#because what creature can fucking SCALE WALLS

[lsunstreakerl]

ohhhh im sososo in love w/ ur worldbuilding in fmf !? like i am not joking it's been on my mind 24/7 and ltrly got me thru this exam ssn (which is finally over yayyy)

i finally have a lot of time and lots to yap abt and this ask is gonna go so many different places cus. i have an inability to stay on track. hope u don't mind <3

im v interested in a lot of things fashion-wise for both kingdoms, along side other topics but my current brain worm has been abt the wedding itself. i have to imagine that customs r very different up north compared to central (ricos kingdom is centre, right?) ones and one of the main factors for me is the prince consort's attire.

would max wear his own traditional attire to signify the relation between two kingdoms or would he have to conform to the verhoeven wedding attire? and does he get a choice in the matter? i think this is a pretty major stand-in or reflection of the progressiveness/conservatism of the laws, and by extension, the people there. or at least of the royal families. i have like a wedding attire design analysis cooking up im js waitinggg for that hint or nudge twrds it (other than the tailoring and measurements mention which were very a nice touch!) so i have some material to go off of and don't accidentally mess w/the writing flow.

and sparring clothes !! ohh im thinking abt sparring fits a lot. lightweight loose sweatshirts for consistent long practice hours, tighter fits and cleaner material for evaluation sparring (and some show-off), maybe leathers for max to demonstrate certain situations better i js know rico and townspeople would go crazyyyyy.

also im thinking fmf au where everything is the exact same except townsfolk have twitter. i don't know how. they js do and purely for the sake of treating the royal families how we treat f1 drivers (and all of stantwt yk)

(these r so fun to make shsjsksk wait i got a create a separate ask of js these)

anyway yeahhh yapping over !! love ur work as always mwah xx

CONGRATS!!! exam season is The Worst Thing Ever and I'm super happy and not at all jealous that you're free!

oh I'm such a worldbuilding nerd it's genuinely a problem. fmf is entirely self indulgent and that's just another example LOL. I have no problems with rambling asks :D there's technically spoilers for the wedding below but I put lots of thought into it so I think you should all read it anyways 🫶

wedding thoughts: there's a little bit of a mix going on here! for the actual ceremony, they've both got white suits. Rico's has chunkier gold embellishments compared to max, who has finer silver jewelry. (matching with his diadem that I talk a little about here.) there's an element of northern customs with both of them having white fur cloaks (a gift from the north in celebration of max- his people put a lot of their time and energy into getting the materials and constructing two of the cloaks. it's a clear sign of approval by his own people back home.)

cultural northern customs involve having to chase your partner down after the offered proposal in what is widely considered to be a fun, slightly horny "hunting" game. sure, you can propose- but if you can't even catch the person you're trying to marry, are you really a good fit? the chaser usually has to avoid traps set by the partner being chased, who's goal is to go without getting caught until the sunrise. when the partner being proposed to initiates the chase by running, it's a partial acceptance. full acceptance is given if they're caught.

central kingdom customs involve a very large festival-style celebration that features lots of bright colors, and clothing that's flowing and showcases movement for dancing. very big emphasis on marriage being a solid foundation and element of a healthy community, so any kind of union (royal or not) is celebrated with a bunch of enthusiasm. traditionally there's a lot of dancing through the day into the evening, and then the night ends when the townsfolk carry the newlyweds and dump them into the lake. (symbolizing the washing off of any past struggles or baggage, and that when they leave the lake together they're starting their new life as partners)

for the rico and max, they do both! the initial hunt after the proposal, and then the festival after the ceremony.

sparring clothes please I love your brain. generally soldiers wear lightweight clothing to practice (unless they're doing armor training) which max is fine with, but when he's teaching certain movements and evaluations he wears the leathers. there's lots of theories floating around why he does that, ranging from "he's trying to make us overthink it" to "it's a reminder of how different the styles are" it's actually just because his leathers are very well broken in and comfortable.

PLEASE THE TWEETS 😭 I was trying to decide what was making me laugh harder- "twitter for medieval magic devices" or the fact that max is on the phone reading off of a scroll. absolutely hilarious, thank you 🤍

[eldritch-spouse]

https://www.tumblr.com/eldritch-spouse/780205955545776128/kalymirs-reaction-to-me-the-old-icon-of-wraths?source=share

Kalymir thoroughly fucking and rubbing the Queen's clit up to the highest point of the fortress to so everyone can hear it.

[Swoon-worthy for the average wrathful demon. Fem reader.]

TW: Exhibitionism; Squirting; Fear play; Passing description of past gore; Kalymir's caps lock

You never could have guessed this is what he'd pull.

The Ring is going through bizarre times, truly. But if there's one thing you've always prided yourself over, through thick and thin, it's your ability to adapt quickly. To survive. When your previous husband got effectively dethroned by the new King of Wrath, you discovered that your life was not in peril, but actually secured.

The newcomer desired you as his own.

What luck, you merely have to learn to live with another unrequited husband.

Kalymir is quite different than the previous monarch, namely in his energetic nature and resilience. You're not at all surprised he took the throne so swiftly, when faced with an aging, much too overconfident Icon. And although King Kalymir can be unpredictable at times, you thought you were getting the general gist of his modus operandi.

For example, when Kaly laughs during intimacy, it's usually either because you made a particularly pathetic noise, or he's gotten an idea- Most likely to bring a toy, or a weapon, into the occasion. Something that'll be as pleasurable as it'll be painful.

You could never, in a million years, have guessed that he would sling you over his shoulder and march outside with your naked body.

Not that he's anymore clothed than you are.

No, Kalymir stomps out the fortress interior with nothing but his bare crimson hide and a swollen cock bobbing between his legs, unbothered by the passing stares of desensitized guards and mildly curious staff. Some snicker at the way you scream and angrily attempt to tear some of the spikes off his back.

" Just what do you think you're doing?!? "

" SHUT YOUR TRAP. "

A clap to your ass effectively achieves just that, the sting of your flesh distracting you from the heat in your face.

" HOLD TIGHT OR CRACK YOUR SKULL. "

It's all the warning you get before this beast of a creature launches himself at the rubbled walls of his own fortress and begins scaling it.

The shriek that left you was pure frightened reflex, tiny human nails fruitlessly digging into his back for all the support you can get. Dangling legs attempt to encircle anything while you grip around his crown of horns and the bone spikes coming from his lower shoulder blades. Instinct makes you bite the back of his neck, hoping to stay as anchored as possible.

Judging by the steaming grunt he let out, Kalymir doesn't mind at all.

The sound of dense claws scraping against harsh stone follows every frantic lift and impact of his climb. You dare not open your eyes and gouge the distance he's already put between yourself and the ground. Impossibly strong muscle mass shifts and coils beneath you, he doesn't even break a mild sweat from this.

The air in your lungs freezes along with every limb in your body when Kalymir hastens, climb seemingly endless, making you realize what his goal is.

This complete lunatic wants to fuck you on the very top of his fortress!

" You're fucking insane! " Is all you can spit through the shock and dread coiling around your throat.

" DON'T GIVE ME SHIT. YOU'RE WET ENOUGH I MIGHT SLIP. "

The possibility, no matter how crudely worded, is paralyzing.

He has a point however... Shamefully.

Just as Kalymir innovates Wrath, he innovates in your bed chambers, something the previous ruler hardly cared for. He's effective, overwhelming. To this demonlord, domination isn't merely subduing you for his personal use, it's wrenching all the pleasure out of you he can get, forcibly, pushing you past your limits, until you cry and hurt and collapse. An all-encompassing type of fight you had never experienced.

Compared to the dull and trivial acts of before, is it any wonder Kalymir can easily make you wet?

In less time than you'd ever bet on, the King has scaled up to one of the high points of his own fortress. A somewhat conical shape of hard, clawed rubble- Marks of demons who had previously perched upon it. You dare take a peak into what lies below, and the sight is dizzying in its grandeur.

Various zones of Wrath reveal themselves to you, a miasma of mahogany patterns and endless moving shapes. You never thought of how much blood was spilled on the streets daily until you got to see it from above, like now. The arenas stand out, decorated in engravings of glorified slayers and tormentors from ages ago. Your vision blurs for a slight second, moving figures becoming no more than blurred blobs as you grip harder onto Kalymir, so afraid of falling.

He would tank such a fall, shaking it off. You, on the other hand, would paint the fortress like an ripe tomato.

" D- Don't set me down. "

Your threat stutters past intensely grit teeth, more of a pathetic plea than anything.

" NOT PLANNING ON IT. "

In a series of movement that would make any standard human nauseous but do hardly anything to someone as used to brutishness as you, Kalymir has flipped you over against his front. The motion does little to jostle his perfect sense of balance. It's as if you weigh less than feathers to this demonlord.

The ensuing position has your back to his front, held tightly by unrelenting arms which your poor heart hammers against.

" HANDS AROUND MY NECK! SUPPORT YOURSELF. "

You don't need to be told twice.

Scrambling, shaking digits dart upwards for any inch of safety. Nails claws against a hard chin and defined cheekbones in their panicked efforts, before finally latching around the corded muscles in question. You think some might have chipped in the process, but he doesn't complain, holding your lower body up by the meat of your thighs.

It's a strange position to be in.

You are now spread open and exposed to the burning wafts of Wrath's winds, the adrenaline in your system allowing you that much more sensitivity to every stimulus. The slightest changes in the air make your nipples pebble and your cunt twitch against nothing.

Your mind empties for a fraction of a blissful second where all that exists is mild confusion, your heartbeat and Kalymir's steady breaths inflating his chest.

Then, abruptly, you imagine what might happen if your hands' strength falters, slipping to an ungodly fall, a screaming, wailing death.

" ... I'm gonna fall. " You warn him, gasping.

For as careless as Kalymir often is, you don't think he plans to get rid of you anytime soon, so it would be in his best interests to not let you die in such a horrid way.

Broken nails dig harder into his hide, subpar anchors that only succeed in making the King groan, teased to satisfaction.

" QUIT FUCKING WHINING AND SQUEEZE MY COCK LIKE EARLIER. "

You're now suddenly reminded of the activities interrupted only mere minutes ago. The throbbing length resting beneath you has hardly flagged a bit, in fact, you're willing to bet scaling around his fortress with you over his shoulder has only made Kalymir hornier.

It should have taken longer for him to successfully hook the tip of his cock to your entrance, but truth of the matter is he had stretched you prior, and you're really just as wet as he had taunted you over.

Kalymir leans back against one of the merlons of his fortress and curves forward a certain amount, just enough to allow the penetration to be that much deeper. You get to feel every inch of his barbed shaft force its way inside, letting out a mute, trembling sigh.

There's no doubt you're clenching around him hard. If not from pleasure, then surely how much tension this dangerous position is exerting all over your body. He chuffs like a gratified bull and rocks to grind his cock further into you, a gesture that has your toes curling and eyelids fluttering as it crushes all manner of sensitive spots inside you.

" Hhnrh- "

" HAHAHA, YOU'LL CHOKE MY DICK OFF AT THIS POINT, YOU HUNGRY WHORE. "

You bet he'd like that.

The demonlord finds a rhythm far too fast for someone that's standing in such heights. Entirely unbothered by the surroundings and never faltering, he bends his neck and bounces you on an unrelenting girth, letting gravity and momentum screw you harder onto his wet dick.

Even though you're so high up, neither of you seem to get enough air in your lungs, panting like a pair of animals in a frenzy, perhaps putting some rutting gargoyles to shame with your beastly display.

Every loud cry you release triggers a trickle of laughter from the King, eager to rip out more of them.

" HOW DOES IT FEEL, RUNT? DID HE EVER DO THIS TO YOU? "

Terrifying. You opt not to tell him that.

" N- No. "

" OF COURSE NOT. " He grinds out, snarling. " BECAUSE HE WAS FUCKING WORTHLESS. "

The Icon halts his bruising pace, a pause that finally allows your poor brain to stop rattling around your skull and pay attention, even if your body writhes for more.

" YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO NOW? "

Uh oh.

The side glance you give him is both vicious and mortified.

You may be considerably weaker, but you'll make the next few days torturous to him if he decides to truly harm you.

" YOU'LL HOWL FOR ME. " Kalymir grins wolfishly. " LOUD ENOUGH FOR THE WHOLE RING TO HEAR. "

Before you can think too hard on what he's implying, Kalymir has already shifted positions again.

He now squats on the very edge of the crenel, the claws of his feet hooking onto the stone. You're compressed, folded in two almost, one of his arms holding your knees up to your chin while the other creeps between your legs.

You have no idea how he's managing to stay perfectly balanced throughout all this, he doesn't so much as sway in any direction.

The view you get, although partially obscured, is horrifyingly large. Embers of instinctive anxiety flaring as you realize that you might die before you even hit the ground. You know you're squeezing around his dick again because he moans openly.

As if to make it worse, he tilts forward a bit and you shriek instantly.

" Ff-Fuh-Fucking stop! "

" HAHAHAHA- "

There's no semblance of shame or mercy to be found in the King.

" LET'S HEAR IT THEN. "

You didn't know what to expect, until his hand started moving.

The Icon begins, jarring and harsh, finding your clit and using the pads of his fat fingers to roll it incessantly, with a pressure and speed you have never had used on you.

All of this comes together to create stimulus of such intensity that, for a second, all you can do is try to twist and writhe in Kalymir's iron grasp, desperately gulping air while your eyes blur again.

Sure enough, the noises that begin belting out of you are nothing short of bestial, whines and strained moans shifting to clipped yelling and grunts. No one put into your shoes right now would give a flying fuck about keeping noises palatable. All you want to do is hold on and survive your husband's bizarre fetishes, honestly.

Kalymir quietly pays attention to what elicits the loudest reactions, shifting a leg back to spread you further.

The closest thing to a warning that he gets from you is a babble of loose vowels followed by an overstimulated sob.

" THAT'S IT- LOUDER. "

You couldn't hold back the thundering orgasm that rolls through your entire body even if you tried your damndest. It short-circuits your mind for a good moment where you can only feel the ringing in the air caused by your own wanton cry, followed by the force with which you erupt all over Kalymir's cock.

" MAKE IT FUCKING RAIN! " He cackles, barks with laughter, flicking fingers torturing you to prolong the overwhelming climax.

Admittedly, the way you flutter around him has the Icon finally starting to huff and puff, his already hot figure overheating further. It won't be long before Kalymir is filling you, the thought making your tormented clitoris twitch painfully.

You wonder if there's people around, below the fortress, watching. What are they thinking right now? This'll be the talk of the Ring for a while, possibly other Rings.

" HEHAHAHA, LOOK AT THOSE FREAKS- EAT UP YOU FILTHY FUCKS. "

Oh yeah, there's definitely perverts crowding around then. Were they just... Waiting for you to cum so they could... Taste it? Gross. Demons are so disgusting.

" BECAUSE THERE'S MORE COMING RIGHT UP. "

Your eyes bulge.

His hand starts moving again.

" I'm gonna f-fucking kill you! You son of a bitch, you motherfuck- "

And he just laughs.

[yan-lorkai]

Can I ask for Alucard with a GN Dragon shifter? Dragon Shifter is more on the reluctant side, always not sure how to behave in the humanoid body, thinking Alucard is not really flirting with them but flirting in general because Vampire d'uh. Anyways thank you so much for your writing!!! TvT

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ Alucard is absolutely fucking with you — he finds your awkwardness in human form delightful and the way you second-guess every social cue makes his undead heart (metaphorically) skip a beat. He’ll drape himself over you just to feel you stiffen up, then grin like the bastard he is. "Oh? Does the mighty dragon not know what to do with its claws when they’re not rending flesh?"

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ You assume his flirting is just his usual dramatic bullshit. "Yeah, yeah, ‘eternal night’ this, ‘dark embrace’ that. You say that to all the monsters you don’t immediately eviscerate." Meanwhile, Alucard is this close to just pinning you to the nearest wall and growling, "Do you see me wasting this much time on anyone else?"

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ He adores when you lose control and shift. The way your form ripples between human and beast, the way your eyes slit when irritated, the way your voice drops into something guttural when provoked — he lives for it. He’ll deliberately piss you off just to watch the scales ripple under your skin. "Ah, there it is. That’s the creature I want to play with."

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ You keep expecting him to treat you like a threat. He doesn’t. At all. If anything, he’s disappointed when you hold back. "Tch. I’ve faced armies, little dragon. You think you scare me? How dare you insult me like that." (He says this while lounging across your tail like it’s a chaise lounge.)

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ He will goad you into flying with him. You’re worried about crushing him, but he just smirks and leaps onto your back like it’s nothing. "If I feared death, I wouldn’t be here, would I?" (You grumble, but the way his laughter rumbles against your spine as you soar makes your chest do something weird.)

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ Eventually, you realize he’s serious. Maybe it’s the way his usual theatrics drop when it’s just the two of you, or how his fingers trace your scales like they’re something precious, or the fact that he lets you curl around him during the day, his head resting against your ribs like he trusts you to keep him safe.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ "You... mean this? All of it?" He’ll just sigh, tilt your chin up, and murmur, "Finally caught on, have you?"

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ And when you kiss him for the first time? You’re so nervous you nearly singe his coat with an accidental ember. He doesn’t care. He’ll just deepen the kiss and mutter against your lips, "Do that again."

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ Bonus: If you ever purr in dragon form, he will mock you for centuries. But he’ll also never stop trying to provoke it out of you again. It's so cute!

[gallusrostromegalus]

Secret tunnels: who built them, and who uses them?

So there aren't "Secret" tunnels in the Seireitei.

There are "These are SUPPOSED to be secret tunnels to evacuate the nobles and central 46 in an emergency but you have a better chance of keeping a fart secret in an elevator than you do of any kind of construction project in Seireitei" tunnels.

There are "Well we definitely built this for a reason but it's been eight fucking centuries and fuck if anyone alive remembers what the hell it's for" tunnels.

There are even quite a few "this tunnel is a secret because it wasn't *built* by anyone, it's the by-product of centuries of dubious infrastructure and construction shortcuts and no small amount of subsidence. This is just a gap waiting to collapse, but sure. You can try your luck" tunnels.

---

If there was ever a Master of these Sort-of-Secret tunnels, it was the 5th captain of the 11th division, Tokagero Kenpachi.

Certainly, Unohana and the fourth division collectively are the lords of the undercity now, but Unohana is a busy woman with lots to do topside. So in 1438, she Very Generously allowed the 11th to maintain the sewers and underground infrastructure while she figured out vaccines.

Tokagero regarded this as very kind of Unohana, because Tokagero was a water monitor of gargantuan scale, and regarded the dark and twisting undercity as her natural habitat. Which it may well have been, because that's certainly a space where an already large lizard might be exposed to Kido Corps magical waste or other Suspect Substances and grow to be large enough to swallow the fourth Kenpachi whole and assume his title.

Tokagero and the 11th had many a fine hunt in the undercity, after hollows that had escaped from noble-backed Bloodsports, to fugitives, to other strange creatures of the urban abyss, including a worrisomely large koi fish that Tokagero decided to grant dominion over the undercity's waterways as one Supernatural Beast to another. There was some wagging of tongues that Tokagero was backing out of a fight with Daikoi, but that was quickly silences by Tokagero flicking her own tongue and reminding everyone that she never packed provisions for these trips.

One day however, Tokagero discovered something bizarre.

Ice.

She'd been on the hunt of an escaped war criminal when she found him in an odd corner of the sewers with a very large hole where his head used to be, as if shot with an incredibly powerful projectile.

Weird.

She thought she felt a crackle of reiatsu before, but this was unlike any Kido spells she knew, and her quarry was not the type to do himself in.

Weirder still was the frigid patch of ice smeared against part of the floor an wall beside him. This bastard had no proclivity for Kido and did not carry an ice-type weapon, so where had it come from?

---

"Youre back early." Jugram frowned at Lille Barro as he came in from the unusually intense blizzard outside castle silbern.

"Sewers 're haunted." Barro grunted, hefting his massive gun off his shoulder.

"Pardon?" Jugram blinked.

"Sewers 're haunted." Barro repeated, rolling his eye. "The sewers near the primary spy portals are PACKED with shinigami on the hunt for something- one of them nearly ran into me. So patrols will have to wait."

"Ah." Jugram nodded. "...coffee?" The second-in-cmand offered Barro, for lack of anything sensible to say.

"Hm?" Barro blinked, looking up from hanging up his strange hat. "Oh, yes. Please. Sorry, it's been a while since an enemy got that close and it's unnerved me. I keep feeling like I've forgotten something..."

"Just so long as you didn't leave the portal open." Jugram teased, confident in his commrade's competence.

[matchadobo]

Could you please do the fantasy section with the mermaid and pirate prompt? I think it's 3. I'm a sucker for mermaids!

KIDD; mermaid x pirate

🌷matchadobo's 500 followers event🌷

wc: 2655

dialogue: "for someone who claims to hate me, you sure can't stay out of my waters. afraid you'll miss me?"

warning/s: no nsfw, playful-snarky dynamic, mermaid!reader x pirate!kidd, mild violence (mentions of killing but very mild), afab reader

the legend that spread like an epidemic back in scotland on an ear-splitting amount usually goes as a warning to those brave enough to survey the seas. a reminder to beware of the cursed waters from the land mystical creatures thrive. a land where myths can be seen.

one of which goes in a form of stories. it's the stories kidd grew tired of. an enchantress who owns a voice that hunts her prey through the tunes that threads its way to one's senses akin to a crawling seaweed across the walls of a desolate cave as it flutter by the currents of the deep sea.

so when kidd became a pirate and led his pack of misfits across uncharted seas, he had met one of these creatures he deemed foul and cursed. it was inevitable, he'd eventually have an encounter with one of them. that's when he made the mistake of meeting you of all mermaids. much more when his greedy, bastardly group was looting your territory lavished in treasure deep in the water.

if marines hadn't came and started thrashing his ship, you would've honestly killed him. it would be easy for you. after all, the bastard can't fucking swim. and you, you were skilled in the waters and the land. you were just kind of handicapped since you were fighting from the water.

his crew fetched a few bags of golds and pearls as per his orders. you took care of them and they have not returned the surface.

kidd and you parted with threats and boring glares. he vowed to have never come back. but not a day passed where you didn't think about him. nor had he let the night end without struggling on your effect on him as he embarrassingly daydream about you during the day.

maybe it was his daring demeanor, arrogant as he rashly challenged your fortress which intimidated most humans but not him. it irritated you, how dare he? but at the same time, it amused you. the nerve, the bravery, and the eager desire to get what he wants with fear never deterring him. most of all he even faced you, went toe to toe against your territory where you have most of the advantage.

or how those cursed devil fruits impressed you for the first time. because he somehow manipulated it to overwhelm you. a human had made you panic. he was especially etched in your brain and it made you mad. whether mad means angry or crazy, he drove you in that point of ambiguity either way because he had corrupted you.

he'd be no saint either. kidd is the type to take everything as a challenge. he strives to always win. so when he struggled with you, let alone put him in a situation near death; you tickled something in him. especially when you demonstrated your might as you reign over your territory. he couldn't help but obsess over the fact that your pride made his heart beat a little faster. was it adrenaline? his sheer desire to win in the face of the strong? or something else that involved the fuzzy shit down his stomach?

with the way you control the waves, pushing him to his limits as you stand resolute before him. you held the same pride, the same confidence in your ability that you would win and overwhelm him. he saw it in your iridescent eyes that you had the sheer intent to prevail. you managed to fuck him over with your snarks and insults with the same amount of mockery he gave you. but yours hit harder, your gaze and your words, especially the melody of your voice. your might has taken over him. maybe that's why he struggled and even had to retreat.

so it fucked you up, shook you to very fiber of your scales, to see his ship come back to your territory. he stood tall by the bow of his ship, looking for your eyes. and once he met them, something in the two of you stung. like a lightning hitting through the both of you.

so you let the waves take you to a mountain of rocks near his ship where a certain amount of distance put you superior to him.

"for someone who claims to hate me, you sure can't stay out of my waters. afraid you'll miss me?"

he broke into a thunderous laughter. it was as if the skies dimmed and lighting started appearing on the grey clouds. there would be a storm. the bastard brought it here it seems.

"oh mairi (scottish name associated with the sea, it's just his nickname for you 💙)." he said with a grin, shaking his head. he shifted in his feet, jumping from the ship railings towards the rocks where you reside as he propelled himself using his devil fruit.

you somewhat felt nervous when he began sauntering towards you, dandy as he approached you. as his boots grazed by the bumpy rocks and he closed the distance between the two of you, he squatted down to your level.

"that was quite a fight, aye? were you waitin' on me since then?" he raised a brow, canines tugging on his crimson lips. his golden arrogant eyes seems to have caught your tongue as you can't find words to snark back at him.

"you've got the nerve to stand this close to me in my territory." you stood your guard, remaining unfazed at his arrogance. but your heart was about to escape your chest. "i'd like you to have a look around, pirate. my people are on guard. one word from me and the lot of you bastards will sink. heard the sea doesn't treat you well. how does that sound?" you smiled back, tilting your head as you played right into his game. that right now, made his eye twitch.

so he stood back up and kept his distance because he only went closer so he could talk to you properly.

"didn't come here with no damn threat, 'kay? lower your fuckin' weapons because we got no business with bein' at war with you. matter of fact, it's the total damn opposite." his voice was a little louder, as if he was announcing it to your people too.

"the opposite? what, you wanna be friends, pirate?" you chuckled dryly, your people followed as well. amused at his display of cordiality.

"if that's how your pretty little fins would put it, aye. i want an alliance." he got down on your level, grinning as if he ordered you to agree.

"how forward. and fucking stupid." you sucked in your teeth. "asking to team up with me after attempting to pillage my territory is on a different level of audacity. you're delusional if you think i'd get on with your plans."

"you haven't even asked what's in it for you, mairi. come on now, ain't alliances a two way street?" he probed, looking deeper into your eyes as if he already knew you'd agree if he proceeds with his response.

you crossed your arms as a reply to let him proceed, sighing as you raised a brow.

"heard the florian triangle took some of your people captive." you felt paralyzed with his words, how did he know that? even info like that doesn't reach people like him. "why's that, hm? could it be you're not strong enough?"

"that's none of your business." you look away, growing uneasy. "why are you so keen on allying anyway?"

"i'm headed there and to get past i need one of your kind to navigate because the log pose fucks up there." he started, keenly observing how you would react. "in return, we get your people back, aye? what do you say?"

you didn't want to ever go back to the florian triangle, it was a traumatic experience. but if it meant going back to get your people which could be in expense for you, you'd do it in a heartbeat.

"if i'll do it, you only got me. i don't want to bring anyone else and lose more of my people."

"fine by me. think you're plenty strong enough to handle it."

you two set sail as you bid your land farewell, they're more than competent to fend for themselves all the while keeping your territory sound. you got settled on the bow of his ship, your tail hanging off the ledge as you watched your people bid you farewell. the island soon got smaller and smaller until you only see the mist of the horizion.

"mairi-san? we've got plenty of rum if you want some." a blond man as big as that redhead but just a bit smaller approached you, holding a barrel mug with a foamy top from the overflowing liquid as an offering to you. "we're on a journey, might as well share a drink." he was cordial and you felt nice about him, different from that arrogant bastard.

"save it. i don't drink human food. if anything, it unsettles me."

"oh don't worry, mairi. we're not tryna poison you." kidd snarked, hearing it a bit as a shout because he was sat far away at the couches in the middle of the deck while you were on the other end of the ship. "loosen up a little, aye?"

you couldn't see him but you know exactly where he is, you had to one up him and splashed a shit load of water concentrated on him. his crew laughed at the display of playfulness, lightening the air around you as you showed no hesitation and fear in messing with him.

you peeked behind you subtly, looking over your shoulder to see kidd drenched. he also became a bit weak because of its effect on his powers but his glare was all the more powerful. he ran his mouth, grumbling and rambling at you but it made you giggle. and that got him slurring nonsense when he saw you smile. he stomped to his quarters, trying to resolve whatever curse you inflicted on him once more.

but as soon as he got out of his quarters, you were way ahead of him and spook the shit outta him when you greeted him by the waters by the railings beside his door.

"why'd you hide?" you tilted your head, grinning with a discerning brow raised.

"jesus- fuck! don't just go sproutin' everywhere, god." he grumbled, shutting his door loudly.

"did i scare you?"

"as if, fuckin' mairi."

"name."

"what?"

"call me name. your dumb nickname isn't needed anymore." you chuckled a little, growing somewhat comfortable at the interaction.

there was a long while of silence, as if kidd was examining you from below as he leaned by the ship railings and got closer at you. you looked up at him and tilted your head, puzzled why he's looking too long.

"like my face that much? what's got you staring?"

you didn't miss how his ears turned red before he turned his back away, grumbling curses at you. still keeping his cool composure but his ears weren't.

"don't mistake me for shit like that. if anythin', you're the one who can't take your eyes off me."

"right. you might as well buy me a drink, as you humans say, with the way your acting around me, kidd."

there was a long while of staring, memorizing how you two look up close. how your skin glistened from the water sliding on your iridescent skin, with droplets on your lashes and hair sticking beautifully on your skin. or how his fluffy crimson locks brought out his striking, golden eyes from the contrast of his snowy skin, his red lips pressing into a thin line as he examined you up close got you thinking how it felt.

either of your response were valid. in the span of the short time you two were together, the tension is quite suffocating. as if begging to be addressed that you both are fascinated with each other.

aside from the foundation of being at each other's throats, it was clear that physical attraction played a part in the adrenaline rush of your clash. now was the time that it's being cemented when the proximity is too stifling.

"only drink i've got is rum, can you handle that?"

"hmm, challenging me right off the bat?"

"aye. human stuff bores you, ain't it? bet i could change that. we've got the finest fuckin' rum in 'ere."

you oughta do a whole lot of saving but it was a long way there, almost a day's worth of travel. might as well make the most out of your time in the victoria.

nightfall peaked and you two are still busy with rum and stories on each of your walks of life.

"so this is your first time meeting a mermaid?"

"aye. reacted poorly, didn't i?"

"exceptional is more like it. most just run away, afraid to get cursed. but you, you just rush in head first." you chuckled. "after all, the sea has already cast a curse on you."

a few more shots and you were slowly losing all sense, getting more forward, clingy, and daring with him. he's got a good hold of himself to not let you go to far, but your touch almost had a drunking affect itself inflicting on him.

"that's enough." he snatched the bottle away from you, noticing how dizzy you're becoming. you were initially sat on the railings with your tail hanging as it reach the floor of the deck. "jesus, as someone who acts like she got a stick up 'er ass, you don't know your limits, huh?"

"pft, what are you on abou-" you almost fell behind to the sea, kidd caught you on reflex, as if the sea wasn't your home and you'd be perfectly fine falling in it. "just let me fall, i'll sleep fine floating." you tapped on his cheek with shut eyes and a drunken smile.

"and you drift off somehwere so damn far, huh? can't have that." he manhandled you, effortlessly carrying you bridal style as he headed to his quarters.

that's when he truly noticed how you look. how you felt cold as you snuggle closer to his chest with the mountain of body heat source that is him. how carrying you made him a little bit weak because you're born from the sea itself but it made him feel a whole lot of things as he had you in his arms. or how your skin had that certain glow that mirrored the iridiscence of your eyes. you truly were a wonder.

"never have i pegged myself to be carryin' a damn mermaid in my tub, tuckin' her pretty little fins in 'ere. ain't that romantic?" he talked to himself, chuckling as he glanced at you.

as kidd reached over to the faucet of his tub to give you a little pool of water, you got jolted awake by his frame towering over you and the first thing you did was grab him by his shirt and pull him close. so very close you could hear the rapid beat of his heart.

"hey, tell me." you looked into his eyes, your huge ones almost hypnotizing him. "why've you got your guard down around me?"

"why? you plan on doin' somethin' bad?" a smirk coated his voice, his observant, yellow eyes peering down at your frame.

"hmm, no. i can feel it very well if you're tensed, angry, or even flustered. you were tensed and angry when you first tried to rob us, but now... you're even getting comfy with me." you started. "even though you're well aware i can fucking kill you."

"don't be absurd." he leaned down closer, closing the distance between the two of you your lips could almost touch. "i'll be way ahead of you once you do. that is, if you can kill me."

hellooooo thank you so much for the first request for my event! 🌷i hope you'll like this! seeing that you're fond of the mermaid au, i hope i did this justice 🫶🧜‍♀️

writing this was soooo cool 😍if i didn't have that god-forbid anatomy exam 😩 pls excuse my snail ass pacing bc reqs are comin in hot! + college 🪦

if you guys are interested in requesting a fic for my 500 followers event, my askbox is open! click here for the main event post for more info :DD i have open slots for forced proximity, hurt to comfort, fantasy, he puts you in your place (smut), and modern aus!

[pushovermediacritic]

The Land Before Time Liveblog 3

The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving

Last Time: The Gang accidentally broke the border wall while crossing it and kidnapped a foreign child, then bombarded him with racist microaggressions. When the kid's parents crossed the border to rescue him, The Gang and their parents beat them up. In the end, they re-affirmed that a closed-border policy is for the best and repaired the wall.

Also, Pinky and the Brain were there.

The Universal Logo is still not Pangaea.

Narrator: "A long time ago, at least 35 hundred million years ago, the earliest form of life made its first appearance on Earth."

... I think that checks out? I think "35 hundred million" is 3.5 billion? That lines up with what Wikipedia says for the estimated origin of life (at least 3.5B, the oldest trace of life is from 3.7B). I'm a little surprised this animated kid's movie from 1995 got that right. Kudos.

The narrator then goes over evolution and eventually reaches the first creature to walk on land.

No, get back in the water! You don't know what you're doing! This decision will eventually lead to HUMANS!

But not yet, first dinosaurs.

Narrator: "For most of the Earth's dinosaurs, life was filled with danger! But for the fortunate leaf-eating dinosaurs of the Great Valley, life was peaceful, and food plentiful."

Kinda splitting the difference between movie 1 and movie 2 here. In 1, they went to the Great Valley because there was a famine, and in 2, they make a big deal out of how safe it is. Here the narrator lists both qualities.

As an aside, it's interesting that, 3 movies in, we're still getting long, dramatic intro sequences to introduce the very concept of dinosaurs. I wonder if/when that will stop.

Narrator: "The Great Valley was the perfect place for children like Littlefoot the Longneck, Cera the Threehorn, Ducky the Swimmer, Petrie the Flier, and Spike the Spiketail to grow and learn and play."

The Gang are playing by rolling and chasing a head-sized rock like it's a ball.

You know, I would say that's probably not a good idea, rocks are solid and much heavier and harder than balls, but we know these kids are ridiculously strong by now, they'll be fine.

As if to prove my point, Littlefoot headbutts the rock several feet into the air, then when it lands, Petrie kicks it and he just bounces off without the rock moving whatsoever. It's still a goddamn rock. Dinosaurs are just Built Different.

Spike then dives for the rock, lands on it, and Fucking Destroys It.

You know, if I did that with a rock the size of my head, I'd probably shatter my ribcage. But dinosaurs are Built Different.

Three movies in, and I can't believe that I'm still power-scaling in Land Before Time.

Cera finds another rock and starts knocking it around. She passes it to Littlefoot, who juggles it with headbutts until he drops it and...

Hmm.

While these characters are new to the audience, they aren't strangers to The Gang, Littlefoot asks Hyp if he can have their rock back, please.

Hyp: "Your rock? Who said it was your rock?!"

Goon 1: "Yeah, who said it was your rock, huh? Who said, who said?!"

(they both glance at Goon 2)

Goon 2: "-oh, uh, yeah!"

Hyp is a Hypsilophodon, Goon 1 is a Nodosaurus, and Goon 2 is a Muttaburasaurus.

Littlefoot admits that no-one said that, and then Cera demands they give it back. Hyp refuses on the grounds that she didn't say please, and Cera retorts that she knows she didn't (Littlefoot did say "please" earlier, so obviously he doesn't really care). Hyp and Cera glare off and growl at each other until Littlefoot steps in and suggests they all play together.

Hyp asks his goons if they want to play with some babies, and Petrie takes great offense to being called a baby. Hyp pokes Petrie and they all laugh at him, causing Cera to snap and charge Hyp, but he steps out of the way before egging her on.

And then the Earth starts shaking and meteors start falling.

Man, shit always be happening around here. Can't even confront some bullies without the apocalypse.

The bullies run away and then a meteor lands on the other side of the Great Wall, causing a rockslide that the kids barely escape, running to their guardians.

Littlefoot makes it back to his grandparents, then a tree falls and he escapes by hiding under some roots. Littlefoot wants to go find the falling rock that landed in the Mysterious Beyond, but his grandma tells him no. Littlefoot and his grandpa admire the beautiful aurora created by the meteors.

Grandpa notes how mysterious it is, and I agree. It is mysterious, because that's not how auroras work! Meteors can't cause auroras!

The next day, everyone is gathered in the pond at the base of the Thundering Falls, drinking and eating water plants.

When suddenly, the Thundering Falls stop flowing.

Littlefoot asks his grandparents what's up and grandpa says he doesn't know, before grandma shoos him off to play with the other kids so the grown-ups can discuss the waterfall problem. Littlefoot's grandparents are starting to get some distinct characterization. Grandpa is more fun while grandma is more serious.

Littlefoot finds the other kids playing a hiding game. Cera is hiding and the other kids are looking for her. Littlefoot tries to tell them about the Thundering Falls, but they keep cutting him off. Cera jumps out from under a pile of big leaves and scares them, then they pick Littlefoot to hide next, but he keeps waffling, so Spike goes to hide. He sticks his head in a bush, leaving the rest of him exposed. We've actually seen this behavior multiple times in both of the previous films, Spike hiding just by sticking his head in the dirt or a bush, leaving the rest of him wide open.

Littlefoot finally blurts it out that the Thundering Falls are dried up, and they should go see.

Hyp: "Why don't you hatchlings go run and see?"

Goon 1: "Yeah, run and see, run and see!"

(Hyp glares at Goon 2)

Goon 2: "Oh! ...duuh, yeah!"

Cera's ready to throw down, and blows a raspberry. The Goons blow raspberries in return, but Hyp tells them to knock it off. Littlefoot asks why Hyp is always trying to pick a fight, and Goon 2 also wonders why. Hyp responds by singing song 1 of this movie, When You're Big.

This song is... okay. It's not bad. It's got a decent flow and wordplay, kind of a Broadway-style song. As far as villain songs go, it's a lot better than "Eggs". Hyp sings about how when you're big (a teenager), you have a lot more freedom to do whatever you want, including be gross, loud, annoying, fight, and pick on little kids. Also in the song, he calls Ducky a "Duckfoot". So, add that to the list, alongside "Swimmer" and "Bigface".

After the song, Littlefoot immediately and brutally undermines it by pointing out that Hyp isn't going to be very big at all as a grown-up. Cera and Ducky agree, bringing up that when they grow up, they're gonna be much bigger than Hyp.

It's hard to get a sense of scale for these movies, but it's important to keep in mind that Littlefoot is like 2 feet tall, max. Ducky and Petrie are only a few inches. The average size for an adult Hypsilophodon is only 6 feet, and that's length, from head to tail.

Hyp: "Oh yeah? Well, I'm gonna see to it that you never grow up!"

Goon 2: "Uh, yeah!"

Goon 1: "Never grow up, never!"

Goon 2: "Uh, how're you gonna do that, Hyp?"

Hyp: "Sheesh, you're dumb. Let me lay it out for ya, first we chase 'em, second we catch 'em, third we hurt 'em. See?"

Yeah, Hyp clearly doesn't know WHAT he's talking about. He's talking about killing these kids, but he doesn't really have a concept of what that even means. Like just beating them up is gonna prevent them from growing. He's all talk. Meanwhile, these kids worked together to kill a full-grown Sharptooth at the end of the first movie.

Anyway, while Hyp is blustering, The Gang just sneak away. The bullies storm off, and they're so stupid they didn't even notice Spike, still in his terrible hiding spot.

Later, the adults are meeting and the Valley is starting to dry up. Littlefoot's grandpa establishes they need to ration out what little water they have remaining, not using it unwisely. Cera's dad has some thoughts.

Cera's Dad: "Huh! Threehorns never use water unwisely, but your herds do!"

Clubtail: "Our herds? What makes you think our herds would do such a thing?!"

Cera's Dad: "You drink greedily with no concern for others!"

Spiketail: "Can you believe he's saying that?!"

Man, you can always count on Cera's dad to be racist as fuck. He single-handedly turns this civil meeting into a big racist argument, with accusations being thrown around left and right by everyone. Cera's dad is a load-bearing pillar for the racism theme of this franchise.

Smash cut to The Gang all playing and frolicking in a pond, splashing water everywhere. The kids are "playing bullies", pretending to be Hyp to make fun of him. Then the bullies actually show up, standing high up on a rock. Hyp claims this is their watering hole, then he pushes Goon 1 off the rock and he falls on top of Littlefoot, splashing water right into Cera's dad's face (apparently, the adults weren't very far away).

The bullies run away and Cera's dad accuses Littlefoot of wasting precious water.

Littlefoot's Grandpa: "Our children don't understand the water problem. The Great Valley has always given them everything they need!"

Okay, I kinda ignored this last movie, but that implication was there, too. The Gang didn't grow up in the Great Valley, they only recently came here. You know, in the first movie. Both of the sequels have acted like The Gang don't know what it's like outside of the Great Valley, and that's just simply wrong. You can't just retcon the first movie out of existence. Especially since later movies will make reference to it.

The Gang start talking about the water problem and Littlefoot does this hilarious shrug that doesn't work AT ALL.

He doesn't even do it quickly, it's a slow, deliberate, and impossible movement. You can't just have quadruped characters do hand gestures without thinking through the logistics first, otherwise you get dumb shit like this.

Littlefoot's Grandpa: "We need to teach our children how to use the remaining water wisely."

Cera's Dad: "Speak for yourself, Longneck! My Cera would never waste! Your Littlefoot is a bad influence!"

Littlefoot's Grandpa: "That's not true!"

The kids don't even know what the word "influence" means. Cera's dad tells Cera to come, and that she's not allowed to play with "the little Longneck anymore". Grandpa tries to diffuse the situation, and Cera tries to resist, but Cera's dad insists and yells at her that he knows what's best. Sniffling, Cera goes with her dad.

This is something that's been bubbling under the surface for a while. Cera's dad said she shouldn't play with Longnecks in the first movie and the second, too. He was just looking for an excuse to really put his foot down on this issue, and this was the perfect one. This is Cera's dad at his worst. The other kids go home with their parents, too, but just because it's getting late.

Littlefoot's grandpa says that Cera's dad is just confused and scared. At night, Cera and her dad argue.

Cera: "I don't understand, daddy!"

Dad: "You need friends who know how to behave, especially in times like this."

Cera: "Littlefoot is my friend! He'll always be my friend!"

Dad: "Cera, I'm your father. I want what's best for you!"

Cera: "No you don't! You just don't want me to have any fun!"

(Cera runs away into some reeds)

Dad: "Cera, please... I'm just trying to- oh, as a parent I... wouough!"

That's Dad letting out an exasperated groan. This conversation really doesn't touch on the deeper issues at play here, it's really surface-level. I like that he can't even find something to say at the end, but aside from that, this argument is disappointing.

Next morning, grandma and grandpa wake up Littlefoot early to drink morning dew from leaves, since they need to conserve water and get fluids from other sources. Littlefoot accidentally breaks the dew-covered Tree Star, since the leaf itself is dried out and fragile. Grandma mentions there will be an increased fire risk in the coming days, and Littlefoot should remember the escape paths.

We then see a montage of the Great Valley slowly drying up. Fish in a small pool having to flop over dry land to get to a creek.

A triceratops herd walking alongside a riverbank with several feet of wall before the waterline. A lizard knocks down a rock from a cave wall and it bounces on multiple other rocks before falling in the small pool at the bottom.

Littlefoot and his grandparents are looking for food, and they find some trees, but most of the leaves are brown and crusty. There's one tree with a few sparse green leaves, and Grandpa pulls down a branch of them for Littlefoot to eat. This is really giving me flashbacks to the first movie. There, the famine wasn't caused by a lack of water, but it was a famine nonetheless. Even though their turn for water isn't until later, Grandpa gives Littlefoot the go-ahead to go drink, since he's a kid. Cera's dad is at the watering hole, and he argues against it. Then Cera's dad sings song 2 of the movie, Standing Tough.

It's kind of a dad rock man anthem. It's also... okay. Not bad. It's all about how when times get tough, you gotta get tough. You have to step up and be better, stronger, smarter, tougher, etc. He does mention something interesting, which is that his own father told him "stand and fight, don't run away". Definitely a lesson in how parents are molded by their own parents.

He also cites his daughter as the reason he's being harsh about this, but like, he's got a lot of daughters. Or should. Cera's mentioned her sisters a few times in the last two movies. But sometime between then and now, she's become an only child. Whether due to retcon or something more tragic, it's an odd decision, since the last movie's end credits showed her and Ducky getting more baby siblings.

After the song, Cera whisper-calls Littlefoot over and they complain about the grown-ups acting like babies. Littlefoot hatches a plan.

Littlefoot: "Water! If we find some, the grown-ups will stop being mad!"

Cera: "Maybe! Except for my dad, he aaaalways mad."

Littlefoot: "Yeah, he is kinda grumpy. But I'm sure it's just because he's so worried about the water."

Oof.

The kids go off to gather the rest of The Gang, while the adults keep arguing. Cera's dad says "no" to the very idea of compromise. Meanwhile, the animators have compromised his very body by forgetting to draw in his fourth leg:

At night, the kids gather, but Spike is a heavy sleeper and snores. He doesn't wake up until Petrie mentions the plan is to find water, that gets him up. Then the kids run off, screaming into the night in frustration at their guardians being mad all the time nowadays. I'm surprised no-one woke up. The kids decide to try and sniff out the water.

Not sure that'll work, but hey, I don't have a dinosaur nose. Human noses are some of the worst among mammals, so I can't exactly say I'm an expert on sniffing.

The next day, Cera's dad has taken it upon himself to full-on police the river, charging at and chasing away anyone who tries to drink out-of-turn. I changed my mind, this is Cera's dad at his worst. The Gang are ready to give up their search when Petrie sniffs out a pond.

The kids enjoy playing and drinking, but then the bullies confront them and demand they let them have the water and not tell anyone else about it. They run to tell the grown-ups, but Cera wants to try fighting them, and they convince her to just run. Then the bullies get the negative attention of a purple wasp, which drives them off (did wasps exist at this time period?).

The Gang gets a little lost while running and they find a cave leading through the Great Wall into the Mysterious Beyond, where they find a GIGANTIC lake of water being blocked off by a landslide.

I dunno if opening that dam is the best idea, the Great Valley might go from a drought to a flood. The kids seem to think that's a good idea, though, and decide to head back to tell everyone.

However, you see that lightning at the end of the GIF? Remember what Grandma said about an increased fire risk?

Lightning strikes a tree and makes a huge wildfire, which rips through the Great Valley's dried up forest.

Meanwhile with the adults, Cera's dad is telling Ducky's mom to stop drinking, she's had enough (but she's a Swimmer, she might need more). Littlefoot's grandparents decide he's gotten too bossy, but then the kids run up and warn them about the fire. Apparently the area it started as is Two Boulder Pass. Cera's dad insists that he's the boss and he will lead everyone on his path to safety from the fire... which Littlefoot's grandpa points out is downwind of the fire, right where it will spread. Guess Cera got her bad direction-skills we saw in the first movie from her dad. He insists that he's right and that Cera go with him, and she complies.

Littlefoot's grandpa realizes Cera's dad is being stupid and endangering himself and his daughter, and he decides to follow him, while Littlefoot's grandma leads everyone else away from the fire upwind of it.

Cera's dad's route immediately proves to be a terrible decision, as the fire quickly catches up and both Threehorns are running for their lives from the blaze. They come to a ravine and Cera tries jumping it. She almost makes it, but the edge she lands on crumbles and she falls in. Her dad jumps in after her and now they're both running down the ravine away from the spreading fire.

Meanwhile with Littlefoot's grandma's group, she's having a hard time with the thick smoke because of how high up her head is. She decides Littlefoot has to lead the group because he's much smaller and closer to the ground, where the smoke is thinner. The adults are having a hard time seeing through the smoke, so Littlefoot yells for them to follow his voice.

Cera and her dad get completely surrounded on all sides by fire, but Littlefoot's grandpa uses the Longneck trick from movie 2 to topple a tree for them to cross.

The two groups reunite on a cliff on the side of the Great Wall, safe and sound. Good thing Littlefoot remembered the fire exits.

Littlefoot's grandma: "We are all very lucky."

Cera's dad: "Lucky?! How can you say we are lucky when our Valley burns?! We are without water and now we are without a home! All is lost..."

Littlefoot's grandma: "All is not lost, my friend. You still have Cera, and you are still here, able to care for her."

Cera's dad: *sigh* "Oh, you are right. Thank you, Longneck."

This is a BIG moment of growth from Cera's dad. Not only did his boneheaded stubbornness almost get himself and his daughter killed, but he was rescued by a Longneck and then consoled by one when he fell into despair afterward. And then he specifically thanked her using her species name in gratitude.

However, the other adults are inclined to agree with the Threehorn that all is lost, until Littlefoot remembers that they found the water, it's backed up from the Flying Rock that landed in the Mysterious Beyond.

The other adults are hesitant to go into the Mysterious Beyond because of the danger, but Cera's dad points out that the Valley is dangerous now, too, and they have to go. Littlefoot's grandpa mentions that that much water will attract Sharpteeth. Cera's dad has a plan, but no-one is confident in his plans anymore, and everyone starts arguing over it.

Meanwhile, the bullies are higher up, looking down on the adults. Hyp wants to get to the water first, but his goons are... less than enthusiastic about potential Sharptooth encounters. Hyp insists he's not afraid of anything, even Sharpteeth, and decides to prove it by going, then calls his goons babies to motivate them to join him (because he doesn't actually want to be alone).

Littlefoot sees them and decides The Gang needs to go and convince them not to do anything stupid and reckless. The rest of The Gang doesn't think they should care until he sings song number 3, Kids Like Us.

And, uh. The official Youtube version of this includes the earlier scene with the bullies. For context, I guess.

Anyway, Kids Like Us is nice. I think it's the best song so far in this film. Littlefoot is very empathetic, and he really gets to the heart of this movie's core theme regarding fear and pride motivating bullying. It's not great, but it's good.

Hyp and his goons walk through the Mysterious Beyond, and finally we get a name for one of them: Goon 2, the Muttaburasaurus, is named "Mutt". Going by that pattern, I'm guessing Goon 1's name is Nodo. They cross over a bubbling bog, clearly lost, and Mutt and Hyp both almost fall in multiple times (in the business, they call this technique "5-second foreshadowing"). They find a pond of water and Hyp eagerly jumps in to drink some water.

But whoops, it's actually a tar pit and Hyp is trapped and sinking.

By the way, real tar pits can look deceptively like ponds. That's why they were so dangerous to real-life dinosaurs.

Mutt and Goon 1 aren't sure what to do, and The Gang hears Hyp's cries of help and come running. Littlefoot name drops this as a "tar pit", which is interesting that the writers didn't come up with some other name for it. Littlefoot tells Hyp to stop moving and he completely freezes still, before a bee lands on his nose. Then Petrie lands on his nose and tries to pull him out by his nostril, attached to a chain of the other kids (they use this technique a lot, but it's kinda hit-or-miss in effectiveness).

Petrie loses his grip when Hyp complains and Hyp briefly sinks beneath the surface, but Petrie fuckin' heroes up and dives into the tar pit to save him. Ducky grabs Petrie under the tar and pulls him up while Petrie successfully pulls Hyp out by his tooth (I guess it's a better handle than his nostril).

After getting out, Hyp insists that he had it under control and never needed any help (despite literally yelling "Help, help"). Petrie and Ducky in particular are mad at him brushing off their efforts, but he doubles down. That is, until he sees the adult crowd walking by. Specifically his dad. Hyp's IMMEDIATE first reaction to seeing his father is to run away, hide behind The Gang, cover his face, and shiver uncontrollably.

Well, damn. That says it all, doesn't it? Littlefoot's grandpa scolds him for exploring in a dangerous place like this, and Littlefoot retorts that they were trying to keep Hyp and his friends from getting hurt. This makes Hyp's father notice Hyp hiding behind them, and he immediately starts yelling.

Before we get into this scene, I like how The Gang earlier were right, Hyp won't be very large as a grown-up. Hyp's father is less than twice his size.

Hyp's father: *grab's Hyp's tail* "Hyp! Here we are, chasing after you when we should be finding a way to free the water! I thought I told you to stay where it was safe! Don't look at me that way, I'm your father and I know what's best for you!"

Cera's father: "... yelling is no way to teach your child what is right, or to show that you care."

Hyp's father: "How would you know?!"

Cera's father: "I know because- because I have a daughter. And I yell at her. Too much. Especially when I'm worried for her safety."

Cera: "You don't have to worry about me, daddy."

Cera's father: "If you always react with anger, that's all your son will know. And... that's all he'll be able to express to others."

Hyp looks very sheepish, and all the kids take a sympathetic step toward him.

Hyp: "... what?"

Cera's father: "I know now that we can't live together that way. With such anger between us. Our kids found water because they worked together. Now we must work together, too."

This speech... okay. To preface this, I really like this speech. It perfectly boils down the core theme of the movie, and Cera's dad's character development. It's a good speech.

But it doesn't quite go far enough. Hyp's reaction to his father is REALLY extreme for what is shown, just yelling at him the same way Cera's dad yells at her. Cera is quick to anger, but we never see her cowering from her dad in fear like Hyp did here. And Cera's dad does acknowledge his flaws, but his admittance of wrongness barely touches on his racism. It does touch on it, right near the end, but barely. I feel like if this movie were braver to push its rating, it could have gone further with Hyp's father and the overall theme of generational trauma and bullying.

It is a really good speech, but it could have been great, especially since it's the emotional climax of the whole film.

Anyway, because this franchise still demands an action climax (and we need to pay off the Sharptooth foreshadowing), Mutt then notices a whole pack of 4 raptors, closing in.

Littlefoot's grandpa tells the kids to run, and one of the raptors jumps at him. Grandpa pulls his neck out of the way at the last second and tail-whips the raptor, launching it into a headbutt from Cera's dad, who flings it backward into a wall with such force that rocks start falling on top of it, knocking it out. 1 down, 3 to go. Hyp's father takes charge on leading the kids to safety.

Another raptor leaps at Grandpa, but he tail-whips it away. Littlefoot's worried for his grandpa (just like last movie, he's clearly got some lasting trauma from his mother dying), but Grandpa tail-whips another one away as Hyp's dad tells him to keep going. Grandpa emphasizes the importance of holding the line, but Mutt's parent (on the other side of Grandpa from Cera's dad) completely breaks down from fear, cowering and breaking formation, allowing all 3 raptors to jump over them to go after the kids.

Hyp's dad leads the kids down into the ravine right in front of the rockslide that blocks off all the water. They stop when they hear gnashing noises at the top of a cliff above them. The 3 raptors show up. But then the other adults arrive behind them and engage them in battle, unseen by the kids and audience. The noises of the fight are so vicious that the teens run the other way. The battle is so epic that the whole cliff collapses, everyone falling and getting knocked out.

The 3 raptors recover first, and decide the four unconscious adult dinosaurs are an easier target than the children. Hyp's father tells the kids to run to the dam and he dashes in to fight the raptors himself, even though he's the same size as one raptor and he's outnumbered 3-to-1. He does okay, though, getting in a double-punch, then using his agility to make the raptors all headbutt each other. Hyp decides to save his dad and teases the raptors to go after him instead. But before they reach him, Littlefoot's grandpa recovers and hits all three of the raptors with one mighty tail whip.

The grown-ups are back up and the raptors decide to pivot to attacking the kids, who are standing on the dam. Hyp kicks a rock down at one and Cera's dad follows up with a mighty headbutt that buries it in rocks. The Gang decides to go with the ol' standby of pushing a giant rock on them (another move we've seen in both of the previous movies), but this particular giant rock is too big for even them to push, so the teens help out and push it over.

That rock knocks down a ton more rocks, burying all three of the raptors. But even THAT'S not enough (holy shit, these raptors are TOUGH), and all three get back up.

But Littlefoot notices that rock they pushed unblocked a small stream of water, which slowly builds up bigger and bigger. The kids run off the dam and the adults run up a slope as the dam explodes with a massive flood, drowning the raptors, cascading down the Thundering Falls, and flowing into the Great Valley to put out the wildfire. Except never mind, the raptors are fine, they surface on the opposite side of the rushing river so they can't reach the others on the other side. Remember when I said earlier that Dinosaurs are Built Different? Apparently raptor dinosaurs, specifically, are Built SUPER Different.

Everyone returns to the Great Valley, but most of it is still dead from the fire.

They have to ration out what little food they have, as well as search the Valley thoroughly for any spots of green untouched by the flames. The kids and teens find one such place, and Hyp's father catches himself when he's about to yell at Hyp over it. Hyp says there's enough if they share, and Mutt and Goon 1 are surprised to hear him talking about sharing, but he insists that not sharing is for babies.

Narrator: "And so, as it turned out, the dinosaurs traveled from green spot to green spot, eating their fill. Each helping the others to find what they needed. Each learning the special kind of joy which comes from giving to others. And in the years to come, this story of sharing was told over and over again, until it became known as 'The Time of the Great Giving'."

SURPRISE! This movie was a Thanksgiving Day special, all along!

Looking it up, Goon 1's name is indeed a shortening of Nodosaurus, it's just "Nod". Well, I was close. It is odd that he's never named, and Mutt is only named once, so it's easy to miss. By the way, I don't think that Clubtail we see throughout the film is meant to be Nod's father. Nodosaurus didn't have a club tail, but this is also a dinosaur movie from 1995, so who knows?

This movie's core theme is about bullying, and it kinda folds the racism theme of the previous two movies into that bullying theme via Cera's dad and his character development. Hyp and his goons are the bullies to the kids, Cera's dad is the bully to the adults, and Cera's dad and Hyp's dad are bullies to their own kids, representing how generational trauma makes parents create bullies out of their kids. Cera's dad even mentions his own father in his song.

Cera's dad really is a MAJOR focus of this movie. I was worried his character development would feel forced and rushed, but that fire scene and then the speech later did a lot to make his turn feel realistic. His racist attitude has been a major background element of both of the previous movies, and this one dealt with it. Not quite bringing it all the way to the forefront, but close enough to deal with it by proxy of his other issues.

This movie has kind of a slow first half but it hit its stride in the second half when the kids find the water. Which, to be fair, was the case with the last movie, too. Chomper didn't even hatch until the halfway point.

The raptors' insane durability really stretched the limits of my suspension of disbelief. There were 5 herbivore adults fighting them, all but one being bigger, plus 8 juveniles, but the raptors seemed like unstoppable Terminators. Except the one who was apparently taken out like a punk at the very beginning of the fight. If the writers really wanted the raptors to be that big of a threat, they should have made there be more than just 4. Like, 10 would make more sense.

Pros: All 3 songs are better than Eggs. Cera's dad's character arc was surprisingly great. The tension of the drought was pretty good. The whole fire scene is really good. The bullies are WAY better than Ozzy and Strut. Petrie gets a neat arc in standing up to the bullies and earning their respect. The raptor fight at the end is kinda fun, it goes in a lot of interesting directions.

Cons: None of the songs are as good as You're One Of Us Now. The dialogue is more stilted and clunky than in the last movie. The final battle at the end felt tacked-on and it dragged a bit too long. The raptors, aside from their absurd durability, aren't interesting characters at all. Mutt and Nod do get a tiny bit of depth, but not enough.

Score: Overall, this movie didn't have any glaring flaws like the editing in the first movie or the Struthiomimus brothers in the second, but it's also generally not quite as good across the board. I think I'll give it a 7/10.

The Land Before Time: 8/10 (hypothetical uncut version: 9/10)

The Great Valley Adventure: 8/10

The Time of the Great Giving: 7/10

[silverskye13]

Silver I know next to nothing about the alien franchise and movie, I am giving you full permission to use this ask as an opportunity to spread propaganda to get me (and anyone else) to finally watch it

So it's, so like, the thing is, right. I'm not a movie tech kinda person [though it is technically impressive, the funny little tricks they did, like not having the budget for a Big Space Ship Derelict so they are a scaled down model that the director's kids in space suits walked up to so it would look bigger, and it was shown to the audience on a shitty CCTV because they didn't do a big matte painting of the set they filmed the tiny one, projected it onto a wall, and then filmed that.] So my rant isn't going to be about how technologically cool the movie was for 1979 on a less than optimal budget. But what I do like, what I excel at, is breaking down themes and tropes. And my god. My god. Just. Ugh. [Flails my arms.]

So a basic rundown for the movie, spoilers ahead, and my analysis of how fucking cool it is:

Basic gist of the movie: The crew of the commercial mining vessel Nostromo are awoken halfway through their trip back to earth by a mysterious signal, calling for help on a far away planet. Upon going down to investigate, one of their crew members is attacked by a strange alien parasite which attaches to his face. This kicks off a tale of increasing horror as the new alien kills off the crew one by one, culminating in Ripley [the main character] blowing up the ship and fleeing in an escape pod, not sure if she'll ever be picked up in the vastness of space -- with the ships cat, who miraculously also survives. [We all know Jonesy is the real main character 💜.] Along the way a plot by the Weyland-Utani corporation is revealed, one of the crew is discovered to be an android, and there is a lot of alien screeching.

Now! The themes that I go absolutely feral over can commence.

The horror of the movie, the reason why the alien is scary, and lethal to humans specifically, is it is a creature built for efficient survival, and this is a trait that Ash, the ship's science officer [and resident hiding android] highly praises in the critter. He describes it as beautiful, elegant, pure in its efficiency. The perfect organism. Efficient.

Humans, by comparison, aren't efficient. We are social. And efficiency preys on social needs. For example:

The xenomorph eggs can survive for ages [in the derelict they're found on, the dead alien who drove the ship is described as fossilized. These eggs have been here for thousands of years. But they activate immediately when a curious human pokes around them. It isn't a fast process. Kane is poking around for a few minutes, looking at the movements of the creatures in their eggs, making observations. Curious. Curiosity is an inefficient trait -- he would have survived if he had climbed out of the hole the eggs were in and left, or even waited for the rest of his team to enact quarantine and investigation procedures.

Speaking of quarantine! When Dallas and Lambert bring Kane, newly infected by an alien parasite, back to the ship, Ripley locks them in the airlock. There are quarantine procedures. We can't risk the whole crew. But they are scared for Kane's safety. He might die without help. They break quarantine. If they hadn't broken quarantine, the baby alien would've been born in the airlock, where it would get spaced the moment it was born.

When the face hugger parasite dies and Kane seems to return to normal, what they should have done to attempt to reinstate quarantine was put him in hyper sleep. His body would have been frozen in a stasis which might have frozen the parasite or, if it hadn't, would have left the new baby alien trapped in a stasis pod. But Kane, haggard and scared from his ordeal, asks can we please have one more meal together before I go to sleep? And that one meal is long enough for the new xenomorph to be born, and release terror on the ship.

There is more. Parker would have lived if he hadn't gone to find the cat by himself, leaving the safety of his group. Dallas would have lived if he let Ripley go through the vents, but he was the captain and he didn't want to risk someone else's life so he went instead. Brett would have lived if he'd left Lambert behind when she was being attacked, or if he'd hit the xenomorph with the flamethrower instead of insisting Lambert get out of the way first. And Lambert would have lived if she'd run instead of being paralyzed in fear by the creature killing her friends. And the xenomorph? Wasn't even eating it's kills. No gore. Little blood. It was killing them because it knew they would kill it, and it was neutralizing threats. Efficient.

The xenomorph is very clearly engineered for survival, and it's survival depends on killing the inefficient organisms around it. Even it's acid blood is described as a survival mechanism, not an offensive mechanism.

Okay Skye, we hear you talking about how scary the critter is because it's not a social creature. That's an interesting observation, but it's still just a monster story, right?

Well, let me tell you an alternative story. Just a little to the left of the original, but one I would argue is still very very canon.

You are an android built by Weyland-Utani, a company which is jealously hunting alien tech to use for its many space programs. You are placed on the Nostromo because there is a known anomaly in the area, and they want to find it. Your job is to get a specimen back to the company, all other protocols expended.

You are programmed to be efficient, so you get to work.

You wake the crew when you find the signal. You give them only the information they need to investigate: it is a signal that repeats every 12 seconds. You let them make the conclusion it is an SOS. Humans are social creatures. They want to help other social creatures in need. There is some arguing about whether they should go, but in the end an extra push from you sends them. Ripley, one of the more efficient members of the crew, keeps asking you why you haven't decoded the message.

"Mother [the super computer running the ship] is still working on it." This is true. She has only translated part of the signal. By the time Ripley realizes it's a warning, the crew is already on the way to the derelict. You tell her if she walks out there, they will have already figured out if it's a warning or not by the time she makes it to them. She agrees.

When they return with a specimen, Ripley [efficient, following protocol] doesn't want to let them on. But Ripley doesn't know you're an android, so when you break quarantine, and you tell her you just wanted Kane to be safe, she begrudgingly believes you.

When the alien is loose, it is easy for you to keep them from killing it. Humans are social, inefficient creatures, and you feel no empathy for their deaths. You do pity them though. Between you and the alien, their chances of survival are slim.

If only they were more efficient.

The horror in Alien is not the xenomorph. The horror in Alien is when anything, primal creatures, androids, a particularly greedy corporation, preys on human social needs in order to get what it wants. There is significance in that Ripley, despite everything, chose to save the cat. She needed companionship. All humans do. She needed to save that cat. A cat that was cantankerous and mean, and hissed whenever it was held, was better than the cold efficiency of empty space.

Any system that prioritizes absolute efficiency will be inhospitable to human life.

[batsdragonsandbooks]

Onyx Storm Aftermath Booklish’s Version

Part Two - Violet

“It is not cruelty—it is instinct. Dragons do not choose their riders lightly, and to threaten that bond is to invite annihilation.” – General Sorrin Aetos, retired Wing Leader and historian of the Empyrean

Finding Andarna is not hard. I barely make it halfway through the courtyard when she speaks to me. A whistle nearly exploding in my head.

“Sorry.” She says. “I know that is something new.” She says. “You shouldn’t be out here alone, it’s dangerous.”

“I needed to find you, I need someone I trust to tell me what’s going on.” I say, my eyes search over her. She looks the same, her scales glittering that purple black color she’s become so fond of.

“You’re the Duchess of Tyrrendor. And you are my human. I will protect you at all costs.” Andarna says, her head lowering to me.

“Who wants to burn me? And what happened to the dragons and the six eggs?”

“They are dead now. Those who wish to destroy you and what you carry.” My head spins, as I try to make sense of her words.

“What?” I ask. Confusion doesn’t begin to describe what’s going through my head.

“Those who wished to burn you are dead, Tairn slayed them as he should. They threaten to harm you and the life you carry.” She explains. My blood runs cold and the dizziness overwhelms me. The life I carry, she can’t mean. No. No, I would have noticed. And besides Xaden and I hadn’t exactly had a lot of time together, but the few times we had, weren’t exactly safe. But I’d still taken the fertility suppressant, hadn’t I? Shit.

“I’m not, I can’t be…” I trail off. Oh I very well could be. Having your boyfriend, my heart quickens, now husband, tell you he’s so afraid to fuck you in fear of draining the actual life out of you doesn’t exactly serve as a good reminder to take your birth control.

“You are.” Andarna confirms. Dizziness surges through me once more before my vision becomes black.

I awake moments later. At least I think it’s only moments. Andarna shields me protectively. Tairn’s voice instantly calms me, grounding me back to reality. On the wall of the courtyard his massive body perches, wings tucked.

“Silver one.” He says, and I’m greatful for the return of our bond, to have him in my mind is comforting.

“Tairn, what’s happening.” I ask.

“The golden one is correct, you carry life inside of you. Though I’d assume the dark one is the creature’s father.”

“I can’t be pregnant, Brennan would have noticed.” That’s part of the whole mending thing right? His magic would have sensed it.

“No, the creature is not developed far along enough to be recognized by a human, no matter their magical abilities.” Tairn informs me. “You need to get inside and rest.”

“Is that why you killed them? The dragons, they want to burn me because of…” I trail off, not being able to get the word out. Baby. How could I be a mother? Xaden and I had never even talked about children, given the climate of the situation I really don’t think either of us would opt to bring such a defenseless child into the world. Xaden. A sob catches in my throat and I will myself not to cry.

“Yes. They threatened you, they asked for their demise. Do not cry for the dark one.” Tairn says.

“I think she’s allowed to cry for the loss of her mate and the father of her babe.” Andarna says, her shrill whistle tone cutting into my brain once more. Tairn angles his head to her, swiveling it in a serpentine like motion.

“Where is he? Where is Sgaeyl?” I ask.

“I cannot tell you. That would compromise the mission.”

“Can you at least ask her, if he…if he’s okay?” I ask Tairn. If he’s alive, if he’s given in completely. If the man I love is no longer existent in that beautiful body.

“I cannot.” Tairn says, his voice full of sorrow. “I am no longer bonded to her.”

“What?!” I ask.

“Another necessary component of the mission.” Tairn adds and I know not to press. I’m not going to get my answers tonight, not even from him. “Now, to bed.” Tairn orders, my head swims and my heart quickens to an uncomfortable rate. I obey his orders sneaking back into the house and into my room.

Part Three

[orangeboulevard]

Seven: Climb (Venom!Reader x AndrewGarfield!Spiderman)

Summary: Peter Parker should know that anything that can go wrong will go wrong on his patrols.

Word Count: 578

"I do not understand you!" A voice with an odd inflection and guttural tone bombarded Peter's ears.

"We can't just eat anyone, okay? Why is that so hard to understand?"

Peter noted a different voice, its sound was much kinder to Peter's intensified hearing but its actual words left him stupefied. Peter Parker, clad in his Spider-Man costume, had been absentmindedly scaling the side of a building on his patrol when he found himself eavesdropping on a very unusual conversation.

"You said 'bad people', he was clearly a bad person, he was stealing!" The first voice argued.

"Stealing baby wipes and diapers! We don't eat people like that." Peter had to keep himself from leaping from the wall, there were cannibals on that rooftop! Cannibalism is definitely on his list of no-nos.

"Human morals are too complicated to understand. My own race follows no such stupid rules, it is as your Darwin would say 'survival of the fittest'."

"That's why you're on Earth because you're definitely not the fittest-" This statement was met with an indignified roar that almost made Peter shit himself. "-And how do you even know about Darwin?... Have you been on the internet again!?"

"..."

"I told you no web surfing while I sleep!" "It is very boring! I cannot help myself!" "I can't believe you!"

Peter had heard enough damning evidence to bring these people in, the strange and sick cannibals that they were, so with a swift movement- he launched himself up and landed on the roof. Oddly, he only found one person instead of two. He tilted his head and almost jumped back in sheer fear as the person transformed into a dark towering beast.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"Aw, is the little spider afraid? You should be. The tasty meal that you are."

"There will be no eating or snacking of any kind, thank you very much!" Peter squeaked out, feeling very much out of his depth with this new adversary. 

The huge creature scrambled towards him on all fours eliciting an unmanly shriek from the young man as he flung himself out of reach of it. It turned to follow him but before it could, it transformed back into the recognisable shape of a human. Peter let out a shaky breath as you held your hands up. 

"Sorry, sorry! Spider-Man, right? Aw, man. I'm a huge fan. Sucks we have to meet like this." Peter felt whiplash at the difference in the interactions, he couldn't respond with how perplexed and dumbfounded he was.

A serpentine black sludge erupted from your neck, it curled around to face you, and all of its razor-sharp white fangs were born, "I am hungry, I do not care about who Spider-Man is or your attraction to him!"

You splutter, face heating up, "What? No, I'm not- such slander! How preposterous!"

Peter ran a gloved hand down his face before leaping down to be face to face with you, "I'm sorry but what the hell is going on right now? What IS that? Do you have a sentient tapeworm?"

"TAPEWORM?"

"Sorry! Not a tapeworm, sorry!"

You cough and stuff your hands into your pockets, and you begin to ramble, "He's just an alien, picked him up a while ago, and he's just uhh carnivorous. Don't take me to the police, please, you're so sexy ahaha."

Peter tilted his head in confusion.

[peasks]

Facts about my characters!

Z is just a nickname. Their real name is zypher.

A lot of zombies have short names that mean literally nothing. 90% of zombies are named randomly, including Pe.

Pe has one cousin who works an Apothecary and grows tobacco and weed on the side.

There’s a HUGE drug empire with connections all around the underground. Drugs are normal in their society and no one bats an eye at public usage. The reason why drugs are so extremely prevalent in their society is because everyone is fucking miserable and is chasing any bit of happiness they can get their hands on. Basically, getting high is their escape.

Z only allows Pe to call them Zypher, and even Pe doesn’t use that name a lot.

Pe kind of hates her name but honestly doesn’t give a crap enough to ask people to call her something else. However, if she had to choose a new name it would probably be either Gecko, or Pen if she wanted to keep her original name in there.

Z and Pe are like siblings.

Pe had a very short temper, which, as a result, has gotten her into numerous brawls. It’s usually a 50/50 who comes out on top.

F is a transfem (shoutout to all my transfems out there this ones 4 you 💜/silly) and has gotten top surgery, but just didn’t feel the need for/didn’t want bottom surgery.

F’s father is on the senate, and works alongside the other senate members and the overseer, the true ruler of the city. In reality the senate barely has any power, as anyone who truly opposes the overseer immidiately gets kicked off the senate and gets erased from existence- like they were just never there, and the public simply doesn’t care all that much.

F is a commander for an elite team of various speeches- who are often from elite families, such as descendants or relatives of those on the senate- who are tasked to carry out assassinations quickly and quietly, then paint it as a murder to cover it up.

The way that she and Pe met was NOT on very good terms- she was actually there to assassinate her after someone reported an odd creature in a dark robe- something that isn’t usually seen in the upper sectors of the city. Another branch, the tech department, did a bit more investigating and found out from public security cameras that the said creature was actually a zombie. This led into full, quiet chaos in the government. How the hell could a ZOMBIE, of all creatures, have gotten up HERE? They, of course didn’t release this information to the public. They simply spent F and her team out to assassinate Pe. However, they had zero idea about Gred. No one did besides Z, who strode alongside Pe. When F tried to assassinate Pe, Gred whispered something into the zombies ear- something quiet, but something there. “They are coming to kill you.” The god said in a hushed tone. Pe sensed something nearby. She tapped Z and immediately backed up against a wall and scanned the area. This shocked F- no one had EVER been able to detect her presence nearby… was this just a coincidence? Or something else… Pe shared a knowing look with Z. Somehow they both knew what was at stake here and what had to happen. Pe tapped into a bit of Gred power, not morphing herself to an absurd amount, but just enough so that the crack of bones could echo through the alleyway. Pe had taken on an uncanny form, her eyes bulging as she coughed up a bit of dry blood and looked around for any sign of life. F was frozen- half out of fear, and half out of pure shock. Whatever she had expected to happen, it wasn’t this. F decided that this was more than a silent assassination attempt. This was cause for lockdown- She had to eliminate whatever the hell /that/ was, as quietly and quickly as she could, following protocol.

She told her team to stay close, but not attack. Pe heard this due to her enlightened senses, and she croaked out something. “I know your there.” This was enough to cause panic within the group, though they were quickly silenced as F hopped down from the building, scaling it down and eventually sitting on a sleek, white staircase on the side of the pearly marble building.

“What do you want.” Pe said, staring at the figure shrouded in shadow. F came out of the shadows for a second, and Pe nearly stumbled back upon seeing her. “You could be her twin…” she mumbled under her breath, only loud enough for her to hear. As soon as she spotted the sudden weak spot, F jumped down from her perch with a long, twisted dagger in both of her hands. Pe obviously immidiately locked tf in and her flight or fight got enabled, so the two began to tussle. F only managed to get one good stab in- just below her ribs, as Pe had managed to move at the right time before it hit her heart. This caused her to hiss in pain, writhing while scratching up and biting F, nearly taking a chunk of the persons flesh with her. Where was Z during this, you ask? Right behind F with a metal bat. She swung, it hit F in the head and knocked her clean out. She swung it again for good measure, cracking a rib of the assassin. Afterwards, Pe and F immidiately began to run while F’s team came to bring her to a hospital nearby.

Why did F’s team not step in? This is because they were loyal. Maybe too loyal. F had given them orders not to step in until the job was finished, and they didn’t, even though they felt bad about it. However, if they /had/ broken protocol, even if they had taken down Pe and Z they would’ve been punished for “undermining authority”, and “not following orders”. Guess who abolished this rule right after the fight (it was F LMFAO)

Oh, and F is stern like an army commander. She has had training from some of the best assassins and fighters ever known simply because of her desire to protect and fight, alongside her quite literally top-tier connections with some of the most powerful people in the entire megacity. This mission was the first one she had failed. Ever. This of course caused even more panic and discourse to break out within the government functions, and the senate got word of what had happened soon after.

| FUTURE |

Z’s parts and gears are still rusted over, but not nearly as much now that Pe and F (still need a name for her sigh) figured out how to remove some of it thanks to the waders nearby, also known as the water folk- basically just people make out of water, taking all shapes and forms, though most of them are humanoid.

Z is like an auntie (I don’t know a gender neutral term for auntie 💔) to Pe’s kids and, though they say the kids are annoying, they don’t really mean it of course. They are often put on babysitting duty whenever Pe and F have to do something that requires both of em, or just because the two are tired.

Pe is called “mom” by her kids, and F is called “Mommy”!! ^_^

[pinyatapix]

i never played Concord nor had interest in it but i felt an insatiable drive to redesign all of its characters before the game shut down ever since i saw how absolutely dripless they were

anyways here’s my scuffed ass sketches of the gang. i was originally going to finish these all before the game’s shutdown but i was so stuck on Teo that it took 6 extra days rip me. also i cant draw guns. these are all first drafts so expect them to change a bit if i feel like drawing em again

more info on these designs below (warning i yap a lot)

Itzi (i am not calling her “It-Z” cuz it reads rly weird and i can imagine someone bri’ish calling her “It-Zed” it’s so dumb): Wanted to make her more of a goofy lil gremlin creature, like some combo between a jerboa chameleon and raptor, to make her more appealing and interesting, imagine being shot to death by this silly little scamp. Everyone loves Ivy Deadlock for her gremlin charm so maybe they’d love Itzi too if she had that as well. Her chest has a hole in it containing the weird ball she throws to teleport and shit, because a Concord critique by TBSkyen said that a character’s powers should appear on their physical design or whatever, also to show that she got mutated in a freaky space storm

Bazz: nothing about her reads as “agile deadly knife-throwing assassin”, especially with that annoying puffy bright red coat, she looks completely stupid running around doing backflips with that thing on! So i made it a more sharper mysterious black coat she wears like a cape to give her that sense of shadowy agility like a phantom thief, which she keeps all her carbon steel knives all neatly stored in. Gave her a slight diamond motif on the coat and the glasses because it felt elegant and sharp. Thought her hairstyle kinda fucked hard so i kept it but made it a bit more pointier and added a little stylish side swoop.

Lennox: i actually love this guy’s voice acting and the slightly manic goofy personality it had but his design did NOT fit the voice, so fuck it im making him even more of a lizard man than they were trying to do. His self-healing ability is him shedding a bit of skin after it took damage, and his “splodey knife” is probably a back scale spine he yoinks out of his back that can explode because it’s a biological property of his species for some reason. I do not know what clothes to give him

Lark: Discarded all semblance of a humanoid silhouette to make them even more of a weird mushroomy alien. I don’t really have much to say but i can easily see them slithering around like an octopus on land but faster. Their gun would look way more like some organic fungal creation

Haymar: not much changes here but i wanted to make her more mystic and “wizardy”. The “fireballs” she uses as her main ammo are now a floating bead necklace rotating around her neck (kinda like that zen robot from overwatch) and her clothes now have more of a slight flame motif, along with more of a mystic vibe. Got rid of those ugly ass mustard sneakers too of course

Daw: gave him more turtle motifs to match his “turtle-esque” gameplay style by giving him a protective hoodie and turning his “healing pad” pack into a bulky turtleshell backpack (he’s also wearing a turtleneck sweater shirt underneath the coat lol). His coat is somewhat translucent like shiny plastic cuz i thought it would look neat, tried to ditch the goofy-ass jumpsuit thing he had by giving him a belt to separate shirt and pants. Not too sure if i made him appear enough as a medic as that’s his main thing, the coat and gloves could probably help but idk, but i adjusted his personality presentation to be more easygoing and warmhearted with the closed-eyes so maybe that could give a healer energy.

Duchess: old ladies who know how to kick ass are rly cool. her whole thing’s making walls and constructs out of this golden gooey energy but nothing in her design tells you about that, so i decided to give her a cape/cloak made of that same golden essence so that it’s more apparent on what she can use it for, it also makes her appear more like royalty which was prolly what they were going for. Kept the haircut cuz that beehive thing was very goofy but it fits the vibe of everything else

Roka: she looked like a blowup sexdoll version of Master Chief which is… very cursed, and it tells nothing about her being able to fly around and stomp on people, so i made her bug themed! She’s like a cross between a wasp and dragonfly, the bulletproof wings are rocket-powered and can fully rotate the other direction to give her a forward boost of momentum to stomp people with her slightly more exaggerated boots, they also neatly fold away when she’s not flying. She’s rockin’ that tokusatsu hero look, it gives her a lot more energy to her personality.

Daveers: hated drawing them and i feel unsatisfied but i do like what ideas i had for them. Gave them more of a “sketchy mad scientist” vibe and personality with a shit-eating grin and all that, also tried to give them a “test tube contraption” thing going on by having their helmet be entirely glass and there being tubes and bottles all over their baggy jumpsuit full of poisons and chemicals. Gave them a spray-can backpack that stores all their toxic sludge tho im not too sure if it fits the rest of them or not… whatever. Tried giving them a chemical burn mark on one half of their face but it’s blending in with the hair rip

Jabali: he’s a healer whose powers come from “his own pulse”, but the weird pacemaker thing on his heart is the only way of knowing that so i made him waaaayyy more heart themed! His cool-ass hat’s got a blood cell design on it, his coat’s got a vein pattern, his shoulder pads look like aortas and arteries, i think his dreadlock ponytail could also match the aorta look. I seriously felt that vibe of the cool badass black guy with the glasses and coat and wide tippable hat needed to be enhanced even more, he had all the ingredients to be one stylish mfer but they weren’t mixed in properly, depressing.

Vale: i was racking my head on what to do with her because the only thing going on with her was “sniper” and “bionic legs”, but i decided to make her a “scrapper” like what they called Emari in that one short by turning that “burlap sack hobo” look she originally had into more of a defining feature as something recycled from a bunch of scrap she collected. Turned her “how do you do fellow kids” backwards hat into a slick bandana that has her sniper goggles attached to it, made her braids/dreadlocks into a cool ponytail befitting of a sniper though i wished i decorated them with more stuff other than the power plugs at some of their tips, like nuts and bolts acting as hair beads. Her bionic legs are also more heavily emphasized here, she’s like 70% leg like Byakuya Togami Danganronpa and that makes her a bit more taller than most, i can see her running around with them rly fast also they have large springs in them for extra jump (also they matched those spring like curly tips in her og hairstyle)

Emari: tried to make her bulky armor even more like it’s made of scrap like the “scrapper” she is, tho since i kinda suck at mechanical greebling she looks very cluttered and hard to read. I tried putting cute little stickers and graffiti on her armor to give her more of a fun-loving vibe despite her imposing build, felt like she’d decorate her armor for fun. Gave her helmet a visor to give her some cool toughness and added lil things on it reminiscent of bear ears cuz her silhouette needed a lil something. Problem i have with drawing her is that her silhouette ended up looking too similar to 1-0FF’s redesign, it really needs some fixing cuz it’s pretty damn rough.

Kyps: she could’ve served so much cunt but she didn’t, so i needed to change that. To match her invisibility powers as a spy i themed her off of chameleons and mirrors — i un-balded her for improved silhouette by giving her a hairstyle similar to a chameleon tail (tho it also looks like a glass Prince Rupert’s drop and mirrors are also glass), gave her “earrings” similar to mirror handles, made her coat a lot longer and have it slightly reminiscent of fractured or cut glass, give it a coattail like a chameleon tail, and tried giving faint patterns on the clothes and especially the tied that gives a sort of “shimmery” kinda vibe??? She’s reminding me a lot of Inteleon right now

1-0FF: actually my favorite out of the redesigns, he was so tricky to do but i think i got him pretty right. Wanted him to appear even more of a friendly recycling bot toughened up by constant battle, replaced that menacing eye of his with a friendly smile on a screen (that i took from an app icon from my ipad out of laziness lol) and gave him little symbols of recycling like little sprout iconography and a recycling symbol heart, though as contrast to all that i gave him scars and battle damage so you know he kicks ass. Still wanted to keep the trashcan look so his head kinda resembles those trashcans with the spinny rotating lids, tried my best to make the rest of the body also trashcanny. Turned that vacuum gun of his into a megaman-type arm gun because why did they make it a separate component that’s so stupid.

Starchild: turned him from a rip-off Guardians of the Galaxy character into something more like a rock monster guy since his main ability's called Diamond Skin and it does.... guess what. I put crystals on different parts of his body and I thought about the "hair" on his body being made of those weird fuzzy kinds of crystals (realized it was a missed opportunity to give him chest hair rip). Wanted to make his name "Star Child" a lot more literal by inspiring him off of a shooting star, which is why I gave him that plume of smoke for hair. Since he's a (former) proud tribal warrior guy I wanted his design to lean more heavily into that by giving him tattoos that are like geometric stone carvings??? and giving him clothes and jewelry that give a sort of non-existent tribal culture vibe, his clothes also have a sort of bismuth pattern to them.

Teo: okay this fucker was the reason why I did not finish this. His design was so unimaginably boring that it was very difficult to come up with a "twist" for him while still having him be the standard shooty guy. Days later I immediately thought "Space Dandy" and decided to make him be way more flamboyant with a pompadour as his main feature, befitting of the "goofy space adventure" vibe this game tried and failed to capture. In my head his backstory was that he was raised from birth to be a regular ass disposable space soldier, leaving the army much much later to pursue a quest for self-identity... the identity he chose for himself being that of an over-the-top galactic popstar. I imagine his "Smoke Bomb" ability being glittering colorful smoke instead, like a popstar entering the stage out of artificial smoke clouds.

okay I'm tired. i am cooler than playstation. goodbye

[softantlers]

for your drabbles: adult lottienat with cerf or magnet because i am missing that AU rn

wolfie, this is between you and me. but i think i can do... all of this simultaneously... what i need from you is a gallon of cold brew mailed to me each day. don't forget a day-- i'll slip. but if we time it right, i think, i think just maybe i can write vapefork and campstrap (fratfrot just gonna be a oneshot) at the SAME TIME. i tihnk i can fucking-- i mean i think i can-- [starts frothing at the mouth and passes out]

OKAY. lottienat and cerf! i'm forgetting the lore on how they get magnet but i want to focus on cerf and i'll do her some other time

--

"Now what the fuck is that?" Nat drops a carton of cashew milk--Lottie goddamn Matthews' favorite--on the ground and gapes.

In the middle of their condo, discreetly scooting his actual ass on the living room throw, is a fucking direwolf.

Lottie has her hands up in a gesture of peace. She's standing behind the drooling beast, and she winces as the dented carton starts dribbling on the hardwood at Nat's feet.

The creature--dog, if you were generous--has ash white fur and he's tipping the scales at 150 pounds at least. The expression on his stupid face is what Lisa would describe as "meme-worthy."

"I think he's part Anatolian shepherd," Lottie begins, and Nat's vision blurs around the edges.

"I think he needs to get his ass off our rug," Nat says, staring at the billowing cloud of slobbering muscle and knowing with a quiet certainty that she is God's least favorite.

At Nat's remark, Lottie notices the dog scooting and frowns. She nudges him and he looks up at her with adoring eyes.

Oh hell no, Nat thinks.

"Listen, he just showed up in the woods behind the practice. Lisa was visiting for lunch, and I mean, Nat, the look on her face when she saw him--"

Nat blinks. The practice in question is Lottie's art therapy studio up in Alpine, and the "woods" could only mean Palisades Interstate Park.

Palisades Interstate Park, where coy-wolves have been spotted (but never proven) for the past ten years.

"He's a wolf," Nat accuses, throwing out a damning finger.

Lottie pats the beast's head and sighs. "He's not a wolf, Nat. Listen, I know we were trying to go minimalist postmodern with the condo"—(This gibberish translates to Nat as "You had a panic attack at the thought of living someplace above your means growing up and I settled because I love you.")—"and maybe it's not quite right for him. But he's so docile. I think I could bring him to the practice most days, and he'd have room to stretch there."

Nat feels like she's going to pass out. "Room... to... stretch...?"

"Lisa and I were talking before she headed back to New York, and we think he kind of looks like a deer. I mean, he's so regal. We're calling him Cerf."

Hand flying to brace the wall at her side, Nat steels herself. "Sir?" she wheezes.

"No," says Lottie, patient but direct. "Cerf. It's French for a stag."

Nat's eyes flick between Lottie's face—with that fuckass pleading expression she knows always gets Nat—and the drooling mongrel in her living room. "Why do you and Lisa do this to me?" she asks.

"She fell in love with him, Nat."

All at once, Cerf lifts his giant head and points those dumbfuck pancake eyes at Nat. He makes a little grumbling sound before standing and waddling toward her. She stares down at him, her stomach tightening at the prospect of being mauled, when he begins to slosh his fucking tongue at the cashew milk at her feet.

"Shouldn't hurt him," Lottie notes.

Nat presses her face into the wall. "Oh my fucking God."

[melsrainpod]

I've had too much mulled wine to drink and I clearly didn't mull it enough because I can feel it loosening my talking parts. so because of that I'm just gonna ramble about what I see in every Oxventure Wyrdwood potential pairing (if I see it at all) and why I don't think Wyrdwood works as an OT5/6 when Guild was a kitchen table polycule.

The thing is, Guild was absolutely an OT5. Everyone was milling around with everyone, everyone knew what was going on, everyone was more than happy to share. They were all on the same ship, and so they *are* the same ship, at least to me. I can absolutely see all five of them in a big pile cuddled around a campfire looking up at the midnight sky and idly playing with each other's hair or scales or horns or what have you.

Meanwhile, while Wyrdwood cast is also "everyone can be paired with everyone", it's also very much closed couples or triads. I genuinely can't see them all sharing each other in a big love pile, they're either too jealous or too closed off to the possibility of sharing someone. They just don't vibe with each other the same way The Guild were. It's kinda wild seeing all of them wanting the others all to themselves or, like, not headcanoning all of them as bisexual disasters (which most of the Guild are/were. including Katie Pearlhead and Liliana. you know I'm right.)

So, who do I see going out on steamy tent excursions with each other? Let's start with mildly canonical and then go wyrd.

Lug/Happen

(For future reference, I will try to keep to top/bottom convention, but I can't promise to stick to it for all of them) This one's canonical basically. Happen idolises Lug as the most unlucky creature in the world. Lug sees this and is just not taking it, but he's also in need of some validation and this autistic twink is more than happy to provide. Lug's just in it for his own gain mostly, because he needs to give into some of his more wild urges, but he also cares deeply about the well-being of all creatures, this one included, so he's a caring top, even if he might be a bit of an unwilling Dom. Happen is just too much of a sub to do anything. Well, that's not true, but we've got a long way to go before we get there.

Morven/Cressida

What do you get when two divas are bratting against each other? These two catty sapphics are in a power struggle to see who's the best at their magical tricks — and I think Morven eventually overpowers Cressida solely because her sorcery is innate and Cressida's wizardry is learned, so she has to perfect it and is wounded when it's not perfect. They're fighting each other every step of the way, they're trying to gain control over the other's emotionally if not physically, and the only time they stop is when they fight a common enemy, be it an abomination of nature or Happen's pixies tying his tunic over his head again. They're gonna keep each other safe solely to gain an advantage the next time they clash characters. It's just not as fun to live your life without a rival of roughly your own level whom you can also fuck. If you for some reason know what a kismesis is, firstly, let me give you a hug, and secondly, yeah, it's these two.

Morven/Robin

This one's definitely getting into less canonical territory, and the rest will be likely just in a random order whenever I remember about them. Morven and Robin are definitely a strange case of living in the same body and wanting it for their own. I think they should fuck about that /j. (I am writing a fic in the background about Robin finally getting to see the inside of his "mind palace" and meet with Morven, so I'm thinking about it quite a lot more than about other ships.) Robin just wants to experience the world outside of his castle walls while being brave because that's the right thing to do, and if Morven can harness the power of "serving her is the right thing to do" then she's gonna be unstoppable. I genuinely think them being the opposites wanting the same thing (control of their body) is a compelling plot point of finally gaining understanding of what the other is like and getting to do some aromantic sexual stuff. Helps that the body they inhabit is the same so they get to be horny at roughly the same time. Plus, Robin already knows how to serve!

Lug/Willowfine

With Cressida and Morven I struggled to please one of them on top because they both fight to be the top and/or dom. With Lug and Willowfine I'm struggling because I see their relationship as a perfectly equal partnership. They're in a QPR solely because they see the Wild Folk influence in each other and they somewhat understand the urges the other might be going through. Even if they don't know how to care for the other, they can guess and that guess is usually pretty close to the truth. They see each other, they care for each other, they look out for the Wildness in them. The only reason Lug gets to be on top is because Willowfine asks him to, but they are absolutely equal in their power. There is no power dynamic between them unless one of them craves it. I love them together.

Willowfine/Cressida

Yes, you heard me right — Willowfine is definitely on top here. Cressida is doubting her too much. Cressida is also way too uptight. Someone should teach her how to chill the hell out. Willowfine can be stern if she smells bullshit and deflecting the care. She has her own methods of making Cressida listen to her (I'm definitely thinking about a mild hypnokinky fic of Willowfine finally making Cressida stop being such a snob).

Cressida/Robin/Happen

But Cressida knows how to unwind herself. She just need a boy or two to order around and be at her beck and call. (The one thing I will say about Cressida/Robin specifically is that I genuinely think she will introduce Robin to petplay and will absolutely use him as a dog.) !Happen is just so eager to please, as ever, and even if it is somewhat weird she's not gonna complain about a devoted servant. Robin, meanwhile, is just a nice bonus, plus I think it is funny to get Cressida stuck between the two wanting to please her at the same time. Not that she minds — Robin was right in at least one thing, Cress is definitely good in a sandwich.

Morven/Cressida/Willowfine

Speaking of Cress being good in a sandwich. Ladies. Do I need to say more? Women enjoying other women. Cressida being stuck between an angel and a devil on her shoulder, and at this point she's not sure who's who in this scenario. Willowfine being overwhelmed by the force of two powerful magic users creating the wildest sensations ever. Morven finally yielding to the onslaught of care, some genuine, some pretend. Any and all interaction of the three is just a delight.

Happen/Robin

Again, you see this correctly. Happen, the second subbiest sub in the party, is getting to be on top of Robin, the most subbiest sub. This one I don't have a particular explanation, other than Happen is willing to try whatever the fate sends his way and Robin is willing to do whatever seems interesting, and most things are outside the castle walls. It's actually Robin who's more likely to be on top because that's what would be more known and understandable to him, and Happen would graciously tell him to be comfortable, but Happen is the one to initiate and guide Robin through the experience. Maybe he's just training poor Robin for eventual bottoming for others, who knows!

Happen/Morven

This one is such a curveball, honestly. I haven't thought about it until today, when I learned that you should unstring your bow when you're not using it, and immediately thought of Happen saying that to Morven, indicating that she should just unwind at some point and he's available if she needs him. It's like, you know that integer overflow/underflow thing, of a Pokémon in Too Many Types dealing ×16 damage but it's just so much that the actual damage dealt is just 1hp or Ghandi sending nukes in the original Civilisation when you install democracy? Happen is just such a sub that he short circuits to somehow being the one to top Morven into domming him.

Willowfine/Robin

And I gotta end on a wholesome heterosexual friendship that isn't spoiled by the romantic feelings felt between the two. They're still good friends, Willowfine definitely teaches Robin how to read and write, they kiss chastely on the lips and then throw all caution to the wind when these kisses turn less chaste. They care for each other the only way a lover would care for their partner, with the most vanilla loving sex you can imagine.

And that's all the thoughts I have so far! if you've read all of this, uh, thanks, and I'm only slightly sorry. I think I'm starting to sober up a little. Been wanting to write something like this, just maybe spread out over more posts, for quite some time now, and I'm glad it doesn't have to live just in my head.

[lollytea]

Pouring one out for Gus during the huntlow situationship era when Willow is like "yeah 😎 everything's chill 😌 why would you ask 🙂" as her balcony creaks dangerously under the weight of all the flowers growing there. meanwhile Hunter's on the floor listening to Frank Ocean's channel ORANGE on repeat like "do you think it's too early to add this track to our wedding playlist"

He's hanging out at Willow's house and for the most part, she's semi-normal. She can keep a conversation going about Gus and what's going on in Gus's life and everytime he asks why all the walls of her room have been devoured by big fat blooming flowers, she waves him off like "Don't worry about it :)"

And then when he lounges back against her bed, he discovers something familiar stuffed between the pillows and curiously picks it up.

"Willow, how did this-?"

"OH! How did that get there?" Willow blurts out, her attempts at keeping her voice casual failing miserably, as Gus' ears catch the obvious spike of panic. She snatches Hunter's wolf shirt out of Gus' hands and babbles away about how he probably left it behind at their last sleepover.

Willow then falters, staring intensely at the garment as she rubs her thumbs against the fabric. And that's when she's suddenly inhaling the fucking thing, like it's been doused in witch cocaine.

Now Gus has seen a lot of strange behaviour from Willow but somehow she manages to make something as innocuous as sniffing a shirt to be very high on the deranged scale. It's all about the presentation. The sound she made while sniffing was loud.

And just when Gus thinks she's gonna shove it in a drawer somewhere and move on, Willow rubs her upper arm. "It's kinda chilly, don't you think?" She asks, not waiting for Gus' response before she's throwing the accursed t-shirt on over her tank top. And then she moves on.

Willow recovers swifly from that. She doesn't mention Hunter or make any reference to his existence for the rest of the hangout session. But the flowers are still big and bright and the wolves are still stretched across her chest. Gus opts to ignore it.

He heads home a few hours later, expecting to wind down for the rest of the night and get some progress done on this article he's working on.

"GUS!!" He hears the urgent cry before he even fully swings open his bedroom door. There is a creature of some kind perched on the edge of his bed. But before Gus can process what that creature is, he gets his answer in an explosion of golden flash and suddenly, there's a pair of hands gripping his shoulders and he is nose to nose with the usual wearer of Willow's cocaine shirt.

"How long have you been waiting for me to come home?" Gus asks, not nearly as startled as he should be.

"Doesn't matter" Hunter makes a one handed dismissive gesture, as the other hand is holding a notebook. "I've been thinking about Cosmic Frontier,"

"You've officially gotten my attention," Says Gus with a waggle of finger guns, crossing the room to land on his bed.

"Alright. So!"

Hunter suddenly blips from Gus' doorway to his bedside. He's hurriedly reading aloud.

"O'Bailey met the talented botanist Jun in book 1, chapter 4 and showed the first signs of attraction to her in chapter 12 and vice versa in chapter 15..."

He had successfully lost Gus' attention.

"Uh huh," He says anyway, because he can see Hunter's tiny cramped handwriting coating across every inch of the page. He has clearly put a lot of thought, time and effort into this.

"However!!" Hunter blasts from the bedside to the doorway to the desk to the window to back to the bedside again. When he continues his spiel, Gus is blinking back stars from the assault of bright gold light.

"They don't begin an official romantic relationship until book four and aren't married until book five. Let's talk about why that is. Why all the waiting? Why all these emotions left unspoken? I've written a comprehensive essays on what I believe to be the reasoning behind this and hopefully, we will leave here tonight with a better understanding of their relationship as a whole!! You excited, Gus??"

Hunter is grinning, gripping his notebook beneath his chin. But Gus doesn't miss the way his hands are shaking.

Gus doesn't hesitate.

"Fuck yeah!!" He declares, not really feeling the enthusiasm, but putting enough chutzpah into it that it's got Hunter wagging his nonexistent tail.

Hunter clearly needs this. He needed to write that essay. And now he needs to read it aloud to someone. He needs to channel everything that he's feeling somehow. And if Gus didn't realize how well O'Bailey helps Hunter figure his emotions out, he wouldn't have introduced him to the books in the first place.

Gus lays back against his pillow and half listens to Hunter spit out a 7k word essay.

He was meant to be writing his article on the Russian Sleep Experiment for the Human Enthusiast Magazine that he founded...but well....guess he's doing this instead.

[schniggles]

tagged in a fic meme by @rolameny

>Rules: share the first lines of ten of your latest fanfics (or up to if you have less!) & tag 10 people.

“You are a Human. Tenacious, hardy firstborn of Sol. The earliest kind of creature to write histories of the Earth. You have been taken.” [Regard of Another World: Grimoire:Enemies/The Taken, aka me having fun filling gaps in the D1 Taken grimoire]

“It takes three tries for Eijirō to wall-run up and over the wall blocking off the secluded alleyway, but hey, there’s no one around to see his feet slip and slam his head against the concrete!” [Children, Behave, a BnHA AU where Kirishima does not attend UA]

““This is fine,” Momo tells herself, gripping the sides of the hotel bathroom sink.” [Limit of Patience, f/f omegaverse a/b porn 💃🏿]

“At first, Tom didn’t know what he was hearing. It roused him immediately, whatever it was. Those sounds common to every ship he had worked upon in the past four years, the low creaks and cracks and sloshes: every noise seemed newly alive with threat.” [Spit and Persistence, Return of the Obra Dinn missing scene]

“What's the deal with maw-mouths? No, really.” [What's the Deal with Maw-Mouths?, a Scholomance theory-post that TOTALLY FUCKING NAILED IT]

“You’re holed up in a tiny, amethyst-studded alcove when the Guardian finds you. This is sort of alarming, because several separate Corsairs have implied that the Guardians wouldn’t be friendly to you. But then again, maybe they’re all cooperating to feed you bad intel.” [Teneral, oneshot from an AU where Risen!Uldren is a Warlock, among other things]

“Time slows. Eleanor reaches for him. She doesn’t make it.” [Long Old Road, alternate ending to BioShock 2, and my personal mission to sell people on Grace Holloway/Subject Delta]

“Someone’s crying in the library bathroom — which is weird because it’s after hours, and everyone should be gone, right? But someone’s crying; Noelle can hear the faint sniffling.” [“just say no”, deltarune post-chapter 2 aborted Weird Route, mostly jossed but I actually kind of called at least one part?]

“The Invaders came in a soap-slick array of different solid colors — red, lavender, puce, jet, puja-scale blue, yellow. Green.” [home sickness, me rubbing my dirty little speculative biology hands all over Among Us]

“Blue is finishing up on the john when there’s a scream and a crash from the direction of the lab.” [Zapatista Ex Machina, same series as the above]

tagging: whooooooever feels like it. @fox-fic-and-ink ?

[boatswainscall]

There's still some year left to get through but I'm going to call it anyway, for reasons I'll get into.

2024 started as bad as any other year for me. Since 2013 I've been consistently Having A Bad Time, across pretty much all fronts but especially mental health. Christmas and my biological birthday especially are hard on me, specifically because of a loss in my family in - you guessed it - 2013. So the arrival of the holidays is always an inevitable sharp decline, usually ending at rock bottom just in time for New Year's.

Make no mistake, I have happy memories from those 11 years, but what little else I do recall from that time are a monochrome grey sludge, the rest lost to depression and PTSD memory gaps. I turned 18 at some point, then 21, 24, whatever else, all supposed cultural milestones that are now lost to the fog forever.

2020 for sure led to things getting even worse, for reasons I don't feel the need to state. Things really were starting to improve for me in 2019, but the start of the Covid lockdown caused whatever progress I had made to give up the ghost. And I had kind of started to accept by the time 2024 rolled around that this was my new normal. Therapy is borderline impossible for me to obtain due to the desiccated state of mental healthcare services where I live, and the pandemic led me to developing acute agoraphobia. This was just how things were going to be.

Until May, where something changed.

I joined a community Discord server for Canadian players of FFXIV, and though the change was gradual, it was expansive. My walls started to come down. The dread that normally haunted me every morning as I woke up started to abate. I made friends there first, then more elsewhere as I started to get comfortable with socializing with strangers again. I stopped having full five-alarm BPD meltdowns every week on the dot. I stopped having RSD flare ups over the stupidest fucking shit imaginable. In all, my mental health improved in a way that was unprecedented for me.

In all I can legitimately say I've made more friends in the past seven months than I have over the course of my entire life combined. Real friends, too. Some casual acquaintances sure, but people I care about and who care about me all the same. People who don't belittle me or treat me as an afterthought. People who - and this was the biggest shock to my system that I still have not fully adjusted to - actually want to talk to and hang out with me because they sincerely enjoy my company.

And for the first time in over a decade, it's Christmas Eve and I am not suicidally depressed. I feel the opposite, in fact. And I know it's a direct result from breaking free from my own self-imposed isolation, and filling my life with connections that beat back the brain demons. Humans are social creatures after all, no matter how introverted we may be on an individual basis. Something I had to learn about myself the hard way and have only grasped the scale of recently.

I don't have anything poignant to say about it all, and I know the world is still on fire outside of my own little bubble. But in those seven months I've also taken strides alongside these new connections I've made to better my own habits in regards to constant doom scrolling. To remind myself that there is change I can make at the micro and personal level to improve not only my own life, but the lives of those around me that I care for. Even if its small and stupid things, it still makes a difference to those people, if even briefly. I'm going to look into doing work in my local community too at some point in 2025 - I don't know what exactly yet, but I know I want to do something.

Merry Shitscram and here's to better years ahead.