mug aside, face blandly neutral as they speak.

"I was thrust into power at twenty years of age, unprepared and terrified. When people attacked me, I responded in turn. When their families protested, I held public executions, to prove a point. A plot of treason? I strung their bodies up for everyone to see!"

A shrug. "Once people see you pull the trigger on an entire city in response to something they did, they realize what they're trying to fight against only gets worse every time they try to put it down."

Kyxs

"Oh geez." Their eyes widen with each word and they look away, elbows on their knees and hands covering their mouth.

After Valera was done, they were quiet a moment. "Yeah, that'd do it," They muttered.

Kyxs sat back up, leaning back in their chair, arms crossing over their stomach. "I killed my father and brother. They were both my first victims. And then I went off and killed a lot of other people. Not a whole city's worth, but for one person just on their own? I killed a lot."

They shrugged. "I keep that under wraps for most of Hell, on Alastor's advice. Thought since you shared...." They shrugged.

Valera

What a strange heart to heart this is. They'd hesitate to call Kyxs anything more than a maybe-friend, but.. He tries. They offer a smile, one side crooked higher than the other.

"Weird that he'd tell you to keep a few murders under wraps, considering the circumstances! But I'm sure he had his reasons. Maybe keeping your victims from deciding to settle the score personally."

A beat. "Oh. I haven't done a widespread cull since I hit thirty, so don't... worry? I guess? I made a deal; ten years of compassion after ten years of cruelty. Six in now, and people have gotten comfortable enough to insult me to my face."

Kyxs

"I think it's less about the murders themselves and more me being a serial killer and all the media coverage I had before I died. Some people in Hell go real hard for true crime shit and have no qualms about stalking you." He laughed softly.

Kyxs's head titled, curious. "What happens when the ten years are up? Will you go back to doing stuff like that or do you think your decade of compassion's changed you enough to not do it again?"

Valera

"Figures, even in Hell where killers are in spitting distance on any given street corner, the big names still get creepy fans. Ever had people ring into the station over you yet?"

The question catches their attention, eyes alight with mischief. "I'd started to find the devotion to compassion rather boring, but then it lead me to Pentious. I _like_ being attentive with him. Making him happy makes _me_ happy. It's pleasant! And weird!"

They magic up fresh tea, offering a duplicate mug to Kyxs. "In four years time, I'll likely have young children to worry about. Another thing I never expected. So.. The best answer I can give is.. I don't know! This year alone has upset my status quo immensely."

Kyxs

He laughed, shaking his head. "No, thankfully. It helps that Kyxs isn't the name I went by when I was up top. I _do_ get people calling in thirsty as fuck for Alastor, though. In a variety of ways."

Kyxs shuddered a bit, and then grinned.

"Oh yeah, love can do that. Having someone to share things with is just really nice. Whether it's a friend or a significant other, it's really nice just being around people you like and care about."

He blinked and tilted his head. "Kids? With....Pentious? I thought sinners were sterile?"

Valera

"You are." They go back to cupping their drink. Time for more explaining! "Veci can reproduce with anything that has a soul. Sinners like you and Pentious ARE souls, condemned to Hell for your sins in life."

A pleased hum.. And then they snort. "Before you ask, yes I'm sure it works, and I've got the embarrassing story about Alastor being my midwife to prove it."

Kyxs

He blinks again at that and finally takes a sip of the tea she'd given him.

"Ah, hm, I don't think I want to hear that story yet. I don't think I'm mentally prepared." He chuckled. "But that's really interesting. Is it cause your people are so much more magically inclined?"

Valera

"You will never be mentally prepared. And if you ever are, you'll have better luck asking Angel. He was there too." A dainty wrist to their forehead, and they sigh dramatically. "My BEAUTIFUL spusband, my knight in SHINING armor.."

But no, Kyxs was NOT ready to hear the story, and Valera was not about to share it. Instead they grin over their tea, mischief in their eyes. "To answer your question. Yes and no. We're very magically inclined, but we're also genetically all over the place, compared to humans. For example, I bet you had two genetic donors, both normal husband, and you came out looking like either of them. "

Kyxs

Another rapid set of blinks. This converstation really was getting a lot of those out of him. "Angel was there?" He grinned at her display. "Well, that explains everything, he's definitely a knight in shinning armor."

He nods, very seriously, yes absolutely, knight in shinning armor.

"Yeah, that's pretty much how humans do it. Two parents, both equal in indignity." He snorted into his tea as he took another sip.

Valera

Oh no, there they go back into their dramatic swoon. "Of course Angel was there! He was the one whisking me away once things started happening, the one right by my side through thick and thin!"

And cue another sigh, flowery as you please. Then they snap back to normal, chinhanding at Kyxs. "I've got seven parents. All genetically related to me. Though the indignity stands, anyone who thinks reproduction is beautiful is wrong, and worse, they're stupid."

Kyxs

More blinking! His eyelids are going to get tired at this rate. "Seven? If it's not too weird to ask, how?? I only know about human biology, so forgive the ignorance."

He was trying very hard to not giggle as he took yet another sip of tea.

Valera

Kyxs' eyelids were going to be so buff by the time this was over. "Well, in MY case the genes were harvested and then patched together in a controlled environment. Yes, that's right darling... I'm DESIGNER." Hairflip. Anyway.

"But it CAN happen naturally. The optimum mating period is fairly generous, as long as there's enough.. traits.. mixed in there by the time the shop closes, the results can be any mix of the parents... Or you just do it magically. We've got spells to avoid the sexual part of reproduction entirely. Options are out there, suffice to say."

Kyxs

He gives a BIG laugh at the hairflip. That was a good one, tickled his funnybone something good.

"I see. That's really cool. So like, anyone can have a kid if they want, I guess the opposite is true too? Like there's probably magical contraception and all that?"

Valera

Good, they live to entertain!

"Of course! I just use the standard non magical medical solutions. Keeps me from having weird magic interactions!"

Kyxs

Kyxs laughed again. "Oh God what kind of weird magical reactions can they cause?"

Valera

"I mean, I laid three eggs. So failure is a common one." They roll their eyes. "No, I know what you want. Sometimes you change colors if your contraceptive doesn't mesh well with your magic. Or you can turn sparkly."

Kyxs

"_Sparkly?_" Their eyes get real big for a moment there. "Man, I want weird magical reactions that turn people sparkly to exist in Hell that sounds funny as fuck."

They laughed and set their empty cup aside. "I take it yours meshes, though-- or are you normally blue?" Kyxs smirked.

Valera

"I hatched *red,* actually." They flutter their lashes... Then snort and shake their head. "That's true, but misleading. Veci change colors as they grow up fairly frequently, nothing to do with contraceptives. No, I use regular old injections, good for six months at a time. Though my old magical one would sometimes make my horns get blue speckles. As far as side effects, it was pretty harmless!"

Now it's their turn to lean in, eyebrow raising. "You've asked *me* a bunch of questions, but what about you? Any magical contraceptives on your side of things, Kyxs?"

Kyxs

Oh, the blinking time is back, that's good. He laughed after, shaking his head.

"Oh, no, not that I know of. Sinners being sterile and all there's no real need for injections? I don't know what's up with the Hellborns though, so maybe they got some." He shrugged.

Valera

"Oh, boo. Though the idea of Hellborns making minor contracts with...." They trail off, leaning back in their seat.

"Oh my gods. Do they make deals with Stolas? No, no... Unless they were trading for information on contraceptive *herbs*. No, they'd go to Gaap, probably? He's the prince who rules over that sort of thing, if my memory serves. I haven't brushed up on my knowledge of demons in *years*." Plus Gaap was the one that Alastor had called on for them.. They should send a gift basket.

Kyxs

"I've been lacking in my demon studies, honestly. I know about Prince Stolas, but Gaap's not familiar to me? Is he a Duke or...?" He trailed off, shifting to tuck his feet under him on the chair.

Valera

"He's a prince, same as Stolas. Though, that's assuming your Hell works the same as some of the others I've been to. I'd honestly suggest you do your own research when you get home, if possible. Though if you want, I could ask Stolas when I see him on our coffee date." They shuffle deeper into their blankets.

"Do you want a refill on the tea, or is that enough for you?"

Kyxs

"Oh! Yeah a refill would be nice." He picked up his empty cup to hand over.

"Yeah I should. I need to be in the know more when it comes to Hellborns rather than just sinner Overlords."

Valera

A twitch of their fin, and his tea is refilled. Who needs TEAPOTS when you've got MAGIC ~~and a teapot and tea cabinet in the kitchen you can draw boiling water and leaves from~~?

"Indeed! Though, really I should as well. If I'm going to marry a man aspiring to conquer, I need to learn everything I can to help support him in his efforts. His greatest enemies, possible allies, how to manage them.. You know. Political stuff."

Kyxs

He takes a sip of the new tea. Ah yes tasty.

"Yeah, I've been putting it off a lot because of the politics. But considering I'm bound to the Radio Demon, and he's working with the Princess, maybe it's a good idea to look more into things."

Valera

"Take it from a politician. Politics are the worst and I hate them. Death to politics as we know it can't come soon enough." A heaving sigh.

"It sounds like a good idea. If you're going to help your boss, you need to know what you're doing. If I'm going to help my husband, so do I. We're together in misery!"

Kyxs

"Yay!" Kyxs gave a little fake cheer and then laughed.

"Well, as they say, misery loves company." He gave a shrug. "But you said you were planning on having coffee with Prince Stolas? Swanky." He laughed a little.

Valera

They groan, nearly vanishing into their own coils as they slowly place their book over their face. Politicsssssss....

Oh, right. Stolas. They remain exactly as they are, voice muffled but much more cheery. "We're going to meet up and swap parenting tips over iced coffee! He seems lovely, so I'm looking forward to it."

Kyxs

"That sounds so wholesome for a chat with a Prince of Hell." Kyxs couldn't help another giggle.

"Then again, Hellborns are a lot different from sinners. Who's to say they can't be wholesome?"

Valera

They wave a hand, vague and airy. "Parents operate on a higher frequency. We make eye contact and a bond is established. In that moment, we are allies in exasperation and adoration for the weird tiny people we're stuck with."

The book is brought down far enough to peek their third eye over at Kyxs, surprise tinging their voice. "You've met Charlie, haven't you? She's a total sweetheart, and about as Hellborn as it gets."

Kyxs

"Oh yeah! I have, she's really nice. I think my brain just slots her into her own category cause she's Princess." He shrugged again.

"She's very _very_ enthusiastic about things, which is really adorable. I really kinda wanna meet her parents just to see how they could've raised someone as sweet and compassionate in Hell of all places."

Valera

"You know, fair. She's certainly not like any other Hellborn out there, with that parentage." The royal baby, the little Angel of Hell. Poor Charlie.

And then her parents. Ugh. "I've heard very little about Charlotte's parents." They begin, carefully. "But I've heard nothing _good_ about them. I think Charlie's personality is her own doing."

Kyxs

"That's a fair point. I've heard things about Lucifer and Lilith, and none of it wasn't someone doing some ass kissing, sooo..." He snorted and shrugged again.

"It'd make sense if Charlie was mostly a self made Princess."

Valera

"Quite so, Kyxs." The book is finally pulled away, set on the table between them so Valera can have both hands free.

"Apologies, I didn't mean to derail the conversation. Was there anything in particular you wanted to discuss?"

Kyxs

"Oh, not really. I kinda like derailed converstations, makes it easier to go with the flow." He tilted his head.

"Alastor hasn't been any trouble has he? I mean, the one that's my boss, of course."

Valera

They stare at him, blank faced as they process his question. Alastor... Trouble... His *boss* Alastor.... Had he? Had he been trouble? Quick, brain, go evaluate a specific Alastor even though they all looked almost identical. Which one was his boss? Not Stick, right? No of course not. So that meant...

A few seconds of silence, and... "Oh! Not at all. He's lovely. A model guest. Good shot, too." Nailed it.

Kyxs

"Good shot?" His eyebrow raised and he lifted his cup for another sip of tea.

"What was he shooting?"

Valera

"Fish! We went speargun fishing together on the pier. It was very fun, he's good company." Oho, a purr from the fish, good job Alastor, wherever you are.

"I almost feel bad for worrying, all the Alastors have been behaving very well. So far."

Kyxs

"Oh never feel bad about worrying about Alastors making trouble. They'd never be rude, but I will say if they weren't your guests, they would be making a loooot more chaos than they are." He shook his head and smirked.

"Sometimes it's funny, sometimes....not so much."

Valera

They open their mouth to respond, then hesitate, tension tightening their shoulders. "Yes. Sometimes not so much is right."

... Not going to elaborate on that, Valera? No? Alright. "Well, with him at least, we managed to get along well enough with weapons in our hands! Always a good sign. Hopefully even when he isn't bound by his manners we'll muddle through, but we'll see."

Kyxs

"Well, if he didn't take a shot at you with a weapon in his hands, I'd say you're at least good in that he won't immediately kill you." He laughed again.

"I mean, not that he could? I think you'd be able to take anyone in Hell, honestly. Maybe not Lucifer himself, but you never know."

Valera

They grimace, shaking their head at the idea. "I could take Alastor in a fight, but I don't know about any Hellborn. And even if I *could* take them on, I wouldn't want to. Fighting is *stressful*."

Kyxs

He nodded and shrugged. "Fair enough, I haven't actually fought anyone else in Hell, so I don't even know what a big demon magical fight would be like."

Valera

"Oh, you haven't? Do you even know what you're truly capable of?" Now they're interested again.

"If you want to get an idea, I could always spar with one of my friends while you watched. Sparring is one thing, that's just playing."

Kyxs

"Not like, fully capable? I've gone into uhhh, my 'true' demon form a couple times but never to really fight? Or at least not anyone who was even near my level in terms of power." He used airquotes around the true part, and then shrugged.

"But I wouldn't say no to seeing some sparring, sounds fun."

Valera

"Sure! Probably not this time, but we can absolutely arrange something when less people are around to get in the crossfire."

They've abandoned the idea of reading by now, just a bundle of fish in a blanket sitting pretty.

"So, Kyxs. What do you want in Hell? You're stuck there theoretically forever, have you got a goal?"

Kyxs

They pondered that question for a bit, one clawed hand scratching at the base of one of their horns.

"Not really sure? Beyond like, doing the radio thing, learning from Alastor, and playing music, I don't have big overarching goals? I'm.... kind of content with that? Which is weird when you think about it, being content in Hell of all places but hey." They shrugged. "I'll take it."

Valera

"That might be for the best, honestly. But yeah, there's a pretty big flaw in Hell's design."

They shrug. "Humans can adapt to just about anything. That's your claim to fame. Give them eternity and they'll build civilizations, like they did on Earth, and like they did in Hell. Mediocre food? You get used to it."

Kyxs

Kyxs laughed. "Don't let Alastor hear you calling Earth food mediocre, he'll take that as a challenge."

He leaned back, tilting his head to stair up at the ceiling. "Kinda makes you wonder how Hell's supposed to be a punishment when it seems like more of the same. Maybe that _is_ the punishment? You think it's gonna be a change, but it's not. I dunno, I can't claim to know what God was thinking when he came up with it."

Valera

"Alastor can take it as a challenge, I've rarely had food from Earth that actually tasted good. It's not made for a Veci tongue to enjoy. If he thinks he can do better than all the other attempts, let him!" A snort, and then they shrug.

"I can't say much for your God, but they never struck me as the creative sort. Or as all knowing as they act. It's kind of embarrassing, like a kid who made a mess and then tries to hide it." They pause, raising an eyebrow. "Though of course, I get to say that because I'm an alien with gods I can punch in the face. Yours seems a bit loftier."

Kyxs

"Yeah, loftier." He rolled his eyes. "He's an asshole. Thought so when I was alive and still think so now. His sons aren't much better, any of em. Though," He giggles, "It does make me laugh that the family who where the biggest bible thumpers are the ones in Hell with me, the heathen, now."

Valera

Well that earns him a quizzical look. "What does that mean? What family?"

Kyxs

Kyxs winced a little and glanced away. "_My_ family. My uh brother and father. Huge Christian bible thumpers and yet," He giggled again. "They're both in Hell now too. Looks like all their hypocrisy got the best of them."

Valera

They scrunch their face like they just sucked a lemon, sinking further into their blanket. "Gods, I forget that people having families is *normal*. Sounds like yours wasn't great though. I take it you were responsible for their surprise entrances to Hell?"

Kyxs

"Yeah. Said earlier that I killed em, but yeah. Knife to the neck for dear old dad and just a bunch of stabs to the chest for big brother." His face also scrunched. "Really had hoped that they'd been exterminated."

Valera

"Well sure, but I don't know how much family you have. Had. Have?" Squint. "Either way, good riddance. Next round, just throw them into the street yourself. You want a problem solved, do it yourself and all that!"

Kyxs

"Easier said than done, I don't know where they hole up for the exterminations, and I doubt they'd let me in so that I _could_ toss them out." He shrugged. "Just have to find some other way, I guess."

Valera

Valera scoffs, pointing a finger at Kyxs. "You have a lot to learn, kid. I hope Alastor teaches you how to properly track a target by next extermination. It's all about networking with people who want to be in your good graces."

A dismissive toss of the head, and the fish rises to their feet. "Speaking of family we hate, though, I should check on my *own* brother to make sure he hasn't said anything stupid to any of my guests. I'll see you later, Kyxs."

Kyxs

"I know how to track people, they just have some...powerful friends." He sighed. When Val got up, he nodded.

"Brothers are the worst. Alright, see ya later then, Val."

He gave a little wave as she left.

[thesilkenlair]

(Casey Here!)

As much D&D as I play, you'd imagine I would eventually get around to illustrating some of their most iconic monsters! Which is to say, the ones that I personally find the most iconic. Which is to say, the ones I memorized when I was reading my dad's monster manual at age nine. Purple worm - Sandworms never go out of style. I've seen a lot of rad designs for this bugger over the editions, but I favor the slightly less reptilian older takes for this particular critter. It's kinda basic, but sometimes that's what you want. It's like a shark or a crocodile: Just flat out unchanged across the ages. Hook horror - I've heard it rumored that Gygax used a small Gigan figure to represent this monster. I can't verify that, but it definitely sounds right. Hook horrors are one of the very first things you meet when you play around in the caves, and they kind of remind me of the Father Deep monsters of the Hork Bajir homeworld that way. Mind flayer - Mind flayers! Basically, take all of your Dracula conventions and dip them in a fresh coat of Lovecraft. There's that old "decadent aristocratic upper caste system who literally eats the poor, but still somehow comes across as less evil than the actual real life 1%" setup that will never stop being relevant. Though personally, I see mind flayers as the first alternative for folks who want to play that monster-who-feels-the-urge-to-eat-their-friends-but-refuses-to-do-it shtick but don't want to deal with vampire baggage. You know, the furry option! ... Slimy? Rubbery? Do we have a word for anthro-cephalopods? I'm only a casual furry. Gelatinous cube - I'm not apologizing for giving this one a slot. Froghemoth - So, back when I participated in my very first long-term campaign, I played a druid. You've met Talia before. Naturally, I was chomping at the bit for the day I finally got to turn her into a froghemoth, and celebrated the day my wish was finally granted and she was allowed to chug human-supremacist-cultists like popcorn. Yeah, okay, the froghemoth is one of the classic vore-monsters. But it's a charming design in its own right. Kind of a freaky Hanna Barbara critter, like you'd see Space Ghost fighting. No matter how many artists draw it, they can never shake that inherent goofiness that third edition tried so hard to purge. I would probably cram them somewhere onto Fronterra if I was sure they were public domain. As is, I'm 99% certain that this is what Visser Three turned into when he ate Elfangor. Tarrasque - D&D's original kaiju! Kind of just takes the name and nothing else when it comes to its mythological origins, but I don't mind. The Tarrasque is that endgame "let's test the players" final boss monster... Or at least it's supposed to be. My DM reskinned it for our final Pathfinder session, and one of the PCs still nearly killed it in a single turn. Also, he let Talia turn into one, so maybe Pathfinder is just bullshit? Regardless, the Tarrasque has one of those simple, iconic designs. I've heard rumors it was based on the concept art for Fallout's deathclaws, and like the Gigan-figure, I can't verify this in any way. With its reptilian features, twin horns, spiny carapace and grabby fingies, it has an undeniable lizardlike quality that I can't help but find charming. Kinda feels like a more refined version of Zilla? Though for an insatiable eating machine, I notice a lot of artists give it very little belly to work with. Come on, this guy eats entire cities! Give him somewhere to put it! Rust monster - An icon of icons, the rust monster! Drawing its origin from a bizarre Chinese "dinosaur" toy, later designs have made it more insectoid in appearance, but never feeling QUITE like anything Earthly. It's the four limbs. Between the four limbs and the tail, it's hard to tell if it's an arthropod mimicking a vertebrate or the other way around. I'm pretty sure this is part of what inspired my ossaderm creatures for Fronterra. Also, Ryla can turn into one in our campaign. I have no shortage of havoc to wreak when the opportunity comes. Behir - Dragons in D&D are kind of... extra. Godlike beings, paragons of whatever personality trait they represent. Whenever there's something uber powerful in D&D, it gets compared to dragons. It makes them kind of unapproachable. Behirs provide all the essentials of a dragon - Serpentine body, scaly skin, horns, sapience, breath weapon, taste for human flesh - wrapped up in a smaller, weirder, IMO cooler package. You know, your Lambton Worms. A lot easier to port in and out of adventures, a lot less of an event when they show up, but still a formidable force in their own right. I like the behir. The behir knows how to taunt me just the right amount. Bulette - Another Chinese "dinosaur" figure monster, the bulette is actually another one I associate with Talia. Whenever we faced a problem that didn't have a glaringly and immediately obvious solution, she would turn into a bulette, whether it was for beating up robots, digging through obstacles, trampling smurfs, navigating labyrinths, distracting slashers with cute dog tricks... it was kind of her signature form. But shenanigans aside, the bulette is just an excellent monster. While the "land shark" shtick may be common, there's a lot more going on with the bulette's design. It's rumored to be a mad wizard's creation, as he combined a snapping turtle with an armadillo and mixed in a helping of demon blood to taste. Personally, I always considered that to be a neat little rumor to flesh out the world, but never assumed it to be true. The bulette just feels too naturalistic for that. Like some kind of protomammal or crocodylomorph, or weird triassic monstrosity. Magic and demons and dragons and so on DO affect the ecosystem. I always figured the bulette was just something that evolved to compete in this new biosphere. Owlbear - This one, on the other hand, I fully believe the "mad wizard was bored" explanation. Another chinasaur critter, the owlbear is frequently made fun of. What makes it scarier than a regular bear? It can't fly, so why have owl parts at all? Why trade fangs for a beak in what is at best a latural move? Well, first of all, fuck you, owls are creepy motherfuckers, and that alone is enough to justify it. But secondly, that's part of its charm. Besides some improved vision, the owl DOESN'T make it more dangerous. What makes the owlbear dangerous is that it's an insane, Frankensteinian monstrosity roaming uncontrolled through the wilderness! It doesn't need weaponry, its sheer temperament is enough to make it a worthy opponent. Sure, the practical threat might not be hugely above that of a bear, but storytelling isn't about numbers. Any asshole can go outside and get eaten by a bear. The owlbear is part of this world. The owlbear is a reminder of what magic can do. Someone somewhere actually made this thing, for whatever reason, and now the world is irrevocably changed because of it. Owlbears go beyond practicality. They bring the lore! Also, bears don't have very good eyesight, so the big owl eyes probably make them better hunters. Flumph - Is that a Japanese-style martian? Do we just have aliens in D&D? Dear lord, I love them! Okay, the flumph has got a sizable hatedom. And that hatedom can eat my ass, because the flumph is precious and perfect just the way it is! Flumphs are designed as a sort of sidekick-type creature. They're not very good fighters, but they bring knowledge and lore to the table. Whether they're aliens from some far off star, seeking your aid to prevent catastrophe, or psionic natives of the Underdark eager to bask in your positivity and hopefully stick it to the tyrants they're forced to share real estate with. My group generally treats them as straight up aliens, benevolent but strange. Course, we're all pretty strange, so we get along just fine. Otyugh - Okay so, the aberration creature type implies that this is something from another world that doesn't belong. And yet otyughs, which are aberrations, are an essential part of this world's ecosystem? Okay, I can buy the idea that an alien organism adapted to our world and is now a key part of it. Fronterra's got a TON of that. It just feels like after a point, the otyugh would be considered a beast? Otyughs are great. Every ecosystem needs a decomposer, and every fantasy story needs at least one dive into the sewers. Otyughs provide both, and are intelligent enough to keep the plot moving if it hits a snag. There's always going to be garbage, refuse, carrion, decay, things that need to be broken down and processed. Carrion crawler - The carrion crawler is pretty similar to the otyugh in that it's technically not considered a beast, and therefor must have its origins elsewhere, but feels so integrated into the ecosystem that it just feels like it belongs. They usually can't talk, so they're not just reskinned otyughs, but I still consider them pretty essential. Otyughs find a singular spot where waste is dumped and shovel it down at their leisure, while carrion crawlers skulk through the tunnels, actively seeking their food. The crawler got one of the most radical redesigns on the transition from second to third edition, but I can't really choose a single favorite. The oldschool tentacle-faced cutworm looks like it could be a real animal, while the googly-eyed Halloween decoration feels like it could be from another world, merely having set up shop here. Could there name apply to two wholly different creatures? If so, then I'm not sure which one mine would be considered. I kinda mashed them together into something that doesn't quite feel like either. But I like it for what it is. Maybe I'll sneak it onto Fronterra. Aboleth - Tentacled, telepathic sea creatures who turn humans into slimy minions, who remember everything their race has ever seen, and who are always plotting something behind the scenes. Yeah, the aboleths really crank up the Lovecraft elements. Actually, between the mind flayers, the flumphs and the aboleths, even the most oldschool D&D covered quite a few essential Lovecraftian bases. The flayers are your corrupt yet still recognizable humanoids who can be considered truly evil, the flumphs are benevolent-yet-bizarre guardians who know more than you, and the aboleths are the truly unknowable, sinister intellects. The fact that they can barely function on land honestly only adds to that, IMO. They're inherently difficult for a party to reach, and they offer some nice underwater adventure seeds. Not enough adventures go underwater. There's this perception that the ocean is bad for storytelling because so many writers lack the creativity to make it work. I wanna run an underwater adventure now. Beholder - Icon of icons! THE D&D monster! The beholder! Paranoid, jumpy, always five steps ahead and twenty steps perpendicular! Beholds are fun in just about every way. Between their wacky, diverse designs, their elaborate lairs, their eccentric personalities, their bizarre powers, you're never gonna run out of fun with beholders. Remorhaz - It's always been a thing that bothered me with environment-based monsters. Why does the ice monster who lives in the cold use ice as a weapon? Aren't most of the things it encounters going to be resistant to the cold? Sure, a cone of cold will still kill a polar bear, but a lot of the monsters in the tundra are outright immune to cold. A while dragon's not going to get much use out of its breath weapon fighting frost worms and frost giants. That's one reason the remorhaz sticks out to be. We have an icy tundra beast whose insides are a scorching furnace, which it can intensify and weaponize as it sees fit. Which also conveniently explains why its design - a sort of cobra-esque centipede - invokes warm-weather creatures, despite its icy environment. It's a nice subversion of the usual tropes, plus it's just a memorable, cool looking critter to begin with. On a smaller note, the remorhaz feels like a good loophole for Ryla's "no cold weather morphs" rule. Turning into something elementally affiliated with ice is no good, but a non-magical monster that survives the cold by superheating its insides? That seems perfectly viable to me!

[zanrai-kid]

Pride Question Day 10: Write a letter to your younger self.

Hey, buddy. I don’t know how to accurately tell you this, but the signs were there. Whether it was when you lip synced to Britney Spears and Macy Gray at six years old, or started practicing flute in 3rd grade when most boys your age were taking sports (intramural soccer league was still fun, though).

When you were diagnosed with depression in sixth grade, it hurt. My goodness, it hurt. You remember distinctly it was when you couldn’t laugh at Cartoon Network anymore. It hurt to see humor but feel nothing. And yes, this was caused by the fact that sixth grade is designed to make or break people, and if any amount of mental instability is present, you are cast to the winds, forever that weird kid. By the way, challenge classes are for the most part a scam. If you want to challenge kids, have them learn about pertinent American history or financial stability.

You also learned that sixth grade is when the terrors come loose. Some of the absolute worst of human nature can be condensed into one calendar year of education. That’s when kids learn from their parents the most, and that means homophobia. You’re got called gay and kids played playground games with names that upset you. It should upset you. You’re weren’t “sensitive”, and you’re weren’t a “crybaby”; you knew this is wrong.

All the while, you got fed a steady diet of “let’s not talk about the gays” from your parents. You had two uncles who just wanted to show the world what they meant for each other who will eventually get married. You weren’t stupid, and you weren’t blind, but ultimately, looking back, I think high school was a defense mechanism.

There you were, online charter school, with no one around but your parents. Of course your views would reflect the world around you. Youth group also does that to people. You said you’re “politically incorrect”, but what does that really mean? It just means you were trying to be an adult. An edgy, stupid adult.

Community college was easy, but it was the first time you realized maybe you aren’t the new hotness. Maybe you should do better. Just maybe.

It wasn’t until university where your whole life stretched out ahead of you that you realized something. There’s something called LGBT, and it basically means that other than straight and gay, there’s a whole host of interesting things you can be. Crazy, I know! So while you shuffled on your way to classes, just remember that towards the end of your college career, you found femme men attractive. V E R y attractive.

And then comes the end of 2015, where you tell yourself, “I think I know what I am. I’m bisexual.” You still like women, and you know it, but you wouldn’t mind dating a man.

So, where are you now? Kinda wishing the world would cool it’s jets and take care of racism, like why are we still entertaining the whims of racists. Also, a plague!

In all seriousness, the next four years will be difficult. Really difficult. But here’s the thing. When you manage to dig yourself out of this hell and find the strength to tell the world, “You don’t dictate me, or my sexuality,” that is what true power sounds like. That is what real strength looks like.

I’m proud of whatever your doing, be it showing off to the world, surviving, coping, using defense mechanisms, or coming to terms with who you are. Right now, things could be better. But you now have the capability and the strength to show anyone that you are more than your depression and anxiety. You are an accomplished musician with several albums released. You are a caring and nurturing friend to those around you. You love your godson. You enjoy DnD and animation. You think Legend of Korra shouldn’t be trashed (shout out to LoK for giving you the world bisexuality). You still practice your religion but know that the dogma does not influence your views. You like men more than women now, but you don’t mind dating either. In fact, you’re good to date anyone regardless of gender! And yes, there’s this neat little thing called pansexuality, but for the record, you like knowing you’re bisexual. It’s the label you fought for, and no one can redefine what you are. Shout out to the pansexuals tho.

You also have a loving friend who wants to take you on a date for the first time, and he’s the same one you’ve had eyes on for two years. You are bisexual. Be proud of that. You’ve earned the right to be proud.

[fairyhaven13]

So, I made this partially because I was on a Sonic the Hedgehog nostalgia kick, and mostly to experiment with gradients and splatterpaint brushes. It’s very rough and abstract because I was just messing around and having fun. Messing around is great practice, because you’re willing to make mistakes and not take it seriously just to see what happens.

For those who don’t know much about Sonic the Hedgehog comics, a couple years ago one of the big writers for the comics had a tantrum and left, taking with him a bunch of copyrights for characters. The company had to completely rewrite the comics, using a “Genesis Arc” catastrophe to kickstart a new timeline. It sucked. They’re doing their best, but it sucked. All my favorite characters are gone. Screw Tantrum Guy.

What the Genesis Arc did, lore wise, is it erased access to the multiverse and undid most of the major events in the timeline. They’re never going to address whether the multiverse is still there, and blocked off, or completely erased, because all the multiverse characters are the copyrighted ones. I have some doodles and drabbles of my own story for what happened; it’s sort of a mess, mostly concepts. Pictured here is my design for Genesis Fiona--one of Sonic’s ex-girlfriend enemies in the comic--and Anti-Maria, a character from Anti-Mobius (aka Moebius) who we never got to see. I mixed Fiona’s old and new outfits together. Anti-Maria’s look is pretty typical for my outfit designs, which you probably noticed, but I tried to use elements of Maria’s in-game outfit and Molly’s outfit from Sonic X. I’ll put more of my story ideas under the cut.

The Genesis Wave happened right after the escape of Scourge the Hedgehog, the Anti-Sonic, from the No Zone Prison. The No Zone is a “perpendicular” universe to Sonic Prime’s, and it tends to take a totalitarian authority to the multiverse and travelers. Scourge had jumped between Moebius and Mobius Prime to conquer both, hence his imprisonment. When the Wave happened, Prime was entirely cut off from the multiverse; no one knew what happened. Scourge, Fiona, and his Destructix team were stuck on Moebius. Zonic, the No Zone’s top agent, was sent to maintain order in the other Zones, to try to mitigate the effects of the Wave. With the Wave wreaking havok on Prime’s timeline, and Prime being the center of their multiverse, the other timelines were rippling, too.

Zobotnik, Zonic’s boss, was supposed to be helping calm things down. Severing paths where he needed to, sending individuals to repair timelines, stuff like that. Eggman Nega, a separate version of Eggman, had been attacking the No Zone for a while, but the Genesis Wave wiped him out. This gave Zobotnik an idea. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to keep order in the multiverse if the other Zones simply... didn’t exist?

This causes a decade-long series of events. Zonic is too busy slowing the effects of the ripple to notice what Zobotnik is doing. Scourge and the Destructix discover it and, not wanting to cease existing, start a rebellion, attacking Zobotnik themselves. Anti-Maria becomes a key element in this fight. On the old Moebius, Marilyn Robotnik had NIDS just like Maria did, but when Anti-Shadow tried to save her, he died. Marilyn was the one captured, and she was experimented on for the next 50 years, becoming an immortal human, the only human who could absorb and use Chaos Energy. This also means she can affect the No Zone portals, and the Destructix use her to repair and fight their way to the No Zone. Zonic initially doesn’t believe them about Zobotnik, until Zobotnik directly attacks Marilyn; Zonic has to sacrifice himself to save her. 

This is the catalyst in the final battle, and unfortunately, the group is too late to stop Zobotnik’s Genesis Wave. Scourge, in Super Scourge form, is at the epicenter of the Wave alongside Marilyn, and the most they can do is create pocket-ripples to protect everyone about to be erased. This means that those people are still lost, but that they can be found, and their existence keeps the timelines from completely collapsing; the multiverse is streamlined, but the edges are frayed, like dangling threads.

This is where my story would actually start, whenever I get around to writing it. All ten years of that fight have been erased. Scourge and the Destructix are back where they started, as teens on Moebius, although this Moebius is not the one they remember. Scourge remembers all ten years that are gone, and his team is only just familiar enough to trust his decisions, but they can’t remember why. Zonic is baffled by his jumbled memories, which are cut off due to his previous death, and pursuing the Destructix, as well as trying to find out why the No Zone’s Highway is ripped to shreds and missing whole chunks--chunks that should be worlds. Scourge gets to Marilyn early, who doesn’t remember him, but is extremely enthusiastic to join the gang and escape her imprisonment.

She’s in a baggy sweater and sweatpants when they find her, because her captors don’t care that much. Fiona gets her disguised in dramatic, punk-y clothes, and Marilyn insists on having a neat scar like Scourge’s. She says it’s to disguise herself, but really, she’s just a cheesy dork who wants to look cool. Flying Frog is happy to assist on (carefully) scarring her face. The two of them are best buddies, honestly--he tosses her off buildings, she teleports back and begs him to do it again, they both laugh hysterically, it’s great. Marilyn might be a little nuts. 

Zobotnik still wants to erase the multiverse, so it’s Scourge’s goal to get a headstart on fighting him, training Marilyn and convincing Zonic to join their side. This will eventually form a very large fighting force that jumps between the Zones and hides in the cracks, breaking down Zobotnik’s supports until the ground collapses from under him. Eventually, the Destructix will get their memories back, and Scourge won’t be so alone in remembering. Fiona will cry upon remembering that she’d been pregnant before the ten years were erased. Zonic will have an identity crisis at remembering his own death. The lost people will be found in the forgotten Zones--like Geoffrey St. John and Dr. Finitevus. But, for now, for the story’s beginning, it’s an on-the-run Marilyn, a confused Zonic, and a bunch of crazy criminals in the Destructix who don’t really know how to parent an immortal human child.

Geez that was a lot of writing. I know you’re supposed to only give little bits of lore at a time when writing about your stories on Tumblr, but I just can’t do that, I have to get it all out. That’s why I put all this junk under the cut. Read at your own risk and all that.

[emsartwork]

If you’re comfortable with sharing, it would be cool to hear more about your winx next gen, if that’s okay with you?

Yes of course!!!! below the cut cus i get rambley

the story so far: Daphne and Thoren are king and queen of domino. Ashia and Nex are king and queen of Andros. Sky and Bloom are king and queen of Eraklyon. Stella and Brandon are queen and king of Solaria. Tecna was queen of Zenith for a while but got bored and decided to do something else, now she and Timmy run an exploration research company that explores the outer reaches of the magix dimension. Flora is the potions teacher at Alfea, Helia runs a small art gallery in Magix city. Musa started her own record company, and Riven became the assistant combat instructor at Red Fountain. Icy broke Tritannus out of mer-prison and transformed his tail into legs, the two are now in hiding along with Darcy. Stormy left the Trix after an issue with Icy. 

THE CHILDREN:

alrighty lets start off with Sky and Bloom, or Skoom as I like to call them. This is Aidan.  He attends Novatan University, a new school now on Magix. He’s a classically trained necromancer but will use magic in just about any way he can. He uses the tile of Necromancer of Ash.  Aidan does not posses the dragon flame, and boy is he angry about that. Though he gets along with his cousin Ophelia pretty well, he is intensely jealous of her destiny as bearer of the dragon flame, and to compensate he seeks power above his own and some times other’s safety. Aiden is loud, prickly, and easy to rile up, but cools down quickly and forgets about whatever made him angry. Bloom, in true Bloom fashion, generally avoids her son because she doesn’t know how to deal with his attitude (he also occasionally reminds her of Valtor and that scares the hell out of her). Sky does his best to spend time with and curb Aidan’s more destructive impulses but he also has to rule his kingdom. Aidan basically only gets along with Ophelia, he can hang out with Selene and Jack occasionally but they tend to annoy him. He and Thorn do NOT get along. 

Daphne and Thoren!!! Daphen? Thorphne? idk their names don’t mesh that well lol. any ways this is Ophelia. Ophelia attends Alfea and is known far and wide as fairy of the dragon flame. After Daphne became pregnant, she had to ask bloom to return the dragon flame to the royal line of Domino since its always been passed down from one heir to the next. Bloom(after a few emotional breakdowns) eventually transferred the dragon flame to tiny fetus Ophelia. Ophelia doesn’t want it. She doesn’t really tell any one, but she hates being the bearer of the dragon flame. She hate the attention, the pressure, the legacy, the kidnapping attempts, the random attacks, the fact that she’s always the target. Ophelia isn’t even sure she wants to be queen of Domino in the future. in her free time Ophelia writes stories. Ophelia shoves her feelings down, holds grudges, and she can be VERY passive aggressive. When she finally explodes she can very destructive and cruel. Ophelia loves her cousin Aidan but can’t spend a lot of time with him because she can eventually feel the jealousy streaming off of him. She gets along really well with Anemone, but when they do fight its Armageddon. She also gets along really well with Thorn, as they’re both level headed older sibling types.  

Timmy and Tecna!!!(Tecmy?) I know. She looks nothing like either of them.This is Ruth, Timmy and Tecna’s adopted daughter(they have actually adopted several other children but Ruth is the oldest and most important to the plot). When Ruth was about 10, her family’s ship crashed on a tiny desert planet in an uninhabited solar system. Her parents didn’t make it, and Ruth herself was severely injured. She managed to stem the flow of blood from the gashes in her shoulder and thigh, and cobbled together a radio system from the pieces of the ship. Timmy and Tecna were out on an scientific exploration mission when they picked up her distress signal. Infection had already set into her deeper wounds and her arm and leg had to be amputated. Ruth uses a prosthetic leg in day to day life, but prefers not to have a regular prosthetic for her arm. Ruth attended and graduated from Cloud Tower, and is the Witch of Metals, she manipulates metal into a movable prosthetic arm when she needs to, but doesn’t maintain it as its a drain of her magic. Ruth is Koyuvian(a fake planet/race thats in my version of winx club) and wears the tinted glasses to filter light. Ruth is a mechanic, and loves to build different contraptions. She’s hopeless at coding, but builds a lot of prototypes for her adoptive parents. She gets along Selene the best. 

Flora and Helia! Floria!!! (Helora?) This is Thorn. Thorn is Silva Lynphean and a quarter Vaonaaj. He attends Red Fountain and is a team lead in his class and possibly the strongest. Thorn is quiet and sarcastic, generally preferring a books to spending time around people. He’s a little awkward when not in a “specialist” situation. he kind of wishes he was really good with people, but also doesn’t bother practicing socializing because he’s scared lmao he’s basically Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. to compensate for his social ineptitude, Thorn hangs out with Jack a lot. He is very observant though and can pin point people’s weaknesses in a snap, and he’s not shy about using those weakness if he needs to.  He and Ophelia get along well, but he thinks Aidan is a spoiled brat who throws too many temper tantrums. 

Musa and Riven = Riva. So this is Jack. Jack attends Red Fountain. Jack loves to be the center of attention, and hides all of his insecurities behind an over the top inflated ego. He isn’t terribly interested in his dad’s career (fighting) or his mom’s career (music) but he is decently talented at both. Jack true passion is design. He isn’t totally sure the type of design he wants to do yet, but fashion and architecture are both interesting to him. He’s the best or the worst dressed guy at Red Fountain depending on who you ask, considering he usually throws together items that don’t seem like they should be on the same body at the same time. His mom and dad don’t really get either of his interests, but are trying very hard to be supportive. Jack is the easiest going out of these characters (except maybe Ramiel) and gets along with just about anybody. He’s Thorn’s “wing man”(for both platonic and romantic interests because Thorn just doesn’t frickin talk to people) and the two are kind of a funny pair to look at since Thorn is so so tall, and Jack is….. not. He also gets along well with Anemone. Jack is very intuitive, and doesn’t feel comfortable around Eirlys, usually actively trying to avoid any contact with her. 

Stella and Brandon have Selene. Selene attends Alfea and is the Fairy of the Sun and Moon. Selene is kind of a screw up. She’s clumsy, forgetful, chronically late, messy, and awkward af. Selene doesn’t really think she suits the role of “princess of Solaria”, one of the most televised planets of the Magix Dimension(kind of like Los Angeles is the celebrity center of the US), but is constantly trying to be better at her role. Unfortunately she’s trying to force herself to be like her mom instead of trying it her own way. The one thing Selene is really good at is sculpting, and can usually be found hidden away in her studio with clay in her hands. and in her hair. and on her clothing. basically everywhere she is not neat. She’s pretty quiet in general but get her started on a project and she’ll rattle ideas off one after the other. She and Ruth are crafting besties, and trade creations frequently. She’s horribly intimidated by Thorn, though its mostly their mutual awkwardness clashing. She doesn’t like to be around Aidan much at all. 

This is Anemone! The unlikely product of Aisha and Nex! Anemone is the Fairy of Coral, and is attending Alfea. Anemone is the girly-est girly girl to ever girl. She likes the pink she likes the ruffles she likes the make up and the fashion and the pastels. But the thing Anemone REALLY likes about being a girly girl is that it means stupid people underestimate her, giving her the upper hand and allowing her to reign terror down upon her enemies. Anemone is a girly girl and also a stone cold bitch. She’s not the nicest girl, but that’s mostly because she has the highest self esteem of any of these characters and does not bother with things that are not worth her time. She’ll be respectful and polite as long as you are. She does confide in Ophelia and considers her a good friend, but also thinks Ophelia needs to get her shit together and stop moping lol. She also gets along well with Jack, as they both enjoy fashion and whatever trend is happening at the moment. She dislikes Eirlys, but doesn’t have a solid reason for why lol. 

Ramiel! Ramiel is Stormy’s son, his father isn’t in the picture. So basically after the news broke that some of the winx were pregnant (because lets face it they would be celebrity news) Icy processed it as “shit. they have reinforcements. we need reinforcements.” and proceeded to have herself, darcy, and stormy try to have kids. Icy had already broken Tritannus out of prison, and it was now just a matter of getting their human merfolk mix to actually work. Darcy has always been a romantic at heart so she promised to have a kid with the next man she was actually interested in. Stormy on the other hand has never really given a damn about romance, so she bore the brunt of Icy’s new obsession with continuing the ancestral witches blood line. Stormy didn’t necessarily mind the actual sex part(wasn’t enthusiastic about it either tho so :/ ), but HATED being pregnant. After a rough pregnancy, Stormy gave birth to a son who Stormy immediately became attached to, which was NOT was Icy was looking for, the ancestral and the trix power is passed down through the female line, meaning a son was functionally worthless to her. After Icy basically told her she would have to try again, Stormy took her son and noped out of there asap. She went to Ms. Griffin for help as a last effort, and after agreeing to be stripped of her magic she and Ramiel were relocated to a hidden, sparsely populated village deep in one of Lynphea’s forests. Ramiel knows nothing of his mother’s past, and, against her express wishes, decided to enroll in the Paladin program at Lynphea College. He thinks of Cymmeri as an annoying younger sister, and doesn’t know Eirlys or Arcturus. He vaguely knows of Thorn and Jack due to Red Fountain and the Order doing group training together occasionally. 

This is Darcy’s daughter Cymmeri, usually just called Cymi. She’s kind of a know-it-all, sassy child, who has only just started to display signs of her magic. She and Ramiel form coincidental friends after a random encounter, and she’ll occasionally go to him when she has a problem she can’t talk to her mom or other cousins about. She, like my version of Darcy, is at least part Koyuvian(my own personal made up planet not from the winx) which gives her the solid eye color. She wears enchanted glasses to make her eyes appear more ordinary, and to filter light that would otherwise hurt her eyes. Cymmeri also really likes to lean into the creepy goth child role just for kicks.

Eirlys and Arcturus are Icy and Tritannus’ twins. Eirlys attends Alfea and is the Fairy/Witch of Snow, Arcticus will eventually attend Red Fountain, though right now he’s learning magic from Tritannus, and acting as a support to his sister. The twins are actually too young to be attending either school, but their height and forged documents take care of that. both of them usually have spells in place to hide their more fishy traits but i wanted to draw them lol. Eirlys is a fitness nut and spends most of her free time exercising or playing sports. This also gives her an excuse to go on long solo runs so she can relay info to Arcturus who then takes it to their mom. Eirlys is kind of arrogant and can do no wrong in Icy’s eyes, where as Arcturus lacks self esteem and is constantly trying to prove his worth to their mom. Arcturus has an affinity for water, and most of his spells use it. Eirlys tries to force her relationship with most of the winx’s kids, but does genuinely get along with Ophelia.   

this isnt totally accurate for their heights but i did some of these really fast and the proportions are off lol. 

[blueboxesandtrafficcones]

The Nuptial Necessity - Chapter 4

A 12xRose Human AU

Despite an unglamorous job description, Rose loves the work she does with The Thistle Foundation, a charity founded by her best friend’s great-uncle.  It doesn’t hurt that her boss, her friend’s father, is easy on the eyes.  With a great job, wonderful friends and a loving family, life couldn’t be better – except for having someone to share it with.

All of that is threatened, though, when the great-uncle dies – and sets a strange condition for his nephew to inherit, jeopardizing the Foundation and Rose’s future, sparking a chain of events that might just get her everything she dreamed of and more.

Chapters will be posted on Saturdays and Tuesdays.  Many thanks to my beta, @stupidsatsuma

Rated: Explicit, for eventual smut

@doctorroseprompts

AO3  |  Masterlist

—

Malcolm sighed, levering himself up and around to face her, setting his scotch on the table next to her and smiling wryly.  “Thanks.”

He glanced up at her, and found her staring at him with an intense expression.  She didn’t look away, and his smile faded as he took her in.  God she’s beautiful.  It had taken him years to really see her, beyond the filter of his daughter’s friend.  Once he’d seen it, though, he’d been sunk, unable to return to how things had been.

Body and soul, she radiated, shining with a goodness and kindness unparalleled – and he’d met many people with those qualities through the Foundation. 

It had been the most ordinary moment in the world, they’d been joking about pizza toppings of all things, and his heart had just… expanded.

Like the bloody Grinch at the end of the movie.

Five years later the feeling had yet to go away; if anything it had continued to strengthen, mostly in the quiet moments.  The ring of her laughter, the glint in her eye, the shine of her lip gloss.  The casual touch as they would tease each other.

Is she getting closer?

Rose’s eyes flicked down to his lips, tongue darting out to wet her own, and his stomach bottomed out as heat raced through him.  He leaned in slowly, watching with bated breath as her eyes closed, thinking yes, yes, almost- his own eyes slipped shut as he paused a hair’s breadth away, so, so close to what he’d been aching for, what he’d been waiting for, hoping, daring, dreaming-

“Dad?”

His daughter’s voice from the hallway was the equivalent of a bucket of ice water in his lap, shocking his senses and snapping his eyes open.  By the time she entered his office he was around the back of the couch, leaning on it and doing his damnedest to act casual - an act severely hampered by Rose’s slow blink as her brow furrowed and her eyes opened, staring at him with a maelstrom of emotion in her eye.

“Whaaat’s going on?”

Rose stood, watching him watch her, and after a moment, her face shuttered.  “I have a call to make, excuse me,” she mumbled, pushing past Clara without acknowledging her.

Entering further Clara made a face at Rose’s back, before looking at him.  “What did I miss?”

“No, no, it’s- what’re you doing here?” Malcolm shifted the focus to her, coming around the sofa to hug her and kiss her forehead, simultaneously annoyed with her presence and horrified at that fact.  In all her life he’d never allowed a romantic partner – especially not a potential one – to come between them, and yet right now all he wanted was for Clara to go away, to not have shown up.

So you could… what?  What do you honestly think was about to happen?  The thought of actually kissing Rose made his blood pressure soar, high enough he didn’t hear a word of Clara’s chatter.  “Right, that’s great,” he cut her off mid-word, with no idea of what she was talking about or if it was, in fact, great. “You just missed your Mum if that’s why you’re here, and if not, I’m sorry, but I’m… on my way to a meeting,” he invented wildly, “across town, and I’m about to be late.”

“But, Dad-”  Clara trailed after him as he grabbed his jacket and booked it to the door.

“Sorry, my love, we’ll have to talk later.”  With another fleeting forehead kiss he all but ran, skipping the lift in favor of the stairs for no other reason than to keep moving, entirely uncertain of where he was going until he exited the door and found Graham waiting in the loading dock by the town car.

“Where to, boss?” his chauffeur asked, nonplussed as he folded his newspaper and opened the door, and Malcolm slid in thinking If I lose the Estate I’ve got to drive myself.  Or take the Tube.

He shook his head, meeting Graham’s eye in the rearview mirror.

“Any-fucking-where but here.”

“Yes, sir.”

-

Rose fled Malcolm’s office without even bothering to greet her friend, horrified and humiliated at what had just almost transpired.

I’m such a moron.  He doesn’t want me.  How could I be so stupid?

She found herself in the bathroom with no clear memory of getting there, washing her hands as she tried to think.  What do I do?  What do I do what do I do what do I do?

The woman staring back at her from the mirror had no answer, nothing to offer.  Tears leaked out of her eyes, not quite crying but not nearly as calm as she’d like to be.

The door creaking open made her turn to the hand dryer, offering her back to whoever was coming in and using the sound of the blower to cover her sniffles.

“Rose?”

Tears welled again at her best friend’s soft, soothing voice, but it was also the realization that for the first time in their friendship, she couldn't discuss her boy troubles with Clara.  Malcolm was her father, and it just wouldn’t be right.  I’m on my own.

“Sweetheart.”

Clara’s hand on her shoulder released the floodgates, and Rose spun, throwing herself into her friend’s arms sobbing, relaxing into the welcome embrace.

Whatever happens, I can’t lose Clara.

-

Once she pulled herself together they adjourned to Malcolm’s office, Rose hesitating in the doorway.  “Clara-”

“He ran out, a meeting across town he claimed, like I can’t tell when he’s full of shit.  C’mon.”

They settled together on the couch, kicking off their shoes and curling up as they had done so often, though never on this particular couch.  This isn’t the Tucker I’d like to be with like this, Rose thought morosely, feeling guilty at the idea.  Clara was her very best friend in all the world, the one who knew all her secrets.  It felt paramount to betrayal to think that.

“Wait!”  Barefoot, Clara leapt off the couch, returning a moment later with the whisky decanter and two matching glasses.  “Here.”

“It’s the middle of the day,” Rose gave a token protest, nonetheless taking a mouthful of the liquid, enjoying the burn as it went down.  Working for Malcolm had introduced her to the world of scotch, and he’d been a willing and enthusiastic teacher, telling her with an arrogant but teasing smile, Rose Tyler, who better to teach you about scotch than a Scot?

That had been the first, but hardly the last time she’d wanted to fist his stupid tee shirt, pull him closer, and snog the living daylights out of him.  She’d once even had a dream that was essentially them doing body shots of whisky off each other across his desk.  It had taken the better part of a week to look him in the eye without blushing afterwards.

Glancing up from the glass she found Clara watching her, head propped on her hand, elbow on the back of the couch for support.  “What?”

“So, what exactly did I almost walk in on?”

“What d’you mean?  Nothing.  What?”

“Rose.”  Clara shook her head, sighing.  “C’mon.  What was that?  You’re both being far too weird for it to be nothing.”

She bit her lip, swirling the scotch just to watch the motion, uncertain of what to do.  Normally she would confide, they had no secrets, but… this was just too strange.

Okay, one secret.

“Nothing.”

“Rose.”

“What do you think of this whole… Wallace’s will thing?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at her friend in the universal change the subject time-honored glare.  “Did you know anything about it?”

“Of course not!” Clara gasped, outraged.  “You think I’d know about something like that and not tell you?  More importantly, you think I could keep a secret that big?  Come on!”

Rose had to smile at that, burrowing down slightly into the sofa.  It was incredibly comfortable, and she knew Malcolm had spent more than a few nights on it during busy weeks.  If she strained, she could almost catch a hint of his cologne.  You are so far gone.  And an idiot.  “True,” she conceded, “but I had to ask.”

“Well, I didn’t.  And I can guarantee that Dad didn’t either; no way he’d let Wally pull a stunt like that.  You know he respects you too much.”

“Thanks.”  It hadn’t even occurred to her that Malcolm might have known, but in thinking about it, she knew he couldn’t have; he wouldn’t let that happen.  He had, somehow, become one of her biggest supporters. Her faith in him was absolute. “So, what do you think I should do?”

Clara smirked, not hiding her face behind her glass quickly enough.  “I dunno.  Be my new mummy?”  She shrieked with laughter when Rose swatted her, before yelping, “No, my whisky!” as it almost spilled.

They giggled together, and Rose shook her head, smiling softly.  “Wouldn’t that be something.  I suppose one could argue I’ve already had plenty of practice,” she teased, thinking about uni.  They’d been alike in many ways, but while Clara liked to go out and party, Rose was more of a homebody, one who reluctantly accepted the designation of mom-friend – which said more about her friends than it did about her, given that she wasn’t the particularly well-organized or neat-freak type.  Everyone else had just been worse.

“You’ll be a good mum,” her friend said confidently, nudging Rose’s knee with her own.  “No question.”

“That seems optimistic,” Rose snorted, trying to hide the twinge in her heart as she realized, “If I went through with this- for the Foundation, obviously- then I’ll be thirty-five and divorced.  Bit late to start a family of my own.”

“What?  That’s not true!” Clara protested, sitting upright.  “We’re still plenty young!  Lots of women have babies in their late thirties.  Don’t give up!”

Smiling sardonically, Rose shook her head.  “Oh, come on.  I’m not saying it’s impossible, but definitely impractical.  If a bloke is in his mid-thirties and never been married, or worse divorced, there’s a reason.  No.”

Clara pursed her lips in thought for a moment before brightening.  “I know! Go it alone.  Adopt, or use a sperm bank.  Do it on your own terms.  Hell, it’s the twenty-first century – there’s plenty of ways to get material from someone without going near their trousers.  You could get some from my dad, for crying out loud – I always wanted a sibling.”

That had Rose laughing, trying to picture not only the conversation, but also the outcome.  “You’d be, at a minimum, thirty-one years older than your sibling.  That’s just absurd – you’d always be mistaken for their mum!”

“You’re twenty-five years older than Tony,” Clara argued.  “It’s not that different.”

Rose’s laughter trailed off as she pictured it; not Clara with a decades-younger sibling, but rather, Malcolm with a baby.  He’d worship another kid.  Once, after a scotch-too-many, he’d confessed one of his greatest life disappointments had been not having more children.  She could see it, clear as day, the gruff and severe Scot losing his shit over a tiny person, being absolutely fascinated by watching his child grow and learn, discovering the world.  No child could have a prouder father, that’s for sure.  She’d heard enough stories about Clara’s childhood to know that, not so much from the story itself but the pride and joy evident in the retelling.

Her heart ached at the thought, of sharing a home, a child, a life with Malcolm.  For the first time, she admitted to herself that she was in love with him, truly, madly, deeply in love, the kind where other men held almost no interest for her.  She wasn’t dead, could certainly appreciate a fine specimen of man when she saw it, but… she didn’t find herself wanting more.  She winced, realizing it had been more than a year since her last shag, longer since her last actual relationship.

He’s my standard.

It hurt to think, but it was true; she was constantly comparing other men to him, if subconsciously, and he came out on top every time.  His jokes were funnier, his hair was better, his smile more charming, his eyes deeper. Whenever they would touch, mostly in passing with how often she handed things to him or vice versa, a spark would shock her wherever his skin touched hers.

“Clara-”

“Shit!” her friend cut her off, eyes widening as she reached for her buzzing mobile.  “Shit, shit, shit.  I’ve got a meeting with some parents, I cannot be late.”  Shaking her head, she bounced up off the couch.  “Sorry, sorry, I’ll still see you tomorrow night, yeah?  Hold that thought.  I gotta run, but I love you.  Later, babe!”

And with a peck to the cheek she was gone, leaving Rose alone with her whisky and worries.

“Now what?”

[weerd1]

Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1908.06: Missions Reviewed, “Indiscretion,” “Rejoined,” “Starship Down,” and “Little Green Men.”

“Indiscretion” gives us Maj. Kira hearing from a skeezy old contact that a missing Cardassian prisoner transport that disappeared may have been found, and she immediately plans to investigate. However, in the interest of furthering Bajoran and Cardassian relations, the new Cardassian government insists on sending a representative: Gul Dukat. 

Meanwhile, Kassidy Yates is talking about moving permanently onto DS9, which catches Sisko a little off guard. His reaction puts her off, and he has to figure out how to make this right, and if indeed this is the next step he wants to take. Kira and Dukat track the ship, and Kira realizes Dukat has a personal interest: his Bajoran mistress was on board with a daughter…his daughter. Kira is at first sympathetic but realizes he intends to kill the girl in order to preserve his status on Cardassia. She needs him though as the survivors are being used as slave labor by the Breen, and Kira can’t rescue them alone. When they have Tora Ziyal safe, Kira is prepared to shoot Dukat to save the girl, but he relents, promising to take her back to Cardassia and face the consequences.  

Written during the “We’re going to make you like Dukat” era of DS9, the writers effectively tease us with the fact he is still insufferable but slowly coming around.  Some comic relief even shows up as Kira removes a splinter from his posterior. 

Introducing the character of Ziyal does put Dukat on an interesting arc…though redemption won’t be the destination.  The Sisko/Yates scenes are amusing as well and bode well for those two characters continued development.  The Breen are introduced, and to me they always seemed to have some tie to Boushh, Leia’s disguise in “Return of the Jedi.” They will of course come into play when the Dominion War takes off, but will remain mysterious.

In “Rejoined,” a Trill science team comes to the station with the plan of creating an artificial wormhole.  The lead scientist has a symbiont who in a previous host was married to one of Dax’s previous hosts. 

 “Reassociation” is a severe taboo in Trill society, and could result in being banished from the homeworld, which would mean the symbiont could not be passed on to another host, effectively ending its life. Jadzia and Lenara are initially awkward together, but work together easily, and the attraction between them begins to grow.  Eventually, when there is an accident in the experiment, Dax realizes she never wants to lose Lenara again, and asks her to stay on DS9, accept the exile, and rekindle their love. 

 Lenara considers, but cannot bring herself to give her work and life up, and leaves when the experiments are over, leaving a broken hearted Dax in her wake.

For an episode from the mid 1990s, this is a remarkable way of dealing with homosexuality.  What’s truly brilliant is the way the story makes the Taboo the Trill reassociation, NOT the gender of the hosts, so NO ONE in the episode questions the two of them being married because they are women.  Kira even gives an impassioned speech about choice and love, and at no point is gender mentioned.  Very ahead of its time, and very heartbreaking when it doesn’t work out. Susanna Thompson who plays Lenara will of course go on to play the Borg Queen in a few episodes of Voyager, and Moira Queen on “Arrow.”  Sci Fi Royalty all around!

The Defiant becomes a “Starship Down” in the Gamma Quadrant! While negotiating with a partner there the Defiant is attacked by two Jem’Hadar fighters. 

 The trade ship and the Defiant descend into the atmosphere of a gas giant to evade their attackers. Blinded in the atmosphere the cat and mouse continues after Sisko is hurt with Worf taking over the combat. He pushes too hard, and O’Brien gives him advice on how to better work with the other officers. Kira meanwhile is trying to keep Sisko alive while dealing with the fact that he is The Emissary.  She admits her discomfort and wonders if they have not bonded more because of the unspoken issues that he is kind of her Messiah. Worf manages to defeat the Dominion Forces, and back on DS9, Sisko invites Kira to a holosuite baseball game.

Something seems off on this episode.  I applaud the adaptation of the old submarine warfare tropes, though I don’t think they do it as well as “Balance of Terror” did on the Original Series. It’s weird seeing Worf have  to practice how to deal with human officers; it’s not like he’s fresh, he’s been working with humans on the Enterprise for years. The Kira/Sisko stuff is kind of interesting, and I am always a sucker for dealing with the Bajoran religion and its ramificaitons.  Fun to see James Cromwell (Zephram Cochrane in “First Contact”) here as well as the alien negotiator. Otherwise, everyone else just seems…off.

“Little Green Men” Lightens the mood however. With Nog preparing to head off to Starfleet Academy, Quark offers to take him on the new ship he just inherited from the often mentioned cousin Gayla. On the way there though, Rom realizes Quark is actually smuggling some contraband, and that Gayla has sabotaged the shuttle.  Using the elicit merch to counter the sabotage, they are thrown back in time to 1947, where they have crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. 

 In the custody of the US Army, they have to reactivate their universal translators to even talk to the primitive Hew-Mons, who do things like light tobacco and fire and breathe it, and irradiate their own planet with nuclear fission.  Quark begins to scheme to ‘bargain’ the whole planet under his control, but the Army starts playing hardball.

  Luckily, knowing he was smuggling, it turns out Odo was stowed away and knows where they can find their ship.  As luck would have it there’s about to be another nuclear test, and they can use that explosion to make another temporal distortion…if there’s enough of the contraband “kemosite” on board. Luckily there is, and they return to the right year and get Nog safely to Starfleet. Meanwhile Quark has to scrap the ship to get money for passage home. Odo wants to arrest him, but he points out there is no proof: all the kemosite was used in the time warp!

Definitely a fun ep but one that the expanded universe of the novels used to great effect talking about the Ferengi tech studies from Area 51 being used to design the Botany Bay that Khan would later leave Earth in during the Eugenics Wars. Also neat to see Charles Napier guest star here, since he was a space hippy in the TOS episode “The Way to Eden;” now he is a Herbert as the Army General in charge. The best part of the whole episode though is Nog studying an Earth history program and asking his father if he thinks some guy named Gabriel Bell from the 2020s looks just like Captain Sisko.

NEXT VOYAGE: It’s Klingonpalooza on DS9 as Kor joins Worf and Jadzia as they search for the legendary “Sword of Kahless”!  tlhIngan maH! taHjaj!

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

@thecorteztwins

So, I wound up writing another piece of that “Fabian and Maximus kidnap Luna” scenario, this time from Luna’s perspective.  This is kind of turning into a fan-fic, but feel free to tell me to stop, or tell me to do specific things in the story, since I am using your ideas here.  If I manage to keep this up, I think the next scene will be Fabian’s perspective at the mall, pretending to be Luna’s two dads. 

(Also, I’m pretty sure that Fabian didn’t actually kidnap Luna to “teach Quicksilver a lesson,” but I figure that’s how he’d explain it to her.  Maximus and Fabian are both entirely full of bullshit most of the time.)

           Luna was used to being alone.  Inhuman parents didn’t hover over their children constantly the way human parents seemed to, and royal Inhuman parents even less so.  Her mother was constantly away on some kind of official business, like long, boring meetings or fancy dinners, or dealing with yet another crisis that threatened to destroy the entire city.  Other children took lessons together, but as a princess, Luna was given private tutors.  She’d outgrown nannies, so she was usually on her own when lessons were over. At least when Ahura was around they could play together, when he wasn’t moody and moping.  

           Being alone at the Avengers compound was nothing new, either.  Her father had dashed away to deal with the Wrecking Crew destroying buildings in downtown New York.  At least they were living up to their names.  According to her father, they usually stole things and robbed banks, which seemed weird, since they didn’t call themselves the Bank Robbing Crew.  Luna knew she shouldn’t mind, it was her father’s job to fight bad guys and save people, but he’d promised her that they’d go out for ice cream that afternoon.  And there were so many Avengers, did he really have to go?  He could fight bad guys any time, but Luna would only be staying with him another month before heading back to Attilan (assuming her mother didn’t forget because the Kree attacked or Attilan fell into a time portal or whatever).  

           So Luna was sitting on the couch watching Steven Universe, and feeling very sorry for herself, because this was supposed to be Luna and Dad time, and she was alone again.  The cartoon cheered her up a little bit.  The show was about magic sentient space gems, which was a really neat idea, and they had cool designs, and sometimes there were songs.  But mostly, Luna could totally relate to the main character being a half-human, half-alien hybrid, struggling to fit into either world.

           Absorbed in the show, Luna didn’t look up when the door opened.  Two of the gems had fused into some kind of giant woman, and were fighting weird bird monsters.  It wasn’t until someone picked up the remote and switched the TV off that Luna looked up.

           One man she didn’t recognize.  He was kind of handsome, except for the haughty expression on his face.  He was wearing coveralls and a hat, but she could see wisps of red hair peeking out around his face, and a long ponytail down his back.  His emotions were much uglier.  Luna could see golden pride running through his psyche, polished to an arrogant gaudiness.  The too-bright gold color was twined with sharp neon green malice, a rich, luxurious royal purple of greed, and tightly coiled spirals of orange anxiety.  This wasn’t a good sign.  

           The other man was Uncle Maximus, which was an even worse sign.  He was wearing the same coveralls and cap, reminding Luna of the work clothing that he often wore in the Chamber of Devices.  The anxiety inside him was tinted white, closer to excitement, lying in tangled knots across the same garish pride Luna saw in the other man.  Uncle Max’s emotions were far less orderly, though. His psyche was a polychrome nightmare, constantly shifting like a stained glass window come to life, colors clashing as they shot jagged spikes across his torso.   The only constant was the black.  It wasn’t like the cool pools of blue-black calm inside Uncle Black Bolt, it was a writhing darkness that reached out to stain any color that came into contact with it.   It twisted through her uncle’s body, coiling into his brain, wrapped around his heart. Or maybe it was coming out of his heart? It was hard to tell.  

           “Oh, hi Uncle Max!”  Luna said, not quite sure yet whether she should be worried. Somewhere in the rainbow mess, she could see a faint pink of affection.  “Are you bad again?”

           “I’m never bad, dear child,” Maximus cooed, in a tone more oily than honeyed.  “Others label me so because they don’t have the mental capacity to understand my actions.”

           “Oh.  That sounds like you’re bad again.”      

Luna was never really clear on whether she should be afraid of her uncle.  She had first heard of Maximus as a kind of boogeyman, someone that her tutors spoke of in fearful whispers.  He’d seemed to fit that description when Medusa dragged her down to his dark cell, a soft-spoken monster hiding behind a smiling mask.  Despite his kind behavior (he even explained things to her like she was a grown-up!), talking with him felt a little like cuddling up to a tiger. He seemed to change every time Luna saw him – one day cold and sly, the next day practically jumping up and down with excitement while explaining one of his machines.  He certainly didn’t remain soft-spoken, he got very shouty when his emotions boiled over inside him in an eruption of colors.

Even the adults couldn’t seem to decide how to treat him – he was locked away in a dark dungeon forever, he was ruling Attilan, he was the family’s trusted scientific expert, he was trying to kill everyone, he was building machines for Black Bolt, he was a prince to be respected, he was a reviled lunatic.  No one trusted him, but Crystal had left Luna in his care when she and the rest of the family went to rescue Uncle Black Bolt and Ahura from the Skrulls.  (He hadn’t hurt her then, only talked to her for hours in a way that sounded very much like he was talking to himself.) Was Uncle Maximus good or bad or brilliant or crazy or all of those things?  He certainly wasn’t the nightmare under the bed any more.  Lately, Luna had started to think of him as a badly-behaved child, hiding behind a grown-up mask.

           “What does ‘bad’ even mean, really?”  Maximus asked, taking her by the arm.  “A word to keep people in their place.  It’s a word for the peasants, Luna, not for us. Royalty is beyond good and bad.”

           “I really don’t think that’s true Uncle Max,” Luna said, letting herself be pulled up away from the TV.  She’d seen this episode, anyway.

           “You’ve obviously been spending too much time with these humans, you’re starting to absorb their mindset.  You need to be back with your own people.”

           “Is that where you’re taking me?  Back to Mom and Aunt Medusa?”  Maximus grinned broadly at her.

           “Yes, child, exactly!”  Bright flashes of sickly pale blue inside him screamed insincerity.

           “Really?”

           “Well, we’ll go back to Attilan eventually, but first you can spend some fun time with your Uncle Max and my….associate here. I’ll teach you all sorts of interesting things.  Your education has been far too neglected.”

           “I don’t wanna learn.”  Luna wrinkled her nose as she paused, not letting herself be pulled any further.  Maximus paused with her, apparently unwilling to yank her along.  “I’m supposed to be on vacation from school.  Can’t we do something fun?”

           “Yes, poppet, we’ll do all sorts of fun things,” Maximus promised, and the blue blended with a forest green that suggested he was at least partially telling the truth.

           “For God’s sake, Maximus, just grab the kid,” interrupted the man with the ponytail, annoyance flashing a jagged red.  “We need to get out of here before anyone else walks in.”

           “Watch your tongue, Cortez!” Maximus snapped. “Luna is a princess of Attilan and she will be treated with respect.  Even if she’s part mutant, poor thing.”  He patted Luna on the head at that last comment.  Luna was used to this kind of talk.  Most citizens of Attilan approached her half-breed status with something between barely disguised contempt, or, at best, horrified fascination and pity.  She didn’t see why it was such a bad thing.  Her father had powers just like Inhumans, better powers than most of them!

           “That’s her better half, anyway,” the man grumbled. “Mutants will inherit this world.” Uncle Max waved his hand dismissively.

           “Can I say good-bye to Mr. Jarvis before we go? And I should leave a note for my Dad -” Maximus’ grip on her arm tightened. Luna was suddenly completely certain that she was being kidnapped.  It was hardly the first time.

           “Let’s not bother Mr. Jarvis right now, he’s very busy,” Maximus said quickly.  “Don’t worry, we’ve already told Quicksilver that we’re coming to pick you up.” Luna’s father would never in a million years agree for Maximus to take Luna back to Attilan.  He was the only grown-up who’d always been consistent in his opinion of Uncle Max – namely that they should lock him up and throw away the key.

           “Wait, let me get my clothes!  And my toothbrush!  I can’t go without my toothbrush, can I?”  If Uncle Max let her go to her room, Luna could leave a note for her father.  Or even make a run for it.  Maybe she could hide in one of the many spare rooms until the Avengers came back.

           “You don’t need all that, poppet.  We’ll buy you some new clothes.  We’ll have a shopping spree, won’t that be nice?”  Now Maximus was pulling her towards the door again, so that Luna had to stumble along to keep up.  Luna made a frustrated sound, not quite a growl or scream, just a long “Rrgggghhhh….”

           “Quiet!”  ordered the pony-tailed man.

           “Uncle Max, if you’re gonna kidnap me, can’t I at least take my clothes along?  And my DS? It gets really boring being kidnapped!”

           “What does ‘kidnap’ even mean, really?  Just another silly word,” Maximus said cheerfully. Luna rolled her eyes and thought about screaming at the top of her lungs.  That would at least bring Mr. Jarvis from the kitchen.  But Mr. Jarvis didn’t have any powers, and he’d try to stop them.  Luna was fairly sure that Uncle Maximus would not hurt her.  But he would probably hurt Mr. Jarvis.  Screaming was out.    

           “It means you’re taking me someplace I don’t wanna go!” Luna snapped, as they went through the main doors towards the stairs.

           “But you do want to go with us,” Maximus insisted.  “We’re family.  Family members can’t kidnap each other, right?  We’re going to buy you some lovely new things, and have a really fun time together!”

            “That’s right!” agreed the pony-tailed man, smiling as if it hurt him to do so. “We’re great fun!”

           Luna fumed quietly as they went down the stairs. She didn’t think she could use her powers on both of them at once.  It was really hard to use her powers on Uncle Max, anyway, like trying to run underwater. If she tried he would fight, and then the other man, “Cortez,” would probably do something nasty to her.  It would be easier to take over Cortez, but then Uncle Max would use his own powers to stop him.  She wished desperately for her mother to appear and light both men on fire (not like, completely on fire, just enough to hurt them a little.  Maybe just their toes.)  She wanted her father to zip up the stairs and whisk her away, safe in his arms.  But neither of them did, because they were busy.

           They were always busy.  For a moment Luna hated her entire stupid family.  This wouldn’t be happening if either of her parents had been there, like parents were supposed to be.  Maybe they’d finally learn their lesson when her father came back and found her gone.  She smiled a little to herself, imagining her father dropping to his knees and weeping.

           “Oh Luna, how could I have left you all alone? We should have gone out for ice cream like you wanted!”  He would wail.  “How could I have ever considered anything more important than my precious daughter?” Crystal would join him, and they would cry into each other’s arms.  “Our daughter is gone forever because we were such bad parents!  By Randac, I swear if Luna comes back safe I’ll never make her do boring algebra worksheets ever again!”

           Luna was so caught up in fantasy that she barely noticed as they exited the building and climbed into a van.  She realized as the doors shut that she should have gotten a look at the license plate, but it probably didn’t matter.  If this was a kidnapping (and it totally was!), Uncle Max would announce himself to the family soon enough and make a big showy spectacle out of it.  He was “extra,” a human word that Luna had learned from She-Hulk.  And maybe it wouldn’t hurt that her parents would worry about her for a little while – maybe they should.

           Maximus was strapping her into the backseat while Cortez got into the driver’s seat.

           “Where did you get this Uncle Max?  You didn’t do something bad to someone, did?”  

           “Nooooo, of course not,” Maximus tried to assure her as he settled into the front passenger seat.  “A nice man gave it to me.”

           “Oh.”  Luna mentally supplied quotes to the word “gave,” just hoping that her uncle hadn’t hurt the man.  “Are you Uncle Max’s friend?”  She asked Cortez, who was driving them towards the gate.

           “We are…associates.  Partners, you could say,” Cortez said, glancing back at her. “Listen child, I know we have had our differences in the past, but if you behave yourself and cooperate, I promise not to harm you.”

           “What differences?”

           Cortez abruptly stepped on the brake, Uncle Maximus letting out a startled yelp as he jerked forward into the dashboard.

           “I wasn’t even belted in yet, Cortez!  Can you not even drive through a parking lot without some display of incompetence – “   He went on in that vein, but Cortez was not listening, only looking back at Luna, bright yellow surprise flaring up, then smoldering down into a dull, dark red anger.

           “Do you really not remember?  I once kidnapped you to teach your dreadful father a lesson!  How can you forget someone like me?!”

           “Maybe I was a baby?  People don’t remember things from when they were babies,” Luna suggested, trying to be helpful, and maybe calm his anger a bit.  

           “You were old enough!  You were – no, never mind.  I am the great Fabian Cortez, Spanish royalty, leader of the Acolytes, true successor to the legacy of Magneto, the very pinnacle of the race of homo-superior.”

           “That means mutant,” Maximus supplied.  “Now will you drive the van, or must I lower myself to the task, Cortez?”

           “Nice to meet you, Mr. Cortez,” Luna said. “Don’t feel bad if I don’t remember. I get kidnapped a lot.  It’s hard to remember every time.”

           “Fine.  Fine. I forgive you forgetting.  You are only a child, and children can be forgiven these things,” Cortez conceded, anger visibly cooling.  “But more importantly, Maximus, how will we get her past the guard?  I assume you’ll….”  Cortez glanced at Luna, then back at Maximus, and tapped his forehead in a way that meant to be secret.  Obviously he wanted Uncle Max to use his mind control powers.  Luna wondered if they’d keep using charades around her if she pretended not to understand.

           “Why don’t we do this the easy way?” Maximus said, turning to Luna.  “Luna, we’re going to play a fun hide-and-seek game where you lay under this tarp.”  

           “That doesn’t look very clean.  I don’t think I want to play that game.”  And Uncle Max couldn’t force her.  He couldn’t use his powers on her, that was the one advantage she could play.  That, and the cell-phone in her dress pocket that neither man had noticed yet, but she’d have to pull it out when they weren’t watching her.

           “Oh, but you must!  It’s one of the many delightful games we’ll be playing today,” Maximus insisted.

           “Can we also go to store and buy me some new clothing?  Like you said?  I’ll play the game if we can go to the mall.”  Luna knew they could overpower her if they really wanted to.  But Maximus probably didn’t want to do something like that, and he probably didn’t want to deal with her crying or screaming. Buying her presents would be the path of least resistance.  And it seemed only fair, since they were kidnapping her and everything.

           “That’s really not-“ Cortez started, but was cut off by Maximus.

           “Yes, of course, princess!  Just like I said!  I promise!”  The colors seemed to indicate sincerity, although Uncle Max could change his mind on a dime.  But then, resisting might mean that they hurt the poor security guard, and Luna didn’t want that.

           “Okay, it’s a deal.  You promised!” Luna lay flat against the seat and pulled the tarp over herself.  If she played her cards right, maybe she could get her uncle to buy her a new DS.