#it's like having a human with a mind of a bird

[distuff]

Demon Boys' and Sharing

Featuring: : Jinu Saja, Abs Saja, Mystery Saja, Romance Saja, Baby Saja Reader: gender neutral

📍Requests

If ya enjoyed yourself and ya have some ideas for prompt please don't hesitate to send me "Ask" with your prompt and which Demon boy you want to see appear in the prompt)

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Jinu Saja

🐦‍⬛ Jinu would argue to the demon realm and back that he was not possessive of what was his... maybe just a bit. But no one, and he means no one, had the proof of this besides the Magpie and the Tiger - and both swore to secrecy. He even made them sign non-disclosure agreements, since he didn't trust the damn bird.

🐦‍⬛ However, hypothetically, if someone from the guys were to, let's say, try and pet his Tiger... Jinu really didn't know where the demonic flame came from: "You know how moody Gwi-Ma can be," he would say with an 'innocent' smile, which was always met with unimpressed expressions from the guys.

🐦‍⬛ Safe to say, when Jinu introduced you to the others with a subtle threat that regarded your safety, the guys watched with unimpressed gazes as Jinu steered you to his room - neither feeling the need to warn you about Jinu's possessive nature. Too curious to see what their 'leader' would do once you touched the Tiger.

It was late afternoon when you and Jinu were resting on the couch in the guys' living room - you against Jinu's chest as he went through the latest notes of their song belonging to their newer album, Abby, Romance, and Baby all playing UNO on the kitchen counter - when it happened. You’d dated Jinu over a month now, taking the news of him and the others being demons as well as any human - by trying to run away, no matter how good-looking he was; self-preservation was strong. You got over it like any healthy couple would, calling it a bumpy road in your relationship that strengthened it more. So, seeing the neon-blue Tiger with large eyes that seemed to stare endlessly at you - and looked about ready for the eyes to bulge out - step, or rather prowl, very slowly towards you, you both felt a bit of the natural fear, but also— "Awwweee!!" You immediately sat up with glittering eyes - ignoring the way the trio at the counter snapped their heads towards you, eagerly awaiting Jinu's reaction - as you went and let the Tiger smell your hand. The Tiger, however, just slowly moved its head down, staring at the hand unblinkingly before it slowly bumped it and, after a second, started to purr without moving its head. Feeling a little creeped out but still filled with the cuteness, you started carefully petting it, marvelling at the softness. The trio's mouths dropped as they stared at how the Tiger was now attempting to crawl onto you, with Jinu just continuing to read through his notebook with laser focus, not minding that you - and now the large cat - were occupying his lap. "Fucking bullshit," Baby muttered before putting his lollipop back into his mouth and turning to the game.

Abs Saja

💪 Abby was the least possessive out of the five of them. Unlike the others, he reacted to none of your advances. You took a piece of the street food he bought? Go at it! You want more? You took his clothes? It's fine - he has more! You snatched his phone? He doesn't even know how to work with it! Want to teach him? Abby was attached to nothing you asked for and didn't consider anything that you took from him his.

💪 At least, that’s what it looks like until you decided to do laundry day. Having been dating for a month, you basically lived with the others in their shared apartment, where it was normal for yours and Abby's clothes to be just dumped together in one laundry basket and be done with - besides the underwear, of course. You were not that close... yet.

💪 So, imagine Abby’s surprise when he walked into his room and saw you holding what once was a gently woven bracelet that he had kept with him from his era before he was taken to the demon realm and chained by Gwi-Ma, now innocently being held in your hands - all destroyed.

💪 You looked confused when you glanced at him before your eyes widened. Abby didn’t know what he looked like as he silently walked towards you. He could only focus on holding onto the boiling anger that was fighting to seep through.

💪 Abby was silent when you gently handed him what once was his bracelet, gifted to him for 'luck'. He stayed silent when you walked past him, having to feel the tension seeping from him. He stayed silent once you gently shut the door behind yourself.

💪 Only then did Abby allow himself to let his demonic form take over, as his hands burned - setting the useless piece of strings on fire, leaving only a few ashes in his hands that easily fell down as he opened his palm, eyes cold as he watched it fall on the carpet below.

A few days had passed with radio silence between you and him. Abby didn’t know what to text you, what to tell you, what to do if he saw you - so, guessed it was a good thing you two had some space between each other. At least that was what Mystery was telling him while Abby was being held by the other three as he was currently trying to crawl towards the entrance door to go and track you. Demon senses be finally useful for other shit than smelling the lust on his fans or feeling itchy when wearing nothing but silk. "For the love of - stop squirming!" Jinu bit at him as he sat on his back together with Romance, while Baby was trying - and failing - dragging him back by his legs. "The pain, the sorrow, the tragedy!" Romance wailed as he placed his hand on his forehead dramatically, leaning back before he blinked and looked at Mystery with a deadpan expression, "What happened again?" he asked, all but disinterested. Before Mystery could answer, the entrance door clicked open, freezing the five of them in place and making the Tiger slowly tilt his head, causing the Magpie to squawk from nearly falling. When Abby saw you walking in with hesitation but a sense of determination - as you seemed to be clutching something to your chest - Abby all but easily got up, throwing down Romance and Jinu who flailed as they fell on the floor, glaring nastily at Abby, who ignored all of them as he all but sprinted towards you. Before you could react, you were suspended in the air as Abby twirled you with a large grin before gently setting you down and hugging you to his chest, nuzzling into your hair and taking in your sweet and savoury scent. The two of you ignored the guys shuffling and Baby’s gagging noise as they walked further into the apartment, leaving the two of you. After a moment, though, you tried to get out - which Abby was not making easier. "Abby, hold up—I... I have something for you..." you said, trailing off a bit, but it was enough to pique Abby's curiosity. Letting you go, Abby blinked down at you as you seemed to be gathering courage before you finally presented to him what you were holding to your chest. It was a messy replica of the bracelet you’d destroyed. With steady hands, Abby took it, inspecting it as you went on about how it took longer than you thought, how you paid for a course that taught this, and how you didn’t know it was from such a late era. "I mean, I just thought it was something you’d made when you were little," you chuckled sheepishly, "I didn’t know it was this old way of tying knots that was for protection—huh?" You stopped talking - cut off by the sudden hug from Abby. After a moment, you hugged him back as he nuzzled into your neck. Putting his hand on the back of your head, he pressed you further as he stared boredly at the bracelet in his hand with eyes seeping with glowing yellow and slitting a bit. A sharp grin made its way onto his face as he clutched the useless jewellery. Who cares about that shit anyway? With the painful distance you put him through, Abby realised he had something better than some bracelet. You. You were his - and he would die before he let someone destroy you, accidentally or not. You were Abby’s new ‘lucky charm’.

Mystery Saja

🐶 For such a silent being, Mystery wasn't surprised when the others thought he was... calm. Or rather, that he was reasonable. Human language was so complicated...

🐶 Mystery just chose to use his energy wisely. Teasing? Celebrating? The chaotic laughter the guys sometimes broke into in the middle of planning HUNTER/X's downfall? His desperate... puppies? What was the word Jinu said to call them— Ah... "Fans." All these, Mystery labelled as "Waste of energy," while everyone else labelled him as "Cool and Collected." ...Haaah.

🐶 It was Baby who first saw him snap. Mystery thought it was useful that the youngest of the demons saw him, as Baby was blunt to his very core and wouldn't make stuff up, unlike Romance or Abs. But he was gossipy enough to say it to others, unlike Jinu, who would keep it to himself.

🐶 It was only the two of them, as the other three were asked to join some body contest among other boybands, not needing all five of them. Baby was openly bored, and Mystery was openly ignoring him. That is, until Baby dragged himself to his bookshelf - neatly organised by genre and book title - and was about to pluck one from the Dark Noir section.

🐶 The only thing that saved the other one from having his fingers bitten off was his abnormal reflexes, as he sidestepped with bulging eyes, hand moving up and fingers twisting into sharp claws aimed at the danger - before Baby jerked, locking his demonic eyes with Mystery’s glowing ones peering up at him over his fringe. They were slitted horizontally, unlike the other demons, whose eyes slit vertically.

🐶 Mystery was crouched, a low growl vibrating from his chest as Baby watched the two upper canines grow, twisting out from his lips. There was a silence before Baby took a step back and relaxed his hand, his eyes seeping into dark steel blue as he scoffed - making Mystery ease and let his human form take over once more as he slowly rose.

🐶 Baby gave him a once-over before he huffed, turning to leave and flipping him off with his back to him. Mystery watched over his bangs before calmly returning to the couch to continue reading.

Baby, being the unfortunate victim, the young demon was all but traumatised by his senior, staying clear of that bookshelf from that day onwards. So... imagine the younger’s surprise as he slowly ate the disgusting cereal that tasted like wheat with milk he wanted to throw out - but couldn’t, because you, a human Mystery had taken as a pet, were here. Baby couldn’t even turn and glare at you as you were doing Gwi-Ma knows what, while Mystery sat near you reading - releasing the oppressive aura the guys found he had been holding back when you first showed up. Everything was relatively peaceful until you started to whine about having nothing to read. Mystery tilted his head, attention focused on you with piercing eyes through the thick fringe that Jinu said should be kept hidden for their bright intensity. He may have messed up a bit on the transformation he guessed. Mystery rested his hand with the book on his lap so you would see he was attentive to you, listening as you explained how you’d tried reading all sorts of books - even fics! - but none had caught your interest. He listened further as you described what sort of book you felt like reading and, without hesitation, he answered in a steady voice, "The twelfth row from the top - use the stepping stairs over there," he pointed first at his bookshelf, then at the hidden wooden stairs at the very end, before continuing - neither of you paying attention to the choking noises coming from Baby in the kitchen - "In the ‘O’ section, the book with the deep blue spine and silver letters. That one should be good for you." Mystery felt his hand twitch as you beamed at him, brushing his side strands - and thus brushing his cheek - with your gentle hand. You thanked him as you stood up and went to search for his book he’d described, all the while watching you sort through his bookshelf. Seeing all that belonged to him so close to one another made him roll his shoulders, and he straightened - releasing more of his demonic energy from how pleased he felt - followed by the sound of something, or someone, hitting the floor in the background. Your head finally snapped towards the sound, and with widened eyes you called out, "Oh my God, Baby!" All the while, Mystery only kept his eyes on you - his hair parting as he followed your hurried footsteps to look at the younger, revealing one of his eyes with a horizontal slit that expanded into a black moon.

Romance Saja

🌹 Romance was openly possessive. He saw no shame in protecting what was his. This also kept him away from the unnecessary stressful experiences where he would have to threaten one of the guys if they tried taking something of his.

🌹 It was just that easy! Romance always shook his head at the others' antics when one took or touched something of another, leaning away when he saw a wrinkle appear on one of their foreheads - prepping himself that day for some ‘spa time’ for himself and whichever member had such an imperfection on his face.

🌹 So, when you caught his attention and began to... date him - was that the new term that humans called the betrothal phase in the modern world? Jinu did say something on this topic, but Romance only remembers fixing his hair so it wouldn’t lose volume. ...Where was he...

🌹 Ah! Him, with you.

So when you started to become part of his routine and thus his life, you really believed you were getting any ‘special treatment,’ darling?

Flushed skin was one of Romance’s favourite sights, he thought, as he trailed a clawed finger over the bite marks on the back of your shoulder and arm, until he laced your fingers together and brought them to his lips - nibbling carefully with the set of sharp teeth that were a far cry from those in his full demon form. What was the point of hiding his true nature from you when you began dating, when he knew showing it would lead him exactly where the two of you were now? The two of you snuggling, your back against his chest, and coming down from such a satisfying moment. That is, until you began to stir - and Romance saw no reason not to let you go, curious to see what you were trying to do. Kiss him? Be the one to hold him? Another round, perhaps? Seems like neither, as he watched you, like a curious cat, rise. Still on his bed, you moved to the edge, with Romance following to see what you wanted to— A deep growl resonated through his room, freezing you as you reached down to take the shirt he wore today - the one you took off him before falling under his masterful hands that reshaped you each time. With owlishly wide eyes, you turned to him as he watched you with narrowed ones, no doubt dark carmine now overtaken by glowing gold and slitted pupils. His mouth was partly open, flashing his sharper teeth as his clawed hands dug into the duvet. He only stopped growling when you finally got the message and moved away. He huffed, watching as fear gave way to what could only be described as a mix of disappointment and hesitation on your face. Your eyes were turned downward, which Romance did not like. Gently, he placed a clawed finger under your chin and brought it up, his nose barely brushing yours as his golden eyes glowed, the slits expanding a bit as you locked eyes with him - his grin sharpening dangerously. “Silly human~” he cooed, brushing your cheek and placing his hand below your ear as he leaned forward, lips brushing yours as he spoke, "Can’t remember me telling you not to touch what is mine?" he all but growled the last word before devouring you that night once more. A few weeks after, Romance could still sense some longing from you. He didn’t understand the need for humans these days to share their clothes with their other half, but oh well… so be it. On that day, he went and bought you two matching sets of clothes. Teasingly dangling them in front of you, Romance told himself this set would be the first and the last. However, when you squealed and all but jumped on him - hooking your legs around his midsection before jumping off, grabbing your part of the set, and running into his room to change - only to come back in the colours he chose for you, Romance all but started cataloguing all the types of clothing you’d need. Romance still didn’t understand the notion of sharing clothes with your partner - dare he say humans were foolish in this day and age - as seeing you in the clothes he picked for you made him feel more like he claimed you than you wearing what was his.

Baby Saja

🍼 Baby could give two shits about the guys taking something of his. Jinu wanted to use his hairbrush? Go wild. Jinu should make sure he wouldn’t find a strand of black hair on it, though. Otherwise, Baby would plug the iron-pointed teeth of the brush and perfectly align it on Jinu’s mattress in a way he wouldn’t notice until bedtime.

🍼 Romance dressing him up and throwing out the clothes he bought for him? Hands raised - Baby would listen, not really caring as long as Romance left him alone for the rest of the day.

🍼 Abs lost another toothbrush? Here. But Baby wasn’t responsible for the spicy taste it had when he handed it to the tall demon. And Mystery wanting the cookie one of the braindead humans… cough, fans, gifted him with yet another baby bottle? ...Here. He’d give it, as long as Mystery got rid of that cursed bottle.

🍼 So no. Baby was not possessive, materialistic, territorial, or whatever other fancy word humans decided to use to describe the simple need to keep their deluded autonomy. Baby had none of that. He knew who and what he was - he didn’t need anything to prove it.

🍼 That was until you came into the picture. You were no different from the other humans - just another soul for Gwi-Ma to consume... or at least in the beginning. The closer you got, the more Baby wanted to keep your vibrant soul all for himself. They were allowed by their King to eat a few of the souls themselves, after all... not that you needed to know. Knowing he was a demon was enough for you - a selfish decision that allowed him to ease up some of the illusion and harness more energy, as well as be with you.

🍼 However, as a human once himself - and not that long ago turned demon too - Baby should have remembered humans were far too greedy~

It was just the two of you, the others having gone out, and since you refused to tag along, why should Baby bother? He was resting between your legs, sucking on a lollipop, watching some shitty story on that slim box Jinu called the “TV” - and the story a “movie with actors” - while you were doing your own thing. Baby didn’t move much when you stood up, telling him you needed some sugar to keep going. He hummed as he sucked on the lollipop, imagining it was the bitter-sweet taste of a human soul instead of the pungent medicine - sweet devotion and bitter fear - just like he liked it. He busied himself by commenting on the movie and how badly the humans played their part - until he suddenly stopped, mouth parted, the lollipop hanging loosely from his lips. His eyes widened in sharp alertness as his canines lengthened, easily cracking the candy between his teeth as his jaw snapped shut. His ears strained as he heard the faint sound of the glass cap being moved. Within seconds, Baby had your chest pressed against the kitchen counter, his own chest firm against your back, one hand gripping your wrist - the one holding the glass lid from the jar that held multiple lollipops. Even if Baby’s grip bruised, your fear of what he might do if the glass cap broke was stronger, and you didn’t let go. You saw Baby’s other hand - claws extended - near your face, as he leaned over, growling warningly into your ear, the vibration in his chest trailing down your spine. “Drop… it,” Baby growled, his already deep voice dipping lower, causing you to shut your eyes and obey. But instead of a shattering sound, your wrist was released. Cold air hit your flushed skin, and the second Baby’s chest moved away from your back, you immediately straightened and backed away - putting distance between yourself and the man- demon. You held your slightly burned wrist in your other hand, chest rising and falling, watching as Baby carefully placed the cap back onto the jar. Before he could turn, you followed your instincts and sprinted out of the guys’ apartment, praying he wouldn’t follow - needing time to process what had happened. Baby was not impressed. Three whole days without your attention. Instead, it was Romance, Abs, Mystery, Jinu - damn, even the stupid-looking chicken with that cat got your affection. All but him. He was not pouting, fuck you. How dare you still come to their apartment and ignore him - and for what? For him telling you - politely, mind you - to keep your hands off what was his? Baby’s glare hardened as he stood in the kitchen behind the bar counter, but you were too busy petting Jinu’s creepy cat that he’d somehow found down in the demon realm. Baby huffed when, instead of your gaze, he met the tiger’s unblinking stare - one that seemed to pierce through his hollowed chest. He looked away, eyes landing on the stupid jar that caused all of this. Fucking petty human, he growled internally, stepping forward and ignoring the hollow ache tugging him towards you - the urge to jump on you and demand why, why, whywhywhy! Instead, Baby grumbled as he walked over and snatched the cursed glass jar from its place, turning towards the living room.

Once his shadow fell over you, you froze - which made Baby frown. It was becoming painfully clear you weren’t ignoring him because of the jar - and that made him want to both shatter the jar in his hands and fall to his knees to rip his hair out, trying to understand what he did wrong when nothing he did had felt wrong to him. But instead, Baby slowly crouched down, head bowed, eyes staring at the lollipops in the jar. With a steady voice, he spoke. “Here,” he said simply, holding the jar out to your back. He didn’t know what expression you wore, but he knew you hadn’t moved. Still, he remained in place, having no other idea how to show that he meant no harm - that he was… “Mianhae…” he said, instead of just thinking it, his voice quiet. Baby started to grit his teeth, embarrassed at the slip, until he felt your fingers - warm and gentle - wrap around his where they held the jar. His head snapped up, eyes wide and doe-like, meeting your soft gaze - and in that moment, he straightened a little, like a sunflower stretching toward the sun’s first beam of light after a long, cold night. Baby was not possessive, materialistic, or territorial - or any other fancy term. But… He recognised attachment. The kind he felt towards the others, towards the sweets on sticks he enjoyed from the human world - even if they did taste awful - and most of all, towards you. So, when you suddenly withdrew from him, it felt like a piece of himself had gone with you. As you happily enjoyed one of his lollipops - after agreeing that you could take one only after asking - Baby rested his head on your shoulder like a pillow, while the others were in their rooms or out - alive, judging from the demonic waves subtly wafting in between the honmoon. Baby nuzzled deeper into your neck, feeling your soul’s steady thrum, and comfortably sank into the realisation that- You were now part of him, too.

[jedi-luca]

Head Over Feet: Chapter Seven This Kiss

Summary: You didn’t know Dina before she came back to Jackson. She’s guarded, jaded, and carrying the weight of too many goodbyes. Now you can’t stop thinking about her. It’s a slow burn, and you’re patient… but will she ever let down her walls? Or will someone else reach your heart first?

Pairings: Dina x GN!Reader slowburn

warnings: spoilers if you haven’t played the game or seen the show. Slowburn 🔥❤️‍🔥

Previous Chapter

The sun had warmed the valley by late morning, burning off the last of the mist. Jackson came alive in these hours dogs barking, kids chasing each other between greenhouses, laundry lines swaying with wind-dried shirts.

You sat cross-legged in the grass outside the house, showing Charlie how to braid a daisy chain. Lili sat nearby, watching the two of you with a soft smile, while Mr. and Mrs. Cooper unpacked a modest lunch on the porch steps.

Charlie’s brow furrowed in concentration. “It keeps falling apart.”

You gently repositioned her hands. “You’re pulling too tight. Gotta be patient with it.”

Lili leaned over, offering a fresh daisy. “Try this one, bug. It’s got a long stem.”

Charlie looked up at her, grinning. “You’re good at this.”

“She’s always been good with messy things,” you said, glancing at Lili. “Art projects. Broken toys. Me.”

Lili met your eyes and held them for a second longer than necessary. “You weren’t broken.”

You gave her a little smile, quiet but warm.

Mrs. Cooper handed over a Tupperware full of peeled apples and peanut butter. “You still hate crusts, Y/N?”

Charlie gasped. “You hate crusts?”

“I don’t hate them,” you said, mock-offended. “I just respect the rest of the sandwich more.”

Mr. Cooper chuckled. “Some things never change.”

Lili added, “They used to hand me their crusts at lunch like I was a human trash can.”

Charlie wrinkled her nose. “That’s gross.”

“Character-building,” you teased.

For a while, it was just simple: apples passed between fingers, sun on your face, Charlie showing off her daisy bracelet to anyone who would look.

Then Lili asked, softly, “Do you ever think about your parents here?”

You looked down at your lap, fingers stilling.

“I do,” you said. “They would’ve liked this place. My mom loved birds; she’d have planted something for every kind. And my dad would’ve fixed every busted window in Jackson, probably would have been head of patrol.”

Lili was quiet.

You didn’t mind.

You kept your voice soft. “They tried so hard to prepare us. Our cabin was full of backup plans. But they never expected me to have to carry everything alone.”

Charlie crawled into your lap with a piece of bread in her hand. You kissed the top of her head and held her a little tighter.

“Your parents and brother would have been very proud of everything you’ve done here. They were good people.” Mr. Cooper says gently squeezing your shoulder.

You looked up. And Lili was watching you not with pity, but with that same grounded awe she’d had as a kid, like somehow you always made her believe in things again.

Mrs. Cooper smiled from the steps. “You’ve built something beautiful here and you’re raising a beautiful little girl.”

Charlie beamed. “I have two houses now!”

You laughed. “That’s right. And too many people sneaking you snacks.”

Charlie blinked up at Lili, then at her parents, a soft furrow between her brows.

“Did you know my mommy and daddy?” she asked.

Lili’s smile flickered, caught off guard. “Yeah, sweetheart. I knew them.”

She looked at Mr. and Mrs. Cooper for help.

“I remember your daddy when he was your age,” Mrs. Cooper said kindly. “He was always chasing your mommy around, always with dirt on his face.”

Charlie smiled a little. “My mommy?”

“Hmhm she lived next door to your daddy that’s how they fell in love.” Mrs. Cooper smiled lovingly

“She had the sweetest voice,” Lili added.

Charlie nodded solemnly, like she was trying to hold those details tight in her mind. “I think I remember her hair. It was soft like mine.”

You swallowed, something catching in your chest.

“And what about Y/N’s mommy and daddy?” she asked. “My grandma and grandpa?”

The Coopers exchanged a glance.

“They were good people.” Mr. Cooper said softly. “But I remember her mom made the Spaghetti I’ve ever had. And her dad?” He chuckled. “Your grandpa could scare off a mountain lion just by looking at it.”

Charlie’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Swear it,” he said, hand on his heart.

Charlie looked back at you. “Do you think they all miss me?”

Your breath caught.

You cupped her cheek gently. “They never stop.”

Charlie leaned against you, quiet now, little fingers twisting the hem of your shirt.

Lili reached over and rested her hand lightly on your knee. You didn’t look at her right away, but you didn’t pull away either.

And in the warm quiet, surrounded by a patchwork family stitched back together by time and grief and love, you let yourself wonder…

Maybe this was how healing started.

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Lili wasn’t living with you, but she might as well have been leaving a sweater on your chair, coffee mugs in your sink, little things like spare hair ties and half-used tubes of lip balm on your bathroom counter.

She liked to read next to you while you worked on repairs. She’d sit cross-legged on the couch, flipping through whatever old paperback she’d found in the library, occasionally interrupting to read you a line she liked.

Sometimes you cooked. Sometimes she did.

Once, you caught her slow-dancing alone in your kitchen to a record she found buried in your cabinet. She pulled you in without hesitation. You hadn’t danced like that goofy and loose, laughing into someone’s neck. She couldn’t keep her hands off you and vice versa.

And when she said, “This feels like something real,” you didn’t answer. You just kissed her again, because you felt it too and didn’t trust the way your voice would shake if you tried to say it out loud. You were in so deep you never brought up Canada.

There were still questions you hadn’t asked.

How long would she stay?

Where would she go?

What would happen to this, to you? When her family moves on?

You hadn’t said it, and neither had she.

But it hung there.

Every time her mom talked about their route to Canada. Every time Lili curled closer to you at night looking at you like she wanted to freeze time.

Still, you didn’t press it.

Because it was good. It was better than good. It was the kind of thing you didn’t want to break with heavy conversations or stupid expectations.

You weren’t naïve. You knew this might end.

But it didn’t feel like a fling. Not even close.

You’d loved Lili once, in the way that a teenager does — shy glances, passing notes, that electricity when your hands accidentally touched.

But now?

Now you were starting to fall in love with her as the person she’d become. As the woman who saw your scars and didn’t flinch. Who listened when you couldn’t find words. Who kissed your shoulder when she thought you were still asleep.

It was scarier than you expected.

But also… it made you feel alive again.

🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄

Lili’s fingers traced soft circles on your forearm as the two of you lay on the bed, half-covered in the glow of the window, half-wrapped in the hush of dusk.

You thought back to Cam picking up Charlie earlier.

“I’m betting on you losing it tonight. If I win I don’t have to do laundry for a month.” Can smirked, leaving with Charlie.

“You’re quiet,” she murmured, brushing her thumb along the inside of your wrist.

“I’ve been thinking..”

“About?”

“About you.” you whisper, turning on your side.

“Dangerous,” she teased, and you smiled faintly.

She leaned in, kissing you slowly, like she had all the time in the world. And maybe, in that moment, she did.

“I want you, Lili.” you said, voice barely audible.

Lili stilled, lifting her head to look you in the eye. “Are you sure?”

You nodded, breath catching. “I’ve never done this before, but I'm in love with you.”

She kissed you again, this time with something deeper, reverent, patient, grounding. “I think I’ve loved you since we were kids.” She whispers.

It was perfect to you. It wasn’t choreographed. There were nerves and laughter and quiet moments of hesitation. But none of it mattered. She guided you through it with nothing but love. Because with her, it felt right. Safe.

The sounds of her moans spurred you on and on. You wanted to hear every whimper, every sigh, groan and moan from here on out. Mapping every inch of her body.

After, you lay tangled in the sheets, chest to chest, her fingers combing gently through your hair. You didn’t say anything, didn’t have to. Curled up in your arms like she understood the weight of what had passed between you. Like she wasn’t going anywhere, not tonight.

And for the first time, you felt like you’d stepped into something new. Something whole. Something real.

The morning after, you woke first.

For a long moment, you just stared at the ceiling, listening to the hush of the room. The soft, steady breathing beside you, the rustle of sheets when she shifted, the quiet creak of the house settling.

Lili was still asleep, tangled up in your blankets, half on her stomach with her face turned toward you, blonde hair fanned across your pillow.

You felt weightless and strong all at once.

There wasn’t a single part of you that regretted it.

You didn’t feel different, exactly not the way movies or books made it seem. But you felt anchored. Seen. And when you looked at her again, you felt calm in a way that hadn’t existed in you for years.

You brushed a piece of hair from her cheek. She stirred, eyes fluttering open.

“Hi,” she smiled, voice raspy with sleep.

“Hey.”

A pause.

“Last night wasn’t a dream, was it?”

You shook your head.

She smiled wider. “Good.”

You leaned in and kissed her as she giggled, slow and warm. It felt easy now. Familiar.

Like this was always where you were supposed to be.

She made you breakfast and coffee barefoot in your shirt. You kissed her shoulder just because you could. She smiled without looking up.

You were in love with her.

And it didn’t feel confusing, or unfinished, or like something you were chasing after. It felt like something that had found you. It truly felt like a love story unfolding, and to the town it was.

It started with a kiss.

Not the nervous kind. Not the careful, aching first one by the fire.

But the one a few days later, in the middle of Jackson’s main road, when Lili pulled you toward her and kissed you in front of everyone quick, soft and sure, like she’d never known hesitation. Her fingers curled around yours like she meant to keep them.

And you let her.

You smiled into her mouth.

And the town noticed.

It spread faster than news ever should. Whispers behind tomato crates. Smirks passed between kitchen staff. A few knowing nods from people you barely talked to.

But none of it mattered. Not really.

Because Lili looked at you like she knew your soul. And every time you touched her, the noise faded.

You rode into town with her hands around your waist, her chin resting on your shoulder. You split peaches on your porch, juice sticky on your fingers, her laugh easy and unbothered in your ear.

You’d never had something like this.

Never known what it felt like to be chosen out loud.

She reached for your hand during dinner. Called your name like it was a love song. Rested her forehead against yours at the stables and kissed you like there wasn’t a crowd nearby watching it all unfold.

And Charlie adored her.

She held Lili’s hand like she was made to fit there, all tiny fingers and soft trust. The three of you walking home from the mess hall felt like a picture you never thought would exist for you — warm, full, right.

Lili braided her hair on the porch. Read her stories at night. Kissed her on the forehead like she’d known her forever.

You didn’t want to think too hard about how fast it all came together.

You didn’t want to ruin it by asking how long something this beautiful could really last.

Still, you noticed Dina.

Not at first. Not in those first flushed days, when your world had narrowed to warm hands and sunlit bedsheets and the way Lili whispered your name when she thought you were asleep.

But then… little moments.

You caught her once in the market, standing behind a cart of squash, her eyes on the two of you like she’d forgotten what she came there for.

You passed her by and smiled. Just a small thing — polite. She didn’t smile back.

Another time, at the stables, she walked in mid-laugh, mid-kiss, mid-something private between you and Lili. And you felt it. That flicker. That pause.

She didn’t say anything. Just turned, and left.

It started to happen more.

You’d feel her eyes on you in the mess hall. Out on the field. After patrol. Nothing was said but you could feel her pulling back, pulling in, like she was quietly making herself smaller.

You didn’t know what to do with that.

You had everything now. The love you’d waited for. The sweetness of being wanted back. It felt unfair to mourn someone who’d never really been yours.

But sometimes when Lili was asleep and the fire was low you’d remember the sound of Dina’s voice when she said she wasn’t ready.

And wonder. Could you have felt this way if it was her instead?

🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄

Dina noticed a difference in you Not all at once, but in the way you carried yourself. The quiet peace in your face, the way your eyes didn’t search the crowd anymore.

She felt like she was an audience member watching a storybook romance come to life. The whole town talked about how cute and picture perfect you and Lili were together.

How could they not? You; this perfect dreamboat of a person and Lili a sweet blonde green doe eyed girl that made you lovesick.

Dina saw you walking through Jackson with Lili’s hand in yours. Saw you play with Charlie together, whispering and laughing about something no one else knew.

And it hit her one morning in the market when you passed her and smiled but nothing more.

You had truly moved on. You had given Lili something so sacred and not just your virginity but your heart.

And she hadn’t realized how tightly she’d been holding onto the idea that you wouldn’t.

She thought back to the moment she found out it was the last time she spoke with you.

A few weeks back

It wasn’t supposed to come out like that.

Cam had swung by the stables to grab some supplies. Dina was there, brushing down her horse, sleeves rolled up, brow sweaty from patrol. The two hadn’t talked much lately, not since the last town hall where things got heated over security detail. Still, there was a loose familiarity between them. The kind that lingered even when you weren’t feeling especially friendly.

“Hot out,” Cam offered, grabbing the reins beside her.

Dina nodded. “Yeah.”

They worked in silence for a bit. Just enough for Cam to let her guard down.

“You hear about the infected run near the old tracks?” Cam asked.

Dina shook her head.

“Y/N and Lili handled it. Took down ten, cleared the entire tunnel. No backup.”

Dina paused, just briefly, before continuing her work. “Of course they did.”

Cam side-eyed her. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Cam let out a soft whistle. “You’re never ‘fine’ when you say it like that.”

Dina’s jaw ticked. “Why are you telling me this?”

“No reason,” Cam said with a shrug. Then, too casually: “Just… damn. You’d never know that was their first week together. They work like a team. Maybe it’s all the… practice.”

Dina blinked. “What kind of practice?”

Cam froze. Shit.

“I mean-” she started to walk it back. “Nothing. Just-”

“You mean sex,” Dina said flatly.

Cam winced. “I didn’t say that.”

“But you meant it.”

Cam blew out a breath. “Look, I figured you knew. Y/N told me after it happened. It was… special. Not just sex. Like, real. The kind of first time people hope for.”

Silence.

Dina’s hands stopped moving. Her fingers curled tightly into the reins.

She nodded once. Too slow. Too controlled.

“I see.”

Cam backpedaled hard. “Hey Dina come on. I wasn’t trying to be cruel. You’re the one who told Y/N they deserved a better first time, remember?”

“I still said no,” Dina said, voice sharp now, low and bitter. “Even if I wanted to say yes.”

Cam hesitated. “Then maybe it’s good they’re with someone who wanted to say yes back.”

That was the wrong thing to say. Dina stepped back from the horse, stiff.

“I have to go,” she muttered, grabbing her pack.

“Dina…”

But she was already walking off. She didn’t turn back.

Later that evening you found Dina sitting on the edge of the greenhouse steps, half-shaded, legs stretched long across the stone path. The afternoon rain had passed, leaving the air thick and soft, the smell of wet leaves still clinging to everything.

She didn’t look up when you approached.

“Hey,” you offered gently.

“Hey.”

You sat beside her, keeping a bit of distance. The silence hummed between you. She was peeling a pear with a knife, slow and methodical. She handed you a slice without looking.

“Thanks.”

A bird chirped somewhere overhead. You watched it flit between the branches, trying to read her face from the corner of your eye.

“You okay?” you asked.

She shrugged. “Long patrol. Cam got on my nerves.”

You hesitated. “She say something?”

Dina paused. Her knife slowed for half a second.

“Nothing important.”

You nodded, but you felt the shift. Something had cracked between you, something small but sharp. You didn’t know what she’d heard—but you knew enough to suspect.

She finally glanced at you. Her eyes weren’t angry. Just… tired. Guarded.

“You seem happy,” she said softly.

You blinked. “I… yeah. I guess I am.”

She gave a hollow smile, then looked away again. “That’s good. You deserve that.”

You swallowed. “Dina…”

“Don’t,” she said, too fast. Then quieter, “Don’t say anything kind right now.” Her voice wavered on the edge of crying.

You sat back, hands curled on your thighs. “Okay.”

A moment passed. Then she whispered:

“Did you ever think about what it would’ve been like if she didn’t show up that day? After I poured my heart out?”

You looked at her. Her eyes filled with unshed tears. But her voice trembled like something had broken loose and she didn’t know how to catch it.

“I did,” you said honestly. “Of course I did.”

That made her inhale sharp through her nose.

“I told myself I was protecting you,” she murmured. “But maybe I was just scared.”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t need to.

She looked down at the slice of pear in her hand, untouched. Then she set it aside and stood.

“I should go. I told JJ we’d read before bed.”

You nodded.

“Dina-“

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

She didn’t wait for you to respond.

And this time, you didn’t stop her.

Next Chapter

[ardently-verdandi]

verdandi's love and deepspace archive

— my favorite sylus fan fictions

(last updated 2025.06.26)

roomie!sylus au by @comatosebunny09

and then they were roommates (main fic)

sylus takes up an online ad for a roommate

roomie sylus caring for you while you're on your period

getting roomie sylus to help you build your first pc

cooking for roomie sylus

conversation in the kitchen the morning after you and roomie sylus have gotten more cozy

roomie sylus giving you explosive, mind-alternating head in his bed

trying with all your might to wrench open a pickle jar, but it’s not budging.

roomie sylus offering to do the laundry

movie night with roomie sylus

movie night with roomie sylus pt.2

domestic roomie sylus

jealous roomie sylus

you’re at a friend’s house for an impromptu party

you come home from work to see him packing

water balloon/gun fight with the neighborhood kids that results in sylus using you as a human shield

roomie sylus putting dishes away in an overhead cabinet and his shirt rides up

roomie sylus' reaction to us climbing on top of the counter

roomie sylus being your wedding date

model/artist au by @blessdunrest

prologue

you only need to ask

nebula

to be cherished, to be held, to be loved - @blessdunrest

never will i let you go - @blessdunrest

here we go again - @blessdunrest

i see you - @terriblesoup

the things she spoke into being - @terriblesoup

passing through - @terriblesoup

the red-eyed stranger - @peascribbles

safe in your hands - @peascribbles

go on, cry for him - @peascribbles

deliveries in the n109 - @peascribbles & @thechaoticarchivist

club onychinus - @aethercoreheart

vampire!sylus | just a bite - @aethercoreheart

vampire!sylus headcanons - @mwphisto

sweet temptations - @mwphisto

bloodlust - @humanjarvis

mr. magician - @humanjarvis

the world when you're with me - @humanjarvis

if i were your boss - @humanjarvis

serenade - @humanjarvis

you’re injured during a car shoot out and try your best to hide it from sylus - @frogbogus

he was what the water promised - @sylus-shivanika

finding a photo of his ex - @blueivyy99

return to you - @reilemon

resonance - @catbolt

say yes to heaven - @kitimeq

risqué sketches - @rika-mmendmethings

birds don't sing - @thestarsaboveme

next door distraction - @everlastingserenitys

sweet mess - @everlastingserenitys

do i wanna know? - @everlastingserenitys

my summer disaster - @everlastingserenitys

sweet like cherry wine - @abxssalwrites

i can handle it - @cosmiic-world

my dragon - @kissandtellus

from me and the twins to you - @yapperingtinaa

sylus always answers your calls - @heartswithinreach

have you been eating pineapple? - @delirious-donna

capture my heart and frame it, won’t you? - @memephi

lads men x reader who's really into horror movies - @thestarsaboveme

when you ask him for a divorce mid-argument - @kaiist

sweet (like you) - @deepspace-scenarios

[chaoticace2005]

"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream": TADC Inspiration Analysis

I was reviewing The Amazing Digital Circus' IMDB page, as well as it's wikipedia page, and in doing so noticed the piece of trivia that the main inspiration for the show was the short story "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison, and in my curiosity I looked it up.

I have a link for the document here for anyone interested in reading, but be aware that there is mature content including mentions of NSFW, body horror, gore, and slut-shaming. But I break it down and go over parallels and implications below.

To summarize, this short story published in 1967 (which would later have a video game modeled after it) follows five humans who are trapped in a complex by a sentient AI called AM, who was created to coordinate efforts in World War III, and later become sentient (due to input by those five humans in various ways.) AM responded by exterminating humanity, leaving only those five humans behind who it/he would continue to torture for 109 years, not allowing them the freedom of death.

Off the bat you can already see some of the common themes, with humans being trapped in a world run by an AI where they are unable die. Now, we don't know what's happening outside of the game in TADC, where it is possible everyone else is simply moving on with their lives (especially since the members of TADC seemed to have joined at different times, and there is no mention of any apocalyptic happening (unless memories have been altered, which I'm not ruling out since despite Caine's assertions he can't control their minds, that doesn't appear to always be the case.)) But still, the set up for the protagonists is the same in a lot of ways, regardless of the events of the outside world.

The five humans are regularly tormented by AM (which originally stood for "Allied Mastercomputer", but then the humans later changed it to stand for "Adaptive Manipulator" and then "Aggressive Menace" (while the AI itself calls itself that because of "I think therefore I am," which is something regularly repeated to break up segments in the story (and now I'm thinking of this fan made TADC song.) The story starts with the cast seeing the blood drained, hanging corpse of a missing member (Gorrister) who then joins the group, proving the image to be a trick by AM to torment them. Later on, another member of the cast, Nimdok, says that he hallucinated seeing canned goods in an icy cave, which both the narrator (Ted) and Gorrister are dubious of given AM's propensity for tricks. Still, this is something incredibly value because one of AM's many ways to torment the cast is by starving them. The five ultimately end up going on a long, arduous quest to try and find the food, with the AI regularly throwing challenges their way like extreme winds, earthquakes, and giant birds.

Going back to TADC, in both these pieces of media we see characters chasing after a goal that is believed by others to be unattainable. Pomni (and some of the others) with the exit, and this cast with their food.

Furthermore, we see the consequence in the story of someone trying to escape, with the character Benny, who is already on the edge of sanity as is, talk about escaping, leading AM to punish him by binding him. (Consider: in this story, a character is forced into darkness, while in TADC, darkness is the only thing that appears to calm the Abstracted.)

The story ends with them being tormented by getting close to their goals, but ultimately unable to attain them (they have access to weapons to hunt a giant bird, but they aren't functional. They find the cans but there aren't ways to open them.) And in response to this, Benny ends up attacking and eating Gorrister, which causes Ted to conclude that the only true escape is death, and while AM won't let them starve or kill themselves, they are able to kill each other if the AI isn't given time to stop them. This leads to Ted killing Benny, while Ellen kills Nimdok, understanding Ted's intentions, and then letting Ted kill her. This leaves Ted alone, with AM taking its revenge by turning him into a blob that is doomed to just exist, tormented by his memories and unable to scream due to his lack of a mouth.

Now, while TADC is a psychological horror in a lot of its own ways, I am unsure that it will take quite a dark turn in its ending. But I still wanted to draw out some of the parallels that appear to exist between them, as well as how this could inform the ending.

One thing is that the cast in IHNMAIMS is five people, while in TADC it is currently believed to be six (assuming none of the NPC theories are true.) Now, this may not have any ramifications and simply be a difference in numbers, or it could point to the fact that later in the show, the cast gets cut down by a member, due to either abstraction or the reveal of an NPC amongst them (although Gooseworx has disproven the "Jax is an NPC" theory.) But ultimately this could mean is TADC, only five characters end up going on a journey to find the exit, paralleling the five characters in IHNMAIMS.

Caine vs AM. Gooseworx has said that "Digital Circus is very inspired by I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. But instead of AM being a living embodiment of hate, he's a fun-loving wacky little guy."

In both pieces of media, we have an AI that is ultimately tormenting the humans that are being held captive within its domain, but as Gooseworx said, the main difference is the intent. In IHNMAIMS, it is revealed that AM chose to keep these five humans captive and torment them because they were the ones responsible for its sentience, and in reality it is captive like they are as it is unable to die. Caine may not be doing what he is doing intentionally, but the point stands that he is held captive by his programming and responsibilities. We see his increased panic over the episodes as he realizes he may not be doing his job/purpose well, and it breaks him. We don't know if he is the one who is responsible for holding them captive, or if he's a tool made by the person truly responsible, but as of now he appears unaware of what truly is causing the humans around him distress. In the Pilot we see him play with the idea of an Exit Door without comprehending what it is the others really want. We see in episode 3 that he can't seem to compute the criticism or feedback Zooble gives him, because it's not something in his vocabulary. AM and Caine are both captors and held captive is possibly different ways, and as a result torment those they are stuck with. In IHNMAIMS, AM's fate is to basically be doomed to existence forever, the only freedom it has being to torment Ted. And it's possible Caine's fate may be similar, or they may instead subvert this by giving Caine freedom. Not by escaping the Circus, but by being able to go beyond his directive/coding, understanding the humans more and possibly even helping them at the end, since empathy appears to be a large theme in the show, and we already see with Gummigoo how non-humans grow outside of their original purpose. Another parallel between AM and Caine I wanted to point out is that of biblical imagery. In IHNMAIMS, AM is equivocated to God in a lot of ways, both in Ted's internal dialogue, and in later imagery with AM appearing in forms similar to how God appeared in religious scriptures, including a burning bush. With Caine, we have his name and the possible "Caine and Abel" reference with "C&A", as well as Loolilalu literally calling him "God" with a stained glass window in episode 2. (Plus all that angel and Hell stuff in episode 3.)

Cannibalism. Possibly no deeper meaning behind it but wanted to throw out that Benny attacks and eats Gorrister, and in episode 5 Jax attacks and tries to eat both Gangle and "Evil Jax" (albeit this is played more as a joke, and since it has previously been shown characters can't die or eat (?) the impact is a lot less than in IHNMAIMS.)

Stabbing with spikes. In IHNMAIMS, Ted and Ellen kill Benny and Nimdok (and then Ted kills Ellen) with ice spears, with Benny being stabbed by Ted just under the ribs. In episode 2, Ragatha gets stabbed with a pointy rock that penetrates the car they're driving. (Again, she is completely fine from this so the impact is clearly different, and it's more of a throw-away gag, but I wonder if this was intentional.)

The human casts:

Breaking the cast of IHNMAIMS down one by one, we have: Ted, the narrator who is cynical and often the voice of reason. The has harsh opinions about the others in the group and is convinced that they hate him. He is also the youngest of them all and does not believe he has been changed much mentally by AM compared to others. He ultimately kills the others to free them and is doomed to an existence as a blob. Ellen, repeatedly dunked on by Ted's internal dialogue, she is the only female of the cast and is viewed as a "fake slut," showing empathy and concern for the others, especially Benny, which Ted writes off as her only doing because the two sleep together. Ted is constantly skeptical of her and believes her to be often lying, with his view of her clearly skewed due to misogyny and cynicism. She is killed by Ted after she kills Nimdok. Benny, previously a brilliant theorist and college professor, Benny appears to have gone through the most amount of changes by AM, body transformed to be ape-like, and has grown insane over time. He tries to escape and is blinded as punishment, and cracks at the end of the story, cannibalizing Gorrister. Gorrister, previously a conscientious objector and peace activist, AM twisted his mind to be apathetic, lacking passion. He is the one who appears to always explain the story of the war to Benny, who regularly forgets and is calmed by the familiar story. He is cannibalized by Benny and Ted puts him out of his misery. Nimdok, given that name by AM, who likes senseless words, is the one who convinces the others to go on the quest in search of food, even though he himself is aware it could be a trick. He frequently retreats, coming back pale and traumatized. He is killed by Ellen. Going through these characters, there definitely appear to be some parallels, the most obvious in that of Ted, Ellen, and Benny. While TADC more follows Pomni, the narrator Ted definitely seems to have a perspective that more fits Jax, especially with the cynical perspective, distrust of others, and specific hatred towards Ellen, who appears to be a parallel to Ragatha. Both Ted and Jax view these respective characters as fake in their displayed compassion, although Ted does care enough to kill her in the end, hoping her look was that of gratitude. Jax and Ted are also both the youngest of their respective casts (with Gooseworx saying in a Tumblr post that Jax is 22, with the next youngest character being Zooble, who is 22 1/2.) Then with Benny, we have Kinger, both previously academics (Kinger studied computer science for 7 years), and having been driven mad by the setting they've been forced into, with a bad memory at times. Gorrister appears apathetic, similar to Zooble often is, with both also comforting those around them at times (Gorrister telling Benny the familiar story to calm him, Zooble being compassionate towards Gangle.) Pomni and Nimdok are both given nonsense names (XDDCC), pushing for quests that others view as futile, and regularly traumatized. Nimdok and Zooble also both share the similarity that they tend to separate themselves from the group a lot of the time. Gangle is one I have more difficulty finding a parallel for. Her emotions seem dictated by her masks, which makes me think about how AM altered the emotional state of Gorrister (ultimately making him care less (which reminds me of Gangle in episode 4 where she starts falling apart.) Like Gorrister, she is the one attacked and eaten by a fellow cast member (although there does not appear to be any lasting effects on Gangle's end.) Zooble, Pomni, and Gangle are ultimately harder to find direct correlates for, but in the cast of Jax, Ragatha, and Kinger, there are definitely a lot of arguments that can be made to tie them to characters from the 1967 story.

The blobs. The story ends with Ted as a blob that is aware but unable to speak or act, trapped to exist in purgatory. This could be indicative of the nature of those who abstracted and point to the fact that they are aware to some capacity and trapped in the basement, showing that this isn't "death" so much as a new form of entrapment (possibly a safeguard because the game deems them too "unstable?) (Silly thing, but in the recent ad for the costumed TADC animiniz, it has Caine being the one to turn Kaufmo into his abstracted form. This isn't necessarily canon, since Gooseworx has discussed how they are not responsible for the merchandise produced (and subsequently, likely not the marketing) but I think it's a fun little thing to consider in the context of this story.)

The ending. What could this mean? Ted's fate, freeing the others while dooming himself, could point to how the characters will escape the circus. Unlike in IHNMAIMS, characters in TADC seem unable to kill each other, and abstraction possibly traps them in a different way (see the above point), so they may genuinely have a way to escape to the real world, but if it parallels the story's ending, it may be at the expense of one of the cast members.

But the question remains: who would be Ted? One theory going around, based on the Intermission we see in episode 5, is that Kinger will have the chance at freedom, but give it up, choosing to stay behind with his wife. This is based on how when the characters are crushed by either bowling balls (Jax and Pomni) or squashed with cake (Gangle and Ragatha), Kinger grabs the bowling ball before it can fall on him, then getting knocked down by a chess piece. The other possibility I see with this is Jax, who consistently aligns with Ted in terms of character traits and would likely be the one to take the step if escape required something extreme (like how Ted killed his fellow prisoners.) Considering the idea that what is seen in the Intermission does symbolize the future for the characters, this does give interesting implications for the ending of the show. Kinger ends up in the role of Ted, staying behind, while Jax and Pomni are "squashed" and Gangle and Ragatha are "caked" (which some fans theorize to mean that Jax and Pomni escape, while Gangle and Ragatha end up abstracted, which could be the case, or could represent in another way their fates, with maybe Ragatha and Gangle having a similar fate/being paired together at the end, while Jax, Pomni, and Kinger are grouped together, but Kinger sacrifices himself for them or something. Notice that Zooble is absent though, which makes the cast only five characters, the same amount in IHNMAIMS, and could mean that they possibly aren't part of the escape for whatever reason?

Will they see the outside? In IHNMAIMS, we have the sad ending of Ted being trapped for what seems like eternity with AM, although there doesn't appear to be much waiting for him outside other than a post-apocalyptic wasteland. We never see the outside, and are subjected, like Ted, to this prison. The question then is, will we see the outside in TADC? If the others escape, will we be able to see them come to (a "better" ending to IHNMAIMS tragic one), will we be trapped with whoever remains behind, will things end with them waking up, do they have anything to wake up to (how would their bodies have been maintained? Is escape just death, like it is in the story?)

The Amazing Digital Circus is only inspired by this short story, so it's possible that only the settings mirror each other, and there are no further implications, but I wanted to explore possibilities if TADC does end up drawing more from it. There are a lot of questions left unanswered currently, and until the time comes we won't know how much TADC parallels the story of the characters in "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream."

But yeah! This took me wayyyy too long to write, and again, I have no idea how much of this will end up meaning anything, but I wanted to break this down with that knowledge that TADC was inspired by Ellison's story!

[paramortality]

Ship Sleep Dynamics

Tagged by the GORGEOUS and wonderful @redheadsramblings !! Thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about Laird as always luv. And honestly what a BEAUTIFUL excuse to repost this stunning and fitting artwork by @svanha !! (Look at how Laird looks at Emm guys, that is the LOVE of his LIFE.)

Laird × Emmrich

How often do they sleep together?

At first, they didn't. Laird was very new to relationships with the mindset of a skittish cat. But fighting two dragons, Weisshaupt, and Elgar'Nan getting into his head at Arlathan, he finally caved for one night. He'd never slept so well in his life. But then he tried to be tough about it and didn't want to "push his luck" (like he even could) and they didn't share a bed again until after he escaped the Fade Prison. Both have refused to sleep separately since. If Emmrich is in the infirmary, Laird will deadass sleep on the floor beside him until he's better (despite many protests).

Where do they sleep?

Emmrich laid on that green sofa once and said, out loud mind you, "oh certainly NOT." They've slept in Emmrich's room ever since. Emmrich had contented himself with a book nook on the upper floor of the lighthouse laboratory, and it seemed to mysteriously shift to a more accommodating size once Laird slept in it with him once or twice. Back home, they share a much more plush and sizeable bed in Emmrich's flat.

How do they prepare to sleep?

Both of them have bedtime routines that could make Narcissus do a double take. They usually share a bath unless Laird needs a moment to himself, then they reconvene after. The shared baths often come with the package deal of shoulder and foot rubs, snuggles, and cheesy silliness amongst each other in giggly whispers and bubble sculpting. And ofc comfortable silences.

Naturally, Emmrich has his collection of salves and lotions. Laird has a vast menagerie of beard oils, tattoo lotions, and salves that might one day fully heal away his top surgery scars and stretch marks (or so he hopes, despite Emmrich's constant reassurance and worship of them exactly as they are).

What do they wear to sleep?

We all know Emmrich has his gowns, though he does occasionally enjoy some silkier jewel tone pyjamas. Since Laird started sharing his bed, however, he's opted to omit wearing anything altogether some nights. It's one part sexy reasons, three parts "Laird is warm as a fucking rage demon in a human costume."

Laird hasn't acknowledged the concept of sleeping with a shirt on since getting top surgery. He also enjoys lounging in silky tops or something more of a hemp or linen feel, but when he falls into bed it doesn't come with him. Below the waist is another story, however. That's not an area he's typically having exposed. Unless Emmrich has charmed him out of them in an evening of passsion, Laird can usually be found vibing in a pair of black, sage green, or cranberry coloured harem pants. Though the warmer flannel jammy pants may make an appearance in the cooler months.

Do they cuddle?

Cuddling was a learning process for Laird. Largely because he was afraid he'd crush Emmrich like a baby bird. For the longest time, his weight insecurity would only allow him to be the little spoon, back to chest, side only. He'd panic any time he'd rolled onto Emmrich's arm or even slightly atop him or thrown a leg over him. It took forever for Emmrich to coax him into trusting he's not as fragile– nor that Laird is as heavy– as he fears.

It only took hearing Emmrich's heartbeat once for Laird to discover his favourite place on earth.

Now Laird will nest himself over Emmrich's thigh and zonk right out, head on his chest or back. On nights when Emmrich's the one in need of comfort, Laird is nothing short of the finest body pillow in all of Thedas. And nothing feels safer than the arms of a strong, husky man around him and forehead kisses that promise nothing can pry them apart and no darkness can intrude past his hold.

What are their preferred sleep positions?

Emmrich is quite often a back or side sleeper. He used to have a second pillow he insists wasn't for holding and was merely for shoulder comfort. But that pillow has conveniently been out of service since an actual cuddle bear has lumbered into his sheets.

Laird is a solid stomach sleeper. He'll turn on his side if he must, and he can fairly easily fall asleep on his back if Emmrich is atop him, but he almost always sleeps in that "rotisserie chicken" pose one might find corgis flopped in. (Google it trust me my childhood dog was a corgi it's the cutest pose ever)

How easy do they fall asleep?

Laird used to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. But he hasn't been able to do that since Weisshaupt. It usually takes him about an hour now, even with sleep aids and the comfort of His Person™ in bed with him. Though, interestingly, he's clocked out within minutes after the scant few times he's topped for certain activities...

Emmrich, for all his routine and meditation, also tends to take a while to follow asleep. The common case is he and Laird share idle chatter and pillow talk, until which he falls asleep midsentence and leaves his darling stifling giggles. The sound of him trailing off never stops being funny, really.

Do they toss and turn a lot?

Not particularly! Unless certain criteria are met, anyways. If it's hot, Laird will roll like a gas station hot dog seeking cold patches of bedding throughout the night. Emmrich in that situation tends to simply dangle an arm or leg off the bed.

Unfortunately, both of them suffer from thanataphobia. (because why have ONE Necromancer afraid of dying when you can have TWO and make them fall in love???) And sometimes when it's been plaguing them either by dream or waking hours, both get a little restless until they find each other in their sleep again. Then they settle down and fall back into a restful sleep.

Do they snore?

Thankfully no. Laird only ever snores if he's sick. In good health, however, Emmrich has occasionally had to put a hand on his side or back to feel for movement because Laird breaths a little TOO quietly in his sleep.

Emmrich's snores are more akin to idle sighs. Which is fortunate because Laird was known once to threaten to roll Davrin out of the tent as "forest fodder" for snoring obnoxiously during one particularly overstimulating night camping in Arlathan.

Who hogs the blanket?

In the beginning, both were guilty purely out of not being accustomed to sharing a blanket. Laird is largely at fault now, as he tends to "nest" in his sleep if Emmrich has rolled away.

What do they dream about?

Emmrich has borderline mastered Lucid dreaming over the years. Perusing the Fade and odd conversations with spirits. But nightmares do occasionally get in the way.

Laird, unfortunately, almost always has nightmares. And it's been that way since he can remember. More often than not, he forgets what they're about. The ones he does recall though typically involve his exile, losing Emmrich, or the horde of ghouls in Weisshaupt and Arlathan.

How easily do they wake up?

Imagine trying to wake up a dead person. Without magic or corpse whispering. Congratulations. You've got Laird. He's a very hard sleeper. While Emmrich is much gentler in his approach, Varric wasn't above hitting him with a pillow or unoccupied boot when they were on the road. Even during nightmares, he's nigh impossible to shake, scream, or smack awake.

Emmrich sleeps deeply, but can still wake at faint off noises or sudden changes in ambient brightness (like opening the curtains and the sun in his face). Too much movement can jar him, as well. It makes sharing a bed with Laird in the summer without proper room-cooling enchantments a travesty.

How awake they are afterwards?

While on the hazier end of things, Emmrich is often of the bright eyed and bushy tailed persuasion, all things considered. Give him a minute to get his morning tea and wash his face and he'll usually be chipper and relatively cognizant within the hour!

To watch Laird wake up is like watching a bear come out of hibernation. Mohawk skewed in every incorrect direction, beard matted down and cowlicked, bleary eyed, has not discovered language, and only knowing the phrases "hrnggh," "grmmrrrrh," and "nnyh?" Typically, Laird requires 1-2 business hours and some heavily concentrated espresso to become a functional, passable-as-living member of society. Once he finds a shirt, anyways. In a pinch, however, his daily brain reboot can be prodded to life a little faster if Emmrich's feeling a little frisky or you tempt him with his favourite breakfast items: either a hot pepper bagel or strawberry waffle.

Heheeheheheheehehehe this one was fun! Thanks for the tag!

Let's see... I nominate (with no pressure as always!)

@sofiemystique @yappacadaver (I would kill to hear Yumi's pov on some of these omg) @basic-x-witch @deny-the-issue @holdingontojupiter @theyearningghoul @ollypopwrites aaaand you! 🫵

Edit: @avoskorm I tagged you too but my keyboard decided to make a fool of me and just add an extra a to the dramatic and. Rude!

[fallen-w1ngs]

[ escapism : 02 ]

[ phase 02 : HUMANITY AT IT'S FINEST ]

|| pairing : 1940s!james "bucky" barnes x nymph!reader

|| warnings : nothing , i dont think? comment if im missing smth

|| wc : 3.7k

The rain was pouring in the camp. It was sad, gloomy. It made sense, though. You read up on the reports that Peggy had given you. The 107th has been through hell. Being sent to Azzano and barely 50 getting back, half of them almost half dead. And the worst part? You did some testing alongside Howard of their bloodwork. 

Seemed a handful of them were experimented on. Much like how Steve was.. But in more inhumane ways. Their blood chemistry was changed. With your magic, you were able to reverse some of it.. Some, being the keyword. Though, your hands were not as powerful as Midas’ golden touch. You couldn’t instantly make people feel better.

You stood besides Howard, your eyes reading over the papers as you flipped through them.

“This isn’t right.”

“Thanks for pointing it out, Captain Obvious.”

“Are you always such a- a dick?” You stammered over your words as you remembered the insults that Peggy had taught you. You’d called someone a robin before, insulting how he’d acted aggressively. Much like how the bird is, though the bird had good reasons, being territorial and such. 

“Wow, I’m surprised you know that one, fairy.” Howard chuckled as he pushed his goggles up. While you were reading over the reports, he was working on.. Well, whatever he was working on.

“How many times have I told you not to call me fairy?”

“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t care?”

The both of you glared at each other intensely before breaking eye contact and scoffing simultaneously.

“When’s Peggy back?”

“You miss your mama?” “Oh my goodness, Stark, I am over 80 years older than her.”

“You’re so spry for your age!” He shot back with a forced smile. 

“I hate you.”

“I hate you more.”

The two of you fell back into silence. Your eyes throwing daggers into the paper as you read, as if it had personally offended you. Yes, Howard Stark was charming. You’d seen it personally with your own two eyes at the Expo all those months ago. But for some godforsaken reason, he just.. Got on your nerve. You’d have to hand it to him though. He had a brilliant mind.

The rest of the day went by quickly. You’d fallen asleep while reading on one of the chairs within the lab. Surprisingly, Howard didn’t wake you up. Probably to keep the silence in the room.

When you did wake up, it was in haste. You barely had time to straighten your mind as Peggy got you and Howard both to one of the aircraft hangers and took one of Howards’ private planes. When you finally processed what was happening, you were in the aircraft, Howard flying it and you were there, sitting beside Peggy and across from Steve. Who had a helmet and brown jacket on.. And his godforsaken shield that he danced with.

“The Hydra camp is in Krausberg,” Peggy said, her voice carrying over the engines as she pointed at a map. “Tucked between these two mountain ranges. It’s a factory of some kind.”

“We should be able to drop you right on the doorstep!” Howard chimed in.

“Just get me as close as you can. Y’know, you three are going to be in a lot of trouble when you land.”

“And you won’t?” You chuckled.

“Where I’m going, if anybody yells at me, I can just shoot ‘em.”

Peggy shook her head. “They will undoubtedly shoot back.”

Steve knocked on his metal shield. A small sigh leaving his lips before speaking again. “Well, let’s hope it’s good for something.”

“Agent Carter!” Howard called out. “If we’re not in much of a hurry, I thought we could stop off in Lucerne for a late-night fondue.”

Both you and Peggy stared at Howard before turning to face each other. Unamused at his words. She had more of a handle on what he was implying, but you could indicate what he meant off tone alone. Either he was being for real, or he was just messing with you all.

A beat of silence passed as the three of you just stared away from each other before Peggy looked over to Steve. “Stark is the best civilian pilot I’ve ever seen. He’s mad enough to brave this airspace. We’re lucky to have him.”

“He’s just mad in general..” You muttered to yourself.

“So are you two..” Steve’s eyes darted between Peggy and Howard. “Do you.. Fondue?”

Peggy ignored it. 

“This is your transponder. Activate it when you’re ready and the signal will lead us straight to you.”

“Are you sure this thing works?” Steve called out over to the pilot.

“It’s been tested more than you, pal”

Suddenly, a barrage of bullets shot into the aircraft. Knocking all of you off balance. You had to grab onto the seat cushion and grow a vine to wrap around your wrist to keep you from falling again. 

Peggy and Steve talked for a few moments before you watched the super soldier jump out the plane.

–

The three of you had arrived back in camp. It had been around 5 days since you’d last left Steve to retrieve the soldiers. There were no leads to the transponder. Absolutely nothing. You stuck by Peggy the whole time, finding comfort in her presence. 

As of right now, you stood besides her as she spoke to the Colonel. Listening in on him typing up a report of how Steven was.. Killed in action.

“The last surveillance flight is back.” Peggy said as she walked underneath the tent. You held the photos and files for her and set them down neatly on the table. “.. No sign of activity.”

Phillips dismissed the corporal and stared at the photos as you and Peggy stood there silently as the colonel started to speak. “I can’t touch Stark. He’s rich and he’s the Army’s number one weapons contractor. You both are neither one.” 

He turned to face you. His face even more wrinkled with a frown as Peggy spoke up. 

“With respect, sir, I don’t regret my actions.”

“Nor do I.” You added on. 

Peggy nodded and continued. “And I don’t think Captain Rogers did, either.”

“What makes you think I give a damn about either of yours opinions? I took a chance with you both. Now America’s golden boy and a lot of good men are dead ‘cause Agent Carter had a crush.”

“It wasn’t that. I had faith.” 

“Well, I hope that’s a big comfort for you when they shut this division down.”

There was a pause as you heard a clambering of soldiers run around outside. Running to the edge of the camp. 

“What the hell’s going on out there?” Phillips grumbled as he walked out of the tent to follow the commotion. You and Peggy followed in suit.

All of the 107th was out, even those who were injured and were supposed to be sitting in Medbay were out as.. A large group of men walked up to the entrance of the camp. Led by none other than one Captain America.

Behind him, the men who you’d read up on. The ones in the 107th that we’d presumably lost. There were 100s of men who walked into the camp. The men cheered and clapped for the captain and his right hand man. The man you recognized from the first night in New York. Buck. 

“Some of these men need medical attention.” 

Of course, the first thing Steve says has to be something about helping the others. Many of the soldiers were escorted over to Medbay. Being a “nurse” (a title you’d gotten with the help of Dr. Erskine), you directed some of the soldiers to Medbay, but kept listening.

“I’d like to surrender myself for disciplinary action.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Steve’s lips twitched up, just the smallest bit, at Phillips' words. 

Once Peggy and Steve started to talk, you tuned out. No doubt the two started to flirt. As proud as you were of Steve learning how to socialize with a woman, you could not subject yourself to that. 

You tended to some of the soldiers’ wounded. Some of them were only cut and messy. Some were actively bleeding out. It was a mess. But all this didn’t feel sad. No. No one had tears streaming down their face from pain. 

No. 

Every soldier you saw had hope in their eyes. Even in this tragedy yet miracle that Steve had been able to rescue them, there was no sorrow but pride. 

“Hey!” Your attention was directed towards the voice who called it out. Buck. “Let’s hear it for Captain America!”

With that, all the soldiers gathered around him. Ignoring their pains, ignoring the signals their brains send them to get help. They cheered for their Captain. It was beautiful.

Humans..

Humanity was beautiful. 

—

A day had passed after the rest of the 107th arrived back in the division's base. You tended to the injured as best you could and worked out some reports with Peggy to see to it all the work was finished. All those condolence letters that Phillips had written up were a waste. But, it didn’t matter. What matters was that all of it was okay.

“[Name]!” Steve called out to you, who had trapped themselves in the lab on a desk for the past few days. Even though you weren’t a scientist, nor a doctor, you were able to see what had happened to those soldiers during their time in the Hydra base. “I gotta talk to you.”

With a small nod, you pushed yourself off of the chair and followed him. The both of you walked side by side outside. The sky was bright, as if the sun were metaphorically and literally shining down on you.

“With being Captain,”

“Don’t tell me it got to your head already, Steven.” You cut him off with a small tease. He shook his head and chuckled.

“No. No. I just.. Came across some information that I needed confirmation for.” He turned to face you and you both stopped at the edge of the base. Trees lining the perimeter. It felt like you were in your element, finally. “I wanted to see your file. Your information for an.. Idea I had.”

You started to sweat. You.. Didn’t exactly know what would be written in your file. “Oh?”

He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and carefully unfolded it. Revealing a photo that the doctor had taken of you and.. Your true identification. “98 years old, species ; Nymph.”

“Explain?” He asked with a raised brow. 

“.. Fine, you’ve caught me.” You put your hands up in defeat and shrugged. “I’m a nymph. I’m not human. Dr. Erskine was not my real grandfather and the whole reason I joined this place was to try and keep the damage to the flora and fauna to a minimum. My people had sent word through the birds that our homes are being destroyed and I want to prevent that.”

It was clear Steve wasn’t expecting all that. But he smiled nonetheless. A.. Very different reaction to what you assumed.

“It says you can do magic and that’s how you conducted the stealth missions you did while I was on tour?”

“I can speak with the animals, ask them to do things. I can control nature,” you waved your hand to the forest floor and right beneath it grew a tall patch of grass. A vine climbing up Steve’s leg and a flower growing at his torso. “And I was taught simple healing spells as a child. That’s how I’ve cared for my patients.”

“So you can do recon, heal, and fight?” It seemed Steve’s grin grew wider as he spoke. 

“Y.. Yes, I suppose so. What is this about, Steven?”

“Well, after some thinking, I’ve got information that can do us some good. Make sure all the Hydra bases are down and we win the war.” Steve pulled the vine from his leg away gently and plucked the flower. “I wanted to ask you to join my team.”

You stood there motionless as you stared up at the super soldier. A part of a team? Fight alongside Steve? This isn’t what you expected to leave his mouth when he asked to talk to you. You thought it was something to do with asking Peggy out or something!

“Steven-”

“Just.. Just think about it.” He grabbed onto your hands with his, putting the flower back into your palm. “Please. I trust you.”

Before you could get your last word in, Steve pulled away and walked off. Getting called by some other soldiers. 

–

You sat in Medbay, scribbling things down as you ate. It was your break, lunch break, and you.. Frankly did not wanna see anyone as of right now. 

You were eating some wildberries you had foraged out in the forest earlier in the morning as well as some rations that you’d gotten from the cafeteria. Or, cafeteria tent. It was stale and almost tasteless. It was disgusting, but you had no other choice.

Your peace and silence were soon cut off as the curtain was dragged to the side. Revealing you, sitting on a chair beside an empty cot, eating your food. And who was it that opened the curtains? None other than one James Buchanan Barnes. The deer!

“Steve told me I should see… You.” His eyes narrowed as he stared at you. “What’re you doin’ here? Thought you’d be in a mental asylum by this point.”

“I see you don’t want medical attention.”

Bucky’s eyebrow twitched. “You’re the supposed magical healer Steve told me about?”

“What’d he tell you?”

“That you got weird hands that could make me feel better.”

The both of you paused, staring at each other before Bucky grabbed the curtain and closed it. He walked over to the cot and sat at the end of it. His elbows resting on his knees as you stared at him. 

“C’mon.. Are y’gonna make me beg?” Bucky’s voice came out quieter than he wanted. 

“No, I’m not that cruel.” 

You stood up from your chair, pushing your food to the bedside table and pushed Bucky to lay down. Your eyes scanned over his body. He didn’t seem to have any injuries that debilitated him, no giant gash, no missing arm. He seemed… Fine wasn’t the right word. But just a little less than fine.

“Where does it hurt?” He pointed to his head. Oh. Small headache, most likely from stress. 

You put your hands on either side of his forehead. A small light emitting from your fingertips where you made contact with his head. 

“Oh..” Bucky let out as he closed his eyes. The tension from his face dissipated in an instant, there he lay, his breaths slow and steady as you helped heal him. “Stevie was right.. Y’do have weird hands” He chuckled.

“I take it you feel better?”

He hummed in response before opening his eyes to look up at you. “So he wasn’t pullin’ my leg, y’really are magical.”

“I’m a forest nymph.” You pulled your hands away and allowed Bucky to sit up on his own. No more pain in his head, it still had.. Some feelings. But it was mildly discomforting at worst.

He nodded slowly, he was taking this better than how you’d expect. Actually, a lot of the humans that knew had taken kindly to who, and what, you were. Dr. Erskine had something to do with it, you're sure. If he was still alive, you’d thank him a million times over.

“Is that all that you needed, Sergeant?” You raised your brow.

He ran a hand through his hair before putting it in front of him for you to shake. “We got off on the wrong foot. I wanna try t’start over.”

Your eyes glanced down to his hand and you sighed. A small smile tugging at your lips as you took his hand and shook it. “Alright. Just.. No knocking me into puddles again.”

“I didn’t knock y’into the puddle, doll, you bumped into me.” He chuckled.

You bit your tongue and shook your head. The whole start over thing might just be fake, but you might as well pretend to be civil.

–

After a week or so of the soldiers healing, a celebration was in order. Word had gotten around that Captain America was creating a team to help take down the Hydra bases that were uncovered during the rescue mission of the 107th. You knew all that though. And with the whole joining his team thing.. You’d already agreed.

You walked into the pub that one of the soldiers, Jim Morita, had invited you to join in. He was one of the many soldiers you helped heal after breaking out of the Hydra base. A good man, good human. You sat at the round table as the men around you cheered and spoke of stories from their respective homes. It was interesting. Yet another humanistic thing you seemed to find peace in. 

“I’d love to just suckerpunch that man right in the face!” Falsworth said with a grin as he raised his beer glass. The rest of the men cheered as you raised your glass. 

“Reminds me of a time when-” Jaques cut himself off when he saw the star spangled man with a plan come by the table.

“Hey fellas,” He said as Dum Dums gestured to a chair for Rogers to sit in. “I’ve got a proposition for you guys. [Name] already knows about it and agreed.” 

Jim raised his brow over to you and you shrugged, taking a sip of the beer. Gross concoction, but might as well. Steve explained the situation and his idea of his own team taking down Hydra bases that they’d discovered.

The table was silent before Dum Dums put his glass down and spoke up. “So, let’s get this straight.”

“We barely got out of there alive, and you want us to go back?” Gabe finished his thoughts.

“.. Pretty much.”

“Sounds rather.. Fun, actually.” Falsworth chimed in, giving a smile over to Steve. After that, the men started to agree one by one into joining the team. It was sweet.

“Hell, I’ll always fight. But you got to do one thing for me.” 

“What’s that?”

Dum Dums downed his beer before slamming it back down on the table. “Open a tab.”

The men laughed and Steve shook his head before standing up and grabbing the empty beer glasses. 

“Well that was easy.” Jim chuckled.

The night went on as the smell of beer and various types of alcohol penetrated your nostrils. It was a lot, overwhelming at times, but it was comforting. You were a long ways away from where you’d call home. You can’t remember the last time you saw your friends, but you had no.. Biological family. Nymphs kind of just.. Pop out of nowhere. One moment you don’t exist, the next you do. It’s complicated and you didn’t like thinking of the nuances.

At one point, Peggy had stopped by. All heads turned to her as she walked in with her stunning red dress. She had the confidence of a lioness walking into a pit of snakes. 

She approached over to where Steve was and you mentally cheered. She’d told you about her.. Enamourment towards the Captain and you supported it. They seemed to be cute together. And really, all you want is for them both to live full lives.

The rest of the night went by nicely, you danced and did karaoke with your newfound team and turned in. Ready for the next few days of hell.

– 

By the time you were headed to be shipped out with your new team, it seemed the magic between Peggy and Steve had started to dim, and by the time you were saying your goodbyes Peggy barely spared the man a glance. It didn’t matter much though, you’re sure by the time you get back, they’d be all over each other.

You and the men had gotten into the truck that you’d all have to be cramped in for the next 8-ish hours while you drove to the Hydra base. You couldn’t take a plane due to the sheer volume of it, and Stark was needed elsewhere. 

“Alright, is everything in-tact? Everyone has what they need?” You called out. You were the one with the least amount of things. Only brought the essentials, whereas everyone brought essentials and things they wanted to keep close to them. Just in case. 

“We got everything, relax” Bucky called out from the front, he, of course, sat right beside Captain America. You just rolled your eyes and checked the bags to see if everyone had their necessities. 

“Play nice with ‘em, Buck.” Steve’s voice was quiet, only for Bucky to hear as his eyes were locked on the road. “I know you and [Name] didn’t.. Have the best start, but they’re nice.”

“Nice my ass, Stevie”

“Language.”

–

The next 4 hours, up to the halfway point, were dreadfully boring. You had to busy yourself by reading a book that Steve had lent to you, something about a hobbit? You didn’t know. It was.. Sort of offensive to you. It didn’t reference anything of nymphs, but it had a lot of misconceptions of the magical folk.

“I do not like this book, Steven.” You handed it over to him, who was currently sitting besides Bucky, who was currently reading.

“What? It’s awesome! Buck even gave me that copy..”

“Of course it was Buck..”

“You don’t get t’call me that.” Bucky chimed in.

“Why not? That’s what Steven calls you”

“Steve ‘n I are friends.”

You rolled your eyes. “Well sorry then, Sergeant Barnes”

“Just call me James, you pain in the ass”

“Whatever. Steven, do you have another book?” Steve quickly looked through his bag and pulled out a small book. “Err, Mary Poppins?” “Yeah, why not?”

You took the book from his hands and sat back down in your seat, flipping to the first page and started reading. It was a silly story about a fantasy world and such. The magic seemed like complete bogus, but this time it may just be what you needed.

|| again, pacing is super wonky. i also js got off one of the worst shifts i've ever had at work, so yeah !!

[art-from-within]

(This is the longest hc i did I kind of digressed half way through)

My latest Rykard hc is that he is the eldest child and 'parent' between the 3 carian demigods. Everything bearing his name exudes this kind of ‘posh' 'sophisticated’ 'I will have you know-' sass you’d expect from an inquisitor-coded demigod of noble blood/one who, mind you, lives in a manor perched atop a live . f u c k i n g . VOLCANO with a crazy snake god in basement (What's with the lands between and weird basements?), I feel safe in asserting that this symbolically reflected his day-to-day persona as well: profanely hot, rich, powerful but nauseatingly prideful blonde male always a second away from hissing lava at 'haters'. He veils his barely concealed madness with an educated taste that screams refinement, if only to drown out the tortured Albinaurics screaming from his torture dungeons (or 'interrogation chambers' to the more sensibly inclined). He also seems like the type to be overbearing (his job is literally being a medieval glorified fantasy cop) and I find it difficult to imagine that some of that pride and sass didn't seep into his family dynamics.

But still, it is evident that he is a man who deeply cares for his family. Radahn's portrait nicely hung (aw), offering Tanith dementia in a bottle so she can forget her soon to be big back snake husband(aw), plotting with Ranni to kill Godwyn (aw)( common close siblings activity).

Mix love for family with his love of power, his love of prestige , of ambition. Spice up his lore with absentee divorced mother, absentee divorced TRAITOR AND ASSHOLE father and the deep turbulent hatred he simmers within himself...you get, the eldest child with fried brain matter

Close enough

I haven't forgotten the war automatons he created and named 'Abductor Virgins' Definitely cooked in the head but...some of them are found in raya lucaria 🥺 and in caelid 🥺

Being the “I fuck my retainers” bisexual is just the cherry on top.

I mean look at this guy 💀 Too much doesn't exist in his vocabulary lmao also y tf does he have chandeliers in his boss room 😭talk about being extra for the sake of it (Banger Villain staple)

Before we conclude this earth-shattering and momentous piece of scientific inquiry, it is only fitting that we take a moment to review the distinguished list of intimate companions he deigned to keep in close company. As the old adage goes: birds of a feather flock together. Let us now examine those whom he permitted to remain by his side, each a mirror in some fashion, of the man himself.

Tanith:

Consort's robe.

Fine robe of white silk worn by Tanith, Lady of the Volcano Manor. Long ago, when Rykard first set eyes on Tanith, she was working as a dancer in a foreign land. Soon, he made her his consort. She was the only human to remain by his side when he became the serpent of blasphemy.

In that moment, Tanith was truly charmed by him.

Daedicar(retconned to being Rya's mother) now Ghiza

Daedicar's woe(Version 1.00):

Disturbing likeness of an old noble whose skin was flayed. He smiles with a serene tenderness. Increases damage taken.

This soft-featured man's name was Daedicar, and he was one of Captain Rykard's paramours, as well an attendant in his Inquisition.

He would test new methods of torture first upon himself, making a gift of his pain and first-hand knowledge to the one he loved.

Also Serpent Eigley (????)(snake babies???)

Let Eigley eat him (verbatim no exaggeration)

Must I say more?

-----

In retrospect, Morgott's beef with him makes so much sense. Not just a clash of ideologies but also character.

Morgott: Loyal to erdtree and order, Humble, tree slave bound by shame and sense of duty, trying to maintain the status quo, weighed by grief twisted into self loathing, extinguishes flames of ambition

Rykard: not loyal to erdtree and order, not very humble, Aspiring slave not bound by any sense of shame or duty, trying to usurp the status quo, weighed by grief twisted into world loathing, Giant snake man

Tldr: hc is that Rykard is a snarky eldest sibling who had to fill in the gaps for TWO absent parents . (This is what having Mommy AND Daddy issues does to a man 🙏Pray for this individual). He needs therapy. But in the lands between...who doesn't?

[canisalbus]

For your gay little dogs

.

[marivanilla05]

My favorite scenes from The Odyssey (books 18 to 21)

Odysseus fighting a random beggar being its own book was not something I expected to enjoy this much when reading The Odyssey, but here we are.

[firestorm09890]

do you love the city you live in

[hozaloza]

"God Complex"

C'mon, he's a cult leader and is so close to causing the end of the world....how could this man NOT believe he's the next "messiah" or "god" himself? I've noticed it's sort of a common theme within cults...

And considering history, he's also using the crane as a symbol of fortune and good fortune so his "prophecy" can become true.

He's obsessed with this symbol of luck. No wonder he made pants WITH the crane symbol on them 😭🙏 (ep 30)

[radio-4-is-static]

The last song that was written, the last lyrics that were written was (for) the song “Hooked.” It starts off with the line, “I’ve got the fear / I’ve got the human fear.” And I realize that so many of the songs had an underlying theme of fear to them. But not necessarily succumbing to fear, but more like overcoming fear. “The Doctor” is about the fear of leaving an institution, and “Bar Lonely” is the fear of leaving a relationship. “Night or Day” is the fear of committing to a relationship. But fear is fascinating because fear is universal. We all experience fear. We all experience the same fears. But how we respond to it is individual. And that’s how we find who we are, our personalities. And overcoming fear feels good. That’s why we watch horror films or ride rollercoasters — because you overcome fear and then feel very alive for having done so.

– Alex Kapranos on the story behind Franz Ferdinand's latest album The Human Fear for AP

[taryn40k]

Hey, @dancesonblades, what the fuck man? I go to read more about your OCs, and Six and Kasati, and I read the Stranded AU, and what do I find? A baby boy going through the most HORRID chaplain interrogation I have ever seen! Yeah no shit the Night Lords would take notes! This poor bean! The PREJUDICE! In all seriousness, great work, the whole thing! Your way to write short sentences makes the pace breathless and stressed in the best way! Your Astartes are wonderfully un-intelligent emotionally, so disconnected from humanity, it is delightful! I had a blast, and will happily be reading the original storyline after this! :D (Quietly hoping for more Anrek, we didn't see nearly enough of this little shit in the AU for my taste, I love a snarky asshole!) So, fantastic work, will read more! :D But if my boy isn't treated well, I will be back in your walls and not for any Emperor-approved reason! (:

[birdmenmanga]

the problem with birdmen okay, is that it was too liminal. it stayed between two uncommitted states for too long. serialized in a shonen magazine and yet content-wise leaned far more seinen. hinting at homosexuality and communism but doing so in a deeply plausibly deniable fashion such that nobody really has anything to hang onto. and above all, despite literally naming her series BIRDMEN, falling just shy of capturing the furry imagination. a TOTAL failure on all fronts

[itspileofgoodthings]

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[maddiemuu]

also. most of the other folks working with me are smokers, which i'm fine with in theory, but man they sure do love to keep smoking near me when i'm having an active coughing fit from huffing their secondhand smoke huh. and also leaving their cigarette butts on the ground where the birds that nest there can get to them. so i have to pick them up. not fond of either of those.