#if I'm getting my polycule it is going to be a SLOW

[we-are-the-multitude]

Polycule more like poly... like polyyy... I can't think of a good pun for whatever the fuck is going on rn

[victorluvsalice]

Valicer Polyship Week 2024, Day One: Team As Polycule (Valicer In The Dark AU)

Hello everyone, and welcome to Valicer Polyship Week 2024! :D Where, just like in 2023, you will get a daily Valicer fic based on one of the prompts from the official Polyship Week 2024 prompt list, courtesy of, naturally, @polyshipweek! Today is Day One, and the prompt I chose was "Team As Polycule" -- mostly because it immediately made me think of my Valicer In The Dark trio, and how they are a criminal crew as well as a polycule. Though, interestingly, the story that I came up with doesn't have actually have them doing a score together or anything like that. Instead, I ended up writing something about Alice being told that romancing her fellow crewmates is a bad idea by the leader of another gang in the area, and taking semi-violent offense to said leader poking her nose into her business. :P Not sure why my mind went off in that direction -- but as you will see tomorrow, apparently I really wanted to write "someone is a jerk to one of the trio, only to get theirs in the end" this year...

--

“You know, it’s not a good idea to mix pleasure and work.”

Alice blinked, then looked over to see one Nessa, leader of the Gray Cloaks, standing by the door to the bathroom, arms folded across her chest and mouth thin with displeasure. “It’s not going to end well,” she continued. “Sooner or later, the tower of cards always collapses.”

“Right.” Alice shook her hands off above the cracked sink basin before reaching for the towel. “First of all, did you really follow me in here to say that? And second of all – what? What are you talking about?”

“Yes, I did, because I had to go anyway – and I didn’t want to say this with your two, ah, friends overhearing,” Nessa replied, jerking her head toward the door and, implicitly, at Victor and Smiler back at their table. “And you know what I’m talking about. You’re playing a dangerous game, getting – involved with your partners in crime.”

Alice’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe I asked your opinion on my love life,” she said coolly, drying her hands.

“You’re getting it anyway,” Nessa said, untroubled by her tone. “Because I think too much of you to let you make a stupid mistake. Look, you’re easily the most sensible one in your little gang–”

“Me? I’m the one who talks to things that don’t exist on the regular,” Alice cut in, raising an eyebrow. At her feet, Cheshire covered a chuckle with his paw. “Just underlining my point there, Cat.”

“Sure, fine, but look at the two people you hang around with,” Nessa insisted. “Your Whisper’s a slip of a thing from money, and spends his time sticking his nose too far into his books and fiddling around with things he doesn’t understand. And your Leech…” Nessa rolled her eyes. “Well. They’re an Advocate. We all know what that lot is like.” She pointed at Alice. “But you? You know that this world’s a stupid, cruel, cold place, full of people that are as likely to stab you in the back as they are to shake your hand and give you a smile. And you’re more than ready to do the stabbing if you have to. You’re the one who sees things as they are.”

“Except when I don’t,” Alice said, watching as a tentacle poked its way through a hole in the ceiling. “Though I suppose I should take a compliment when it is offered. But what exactly is your point here, Nessa? I know you have one, even if it’s just hidden in your cloak.”

“My point is that you should be smart enough to know that getting personally involved with your crew is only going to lead to trouble,” Nessa said, shaking her head. “You can’t trust them that far, no matter what they might whisper in your ear in the middle of the Names. It’s common knowledge that Roric and Lyssa were lovers before she tore his belly open and dumped him in Ratblood Canal so she could get the Crows all to herself. Less common that Mylera of the Red Sashes used to be a spy in the Lampblack ranks, and seduced a few secrets out of Baz himself before running back to her own to destroy him. And don’t get me started on what happened between the Billhooks’ Tarvul and his wife before she ended up in Bellweather Crematorium and he in Ironhook Prison…” She huffed. “Point is, this city is rife with idiots who took a chance on getting close to their fellow scoundrels, and paid the price. And I see the way you look at your crew, and – I know you’re gonna get hurt.” She sighed, letting her arms drop. “Van Dort grew up rich, Alice – the minute he thinks he’s got enough Coin to get back into proper society, he’s going to ditch you without a second thought. And Alton – I bet you you’re never more than one too many frowns away from being stuck with a syringe and dragged back to their headquarters to get your head ‘corrected.’ Maybe you three work well enough together now, but – you can’t trust ‘em to treat you right.”

“I see.” Alice hung the towel back on its little hook. “Is that your entire piece?”

“Yeah,” Nessa nodded. “Just had to get it out there.”

“Excellent.” Alice took a moment to brush her hair back from her face –

Then, before Nessa could move an inch, she slammed the woman up against the wall, putting her knife against her throat. “Here’s mine then – keep your fucking nose out of my fucking business,” she hissed. “You think Victor wants to go back to a life where the weight of his parents’ expectations made him miserable? You think Smiler doesn’t care enough about me to know that getting me high on Joy Serum is the worst way to make me happy? You honestly think I’m stupid for daring to fall in love with the first two people who ever actually treated me like I was a person and not just a broken simulacrum of one? You don’t know anything about us, then. And I’ll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself in future.”

Nessa stared at her, eyes wide and breathing hard – and, judging by the sudden smell, no longer with a need to go to the toilet. Alice released her and tucked her blade away again. “Good talk,” she said simply, then headed back out into the Ball & Socket.

As she’d expected, Victor and Smiler were still at their table, finishing off their food. “Was that Nessa that just followed you into the bathroom?” Smiler asked as she sat back down again. “Thought I recognized her braid.”

“It was,” Alice confirmed. “We just had a rather illuminating chat.”

“Oh?” Victor said, dabbing his mouth with his napkin. “What about?”

Alice responded by grabbing his tie and pulling him in for a kiss. “About how she’s an arsehole who thinks you two are idiots and I’m an idiot for being in love with you,” she said after releasing him. “And how, if she doesn’t believe a crew can trust each other enough to be together more – intimately than normal, that’s not my problem.”

“Uh – ah – oh,” Victor said, blinking as his brain tried to catch up. “I – I see. I think.”

“I definitely see – that was rude of her,” Smiler said, defying their name by frowning. “I mean, sure, probably what we have together isn’t conventional for a crew, but – I like what we’ve got.”

“Me too,” Victor agreed, before leaning over to give Smiler a quick kiss, apparently worried they’d feel left out otherwise. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been with you two.”

Alice smiled at them, taking both their hands in hers. “I feel the same. And trust me, Nessa knows that very well now.” She glanced over to where the Gray Cloaks were huddled, looking a bit nervous about how their leader hadn’t come out of the bathroom yet. “So – no offering our services to help them gather more evidence about how they were framed right now?”

“Hell no,” Smiler said succinctly. “Maybe the Lost could use our help instead – I heard that they’ve got a vendetta against the owner of the Cordelia Furniture factory now...”

[doe-eye-oswald]

Some dcmk fic recs

(mostly gen or canon pairings)

The Little Detective by HikariAA: aka the better version of detective conan (and mk) despite this being an AU where Shinichi and Conan are brothers (over 1.2 MILLION words and still getting updates, currently around episode 800)

Shenanigans in Beika by SadisticWoof: chatfic, hilarious and very addictive (150k)

The Case of The Hidden Epidemic by MirrorandImage: a classic from 2009, a really good case fic with identity reveal (complete, 90k)

Dualisms by sylph_feather: Conan is fae. He's deeply in denial about it (86k)

When Pandora's Box Is Opened by Mangaluva: also a classic from 2009, detco + mk ending written pre Bourbon which is pretty neat (complete, 240k)

Red Tinted Night by PhantomWriter1412: Kaito becomes Pandora's vessel (80k)

Secrets in Indigo by Sinnatious: Kaito discovers he already is Pandora (complete, 24k)

SHOCKING- the KID Killer's true identity revealed! by glowingGalaxies: title is self-explanatory (complete, 28k)

Facing Nightmares by PaintInTheBrain: Kid let's himself get caught bc his loved ones are being threatened (complete, 55k)

Magic User's Club by Kyogre: Kaito discovers, much to his chagrin, that he can use real magic (complete, 107k)

The 25-Year Case by glowingGalaxies: Conan notices that the timeline doesn't make any sense (complete, 15k)

All Night Gang by deductionfreak: mostly slice of life series where Ran and Kazuha find out Conan's identity (complete, 48k)

more recs under the cut:

Ditto by schrodingers__cat: case fic where a magic consultant is needed (complete, 22k)

Shark Meets Dolphin by tearlessNevermore: identity reveal but with Ran and Ai, akai siblings are also there (complete, 42k)

Case Disclosed by Bacardi_Luna: Characters watching the show fic, not very far along but really well written (67k)

For Love Of Aoko by Lisa_Telramor: ekoda polycule, my beloved (complete, 13k)

True Colours by Misty_Reeyus: series, ekoda polycule with actual magic kaito plot development (complete, 53k)

Truths and Consequences by TheYsabet: series, if Shinichi can't come to Ran, Ran is going to come to him (about 1 million words and still ongoing)

Double Dose by The_Faceless_Lich: Ran gets shrunk too (very slow paced but getting updates fairly frequently, 320k)

strung along by brawltogethernow: scenes from a red string of fate AU (15k)

O Sharon, Sharon, wherefore art thou Vermouth? by Virgola: kir/vermouth, technically part 2 of a series (complete, 65k)

How to Be a Double Agent 101 by scratchienails: NOC shenanigans, fucking hilarious (13k, desperately hoping for the final chapter, @scritch-scratches please please i'm begging you)

One for sorrow two for joy by Dissenter: Kaito and Aoko are interchangeable, codependent, and both Kid (complete, 40k)

The Game of Life (Moon Magician in the Night) by OnceABlueMoon: inspired by the one above but with the parents in a polycule (complete, 5k)

Once and For All by Misty_Reeyus: post-canon, Detective Boys find out about Shinichi and Ai (complete, 2k)

Final decision by Angelle_wings: Ai's decision about taking the antidote (complete, 3k)

meetings at poirot by Oxalisalis: akam try not to kill each other, very evocative language, fucking hilarious (complete, 5k)

Also, shoutout to @tangentiallly for contributing around 2.5% of english detective conan fanfics on ao3, completely shaping my view on the BO

And some stuff from ffn:

Sgamer82 for Ai-centric oneshots

What was Right is Wrong: Kaiao, complete, 17k

Confused Partridge: Ekoda gang, complete, 7k

Mr Barista: Kaito & Bourbon, complete, 7k

Two-faced, Half-faced: Kaito & Subaru, complete, 5k

Reverse: Aoko-centric, 36k

Cherry Red Flight: SIOC in the akai family, 47k

[z-eel]

i'm craving cnc jegulus/wolfstar/wolfstarbucks/all four of them - like i'm talking rough, nasty, borderline concerning cnc.

itch my scratch? please?

mmh concerning levels... i feel like i provided...

(warning: celestial polycule and its cnc but doesn't exactly feel like it is)

They had planned this, James and Remus, one month of carefully asked questions and two weeks of actual preparations. dating the black brothers came with that level of dedication because Regulus was too suspicious to let anything go and Sirius was too clingy to let anyone do anything but they had a lot of it thanks to Peter, Barty, and Evan who insisted they receive compensation for the help. that what the camera was for, but also because James would want to get off on this for years to come.

they were blindfold the both of them, told to stay quiet as Remus guided Regulus onto the bed. Remus on his knees making sure to rest Regulus on his lap holding both his arms in one hand as he played with Regulus. hand growing wet as he played between Regulus' legs.

he only raised his eyes as he looked over at Sirius who had his hands tied back while James was sucking on his dick making sure to get it as slick as possible. Sirius gasped, whined, jerked as he tried not to thrust into James mouth.

part of him wanted to forget the plan entirely but a choked out whine from Regulus pulled him back, no this was gonna be good. so he needed to focus.

he pulled off Sirius and guided him to the bed. you could still hear the sounds of Remus wet fingers opening up Regulus. they didn't even have to say anything before Remus took his fingers out and stuffed him in Regulus mouth, ensuring he wouldn't make a sound. James gripped onto Sirius neck as he slowly took Sirius cock and press him against Regulus. the brother groaned breathlessly.

James was teasing both of them, moving Sirius, letting his dick catch, pressing him in a little before pulling it out. and it was like that, connecting before James took it all away. Remus laughed when Regulus squirmed uncomfortably.

'don't be mean James, can't you seen he's desperate'

and Remus had been talking about Regulus but it was Sirius who was early nodding him head.

James hummed as he positioned Sirius, he leaned close to Sirius ear and gave him the go ahead.

'go on padfoot, start breeding your bitch.'

and it was at the name that Regulus started to fight. James couldn't see his eyes but he could guess the wide eyed expression with the way he was pulling on Remus, but Remus just pressed his finger further on his tongue making him gag, keeping him quiet.

Sirius was slow to start, getting used to the pressure around his dick but it was funny trying to find a rhythm with his hands tied behind his back. James wanted to laugh.

'you like it padfoot. do you like your present?'

and it was in the confidence in his nod that made James take out his own dick and press himself on a still roughly fucked Sirius. he was sensitive and sore James knew that but Sirius always squeaked pretty when he did it. not to mention that Remus was getting gesturing to take of the blind folds now that Regulus had stopped fighting and was letting out these short gasping moans at every thrust.

there looks of suprise were everything. Regulus looking up at Sirius in pure horror while Sirius was trying to pull out of his little brother only to force himself open on James. only the head of his dick still attached to Regulus but James saw this a beautiful opportunity.

fucking into Sirius causing him to push himself back into Regulus who was groaning at the intrusion. and again Sirius tried to pull out but this it was James make sure each one of his thrusts were powerful enough to make Regulus feel it.

'come on pads, you were telling me how much you liked it, were you lying to me? you know how I feel about lying.'

Sirius looked past Regulus, up at Remus and shook his head. Remus smiles and pulled his fingers out of Regulus and took hold of his Sirius hair and pulled him to his brother’s face.

'show tell him how much you like it padfoot. tell him how much you wanted to stick that dick in his pretty little cunt. go on, tell your little brother how much you wanted to fuck him.

'go on Sirius tell him how you screamed out his name while fucking me. tell him how much you jerk off thinking of him, tell him that you like it when i call you big brother, tell him that you've wanted to fuck him since the day he cut his hair, go one padfoot.'

but Sirius was quiet staring at Regulus whose eyes were getting glassy and whose mouth was wide open letting out soft moans. Remus refused to be challenged and focused his face down on Regulus.

'kiss your little brother Sirius, we all know you want too.'

[starryeyed-seer]

What Lurks Within: 99 whispers and what they might mean

The 6th Coil of the Labirynth of Tigers is full of Mystery but some of the most intriguing are found in the rare occurrence of the sealed door. Investigating it reveals one of 99 texts depending on random chance. They're a mix of everything, from deep lore to literature references to invitations to join a monstrous polycule.

Below the cut, I'm going to look at all of them and some thoughts as to what they might mean.

Spoilers for everything.

I've sorted them by topic, aproximately, so we're starting with the coil and moving out from there.

---

The Story of The Sixth and Seventh Coil

A lot are clearly snippets from the love affair of the seventh coil, and the tiger keeper too. These get a shoutout for being unabashedly Pretty Horny in a perfectly monstrous, sensual way. Congrats whoever wrote those.

Once a tiger prince and a finger king fell in love, the tiger welcomed the fingerking to live inside him and they became a new entity, the Seventh Coil. Everything about the union was forbidden, and they were locked away out of fear in the Sixth Coil.

"—two kings apart and a king together and it is only right and proper that you kneel—"

The Tiger Prince+The Fingerking are both kings, of a sort. As the shared body of the Coil, they are still a king. Being in their presence causes an inclination to kneel.

"—amusing that they thought this a prison, and not a sanctuary—"

The Labirynth might be a prison, but it is also a safe place they may be together considering their union is Very Illegal. As much as the Coil is trapped, they are together (and not fully cut off from the outside world either)

"—presence is a joy at last, after time-outside-of-time spent with a recusant court—"

"—it would have been better if they knelt of their own free wills—"

The tributes sent into the Coil exist as the 'court', and seem lost in a dream-like haze, which the liminal Is and Not nature of the Sixth Coil causes.

"—o lover, I see thee only in mirrors—"

"—the labyrinth has been so very cruel to you, dearest—"

The Tiger Keeper encountered the Coil in dreams, and fell in love. Seeing one's lover only in mirrors also can refer to the Prince/FK affair.

"—Consort dearest, your eyes will fill with scales—"

Being possessed by a fingerking changes one's eyes, but this also reminds me of eyeless skulls: the change of the nadir, where skulls will grow plating to cover the eyes entirely from enough exposure. Considering the links between light and sight, I do wonder if this is related: your vision of the world will change forever, away from that of regular vision (and the way Judgements prefer you to see the world?)

"—your devotions reached us on the dreaming airs, so sweet upon our tongue—"

"—rest among my coils. You have travelled far to be here—"

"—show me your paws; let me test thine sharpness—"

"—claws of silver and eyes afire—"

"—and of your pelt I shall make my bed—"

—pierce me, run me through, let my blood wash over your fur—

"—sip my venom; let me into your vein—"

"—and in these knots what limbs are bound—"

"—do you shiver as I bind you?—"

"—tighter and tighter until your bones collapse—"

"—and with this knot, I take thee—"

"—nothing to fear but each other—"

"—of banded fur and speckled bands—"

"—for a tiger to change his stripes—"

"—do you love what you have become?—"

"—are you sated?—"

"—there exist no two hearts that cannot be joined—"

Do I need to say anything about these.

Parabola and Dreamin'

Parabola is the home of Fingerkings, and where Tigers conduct their sacred war against them to keep the waking world safe, a duty they were raised up for by Stone herself.

—those cold seas beyond the edges of Parabola, where dreams die—

Parabola seems to be only part of the 'Is-Not', or an aspect of it. For example, Irem isn't what Is, but isn't Is-Not either. I'm not sure what this means: perhaps a link to the Slow River.

—the weeping pus of dead dreams—

—the dense dreams of the extinguished—

There's a lot of focus on dead/th dreams, and I have a theory on that I'll get to. Let's just enjoy how many there are.

—the extinguished dreams of the one they drowned—

Oh this is easy, that's Mr E------ (violently silenced by the Masters)

 —the black dreams of flukes, the icy dreams of catankeri—

Many flukes are on a whole bitterly angry about the deal they made with the Bazaar long ago. While rubbery men, their creations, dream of the Sea of Spines, Lorn-Flukes (the pissiest ones) are probably in darker dreams. Cantankeri are from Sunless Skies, in the High Wilderness, very grumpy isopods creatures which attack anything they dislike (most things)

—the faceless dreams of Snuffers—

Snuffers were long ago exiled from the Garden after the first Snuffer, the Thief-of-Faces, stole diamonds from Stone's womb and created Mt. Nomad as a 'weapon to serve its hate'. We don't really know a ton about what went on here. The Thief-of-Faces made the Snuffers in the Garden, but seems to have come from outside it. What is it? What does it want? Unknown. Hate. Snuffers are shapeshifters who can remove people's faces and wear them, so their dreams being faceless is likely because they lack a 'true face'. Faces/lacking is a reoccurring theme in FL tied to identity, with one of the things the Sapphir'd King requires before consuming souls in SSkies being the removal of one's Face and Name.

—if the Sun has a skin, does the Moon—

The Parabolan sun is called The Skin Of The Sun, it was made during the second city and is a glass bulb of iron, glass, and Cosmogone light. The Moon in Parabola resembles a sleeping cat, but we know little else of it. It's never been called 'the skin of the moon'.

—the brass from which their sun was forged—

The Skin of the Sun was forged, but it's never been called brass. Brass is devil associated, you could also call the orange-ish colour of Cosmogone 'brassy', but this is an odd reference.

I FORGOT ABOUT THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THESUNTHESUNTHESUNTHESUN---

(thanks to @barnabusbarnabus for noting the dawn machine is made of brass!!)

—our caught kin in their galleries and prisons—

'Serpent Galleries' are a way of containing FKs. In stone, I think, I'm not 100% on the specifics but it's certainly a way of trapping them.

—and what blood seeps from their Boil—

The Boil of Calamities is a notable Fingerking who guards the Dome of Scales and the Parabolan Sun, AKA The Skin of The Sun. I'm not sure about it bleeding.

—to knot, to boil, to conjoin, to grow, to blister— 

Fingerkings have a tendency to join together into Congregations, many FKs becoming one complicated knot-entity. The 7th Coil is knotted like this in a way.

It's notable how often this is a reoccuring theme in FL: rats have rat-kings, spiders have spider-councils, there's a lot of creatures out there who present power through unionizing into some form of joined/hiveminded entity.

—the sourceless source of the Writhing River—

The Writhing River is in Parabola, and made of snakes. (There's non-fingerking snakes in Parabola, FK may be more the 'royalty' of sneks). You travel to the source in becoming a Silverer, where you find a rock one snake at a time emerges from, silver trees, and cosmogone sap you made your glasses from.

—can tell you why the Hanging Mountains despise the Smoking Sea—

Places in Parabola, I couldn't tell you why they hate each other though.

—a banner of shed skin—

Parabola is dominated by war, banners and snakeskin, pretty straight forward.

—a hollow shell for hollow kin—

Hard to say exactly. FK can't exist in reality without a vessel, and part of their history with devils is the fact devils are hollow.

—seven marches for seven cats, along the borders of dreaming—

Stone gave cats (and tigers) a mission to protect humanity from FK and the Is-Not, watching over the borders of dreaming. Seven is the number. 7 cats specifically occurs in the dreams you get after drinking Hesperidean Cider, in the 'dreams of the Garden'

The woman stands, her work done. Seven holes in the rich, springy soil. Seven neat mounds. All seven together The woman whistles, and cats slink out of the trees. They play, tumble and purr. Seven cats. The woman is overjoyed. She embraces you. She starts gathering the cats, near the holes.

—she who gave them the spear—

—our spear went slither-slice—

—not come to bring a sword, but a spear—

Spears come up in two places, both might be related: There's the spear the cats have, which was 'liberated from the Sleeping King'. it's used in Light Fingers to crack the Skin of the Sun and is a sacred relic to them.

There's also "a sky-spear" which Might Be A Thunderbolt. I'll get to the Storm connection later but I'm mentioning it now.

Kings and reality and unreality

—Parabola, and the hypocrisies of its creation—

Oh boy!!! LET'S GO! you know how crazy I am about Judgement lore.

Parabola being a 'hypocrisy' is expressed a lot. With Judgements dictating existence and deciding what Is, they're responsible for the line of what Is-Not, and likely the reason Fingerkings aren't allowed to exist.

—admitted unreality so they would not have to fix reality—

So. In ruling reality, the Judgements may have exiled things which didn't belong in their vision of what Is, and created the idea of What Isn't as a way to deal with that. Parabola may be then a dumping ground, or aftereffect of how Judgements prune reality to suit their ideal, hidden away by Being Illegal so others won't realize the reality they control is innately flawed.

—the place where they bury their mistakes—

The Neath has been referred to as something like this a lot. The 'their' may again be Judgements, and Parabola could be where mistakes are buried.

—no king has ever made a law without wishing for exceptions—

Judgements are Kings. They present as infallible gods, but they aren't. They're definitely hypocrites.

—none live by their own rules. It is not only the Mountain's parent who sins—

An accusation that (likely) Judgements do not follow the rules they enforce on others. With that in mind, 'the mountain's parent' is almost certainly the Sun, Sol, rather than the other parent of the Bazaar. The Bazaar is a sinner, but the Sun is the one who still acts as a proper Judgement while having had a secret affair and hiding his daughter in the basement.

—the forsaken products of furtive experiments—

Similar to 'burying their mistakes'. The Neath has been referred to as the Sun's experiment, it's a hiding place of illegal Shames, it's not a far reach to suggest this might be talking about the Neath. It also may be the case Parabola is like this for Judgements.

—what Law forbids, and what dark abides—

The stars have strict laws, but you can get away with a lot in the dark.

—they war as they play, toying, feinting—

Part of other clues around the Sixth Coil is the suggestion the war between FKs and Tigers is a false one or unnecessary one. They're in an ancient, endless war serving ancient forces and grudges... but why must it be this way?

—of dream, they made a cage—

Calling the 'they' here to be Judgements. Parabola is a cage for the Is-Not. Dreams are a prison for what can never be.

—and shapes are dreams before they are born—

But where do dreams come from? What does this mean?

—the burning dreams of wayward words—

—the words afire and the words excised—

—sulphurous and thought-executing fires—

The Correspondance is a language of fire, and the language of reality-defining Judgements. There's three references here to words being forbidden, exiled, violently stopped.

There's been plenty of assumptions and guessing going on throughout this, but here's my big swing:

Thoughts, dreams, words which cannot be by Judgement law are what make up Parabola. Fingerkings themselves may be some aspect of those exiled ideas, or born of them. I keep thinking about the name Fingerkings and the fact Judgements are also kings.

Could they be at all, y'know... the fingers... of Kings...?

Stars burn without end, creating eternal light and in most cases eternal day. Do stars sleep? I doubt it. Do stars dream? Not in sleep.

Do you think stars might want things which cannot be? As much as they shape and dictate reality, they obey the law of each other (to some degree, what with the hypocrisy). What happens then, to daydreams? To forbidden desires? Perhaps those things are burned before they can be born, exiled to unreality before they corrupt the Is.

—a cracked and broken Curve—

Reality, the Is, is called the Curve. It's called this extremely rarely, with my first immediate source being one of the endings of SMEN. It makes sense though: if reality is a Curve, than the reflection is another Curve, forming a Parabola. It's not been called cracked and broken before, but especially with SSkies there's an idea of the cosmos failing and dying. The stars are dying. They can't keep this idea of reality together like they used to, no matter how hard they pretend.

I have another thought on FKs and Judgements, but it involves

Storm!?

—eldest brother, eater-of-aeons—

Storm is an Aeginae, a cosmic dragon which consumes time. He's dead. There's another aeginae in the Neath, but I doubt we're talking about Nook here. Dragons are 'mercenaries' of the stars, and specifically are said to have an 'ancient pact' with them, which is different to how most being who serve Judgements are referred to.

Eldest brother is not something I believe has ever been connected to Storm before though.

—the thunder speaks not to us, my love—

—the mouths of thunderheads—

—the invisible worm, that flies in the night in the howling storm—

The fact there's so many of these connected to Storm really interests me. Especially since I'm about to add a few more. Storm being dead makes him 'invisible', one could say, and language-wise there is very little separating Worm from Wyrm. In fact, you can extend that out a bit: Dragon=Wyrm=Worm=Serpent=Snake.

Aeginae have a shared mother, the Burrower Below, who is said to gnaw at the roots of the world, something which invokes Níðhöggr, a dragon/serpent from Norse mythology. Storm is connected to Norse motifs in other ways, like the urchin Valkyrie.

The use of 'eldest brother' above also means we can tie some of the whispers that refer to siblings and family potentially to Storm:

—pale and wriggling imitations of he who hatched first—

—a thousand thousand siblings— 

—do you see me, siblings? Do you hear— 

The latter is the Coil calling out to FKs, but the link between 'siblings' 'eldest brother' and 'he who hatched first' seems like... something. Especially when you consider what dragons do, which is eat time.

—a thing that eats is a useful thing, if its hungers can be directed—

In Firmament, at one point there's a bit of an illegal timeline hanging around, and it is consumed by Storm. Beyond eating time as a concept, dragon's role may be to eat forbidden timelines. What pact do the Aeginae have with the Stars? Perhaps it's a mutual one: the dragons eat and exile all timelines the stars do not approve of, leaving one Is, and dragons in turn get lots of tasty treats.

Perhaps then Fingerkings are related to this. Born of eaten timeline which can never be, meaning they can never be. Related to dragons, but never allowed to be them. Maybe up close an Aeginae is just a billion tightly wound serpents. They do have enough eyes for it.

Other Lore Bits

—clocks, maps, glass, breath, hearts—

Treacheries!! These are ways the Neath isn't quite Right, the way existence can be a bit unreliable. Basically. The treachery of maps is why distance and location are unreliable or inconsistent. The one of clocks is why you can do an action which the story says takes 3 weeks but still have it be Auguest 22nd at the end of it. There's said to be seven of them, and 'hearts' is new to the list.

—all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well—

This is a common phrase that appears all across FL in a variety of ways. The Bazaar is often linked to it but so is everyone else. It's from Julian of Norwich

—Salt spoke to us before he left, but we do not remember—

Omg hiiii Salt!! The notion Salt spoke to the Seventh Coil is a mysterious one. How, when, and why did he stop by? Who's to say. After, he exited east out of the universe

—when the Nadir touched the Zenith—

The Nadir is the place of forgetting, full of irrigo, and part of what hides the Neath from Judgements so well. The Zenith is on the roof. I'd bet it's a place of remembering, but we haven't seen it yet. It's full of scribes. When they touched would be before the Neath was carved out of the earth.

—the cleaving-places where gravity is shorn—

Gravity is surprisingly consistent in the Neath, for being a rather lawless place. There's some idea of messing with and changing it using red science. The use of 'cleaving-places' calls to mind the roof to me, and the idea of the Nadir/Zenith once touching.

—needles to bind, bones to fold, glue to keep—

Very evocative of the Librarians in the Stacks, part of Firmament. There's much to the idea of people, timelines, realities as books, so there may be something to 'bind' and 'keep' here: laying down exactly what Is and Isn't by the process of archiving and defining it. Perhaps

—amalgamy that begat the Hound of Heaven—

Not totally sure still what happens when you 'Breed' monsters in the Labirynth, but this is how the Hound of Heaven is made: a snake that sniffs out devils. the amalgamy here is the act of creating a weird hybrid offspring, and similar to the creation of the 7th coil in that way.

—no mouth—

oh hey no-king :) This is a phrase related to the Discordance.

—from the First, a bronze mirror—

—from the Second, a dream of sunlight—

—from the Third, the taste of blood—

—from the Fourth, iron bars—

—from the Fifth, a craving of feathers—

The bronze mirror means 'the first mirrors' aka the entrance to Parabola. We didn't have perfect glass mirrors for a long time historically.

The dream of sunlight is the creation of the Parabolan Sun.

The third city is notable for being when the god-eaters and Mr Eaten occurred, though that's less Parabola related.

The fourth city was marked with a lot of conflict with Parabola. I'm assuming this is connected to that somehow.

I don't know what the craving of feathers means. I immediately think of flight, the desire to ascend, icarus, but how that links specifically to London and Parabola I'm not sure.

—pay with a little of the Will-Be rendered into the Might-Have-Been—

This is from if you take a certain Terrible Deal in Irem. Irem is 'will be',. 'What might have been' could be Parabola, could be the Stacks, could be something else.

—a lie, of course. But all lies can be made true, in time—

The division between true and false comes up often. What is true? Who decides it? A king can lie and that lie can become reality.

Literary references

Shoutout to house-of-mirrors for pointing out most of these. I. don't know my Old Proper English Literary references very well </3

—in that sleep of death, what dreams may come—

Hamlet. The dreams of the dead can be visited with Cardinal's Honey, or black honey, though those dreams seem to be unique to the honey rather than 'the dreams of people who are dead'.

—to break one's staff; bury one's book—

The Tempest. Very evocative of giving up power and leaving it behind, as it is in the original context.

—blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage—

King Leer. Also about storms and raging, like a certain dragon we know!

—vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts—

King Leer again, from the same scene. Few notable words to FL here: thunderbolts for Storm, but also courier relating to the Bazaar. (I doubt in this case courier means the bazaar though, just pointing out)

—shall I compare thee to a moonlit night—

Sonnet 18, originally is 'summer's day'. Moonlight represents possibility and dreams.

—but a walking shadow—

Macbeth.

—you have but slumbered here—

Midsummer night's dream. Link obvious.

—did he who made the Lamb make thee—

The Tyger, by Willaim Blake. Poem was referenced with the reoccurring dreams had during the Estival. Lamb like this usually means Jesus, it in full context of the poem is a line like 'did god who made the goodness of the lamb also make the ferociousness of the tiger? why?'. The poem also has a line of 'When the stars threw down their spears' which might be relevant to the several mentions of spears already covered.

EDIT:

"—of banded fur and speckled bands—"

Sherlock Holmes short story!

—the invisible worm, that flies in the night in the howling storm—

The Sick Rose by William Blake!

Other dregs

—what you think is a labyrinth may be a maze—

A labyrinth is traditionally actually a singular winding path, where a maze has branching paths and dead ends. Is the labyrinth of tigers a maze after all, with wrong ways? Or perhaps reality is not a singular winding path but one with many branches, constantly being sheared off...

(lost it when this hint came out because the labyrinth/maze idea of reality and judgements is something I'd just written into the latest chapter of my suncrab fanfic lol)

—see your heat, little mouse—

The 7th Coil is talking to us directly here as we search the coil.

—the heart is the heart is the heart— 

Also the name of the play the bohemians put on during the Estival! Hearts are important. There's a lot of em out there.

—yes yes yes yes yes—

Similar to the want want want want want want text you get for Temptation's presence within the coil.

—animal that you are, little more than squirming fluid—

Probably just the Coil watching us.

—writhing in the shadow they cast—

Hard to extrapolate much specific meaning here beyond the fact the FKs exist in the shadow of reality (and the Neath does too). The use of 'they' in this has often been suggestive of Judgements, so yeah: light is needed to cast a shadow, a shadow is a place without light, certain things writhe and live there

—those things which preceded them—

I try not to be stuck with my head in the stars but also another case where I think you could read the 'them' here to be Judgements. But it's been put here in the dregs because it's another very vague one that could mean anything.

With the idea of Judgements as unjust-kings who claim to be truly divine but are as fallible as their subjects, you have the idea of what there was before Judgements. Was there a before? If the Judgements truly aren't all-gods who have always dictated reality, then there must have been. Probably.

—and I shall not climb upon the scaffold they have made for me—

A very evocative phrase I can't confidently sort!

I think it could be related to the rejection of power and the way of kings: both the Tiger Prince and the Fingerking who became the 7th coil rejected their elevated places to commit the sin of love and chose each other. 'I will not stand up there above all, though they say it is My Place'

---

Anyway! These have been my many thoughts. I'm sure I'm missing stuff or a bit off or anything else... Please, feel free to talk about it with me! I want to know people's thoughts. I've held a torch for the Storm/Dragons/Snakes link for a while so seeing a bunch of hints that back me up was really exciting, but I also know I can be a bit blinded by how open to interpretation a lot of FL lore is. I see that crab everywhere....

[scribbledghost]

Hi Writing Goddess 💛

I’d love to know how the vessels become/establish being poly!vessels… would they approach Ves? Would Ves reach out to them first? How would they approach the reader? Would it be awkward at first? Would Vess be territorial?

Hello my dear! I'm really glad you asked this, because it gives me a chance to flesh out how I think this goes down!

So, here's the thing: none of them really have to approach Ves on this. He already knows, what with the telepathic connection they all share and whatnot. He knew from the beginning that they all wanted you in some way, whether that be out of pure curiosity initially (in III's case) or out of a sense of something deeper (in II's case). But all of them noticed Vessel fell face-first almost immediately, so they hung back.

Here's another thing: they've all been in a polycule for a while before you came along. Vessel and II had feelings for each other before converting, but didn't act on them until after. III and IV came into the mix naturally when they stumbled upon the manor.

So when you showed up and Vessel immediately developed a proverbial "❗" over his head, they knew it was only a matter of time before he'd make some sort of move. Over time, you figured out their relationship dynamic, but the rest of the vessels still kept a polite and platonic distance until Vessel himself could sort out his own feelings on the matter.

But once he sorts things out with you on his own, they let you get used to the idea of him courting you before they bring it up with him.

I like to think II is the one who initially broaches the topic with him, being Vessel's oldest and dearest companion. Ves knows the others want you, and through the mental connection between the five of you, they can tell you want them too. It's just a matter of stepping across that line and adding yet another eccentricity to what is already an unusual relationship.

Granted, you're already dating a man with six eyes, pointed teeth, and a tongue almost as long as his forearm, so "unusual" might be underselling it a bit.

At first, I think Vessel does get a bit territorial. It's a mix of "she's mine I saw her first" and insecurities that the others are better than he is. He realizes this is... probably a bit hypocritical of him, considering he's still very much dating the other vessels and you're only with him. But he still has some vestiges of being human, and the occasional irrational train of thought is one of them.

I think he'll talk to you about this. Explain where he's coming from. But he also uses this as a lead-in to tell you he's alright with you bringing the others in to your relationship. He loves you, and he loves each of the vessels. He'll feel conflicted about it at first - he wants you all to himself, but he knows the right thing to do is at least offer to bring you into the fold of the manor. It feels... wrong to him, to want you for himself while he belongs to three others as well as you.

So, you compromise. Take things slow. You bring II into the dynamic first, keeping your relationships with III and IV more platonic for the time being. The first time Vessel sees you curled up with II, both of you laughing at something the drummer had murmured in your ear, he can't really describe how full his heart feels. I think it's then that he realizes he's making the right choice.

Once everyone is used to II being a part of things, III and IV are quick to follow. They're pretty much a packaged deal half the time, anyway, so it's not really a surprise that Vessel and II find the three of you in a cuddle pile shortly after giving them the go-ahead to court you. Ves and II join in almost immediately.

[fuctacles]

Fic request! 🎂

I ammm always needing more werewolf shifter Steve BUT that “My turn” on the polycule bingo is speaking to me 👀

Uno reverse and happy birthday! You get both. This is the closest I ever got to writing omegaverse, I think.

Part of @fourormore bingo - "my turn". I also used "snow" from the upcoming @stmonstercalendar werewolf day. Aaand I guess i could count it as "winter" from my @steddiebingo

E | 2575 | Stranger Things | Steddie, Corroded King | snowed in, open relationship, friends with benefits, orgy, mating cycles, werewolf Steve, not beta read im tired, knotting | Ao3

"Well, this was a great idea," Eddie complains, his teeth chattering as he looks out of the window. Not that there is anything to look at. It's just snow as far as the eye can see. 

His answer is, of course, a loud choked off moan. He rolls his eyes. 

"I don't know what you're on about," Gareth answers, his breath hitching. "I'm having a blast." 

Jeff snorts. 

"Steve's having a blast. Inside you."

Doug snickers at that and high fives him over Steve's writhing body. Even Gareth laughs, but nearly swallows his tongue when Steve hits just right, and his knot pushes into his ass. 

"Oh my god," he wheezes. His friends touch and pull on skin, always mesmerized by the way it stretches around Steve. Gareth hisses at them, tries to pull away but it just tugs at the knot inside him and makes him whimper. Slowly, he lies down on Steve's chest, who wraps him in his arms, making small aborted movements of his locked hips.

When Jeff and Doug also wrap their arms around them, Eddie really feels how cold he is. He pulls the hoodie over his head, before marching back to their make-shift bed. It's all the mattresses pulled from the beds, laid in front of the fireplace, which is now black and cold, because they agreed to only use it at night. 

It's a winter break in their tour, which they decided to take in a cabin in the mountains. The fact that it lined up with the full moon wasn't a problem for them, but then the weather got worse, and they decided to rely less on the limited wood supply and more on their werewolf furnace. One thing led to another, Steve's sensitive wolf senses smelled four willing guys and thus, the rut they're now going through. 

Eddie sighs. 

"My turn next," he says, and Steve's whimpery howl, the way his hips thrust up inside Gareth, make it feel a bit better. 

Because, Eddie likes to bottom, but not in front of his friends, not when Steve is wolfed out and single-minded. He loves it when his boyfriend takes it slow, when he kisses his whole body and manages to switch his loud brain off, taking him to the edge over and over again. He loves it when it's a ritual between the two of them, a proof that someone loves him and has enough patience for someone like Eddie. 

And it's not like he doesn't love his friends, but it always feels vulnerable to do in front of them. But, anything for the love of his life. If Steve wants Eddie's hole, he's going to get it. 

Gareth yelps. 

There's a lot of movement on the center of their nest, and when the blankets settle, Eddie's presented with Steve's ass. Gareth is lying below him, stuck on his knot. 

He blinks. It's rare for wolf Steve to switch mid-sex, it's always top or bottom, depending on his mood and who he's with when it hits. And his instincts don't like him being vulnerable like this in a group, for different reasons than Eddie. 

"You sure, puppy?" he asks, kneeling down on the mattress to get close to them. His answer is an impatient wiggle of Steve's butt, accompanied by his growl and Gareth's whine as he moves. Eddie laughs. "Okay, baby."

"Damn, I was hoping for an Eddie show," Doug pouts, handing him the bottle of lube. 

Eddie hums thoughtfully as he pours the cold gel on his fingers. It still baffles him when he hears that his friends enjoy seeing him moan like a whore on his boyfriend's dick. It's easy to forget when he's the one to fuck them, usually, and they never treat him any different from the tough persona he takes on in his daily life. It's never addressed or pointed out, that their energetic frontman, a metalhead freak, likes to jump on a werewolf cock like a bitch in heat.

"The night is still young," he points out coyly as he slides one finger into Steve. He does get more pliable after an orgasm. 

While Eddie is stretching him, Steve's knot deflates enough to slip out of Gareth, who makes a whine that sounds between pained and relieved. He squirms away when the hips above him start moving again in search of a willing hole.

"Okay, my turn," Jeff taps him out, and Doug helps him pull their drummer from under Steve. With some awkward shuffling, he takes his place and tries to guide the cock between his legs into his stretched out ass. In the end, he needs some help from his friends, pulling apart his ass cheeks while Eddie presses Steve's hips down, but they eventually hit home, pushing a long moan from him. "Oh, my gods," Jeff whispers. He only has a moment to take it in before Steve starts moving.

They are all stretched and ready to go, naked from the waist down, since it's too cold to take all their clothes off. Even Steve's body heat can't keep them that warm. 

Fucking Jeff makes Eddie's job a little harder, but whenever he presses against Steve's prostate, it freezes him for a second, giving him extra time. As he starts massaging it with the pads of his fingers, his boyfriend's movements get more sluggish. He whines into Jeff's neck, who grins at Eddie while rubbing soothingly at their werewolf's back.

"It's okay, puppy," he coos into his ear. "You can breed me in a second, Eddie's gotta take care of you, too."

"Eddie," Steve groans deep in his throat, like it was the only word he processed and is now latching on to. 

"Yeah," Jeff chuckles. "Eddie's your favorite, isn't he?"

Eddie presses harder into him, and Steve howls.

"Yes! Mate!" he whines, his hips now moving with a different kind of urgency, not sure which way to go. Into the willing heat around his dick, or the loving touch of his mate.

Once he can easily slide four fingers in, Eddie knows he's ready. Breaching him any sooner than that might result in nasty bites, which they have learned the hard way. 

And it couldn't be any better timing, because Steve calling him that was probably his biggest turn on.

"I've got you, my mate," he says, pressing in, slow but insistent, until his hips push Steve deeper into Jeff. 

The sounds they make are vastly different and unsynchronized, but in their horny minds sound like a harmony. Clumsily at first, they start moving, until Steve's brain gets back online enough to start moving properly. He's the strongest one, so he's doing most of the work, thrusting into Jeff and impaling himself back on Eddie. 

"Baby, you feel so good," Eddie praises, wrapping himself around his boyfriend's torso, knowing he'll take what he needs, at least until his knot locks him in place again. 

It's so hot, he can feel his thin hoodie get damp with sweat, both his and probably Steve's. He's the only one fully naked between them. It's hot, and he can feel all four of them touching him, never too far away. Gareth is lying limply on their left, tired but keeping his eyes open, enjoying the show. On the right, Doug is squeezing his dick, awaiting his turn. 

It should be uncomfortable, but all Eddie can focus on is the tight grip Steve has around his dick. His hips jump with the force of his trust, and he helps him push down, harder and faster, until Jeff gasps when the swelling knot pushes into him.

"Almost..."

Steve's hips snap with force and seal him in place. He growls, his hips still moving as he unloads inside the man, who comes too, in the limited space between their bodies. Eddie knows from experience that Steve's knot massages perfectly against a prostate, and he's almost jealous.

He bends down, their bodies protesting, but he needs to catch Jeff's little moans into his mouth. His taste the sweetest, because what they usually get is growls and screams he belts into the microphone on stage. Who knew that all it takes to tame a loud metalhead, four of them, even, is a werewolf cock.

Steve, ever the impatient mutt, pushes his face between them, briefly turning it into a three-way kiss. It's too much tongue and not enough kissing for Eddie's liking, so he leaves them to it, sitting back up. He's on a mission anyway. Steve jumps at first, when he grabs his hips, but soon relaxes back down, realizing what's coming.

Considering his hips are locked in place, Eddie has to do all the work. And it's not like he is a pillow princess, but he hopes one of his lovers will be down to give him a massage later. 

During his rut, Steve is constantly on edge, so it doesn't take much to get him there. Watching his ass ripple with each thrust, and the sloppy make out in front of him, brings Eddie over soon after. He falls against Steve's back, muscle aching from the unusual work out. As soon as his dick is empty and soft, he rolls over, whining. It's embarrassing how tired he feels after only his first round. 

He, of course, lands on top of Doug, who hisses as his rock hard dick gets jostled in the process. 

"Sorry," he murmurs, readjusting himself against the soft sweater covering his human pillow. "Rub my thighs?"

Doug sighs, but without protest, pulls Eddie a little bit higher so he can reach his sore muscles easier. His big, calloused fingers starts kneading the meaty flesh, and the body on top of him melts with relief.

"Thank you," Eddie sighs. He can feel his friend's cock rubbing against the inside of his thighs, and it feels nice too. Would feel even nicer inside him, probably. He's very close to this state where he'll do anything he's asked for, as long as it keeps him feeling this good. 

Next to them, Jeff groans as his asshole stretches around the deflating knot. It leaves him with a wet pop, and a trickle of cum follows out. He sighs, legs falling limply apart and head tilting so Steve can nose at his neck, lapping the sweat. Eddie watches it with one eye, cheek squished against Doug's chest, and hums in longing. He wants Steve's tongue on himself, too. 

His boyfriend's eyes snap up to him, shining golden in his werewolf haze. With their gazes locked, he leaves long, wet stripes of saliva on Jeff's dark skin. Eddie whines. Suddenly Doug's fingers and his whole body below is not enough skin contact.

Not until Steve moves across Jeff, leaning on his elbows to lick Eddie's face clean. It should be gross, but he loves it. He smiles, content with the attention, and angles his face away from Doug's pecs to give him full access. When Steve's tongue catches the corner of his lips, he sucks it into his mouth, so he can lick him from the inside, too. The angle becomes almost uncomfortable as Steve moves over his body, but eventually, he flips Eddie over, much to Doug's dismay. 

"I'm still here, guys," he complains from under them. Though his hands resettle on Eddie's thighs, so he can't mind that much. 

Steve wouldn't forget him, his werewolf hindbrain hyperaware of the stretched, unfucked hole in front of him. He spreads his legs apart and angles his hips, all the while kissing (licking, biting, same thing) Eddie, sandwiched between them, thighs spread even further for the new position.��It's not comfortable for any of them, but Steve is determined to have them both.

It takes a couple of tries, but Eddie knows when he gets inside, because Doug's hands dig into his flesh and his gasp is hot against the ape of his neck. Steve starts panting into his mouth as he moves, and when he bends them even more, Doug's dick slides between Eddie's cheeks, making him whine. Each thrust moves him against his hole and taint, and he wonders how fast he can come after the last time. His body might be going for a record tonight.

Eddie moves his hips as much as he can, savoring the slide of a hard cock so close to where he's aching and empty. His own, spent dick, twitches pathetically. 

"Stevie, baby," he pants against his boyfriend's lips. "Can Doug fuck me? Please," he begs. The angle would be difficult, but maybe Steve would show mercy and flip him around again.

"No," Steve growls, his hips picking up pace. "Mine." 

"Oh," Eddie whimpers. "Okay," he accepts meekly. He can't find it in himself to be disappointed, not when Steve sounds like that—a feral animal ready to claim and breed. 

Below him, Doug holds for dear life, letting out small sounds as Steve fucks him, and humping Eddie's ass. Steve is moving fast, panting into the hot, damp space between their bodies, and they know he's getting close, just as Doug. Eddie envies them a bit, but knows he'll get another orgasm soon, one way or another. 

Then, Steve pulls him down. 

The slide of his body against Doug's dick brings him over the edge, and Eddie can feel his cum seeping into the fabric of his hoodie. He's confused at first, but when he feels a thumb pulling against his hole, he remembers something important.

Doug doesn't like getting knotted. 

"No, no, no, Steve!" he starts protesting, but he barely manages to grab at his boyfriend, when a scream gets torn out of his throat. Steve has slammed his knot into him without any warning. 

The sound of his pained scream brings clarity to Steve's eyes. He can feel the other's watching them too, but right now only the terrified eyes in front of him mattered. 

"I'm okay," Eddie reassures quickly, completely out of breath. He forces his lungs into action, slow and steady. "It hurts, but I'm okay," he says, knowing not to lie to Steve. It would hurt him even more, far beyond the wounded puppy dog eyes he's seeing now.

"I took your knot this morning, I'll be fine," Eddie reminds him.

"When?" Gareth breathes out, baffled. 

"When you were making breakfast," Eddie answers without breaking eye contact with Steve. He reaches out to swipe away the tear that spills from the corner of his eye. 

"I thought you guys were sleeping! I wanted to be nice—!" the end of his sentence is muffled. 

"Dude, shut up," Jeff scolds him. 

Eddie guides Steve's hand to his stretched rim. Makes him touch the skin and sighs at the contact. 

"See? I'm alright, nothing happened. I was made to take you."

Someone in the room groans, but Steve likes the cheesy stuff, and Eddie likes to indulge him. Finally, Steve buries himself in his neck.

"I'm sorry," he says, soft and broken. Eddie coos, rubbing down his spine. 

"It's okay, you just got too excited. It happens."

"Could have hurt you."

"And a meteorite could have hit us," Eddie sighs. "But none of this happened and we're alright. But, you can make it up to me," he adds.

Steve perks up, like an excited dog.

"Yeah?"

Eddie smiles at him, full of love and mischief.

"Make me cum."

Doug makes a sound of protest. 

"Before you do that, could you get off me? Please."

tags crew: @blasvemous @wheneverfeasible @phantomcat94

[eclipseberrycake]

The World Behind the Frames

AN: This isn't Moonberrycake, I know, I know, I accidentally tripped and added lore to my polycule. I wanted to expand on my world building because I want to kind of explain what's going on in my head when I'm writing about that world, if it makes sense? I don't know. I'm out of ideas for Moonberrycake for now and needed to fulfill an itch.

This is still Distractor Toon! Reader, who is based off my OC in all actuality, and probably who I'll pair with Moonberrycake to keep continuity. Makes thing easier for me, for you and for all our new friends!

The first memory you have is less of a visible thing. There was no stark imagery you could describe or backgrounds. You weren't even confident where it occurred to be honest.

But you could remember the feelings that surrounded you. The feeling of a bone chilling coolness freezing your newly developed joints and flesh, wrapping around you and squeezing until is was quieted by a warm covering. It gently scrubbed at your furry arms and legs, drying your damp fluff as you withered about. The smell of what you would later recognize as Ichor wafted around the area as the rushing hum of machines deafened you. The only thing you could recall being spoken were murmurs from a feminine voice, just loud enough to break through the churning of gears.

"-not a main...No handler-...Throw them with the commons-"

It was never something you lingered on. And you wouldn't. Not until much, much later in your strangely short, yet long life.

Walking along the hallways, you kept a steady pace before the foyer to Gardenview came into view. It was bustling with workers and the other toons, all in preparation for opening. You, yourself, were tasked with fetching a few bits and bobs for the handlers, eyes scanning for said individuals. They were probably with the Mains, preparing them for the day to come. There were a few events occurring live today, which were what the objects were for and why you were sent. You were quick and fast and could get there and back before opening.

Spotting Sam, you ran up to them, slowing when you heard them talking with...Sprout, you think his name was. You rarely interacted with the Mains, much less Sprout, so you didn't know much about him. You preferred it that way, that's for certain. The Mains seemed conceited at times, especially Vee who made her disdain for your lack of extensive knowledge on her gameshow known, so you kept your distance; you were much better friends with Goob and Scraps in the crafting area anyway.

Watching slowly, you watched Sprout talk with his handler, who looked irritated as they went on about some form of safety concern. He noticed you first, blinking in surprise at your appearance.

Sam was going on and on about something or another regarding the baking segment he was set to host with Cosmo later that day when he spotted you. You were a skittish little thing, if he remembered correctly. You never stuck around long, doing what was tasked of you before continuing on your way. You were something like a mail carrier around Gardenview, always rushing to somewhere new. He was honestly surprised to see you stationary for so long and it had been maybe a minute.

You were a cute little thing. You were shorter than he was, but everyone was so that wasn't saying much. He dared a little wave, which seemed to stun you as you blinked before shaking your head, giving a much smaller wave back.

"What are you looking at-?!" Sam snapped, turning to face your direction, which made you freeze like one of those deer he'd seen in movies. "Oh, it's you, Y/N."

Sprout had to gape at the change in Sam's attitude. They seemed so relieved to see you! This was favoritism. He swears. Sam even seems happy to see you as you slowly inch forward, holding out the package of goods you were sent to retrieve. Sam thanks you with a hand ruffling your hair before asking if you have anywhere else to be. You nod, explaining that Austin needed something as well. Austin was Astro's handler if Sprout remembered correctly, who was probably busy trying to convince said Toon that he had to make an appearance for their show in the sky dome later.

"Thank you again, at least one toon isn't giving me any issues." Sam huffs, throwing a look at Sprout-who sticks his tongue out. You watch it with a grin, waving good-bye before taking off once more.

It's the holiday season at Gardenview, with decorations everywhere and even more toons than usual. Coal was lounging beneath the large tree in the center plaza, barely casting you a glance, while Bobette and Dandy stood at the entrance, eagerly awaiting opening so they could greet the children. Bobette is quick to direct you to where she last saw Austin, wishing you luck as the doors finally open and in comes a see of children and parents alike. You thank her before taking off again, narrowly missing Pebble.

It takes you some time, but you do eventually find the shy duo backstage. Astro is hiding in a blanket as Austin tries to coax him out, his voice soft and gentle. "I promise it'll be here soon. I sent the fastest toon for it-"

"Pebble drools!" Astro shouts from his cocoon of solitude, seeming absolutely distraught.

"The fastest, besides Pebble."

You realize they're talking about you. So you make your appearance known, holding out the soft purple fabric to Austin. He visibly relaxes at the sight, which makes two handlers now. Austin practically sings your praises as he takes the fabric, rushing back to where Astro is hiding. You debate leaving, but watch as one of Astro's hand darts out, grabbing the cape before retreating. There's a bit of shuffling before the first blanket is being discarded and Astro is slowly standing, casting a shy glance your way before quickly looking away.

"It was in the laundry room." You offer with a smile, nodding behind you. Austin had begged you to keep an eye out for it, which you took personally and went out of your way to look for. You know some of the janitors didn't pay any mind to what they were cleaning, just grabbing it and cleaning it accordingly.

Astro swallows at the new information, the fresh smell of laundry finally registering as he backed away from the edge of a panic attack. The fact that you went out of your way to grab it for him, without even a hint of the why to it all, was not lost on him. His fingers curled around the edge of the blanket as he kept his second set of arms curled tightly around his abdomen, watching. He would remember your kindness, filing it away for later. He would pay it back, he swears.

He tries to thank you, he does, but the words get stuck in his throat, drying on his tongue. They refuse to leave and he's forced to once again clamp his mouth shut. Eventually he hopes to get over this. He knows who you are, you've both met if only briefly, and you were just as friendly and selfless then, full of smiles and laughter.

You don't seem to fear anything, running around like a mouse in the background on a near constant basis. He had never seen you stand still and almost envied you for it. You almost seemed like a never ending ball of energized fuzz.

The thought made him hide a grin in the fur of his blanket.

Austin gave you a final thanks before moving back to smooth out Astro's cape, and you were off once more.

"...Can they come?" Astro found himself asking, leaning over Austin's shoulder to watch the doorway you came through.

"Come where?"

"To the skydome." Astro swallows. "I-...I think they'd like it."

You don't hear their conversation after you leave, instead trotting back to the costume area. You and Poppy were assigned to help the children in the photo area dress up as their favorite characters while Boxten helped them take pictures. It made the time pass by quickly and you loved seeing the children smile in their Scraps headbands or replicas of Flutter's wings.

You were just straightening out a little girl's bow, which she chose to look like Poppy, when the first shrill scream rung out. There was silence before more screams. You looked back at Poppy, who looked just as concerned as you did. Parents then came storming in, scooping their children up and running out as the lights began flashing red, an alarm screaming in the air.

You, Poppy and Boxten worked to ensure the children in your care found their parents, directing them to the nearest exit just as you were instructed to do.

"Go! We got it from here!" Boxten shouted at you, pointing to the hall that lead to the Foyer. "Check on everyone else! You're faster than we are!"

You nodded and took off once more, feet pounding against the ground as you tried to help everywhere you could. When you finally got to the heart of the foyer, you were horrified at the state it was in. That and the beast now charging at you. It looked like Dandy, only with much sharper teeth, and claws out reached for you. His red eyes shined brightly as they locked onto you, quickly taking after you. You swallowed before turning tail and taking off into the staff wing. There were no children or families there, and if meant you or the children, you would rather it be you every time.

Unfortunately, that rest of that night was clouded by the sounds of you choking on your own ichor as Dandy pinned you. And then nothing.

Blinking, you shake your head, letting a heavy breath out as you curl into yourself tighter. Remembering the day it all went wrong never failed to make your chest absolutely ache, but it never left you alone. Not during your time as a twisted, and not after. Even now, with more of you back since it happened, it seemed your subconscious was having a blast mix and matching the horrors you have seen since Gardenview closed and haunting you whenever sleep had graced you. Astro had tried his hardest to help, which you appreciated, but he can't stop everything. Some are bound to slip through the cracks.

Tonight seemed to be one of those nights.

Sitting out on the balcony, you let the cool night breeze blow through your fuzz as you try to recover from the latest nightmare. It was from your limited time as a twisted.

The only ones to escape the carnage were Poppy and Boxten, who took it upon themselves to help the rest of you. They trekked floor after floor until they completed the first completion of research and you were returned to your normal self. From there, you three learned and tested. You carved your way through the bad times, and the worst times, healing each other when the bite marks and claw marks were too painful to heal on their own. You still had the scars, carefully covered with clothing and fur. You wanted it to remain that way.

You had grown experienced enough in your role as a distractor, moreso with the aid of trinkets, enough so that there were no longer days patches of fuzz were burnt, torn or ripped off. They would remain hidden.

You huffed another breath, fighting the tears that threatened to spill. You had done such harm because you were so...angry. So hurt. You couldn't see straight while under the ichor, that much you could remember, charging at anything that so much as moved in your line of sight. You'd chase and chase and chase them down, breaking through boxes if they tried to hide. It was awful looking back. You were thankful no one else had that power, but the fact that you had it was enough to leave you fearing your own strength.

"Starlight?"

You perked up from where you were hiding your face between your knees and chest, turning behind you. Astro was there, one hand on the doorway while another scratched at his chin. His other two arms were crossed across his waist, either to brace himself against the cold or just where he wanted them to sit. You weren't sure yet.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" You're quick to apologize, turning more fully to face him. He shook his head, though judging by the bags under his eyes, he was either lying or out here for the same reason you were.

"Why are you out here, starlight? There's a chill." He's quick to come up behind you, wrapping the arms that were crossed around you while the other two settle on your shoulders. He scans your face as he does this, noting your red eyes and puffy cheeks. Immediately he's frowning, one of the hands on your shoulders coming up to cup your cheek. "You had a bad dream."

"These things happen, moonshine. They're out of your control." You're quick to reassure, cupping the hand on your cheek with your own as you burrow into it.

"Are they? I'm in charge of dreams around here, you know." His forehead leaned on yours as he tightened the hold around your waist. "You can tell me."

You took a slow breath. "I just keep thinking back to my time as a Twisted. I don't think any amount of good dream juice is enough to stop those memories." You admit slowly. "I'm sorry. I should be over it by now. I was one of the first cured, but I just-... I could destroy those large crates, you know." You tell him. There's no other reaction he heard you other than the slow move of his thumb along your hip, so you continue. "No one could hide from me. The second you caught my attention, the chase was on. The only way to lose me was to hope I was stunned by charging the crates long enough you could hide before I saw you again."

Astro hums at this, but you're continuing on anyway.

"I was-...Am terrified of what I'm capable. I know that if I get caught like that again, it's not just Poppy and Boxten taking the brunt of it. It's- It's you and Sprout and Cosmo and-"

"Do you remember the day the outbreak happened?" Astro suddenly cut in, making you pause. It's an odd question, but you nod to the best of your abilities anyway. Astro takes a moment to step back, jumping up to sit on the balcony beside you with one arm around your waist while the other on the same side plays with your hair.

"Do you remember what you were doing?"

"I was in costume."

"Before that."

You take a moment, sorting through the soured memories of that day before ultimately coming up short. Astro seems to expect this as he continues right after. "You were running errands. The second we were woken that day, it seemed you were constantly moving. I didn't see you until later that day. I had misplaced my cloak that day." He explains, waving one of his free hands as he does. "I was in the middle of a total breakdown as I didn't want the others to know of...Well, you know." It manages to make you crack a grin, which he smiles at before continuing. "Then you show up. You didn't immediately call for Austin's attention, but I saw you the moment you stepped in."

You let out a chuckle. "Weren't you scared Pebbles would drool on your cloak?"

He laughs at this, but nods. "It's happened before. Leaves the fabric all...tough. But when I saw you? Especially with cloak in hand?" The hand on your waist pulls you in closer. "I thought I finally met my guardian angel. "

This time you let out a cackle, leaning on his shoulder. "Be so for real."

"I am!" He waves off your cackles, allowing you to settle. "I wanted to bring you to the Sky dome, you know. Asked Austin and everything, but never got the chance."

"Such a shame. I would've loved to go."

"I never said it's too late." Astro slides off the balcony, holding out a hand to you. "I know the code to the projector room. Would you care to accompany me?" He grins. "The other two are still passed out."

You take his hand, giving a dopey grin. "That sounds wonderful."

And exactly what you needed to forget about whatever was keeping you up anyway.

☁ So, in this world, the outbreak happens during the day, turning the initial toons, save for poppy and Boxten, the starter toons.

☁ One by one they probably rescue the other toons the same way I've explained Main rescues go. They get 100% research and Dandy offers a cure of sorts.

☁ From there, the ichor that did turn them into the original Twisteds remain, creating clones while the original toons get to return to normal life.

☁ Trinkets are like keychains enhanced with the same power ups they have in game. There are several of each one, but more than two at a time can provide issues with magic overload, making them more sluggish, less powerful, etc.

☁ Toons still have their special abilities as well, with cool downs. I've touched on this before but, for example, Cosmo's ability? He can feel when he uses it, normally infusing a bit of his life force into a treat the distractors/whoever can eat while on the move. Sprout can also do this, however should the need arise they also can redirect this directly onto any sort of wound.

☁ If an OG toon gets injured, bad ichor enters their system. If they're hit enough times, they can be returned back to their original twisted form and the process has to be repeated, which is why Safety is a huge concern during runs.

☁ Speaking of, Toons have the ability to return to the foyer/ entrance of Gardenview whenever they wish as long as everyone is in the elevator.

☁ I think that's it, but if there are any questions I would be more than happy to answer!

[whore-ibly-hot]

I recently just found your boarding school thing and I am in love. I haven't read the faculty one yet but I'm going too.

I'm in love with Tyler and Pez so far. The others are nice but they hit all the niche things that I like. Polycule? Yes! Bad boy good boy dynamics? Yes! Smoking weed and eating good food.

I could just imagine sitting on the couch with my two boys watching some cooking show, saying something looks super tasty because you're stoned and everything looks tasty. Next day you are woken up to a beautiful cake or perfect omelette or whatever really. "You said it looked good so I stayed up allll night to make it perfect. Please eat it now, it's still warm."

Having sex with them both for the first time and finding out Tyler is the rougher one. He doesn't mean to hurt you, but your mouth feels so good and he needs you to take all of him, all of a sudden he's pulling your hair and pressing your head as hard as he can into his pelvis. Pez can be rough too, but it's a lot more purposeful and expected compared to the typically slow Tyler now jack hammering into you like there is no tomorrow.

Plus I just know these two eat pussy so good. Harrison would try but he isn't as good. Mister student president (sorry I'm forgetting their name) wouldn't, doesn't want to get all messy right before a meeting. Evan would but only for special occasions, he prefers your mouth on him. I think my little photo man would be the only other one that stands a chance compared to these two in the pussy eating category, mainly because he is so eager to please and so happy you are letting him touch you. But Pez and Tylar, God tier. They will do it just because.

Pez chilling out on the couch, smoking with you when all of a sudden he gets on the floor and pushes himself in between your knees. Soon he is licking and slurping and sucking until you're a mess and just when you think you are done, Tyler gets to the dorm. Now he wants some because it looks so good and Pez looks like he's having so much fun and your sounds are so pretty. You can't turn him down when he looks at you with those puppy dog eyes. Just a little taste, pretty please?

Idk just my thoughts and since they are your characters, some of this might be wrong from how you have made them. I love your stuff already and I just got here.

RAHAHARHRHAAHA SO GOOD

[g0dwat3rwritings]

hii!

i saw a joe ask on my dash, so i decided to shoot over my own s/o idea (I'm an impulsive adhd biatch) how would he react to an s/o who's a bit over medium height, can't skate but enjoys watching, but does martial arts competitively? if it's possible or if you feel comfortable with it, maybe as in like a polycule w/ cherry as well (you don't have to if you don't want to, but I'm a diehard matchablossom simp oops)

I'll do both together and both apart! :)

As much as I love that ship, I can't canonically see them getting together, unless some shit goes down in season two 😭😭

@i-am-thoroughly-confused

You guys remember when my tags were organized? Yeah, me neither.

Warnings ;; mention of insults (it's cherry and joe, what do you expect?)

Relationship ;; Romantic

Type ;; Headcanons

Joe & Cherry Blossom ;; Kojiro Nanjo & Kaoru Sakurayashiki

Joe ;; Kojiro Nanjo

Just as everything else, they'd definitely fight over you.

Over who you're going to cheer for, over who you like better than the other, etc.

Given that you're medium height, you'll more than likely still be slightly shorter than the two of them.

They'll both show up to your matches, fighting and insulting one another, but they'll still show up.

Kojiro would definitely be a bit of a louder cheerleader although Kaoru would be a bit quieter, clapping lightly and waving if you see him

Cherry Blossom ;; Kaoru Sakurayashiki

If you're any shorter than Kojiro, he's poking at your height until you express any sort of discomfort.

As stated previously, he's a very loud cheerleader, even if he has women all over him.

After every match, he has a snack made up for you.

If your match ends up at a time where you miss a meal, he'll make said meal for you and bring it to you right before or right after your match.

Even if you can't skate, he loves seeing you at his own races. If he ever sees you there, he'll always slow a little and wave to you before speeding right back up.

If you're shorter than Kaoru, he won't poke any fun at your height, but makes it known that he'll help you get certain things you may not be able to reach.

He's a rather quiet, sometimes even silent, cheerleader. If you look his way, he'll smile and wave towards you. And if you win, you won't get much more than a few claps with a smile.

If you end up getting hurt, he'll always be willing to patch you up after a match, even if there are actual medical personnel around.

If you happen to miss a meal due to a match, he'll always take you out to a nearby restaurant, even if it's Kojiro's.

Even if you're unable to stake yet you show up at S to watch one of his races, he'll always meet you at the finish line with a hug.

[butterflydm]

Some mid-morning thoughts on WoT 3x01-3x03

(I woke up to eat and take my morning meds but will try to sleep again afterwards if I can manage it - I took a half-day off work so that I can sleep in, so we'll see how that goes lol!)

Let's see what else my brain can think of while it has a little more sleep in the bank. Still have not rewatched the episodes yet. Spoilers through The Gathering Storm (if you know, you know).

I am not going to try to split these up into episodes, because I see that even last night, I totally failed at that (Rahvin's reveal is in the opening of 3x03, not at the end of 3x02, I think). We're not even trying until I do individual rewatches of the episodes.

I am feeling more charitable about Randgwene not being broken up yet, because there really wasn't any time for a break-up in those episodes, they were packed. Does it startle me every time they sleep in the same general area of each other and touch each other's faces? Also yes.

It's interesting (to me) that these romances are the place where I'm having the hardest time separating book expectations from show expectations -- Randlayne & Avirand's interactions thrill me because of how book!accurate the vibes are; Avilayne hooking up so quickly is a mild disappointment because of how unlike their book relationship it feels (I did want canon Avilayne but I wanted a slowburn and for them to really intimately get to know each other first); Randgwene still being together feels like I am suffering through an eternity of slow torment (slight exaggeration).

It's interesting to me because I've had such an easy time shaking off other adaptations that were made, so this one aspect having a harder time to shake really does stand out to me. Is it due to my invest in the polycule -- both of the changes that I'm having a difficult time with directly impact the vibes and timing of the polycule, so maybe it's that. idk.

I was thrilled at our tiny glimpse of Ryma, safe (?) in the White Tower. She made it out! <3

I love how much of an Elayne-focus we got in ep2! Not quite as extensive as the Nynaeve & Egwene focuses in their respective s2 episodes but she was a huge huge part of 3x02 and I feel like we learned so much about her and her family.

Starting with! The politics of Andor being more cutthroat immediately reminded me of how the nobility of Seanchan and the Imperial family operate. I gasped when she ordered the throats cut of all the noble heads of house but definitely understood why (politically) -- the men can't inherit the Lion Throne. Ouch that all three of those ladies had male family members ready to stab them in the back to save their own lives. I'm guessing we're also setting up a contrast to how Elayne will go about her own Succession.

Elaida crowning Morgase -- I feel like we can tick off that box on the "unexpected ship vibes" bingo!

I really liked the way they protrayed the family dynamic of the Trakands (and they did introduce Galad "of House Trakand", I'm pretty sure, so he is at least officially a Trakand in the eyes of Andor) and it was so insidious how perfectly Gaebril felt like he fit right in with them.

But yes: Galad -- the overprotective big brother who follows the rules too hard and stifles Elayne. Gaywn -- the fun middle brother that Elayne is more willing to trust because he's more relaxed and not always making her follow the rules. And Elayne -- our sheltered baby princess who is overcompensating by being a party girl now that she's had a taste of freedom.

The show also continues to make sure we know that none of these kids are virgins, lol.

Giving Sheriam's plot of Verin re: the Gray Man! Oh, I see what the show did there! They've definitely made Verin Suspicious. And Elayne and Nynaeve are duly suspicious of them. And everyone else.

And our kiddos did, once again, sneak out in the dead of night. And Siuan doesn't even have a clue where they really went, because Amico and Joiya are both offering other locations, on account of being lying liars who lie, and Elayne and Nynaeve don't feel like they can trust anyone in the Tower! So she will genuinely not have any answers to give Galad and Gawyn (and Galad has clearly already been reading some iffy material when it comes to Aes Sedai. I can't remember what the Whitecloaks special textbook is. But probably that). But Siuan also very much is the person who set them on their course, so she does bear responsibility as their 'leader' too.

I like that Min & Mat still haven't fully settled their issues and now she's had Yet Another traumatic viewing about her (putting the hanging from s2 into her little intro video was a secret sneak peek!). There's a lot of interesting meat going on in that to unpack. Oh! We definitely get our Min x Elaida space on the Unexpected Ship Vibes Bingo! That scene they had together was fantastic! Elaida in general was great but I really want a rewatch before I pick out anything in particular.

Mat's storyline continues to be the one that throws me the most curveballs, as always! They held back both the duel and the doorway longer than I had expected. I'm guessing there's a doorway in Tanchico for Mat to go through, given Min's viewing. I really enjoyed his storyline throughout the three episodes. After s2 had his emotional focus much more on Rand, it does make sense to branch out and put more weight on his relationships with some of the other Emond's Fielders (Nynaeve here, but also Perrin doing his best to try to save Mat's family).

I do find it interesting that the show hasn't made any space for Mat & Egwene to interact, especially after Egwene went on the offensive in the 'make up talk' with Rand in 1x07 about how she would TOTALLY die for Mat if need be. I mean. Maybe she would because she would die for any of them (much like Moiraine said she would have healed any of them to brush off Rand's thanks to her after she healed Mat) but they definitely are the least close out of all of the EF5. Which makes it even more interesting that Rand made fantasy!Egwene so fondly exasperated by Mat in his dream in 1x08. Rand really wishes that his bff and his girlfriend got along better.

Speaking of girlfriends!

Lanfear doing the duel tempting of Rand alongside the tormenting of Egwene really shows off both that she is very skilled in TAR and also shows us that however soft she pretends to be with Rand (willing to lie out before his feet if he says "rug", you might say. haha thrilled that particular petty bitchy line made it into the show), she is a horrible fucking person. And she's been doing this all along, it sounds like! Egwene dreams about Renna EVERY NIGHT!

It does look like we might still get our on-screen sister-wives relationship in the show, but with Bair-Rhuarc-Lian instead of Amys (for production reasons, I believe. Apparently Bair was cast first and then they hit their character limit? I don't recall the details). We'll know for certain when/if we go to Cold Rocks Hold.

Perrin's plotline feels so much like the books that I feel like I have little to say about it! I enjoyed it! I like that the apple orchard is his family's graveyard in general but that we are explaining away the absence of some actors (Tam, Abell... someone else?) by having them having safely spirited away the Aybaras to protect them from the Whitecloaks.

Very glad Faile was introduced in 3x03 and we aren't waiting until 3x05! I like their vibes already. I mean, I think I only really had an issue with them with a. the domestic violence in TSR (but we've already passed that point here) and b. the constant jealousy (we don't have Perrin's internal monologue, so we won't get this) and c. the silliest 'triangle' in the world with Berelain-Perrin-Faile (remains to be seen). Cut those things out and I find them very charming!

I find that the super-book accurate things, I don't have as much to say about!

Okay, I'm going to try to get some more sleep before I need to get ready for work!

[somekindofadeviant]

I'm so torn when it comes to Spuffsilla. Cuz I'm not opposed to poly sitches with the vamps, generally, and Spuffel certainly I'm here for. Spuffsilla, though, I'm always torn on. Much as I love Spru, I should be squeeing over Spru/anything. I've come to realise though that I don't like it if, as many Spuffsilla fans are fond of - Drusilla is the 'third', essentially, and Spuffy the 'primary' relationship. I need Sprusilla to get at least equal focus and be at least as centred, and the primary dynamic if there is one. I just can't picture a world where Spike and Dru are in a polycule/throuple and love anyone more than they love each other. Ngl, I'm primarily a Spru/Fanged Four shipper, and that affects my taste.

I'm also SUPER picky about how Dru is portrayed in fic. So that doesn't help. She's my blorbo but rather than meaning I binge on all the fic with her in that I can get my admittedly grubby little paws on, it kinda makes feel more strongly and fussier about my particular preferences XD

And lastly, I think it's just harder to sell a believable premise for. You gotta get either Dru (and depending on era, Spike) on board with being okay with white hat lovers - or you gotta get Buffy to sign up to being with a gleefully evil Dru. And then there's the jealousy issues XD. Lots of volatility!

I think maybe the premise I've seen that I'm most easily down with, is a world where instead of Dru divorcing Spike, Dru and Spike return to/don't leave Sunnydale and are both caught, chipped, and end up going to the Scoobies for help. And from there you can do a whole slow burn thing to bring Buffy into the relationship.

[kittyplushy]

Welcome! I'm Julianne / Jenkins (they/she). I am 19 years old!

🍓 I'm Julianne / Jenkins! I'm an Multi Media Art student, amateur illustrator, self shipper, and professional silly little guy (autistic)!! I am nonbinary and a lesbian :3

🍓 This is my main blog which is an amalgamation of my art, my interests, written works, and reblogs!

🍓 Mainly a self shipping blog

🍓 Hey! I have a blog PURELY dedicated to Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees. Essays, fanart, fanfics, news, everything!

🍓 pssst...my comms are always opennnn!

🍓 I'm interested in animation in general, vintage and cutesy aesthetics, toys, sweets ^_^

Main Interests: (Pink text are my special interests!)

Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Sailor Moon, Saint Young Men, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sonic the Hedgehog, Rodney Alan Greenblat works (PaRappa, Dazzeloids, mascot projects), Sanrio, The Mountain Goats, They Might Be Giants

🍰🍰My Self Ships! 🍰🍰

💐 House Guest: 💉Samantha Strong x Julianne Lucky I am not normal about them in da slightest tehehehe! main ship

💐 Stuffed Animal: 🧸Lesley x The Illustrator secondary self ship. Lesley is still a main f/o but you can blame DHMIS for being notoriously slow on any updates.

💐Sappho Suffocating: 🍰 Working on a interfandom polycule w both f/os!

I am not comfortable with sharing of any kind! I headcanon both these characters as lesbians. Do not derail!

These tags host my ramblings, writing, headcanons, and art for these ships. I also occasionally post non-specific imagines although most are targeted towards the fem!f/o demographic...

I also post. Normal BTTWNS art and analysis which you can find here! (seriously you should read this series..)

Guess this should also go without saying but PROSHIP / COMSHIP / DARKSHIP DO NOT INTERACT.

I explore heavy subject matter due to the source media of both f/os. Heavier warning for House Guest because it gets a bit intense. Please remember that none of my ships should be read as abusive. I just enjoy exploring these complex characters through hypotheticals and am only working within what the creators have stated about their personalities.

I sometimes post suggestive text/memes/art so please block tags such as [suggestive text] or [suggestive] if ur uncomfortable or a minor.

Do not also interact if you share f/os. Please just be nice! I'm still figuring out how to sort this blog up!

My askbox is always open if you wanna chat and be friends! I love you! ;O

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 18 thoughts:

Well that sure just happened

I'm fine

Noelle ate my daughter. But I'm fine. It's fine.

Her girlfriends are gonna save her!

I'm fiiiiine

Anyway, that's like, the end of the arc so there's a lot of other stuff that happens!

Taylor casually drops that she's mostly blind in conversation and Brian kinda freaks out. Understandably.

She got eye drops that she is supposed to be doing but never mentions doing them. I'm very disappointed in her. I'm also worried her eyes aren't going to ever get better.

I do love that the moment Dinah says she only has a 58% chance of going home and Taylor realizes it's because of her, she forces the situation by taking Dinah home right away. She is far from perfect, but she does have her moments.

RACHEL LET DINAH PET HER DOG!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! LOOK AT THE GROWTH!!

One of my favorite lines, when Taylor asks Dinah the chance of trouble before they go into the medical clinic "When there's trouble, it's you.  Eighty percent of the time." Just, kinda embodies the spirit of Worm I think.

I'm still fine.

Taylor sure thinks about Rachel as Rachel a lot now, instead of mostly as Bitch. GAAAAAY.

I really want to know what's on those papers Dinah left for Taylor. Triumph saw them but didn't seem to react. One might have been a message for him, since Dinah would know he would see it. Something that will come into play later maybe.

I love Parian making a giant wiener dog for everyone to ride on. Like, it is a definite upgrade in transportation from "door with glass stuck in it dragged down the street" but it doesn't have much of a supervillain vibe to it.

Noelle just starts it off with grabbing possibly the strongest cape available in Brockton Bay. At a minimum, one of the most versatile to clone. No big deal. Not like even just normal Vista could become very dangerous if she wanted to be evil.

Freaking PRT all "this is a Class A instead of a Class S cause Eidolon is a big man baby and needs to punch something all on his own to prove he's strong". Sure are helping people Alexandria. Good job. What a hero.

I think Eidolon is Bargain Bin Scion. Scion Lite. Blue Light Special Scion. A shitty version of Scion created by Cauldron basically.

Clockblocker is so fucking fascinated with Skitter it's amazing.

Tattletale made Eidolon maaaaaad! I love her.

I'm perfectly fine.

The scene with meeting the Chicago Wards, oh god I loved it so much! Skitter tells Bitch to clear the plywood out of a window and she just instantly fucking kicks it open, then a giant swarm comes in and swirls around everyone and covers Skitter, making her hair move and trailing bugs behind her like a gown, and then starts speaking with the swarm. And Tattletale waits until the perfect moment before asking the Wards their names and powers, very clearly backing Skitter up as her 2nd. Just such a "ok I was playing nice but now I need you to know who you are working with!" power move. Fucking amazing. Also it was Skitter being assisted by Bitch and Tattletale! GAAAAAAAAAAAY!! LESBIAN SUPERVILLAIN POWER POLYCULE!

I think Grace has neat powers but could have been more creative with her name. I fucking love Tecton though, assume tinker. Dude has got to love fights like this, where he is allowed to do all the property damage he wants. He'd make a good villain.

The other two are kinda neat too but they didn't last very long.

Every time they are going anywhere Bitch specifically offers Skitter a ride. GAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

I love seeing the range of power adjustments the clone Vistas get. Some are pretty basic - can do stuff from farther away or not be slowed down if a lot of people are around - but then we get ones like Paper Mario Vista and Imagine Dragons Vista, with much more wild powers.

Everyone stand back while Eidolon goes and shows us all how strong he is! God.

I'm 100% FINE.

Side effect of being blinded probably, but it is neat how good Taylor is getting at listening, and sometimes even seeing, through her bugs! Just listening in on Eidolon and Noelle from blocks away.

Imp almost gets crushed to death by Eidolon's gravity power cause she ignores warnings from Skitter to run. Sounds about right.

Noelle making rat clones and bug clones (that Skitter can't control) is fun.

Fucking projectile vomit attack suddenly! Did Noelle absorb the girl from the Exorcist??

Texas Wards kinda getting their ass kicked. (Also what the hell is going on in Texas that the whole state apparently just has the one Wards team, vs most places have a Ward team per city?)

Fight is going kinda poorly. Travelers show up to help! And then Trickster betrays everyone to feed my daughter to Noelle! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm fine.

The Most Powerful Man in the World Interlude thoughts:

Scion just really is empty in there isn't he?

Not a person, just a construct of the entities in 3 dimensional space. Sphere moving through Flatland and being seen as a circle style. No mind, just does what this guy tells him.

Duke is a very good dog.

Kevin talking about Scion 100% sounds like someone talking about a lover that has been lots of trouble for them but that they just can't quite.

Lisette is having a weird day.

I really wonder how the next Endbringer attack is going to go now that Scion has been told to kill them. Wonder if it'll be different.

Crusader Interlude thoughts:

Shockingly, it turns out that the Nazi is an asshole. News at 11.

Night and Fog were basically constructed by this Gesellschaft group. Seems like a branch of Cauldron pretending to be Nazis for more control over things. Or maybe not directly a branch of Cauldron, but they get powers from Cauldron. Maybe not related, but they make weapons, which is very much what Cauldron can do, and we haven't seen anyone else yet reliably make powers with control over the outcome.

This poor TA is having a bad day.

Taylor triggered 2 or more times in that locker. I was 100% positive of that the second the TA said "You can’t really distinguish a single trigger event from having two in quick succession." I probably should have realized this earlier.

Really curious where Theo and Aster's stories are going. I could see one or both of them being a major part of the end of the world (based on stuff from Trickster's visions on stuff from Noelle's interlude I'm thinking a 3rd or 4th generation cape might play a part in it), but I could also see them being red herrings.

Theo is upset but realistically getting abandoned and left with the PRT is the best option that could have happened to him.

Jessica Yamada Interlude thoughts:

This poor woman

Faultline Interlude thoughts:

OH MY GOD Gregor and Shamrock are super fucking cute together!!!!

Faultline is amazing and very organized and detail oriented and an assertive leader who wears a dress shirt with slacks and cowboy boots and threatens to get a bullwhip and I would really like her to tell me what to do k thx.

Not positive I would trust the minor precog abilities of Shamrock to make me Simurgh proof, but it's better than nothing.

The quarantine zone of the city of Madison is doing great!

Wasn't expecting to get to see Matroyshka again, that's neat! She should probably stop eating people but otherwise she's fun.

Faultline just not being able to stand Tattletale is wonderful. I hope they bother each other for years to come.

I like this crew, so I was not happy that they got really fucked up by Contessa. But I also want to like Contessa (as much as I can like someone who works for Cauldron) and this did make her seem really badass.

Noelle Interlude thoughts:

I'm fine.

Regent keeping up the jokes under pressure, good for him.

Finally got some good descriptions of Noelle's powers doing stuff which was very good.

I'm fine.

Also fun to see various clones and their powers.

AND THE VISION! OH MY GOD THE VISION! So much good info from that. It helped me get a much better idea of things and confirmed a lot of things I already thought. (Like Cauldron has basically hijacked an entity, more or less. Not the details on how though.)

I'm fine.

The fact that Noelle can let the god dandruff take control is interesting. Like her connection never got fully closed compared to other people. Which is what I assumed only taking half a vial did. Really curious to see if we ever get more info on Oliver.

Her Earth Bet self is like, 15 years younger. But still has the same name. Kinda wild.

I'm fine.

Also her Earth Bet dad gave her the name Echidna, which like, I get it's the mother of monsters or whatever, but I can only think of the cute adorable little creature!

I'm fine.

I obviously wish Eidolon had been able to defeat Noelle and save my daughter but him having a big sad about it not being fair that he can't get stronger is pretty funny too. I do not like the guy.

I'm fine.

I'm sure Tattletale has a plan and everything will work out.

I'm fine.

I'm 100% absolutely fine.

[zentriii]

fandom get to know me better

tagged by @autisticbokutoenthusiast [like a month ago but i accidently lost this in my drafts shh-]

three ships i like

sakuatsu - i'm always thinking about them tbh, ofc they're my no.1 sunaosakomo - i'm usually neutral on/not that into polycules but something about them compels me todobaku - i just think they're neat

first ship ever

uhhhhh katara and aang?? probablyy, i don't exactly remember lol

last song i heard

killing butterflies by lewis blissett

favourite childhood book

chicken licken the sky is falling down. was my first book ever and i used to read it to my little cousins all the time [we weren't related but you know what i mean by cousins, right?]

currently reading

house in the cerulean sea,, it's slow going but it is going !

currently watching

on my kung fu panda shit these days. dunmeshi too

currently consuming

chocolate :D

currently craving

for food? poutine, always. the good kind specifically, i went to montreal once and i will never move on in life? honestly just to graduate and get a job that pays well already, school is so tiring sometimes [still have years left of this orz]

tagging [no pressure ofc ^-^]

@neeksnicoboytoy @sleepintro @s-c-l-n @kitastapioca @ghost-faeries @peronasghosts @lenniereadsalot @goatedgreen

and anyone else who wants to !!! :>

[eevylynn]

It's ages since you posted the WIP tag game. But I am slow at catching up with things, and I'm going to ask you about 3Foxes and a Wolf now anyway!

It's cool. I procrastinated answering my asks for ADHD reasons, and @rosieposiepuddingnpie asked me about it, too.

*~*~*~*

It's a polycule of sorts involving Derek/Stiles/Void Stiles/Kira, so I don't know why I said it was only Sterek

I'm planning this more to be a series of one-shots of them being together rather than one multichaptered story.

It starts with Derek still being an Alpha

He's the one that does the claw thing on Void Stiles and ultimately got them to separate.

Derek recognizes immediately which is the real Stiles since Stiles is his anchor, so Void doesn't get away. Lydia is never kidnapped, and Void never gets control of the Oni, so Allison doesn't die.

Derek and Peter found a ritual in the Hale Vault, in one of their own bestiaries, while trying to figure out a way to save Stiles. At first they ruled it out...except because of the body separation, they're able to perform it.

The result of said ritual is that Void and Stiles are tied together physically, emotionally, and magically via multiple life forces. Stiles is connected to Void because that was his original body. Void is connected to Stiles because that's the body he created.

Without the ritual, Stiles would die, and the Nogitsune would go back to how he was prior to the split, minus Stiles's existence

After the ritual, it's painful for them to be separated for too long. This involves Void living with the Stilinskis and an "Oh no there's only one bed" situation.