#i also need to catch up on a lot of stuff in general and prep for college and fix a ton of stuff

[astrxealis]

in ~5 days i have played 27 hours of da inquisition ... despite also having had to go outside the last 5 days for leisure or college/health related stuff. Goddamn.

[tarotbyjam24]

Pick a card : How will your spouse act in your pregnancy?

Pick a piles\ masterlist feedbacks

Likes , reblogs and feedbacks are very much appreciated 💗

Disclaimer: this is general reading . It may or may not resonate . If reading doesn't resonate let it fly and choose another pile or simply there were no messages for you through this reading 😊 Take the reading lightly as nothing's set in stone until you believe so 🕊️

Thankyou for stopping by let's dive in ☄️ Choose the pile you feel most drawn to 🧸

I also offer paid readings you can book one as it'll help me a lot and don't forget to check the free readings offer ✨

Pile 1 Pile 2

Pile एक

Alright pile 1 your spouse will be like ohh yeahh my wifey is pregnant . Lemme serve my MY QUEEN , my kid's mother 🙇🏻‍♀️ . They gonna decorate the room you'll be living in . They'll be prepping the nursery too by painting it and adding magical vibes to it. They gonna put the dolls in the nursery. They'll not be fighting with you at all like no fighting at all. No yelling no nothing. They're gonna be so submissive and help you with everything. They're most likely to always think that what can I do to make them feel better. They may also go from questioning phases and questioning themselves whether they're enough and ready to be a parent or not. They'll not be letting you do any house work or anything. As I said you're their queen 👑. They'll be spending their money on hiring the maids and all the stuff required to get things done but they won't let you even walk on the cold floor without slippers. They'll always be there for you and whenever you feel that your body doesn't look great . I'll say just stop and look at your spouse's face. They're just so in love with it . Also you never need anyone's validation. You're just beautiful the way you're. Motherhood is a blessing. I'm hearing.

I am woman, I am fearless

I am sexy, I'm divine

I'm unbeatable, I'm creative

Honey, you can get in line

I am feminine, I am masculine

I am anything I want

I can teach you, I can love you

If you got it goin' on.

Your spouse will always be there to cheer you up. They'll always do the effort to make you feel better . They'll try hard to satisfy your pregnancy cravings lol. A keeper. And answer your funny stupid questions while they're doing important work. They'll be like yeahh this is so my wife 🌚 . They may also take you to sit often in moonlight and chat with you while they're laying your lap rubbing your womb. They're so protective of you in general. They can't stand when you're not in good mood. So your spouse's will take their extra focus on that and maintain peace with you because we all know how moody we all get sometimes and now that you're pregnant it's your right to be moody and grumpy teddy bear. They gonna also buy you maternity dresses and flowers in which you'll look mystical they might even click your pics and save them for later. They'll watch all the disney movies with you that loved as a kid.

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Pile दो

So like pile 1 you're your spouse's queen too 👑✨ . They'll be source of your happiness. They'll make you the happiest. They'll see the fashion show you do for them when you come back from shopping. They'll hype you up and make you feel worthy of all of it . There eyes will only be at you and you only . You've charmed them up , you've rizzed them up already. If you ever get the thoughts like my spouse might leave me no they won't they probably left you for planning a surprise for you. Probably went to buy your favourite drinks and some food to catch along with. Well, your fs may get hurt or sad by seeing you to go through all those changes during pregnancy like pregnancy symptoms : morning sickness, dehydration, dizziness, anxiety, etc All those pains and hardships that women has to go through while nourishing a human being inside their womb. They may feel like it's already enough for them to make them see all the good and bad changes you went throughout pregnancy. I see they're big in the kitchen. They'll always be there to cook home-made meal for you with their own hands and serve it to you beautifully to make you feel like you're in restaurant. They may even act like a waiter when they serve you up. I feel they maybe enrolling you up in drawing and painting classes too which can be outdoors like in some fields or gardens. They're gonna put all the work aside and leave it all if there's one phone call coming from you . They'll come barefoot for you I swear. As I said they are not able to see you in any pain they'll do whatever in their reach is to make you feel comfortable like giving you hugs , rubbing your feet etc . Hehe they love your hairs so they'll take extra care of your hairs when you're pregnant. They'll even get you different different hair accessories to accessorize your hairs . They'll take care of your hydration and even say words of affirmation when you drink your water. They may also bring special cups that hold special meanings to both of you in your pregnancy. If anything breaks your heart know that they'll be keeping it out of your sight until you're feeling okay . They may even tell you stories of knight and princess while you go to sleep omggggg🎀

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I hope you liked the reading . Thank you so much for letting me read for you . Wishing you best ahead . 🎀Bless you and have a nice day🌸🐰 I'd love to hear which pile you chose

Loads of love , jam🩷

Exchanges : open , collabs for paps : open

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

this week work stuff flowed fairly smoothly although, again, i am spending So Much of my life currently chipping away at various ACT prep materials… debating whether or not to take on a new client and leaning towards no because i feel like i don’t yet want to give up my tuesdays at home while it’s so dark and i have all this stuff to do lol. in theory i don’t need to do another practice test this week but if i can fit it in it would be very nice to have some wiggle room… plus there is in fact a limit to how many times i will have to do this again ever and with every one in the bank i move closer! lol. but, also this week i’d like to get in the groove of the development project that kicked off recently, which on the one hand pays less well and on the other hand requires no Leaving My House.

i didn’t QUITE fix my room or the kitchen but both are looking a lot better than they did a week ago (the kitchen thanks in no small part to some outside help!). i am also not 100% prepped for tomorrow’s session but i’m close enough that i’m not worried. other than that tomorrow can be a bit of a catch up day in terms of tidying etc. and also of planning the rest of the week… this week i gave up on accomplishing tasks in general although i did refill my thyroid prescription because my room was messy (the thing about my room is that once it hits a certain threshold of messiness it takes forever to fix due to sheer cognitive overwhelm where the executives are quite dysfunctional and i spend a million years each time trying to figure out what to pick up next even though i know logically it doesn’t matter… i think it is not in that realm right now even if not ideal) and it was so horrible cold and also in the middle of the week i had to spend a big chunk of time helping my mom with some pre-surgery stuff which counted spiritually as 1 million tasks. in my wildest and most idealistic fantasies i plan my week ahead on sunday mornings or afternoons between sessions but i rescheduled my saturday morning session to sunday at 10 this week because i didn’t want to have to be thinking about what time i needed to be in forest hills the next morning during my birthday party lmao. which btw was very cute :) i only spent a little bit of time being totally insane about what if it was horrible and everyone decided to me for making them endure such a terrible time and then i calmed down and it was nice :) which again is a very normal human experience you have to understand is historically difficult for me to access because of my deeply internalized belief that it is illegal in the eyes of god for me to call attention to myself. for many years i was so focused on how bad i felt like i was at connecting with people that i really failed to appreciate that everyone i do know is so nice and cool and fun and cute but i think about that a lot these days.

i was pretty slack on habits and once more behind on steps but i got my 5 workouts and finished a book (topics of conversation: good!). i got tea at a yemeni tea shop with a friend i talked into watching the say nothing TV show (i have two episodes left!), which was mostly great because he’s like the number one person i know who now having the correct context would appreciate someone on twitter saying to gerry adams “surely you must know someone who can work a timer.” free store was extremely chill the hour i was there before departing for mom stuff because it was So Horrible Cold. i RSVP’d yes to two things despite my internalized belief that when people invite me to things they are only doing it to be polite and it would be rude and embarrassing of me to act like i don’t know that and actually go. i continue to give myself extra credit for every week of winter survived without falling into total despair and disarray. i did terrible at bedtime booktime this week but tonight i AM cozying up with the house of mirth not least of all because while it’s a reasonable hour to go to bed my body has not been used to that of late so like we’ll see. 6 weeks till daylight savings!!!!

[batmanschmatman]

8, 25, 51 for an OTP of your choice from the OTP ask game?

tsym for the ask! gonna do winnix bc I always have them on the brain.

eight: what happens if one of them gets sick?

I feel like Nix is usually a little bit of a baby about being sick, just like being grumpy and reluctant to do anything beyond being burrowed in blankets and trying to sleep it off. Not full on whiny, impossible to be around, but tired and grouchy about being sick and happy to be looked after. Dick keeps him well hydrated and lets him curl up on him and doze while Dick reads and pets his hair. It's very much Dick doesn't mind looking after him and does it without being asked, and Nix is happy to soak up all the tlc and take it easy until he feels better.

Dick is one of those guys who pretends he's fine until he feels like absolute shit and has a hard time submitting to people taking care of him. This is sometimes tough bc Nix likes to take care of him and Dick doesn't want to be a huge bitch to him, so there are times when he might want to be like go away >:C but then remembers he's being stupid and immature and Nix loves him so much and it's okay to let someone bring him soup and painkillers.

Nix is a patient good sport about it bc he's used to Dick being reluctant to be looked after and he knows he's really just grouchy to be feeling lousy and not mad at him.

(side note: wrote a fic about this exact situation as a pinch hit for heavy artillery's exchange last december for my wife which you can find here, although it's locked to registered users only.)

twenty five: Do they have any hobbies they share?

At first glance, not really besides basic stuff like they enjoy reading or watching a movie and both were very smart good students (or you know, Nix would've been a better student if he hadn't been capable of coasting vs. working super hard at it), but I think especially post war they definitely get some hobbies in common. Namely I think Nix gets Dick on the travel train because Dick is adventurous and curious about other places, but didn't have a lot of opportunity to explore that before the war, and then they both take care of the gardens at both their place in NJ and the house in PA. Historical!Nix apparently got very into fancy French cooking post war so Jess and I have adopted that for our post-war headcanon for BOB!Nix, so he'd start getting opinions about an herb garden and fresh vegetables and help Dick out or do stuff himself. Dick also is Nix's sous chef/prep cook/clean up crew, or will just keep him company in the kitchen and catch each other up on their days while Nix makes some fancy dinner.

But honestly in general I think they both love the other person so much that even hobbies they're not as into kind of become their hobbies anyway bc they like keeping each other company, lol.

fifty one: what’s a non verbal way they say I love you?

So obviously they excel at this. I think the biggest thing is always like, just how much they're in tune to the other's emotional state and physical/emotional needs. Nix in particular is very good at finding little gifts to offer Dick to help cheer him up or look after him, and I very much think it's a thing of like post war at home he'll bring him a cup of coffee when he gets home from work or picks up a new pair of his favorite slippers when the old ones are getting ratty but Dick would insist they don't need to replace them yet.

Also Dick's just like, steady constant presence in Nix's life, which I think is a huge deal for Sad Little Rich Boy. Dick's seen him at his worst but is still here and won't abandon him, and again especially post-war it's very we're in this together so we face it together, how can I help? And Nix is still a little shocked that Dick hasn't decided to hell with this, bye, every time it happens but obviously he's not going anywhere because he loves him. c:

[goldensadnessdolphin]

That's been rattling in my brain a bit. I think a big part of that was distance to the audience.

HIMYM was a pretty closed off thing. Yeah, it was big and all, but there was barely anything to grab onto and have a conversation about. Talking from a mainstream cultural perspective:

GoT had it's houses people would sort themselves into. HIMYM had Neil Patrick Harris as pretty much THE character that carried the show. Mostly because it was good enough for the rest of the cast to just bounce off of them specifically. I'd bet that more people could quote all house slogans of GoT than tell you more than one significant difference character difference between *has to check wikipedia* Ted and Marshall. Hell, I barely watched both series equally much (a few episodes at a friend's place) and even I can tell you that the House Stark had a wolf as their crest. There is a level of branding and emotional investment expected in GoT and (likely) actively avoided in HIMYM.

The second major difference is merch. GoT had merch versions of EVERYTHING. Without looking them up now, I'd wager GoT had their own Monopoly set, blind bags, funkos, maybe even a TTRPG or other niche market product. If they felt extra spicy, they might've even made a video game? What did HIMYM have in comparison? What COULD they have that would go beyond the logo so you can tell people you like the show? I can't remember ever hearing any catch phrase that entered the zeitgeist. Definitely none that I'd immediately connect with HIMYM. Fuck, Big Bang Theory at least had BAZINGA! There was no real emotional connection to the series for most watchers. And I assume, that was by design.

I'm gonna get unnecessarily deep into some real meta stuff under the cut, so if you're leaving the train here, leave with this hypothesis: HIMYM needed to stay background noise or else they could not have been producing the show for as long as they did. You wanna know what that means? Come with me into the wonderful world that lies beyond:

The big restriction of episodic TV and especially sitcom type media is you can not leave the start of the episode by the end. By which I mean, episodes are produced in a way that a casual watcher can expect the characters to be the same at the start of ep 01 and ep 126. The Simpsons could not have Bart age, the Golden Girls could not have one of them die, The Nanny could not be permanently fired/find a different job. Yes, there are some changes you can make, but those have to keep the character and central tension at the same place. The Nanny (spoiler) did at some point kinda sorta actually hook up with her boss, but it was treated as a very off-and-on relationship if memory serves. Their professional lives and power imbalance was still the biggest obstacle. Bart has to stay young to be mischievious. His pranks would hit a lot differently (both for the character and their effect on others) if he was 17 or older.

Things like this are a necessity to air the show in effective perpetuity. Any major change MUST be explainable by a sentence or two at most. Because that way, you as the audience know exactly what to expect and the writers can't stray so far out of character that the next episode's writer struggles to tell their story. That is the reality of the business of these shows: Writers, more often than not, would write individual episode scripts instead of season spanning archs.

That also makes it way easier on the actors. If you change the character or base conflict regularly, you are causing your actors to need a lot more prep to deliver the change to the needed quality. That's just not possible, since these shows generally give the actors the script the day they shoot it. Being able to act in those conditions is a very specialized skill you have to pull off. It's one of the big reasons you don't really see soap/sitcom main cast in anything else, even after the show has ended (NPH being the exception that proves the rule)

Coming back to HIMYM. They likely targeted being background noise. If I remember correctly, around the time that they began, a lot of established soaps/sitcoms were either finished or going into their last seasons. While audience tastes were changing, there was a gap in the market. A gap that could be exploited if it drew as many people into watching it regularly as possible. For that, they needed to be knowingly bland. No major edges, no big drama, no strong emotional core. They were specifically riding on two things: The titular mystery and being just interesting enough for people not to flick away when it was on.

Which is entirely opposite to GoT and why it's actually very puzzling why it washed away as it did. GoT had an incredibly dedicated and active fanbase. Yeah, the ending was shit, but that would generally mean people would be loud about it being shit. How they'd fix it, what exactly went wrong, "watch until Ep. X and then stop watching, that's a better ending". That certainly happened, but it left no mark. It's like the fans were ashamed of ever liking the show.

So, there you have it. The thoughts of someone who grew up with sitcoms and now wants to tell people how insane it actually is for sitcom characters to live for 20 minutes more-or-less Groundhog style instead of us getting a momentary glimpse into their life.

remember how utterly inescapable how i met your mother used to be with the memes and references and barney and bro code and wait for it... and then the finale was so hated it vanished overnight

[humanperryfic]

6, 24, and 27 for Perryverse, and 12 and 13 in general

6. How did you decide what tense and POV(s) to use?

So I almost always write in present tense (I'm not a fan of past tense beyond flashbacks, and I don't think I've ever written in future tense xD) but the whole POV thing? It really boiled down to whose voice I thought would tell the best story for the chapter.

It obviously had to start and end with the Original Perry. Perryborg needed to be in perspective early on and at the end of his arc to show his character growth (in fact, everybody was in perspective at their return), and of course, Doofenshmirtz had to realize that he was in love somewhere in there.

24. How did you celebrate finishing?

Oh I can't even remember. It was September 2020, so just as online school was starting up for me...I think I took a nap. And screamed on Discord a little.

I also might have made a pie? I made a lot of pies in 2020/2021. (I still make a lot of pies, actually. Literally the best meal prep I know is quiche.)

27. Share a piece of lore you made up for the story

Amicably Divorced Dooflene. Give me closeted lesbian Charlene figuring out what she really wants from life around the time Vanessa starts school and the two of them getting divorced because it just makes sense. Honestly at this point you can't convince me that she isn't a lesbian.

12. What program(s) did you use to write and edit?

Usually Google Docs (I tried to switch to Word, but I have 2 different Office accounts (college and home) set up on my computer and it's a pain in the ass to keep those accounts separate, so I'm just using Word for school stuff now).

But. I do write a lot of my oneshots directly into the AO3 text editor.

13. Did you write any of the fic by hand? If yes, which parts? Do you find you write differently by hand vs typing?

I don't really write my fics by hand much anymore- I used to a long time ago (pre-PnF), then I would type them up and post them. Theoretically it would let me edit them as I went, and typing it would let me catch everything. In practice, everything from that era sucks please don't read it.

(ty! I didn't think anyone was actually going to send me anything lol)

[michaelmac6072]

Something that crossed my mind when perusing the latest Touhou manga chapters is that I think ZUN often has difficulty making events flow naturally from one to another, and to cover for it, he ends up overwriting a lot of expository stuff that slows things down and takes up precious real-estate in the stories he wants to tell. It's kind of evident in the meme that most Touhou games are 4 stages of beating up randos followed by only 2 stages of people actually related to the incident, but I think a better point of comparison would between the latest chapter of CDS, where Reimu stays at Myouren temple, and the Sanae-san is On the Run doujin by WaHH artist Aya Azuma, where Sanae does the same thing. Both cover the same beats, with a shrine maiden getting an intro to the Buddhists and life at their temple, but Azmaya is able to cover a lot more ground in a lot less space than ZUN did.

More below the cut -- lots of manga pages and spoiler warnings for both comics. As a side note, I wanted to try using colored text to help break up all the black & white and make things easier to follow, but I apologize if it's distracting.

In Detective Satori, our first mention of the Myouren temple is in the end of chapter 23 as the place Reimu and presumably Satori suspect Mizuchi is at next, and so we spend the tail end of that chapter with several pages of establishing panels of the Myouren crew there before Reimu arrives confronting Kyouko, all without dialogue.

Come chapter 24, we begin with... more establishing panels of the Myouren crew doing day-to-day activities, this time accompanied by dialogue and mean-spirited titles, presumably assigned to them by either Reimu or Aya.

We don't even get to see Reimu's request to stay at the temple until page 10 of this chapter, and even then it is only indirectly through Ichirin's mention. By the time we get to Reimu on page 12, she's grouchily preparing a vegetarian meal at the temple before re-affirming to herself her desire to catch Mizuchi here -- which is something we already know from last time, about 18 total pages ago.

After this, that's the last we see of Reimu throughout the chapter - the rest is spent catching up with Aya and Marisa, which also isn't segued smoothly and instead relies on a cut to a couple pages of Kogasa's antics in the graveyard before Aya and Marisa chime in and discuss their own reasons for being there.

I could go on and post more pages from the chapter, but you get the point. The issue here is that there's no transition between these scenes -- rather than link these events together in any logical way, ZUN relies on lots of establishing material as filler to act as a buffer between separate events. You can see how it would be easy to join all this stuff together smoothly without so much establishment, which would give the meat of this thriller story some much-needed real estate. If you don't want to portray the scene where Reimu requests to stay, have ch. 24 begin with Reimu already prepping stuff at the temple, complete with the same grumblings about their lifestyle. From there, the action could driven by her interactions with some of the Buddhist crew -- not necessarily all of them, given the nature of the situation and the tension you want to preserve, but at least one or two of them. Then you can cut either cut to outside and have Aya and Marisa spy on or interrogate Kogasa, or even better, have Aya appear in a window and chat with Reimu, then you can have Marisa spot them from above and swoop in, and then they could all trade notes. Even if we are generous and give the Myouren temple the 5 pages of establishment it has at the end of chapter 23, there's no reason to do so much of it again at the start of chapter 24 and again again with Kogasa during its middle unless you're either deliberately padding things out, struggling for segues, or deliberately padding things out because you're struggling for segues.

Contrast this with Azmaya's comic. Here, the on-the-run Sanae meets Byakuren on the road after Reimu's attempts to exploit the spat between Sanae and her gods backfires. Byak good-naturedly offers her a place to stay after helping her clear up the aftermath of that.

From there, Sanae gets a crash course from Ichirin on the Buddhists' lifestyle, which she also grumbles about for the same reasons as Reimu, but comes to admire in her own way...

...before catching Ichirin and the others cheating on their discipline and storming out of the temple in betrayed frustration!

I would argue that more happens in just these 7 pages with Sanae here than in over 15 pages of CDS with Reimu. Azmaya's able to establish the Myouren temple as the next destination for Sanae in only a page or so, and the ascetic training there is conveyed efficiently in a training montage for Sanae, rather than two separate multi-page exposition scenes of the Myouren crew going through their daily routines. By the time we've reached 12 pages from the start of this chapter here -- where in CDS we were just beginning to see Reimu reacting to temple life -- Sanae's getting squabbled over by Shou as part of an effort to keep Sanae from damaging the temple's reputation.

I know CDS and this doujin have very different aims, and I know scripting a comic and handing it off to another artist leaves some artifacting that doing everything yourself does not. That said, Azmaya's comic had so much less fat on it than ZUN's, and a large part of that comes from how ZUN doesn't link events together well and so constantly re-establishes them, whereas Azmaya's events flow naturally from one another. Sanae at the was out in the village trying to gather embarrassing flyers Reimu made of her, and with Byakuren being a prominent figure there, it's highly plausible the two would meet up coincidentally. This conceit acts as a springboard for everything that happens in this chapter, whose ending in turn acts as a springboard for Shou to chase after her in the next chapter, which itself springboards into further events easily. There's a little re-establishment at the start of the chapter -- it is a serial -- but it's very casual. There's no starting and stopping like there constantly is in CDS: everything builds upon each other with grace and ease in a way that keeps the story going. And because of this constructive structure, Sanae can go through the same beats with Byakuren here that Reimu did in CDS in a much more efficient number of manga panels.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

Preview! “Shadowed Beneath Our Hand”

A little sneak peek! Getting new stuff prepped in time for the “Wakanda Forever” premiere. This will be out at the end of the month.

C.W.: NSFW. 18+. Smut.

Summary:

King M’Baku, leader of the Jabari tribe high in the mountains overlooking Wakanda, has a lot on his mind lately. His beloved wife and confidante Ayomide is expecting twins in two months, adding a total of nine children to his growing brood. He is also licking his wounds after losing Challenge Day and a chance to take over the lands beneath him. When a Jabari fisherman arrives at the palace with a catch he was least expecting to pull out of a river, M’Baku is thrust into a position he never thought he would find himself in: Decider of the fate of Wakanda.

"The ladies on my elbow ain't for the show Every madame on my team is a top general, oh Got to be ready for war, war Should they get into my door, door? Get 'em, we'll get 'em, I know that we'll get 'em Cause I lived through this shit before, oh

I'm a Classic Man You can be mean when you look this clean I'm a Classic Man Calling on me like a young OG I'm a Classic Man Your needs get met by the street, elegant old fashioned man Yeah baby I'm a Classic Man"

Jidenna – "Classic Man"

M'Baku Òkè of the Jabari tribe slumped down low on his throne, rubbing the injured knuckles of his left hand. Swollen and still bruised, he grimaced from the pain radiating all across his massive body. More than anything, the biggest ache he nursed was his shattered ego. None of his royal attendants made eye contact, fearing his mood. Even his most trusted guards avoided stirring up his wrath over the public defeat at the hands of the Panther Tribe's new king, T'Challa Udaku.

He stepped his solid frame down from the throne, shaking his thick thighs as he ambled behind the royal seat and looked down through the glass floor. A giant gorilla carved out of the mountain held part of the palace above the clouds and he gazed into the cloud-laden abyss below. Hidden underneath was Wakanda, the land that could've been his. How bold he had been to show up! No Jabari king had ever come down the mountain for centuries, but M'Baku had the urge to flex his might for his people. The Panther tribe moved too recklessly before the death of King T'Chaka and M'Baku was set on smashing their endless hereditary rule by snatching the throne away and returning the whole of Wakanda back to the traditions they once held before vibranium took over their culture.

Ah, there!

An opening in the clouds gave M'Baku a peek at the tops of Warrior Falls. The place of his crushing defeat. He sighed. Only the great God, Hanuman, knew why he could not beat the spoiled prince. The moment M'Baku held T'Challa's waist in a powerful hold and bashed his face bloody with the gorilla mask, the Jabari king knew he'd won the fight. The prince was no match in stature or strength, and yet somehow, under the gaze of Hanuman, Bast, Sekhmet, and the ancestors, Prince T'Challa claimed his throne, rendering M'Baku a failure before his people.

His council of elders chastised him for wanting to go down the mountain in the first place. His beloved wife, Ayomide, warned him about seeking a foothold in the world below them. Her belly stretched with two of his babies resting inside of her womb and she fussed at him for daring to mingle with the flatlanders.

"You are a fool to go there," Ayomide grumbled at him.

Lying on their warm bed deep inside of their mountain chamber, M'Baku rubbed her stomach and cooed gentle words to their twins who gave up kicking their Mama's insides to get her attention. Ayomide glared at him with blistering heat behind her eyes. She had the nature of a goddess and the beauty of a darkening sunset. The woman also carried the wisdom of the elders he admired in his council, and he often conferred with her before making any decisions for their people. He stroked the skin of her arm and stared into her dark, flashing eyes.

"It is time they witness the might of the Jabari," M'Baku proclaimed.

"Why get mixed up with those people? They are not worthy of our security and happiness if we take over ruling them. We are too different," she lamented.

"There is a new day coming, my love. I should be the one to lead it."

In his mind, M'Baku wanted to lay Wakanda at his wife's feet. She endured an eighth pregnancy carrying two children this time, and her patience was not what it used to be with him. He was even made to use concubines to pleasure himself because she refused to make love to him with his mind on humbling T'Challa and the Wakandans. Inside their bedchamber, he lifted a lover chosen by her, up and down on his tree trunk thighs, parting the wet folds of pliant pussy as she reclined next to him, watching the interaction and guiding the other woman on what to do to please him.

The girth of his dick wore out the concubine, and she whimpered with glassy eyes, staring at his wife while he thrust up into her, his heavy balls slapping against her ass. M'Baku allowed the woman to rest on his broad chest and he leaned over to kiss Ayomide, but his wife turned her head away playfully and squeezed her full breasts for him to keep his arousal going. He preferred to make love to her, spooning behind her and plunging into her slick, engorged heat while rubbing on her burgeoning belly. He could cum so fast just from rocking into her wide backside for five or six shallow strokes. She punished him instead by giving him one of her trusted concubines. Ayomide indulged in lovemaking with other women that they often shared. However, since her latest pregnancy, he only wanted her to himself. Talks of facing T'Challa cooled her ardor, and she sent him her favorite women to play with.

Alas, T'Challa humbled him before the world. Ayomide would probably put him out of her bed and cut off her women for him out of spite.

M'Baku concentrated on the sun dropping lower on the horizon. He spread out his large hand, letting it cover a portion of the Wakandan territory that should've been his at that moment. It cast a shadow on the glass, reflecting his meaty fingers back to him. From his position, he embraced the sensation of floating on the clouds above the world. Such a tiny-looking nation from where he perched hidden behind his hand, so high in the heavens. Yes… heaven. Eluigwe. That's what the Jabarilands were. Wakanda, no matter how technically advanced and powerful they were, couldn't compare to the mountain of heaven that cast shadows over them.

M'Baku balled his hand into a fist. He was still the Jabari king. He was still the leader of a mighty nation. Another snow cloud drifted across the vast swathe of mountain sky, and the first gentle flakes of fresh snow fell to add more powdery layers to the accumulated inches that arrived after his humiliating defeat.

"Eze M'Baku…"

The timid voice of a male attendant broke into his reverie. M'Baku turned and Nebechi, his favorite throne room assistant, held his hands up in deference.

"What is it?" M'Baku said.

"My Eze, your wife, Eze Nwaanyi Ayomide, is here to see you."

Nebechi stood with downcast eyes, his bulky body just as large as M'Baku.

"Tell her I am busy," M'Baku said, turning back toward the window, watching the snow flurries increase.

"You will do no such thing."

Ayomide's voice startled him. M'Baku cut his eyes at Nebechi for not warning him that the Eze Nwaanyi, queen, was already there. He waved an agitated hand at Nebechi, and the man scooted away quickly.

The queen stood near his throne with two female attendants and her personal consort, Ijemma. M'Baku could not tear his eyes away from his wife. The glow of her pregnancy made her seem otherworldly. Nubian knots were twisted and decorated with moonstone crystals with hints of blue deep inside the alabaster color. A long robe made of reddish-brown antelope hide and decorated with a fluffy fur collar protected Ayomide and their babies as she moved around the cooler parts of the palace and her treks outside. He noticed the melting flakes of snow glistening around her shoulders. The other women had on coarse leather coats and furry boots decorated with dark glass beads.

M'Baku lumbered his body over to Ayomide and held her outstretched hands. He kissed her cheeks, then her lips with passionate affection. Her demeanor was pleasant and for once since his return from Wakanda days before, she smiled at him. He leaned over and kissed her consort on the cheek, and Ijemma bowed to him.

"You have graced me with a smile, my love. Am I forgiven?" M'Baku asked.

Ayomide smirked, then rubbed her belly with tender hands.

"You are the king of kings, my husband. I cannot stay cross with you forever, so I came to spoil you with my affections. Ijemma is here with me, so we can all spend some time together. I can pamper you and she will please you in my place."

"The babies are being difficult today?" M'Baku asked.

She sensed the disappointment in his voice. He wanted to pleasure her alone and make up for his rash decision to fight on challenge day.

"There is some discomfort. When there are two instead of one, things exhaust me faster," Ayomide said.

"My Eze, M'Baku, if you wish for me to not share your bed with you and the queen tonight, I can come another time when you need me," Ijemma said.

"Whatever the queen wants, I will do," M'Baku said, staring at Ayomide with longing and lust.

"How you like to be with me… with all of this astounds me," Ayomide said, palming her belly with exaggeration.

M'Baku nuzzled his beard against her face, his fluffy lips seeking her lush mouth.

"Easy, my love," Ayomide said, catching her breath after he released her lips.

"Come, you shouldn't be on your feet much longer. I'll take you to our bedchamber and we can get you comfortable," M'Baku said, cradling her hand.

"Two more months and they will be here, and I can have my body back to myself," Ayomide teased.

"Eze M'Baku!"

Otito, his lead guard, ran into the throne room, shaking snow from his wide shoulders. His leather and furs showed everyone that the snowdrift had stayed for the evening. His fur boots were packed with icy whiteness. Out of breath, Otito waved toward the entrance.

"A fisherman found a body down below and brought it here," Otito rushed out.

"Someone drowned in the waters?" Ayomide asked.

Otito shook his head and M'Baku became worried. Otito was not one to act flustered and excited about anything.

"Please, come see for yourself!" Otito said.

M'Baku followed his guard out of the throne room. Three more guards waited just outside of the door, their faces displaying bewilderment.

"All this for a body fished out of the river?" M'Baku barked.

Ayomide and her women followed him and M'Baku kept a gentle hand over hers, not walking too fast to exhaust her. They moved through the wide halls and made their way to the palace entrance, which was in the shape of a giant gorilla head. More guards stood at the palace entrance with the snowfall covering their bodies.

"Eze M'Baku!"

A young Jabari fisherman with a strong back and strong features lugged a heavy sled behind him. Instead of cold fish caught for him to sell at the market, a body covered in snow and thick furs rested on it.

"I found him. He washed up on shore. He may be dead…."

The fisherman explained his situation, but M'Baku pulled back the furs.

"Glory to Hanuman," M'Baku huffed out.

There, in the falling snow, covered in patches of crystalline ice, with bruised flesh and a fresh stab wound on his side, laid the King of Wakanda, T'Challa Udaku.

"Is he dead?" Ayomide asked.

"Take the queen inside, now!" M'Baku ordered.

Ayomide's attendants and consort ushered his wife back through the gorilla head. M'Baku towered over the young fisherman.

"Tell no one you found him," M'Baku said.

The fisherman nodded. M'Baku's mind spun in a thousand directions. How did this happen to T'Challa? The great Jabari king himself had only fought him a few days ago. Was he assassinated?

M'Baku reached down and touched the new king's skin. Frozen and hard like the ice he floated in before the fisherman pulled him out. The Jabari king quickly covered T'Challa's body.

"Take him to my Hall of Meditation. Let's see if we can save him," M'Baku commanded.

The king's guards took the sled away from the fisherman and pulled it east toward his private spiritual retreat.

"Go with them. They will return your sled and furs, and remember," M'Baku pointed a threatening finger at the man, "not a word to anyone."

The fisherman held up his hands in deference and scurried away, tugging down on his coat to keep the snow from freezing him more. A cold sensation chillier than the snow crept over M'Baku. If T'Challa was near death, and put that way on purpose, who was leading Wakanda? The girl child, Shuri? Ramonda? M'Baku stomped his way through two feet of snow to the Hall of Meditation. T'Challa probably wouldn't make it through the night. He would worry about Wakanda later.

Hope you enjoyed the preview! 

[deadmomjokes]

In case anyone was wondering where I’ve been lately...

MIL came into town for 10 days,  because...

Husband was having/has now had back surgery. He’s fine, he’s healing really well and doing great, but he’s also banned from bending, lifting, and twisting for 2 months, as well as still occasionally needing pain meds and muscle relaxers so he can’t drive himself places at the moment. Which means we went from two adults splitting chores and childcare to one adult doing all of it plus caring for the other adult as well.

Bean is having A Time with this. Her dad cannot come roll around on the floor and toss her and sit with her at bedtime, and it is UNACCEPTABLE. Also Dad was GONE for a whole day and a half, including an overnight stay at the hospital, and she wasn’t allowed to stay with him. She’s still quite upset about that. And the whole “the surgery was to fix the problems Dad has been having, but before he feels better he’s going to feel worse because of the surgery (that was supposed to make him feel better)” is reeeeeeally hard to understand. It’s hard for Dad to stomach as an adult, poor 3-year-old is confused, angry, and losing her mind just a little bit. Because, in addition to that (and the fact that Grandma was here and now she’s gone and poor thing misses her Grandma)...

Bean is still dealing with gastric issues. Short version: lifelong recurrent symptoms of acid reflux and problems gaining weight (including weight loss, which is a major yikes) when they’re acting up have gotten her sent to a specialist, who believes she has something called eosinophilic esophagitis. Basically it’s when specialized allergen-fighting white blood cells take up residence in the esophagus and inflame it because something in the diet is triggering a kind-of-sort-of allergy, which causes sensitivity to acid backup from the stomach, which is also more frequent in response to said inflammation. It hurts and makes her body hate her is the main gist of it, and the only way to know for sure is an endoscopy and biopsy of esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. But in order for the results to be accurate, she has to be off the meds that have been controlling it. So she’s currently Not Loving Life a lot of the time, and is generally quite cranky.

Plus she got regular sick again. We’re all crossing fingers Dad doesn’t catch it, because coughing while trying to heal poor traumatized muscles in your back is difficult at best.

I’m about to have a minor revision of the nasal surgery I had last year, which really isn’t that big a deal this time because there’s basically no recovery time, but it takes time out of an already packed schedule.

AND on top of all that, I have a conference in two weeks where I’ll be on 3 panels, doing a presentation, and pitching a manuscript to an agent from an agency I really want to work with. Which is awesome! This is, like, life-changing stuff that’s gonna set me on the path to achieving both goals and dreams. It’s gonna be awesome! It’s just a lot. While a lot is already happening.

So I’m gonna be MIA for the foreseeable future while I try to hold down the fort, keep my child as comfy and happy as possible despite her difficult circumstances, put together a professional presentation and prep for panels, polish a manuscript, draft and polish query letters, design and print business cards, line up child care for 3 days (for a child who is, understandably, difficult atm), get husband to and from appointments while also getting to and from my own appointments and getting Bean & Friend to and from preschool daily, and hopefully not explode, all at the same time.

The good news is, in honor of the fact that I’m about to go do some majorly career-launching, future-defining stuff in the next little while, I’m gonna get fancy hair colors for the first time and a few new outfits so I look all shiny and put-together when I have to stand up in front of people and pretend I know what I’m talking about (despite the fact that I’m already running on OJ and caffeine at 2 weeks out and definitely look like it).

[whentherewerebicycles]

good morning!! we slept in till 7:15 which was so nice—turns out it’s lovely to get up with the sun instead of in the middle of the night haha. my college best friend is on a long road trip so we chatted for an hour and a half early this morning. it was really good to catch up with her and I got a lot of little chores done around the house while we were on the phone (my fave way to do chores lol I can do literally any household task if I have a friend on the phone). it was drizzling off and on this morning but it’s become a lovely clear day so I’d like to get up and get out of the house.

but first I want to chat a little out loud in my public diary!! I’ve been really good about cooking this week and I was thinking that I want a major goal for the next year to be to get into really solid eating and cooking habits… and to really focus on developing a repertoire of simple, healthy meals that I can lean on during (fingers crossed) the first couple years of having a kid. I know that under stress I default to takeout + microwave meals but I’ve made sooooo much progress in reshaping my eating habits over the past five years and I don’t want to backslide too much. I will never be someone who cares deeply about food or is interested in preparing super complex meals, but I know that for me making food is a way of concretely demonstrating care for my body/self, and when I stop doing that it means I’m probably letting a lot of other things slide too.

I’ve also been journaling a lot about what I want the cornerstones of my parenting practice to be—like, those few core things that are so important to me I want to spend a lot of time consciously laying the groundwork for them now so that even if I’m under extreme stress I’m prepared to make decisions that are aligned with those core goals/tenets/whatever. I hope that in general as a parent I can be flexible and decently committed to not sweating the small stuff when it comes to most things, but I want those few foundational things to be really solid, yknow?? and one of those things is food. I had such an unhealthy and confused relationship with food for so long, partly because it’s just real fucking hard to grow up as a girl immersed in our country’s batshit crazy and deeply cruel diet culture! but also I just was so uninformed about nutrition and so limited in my palate (that American monodiet), all of which made me more susceptible to the pressures of extreme binge dieting. I think my parents did a lot of small things right (in terms of not letting us eat much fast food, never allowing soda or other high calorie drinks, placing limits on sweets etc) but I also know they were raised on that same Midwestern monodiet and didn’t have much (or any) exposure to alternative ways of eating.

I really want my kid(s) to have a healthier relationship with food than I did, to have an internalized understanding of the basic nutritional principles behind what they eat, to eat the same mostly plant-based whole food diet I eat, and to be involved in preparing yummy non-processed meals for themselves from a young age. but of course in order to do this I have to really solidify those habits in myself too and equip myself with the knowledge I need to pass that knowledge on! as I said I have made a LOT of progress on that front over the past few years, but I want to make those habit changes even more ingrained and automatic for myself. I was thinking about how to make this into a fun project for myself—like something where I can see tangible progress and create something in the process—and I think I’ve settled on making a little personal cookbook for myself where I try a new simple-to-make plant-based recipe each week, take a photo of the meal and print it out, and write out a recipe card that includes advice to myself (like, tips for simplifying prep or preparing ahead of time to save time or putting a little garnish on it to make it look prettier)… and I’ll also include a breakdown of the nutritional components of the meal (not calories but like: this is a veggie-heavy meal with some healthy fats, or this is a protein-heavy meal but here’s how you can add extra veggies or pair it with a lighter meal earlier in the day). and then I’ll put the “cards” into those clear plastic sheet covers and store them in a binder organized by type of meal. I also really want my child to be involved in preparing food from a young age (I literally did not learn how to do a single cooking thing beyond boiling water until after college) so maybe as I go I can also leave myself little sticky note ideas for simple parts of each meal that a small child could contribute to. that way when I’m tired and frazzled a few years down the road I don’t have to expend any cognitive energy on figuring that stuff out—I can just be like oh ok so here’s where a kid could chop something soft with a plastic knife or here’s where we could pause and measure something out together.

anyway I am having fun working on it already! I haven’t started making the cards yet (I want to test out some possible templates and maybe buy some cardstock paper & other supplies) but I’m having a great time experimenting with recipes this week. last night I had friends over for dinner and I made these delicious sweet potato pita pockets with this lightly pickled cucumber salad liz made for me a few weeks ago… all of which takes about 10 min to prep and 20 min to come together. and then for breakfast today I’ve been trying to find easy alternatives to the handful of processed foods I still eat regularly, so I looked up how to make oatmeal in a rice cooker and made myself delicious fresh apple cinnamon oatmeal without any added sugar or preservatives. I also made that sweet potato chickpea curry earlier this weekend which is a great “make it in bulk and eat it all week” meal that feels fancier and more complex than it really is. and I found this “prepare ahead” veggie power bowl recipe I’m excited to try where you can roast a wide variety of veggies and cook a grain in advance, then mix and match throughout the week based on what combos sound good any given night. I think that doing the nutritional breakdowns will also be a good learning experience for me—I have a health condition which puts me at higher risk of insulin resistance/diabetes and can also affect fertility, and this will be a good way for me to drill myself on the glycemic index & help me figure out which meals are best for managing blood sugar spikes.

anyway it should be fun!!! since moving I’ve found that one way to really motivate myself to explore this new area is to ask myself “what new place will I check out this week?” and then to make it a priority to try a new park. and then on the day to day level too I try to ask myself “what’s a new thing I can try today?”, so I’ll turn left instead of right on a walk and explore where that takes me. I am so intensely a creature of habit & routine that I think it’s really good for me to build a habit of trying new things—otherwise I’ll just do the same thing over and over by rote. I’m the same way with eating so I’m hoping the same principle applies here! if I can build a habit of “each week I try out a new thing!” I can broaden my horizons a bit… and maybe I can even do some “what’s a new thing I can try in this meal?” thinking too to encourage myself to like, idk, try different spices or ratios or make interesting substitutions just to see how it turns out. plus I’ll have a BOOK of things I made by the end!!! like even if I just try 1-2 new things per week for a year that’s 50-100 options I’ll have in my repertoire, and then I can curate that collection however I want.

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Hi, I’m writing a fanfiction and from your posts on marriage it’s clear that Yue might actually have a lot of choices and agency for marriage specifically but I was wondering how much power does a wife have? I mean this in two ways, how much power does she have in the family and how much would a leader’s wife have in a community? Like, as wife of the chief (or daughter of the chief) would she ever make decisions for the community/lead or is it more an advisor thing or none of the above?

This is exactly my shit omg

So, a lot of people will say that among the Inuit, men dominate. This is not exactly true, and for the Inupiat specifically, it's been said that these preconceptions of men dominating or being seen as inherently superior or more valued are unfounded and based in misunderstandings and stereotypes. Men go out and bring food home to share with the village, but they understood that they would be foolish to think their wives had nothing to do with their success. Who was making their clothes and keeping them warm with mending so they could go out and bring home food? Who gave them a warm meal before? Whose forethought gave them peace of mind enough to sleep? Husbands and wives were interdependent and respected that. It's not a case of "yeah men are more valued, but women do the important work" but rather men and women both acknowledged that they each contributed things of equal importance. A wife wasn't obedient, she served her husband as her husband served her. The dynamic was built on trust and reciprocity.

There's also some stuff to be said about sexuality, because that's a big part in the perception of marriage and gender roles. The long periods of breastfeeding required to nourish children under the age of six years in such a harsh environment acted as a natural contraceptive. This gave women (and especially wives) a bit more wiggle room than there was to be found in cultures where contraceptives were tabooed. Sex wasn't something that had to be kept in a marriage. It wasn't something you were supposed to prioritize, but it wasn't something you had to save either. It was understood that most liked it because it felt good. There was no virginity requirement for marrying, and simply wanting or being curious about it was not considered morally wrong. Extramarital affairs were only looked down upon if there was dishonesty involved. Therefore, the whole concept of a husband's right to his wife? Not a thing among us. If any man wanted to sleep with any woman, she said yes or she said no and not always with words. (A lot of our communication is nonverbal, due to what could be described as a shy demeanor.) If she said no, maybe she'll change her mind, but a no for now is still a no, and the man in question was expected to respect that, and vice versa.

Men were often away tracking, hunting, whaling, doing what it took to bring the food in while women typically kept up the other duties. These were often outside the home in the warmer months, things like food prep and clothing and childcare, in social settings. The husband and father was given special consideration, as his work was more physically demanding, and the wife and mother would keep a store of food specifically for him that neither she nor the children they had would take from. In fact, the planning of food being stored, prepared, and distributed within the household was the wife/mother's responsibility. Such women, even those with arrogant or unthoughtful husbands, being smart with food can save entire villages from starvation. One story where this happens has the woman's husband fall to his knees and kiss her hands, full of both gratitude that she was among them and pride that someone like her chose to marry him.

This sort of power the women had over food manifested even in a young man's rite of passage. The first animal a boy ever successfully hunted was to be gifted to his mother or aunt. This first catch was typically something small like a bird or rabbit that the matriarch in question would make into a soup that could feed the whole family. And though it's true that men brought in the big game, women also provided through trapping, fishing, and bird hunting.

Due to men specializing in work that required long hours of attentive silence away from home, the more social aspects were handled by women. If you were arranged to be married to someone, it was more likely a discussion between your and your betrothed's mothers rather than fathers. This may have been why a young man who had never been married before needed to be deemed ready by his mother or other family member, while a young woman who had never been married before was trusted to know for herself.

So for the record: wives in general

-could have relationships with men who weren't their husbands

-didn't owe their husbands sex just because they were married

-had complete control over food distribution within the household, regardless of who brought it home

-were more involved with social things, like rites of passage and marriage arrangements.

Now when it comes to the Umialik, his wife (or "main wife" as it must be remembered: we were not a strictly monogamous people before the Christians showed up and decided they knew better than us) could lead in his name, but there's something that should be cleared up. The writers decided that it best suited the universe they created and the story they wanted to tell to treat the chief of the Northern Water Tribe as a monarch. This is not reflective of the way an Inupiaq Umialik was treated. While the image one might have based on Chief Arnook is one of higher quality clothes and a big beautiful house and delegating the grunt work to his subordinates, among the Inupiaq, leading the people meant putting more work into it. It was less about power and more about responsibility, and this responsibility was shared with his wife.

Among the Umialik's wife's responsibilities were sewing warm clothes for the whalers (she could recruit women of the village to help her), distributing food at a potlatch, and some important ceremonial roles to do with the whaling season. Like her husband, she was expected to remain chaste just before and during the whaling season. She was also expected to remain in the home while the whalers were away (a sort of pact with the whale, if that makes any sense), and when the whale was brought home, as with any other marine mammal catch, she was the one to pour water down its throat so it wouldn't die thirsty.

An Umialik likely did seek his wife's councel, but that would be true of any husband. Only an idiot would treat his wife like she has nothing of value to offer and a man ought to be humble enough to listen if he wants to marry. The Umialik was the man with the biggest family, likely because they would support his claim and it was hard to defy someone so connected to the village, but another reason could be that, with the largest family, he'd likely be exposed to the most states a person can find themself in, granting him more experience. As mentioned before, women were more in-tune with the social aspects than men usually were, so any wife but especially that of the Umialik would have an important perspective that her husband might not.

As for the Umialik's children in general, primogeniture was not the hard and fast rule among Inupiat as it wass with many cultures we're used to. An Umialik's daughter had no more rights than the average woman and his son had no more rights than the average man. They might find themselves on the receiving end of exceptional kindness to win their father's favor, but there was no guarantee either would inherit

[johannstutt413]

(requested by mathmaticalknight) DND night at RI

“Doctor, are you-” Amiya entered the Doctor’s office late in the afternoon, about an hour before his shift ended, and found him putting on his coat. “-busy? Are you leaving already?”

“Yeah, I’ve got an appointment to catch. Didja need something before I leave?” He stopped, giving her his full attention for the moment.

The Cautus shook her head. “No, not if you’re busy.”

“Bunny, ya know I’m never too busy for you.” Neither was his fiance, after all. “What’s going on?”

“Some of the other Operators invited me to something they’re calling ‘Leviathans and Landships,’ and they said you would help me with a character?”

The Doctor froze. “They invited you to...Was it Blaze?”

“It was,” she smiled innocently. “She also said you might complain about having too many players already.”

“Damn. Well, if she wants ya to play with us, I’m not gonna say no to both of ya. Besides, I’m leaving early to prep anyway.” Oh, but how to introduce her-

Amiya cocked her head. “You’re leaving work early to play games?”

“No, to prepare to play games. Very important distinction.” He grinned. “I’m the GM, after all.”

“...The Game Master?” The Cautus knew full well he wasn’t the General Manager of anything - not since selling his Kazimierz Knights Club, at least.

He nodded. “Location, snacks, the events of the game itself - all my responsibility. Granted, this week it’s Kal’tsit’s turn to buy snacks, so those aren’t my direct responsibility-”

“Dr. Kal’tsit is playing, Blaze is playing, you’re running it...and I wasn’t invited sooner?” She stared at him hard enough to paralyze him. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh, bunny, it’s nothing like that, I just wasn’t sure how any of this was going to shake out, and then by the time I got comfortable, well...Sorry.”

The Guard/Caster sighed. “It’s alright. I’m playing now.”

“Right. Speaking of which, we do need to make you a character.” The Doctor continued walking. “I have all my books and stuff ready to go in the VIP meeting room, just need to get the ones with player options out for you to look at. How much alternative history do you read?”

“Alternative history, Doctor?” Amiya fell into step with him, as she so often did.

He waved a hand in the air. “You know, those books with goblins and magical swords and stuff? How much did Blaze tell you?”

“Um, not a lot. She said you’d fill me in.” He groaned, and she frowned. “Should I have asked her to tell me more?”

“No, but there’s a lot of information to give you and not as much time as I’d like to take to do it. Three hours for a character is already tight, but catching you up on the story, too? Damnit, Blaze, I’m not a miracle-worker even if I can do Arts...” Still, they’d already crossed this bridge. No turning her away at this point.

When the pair arrived at the VIP room, they weren’t the only ones there early. “Good afternoon, Doctor.”

“Good afternoon, Kal’tsit.” He gestured to Amiya. “Blaze invited her to play, so we need to make her a character. Would you mind helping out?”

“I’m leaving now to pick up the food for the game tonight, but I’m coming back after that.”

He sighed with relief. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“That is what a Medic does, isn’t it?” The Feline patted Amiya’s shoulder as she left. “I’ll take care of your vital statistics; after seeing some of his math for Surtr’s character, it will be better that way.”

“I legitimately misread the book,” he grumbled as he began flipping open book after book to its table of contents page, looking for a specific heading that’d tell him there were player character options in it somewhere.

By the time Dr. Kal’tsit returned, the Doctor had his computer open and was scrolling through some of Deepcolor’s character portraits to find one for the Cautus’ character, and she was leaning against his shoulder for a ‘better view’. “Comfortable, Amiya?”

“Mhmm- I mean, um, I need to see the pictures.” As luck would have it, at that exact moment, one caught her eye. “I like that one.”

“Do you, now? Kal’tsit, any issue with Amiya playing a Specialist? Pretty sure we have the basic roles covered, after all.” He pulled out a character sheet as the Feline walked around to see the portrait in question.

Specialist? “I see Enmity Guard here, Doctor.”

“Not Stalker? All the shadows scattered around him?” He caught himself there. “I mean, they don’t have to be a guy-”

“It’s fine, Doctor. I want to play a male character.”

Cool, moment passed safely. “But yeah, I’m pretty sure Stalker or Steadfast Specialist will work. We already have a Summoner, a Focused Medic, a Cleaver Guard, a Flagbearer, and a Chain Caster, after all, and Blaze’ll probably appreciate the frontline help. No offense to your Summons, of course.”

“None taken.” Monst3r was in their crystal at the moment, after all. “Same level as we are now?”

“Yeah, we’re bringing her in tonight. Now, the fun part: explaining how this person is joining the party while they’re completely unreachable from outside the Aura Sphere...” This was going to take awhile.

Twenty minutes before game start time, Manticore slipped into the room, her dice bag being the only indication someone had arrived. The Doctor found her almost immediately regardless. “Good evening, Manticore. Amiya’s going to be joining us tonight.”

“Oh?...How nice. What kind of...character...are you playing?” The Specialist took her seat on the right side of the Doctor (so he could hear her easily) as the Cautus moved her things to sit on the other side of the new arrival. “Did the Doctor...find a new tank?”

“New tank? And make Blaze mad at me? Sounds like a death flag to me,” he commented, otherwise absorbed in rewriting his plans for the night’s session.

Kal’tsit shook her head. “We built her a Stalker to match the portrait she liked.”

“A S-stalker?” The Manticore blushed. “You mean...like me?”

“When I saw the picture, I thought of you,” Amiya noted with a smile.

Manticore’s tail curled around her chair legs for safety. “You...you remembered me...”

“Hey.” Deepcolor strolled in, setting her dice down while leaving a seat between her and the Cautus. “Joining the party, Amiya?”

“Blaze invited her. Speaking of, Doctor, she and Surtr are still on a mission, if I remember the deploym-”

A *bang* from the hallway stopped the Medic in her tracks as another Feline and Sarkaz landed outside the door. “You can take that out of my paycheck,” Blaze sighed, picking the pair of them off the ground.

“We apologize for our la- Blaze.” Surtr squeezed her backpack strap. “We’re not late.”

“Well, yeah, because I blasted us here.”

She spun in place to stare her down. “You forgot the time change across the Kjerag border.”

“Wait, is it- oh, shit, I did.” By then, however, the Feline could see into the room, and so she knocked the Sarkaz inside to reach the empty chair next to Amiya. “BUNNY!!!”

“Ah!” The Cautus was lifted out of her seat and squeezed like a stuffed animal.

The Doctor sighed. “This is going to be a thing now, isn’t it?”

“I believe so,” Kal’tsit agreed, closing the door behind them as Surtr took her seat, and then taking her place next to the GM. “Now that everyone is here, we can begin...Once Blaze has set our Specialist on the ground again.”

“Aww, can’t I just keep her in my lap?” She gave her fiance the eyes-

Nope. “Ya both have sheets to keep track of...besides, ya don’t squeeze me like that when I come home from the office...”

“‘Cause you’ve got bird-bones!” Blaze finally sat down, allowing Amiya to do the same. “Just ‘cause you’re jealous...”

“Where’d we leave off last time, anyway? We just got done killing that Leviathan, right?” The Sarkaz steered the group back in the direction she was interested in going - continuing the plot.

The Doctor shook his head. “No, that was the session before. LAST session, well, things got interesting. Let me set the scene...”

[atlafan]

Night Shift - One Shot

a/n: back at it again with another Halloween themed fic! This was inspired by an ask requesting Harry and Y/N both work/meet in the ER. Slight twist on it, but I hope you like it! Reblogs and feedback are super helpful! (not proofread)

Warnings: friends to lovers, smut at the end

Words: 6.8K

Becoming a doctor took a lot of hard work dedication. Countless sleepless nights, a large debt to pay back, finding a hospital to become a resident in, and countless seminars to go to, to make sure all practices were up to date. At first, Y/N hated working the graveyard shift. She rarely got to see friends or family, she was getting minimal amounts of sleep because, let’s face it, sleeping during the day never worked out the way you wanted it to. However, she stopped minding it so much when one of the nicest nurses took his turn on the overnight shifts.

Nurse Styles was usually the voice of reason. He could calm any patient down, and the kids in pediatrics loved him. He always had a lollypop ready to go. All of the nurses took turns with the different shifts so it was fair for everyone. He had heard of Dr. Y/L/N, but had never met her. She was newer to the hospital, a white coat, but still baby-faced. Harry really enjoyed being a nurse, he didn’t want to be the person in there doing surgery, but he liked being able to get things started, and ease someone into the more difficult things. He had a way of administering bad news, and easing the pain from it. His broad shoulders were perfect for crying on, and if it was a kid he needed to prep for getting their appendix out, he held their hand the entire way to the operating room.

Y/N was just getting in, putting her things in her breakroom cubby when Harry walked in. He smiles at her, and she smiles back as he also puts his things away.

“Chilly out there tonight.” He says as he puts his scrubs on over his long sleeve under armor. She only looked for a second, his arm muscles were certainly defined. “I don’t think we’ve properly met yet, I’m Harry.” He extends her hand and she takes it.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Y/N.”

“Well, Y/N, lucky for you I’ll be your nurse for the next couple of months.”

“You seem a little too chipper about working overnight.” She chuckles as she gets her white coat on and stethoscope around her neck.

“I don’t mind it.” He shrugs. “A lot of the other nurses have spouses and kids they rarely get to see, so it’s only fair I take my turn on the overnight stuff. I usually take it this time of year anyways.”

“Why’s that?”

“The Halloween crazies start trickling towards the end of September. Think the staff likes having me as extra muscle or whatever.”

Her face pales as she looks at him. She had completely forgotten about Halloween. Last year she worked during the day, but she had heard about all of the nonsense from the entire weekend. Drunk people needing their stomach pumped, car wrecks, people on drugs, etc.

“So, what’s your specialty? You’re not a surgeon are you?” He breaks her from her trance.

“No, I’m not a surgeon, just a regular old doctor. I almost ended up in maternity like a lot of female doctors, but it wasn’t for me.” They both walk into the main area so they can get briefed for the night.

Harry says hello to the other nurses at the desk, and he takes his seat to login into the computer. There was another doctor on the overnight shifts, Dr. Gilles, and Y/N really couldn’t stand him. He was one of those doctors who was sort of rude to the nurses because he had been at the hospital for a while, but he was handsome so a lot of them didn’t even care. He would flirt with Y/N when he’d get the chance, but she didn’t really like it. She’d seen Scrubs, she didn’t need the drama that comes with hooking up with a coworker. Not to mention the guy was, like, forty, and she was only pushing thirty. To some that may not be a big age difference, but it weirded her out nonetheless. It weirded her out more when he’d catch her flirting with some of the younger nurses.

“Evening everyone.” Dr. Gilles. “He says as he walks up to the desk. “Quiet so far?”

“Pretty much.” Nurse Halleran says. “Hope it stays that way. You’ve got a couple of people you just need to check in on.” She hands him a few charts and he nods as he takes them. “How are you, Dr. Y/L/N?”

“Good.” She says as she looks over her cuticles. She feels his eyes burn into her, and she fiddles with some of the pens on the desk. “Nurse Styles, back on the graveyard, huh?”

“Yup.” Harry says with a fake smile. He also did not like Dr. Gilles. He felt protective over the other nurses, and none of them felt uncomfortable by Dr. Gilles, but he was a married man who openly flirted with people, and that kind of behavior just didn’t fly with Harry. “Dr. Y/L/N, one of your patients needs their vitals checked. Young thing, coming down from a bladder and kidney infection.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Harry hands her the chart and she looks it over as they walk to where the patient was sleeping.

Bethany Martin, ten years old, bladder and kidney infection. Another doctor wanted to size her up for an appendix removal, but it was Y/N that discovered that it wasn’t the child’s appendix. The girl had told her the pain had moves from the front of her stomach, to her side, and then to her back. She got major brownie points from the administration for making that catch.

Her and Harry slowly go into the room. Her father was sleeping in one of the fold out chairs provided. He wakes up when he hears the door open.

“Hello, Mr. Martin.” Y/N whispers with a smile. “We’re just going to check on Beth’s vitals, see how her fever’s doing, alright?”

“Sure thing, thank you.” He stands up and goes over to his daughter to help her wake up a little.

“Hmm.” The girl slowly opens her eyes, and then she smiles when she sees Y/N. See, Beth was scared that she was going to get cut open, so she was beyond grateful that she didn’t have to have surgery. “Hello.” She says sleepily.

“Hi, sweetheart, I need to check a few things, would that be alright?” Y/N asks.

“Yes.”

“Hi, Beth, how’s your IV feeling in that hand?” Harry asks her.

“It’s itchy, Nurse Harry.”

He smiles at her. A lot of the kids would call him that instead of Nurse Styles, he thought it was sweet.

“Think we should switch it to your other hand then.”

“Why’s it in her hand and not in her arm?” Y/N questions.

“We had a tough time…this one likes to pull away.” Harry explains and winks at Beth which makes her giggle.

Y/N let’s Harry switch out the IV. She lets Beth hold her hand as she winces from the needle. Once he’s done, Y/N checks everything else. She has Beth roll onto her stomach so she can feel around her back.

“I haven’t been as achy.” Beth says as she gets settled on her back once more. “It still hurts a little though.”

“Mm, I bet. Took us a bit to figure things out with you, but you seem to be doing a lot better. Should only need to be here for another few days. We’ll come back to check on you later this morning.”

“Thank you.” She snuggles back into her blankets and slowly falls back asleep.

Mr. Martin thanks Y/N and Harry before they leave, and she they both go to wash their hands at one of the sink stations.

“Nurse Harry, huh? Do all the little girls call you that?” Y/N smirks.

“Why, jealous?” He bumps his hip to hers before grabbing a paper towel to dry his hands. She rolls her eyes at him, and he chuckles. “The kids just tend to call me that, I don’t mind it.”

“It must ease them a bit more to be on a first name basis, I should remember that. I hate seeing kids in pain, I’m glad she’s doing better.”

“I know it sucks, but I actually like working with the kids more. They at least listen to us. Some of these adult patients…they fight us on every little thing sometimes.” They make their way back to the desk.

“Dr. Y/L/N?” Nurse Stevens says to her. “I’m going on a coffee run, would you like anything?”

“You’re an angel, yes”, she reaches into her pocket for some loose singles, “just a regular with a little cream, no sugar, thank you.”

“Harry?” She says to him.

“Brought my thermos, but thanks Ellie.” He smiles at her and she nods before going on her way.

“She’s the best, I’ve worked with her during the day before.” Y/N says to Harry.

“Yeah, Ellie and I came on together.”

“Oh, really?”

Harry hums his response as he types some notes into the computer. Harry and Ellie had a bit of a past, nothing serious, but they had hooked up on occasion. Being a nurse meant working a lot of long days, and that left little room for a social life or companionship. They may or may not have taken advantage of the beds in the room adjacent to the breakroom a few times, but that was a year or so ago. She had started seeing someone, so they ended things amicably.

“Why just the cream and no sugar?” He asks to change the subject.

“Well, for a while I was doing the keto thing, which is absolute rubbish and I never should have done it, but I got into the habit of not adding sugar to things. I don’t like the taste of black coffee, it’s too bitter, so the cream helps. I don’t miss the sugar, in fact, I can’t stand really sugary drinks in general.”

“Why’d you do the keto in the first place?”

“Oh, I was looking to lose some weight before a wedding I had to go to. I was a bridesmaid so I just wanted to look nice in the pictures, you know? It works when you stick to it, but as soon as I stopped I gained most of it back. Deprivation diets are never a good idea, and I knew it, but did it anyways because it was a quick way to do things.” He goes to say something, but decides against it. Her head tilts as she can tell he’s withholding something. “Go ahead, tell me as a doctor it was stupid of me to jump on a fad diet.” She sighs and leans on the tall desk.

“No, I was just going to say…” He blushes slightly. “Well, I just feel bad that you thought you needed to lose any weight because you…well…you must know how beautiful you are as is.”

She stands up straight. She literally just met this man tonight, what was going on? Just as she was about to say something, Ellie comes back with the coffee.

“Here you go.” She smiles.

“Oh, thank you.” Y/N takes the coffee. “I’m gonna go take a walk to the other nurse’s station, see how they’re doing. Page me if you need anything.”

Harry watches her walk away and he groans with his head in his hands.

“Don’t tell me.” Ellie smirks. “You have a crush on Dr. Y/L/N…shocking.” Ellie giggles and rolls her eyes.

“I just met her, I don’t have a crush on her. But I may have just said something inappropriate.”

“You?!” Ellie was shocked. “Harry, you’re, like, the nicest person I know. What did you say?”

“I just told her she was beautiful.”

“It’s not like it’s a lie, she’s rather pretty. Seems to take care of herself. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially on these shifts.”

“I know! It just felt weird after I said it. I don’t wanna be like Dr. Gilles, you know?”

“Please.” She scoffs. “You’re nothing like him.”

Y/N does her nightly rounds, checking on her various patients. A few people come in that need to be checked right away, but other than that things were quiet. Around six in the morning she and Harry go to check on little Beth again.

“Definitely only need you here another couple of nights. Keep getting those fluids in, and this fever will go away in no time.” Y/N says.

The girl nods at her tiredly before falling back asleep. Y/N helps out with some last minute patients before going to the breakroom to change. Harry was in there taking his shirt off. She tries not to stare as he pulls a sweatshirt on over himself. She wouldn’t have minded a few more moments to examine his tattoos. She knew he had a few just from his left hand alone, but shit, he had them all over his chest and stomach!

“Well, see you tonight. Hope you can get some sleep.” Harry says to her.

“Same to you.” She smiles and goes into her locker.

“I hope, uh, I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable earlier in the night…” He rubs the back of his neck.

“You didn’t, it’s fine…I’m just one of those people that has a tough time taking a compliment. Um, it happened to me in school a lot too, like, if someone told me I was smart or something, you know?”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure.”

“I appreciate that, Harry, thank you.”

He nods and heads out. On his way home he realizes he’s far too awake to be able to fall asleep, so when he gets into his flat he takes a sleeping pill, and nestles down with a cup of tea while he watches a little TV. Once his eyes feel tired he heads to bed, getting cozy under his blankets, and eventually passing out.

Y/N does something similar. She definitely takes a sleeping pill before jumping into a warm shower. She pulls her blackout curtains, and gets into bed. Her eyelids feel heavier and heavier as she listens to a podcast, and she slowly falls asleep.

//

Things went on like that for the next couple of weeks. Harry would often assist Y/N on her rounds. He liked that she wasn’t one of those snooty doctors that discounted the nurses, she really seemed to value their opinions, even consulting with them when she needed to. They became fast friends too, often eating together or taking coffee breaks at the same time. She learned that Harry was a couple of years younger than her, and he had been at this hospital for around five years. He explained he liked working at a hospital rather than a smaller practice so he could help more people, and she said she felt the same way.

“Maybe when I’m, like fifty, I’ll settle and open up my own practice. But only because I might not have the same spring in my step.” She chuckles as they both sit and enjoy some coffee.

“You can really sprint when you need to! You were incredible when that guy came in with that allergic reaction the other night.”

“I was internally freaking out the whole time to be honest with you. I was glad to have you there to help me intubate him.”

“Feel like I can do that with my eyes closed now.” He laughs and finishes his warm drink. “I hate to be one of those people, but you’re looking a little tired tonight.”

“Oh, that’s because I never left this morning. I worked all day, took a nap, and then got right back on it.”

“Y/N, that’s not okay. You can’t do your job properly if you’re tired.”

“I know, but we were short staffed, and I was only going to stay a couple of hours, but I got wrapped up with a couple of people. I’m fine, honest, I’ll have a good sleep when I get home later.”

“Shit like that used to happen to me all the time. I’d work sixteen hour days, and then they’d yell at me because I was getting so much overtime, and I’d tell them to hire more bloody people then. It was infuriating. Then you think the place is gonna fall apart without you when you finally do get some time off.”

“Literally! I think that’s why I got stuck here for so long. I have the next couple of days off, though, so I’m looking forward to that.”

“Yeah? Any big plans?”

“No.” She scoffs. “Not unless you consider binging a fuck ton of television while eating a gallon of ice cream big plans.”

“Depends on the show, what’s on the docket to be binged?”

“I’ve been meaning to sit down and watch Ratched. I’ve heard some mixed reviews, but I’m just so intrigued.”

“Mm, nothing better than a show about a crazy nurse.” He rolls his eyes.

“Aw, feeling a little misrepresented?” She smirks.

“Maybe a wee bit. Let me know if it’s worth the watch, though, yeah?”

“Definitely.” She finishes up her coffee and sighs. “Back to it I suppose.”

“Go lay down if you want, we’re not busy.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m catching a second wind.” She stands up and shakes her body out. “See, awake and ready to-“, her beeper goes off, “Shit, some teenagers were just brought in.”

They both hurry out of the breakroom, and go to where they’re needed. Three teenage boys were laying in hospital beds, clearly in pain.

“Alright, what seems to be the problem here?” Y/N says as Harry works on taking their vitals.

“We…fell off the water tower.” One of them says.

She sighs and starts checking for bumps and bruises. She doesn’t ask why they were there, she was sure their parents would rip them a new one for that. A few sprained ankles, and one broken wrist, but nothing too serious otherwise. Y/N gives her instructions to Harry, and tells the boys they’ll need to switch off between aspirin and ibuprofen to help with pain and inflammation. Harry gets the broken wrist into a splint and sling, and gets the others settled as well.  

“Isn’t this a little backwards?” One of them says to him after Y/N’s left. “Isn’t she supposed to be the nurse?”

“Well, considering that she went to school for a lot longer than I did, and probably has a lot more knowledge about the body than I do, I’d say she’s supposed to be the doctor.” Harry says.

“Isn’t it weird being a male nurse though?”

“M’not a male nurse.” He makes some notes on the laptop he was using. “I’m just a nurse.” He closes the laptop and looks at the three of them. “Your parents should be here soon, hope you lot feel better, and be safer out there.”

It wasn’t the first time Harry got a comment like that, and it wouldn’t be the last. He didn’t go to school as premed and then go off to a fancy medical school. He majored in Allied Health in uni, and passed all his tests. That was it, and that was all he wanted to do. There was nothing wrong with that. He was proud of himself. He hoped Y/N was proud of herself too.

//

Flu shot season was in full swing, and there were usually a couple of days a year the hospital did walk-in appointments so people could come in easily to get them. Harry had picked up a shift to administer them. Y/N had come in to be on call so one of the other doctors could have the day off. She smiles when she sees Harry in the cafeteria at lunch.

“Hey, you.” She says as she sits down. “Weird seeing you in the daylight.”

“Could say the same to you. What’s all this about? Don’t tell me you’re working another triple…” He raises an eyebrow at her.

“No, I swapped shifts with Dr. Jollas so she could have the day with her kids. What are you doing here today?”

“I’m on for the flu shots. It’s an easy enough shift to pick up.”

“Get a lot of people in for that?”

“Sure, tons.”

“That makes me happy to hear.” She sighs.

“How were your couple of days off? Did you watch your show?”

“I only watched about two episodes…there was a lot more gore than I was expecting.”

“Y/N…you’re a doctor…”

“Yes, and I can handle small amounts of blood, especially when I’m in the moment helping someone, but there was literally a scene where they were showing how lobotomies were done and a scene where this kid cut off his own arms, so it was a bit much for me. Not something I should be watching alone, anyways.”

“That’s gross.” Harry grimaces. “Don’t blame you for not getting through it.”

“So I ended up just re-watching The Office for the millionth time. It was perfect.” She chuckles. “Are you working all of Halloween weekend?”

“I am.” He nods. “I hope you’ll add some flare to your outfit. The kids like it when we do.”

“Some flare, huh?”

“I have these scrubs that have pumpkins, ghosts, and black cats on them.”

“Hm, I’ll have to think about what I can add. I have some earrings with witches on them, that could be fun.”

“As long as you get into the spirt somehow. We all decorate the nurse’s station and everything. Ellie usually brings in cupcakes too.”

“Speaking of her…” Y/N leans in a bit. “Did you catch the rock on her finger? I’m happy for her and all, but she said she’s only been with her fiancé for eight months. It’s a bit fast.”

“Well, they were casual before they made things official. She was, uh, seeing a couple of people, and then he asked her to get serious and she did.” He shrugs.

“Oh, I see.” She nods and sits back. “I’m not judging or anything, I mean, I guess when you, you know.” She takes a bite of her food, and then leans back in. “Can I ask you something?” She whispers.

“Always.” He leans in as well. Harry be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy a spot of gossip, and Y/N had become his new favorite person to gossip with. It didn’t take them long to become the two bitches that are always talking shit about everyone else.

“Do people use the bunk room to bone?”

His face flushes, and then he clears his throat.

“Why would you ask me that?”

“Because you know everything about this place! I wish it was a singles only room because I swear I saw Nurse Halleran and Dr. Gilles coming out of there, and only one of the beds looked used.”

Harry makes a disgusted face and rolls his eyes.

“I feel bad for whoever he’s married to.” He shakes his head. “Scumbag.”

“Nurse Halleran’s married too! I could never do that. I mean, I’ve been in relationships before, and maybe I’ve thought someone else is attractive, I can appreciate a pretty face, but I would never cheat on my significant other. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

“Same here. That’s, like, the ultimate betrayal. How do you even come back from that? I get that our jobs can make for lonely lives, but make the time count at home when you can.”

“Does he have kids?”

“No, I think that’s why he doesn’t feel bad about it. She has two kids, though, I don’t know, I only talk to her about work things if I can help it. I miss some of my girls from the day shifts, like, Shauna is super nice and has this really warm smile.”

“Feel like she’s the hospital granny.” Y/N smiles. “I like her a lot too, the few interactions I’ve had with her.”

“How long do you think they’ll keep you on the night shift for?”

“I have no idea, think I’m just paying my dues as the new doctor. I’m getting more used to it, it’s not too bad. If it goes through summer I can drag my bum to the beach and sleep there.” She laughs and so does he.

“Might have to join you for that, I love getting a good tan.”

“It’s a date.” She says, more so as a joke, but from the way he looks at her he may have taken it a different way, so she clears her throat and laughs it off. “Anyways, I better get back to it. Nothing worse than being in the middle of eating and the beeper going off.” She stands up. “Have a good one, Harry.”

“You too.” He watches her walk away, and he sighs.

//

On Halloween, Y/N goes in a few hours early because she was told they let the kids go around the halls to the different nurse’s stations to trick or treat, and she really didn’t want to miss out on it. She puts on her witches earrings, and some spooky pins for her coat, and out she goes. She stops off at the store to buy some extra candy, and puts it in a pumpkin shaped bucket. She smiles when she sees Harry behind the desk already in his Halloween scrubs.

“Excellent effort.” He says, and then taps his finger over his mouth in thought. “Could use a little something extra, though.”

“Yeah? Like what?” She sets the candy down on the desk and he walks around it.

“Follow me.” Y/N follows Harry into the breakroom, and he pulls a bag out of his locker. He has her go into the unisex bathroom wither, and she sits up on the counter for him. “I’m working a double today, I did some face painting earlier for some of the younger kids. Sort of a way to give them a costume for when they walk around.”

“Harry, why don’t you just solely work in pediatrics?”

“Because I did some face painting for the elderly too, now hush. I need to concentrate.”

He takes what looks like a black sharpie out of the bag, but Y/N recognizes it as liquid eye-liner.

“What exactly are you going to do with that? Give me cat eyes?” She chuckles.

“No, you dolt, we’d need hours for that. I’m just gonna draw a little spider web on your cheek, alright?”

“Okay.”

Harry had never been this close to her face before. She got a nice whiff of his cologne, and she liked being able to see the few freckles he had. She notices now he’s painted his nails black and orange, he must really like Halloween. She closes her eyes as he starts drawing on her right cheek. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. A slight gasp leaves her lips when his other hand grips her chin to tilt her head.

“Still just me, don’t worry.” He chuckles. “Don’t get jumpy on me.”

“M’not, sorry.” She sucks her lips into her mouth as his hand moves to the side of her neck. Y/N may or may not be a little touch starved.

“Almost done.” He says just as she was opening her eyes back up.

“Harry, has anyone ever told you how pretty your eyes are?”

“Shut up.” He scoffs, and finishes up. “All done, tell me what you think.”

“I mean it!” She says as he backs away enough for her to hop off the counter and turn around in the mirror. “Oh, excellent job. I especially like that you drew a little spider dangling from the web.”

“It’s my signature detail. Now you look perfect.” They look at each other through the mirror. “We should probably get out of here before someone thinks we’re boning.”

She bursts out laughing at that.

“Good one.” She says and shakes her head.

“It wasn’t that funny.” He mutters as he puts the bag back in his locker.

“N-no, it wasn’t.” She clears her throat. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.” He nudges her shoulder and they walk back out to the main area.

The trick or treating was a lot of fun, and the kids seemed to have their spirits lifted. Then shit got real when the drunk people started coming in, the people the police had to bring in for psych evaluations, and the people that had too many edibles. It was crazy busy, Y/N had been running around all night. She was given the okay to go lay down for about thirty minutes since she had come in early. She stops short when she sees Harry laying in one of the bunks. He was laying on his side with his arms crossed over his chest. She quietly slips into one of the other bunks, and takes a deep breath.

“You’re awfully loud.” He says.

“Christ! I was quieter than a mouse!” She says, and turns to face him. He opens his eyes and grins at her. “Ah, you were just fucking with me.”

“Obviously.”

“Busy out there tonight. I mean, I expected it, but still.”

“I know.” He yawns and stretches out. “I’ve been in here too long, I need to go back out before I get groggy.” He swings his legs over the side of the bed and slowly gets up. “Have a nice snooze.”

“Thanks.” She chews her bottom lip for a moment. “Do you have any makeup wipes? I’d hate to wake up with a smudged web.”

“Oh, sure, one second.” He leaves momentarily and comes back in with a wipe for her cheek. Instead of handing it to her, he sits on the edge of her bunk, cups one of her cheeks in his hand, and uses the other to carefully wipe off the drawing. Her eyes flutter closed and she sighs. “There.” Her eyes open back up and she smiles softly at him.

“Thank you.”

There was something brewing between them, they could both feel it. He’s about to lean in to kiss her, but he hears the click of the door open, and stands up immediately. It was another doctor who was I desperate need of a snooze. Harry leaves, and Y/N tries to relax enough to fall asleep.

They don’t see each other again until the morning when they’re both getting ready to leave. He chews on his inner cheek, trying to work up a little bit of courage.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sure you’re probably tired, but…I have these, uh, pancake stencils where you can make pancakes look like pumpkins or ghosts…I thought maybe we could celebrate surviving Halloween together, but I’ll understand if you’re ready to just crash or-“

“I’d love to have breakfast with you.” She smiles as she closes her locker. “I’m gonna go home and shower. Text me your address, yeah?”

“Alright.” He smiles and watches her walk out.

//

Y/N takes a very quick shower so she can freshen up. She wasn’t sure what might go down between them. She felt like she was getting to be a little too old to just be hooking up with someone, but Harry was really great, so she decides to just go with the flow. She heads to his flat after he sent her his address, making sure to buy some orange juice as something to bring over.

He lets her in and she can’t get over how cozy he looks in his sweatpants, graphic tee, and cardigan. She was in a pair of leggings and a sweater.

“It smells so good in here.” She says.

“Thanks, I made some tea too if you want something warm.”

She nods and he pours her a cup. They giggle over the pancakes, and Harry confirms that Halloween is definitely one of his favorite holidays. The two decide it might be fun to watch a Halloween movie, but naturally after a long sift, they fall asleep together on his sofa. She was nestled into his chest with his arms wrapped around her. She would have slept longer, but she woke up to the sound of him snoring. She shuffles a little, but accidentally knees him in the groin, waking up immediately.

“Shit, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize I was laying on you like this.”

“It’s fine.” He says as he reaches for himself. “I’m good.” He knuckles at one of his eyes, keeping his other arm around her. He looks at the TV screen and sees that something else had come on. “Slept through the movie…”

“Guess we got a little too comfy.” She looks up at him. “Forgot how nice it was to cuddle with someone.” She mumbles tiredly.

“We could…go to my bed if you want, have a proper cuddle.”

“Would you spoon me if we do that?”

“Yeah, if that’s what you want.”

She nods yes, so he manages to pick her up, and carry her to his bedroom. She almost didn’t want to let go him when he sets her down, but all is good once he slides in next to her, pulls the blankets over them, and he wraps himself around her. She sighs as his pelvis aligns with her bum, and his arm wraps around her waist.

“Good?” He asks.

“Mhm.” She wiggles against him to get even more comfortable.

“Don’t do that.”

“Why not.”

“Because I’ll get excited, and that’ll make things awkward.”

“Define excited.”

“You know exactly what I mean, Y/N.” He sighs.

“I wanna hear you say it.”

“I’ll get hard, and it’s already difficult enough to control that around you, so-“

“You can press it against me if you want, I don’t mind.” She looks over her shoulder at him.

“You’re serious?”

“If I wasn’t I certainly wouldn’t have let you carry me to your bed.” She rolls onto her other side to face him. “I like being your friend and all, but I’ve done this with someone who’s just a friend before. I…I feel like we almost kissed earlier…”

“We did. Can we try again now?”

“Please.”

His hand slides to the back of her neck and he pulls her closer to him. His lips still tasted like the syrup they put on their pancakes, and she likes it more than she really should. Her tongue swipes along his bottom lip, and he opens up for her. Their tongues swirl around each other, and she tugs him on top of her as she turns onto her back. One of his legs goes between hers, and she grunts when she feels his thigh right on her. She wraps her arms around his neck as their tongues still mold together.

She slips her other leg around his waist so he could lay full between her. He groans into her mouth as he grinds himself against her. A soft moan leaves her lips when she feels how hard he is. She could feel herself throbbing for him. He sits up a little, just to get his cardigan off, and her hands slide up his stomach under his shirt. He shudders from her touch, and he just takes his shirt off too. Her eyes widen as she can finally look over his tattoos.

“This is beautiful.” She says as her fingers trace over the butterfly on his torso.

“Thanks.” He smiles and gets back down to lay on her chest to chest as he kisses her.

He kisses from her lips, along her jaw, and to her neck, all while she’s grinding herself against him. One of his hands finds her hair and he yanks her head to the side so he can get better access to her neck. He licks over the spot just below her ear, and he sinks his teeth in. He sucks on her soft skin, and her mouth falls open. She normally wasn’t super into biting, but whatever he was doing felt really good. When he pops off her she puts her hand over the new bruise.

“That’s definitely gonna leave a mark.” She says to him.

“Kind of the whole point.” He smirks. “Maybe Dr. Gilles will leave you alone if he thinks you’re already getting it from someone else.”

“Not very professional though, is it?”

“That nice white coat of yours will cover it. Wear your hair down for a few days, no one will notice. Or maybe they will, oh well. I’ve never much cared what other people think.”

“That’s because you’re not the one walking around with a mark on your neck.” She pouts at him.

“I could be if you wanted to give me one.”

She bites her bottom lip to contemplate just about every little thing that’s going on between them. She had her legs around him, she was in his bed, and he was shirtless sucking marks into her neck.

“Are…are you going to fuck me?” She asks.

“Do you want me to?”

“Kinda.” She giggles. “You’re, um, really sexy, Harry.”

“Well, that’s very nice of you to say, but ‘kinda’ isn’t exactly a yes, Y/N.”

“Could we maybe just…touch each other? Below the belt?”

“Yeah, we can do that.”

He rolls them both over so they’re on their sides facing each other again, and he pulls her leg up over his hip. She reaches for him first, skimming her fingers along the band of his sweatpants before dipping her fingers him. His breath hitches as she palms him over his boxers.

“You’re okay with this?” She asks him.

“Very.” He grunts. “Go for it.”

She nods and slips her hand inside his boxers, wrapping her hand around his warm cock. She bites her bottom lip as she runs her thumb over his tip, which was already leaking precome, and she slides it down his length.

His hand grips her ass before sliding it around to her front, and pulling her leggings back so he can get his hand in. A moan leaves his lips when he feels her wetness through her thong. He pets over at first, teasing her a little, but she squeezes him a little too tight, and that was signal enough to get the show on the road. He tugs her thong to the side, and runs his fingers along her slit before dipping his middle finger inside her. She squeezes around the intrusion, and then she relaxes a bit for him.

Harry slides another finger inside her, and works them in and out as his thumb takes care of her clit. He leans in to kiss her as they work each other over. She sucks on his bottom lip as she pumps his slick cock in her hand. He finds himself bucking into her grasp, but neither seem to care since she was grinding against his fingers. He curls them up inside her, and that’s when she starts breathing heavily.

“Oh, shit.” Her mouth falls open and she starts pumping him faster. “Fuck, oh my god, H-Harry, it feels so good, don’t stop.” She was nearly gagging for it, and it shocked him to see her falling apart like this just from him fingering her.

“Y/N.” He moans and presses his forehead to hers. “I’m gonna come.”

“M-me too, shit.”

She feels her hand become warm and sticky as she comes around his fingers. She tightens around him to make it last as long as possible, and then she catches breath. She doesn’t want to make a mess of his sweat pants, so she takes her hand out slowly, keeping as much of his come in her palm as she can. They make eye contact, and she licks her palm clean. He does the same by sucking his fingers into his mouth.

“You’re, like, a little kinky.” She chuckles and so does he.

“You literally just did the same as me!”

“I was trying not to make a mess of your sheets!”

“I can wash ‘em.” He laughs more, and then tucks some hair behind her ear. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking you like me a little more than I thought.”

“A lot more, actually. You like me too?”

“Yeah.” She smiles. “I like you, Harry.”

“Thank god, I didn’t want this to be awkward at work.”

“Just don’t try to get busy with me in the bunk room. I will not contribute to that.”

“Listen, when you’re tired and desperate, it’s not such a bad place to get frisky.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She rolls her eyes. “Could I use your bathroom quick? And then if you don’t mind, I would actually love to sleep a bit more.”

“Of course! And yeah, that sounds good.”

She uses his bathroom, and he cleans himself up. He offers some pajama pants a tee shirt, and she happily accepts. She changes and crawls back into bed with him. He spoons her, and rubs at her side, giving her a kiss once in a while on the back of her neck. As she falls asleep in his arms she thinks she had never been so thankful to work on a holiday in her life.

[bigskydreaming]

Doing some writing today off and on between errands and work, and jumping around various Kings of the Sky installments, specifically Dick, Jason and Cass stuff, so probably gonna post snippets from a bunch of them as I go. 

(Kings of the Sky is an AU that goes canon divergent from the point of Jason calling Dick for advice for dealing with Bruce after the Garzonas case and where things end up going dramatically different from that point on. Including Jason not dying, being part of his own lineup of Titans between Dick and Tim’s, Dick being adopted not long after the Church of Blood incident, Cass being the third Wayne kid to be taken in and adopted and with Tim and Duke being next and then Damian coming along later once they find out about him. This is basically my ‘the family’s alright’ AU with largely ‘Good Dad Bruce’ except for Dick and then Jason yelling some sense into him about the other, respectively, in the first two installments, just FYI).

Anyway, this bit is from a story called “In Their Shadows Grow Trees Of Good and Evil,” set about a year after Cass has been adopted, when she and Jason are both sixteen and Dick’s twenty-one. Also just FYI, because canon has never been specific about what ways Cass is neurodivergent due to the comic-book style ‘rewiring’ of her brain so that she could learn to speak later in life, I tend to go with her being dyslexic and having aphasia. She sticks exclusively to sign language and being a silent presence in her costumed personas, so that there’s no chance of people connecting the dots between Black Bat and Cassandra Wayne, as she mostly speaks verbally in her civilian persona and doesn’t hide her aphasia. The reason there’s not likely to be any obvious signs of aphasia in the snippets of her I post is because I wait until I complete something to choose words at random to replace with aphasia-born mixups, so its more realistic and I’m not gearing her dialogue towards deliberately placed moments. Just in case you were wondering.

In Their Shadows Grow Trees of Good and Evil

“Hey Todd,” sneered an exquisitely obnoxious voice. “Why’s your sister so fucking weird?”

Jason sighed the sigh of a soul a mere century into its eternity of damnation as he rose from the lunch table he’d been studying at and crammed the rest of his books into his backpack. Then he pasted a cheerfully bland smile on his face and turned around, geared for academia warfare (teenage prep school edition).

“Hey Craig,” he said brightly. “Why’d you come out of the womb so ugly your parents had to tie a piece of steak around your neck just to get the family dog to go near you? Mysteries abound.”

The advancing junior slowed a step, momentarily rocked by his truly impressive return volley. The grimace Craig’s already gargoyle-esque features twisted into made his face even more unpleasant to look at than usual, which was quite the feat. Jason would have applauded if just looking at it hadn’t already turned him to stone.

But the bargain basement basilisk kept on towards him rather than turn tail and skulk off to pop his emotional blisters, so Jason sighed a sequel to his first one. Looked like it was one of those days where Craig felt up to powering through. Guess someone had eaten their self-esteem Wheaties that morning. Joy.

“You think you’re pretty hot shit, don’t you, Todd?”

Jason shrugged. “I mean, to be honest I kinda have a one track mind, so right now I’m mostly just thinking about punching you in your mistake.”

“My what?”

“Your face,” Jason elaborated with exaggerated patience.

“Huh?”

“Oh my god, I’m saying your face is a mistake. See, its not as fun when I have to stop and explain it to you. Ugh, you ruin everything.”

He neatly sidestepped the older boy as R2-Dumbass stayed frozen, smoke coming off of his internal CPU while trying to catch up. For a second Jason thought he was home free, but then he remembered the universe fucking hated him so haha, sucks to suck. Also, a small crowd had gathered to witness the verbal jousting match, and nothing invigorated an asshole like Craig more than an audience of like-minded peers. So there was that too.

“Whatever. Laugh it up all you want, you little shit,” the junior rallied. “But just remember, mocking your betters will never change the fact that you were born street trash and you’ll be street trash until the day you die.”

Honestly? Not his best effort. Jason almost felt bad using any of his good material. Seemed like overkill at this point. But he did have a strict Scorched Earth policy to maintain, so.....

“Yeah but my dad could buy out and ruin your dad so that means I still win, right?”

He smirked as the barb landed and Craig’s face set into a sunset vista of strangled purple and furious red. Bam. Direct hit.

“Listen, you - “

“Oh for fuck’s sake, it was rhetorical,” Jason interrupted. “I don’t actually care what you think even a little bit. Nobody does. You don’t matter. Please go be irrelevant elsewhere, you’re fucking dismissed, you loser.”

“Speak for yourself, charity case.” Oh goodie, Craig’s backup singers had finally arrived. Now if only he could remember to care enough to learn their names in the first place. Seriously, who told the extras they could have lines? “All the jokes in the world can’t change who and what you are.”

Jason shrugged and continued nonchalantly up the hill to where his sister was standing with arms crossed, staring down at something on the other side.

“True genius is never appreciated in its own time,” he tossed back over his shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll be immortalized in song eventually.”

The mob of morons deigned to let him go without further incident. Though he suspected that had less to do with his scathing wit and more to do with him being headed towards Cass. She was immaculately presented as always, wearing the Gotham Academy uniform like she was born to it despite hating its uncomfortable stiffness every bit as much as he did. But that was just Cass for you. 

For all that she still struggled at times to engage verbally or speak up in social settings, her mastery of body language remained without peer. She could chameleon-camouflage her way into matching poise and posture with anyone - a skill that had allowed her to walk into school on her very first day with her head held high as though she owned everything in her sight. Exuding so much Queen Bee Intimidation Factor even the other hive queens were afraid to approach her  themselves. Sending forth their drones to try and woo her into an alliance, only to see her remain oh-so-casually above it all, a slightly contemptuous smile adorning her lips.

Basically, she scared the shit out of their classmates without them having anywhere close to a true understanding of why, and Jason was outrageously jealous. Rude. Unfair. Why did his siblings always get all the cool toys when all he had was his rakish charm, scintillating intellect and debonair.....nah, who was he kidding. He was fucking awesome. 

“Sup, sis,” he said, cresting the hill to stand beside Cass. “Just FYI, I just took a popularity bullet for you, which means you owe me your dessert tonight. Its a family rule that’s totally a real thing and definitely not something I just made up right now because Alf is making chocolate soufflé.”

She made no acknowledgment and remained stock still, a Colossus at Rhodes peering down into the shifting shadows of the parking lot below.

He peered down as well, though with absolutely no idea what they were looking at. Solidarity, yo.

“So are we staring fixedly at anything in particular, or should I just pick my own spot and commit?”

His humor was totally wasted on her as always. Instead of laughing and telling him what a lovable goof he was, she just inclined her head in the direction of a blonde girl where she was standing next to the driver’s side door of a Mercedes-Benz, dictating final commandments to her peons before departing. Well, probably. Jason was just guessing, based on his own body language reads, and like, general disdain for literally everyone at this school that wasn’t related to him.

He made a face. An extra special one reserved just for this classmate in particular. “Ugh, Madison Dunleavy? She’s the worst.”

Cass raised a cool eyebrow. “I thought Craig Hendricks was the worst.”

“He is. They’re both the worst. Its a hotly contested position here at Gotham Academy.”

She rolled her eyes and nodded back down at the Queen of Air and Darkness. “So. You know her?”

“Nope,” Jason said. “Come to think of it, I’ve actually never seen her in my life. No idea who that is. Can’t help you, sorry. Shall we go home?”

The Eyebrow of Inquisition speared him with clear intent. Who the fuck needed words when you could pack the Encyclopedia Britannica into a single facial expression?

Jason sighed gustily. 

“I had a slight altercation with her freshman year that led to her declaring her undying enmity for me until the end of time. The word nemesis may or may not have been thrown around once or twice. I can’t recall.”

The Eyebrow of Inquisition lowered nary an inch. Ugh, she wanted more? Why did everyone in his family hate privacy, with the obvious exclusion of himself when snooping through Cass and Dick’s rooms for blackmail material, which was actually intel-gathering and thus another matter entirely.

“Okay so basically what happened was my first week here I overheard her talking shit about me and not even twenty minutes later she was pretending to kiss my ass in homeroom, like probably because of Bruce, y’know? So I just busted out laughing and told her to fuck off and die and she has inexplicably loathed me ever since.”

Avoiding further Eyebrow Inquisition-ing, he made a show of peering around aimlessly. When the silence extended and it was clear Cass was absolutely not going to break first, Jason waved a hand in dismissal and took to peering oh so casually at his fingernails. "I suppose I was less tactful back in those days.”

He chanced a look up, finally, and saw his sister’s eyebrow had somehow managed to mighty morphin power ranger its way into a configuration evoking both judgment and disbelief, with the latter perhaps aimed at the idea he was significantly differing in the tact department these days either.

“I don’t love the implications your face is making right now,” he told her.

She ignored him, because of course she did. 

“Does she know Dick?” She asked instead. Jason shrugged.

“I mean, maybe? She’s probably seen him around at one of those stupid galas we have to go to, and actually I think maybe she has an older brother who was either in Dick’s grade or like, one above or below it? I don’t know.”

Now both eyebrows were doing the dance of disbelief. Okay, so maybe that was poor situational awareness on his part, since it wasn’t like Gotham Academy was a big school with a ton of other kids and also he’d only been in the same class as Madison for like over two whole years, but whatever. There were extingent circumstances.

“Look, she’s a total snob who’s always looked down on me and in return I willfully ignore both her existence and that of everyone and everything even tangentially related to her. Its called equality, Cass.”

She pursed her lips and went back to the peering, because of course in the mind of Cass it made total sense that the Grand Inquisition didn’t need to be followed up by any explanation on her part, what the hell. Like was he supposed to have inferred it?

“What’s this all about anyway?”

“I heard her talking about Dick earlier,” she said without peeling her eyes away from her personal recon mission. “I don’t know what she said though, I just heard her say Grayson, and then I was busy looking at what her body was saying. I know it was about Dick because she shut down when she saw me. And I didn’t like the way she....looked....before that happened. The way she was talking. It was.....”

Jason frowned but held back any follow-up questions while he waited - with total patience because he wasn’t an absolute cad, thank you very much - for his sister to find the word she was hunting for. It was a major source of frustration for her, that whatever neural map her brain followed put body language and spoken language in totally different regions of her brain, separated by a fairly great divide. Meaning she usually had to make a conscious choice to focus on body language or conventional languages - whether verbal or sign. But it tended to be one or the other; she’d yet to master taking in and comprehending both forms of ‘language’ at the same time. And none of them had quite figured out how to convince her that she wasn’t actually missing anything when she chose to focus on one specific form of communication - that she was still observing far more than most people ever would.

“Proprietary,” Cass settled on at last. She nodded her satisfaction with her choice of word, and Jason waited a whole two point five seconds before sticking  his whole foot in his mouth.

“Proprietary?” He asked with a scrunched nose as he weighed that for possible context and implications. “You sure?”

She glared. He winced. It was a whole thing.

“Yeah, I know, sorry, sorry, I heard it the second it was out of my mouth. We don’t actually have to experiment with the legitimacy of if looks could kill.”

Cass rolled her eyes, but eh. That could’ve gone worse.

Jason swiftly redirected attention anyway. Discretion is the better part of valor, after all.

“So. The Queen of Air and Darkness was talking about our big bro, and her mood was.....proprietary, huh?” He recapped while digesting the info like a boss. “Well. Definitely not loving that, I gotta say. Hold please.”

Pulling out his phone and pulling up his most recent texts, he began typing furiously.

“What are you doing?” Cass asked.

“Texting Tom,” he replied, because duh. Hah, now it was his chance to have the answers that should be patently obvious and thus make with the ‘are you kidding me’ when she asked obvious questions she should know the answer to! How do you like them apples, sis?

“Why are you texting your boyfriend right now?”

Jason rolled his eyes, because fair is fair, but never ceased texting for a moment. Time was of the essence here, probably. Well, maybe. Okay probably not. But it’d still been like half an hour since he and Tom had last texted and that’s a very fucking long time in teenage years.

“To be our getaway driver tonight, obviously.”

She stared at him. He didn’t look up, but he could feel it anyway. He was very intuitive like that.

“What?”

Jason heaved another sigh, one keyed to tones of ‘oh my god, do I really have to spell this out,” exasperation. He was just racking up the bonus points here. It was really too bad this wasn’t an actual competition he could actually win and this was all just pettiness taking place wholly in his own head. Lame. 

“Well, clearly we now have to go snoop in Madison’s house aka lair to see if its actually a house or a full on lair. Because she’s either a creeper or like, legit evil, and its important to know which one before we proceed, because obviously we can only bust her for being a weird creeper about our brother as Jason and Cass, whereas if she’s legit evil, that’s gotta go down as Robin and Black Bat. I’ll handle the snooping, you’ll take look-out, but we still need a wheelman and that’s why I’m texting Tom. This is all very mission-oriented, okay. I’m a professional.”

“Right,” she affirmed, while sounding anything but convinced. “Why don’t we just tell Bruce?”

Without looking up or breaking stride, he said: “I’m going to give you til I finish typing this sentence to figure out what was wrong with what you just said. Remember that we are talking about hypothetical danger to our brother, and also Bruce’s idea of a proportionate response to any of his children being in even hypothetical danger. And also our brother’s idea of a proportionate response to Bruce’s idea of a proportionate response. Look, you’re still new so I’m gonna need you to just trust me on this one. Its gonna be a no on telling Bruce without further intel.”

Cass said nothing in response to that, which meant that she was conceding the point and recognized the wisdom of his words. Or maybe that she was just gonna go ahead and do what she wanted anyway and just wasn’t bothering to fight about it, but it was probably that first thing.

“Well you better not just make out with your boyfriend all night,” is what she said at last, and that got his attention reeeeeal quick like.

“Umm. Wow. Okay. So, first off, you’re not the boss of me and who I make out with and when, so jot that down. And second, now I’m definitely going to make out with my boyfriend extra hard, with the exception of when we are actually on our recon mission because as previously established, I am a professional. And also, again, you’re not the boss of me.”

Jason ignored her Eye Roll With Extra Emphasis, and instead just held up his phone to Text With Extra Emphasis, as he read along with what he was typing.

“By the way babe, we have to make out extra hard tonight,” he said, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth while he dragged out his dictation with the kind of focus that usually led to Bruce asking why he couldn’t apply as much intensity to training as he did to pettiness. “Cass has suddenly decided she can dictate terms to me and I need to shut that shit down ASAP, so thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter. Smoochies and other gay stuff to the best boyfriend ever.”

Jason frowned as a response pinged back seconds later. 

TheCatsMeow: ....the things I put up with for the sake of your weird family dynamics.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Yeah, yeah. You’re a saint among were-panthers. Must you mock? Why can’t you just tell me I’m pretty instead?

TheCatsMeow: Sorry. Let me try again. OMG you’re so pretty Jase how did I get so lucky xoxo.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: No. Its too late. It feels forced and unbelievable now. You’ve ruined it forever.

TheCatsMeow: Got it. From now on I will only tell you that you’re repulsive and hideous.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: I’m breaking up with you.

TheCatsMeow: But after I help you with your mission tonight.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Obvsly. I’m a professional. Why do people keep forgetting this?

TheCatsMeow: And also the making out to spite your sister.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Yeah we should do that first too. I mean we already penciled it in.

[lloydskywalkers]

Heyo! Hope your doing exceptionally well, wonderful and ur staying safe! I was reading ur little oneshots for the movie! Verse and instantly fell in love! Think u have anymore for Kai and Lloyd? (But u don’t need to listen to this, obviously hehe) Have a splendid day!

ahhH thank you, I hope you’re doing well too!! :D oh man it’s been so long since i’ve written something for movie-verse, but I’ve had this little snippet in my head for a while so I guess it’s as good a time as any (and it is, of course, about kai and lloyd bc when is it noT)

it’s a little different than what i usually write, for movie-verse? but i hope it fits the bill! (takes place pre-movie, btw)

Of all his friends, Lloyd thinks Kai is most like the sun. Not just for his codename, and the enthusiasm with which he brings fire to the team, metaphorically and far too often literally, but for how bright he is. Kai reminds Lloyd of the sun at full force, strong and blazing and staunchly refusing to let anyone hide from his warmth. An endlessly combusting ball of stubbornness and passion.

Kai also reminds Lloyd of the sun in the way that he possesses about the same amount of brain cells the sun does, which is zero, because the sun has no brain — much like Kai.

“Hey, ru—de, ow, stop—”

Kai’s petulant response strangles off in cracked pain as Lloyd hushes him, simultaneously pulling the alcohol-soaked cloth from his arm with a sympathetic wince.

“Sorry, sorry,” Lloyd murmurs, wringing the edge of the cloth. “But I’ve gotta — it’ll get infected, if you don’t—”

“Nah, s’okay,” Kai says, breath hissing out through clenched teeth. He gives Lloyd a wavering smile that could almost be encouraging, were he not bleeding over Lloyd’s faded bedspread. “Just caught me off guard, I’m good now. ‘Sides, the — the stitches are gonna be worse, so—”

“It won’t be that bad,” Lloyd promises him, cleaning the rest of the deep slashes that run across Kai’s arm as quickly as he can. The lower ones aren’t so bad — he could get away without stitches, maybe. It’s the uppermost one that scares Lloyd, cutting deep enough into Kai’s skin to pose a threat. And Lloyd has no intention of leaving Kai anywhere near in danger, especially with the reason he’s hurt in the first place.

Lloyd swallows against the thick lump that suddenly forms in his throat, trying to banish the flood of emotions that have been rising since the battle against his father’s forces earlier. Surprise, shock, gratitude—? A swirling maelstrom of a deep-seated kind of aching warmth Lloyd is utterly unfamiliar with. It leaves him off-kilter, and words don’t come easily as they usually do.

Not that words ever come easily to Lloyd, but normally he isn’t quite this stuttering. Maybe. He hopes not. Maybe he’s just hyperaware right now, after everything, and he always sounds this embarrassing.

“I promise,” Lloyd continues, yanking himself from his thoughts as he busies with the needle. “I’ve got a lot of experience, and I’ll be gentle.”

Kai watches Lloyd threading the needle with a thinly-veiled fear, but he nods, the bravado Lloyd’s more familiar with making its way across his face. “Nice,” he says. “I trust you, Dr. Lloyd.”

Lloyd’s hands falter with the needle for a moment, before he resumes sterilizing it, ducking his head. Kai sounds like he means it — Kai sounds like he means everything he says, but the way he says trust hits differently, for Lloyd.

They’ve only been a team for few months, now. Not very long at all, to form any kind of trust in the son of your greatest enemy. Lloyd’s been going to school with some of the same people since kindergarten, and they’ve never looked at him with anything kinder than hatred, much less trust. And yet Kai is here, offering him his bleeding arm in Lloyd’s tiny room, trusting him to repair the damage he only took because he was protecting Lloyd.

Lloyd doesn’t understand. He doesn’t — people don’t — but his team—

They listened to him. Actually listened to him, to Lloyd. They actually listen to him in general, have since they were all thrown together in this odd little grouping, but it hasn’t quite hit home in the way it did tonight, when he’d snapped orders at them in barely-restrained panic, Kai’s blood staining his fingers as he’d staunched the knife wounds meant for him.

They hadn’t flinched back at his raised voice. Lloyd never raises his voice — he’s learned to keep it quiet, soft, unassuming. Even the slightest slip of frustration is enough to send anyone around him murmuring in suspicion, eyes narrowing and hissed whispers of just like his father filling the air.

Lloyd’s voice had been sharp and strained, barking across the rooftop, and they’d listened. No one flinched back, no eyes widened in fear — they’d just listened. They’re still listening, carrying out Lloyd’s orders without question, and it’s — it’s dizzying, if Lloyd had to put a word to it.

Cole and Zane are taking care of clean-up — something Lloyd will have to thank them for later, profusely. Neither were particularly happy about letting Kai out of their sights, but Cole and Zane are better at keeping each other steady than anyone else. It was the right call, Lloyd knows it was. Hopes it was.

But Lloyd hasn’t been having much faith in his calls, tonight. Not after Kai went down.

He swallows, focusing on the sounds reverberating from behind his closed door. Nya and Jay are talking with his mother, Nya’s louder tones easier to hear as she laughs. Lloyd knows her well enough to catch the strain in it, but he knows it’ll fool his mother. They’re distraction — Lloyd’s house was closest, and he’s got the best supplies stashed there. No one questions why he’s the one with the fully stocked medical kit, but Lloyd suspects they’ve all drawn their own conclusions.

He wishes they’d believe him, when he says it’s because he’s worried for them. He grew up with Wu as his uncle, who picks fights on a daily basis — with Morro as his cousin, who picks fights on an hourly basis. Lloyd knows the importance of having the good kind of medical supplies.

He finishes prepping the needle, squeezing Kai’s wrist briefly in warning. Lloyd’s not usually a tactile person — not that anyone would let him be — but he knows Kai soaks up touch like a starved sponge, and Lloyd’s desperate to give any kind of comfort he can before he starts with the needle.

Kai swallows, fixing his eyes firmly on the faded glow-in-the-dark stars plastered across Lloyd’s ceiling.

“Okay,” he says, his voice tight. “Bring it on.”

Lloyd swallows, steels himself, and sets the needle against his skin. Kai flinches at the first prick, eyes squeezing shut briefly, but otherwise he doesn’t move, jaw set stubbornly as Lloyd moves quickly. For his part, Lloyd keeps his eyes locked on the stitches, his hands steady. For all that Lloyd’s made up of bouncing nerves half the time, his hands rarely shake. Never when patching wounds up. He’s always been proud of how steady he can hold a needle, and tonight is no exception.

It’s the least he can do.

Kai suddenly tenses up, a broken-off noise strangling in his throat. Lloyd’s heart twists, but he stays steady, rallying himself. Conversation — Kai likes talking, right? Distraction, he can do that.

“So, um,” Lloyd stutters. On second thought, he’s awful at small talk. But — for Kai. “The way you took down that last guy was, it was really cool. Where’d you learn that?”

Kai bites his lip, exhaling shakily before he answers. “I train too, you know.”

Lloyd’s mouth quirks, despite himself. “Not like that.”

“What, a ninja can’t — can’t get creative,” Kai replies, through half-gritted teeth. Lloyd doesn’t say anything, but Kai rolls his eyes, continuing. “Fine. When I was younger, I ah…might’ve taken a few dance classes. For Nya! ‘Cause I couldn’t let her go alone, y’know, but they were — they were kinda fun, I guess, and maybe they slip into fighting, sometimes.” His cheeks darken, and Lloyd bites back a quiet laugh.

“Nothing like Cole, obviously, ‘cause he’s an actual dancer, but — that’s where I got it from.” He pins Lloyd with a glare, that’s somewhat dimmed by the scrunched expression of pain on his face. “Tell anyone and you’re dead though, okay?”

Lloyd hums his agreement, too focused on the stitches to reply immediately. After a moment, though, he speaks up again. “I did some ballet, when I was little.”

“No way,” Kai says, sounding delighted.

“Yeah, way,” Lloyd says. “I’ve heard from a very reliable source that dancing backgrounds are useful, with ninja stuff.”

“Very reliable meaning your uncle,” Kai grins.

Lloyd shrugs. “Maybe,” he half-smiles. Kai suddenly sucks in another pained breath, but to Lloyd’s relief, it’s likely the last one. He finishes off the stitches with a well-practiced hand, snapping the end of the thread and exhaling in relief.

“There. All done.”

Kai’s eyes widen. “Seriously, already?” He glances down at his arm, his other hand moving up to touch the stitches. Lloyd smacks it away, glaring at him.

“Don’t touch. You still have to watch out for infection. I’ll text you instructions for taking care of it, and everything. Just don’t do anything, ah…”

“No ninja-ing?” Kai finishes for him, crestfallen.

“Probably a good idea,” Lloyd says, apologetic. “But it’s not too bad. Shouldn’t take long, and you can be out, uh, ninja-ing again."

Kai is quiet for a moment, regarding his stitches. Then he turns to Lloyd, who is immediately staggered at the bright smile that stretches across his face.

“Cool. Thanks, Lloyd. You’re good at this.”

Lloyd can’t answer, his throat burning. He forces the welling moisture back, looking away. Kai’s only hurt for him, and that is layered with so much more meaning than Lloyd can comprehend right now.

“No problem,” Lloyd mutters, focusing instead on the voices outside his door in an attempt to find footing again. He can hear his mom laughing at something Nya’s said, open and relaxed in a way his mom rarely is. Lloyd’s heart twists into knots.

He doesn’t deserve them, any of them. Not really.

If Kai reminds Lloyd of the sun, then the rest of the team reminds him of stars. All bright and shining, bursting with warmth in their own way. Maybe not quite at the blazing heat that Kai does, but Nya is a north star if Lloyd’s ever needed one. Jay’s a blinking constellation, scattered stars that form a complex whole much larger than you’d thought. Cole’s the kind of star you see first pop up over the horizon, blending with the oranges and purples of the sunset, like a painting you’d see in soft watercolors. Zane’s the early-morning kind of star, the ones that stay stubbornly after the night’s left, dotting the pale morning with a calm steadiness.

Lloyd would be a planet, he supposes, caught in faithful orbit around the five people who have somehow, for some reason, given him a chance. It’d be generous, though. No, Lloyd is content just to be a moon — with no light of his own, reflecting only the brilliance others give him the best he can.

Kai’s finger taps the edge of his forehead, snapping Lloyd from his thoughts, and he blinks in confusion.

“Lost you there, again,” Kai asks, words mangled through a yawn. “Where’d you go?”

Lloyd shakes his head, turning his attention back to the bloodied thread leftover in his hands. His stomach turns, and he quickly sets it aside. “Just thinking.” He pauses, momentarily lost for words. He settles for jerking his head toward the window, where the smoke trailing from their hard-won battle is still visible against the dark sky, and gives Kai a wry smile. “How much do you wanna bet the cheerleading team comes up with a new song tomorrow?”

It’s been an inside joke for them, the ridiculous songs Chen and his gang keep coming up with to throw at Lloyd, and normally it gets a laugh from Kai. This time, though, Kai is silent, his eyes searching as he stares at Lloyd. Lloyd shifts under the attention, caught off-guard again. He doesn’t know what kind of look this is, that Kai’s giving him.

“They shouldn’t talk about you like that,” Kai finally says. His voice is quiet, but Lloyd can spot the brewing anger in it. Kai’s always got anger to spare.

“Sticks and stones, remember?” Lloyd shakes his head. He’s learned, after a while, that anger changes nothing. “Words will never hurt me.”

“Words hurt when people are throwing sticks and stones at you while they yell about your dad,” Kai grumbles.

“No one’s thrown rocks since second grade, actually.”

“Hm.” Kai’s tone is a mix of thinly withheld anger and mild amusement. Lloyd tilts his head, confused, and Kai gives a huff, anger tugging loose.

“Y’know, people say that if kids throw rocks at you in second grade, it means they’ve got a crush on you.”

Lloyd knows well enough it’s a joke, but he flushes red anyways, heat spreading across his cheeks. “Yeah, sure,” he stammers. Kai laughs at his reaction, though, the odd kind of anger departing, and Lloyd feels he’s found his footing again.

They’re quiet as Lloyd finishes cleaning up the medical supplies, Kai nodding sleepily on his bed while Lloyd carefully washes the needle in the bathroom sink. Maybe he can convince his mom to let Kai spend the night, he thinks. Jay and Nya , too — their apartment isn’t very big, but it’s awfully late to make them walk home, and Lloyd is fine with taking the floor, if he needs to.

Lloyd nods to himself, resolving to ask her once he’s finished hiding the evidence. His mom’s been so thrilled about him having people over at all, he can’t see her saying no. A smile pulls at his lips as he listens to the conversation outside his door again. Jay’s rambling on now, bright and excited without any of his usual reservation. He feels a pang, wondering if Jay’s the same as him — wondering if they’re all the same, playing at muted caricatures of themselves, too fearful to let whatever lies beneath shine through.

He wonders what it means, that they’re the ones with the city in their hands, that weight on their shoulders. Wonders what it means, that Lloyd feels safer with bullets strafing the air around him and his mask on, than he ever has with it off. That Green Ninja will always, always sound better than Lloyd in his ears.

“Hey, uh.”

Lloyd starts at Kai’s voice, twisting the sink off as he turns to face him. Kai looks half asleep, but the smile he gives him is bright as ever.

“Thanks, seriously. Not just for this, but for looking out for us. You’re a good friend.”

Lloyd’s heart skips a beat, his brain latching onto the word friend and holding on tightly, tucking it somewhere safe inside his chest.

“So thanks, Lloyd,” Kai yawns, barely awake at all now, but still stubbornly clinging to the threads of awareness.

Lloyd’s got his own thank you to give back, twisted and strangled behind whatever lump’s formed in his throat, but Kai’s snoring before he gets the chance to say it. So Lloyd tugs the edge of his comforter over his friend — his friend — instead, and runs the words over in his mind again and again, like a treasured line from a book.

On second thought. Maybe Lloyd isn’t so bad. He’s only ever liked his name the way his mom says it, without any of the snapping, harsh emphasis others give it. In others’ mouths, Lloyd’s name is a curse. In his mom’s, Lloyd’s name belongs to a person.

But he thinks, maybe, he likes the way it sounds when his teammates use it, too.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 5

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be lots of Viren deets, Best Boy Soren deets, some writing/continuity stuff, worldbuilding appreciation and half of a theory, Detective Rayla, Moon Temple geeking, Claudium and dark magic, and more!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

(I know for darn sure that I wrote up a post for chapter 4, but I can't find it anywhere so I guess Tumblr ate it and I'll have to redo it at some point, but today is not that day)

Viren, my evil dude, my bad guy, coming in clutch with the worldbuilding and backstory again! If you want to know decades of information, you gotta talk to Viren. Or read his scenes, at least. Here, he seems to not sleep much when he has a big problem to analyze his way through. Solutions trump pretty much everything else in this guy's life, and he's had a really hard week with a lot of new and complicated problems. Of course he's getting sleep-deprived trying to find his way through them all.

Harrow put so much trust in Viren when he made him High Mage! He just threw himself extra hard at that Lady Justice blindfold, didn't he? Didn't really want to see what Viren was doing in his magic study, so he left Viren to his devices. And Viren has a lot of devices.

Also, this is fascinating: Viren made the secret passage to his "less official study" in Katolis Castle! And he was inspired to do so by the way his own mentor kept the Puzzle House. What else could a Puzzle House be, except a place with secret passages? Yay! secret headcanon that "the Puzzle House" is just "Katolis Castle" from Kid Viren's perspective tho

So either Viren built all of those passageways, or at least the ones to his dungeon. Which means he has to have, or know where to get, a stash of those glowing blue Moonshadow crystals. Hmmm.

I can't wait to learn more about Kpp'Ar and young Viren, btw. From this description of Viren and all his literal secret ways, it feels like another parallel between Viren and Runaan, with the whole "secretive paths, members only, insider knowledge" type stuff. Only the really cool members of this cult club get to know the secrets, and guess what, kid, you're cool now but you can never tell anyone, okay? Our secret.

Yeahhh, that'll never backfire in any way for either of them.

Kpp'Ar calling puzzles and secrets "man-made magic," though. Yes sir, knowledge is indeed power.

This chapter mentions Runaan by name, from Viren's perspective. Generally that would imply that Viren knows his name, even though assassins do not share their names, and Runaan didn't seem to give his to Viren in the first book. However, there was a scene in book one where the last paragraph switched perspective from Viren to Runaan - a technique that's very common in visual media like movies and shows and gives you that "ohoho they left the room and didn't notice this, but you do!" vibe. Using Runaan's name there in book one, where Viren couldn't see it but readers could, helps them keep track of the assassin's story arc while maintaining Viren's racism.

So in book two, in which Runaan has no onscreen scenes (alas), using his name in a scene that calls back to the events in book one helps us remember what happened in that dungeon cell. It would be a bit muddier to recall the specifics if Viren kept thinking about Runaan as "Elf." So I'm cool with the perspective nudge because it serves a narrative purpose: clarity. But I'm also enjoying the angst of considering that, somehow, Viren learned Runaan's name either during or after the coining spell. Mwa ha ha haaa. (Obligatory "Keep my pretty name outta your mouth" goes here)

Okay, back to Viren's scheming! He took the mirror because it was human-sized in a dragon lair. He knew it didn't really fit there, and that made it interesting, so he stole it. But he realized it was really powerful when Runaan wouldn't tell him squat about it - the assassin's instinct to protect Xadian secrets from human hands meant that Viren was holding a very powerful Xadian secret. And that just made him want it all the more. Ah, Runaan, if only your relationship with lying was, like, the exact opposite of what it is. Nyx could've spun Viren a believable tale in 2 minutes flat.

Also of interest: Viren considers his cursed coins to be a final fate. He expects Runaan to remain in his coin forever. With the Chekhov's coins still extant in the storyline, we can assume that they'll come up again eventually, but Viren has no current plans to do anything with his elf money except carry it around.

It's worth noting that Viren admits that he got impatient when he trapped Runaan in the coin. Runaan's first fate in Katolis was supposed to be death at Soren's hands, but Claudia "saved" him from that. His next fate was to become spell components, but Viren's frustration with his stubbornness "saved" him from that fate, too. So now he's in a coin, where no one can chop him up at all. Yay? No, boo!

We get one last line about Runaan before Viren shifts gears: he makes a point of noting for us that Runaan's shackles are still locked shut. However much of Runaan made it into that coin - body, soul, hair care products - he was magicked there, pulled right out of his restraints.

The creepy black liquid that Viren pours right into his eyes is the last of a powerful potion he got from Kpp'Ar, and its recipe is ancient! Humans used it back in the age of Elarion to see through the illusions of the world. And we get a delightfully creepy bit of description about the preparation of this serum, which makes it abundantly clear that it's a Moon magic-based concoction, harvested from eyeless vipers on a moonless night, with the threat of irrevocable madness ("madness" by whose definition, though) if it's done wrong-

Hang on. Hold up. This is a Plato's Cave reference. OH MY GOD.

No no I'm fine, this is brilliant. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't figure why there was so much description for a potion prep that Viren didn't even have to perform himself. But now I get it. I see the light. HA. I should make a separate post for this, it's amazing.

Anyway, for reference, the humans who used this serum were called the Oracles of Ophidia, and Ophidia is a taxonomy group that includes all modern snakes. Can you say "creepy ancient snake rites"? I can! Woo!

Viren activates the serum with a spell, but apparently he's never done it before. He's not sure if it's supposed to be hot and bubbly, and he worries that it's been tainted by moonlight.

Oh, I do hope so.

The magic potion hurts, a lot. Viren will do just about anything, to himself or anyone, to do what he believes is necessary. He just risked madness and blindness to find out what this mirror does! Viren. Can you just. Take a nap or something. Have a Snickers.

This chapter gives us a fun clue that I don't remember from the show: when Viren's vision clears and he can see, his reflection has white pupils and the room reflected in the mirror has inverted colors. You know where else has inverted colors?

You know who else got white pupils for a hot second?

Okay, now it makes sense! Viren and Lujanne were both seeing into the realm beyond life and death. Him with his moon magic potion, and her with her moon powers on a full moon night at the Moon Nexus. Which is Very Interesting! Is it a direct hint about Aaravos's location, or just a separate cool detail? Orrr, does it look like a direct hint because Aaravos is actually trapped in the world beyond life and death, but it's actually separate and we'll see something about white pupils again later on?

Viren really does have self-esteem issues, we all picked up on it with his rant at his reflection. He throws a fit when he catches himself wondering if he's actually worthless. In the book version of his tantrum, he shoves the mirror and hurls a candelabra instead of flipping a table. He didn't need to shove the mirror to set the fire, but it's in here. Foreshadowing that perhaps, if push comes to shove, Viren will choose himself over Aaravos? Giving Aaravos time to peek through and see that the coast is clear?

Soren, my boyyyyy. He has a rough night at the Moon Nexus because two sides of him are fighting with each other. He struggles to understand Callum's friendship with Rayla, and he also fantasizes about chopping off Rayla's head. One of these is a pretty ordinary thing to do. The other is Soren's internalization of what he needs to do to gain his father's approval. If he brought his dad a chopped off elf head every week, he'd probably feel a lot more confident because Viren would praise him a lot more.

Okay, okay, omg, is it just me, or does the "Moonshadow Madness" story, as it's told in the book, seem like Soren just doesn't know what a monsterfucker is? He thinks an elf bite puts humans under a spell. But vampires are sexy, and some people want them to do more to them than just bite them. A passionate kiss under the moonlight could look very bitey, especially if one of the participants has horns and you're already culturally trained to hate them. No yeah, I'm already headcanoning an actual human-elf kiss that got misunderstood by an observer long ago.

it's Lujanne isn't it, we all know, because what is a love spell but a sweet soft illusion, I mean how else does she get supplies for her Caldera, I ask you, and also Corvus was totally sent to investigate once and he told Soren at camp what he saw

And then back to magefam angst: Soren pretending that his sister's nose-tapping is stupid, even though he actually thinks it's cool, just because their dad thinks it's stupid. Viren, istg. Let your kids like harmless things. It's so cute that Soren taps his nose back at her, though! Like they have their own sibling code. I hope we get to see the nose tap again, especially now that they've chosen different sides. It could mean so much, that they're not too far apart yet.

Rayla knows what buttery pancakes smell like. I love this. Do Moonshadow elves have butter and pancakes, does Rayla eat a stack of eight giant pancakes in the morning? Orrrr it is just illusion food? I don't care, let Rayla have pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes. Pancakes will save the world. this message brought to you by the fact that I can't eat pancakes rn, send help

I love that Rayla is both sus of the pancakes and hungry, and that combines into a very motivated "I will get to the bottom of this" attitude. She kind of goes into Poirot Mode when she inserts herself into Soren and Ellis's conversation about Ava, explaining about the wolf's illusion leg and segueing into her claim that the pancakes taste sus. Claudia confirms she used dark magic, and Rayla is furious. It's different than the show's version in that it puts Rayla in detective mode, as the only Moonshadow elf in the scene, and boy does she take that role seriously. Also, she doesn't actually swallow the dark magic pancake bite. It ends up on the ground just like Lujanne's grubs from that earlier meal. These poor kids are so nutrient-starved. You guys gotta eat!!

Rayla's determination and prejudices and the fact that she super knows Harrow is dead all dovetail to make her try repeatedly to persuade Callum that Soren and Claudia are Not To Be Trusted. It's nice that the book keeps taking the time to point out that Rayla is Well Intentioned But Flawed, just like Callum and pretty much every other character in the show. No one is Right All The Time, no one Knows More Than Everyone Else.

Callum loving the sound of Claudia's unique voice is so wholesome. When you like someone, it only makes sense that you like all the things about them that they can't change - like the sound of Claudia's voice. Her choices with dark magic, not so much!

Claudia seems to have the same concerns Soren does about Callum's relationship with Rayla, but she comes out and asks him. The inherent possession implied in "your elf" is interesting, though. Elves are not people to Claudia. They're enemies who can be disassembled for the magic inside them. So maybe more like robots than living beings, if she knew what a robot was. Maybe she heard Soren's "Moonshadow Madness" story and realized he totally missed the kissing implications - but she didn't, and now she's genuinely worried that Rayla could kiss Callum under a full moon and enchant him to do her will. Good thing it's only a half moon, then!

Okay, Callum nervously making a puppet hand and then not knowing what to do with his hands and freaking out about itching and moving and pointy elbows is such a ND mood. The sudden stress of knowing that someone else is noticing your existence and maybe you're Not Existing Right, amirite? Ugh, poor Callum.

The Moon Temple! Omg it's so pretty in the description! Made to be beautiful and useful, full of knowledge but also allowing light and life inside (butterflies and vines). Lujanne, when can I move in, please? Also, it's all the more angsty because Lujanne is the only one who gets to see this beautiful place, but it has lots of chairs and shelves and tables, and it was meant to be used by lots of people. :(((

Claudia knows some of the runes on the walls. She isn't in a hurry to copy the rest of them down or anything, either. Her spellwriting is very precise, and she's a skilled mage. Her father would have made sure she was aware of the dangers of drawing sloppy runes, as much as he made her aware of the dangers of doing dark magic wrong. And the whole point of dark magic is that it's easier to learn than primal magic. Claudia supports her dad and their shared knowledge and life path. She's not gonna go nuts over an elf library she can't translate.

Side note: Between Claudia knowing some Moon runes and Viren building a secret passageway and a dungeon and lighting it with the same blue crystals that Lujanne and Ethari use for light--and Claudia exclaiming that she loves ruins--I wonder once more if there are really Moonshadow ruins somewhere in Katolis, which Viren has found and looted. Father-daughter relic hunting trip, maybe while Soren is away at camp? Omgsh that would be so wild!

Callum out here having a Viren moment with his "I feel powerless unless I've got magic that lets me help" vibes. God. I love their complicated mirroring. One of the hard differences between them is that Callum is very sure dark magic is bad because you have to kill stuff and take its power to cast spells, and he doesn't want to be a person who kills and takes like that. The line he walks to be nice to Claudia on their tour of the Cursed Caldera because he likes her, while telling her that he doesn't want to do her magic, like, ever, is so fine that it might as well be a shifting shadow on the ground. It's a very fitting conversation to be having during the half moon, with its tricks and little white lies.

Callum being out of the castle and his comfort zone, having to deal with the fact that the Claudia he loves is not quite the Claudia who's chasing him down across the kingdom, but of the two of them, he's the only one with a problem with this.

They say that if you really want to get to know someone, you should spend time with them outside their comfort zone - in heavy traffic, with a small baby, taking care of a new pet, trying a new skill, following unfamiliar directions, etc. While the castle is familiar territory for them both, Callum's never really found his comfort zone yet, while Claudia is pretty comfortable with her growing skill set. The creepy part starts to kick in when Callum begins to realize that Claudia's comfort zone encompasses a whole bunch of stuff that seems like it should make her uncomfortable... but it doesn't. But that'll be for a future chapter!