#so it's the source of a good chunk of my Time Travel Thoughts

[incomingalbatross]

if I go with time travel then obviously I will not equal the climax of All Clear by Connie Willis. so I will have to do something different from her instead.

[skimmingmilk]

aughhh sonic going back in time to visit little two yr old tails as been in my brain for what feels like forever! like how many dots does he end up connecting? how does he have the strength to not travel back further and knock the daylights out of tails’s mom? how does he react to the whole kukku invasion and forest fire? so many questions…aaaaa im so excited for this fic i will be in ruins. in ruins, i tell you

also with the whole sonic punching tails’s mom thing: you were talking about tails and his parents, but like sonic interacting (or just seeing) tails’s parents is always something ive thought about. idk, im curious about what your take on that would be, if you have one. (sorry if you’ve already answered something like this ahshhshs)

your boys are just spinning around in my brain constantly. they are living in there completely rent free. i adore them sm, they make me sick. anytime there’s a reference or parallel to something in their past, it hurts. these boys need therapy immediately. maybe even before immediately. your portrayal of them is such a huge inspiration istg

anyway, sorry this is kinda all over the place 😭 i just had a bunch of thoughts and threw them together in the most coherent way i could lol. hope you have a good rest of your night/day! stay safe out there 🩵

So, I was saving this because it really inspired me to write a little something, and it felt fitting because I live for your baby Tails and Sonic art, it's seriously the best boost of serotonin for me xD I'm sorry it took a minute to get to this, and I'll address the second idea you had in another ask (someone else was on the same wavelength as you around this time, and also asked about Sonic and Tails and Tails's parents xD).

But for now, please accept a continuation of the back in time shenanigans <3

Sonic Back In Time Shenanigans WIP #2: Back for the Luggage

Tracking down a second Chaos Emerald so he could skip back in time for an afternoon wasn’t how Sonic saw himself spending the past few days. Though, to be fair, he spent a good chunk of them trying to ignore the very itch encouraging him to give into this particular whim of the week, but impulse control wasn’t Sonic the Hedgehog’s claim to fame. Not by a long shot.

His curiosity had been piqued. New insight into the lore of his little brother’s life before he’d ever crossed his path niggled at his mind no matter how far and fast he ran from the temptation to take a peek. The glimpse he’d got on that rainy night hadn’t been all that reassuring, with Tails so small and sick and the time Sonic got to spend with him in that dusty, stuffy cabin all too brief.

Cocoa Island. He’d looked it up after he and Silver returned to Sonic’s present, their respective futures stabilized for the time being, but he couldn’t find much information on it. If it wasn’t for the fact that Sonic could chart it on a map, it almost seemed like it didn’t even exist.

Historic records mentioned studies of the volcanic activity on the island more than a decade ago. Mines had also been dug out in the cave systems throughout the island long before Sonic had been born, in search of potential esoteric energy sources.

The Chaos Emeralds, no doubt.

But other than that, it seemed the island had never been properly settled. Sonic could’ve flown over in the Tornado for a quick jaunt—running to small islands never boded well for him, they were always tricky to aim for—but he knew it wouldn’t have the answers he was itching to find out.

And sure, the big one was already answered. The sick baby fox he’d had to leave behind in the care of some flickies after that rainy night obviously made a full recovery, or else Tails wouldn’t be alive in Sonic’s present, off on his own adventure. Flying solo. Alone.

But knowing that without actually seeing it, experiencing it for himself, didn’t satisfy Sonic in the slightest. He was all about experiences. And he wanted to experience this mysterious chapter of his best bud’s life, one he never really let himself think all that hard on.

So, that was how Sonic found himself on a nearly deserted island eight years in the past with two Chaos Emeralds in hand. It was warmer than in his present, willing to bet they were somewhere in spring or early summer as opposed to late fall, but the dense cover of pine trees kept the forest floor cool in its shade. Allergies tickled his nose, prompting Sonic to scratch at it as he took in his surroundings. Flickies sang throughout the branches, their chirps a comforting song accompanied by the steady hum of insects hidden in the brush. With his own curious hum, Sonic picked a direction and ran with it—er, walked with it. He took it slow for the moment, trying to find his way back to the cabin from that night. It seemed like his best bet to start his search for Tails.

Until a child’s voice somewhere in the forest caught his ear, both perking up and flicking towards the sound with an instinctive pull as everything else faded into the background. A breath Sonic hadn’t realized he’d been holding lifted from his chest. The child sounded light, healthy. No coughing or crying as far as he could tell. 

Sonic followed the voice to a clearing. Unlike the stormy day he’d first stumbled in on, sunlight flooded the patch of grass between the trees with its warm beams. One fell across a tree stump where a two-tailed fox kit lay sprawled across on his tummy, bright-eyed and bushy tails further confirmation that he’d made a full recovery. Sonic’s shoulders sagged with relief as he observed him from the brush, his own green eyes lighting up as he realized he was playing. Making motor sounds with his mouth, Tails rolled a toy airplane through the long, wild grass. His tongue poked out as he accidentally blew raspberries amidst his very serious airplane noises.

“Pfft—” Sonic’s laugh nearly sputtered out of him, cut off only by the fact that the kid heard him and froze.

Ears swiveled in his direction, but Tails couldn’t see him through the trees from his spot on the stump. The toy airplane fell to the grass with a soft thump as the baby fox squirmed and tried to hoist himself up into a sitting position, his two blue boots dangling just over the edge as his bare hands planted themselves on the wood between them to support himself. One tail flicked up and down with excitement while the other twitched limply against the tree stump, like it didn’t know it could lift itself up like its twin.

“Mom?” he called out, and the hope in his voice ensnared Sonic’s heart in a vice. “Mom!”

“Ah, sorry, little guy. Not mom.” Sonic stepped out from behind the brush with his hands up, a sheepish smile on his face. “Just me. Long time no see.”

His tails immediately wilted as the bright-eyed, eager expression on his face retracted into something shy and pensive. But not scared, Sonic noted. There wasn’t a trace of fear in his eyes.

“Remember me? I stayed with you during that rainstorm the other night,” Sonic added, hoping to jog the little guy’s memory, but he didn’t actually know how long it had been since that night. 

He didn’t have Silver’s neat little time travel gizmos. His comm couldn’t pinpoint where he was in time, only in space. Which meant he couldn’t stay long, because if Tails or anyone else tried to ping his location, it’d probably come up blank. 

The Tails sitting in front of him drew his legs up, curling into himself a bit the closer Sonic got. Okay, well maybe he was a little afraid. Sonic stopped short of reaching the tree stump, hoping a reassuring smile would get him the rest of the way.

“My name’s Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. What’s yours?”

Tails stared at him for a moment, until his gaze slowly slid past him to focus on the tree line behind him. Sonic planted his hands on his hips and canted his head back to see if anything was there, but aside from the buzz of insects and rustling of flickies in the leaves, the forest was still. No one else but the two of them smack dab in the middle of it.

“…Mom?” Tails whispered, grabbing onto one of his tails to hold.

Sonic’s smile slowly slid off his muzzle. In all the time he’d known Tails, he’d never once called for his mom. Not a single cry. By the time he came into Tails’s life, whatever innate trust he’d had for this faceless person had completely evaporated. There was only one person Tails had ever called out for, ever cried for, ever searched for when he was lost or scared or lonely.

Sonic swallowed thickly. “I don’t know where your mom is, bud. You waiting for her?” Tails nodded with the most intense certainty, his ears flopping forward and back with the force of it. “Did she… did she say when she’s coming back?” 

This time Tails pursed his mouth as he thought carefully about his answer, his pensive expression the same one he’d still make to this day when he debated how to explain something to him. If he should explain something to him. If he should give his big bro a glimpse into the inner workings of his big brain, or if it’d be easier—safer—to keep it all to himself.

And just where’d he pick up that particular trick?

But this Tails was young enough—hadn’t been hurt enough—to trust someone who looked like a grown-up, so he slowly shook his head in response, wide blue eyes gazing up at him like there’d be some sort of prize if he answered all the questions correctly. 

Sonic’s brow furrowed. “Do you know how long it’s been since you last saw her?”

“Long.” The small, squeaky voice was so matter-of-fact, Sonic nearly fell over with the sheer amount of joy a single syllable filled him with; his little bro’s attitude had been baked into him from the start.

“I’ll bet,” he huffed out a chuckle, choosing to sit cross-legged in the grass so he wasn’t towering over Tails like some kind of threat. “You like planes?” Sonic glanced meaningfully at the toy plane still discarded in the grass.

Tails glanced down at it, the tip of his tail in his mouth as he gently chewed on it. “Mmhm.”

Though Tails had long-outgrown the habit of chewing on his own tails, Sonic would still occasionally catch him nibbling on the ends of pens and pencils when he was deep in thought or starting to get hungry. Or, at least, he used to. Back before Sonic had been captured and Tails had been out on his own for six months…

“I like ‘em, too,” Sonic piped up with a grin. “Probably my favorite way to travel! Second to running, of course.”

Tails blinked at him, head canting to one side. Sonic’s smile grew and he scooched forward a couple inches, steadily closing the gap between them.

“Y’see, running’s sort of my thing. What kinda things do you like to do?”

Tails glanced down at the toy plane again, then up at the sky. He pointed shyly at the white, puffy clouds slowly floating by overhead. Sonic followed his gaze, unable to help the way his smile crooked to one side.

“You like to watch the clouds?” Sonic filled in for him, beaming when Tails nodded. “Me too. You ever look for shapes in ‘em?”

The little guy’s brow furrowed. “Shapes?”

Sonic laughed as the perplexed, and ultimately unconvinced, expression remained fixed on Tails’s face. “C’mere, I’ll show ya!”

Unceremoniously flopping onto his back, face turned towards the sky, Sonic patted the grass beside him. Though they were mostly shielded by the thick cover of trees, a light breeze still wafted down into the clearing and carried the salty scent of the sea with it. The stands of grass tickled Sonic’s side as he laid back and took a deep breath, listening for the familiar patter of eager footsteps following his lead.

Except they didn’t come.

Sonic pushed himself up onto his elbows. Tails was still curled up atop the tree stump, chewing on the tip of his tail as he watched him with worry in his eyes. Worry that had no place being there in a kid so young.

So Sonic cracked another smile. “Don’t worry. The floor’s not lava,” he teased, but it was something the toddler obviously didn’t understand. “It’s safe, bud. I’m not gonna hurt ya. Promise.”

Tails’s gaze darted to the treeline again, searching amongst their thick trunks and low-hanging branches before snapping back to Sonic. “Mm… s’pposed to wait here,” he mumbled, his words sounding a little thick as some of his syllables slurred together in a mouth that was still so small, but ultimately what he’d said was clear enough for Sonic to understand.

His smile slowly faded as he processed the simple explanation; the same feeling rising in the back of his throat as when he sat with a sick Tails in the cabin while the kid asked if he could go home. “Your mom tell ya that?”

Tails nodded. “Wait here. Be good.” His little face scrunched up in a look of pure, earnest determination. “Wait here an’ be good, then mom will come back. She said… she said.”

But she wouldn’t.

No one would.

And maybe Tails already knew that. Even if he didn’t want to believe that someone he loved would leave him, he’d always been a smart kid. Tails’s tiny claws caught in the fur of his tail as he clung tighter to it—like he could physically cling to the hope that his mom would still come back if he did this one thing really well.

If he did his very best.

“Look Sonic, I made this for you!”

“Sonic, I’ve made some adjustments to the Tornado’s aerodynamics, so her base speed has more than doubled! Pretty cool, huh?”

“I made a radar to help us track the Chaos Emeralds faster!”

“I still need to optimize your Extreme Gear’s turning radius and acceleration for your next race. It’s not good enough.”

“The Cyclone still has a ways to go in terms of balancing its different modes of transport. It’s just not good enough at land or air travel yet.”

“I’m wildly inconsistent. I’m just a burden to you. I’m not good enough.”

Not good enough.

Sonic’s fingers dug a little firmer into the soft, damp soil beneath the grass. “Well, I mean, ya gotta get off that stump sometimes. What about when you get hungry? You leave to go get food, dontcha?”

Tails stiffened, fur frizzed up like he’d been caught with his hand in the proverbial mint chocolate chip cookie jar. “Don’t tell,” he pleaded, eyes wide as panicked tears welled up. “I’m sorry—”

“Woah. Hey, hey, hey,” Sonic sat up straighter so he could lift his hands, using them to make a calming gesture as Tails’s little chest started to heave with each little gasp. “Easy there, bud. I’m not gonna tell her.”

“…Not?”

Despite the storm brewing just beneath the surface, faced with further confirmation that Tails had never truly felt safe or wanted, he refused to scare the kid with its intensity. Offering up a kind smile and reassurance, Sonic held up a finger to his mouth. Like they were keeping secrets from some nameless authority figure they’d never shared. 

“I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Tails’s ears perked up and the grip on his tail eased up. “M’kay…”

“M’kay,” Sonic mimicked, smile growing as he watched Tails scrub at his face with the fur of his forearm. “C’mere, kiddo. Watch the clouds with me.”

Tails looked at him for a moment, then scooted closer to the edge of the tree stump. He swung one leg over, then the other, his little boots scraping against the bark as he eased himself down. He was a little off-balance as he toddled over. Both arms splayed out to steady himself as one tail flicked up and the other was dragged behind him, still as limp and awkward as it had been on the stump.

Sonic’s gaze narrowed in on it immediately. “Didja hurt your tail?”

Tails paused and craned his neck back, wobbling a little as he tried to look behind him. “No,” he answered simply.

“Then how come it’s not up like your other one?”

Tails reached behind him and picked up the limp appendage, hugging it to his chest. “Doesn’t do it.”

Sonic’s frown deepened. “Let me see it.”

Tails didn’t even hesitate. He let go of his tail as he waddled right over to him. He turned his back to him, giving him complete access to the part of his body he protected the most. Sonic was the only one he’d learned to trust with them over the years, but he’d had to earn it. 

Sonic gently ran his fingers through the fur, watching his baby brother’s posture for any sign of discomfort. He didn’t flinch, but his good tail started wagging almost immediately, thwacking Sonic in the side of the face. 

“Careful with that,” he chuckled, catching it in a loose hold when it smacked him again. “You could take someone’s eye out with one of these bad boys. Here, hold onto this for me.”

He waited for Tails to grab onto his eager tail, hugging it hard when it wiggled uncontrollably. “S’tryna get away,” he giggled.

“Oh boy, better get a good grip. It’s a slippery one, that tail,” Sonic laughed, using the distraction to his advantage as he palpated along the base of the weaker tail with his fingertips.

There was barely any muscle to it, and the fur was patchy and matted, flattened in a way that his other tail clearly wasn’t, even though his fur overall could’ve used a good brushing. But it wasn’t injured, no welts or bruises or cuts. It was just… weak. Like it was developing slower than its twin. He’d caught a glimpse of it that night where he was sick, but now that he was getting a good look at it, the differences between the two were stark. He couldn’t imagine why; Sonic’s brain literally wouldn’t let him conceive of a situation where this would happen—where Tails wasn’t allowed to use one tail to the same extent as the other.

Whatever had caused this had reversed itself by the time Sonic met Tails, both little propellers of equal strength. At least, he thought they were. To be fair, he’d only been eleven and he hadn’t looked all that closely at them. And Tails barely let him patch him up from where he’d been smacked around by bullies or badniks in those first few weeks.

Idly petting along the length of his tail, Sonic stilled when it spasmed against his palm. Just looking at it, he’d have thought he accidentally pulled on it or snagged his fur, but there was a gentle rumbling sound emanating from Tails’s chest that assured him otherwise. Sonic flicked his gaze up to see Tails watching him, a smile on his face while he purred openly. His tail jerked in his hold again. It was trying to wag.

Sonic’s shoulders sagged, his own smile lopsided as he let his tail slip from his grasp. “All clear. Time to park those two tails of yours right here on the runway.”

Tails squeaked as Sonic nabbed him around the middle, but dissolved into a fit of giggles as he was lifted up and plopped down on the grass next to him. Kicking up one leg over the other, Sonic laid back once again, arms pillowed behind his head as he let out a contented sigh. Beside him, Tails laid back and wiggled a bit to get comfortable, both tails swept to the same side so they wouldn’t get pinched underneath him. He tilted his head up to look at the sky, the same color reflected back in his eyes.

“Shapes?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’re gonna look for shapes, little buddy,” Sonic hummed. “Go ahead and tell me what ya find.”

Tails considered the sky for a moment, then pointed at a blob above them. “Oval.”

A sharp laugh burst right out of Sonic. “Sorry, sorry,” he wheezed when Tails pouted at him. “Not those kinda shapes, pal. I’m talking things like flickies or flowers or chili dogs! But good first try. I’m thinking that one looks more like… a whale.”

“Whale?”

“Uh-huh. See the tail?” Sonic removed one hand from behind his head so he could trace the oblong cloud as it faintly curved upwards at the end, making sure Tails’s eyes followed where he pointed. “And there’s its fin. And the wispy bits at the top are like the water shooting out of its spout.”

“Spout,” Tails echoed, blinking up at it like he was trying to solve a puzzle. 

“Yeah, you know. Like when they come up from the water and all that mist sprays from that hole on top of their heads like…” A devious grin spread across Sonic’s face before he looped his arm around Tails and dragged him close enough to blow a raspberry against his cheek with a loud, “pbbbbbbfffft!”

Tails squealed, legs kicking as he squirmed about instinctively, but made no move to pull away entirely. The ticklish sensation buzzed through him like a bunch of tiny butterflies; the feeling silly, unfamiliar, and almost overwhelming all at once. He eventually pawed at Sonic’s muzzle, pushing it away from the fluffy, baby fur of his cheek, but he was smiling and laughing as he looked over at him, eyes shining with delight.

“Was that funny?” Sonic snickered.

“Yeah!” Tails beamed at him, his tails beating an inconsistent rhythm against the grass. “You’re funny.”

“I’m funny?” Sonic feigned offense. “Excuse me, but seems to me like you’re the funny one, wiggling around over here like a cup of sparkle gelatin!”

“No!” Tails squeaked, curling up when Sonic poked him in the tummy. 

“No?” Sonic eased back, reminding himself to reign it in a bit so he could figure out if the “no” was just in play or if he was serious. 

As much as he wanted to give this little guy something to smile and laugh about while he was out here on his own—and it was so easy, it was almost intoxicating when he hadn’t seen his brother’s smile in weeks��he didn’t want to overwhelm the kid. But as he let him go and pulled back, a panicked look flashed in Tails’s eyes. His smile fell and a fear that was too big for a guy so small replaced it as he froze up.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.” Sonic lowered his voice, but even that didn’t stop the tears from suddenly sprouting in the corners of his eyes. “Was that too much? Sorry, kiddo. Not really used to you like this. I don’t know your limits.”

Tails didn’t answer him, probably because he didn’t know how. He was a baby, after all. Four-year-old Tails had often had trouble expressing how he felt or what he wanted. And heck, even ten-year-old Tails was still facing that particular issue. He couldn’t expect a maybe-two-year-old to know…

Tails’s tiny paw reached for Sonic’s arm, the light touch barely registering as anything other than an itch before his fingers curled into his fur. Sonic stared at his hand for a second, then immediately darted to his face. Tails sniffed, muzzle quivering as he held back his tears.

Always sucking it up. Always putting on a brave face. Always trying to be a big kid, like his big bro.

Even when he was just a baby.

“It’s okay,” Sonic repeated, his arm curling around Tails again. “I’m right here, it’s okay.”

Tails nestled against his side, nuzzling his face against him with a shiver and a barely suppressed whimper. “Mom… dad…”

The storm returned with a white-hot flash of frustration and resentment. Sonic directed his glare at the cloud whale lazily floating past them, since he couldn’t look the people responsible for this in the eyes. Not that he particularly wanted to. If they never crossed paths, his and Tails lives would only continue on for the better. That was one thing he was still certain of. There was nothing in the universe that could convince him otherwise.

Not even the baby who desperately wanted them.

But he didn’t know any better. They were all he knew. 

Releasing a long sigh, Sonic let go of the past and pulled himself back into the present—or, well, two-year-old Tails’s present anyway. He patted Tails’s side, then ruffled his fur a bit when he cuddled closer. His fur tickled as he rubbed his little face against his ribs, so Sonic scooched him up a bit more until his cheek was pillowed against his shoulder.

“Sorry if I scared you, bud,” he hummed, watching as one of Tails’s ears twitched from the lull of his voice. “Didn’t mean to. You’re safe with me, okay? When I’m around, I’m always gonna do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

Tails tipped his head back to watch him, silently absorbing his words, even if he didn’t understand them. But as Sonic looked down at him, he saw his four-year-old brother snuggling up to him in a storm and his six-year-old brother falling asleep on him during a movie and his eight-year-old brother trying to be strong for Sonic as they lost another friend… He could see all of Tails in the way he looked at him, every moment where he let Sonic see a little of that vulnerability he always tried so hard to hide.

He could even see his ten-year-old brother, hundreds of miles away, determined to bury that vulnerable little kid for good, somewhere Sonic would never find him. And that was fine. If that was what Tails wanted, then Sonic wanted that for him. He wanted Tails to feel confident and capable and every bit the hero Sonic saw in him every day.

“And even when I’m not here… when you can’t see me? I’ll still be with you. Wherever you go, whatever you face, you won’t have to do it alone.”

Tails sniffed, then lifted his head to gaze up at him. “Pomise?”

Sonic’s breath hitched, his eyes as wide as saucers as the fox kit who’d only known him for a few minutes at most looked at him with nothing but trust. “Yeah. I promise.” He had to clear his throat, then tugged Tails up to sit on his chest. “You’ve got no idea just how stuck with me you are, keed.”

“No idea,” Tails repeated, shaking his head with the utmost seriousness a two-year-old could express.

Sonic’s laughter traveled through him and right up into Tails, the two of them shaking with it. The feeling of being bounced about coaxed a few giggles out of Tails and he nearly slid off his unsteady perch. But Sonic’s hands supported him, holding tight so he wouldn’t fall.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Sonic choked out as his laughter petered out on a breathless sigh. “Don’t ever forget that, okay?”

“M’kay,” Tails agreed.

“M’kay.” With one hand remaining on Tails’s waist, Sonic lifted the other to poke him on the tip of his nose, grinning at the way he went cross-eyed from following his finger. “I’m gonna follow up on that in eight years, y’know, so better work on committing that to memory, stat.”

“M’kay.”

“I mean it. There’ll be a test and everything.”

“M’kay.”

“You’re so agreeable,” Sonic sighed, closing his eyes as he laid his head back, leaving the comfortable weight of the baby fox on his abdomen. “I don’t think I know what to do with a little bro that actually listens to me.”

He felt Tails squirm a bit, one knee digging into his ribs as he attempted to scoot further up, then a finger lightly tapped Sonic on the tip of his nose. One green eye cracked open, immediately greeted with a pair of pleased blue ones and a wagging fox tail. Despite the fact that it was pinned beneath him, pressed into the grass, Sonic felt his tail give a jerky little wag, too.

“Shapes?” Tails asked.

“You wanna look for more shapes in the clouds?” Sonic waited for Tails’s eager nod before turning him around and laying him back in the grass beside him. “You got it, bud! You need a redemption round, after all. Let’s see what kinda shapes you can find this time.”

Tails hummed, contemplative gaze fixed on the clouds for a good minute before he pointed slightly to his left. “Floor!”

“Floor?” Sonic squinted up at the cloud, making sure he was looking at the right one. “Oh, ‘flower!’ Yeah, that does kinda look like a tulip flower. Good eye, kiddo.”

Tails nodded proudly. “Mmhm. Floor.”

“Flower,” Sonic repeated, and even made the sign for it, touching each side of his nose with his fingertips, like he was smelling a flower.

“Floor-er.”

“Close enough,” he chuckled. “Oh, okay, now that one looks like a crab claw. Like from a crabmeat.” Grinning devilishly, Sonic made a claw-like grabby motion at Tails with his hand while the little guy laughed. “Or, y’know, an actual crab.”

They watched the clouds, picking more shapes out of them until Tails’s stomach started growling. Sonic quickly sped through the forest to gather up whatever kind of fruits or vegetables were available on the island, eventually settling on some peaches, plums, and cherries. He grabbed them from the other side of the island, so as not to take from anywhere Tails was likely to forage on his own. He liked the plums and peaches, the sticky juice staining his muzzle as it dripped from his hands. He kept trying to lick his fingers clean while Sonic wiped the fur around his mouth so it wouldn’t bother him later when it dried. He didn’t care for the cherries as much, but Sonic still left a small stash of them and the leftover peaches at the base of the tree stump.

With a full tummy and sticky paws, Tails let out a big, squeaky yawn before he curled up on top of the tree stump. His tails covered him like a blanket as he settled down for a nap, giving Sonic just the out he needed. He’d been debating how to head back to his present time without sounding any alarms for Tails. He honestly wasn’t sure he’d be able to if the kid just looked at him with those sad eyes, like he was being abandoned all over again.

But if Tails was asleep, then maybe this would all have felt like just a dream. Sonic had just wanted to check on him after leaving him so abruptly that first time, and then he figured it couldn’t hurt to give him one good afternoon. There would be so many days where he’d be on his own after this, so many months before their paths would cross. One afternoon where a stranger showed him kindness and played with him wasn’t going to break the time stream, but even Sonic knew it couldn’t really go further than that.

“I’d break time lines for that kid.” His own words echoed at the back of his mind, the certainty he’d felt at the time faltering when faced with the sleepy face of a baby fox who wasn’t supposed to have met him yet. It wasn’t so simple.

Sonic waited until Tails’s breaths were deep and steady, arms wrapped around the weaker tail while the stronger one blanketed him with its fluff. Smoothing down his bangs with his thumb, Sonic gently stroked the top of his head and scritched behind his ear.

“Love ya, little bro,” he whispered.

Things would be okay, Sonic reminded himself as he backed out of the clearing, picking up the two emeralds that were his ticket back to his time. Because they were okay in the present. Even if Tails wouldn’t be there when he returned, they would still be okay. Eventually. They always came out on top. Sonic still believed that.

If there was anything he still believed in above all else, it was Tails.

So, to be fair, when he left the Poloy Forest that afternoon, it had been with the intention that this wouldn’t happen again.

But then, Sonic the Hedgehog’s impulse control wasn’t his claim to fame, was it?

---

A/N: Anyway, just wanted to say thank you again, 0vergrown, and that I appreciate you so much! I'm so happy you're interested in this little side plot I've got brewing and all the angst potential that it holds <3 I have so many little scenes I want to write for them, you have no idea! Hope this scratches a bit of the itch for more of these boys who need so much therapy. So much...

And thank you everyone else who's also interested in this idea! Much love to all of you!

[ablobwhowrites]

https://www.tumblr.com/ablobwhowrites/785502832045522944/baker-yn-random-stuff?source=share

Teddy anon here and wanted to say...I adore this version of y/n and I need to see a fic of the caretaking of y/n and the cookies having them adapt...like ngl I got a long list of favorites...imagine if one of y/n's favorite cookies was assigned to live with y/n to make sure they were fine and happy...like their job is to keep y/n company, make sure they are eating 3 good meals a day, make sure y/n is getting enough sleep, etc lol! If y/n gets less than 8 hours of sleep? Get them back to bed and soothe them to sleep! See them downing ramen for every meal because they think they have to worry about bills and stuff and believe they gotta save coins? Make sure they are reminded that all their financial trouble is gone since the cookies have y/n now and make sure they eat proper meals. Y/n feeling emotionally low? Turn that frown upside down.

I got tons of examples of who to choose from my own favorite cookie list you can choose to write a fic about them living with us or idk lol! You can always choose a cookie who isn't on the list:

Clotted cream: a gentleman to y/n who takes y/n traveling with them to enjoy the finer things in life and/or have y/n be his balance of still being down to earth.

Royal margarine: flirts could fluster them and show love...also flights on wyvern and helping y/n learn to speak up/be brave.

Dark choco: helps soothe anxiety and is very protective...also if y/n has trouble with self blame, they can learn self forgiveness together.

Kouign amann: protective of y/n and acts like a gentlelady to them...also idk why but hc her to be a good cook so does help with bad diet problem.

Wedding cake: also acts like a gentle lady but is so kind and sweet and can help sew up holes if y/n somehow rips their outfit or takes care of stains. Also can provide for y/n like others on the list. Probably rich because of owning a business.

Shining glitter: can also provide for y/n do to career but can also soothe y/n with gentle singing, take y/n on trips so y/n is actually living instead of cooped up in their home unlike before where they live paycheck to paycheck with no travel or living life...take them on tour with her as her partner/personal vip...

White lily: always see fics where she is obsessed with the player so probably the most affectionate and caring...also very protective if it's normal yandere route I see with her.

(Tried to list good cookies or cookies that can stay in one place for a long time..but got some bonus ideas if you want!)

Bonus:

Affogato: makes sure y/n is eating healthy meals and indulging...reminding y/n that they didn't have to worry about a thing anymore, just eat whatever y/n wants other than noodles...if they clean their plate, affofato gives them treats (not part of part above due to being part of COD)

Caramel arrow: fierce protector and making sure y/n is well constantly (not part of initial list because loyal to dark cacao kingdom)

Red velvet: fierce protector and if y/n adores dogs well...he is y/n's dream come true due to so many dogs...cue emotional support dog and they have fun taking care of dogs together! (Not part of initial list because COD)

(I love the list you made and the reasons for it. Love the attention to detail!)

Y/n is a workaholic and they find it strange that they don't have to overwork themselves anymore and they can relax but at the same time, they feel weird about having to rest and that they don't have to worry anymore but it just feels so strange to them. They spent a whole chunk of their life working their ass off that they never got to really live their life but now they can, go into new cities, go to concerts with music they like, be at the beach till the sunsets. Y/n never really thought that they'd be able to live again and do small things like sleep in sometimes when they feel like it, the cake hound that red velvet gave y/n that always liked being near y/n and that always sleeps in the bed with them or just follows them all around the house and outside. Y/n does go into unhealthy habits sometimes and they do try to break them but its like it was always apart of their routine.

I do like to imagine that y/n does get a bit overwhelmed when Shining Glitter Cookie takes y/n on her tours and expense hotels and y/n is nervous to spend any money but the rich cookies or famous cookies spoil y/n and poor y/n absolutely has no idea what to do with the new stuff they got or can even fathom the price of these gifts.

(I made this small story for this so Hope you guys like it!)

Hollyberry had invited y/n to a grand party to celebrate the arrival of the baker, them. A party for them, y/n felt strange about it as many cookies approached them as they seemingly all loved y/n as many offered to dance with y/n even some tries to one up each other but y/n sat at a table by themselves seeing how many cookies were laughing and having a great time. They looked at the glass in their hand with the berry juice inside with a small reflection of them inside and y/n felt strange here as they did appreciate all the work that went into this as many cookies even the other ancients came to this party for y/n but so much was happening that y/n was able to slip out of the castle and saw how empty the buildings were, all the cookies in this kingdom did go to the party but y/n just wanted to feel alone for a bit as they were a bit overwhelmed at how many cookies were in the castle asking for dances or talking to them at once or hollyberrys almost none crushing hugs when she was a bit to drunk as y/n doesn't know what the other ancients were doing as y/n couldn't focus on anything really.

It was nice walking around in the asleep town of buildings in the kingdom. Y/n then saw a bench that was next to some berry bushes so they say down to take a breather, looking up at the sky seeing how some stars still shined bright in the night even with the lanterns trying to outside in the stars. Y/n took a deep breath and slouched a bit in the bench as they didn't need to keep a appearance up with no cookies around, y/n looked at their 'hands' they had no fingers and yet were able to hold things alright and y/n had so many questions as y/n got lost in their thoughts they didn't know a cookie was approaching them. "Oh y/n cookie, this is were you wandered off to." Y/n jumped a bit hearing the sudden voice and looked to see who it was and stood Pure Vanilla Cookie who smiled at them. "May I sit with you?" He asked as y/n shifted a bit to have Pure Vanilla Cookie sit down with them as he did, he set his staff to the side of him and he looked over at y/n. "Must have been a bit overwhelmed at the gathering? I must admit, I was also a bit overwhelmed at how many cookies there were. I'm not surprised at how many cookies showed up for this occasion." Pure Vanilla Cookie spoke as y/n didn't look at Pure Vanilla Cookie as he could see y/n was a bit troubled by their body being a bit tensed up and how they avoided his gaze.

He sat up still having his gaze at y/n. "Are you uncomfortable? I can leave if you want to be alone." Pure Vanilla Cookie suggested as he then felt y/n's hand touch his. "No, no, stay...I- I just don't know how to feel right now." Y/n finally spoke as Pure Vanilla Cookie's eyebrows frowned as he use his other hand to hold y/n's as he waited for y/n to speak again. "I know you and the others care about me but I just feel like I'm free loading on you guys. I don't feel right, I know this party was supposed to be about me and me being the baker but it just feels wrong and that I didn't earn being there. I don't know, maybe my boss just crushed my self esteem so low that maybe I can't take the simplest things without over thinking it." Y/n confessed as they stopped slouching and sat up to look at Pure Vanilla Cookie. "Y/n, I assure you that many cookies here care for you. I haven't seen the other ancient smile so much today, You even had Dark Cacao Cookie smiling the whole time you were around. I have to tell you that you make us happy that your here and you deserve to be happy as well in your own right but you don't have to do that alone, you have us and the cookies at the kingdom who want to help you. You deserve to be happy, y/n." Pure Vanilla Cookie said as he looked at y/n with a soft smile as y/n's mouth quivered a bit as tears began to swell up in their eyes but y/n wiped their tears away with their sleeve as Pure Vanilla Cookie went to pat y/n's back.

"let's go back to the party. I'm sure hollyberry is looking for you right about now, I'll walk with you there." He asked as y/n smiled and nodded as the two go up and walked side by side back to the castle as y/n hoped that hollyberry or princess cookie didn't know they were gone for to long.

(anyways back to the silly things)

The picture the paparazzi cookies get when trying to get pictures of y/n like.

Y/n also got absolutely flashbanged by paparazzi and regular cookie phones/cameras because y/n isn't use to sudden flashes of bright light on them and it's sometimes so bad that the yandere cookies got a be like a bodyguard to y/n so that they aren't like the ash baby image every damn time a random cookie decides to take a picture of them.

Butter Squid Cookie wants y/n to be in one of his movies as it would be a absolute smash hit as his darling baker in his movie and the main star!? Who wouldn't want y/n to in their movies (he definitely didn't scare off other directors so that no one else got y/n as a actor) but y/n tries to be nice and say they'll consider it but y/n can't act as office life has drained them and they don't think they'll be any good at it.

(Anyways! That's it for my yapping session for today! I loved writing this but hopefully you guys like it! If you did like this and want to see more please don't be shy and request any ideas for stories or y/n's you have! But for now please stay safe and drink water!)

[alicenpai]

recent manga diary

- okay starting to read love bullet now.. the art honestly looks incredible im totally digging the art style 👁👁

- speaking of yuri im also reading erio and the electric doll. this is the new manga ive read the most of recently. it's a bit like kino's journey, mixed with yokohama kaidashi kikou, and pluto (naoki urasawa, and by extension, astro boy too). it tells of a post-war world in which androids destroyed a large chunk of humanity. because of that, people have taken to regressing to a pre-electricity world - into the world of steam. two girls walk away from their idyllic, albeit isolated life by the coast, in search of finding other humans and travel the world together. it has some really interesting world building and discusses some morally grey topics regarding humanity, war, and artificial intelligence.

- you might know the artist as the one who did a lot of work for final fantasy 14. the art is beautiful, with delicate linework, and a prominent steampunk aesthetic.

- going back to the yuri part - the main cast consists of a young teen and an android. the human girl has the power to create electricity, and so she charges her android by kissing her. they can charge via touching hands, but no they have to kiss. very cute.. i hyped it up but LMAO i don't know if i can recommend it for romance per se, as it's more platonic right now, but it's still a very charming read!

- i think this series would look so gorgeous if it came to life in an anime adaptation.. manifesting a steampunk anime in 2k25

- also started to read kageki shoujo, it's really fun so far!! those are my only thoughts on it for now. i haven't read a shoujo in so long i think.. might have to watch the anime adaptation as well, as i heard the animation is quite good.

- i also wanted to get into requiem of the rose king for the longest time, the brooding, gothic aesthetic totally looks up my alley, and the medieval politics looks interesting too. the pacing is a bit choppy, but idk if that's due to the poor fan translation, will have to source it from the library if i can..

- still catching up to medalist and shadows house, haven't read witch hat atelier in a while.

- caught up to skip and loafer 🥰 i wrote about it in some older diary entries, but it's literally so good. i really need to draw some skip loaf sometime..

- almost done the extra stories from emma.. and that's all folks!!

[hugintheraven]

How to fix Amy Dallon

This is mostly me getting my thoughts in order. I doubt I will ever write Amy fix-it fic, but I want to have this just in case.

So the thing is, I don't think wretching Victoria was inevitable, far from it. That took a very specific set of circumstances. HOWEVER, "Amy does something selfish and harmful with her power that she can't fix, spirals and blames herself, does worse stuff in response"? I think that was fairly likely.

The problem is...a problem is...the various problems are...well I'll simplify. First, she has no support structure. Mark is useless, Carol is actively exacerbating her issues, and the rest of the family is their own kettle of fish. Victoria is the only person looking out for Amy, which quite aside from how that affects Amy, means that when Amy is in trouble, she turns to Victoria for help. If Victoria isn't around, then Amy has literally no one. Any friends she has are friends through Victoria, and I doubt the teenage superhuman is on friendly terms with her coworkers at the hospital(though seriously the professionals there should have noticed her issues LONG AGO).

Then we have Amy's power. Which is pushing her to use it in aggressive, selfish, and harmful ways. She's holding that off through sheer force of will, but that's not sustainable.

There's also her physical and mental limits. She's working her power to the limit normally, not sleeping, and straining herself to do more. Which isn't good at the best of times, let alone long-term.

All of which is tied up with the psychological issues package, her self-hate, feelings of inadequacy, severe dichotomous view of the world, etc.

Her crush on Victoria is a problem for her, don't get me wrong. But I don't think it's at all the main source, or even a significant chunk, of what was needed for Amy to screw up SOMETHING.

Here's what I see as needed for Amy to end up going villain(in her eyes and possibly the eyes of the law): A significant crisis that strains her control further, and Amy not being able to talk to Victoria about it. That's it. That leads to Amy losing control of her power and not having anyone around to keep her from doubling down. The specific circumstances in canon(she screws up Victoria, after a month of fighting with her family, post-Endbringer, and then her downfall is pushed along by Jack Slash) is what led to the Victoria flesh-coffin etc, but "Amy breaks someone she can't fix, freaks out, makes things worse" was a pretty logical place for her to end up given...everything.

So how can this be avoided? We can't stop constant crises from occurring, this is Brockton Bay. And the longer things go, the more tired she gets, thus the smaller the needed crisis would be. And fixing her mental issues probably takes a team of professionals a few years.

Step one, therefor, is bulking up her support structure. Doesn't matter if it's Taylor, Lisa, a SI char, having Amy join the Wards/Travellers/Uber and Leet/a book club, whatever. Just have her talking about her life on a regular basis to SOMEONE who she isn't related to. Preferably more than one person, otherwise there's still a risk of her turning a child into a Nilbog creation while her new friend and Victoria are both busy.

Next, we remove her from some of her sources of stress(meaning Carol). Anything you try to do while Carol is still around will just be undone by Carol's pressures.

THEN we introduce the team of professional head-shrinkers. This could happen earlier, since a therapist is one more person Amy can call with "I just screwed up", but I distrust Carol's reaction to her disliked daughter seeking professional help. (and it doesn't have to be a professional TBH, just someone to help work through her issues, but a professional is both trained in not making things worse and also is disconnected from the broader cape community, which lets them be objective in a way that, say, Lisa isn't).

Now I don't think this stops Amy from eventually losing control of her power and hurting someone. And she probably still can't fix it, her shard is canonically a dick. There's enough crises in the Bay to both make her overwork and to make her break her rules at some point, even if it's not specifically the S9 who does it. But if she screws up when she has multiple people she can call for advice, when she's been away from Carol's additional stress, and when someone's been unpacking her list of issues, I think further damage could be prevented and Amy could keep helping people despite the bumps.

[godihatethiswebsite]

Desert Oasis

✽ Johnny "Soap" Mactavish x f!reader (The Mummy AU)

Main Masterlist ✽ Ao3

✽ Part 7 - Gearing up for the road ahead

I intended to get this out to you guys much earlier, but my health stole my brain bunnies and then the chapter grew a lot bigger than I'd originally anticipated. I'm actually forcing myself to break it up from the 10k monstrosity it currently is (and I'm not done with yet ><) into this chunk half the size so that you're not waiting another week or so.

The good news is I've got a bunch of the next part already done because of that so hopefully the wait won't be as long :)

i'm not jinxing myself by saying that. what are you talking about >>;

Kyle hadn't let you walk after everything and you were far too drained from the day's events to argue. He'd gotten to his feet and hoisted you up into his arms, cradling you to his chest as you wrapped your arms around his neck and rested your eyes for a bit. His body warmth wasn't a cure-all, but it certainly helped given the fact that you were dressed in a sopping wet short cotton batiste nightgown with only your knickers on underneath. Letting yourself be carried wasn't just because you were tired and shoeless - it was also helping to preserve your modesty. 

Something like that shouldn't really matter at a time like this considering one of your male companions was family and the other had already seen you in the state when he was saving your life (twice now). However, you weren't the only people out here despite not running into anyone else as you three made the trek southward. You didn’t want to be caught so exposed should your paths cross with any of your companions from the wreckage. 

Unlikely, but better to be safe than sorry.

They'd opted to delay settling down for the night and keep traveling for a little bit longer, arguing that they were too wound up from the ‘festivities’ to find much sleep anyways. While you were certain adrenaline must’ve had them on edge, you suspected they were moreover worried about the men in black robes coming back in the middle of the night to finish what they started. That thought weighed heavy in your gut, sending a shiver down your spine easily mistaken for the slight chill of the desert. 

By the time it was decided you were far enough away from the wreckage for their comfort, you had begun to lull off in Kyle’s hold, fighting the pull of slumber from a mixture of pure stubbornness and the lingering paranoia of being snuck up on once again. It was doubtful sleep would come easy to you tonight if it even did at all.

Being so close to the Nile had lush vegetation scattered throughout the area, your cousin finding a small patch of softer earth to place you down upon while Johnny rested his back against a nearby palm. Neither of them had a go at building a fire for warmth, not wanting to risk being spotted and leaving your only light source to be the heavenly planets above. The nearby crop provided cover from wandering eyes which helped ease your anxieties a little at least.

“Who was it that attacked us?” The question from your lips was one that no one had yet to voice aloud, but was on everyone’s minds in one form or another. 

Your cousin plopped down in the grass next to you, scratching a hand over his scalp in a show of obvious frustration parroted by the expression he wore.

“Wish I had an answer for you, dolly. Been rattlin' my brain over that all night and yet still only comin' up empty handed. Could’ve just been as simple as a rogue band of desert dwellers looking for easy pickings and we were the poor bastards who got unlucky.”

“That's a right load and ye know it, Garrick.” Johnny’s voice had a growl to it that gave away his own internal thoughts, rooting around in his rucksack in what you suspect was an effort to check over his few remaining belongings. “If that were true then they’d ‘ave taken somethin’ with ‘em. Ye dunnae sink a ship yer tryin’ ta make coin off of.”

“They were looking for something.” Even with how soft your voice was interjecting into the conversation, both pairs of eyes swiveled towards you immediately, imploring you to continue with your explanation. 

“One of the men… in my room,” your gaze briefly landed on Johnny as you thought back to how he found you being held captive with a dagger to your throat, eyes burning through you in a way you had to mentally shake yourself out of in remembrance, “h-he asked me something… about a key. He was looking for it and got incensed when I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about.”

The two of them shared a look at the details of your brief encounter, trying to piece together a puzzle that was taking more shape but still lacked too many parts.

“Seems like someone on board was hiding something,” came your cousin’s reply, an ominous implication that had you over analyzing the people you’d come in contact with over the course of the day. “Question is: which one was the thief and which one was the conservator?”

Too much blood had been spilt for you to even consider the notion that the men in black were even remotely the good guys, but you couldn’t help the nagging tug in the deep recesses of your brain that was trying to place why some part of you recognized something about the man who threatened you. You were certain you’d never seen his face before, but there was an element of his appearance that kept itching something you couldn’t seem to scratch. 

Perhaps clarity would find you in the morning when the events that brought you here weren’t so fresh in your mind.

Turning your attention back to Johnny, you brought up the other thought that had been tumbling around upstairs although it was far less pressing of a matter. “That man across the river. Friend of yours?”

You’d been half expecting the displeased snort you received in response based on the short interaction you’d witnessed, but it was Kyle who answered first. 

“Philip Graves. Bit of a mercenary who took up occasional employment with His Majesty’s forces.” There was a sourness to his tone that spoke volumes towards his opinion of the man. “Ran a few with him back in the day. Thought he was actually a good bloke at first, but turns out he’s just another man out only for his own skin, no honor or loyalty to be found.”

“Had a bit o’ a run in with him on the ferry tonight. Certainly put the eejit back in his place, or so ah thought. Damn dog doesnae ken when ta stay down.” 

Your ears perked up in interest at the reveal, a latch clicking in your head as you put two and two together.

The glance over your shoulder. 

That must’ve been why he ushered you back below decks. Hearing the way they spoke about the man had you grateful you’d avoided that particular encounter… though you were intrigued by the conversation that surely followed.

“Oh yeah?” You could certainly tell that lifted Kyle’s spirits a bit to hear. “Have a proper go at him, did ya?”

“Well he ended up takin’ a bit o’ a premature swim if that’s wha’ yer implying.” The grin on Johnny's face was positively impish, making even the corners of your own lips quirk up in amusement. “But ah did manage tae find out one useful piece o’ information. Turns out he’s the one leadin’ the Americans to Hamunaptra.”

“Bloody hell. You serious?” That wasn’t a reassuring response coming from your cousin.

“‘Fraid so. Bastard was more than happy ta flap his gob about his recent ventures. Americans paid him half upfront, half when he gets ‘em there. Looks like we’re stuck with our ol’ buddy Graves a bit longer than ah’d like.”

“Should I be concerned?” You glanced warily between them, feeling far too on edge tonight as it was without this added headache stacking up on top of things.

Kyle could practically feel the despair in your bones at the prospect of this journey adding even more to your plate than it already had, placing a firm hand on your knee as a small reminder that you weren’t alone in all this. “More of a nuisance than a threat, dolly. Don’t go worrying your head over something so inconsequential.

“‘Sides, there’s only so much mischief he can get up tae with the likes of us ‘round tae keep him in line.”

Coming from a pair of troublemakers, that wasn’t as much of a comfort as they probably thought it was.

By the time the next morning rolled around, you were convinced the only reason you were able to get any sleep at all was due to the sheer amount of fatigue that forced your body to eventually yield to it, having depleted all energy reserves by the time you finally closed your eyes for a proper rest.

Despite getting a full night’s reprieve, the same could not be said for your body. Muscles that hadn’t been exercised in years were howling at you as you rose to consciousness, body protesting the movement as it was even sorer now than it was only hours ago. Combined with the less than ideal sleeping arrangements (despite the decent makeshift pillow your cousin’s lap had made) you were certainly feeling it come sunrise, joints aching and cracking like kettle corn. 

The prospect of doing even more travel on foot did not appeal to you in the slightest.

You were pleasantly surprised to be offered a banana as a substitute for a hearty breakfast, Johnny pointing a little farther inland to a small cluster of trees where the offending fruit dangled from its clutches. You hadn’t noticed them in the darkness when the group first settled down, grateful to not have to continue onward without at least a little something in your belly. As far as water went, so long as you stayed near the Nile the blue waters would provide you with ample hydration. If it wasn’t for the fact you were on a bit of a timetable, you might have argued for the chance at catching a fish to fill you up even more. But they had neither the tools nor patience to effectively do it, leaving you with the fruit you quickly scarfed down.

It didn’t take long for the clothes on your backs to dry once the sun came out, glad to be rid of the uncomfortable damp that had you smelling like mildew. Were it not for the fact that you did not want to expose yourself again with a semi translucent nightgown you would’ve walked a few meters to your left and taken a much needed dip in the cool river.

Alas, you figured you’d learn to live with the stench as the desert heat would no doubt leave you with far less agreeable odors than a bit of moisture. No doubt your fellow companions were accustomed to such a life where bathing was moreso optional than it was required. 

The group followed alongside the Nile as much as possible, hoping to have a run in with others who would potentially have supplies for you to barter from. Johnny had a bit of coin stuffed in one of the pouches of his bag that could get you a decent bit of what you needed; it was just a matter of finding the right buyer to haggle with. Once it started becoming apparent that you were unlikely to encounter what you were looking for near the shore, they charted a course westward into the desert towards where Johnny hoped he remembered seeing an encampment last time he passed through this way.

They’d allowed you to walk as far as you could until the ground became too hot for their liking, having made the mistake of hissing when bare skin met a particularly scorching plot of land now that there was far less greenery to cushion your steps. Kyle hadn’t even asked this time before sweeping you up into his hold, garnering a half-hearted round of complaints from you that were quickly silenced without any real fight. You could’ve tried harder to convince them to let you keep going on your own, but without proper footwear it was genuinely becoming uncomfortable to be on the ground for more than a few moments at a time. You just hoped for your cousin’s sake that he wouldn’t have to bear the extra weight for too terribly long. Just because he was fit didn’t mean his arms didn’t eventually tire.

Conversation was minimal as you trekked through the desert, too focused on their own surroundings to do more than the occasional banter. Must’ve taken a little under an hour before Johnny held up a hand to halt your movements, recognizing a nearby rock formation and turning in that direction. If his memory served right, there was a tribe located at the base of it that was more welcoming to passersby. 

The Bedouin tribes of the Sahara were mainly known for being camel herders as opposed to sheep and cattle - for obvious reasons. They migrate as the seasons change, retreating back into the desert during the rainy winter season and towards cultivated land once the dry summer months returned. If some element of luck had not been on your side and you’d happened here during the wrong time, chances were you’d still be wandering around looking for civilization. 

Once your group got within range of the settlement, a small handful of men flagged you down at your approach, coming out to meet you while Johnny pushed you back to stand behind him. Kyle stepped forward as the men began to converse, speaking a dialect of Arabic that you were mildly familiar with but Kyle was stumbling through. He knew enough basics to get by in Cairo, but some of their words garnered looks of total confusion from him that ultimately was getting the group nowhere. 

You let him keep trying for a bit longer before taking pity on the poor sod and peeping out from behind the bulky figure protecting your modesty. Four pairs of eyes turned towards you in surprise, Johnny’s arm coming back to block you while you relayed your desire for adequate supplies and transport. When you discussed your need for appropriate clothing as well, they were kind enough to call over one of the women of the tribe who came running over holding a blanket ready to wrap around you. 

Kyle gave you a look as she rushed over, something that suggested annoyance in the thin set line of his mouth. “Wanted to watch me make a fool of myself, eh?”

You gave the woman a grateful smile as she concealed your ill-dressed form from their gaze, feeling much more at ease as she placed an arm around your shoulders and led you into camp. The grin you gave him in return spoke of thinly veiled hilarity. “Thought I'd let you try first. Give you a chance to brush up on your Arabic before emasculating you.”

Johnny didn’t even try to hide his amusement at your cousin’s expense, rewarding Kyle with a hearty slap on the back for his efforts and leaning in close to whisper something under his breath that earned him an elbow to the sternum for his words. 

You paid them no heed as you walked with your escort towards the eastern side of the settlement, the locals already conversing about the necessary details as you realized you’d be split up from the boys to leave them to deal with whatever sort of arrangements needed to be made for your travels. Hopefully there was someone more knowledgeable in English that could assist them in your absence.

You didn’t have any other experiences with the Bedouin to form a picture in your head of the size of the encampment compared to others, but it certainly wasn’t a compact setup they had going on here. Family groups living within sizeable elaborate tents fluttered about tending to their household responsibilities while their children and grandchildren darted between the structures with all the playful innocence of untouched youth. Livestock grazed amongst the small bit of foliage, corralled in pens and cages to be fattened up whilst awaiting their inevitable ends. 

The women were covered from head to toe, the men and children less hidden and sporting brighter colors and patterns. Clothing hung out to dry on suspended lines of rope, women carrying braided wicker baskets to and fro while chatting away the hours of hard work under an unforgiving sun. It was a thriving community that even out here in these barren wastelands had carved out a peaceful existence away from the worries of the larger world. 

As exciting as it was to be surrounded by peoples of such an incredibly rich culture, it was also a little nerve wracking to say the least. This tribe seemed used to trade, but there was no denying your group stuck out like a sore thumb.

Easy to feel like a complete outsider when you were one. 

How were you supposed to act out here amongst the rolling desert dunes? You knew it was a patriarchal society and you were the most scantily clad thing here, surrounded by dark veiled modest women and stern appraising eyes of men. There had to be a dozen faux pas you were breaking right now, a realization that set your teeth on edge. 

Just another example of how woefully unprepared you were to deal with anything other than wealthy socialites or bookworms.

Your cousin must have sensed your hesitancy as the woman leading your troop tried to usher you further into the settlement, a different path than the one the men were heading off towards for supplies. Not that you suspected any foul play or deceit on the Bedouins' part, but it was easier to navigate all the unfamiliarity with your much more worldly companions by your side.

“We've got this, dolly. You'll be alright on your own for a bit,” Kyle offered with a comforting grin and a hand on your shoulder. “Go get yourself proper while we take care of negotiations.”

“Jus’ give a holler if anythin’ happens and we'll come runnin’ right tae ya,” piped up Johnny with a lazy grin but a promise in his eyes that he meant every word of it. 

That soothed your nerves more than anything, flashing him a meek grateful smile as you allowed your chaperone to lead you onward with a firm hand between the shoulder blades.

It took almost no time afterwards to arrive at your apparent destination. The woman charged with your care lifted aside a curtain as she bade you enter the abode, finding a younger pair inside that looked up at you upon your arrival. One must have been closer to your age, the other far younger as she sat in the former’s lap and let her comb out her long dark tresses. She introduced them as her two daughters who greeted you warmly with bowed heads. Once they were informed of your situation, you were beckoned closer and instructed to remove your gown, the youngest off to the back to retrieve some items for a quick wash up. 

You were used to the kind of treatment they offered back in your younger years, having had servants that would assist with your bathing and beauty routine that followed. It was a bit different being given such kindness from strangers, having been stripped out of your remaining clothes and cleansed from a bucket. The desert was thoroughly scrubbed from your flesh, scalp lathered in oils that would help protect your skin and hair from the harsh rays of the sun. Even though you knew this small luxury was fleeting, it was nice to not smell like a vagrant for a little while at least.

The older woman stepped away as soon as you dried yourself, huffing under her breath that she had nothing to fit you and disappearing for what you assumed was a mission to remedy that. You were made to kneel on a cushion, towel draped around you whilst the eldest daughter took up position in front of you, a small vial of kohl in her hands to be applied to your eyes.

You were not accustomed to cosmetics being applied to your waterline, the black liner smudged above your lower lashes causing you to blink back tears. Supposedly it was good for your overall eye health, but the jury was still out until the stinging from the foreign substance subsided for you. Meanwhile, the youngest was all smiles and giggles as she settled down behind you, comb in hand that she began to gently tug through your tangles; a comment was made comparing you to one of her beloved dolls before her sister shushed her for saying so.

Their mother returned shortly with a bundle of dark cloth in her arms, ushering you to your feet as she made quick work of slipping the garments up over your head. Your underthings were replaced with similar items, all very plain and practical in contrast to the beautiful thobe they graced you with.

The material itself was made of an airy lightweight fabric and infinitely more breathable than what you left your home in yesterday morning. The black coloring was detailed with elegant hand stitched beading, silver embellishments catching the light and twinkling like little sewn-in constellations. There was a soft melodic chiming with every movement, small polished coins accenting your waist and jingling in a way that almost begged for lively music to be played. The shoes you slipped into were soft but sturdy, fine dark linen adorning your head as the woman gave you brief instructions on how best to wrap it to protect your face from the desert sands if need be. 

Once you finally got a proper look at yourself in the mirror, you were stunned at the difference a change of style and darker makeup could do to your features, a far cry from the latest London fashions shipped down to your estate in Cairo. Despite having lived in the country for most of your life, you’d never before been dressed in the cultural attire worn by some of the natives. Giving a slow twirl at the women’s urgings, you decidedly felt at home in the designs much the same way as you did in your everyday skirts.

Satisfied with your appearance, they accompanied you back out into the encampment to hunt down and rejoin the others. You had to admit that whatever trick the kohl provided, you did find yourself having to squint less under the sun’s brightness. Seeing its effects in action, you were now grateful for the small vial they’d slipped into your hand moments ago so that you could keep reapplying it during your travels.

It didn’t take long to locate Kyle and Johnny near a resting herd of camels, standing around as a group of men readied the beasts for a long trek out into the vast Sahara dunes. Seeing how much equipment was being packed onto the backs of them, you wondered just how much coin Johnny had stashed away in his bag to be able to afford the pretty penny’s worth they had acquired.

They both looked at ease as they chatted amongst themselves, Kyle leaning back against a nearby cart with his arms crossed over his chest, sleeves rolled up to his elbows much the same as his friend. He’d obtained some more gear for his person going by the leather gun holster strapped over his shoulders carrying matching pistols, a dark blue neckerchief tied above his unbuttoned dress shirt left open to reveal the tight wife beater underneath.

Your cousin had always been a bit of a pretty boy, but even with his striking good looks he was the epitome of casual danger. 

Johnny, on the other hand, looked devilishly roguish. He hadn’t altered his outfit much in comparison to Kyle - only adding a tan patterned neckerchief of his own and an extra button undone from the top - but there was a difference in the way he seemed to carry himself now. Something in his air and mannerisms that felt primed to go off at any given moment. 

This was a man in his element; not in the dredges of society, but out here amongst the wild and the unexpected. You’d seen him as a low-life; you’d seen him more refined. Now you were seeing him as he truly was: a fighter — both of them.

His appearance lured you in, his eyes ensnaring you as the pair at last took notice of your approach. Where your cousin offered you one of his signature bright smiles, Johnny’s face became deceptively neutral. Gone was the grin he’d just shared with your cousin, hidden behind something you desperately wanted to claw at. It was as if all the emotion retreated from his expression only to be refocused behind the gaze he swallowed you up with, dark blue sapphires holding you defenselessly captive and burning hot coals in places you’d never reached before. 

It wasn’t until Kyle stepped forward and broke your line of sight with Johnny that you were able to blink away from whatever he’d been subconsciously trying to relay to you.

“There’s our girl.” Kyle took hold of your hand and gave you a spin, eyes raking over your new attire as you blushed from his playful attentions. “Far cry from the frills and stuffy dresses you usually force yourself into every day, huh dolly?”

Pulling your hand from his, you gave him a light shove that he had the decency to fake stumbling back from. “I happen to like those dresses, thank you very much. Nothing wrong with enjoying the finer parts of being a lady. Meanwhile, sir, you seem to have lost your waistcoat.” You couldn’t help but tease him back as you tugged at his open billowy dress shirt. 

“Not much to impress out in the middle of nowhere. Certainly not you lot,” he added, tossing a grin back at your companion.

Johnny had returned to normal by the time your vision swept that way, the previous interaction a mere mirage as he returned the snarky comment with a playful one of his own. “Yer right. Ain’t no damsels in distress ‘round fer ye to showboat fer. Aye, hen?”

The wink he sent your way paired with the subtle compliment left you glowing, something fluttering in your chest that you pushed aside so as not to let it fester.

Your cousin snorted his response, Johnny’s attention pulled to the Bedouin man next to him that had finished securing the group’s new belongings to your transportation. He gave the man a quick smile and a nod as he took hold of the reins, giving the camel a firm pat on its neck. Turning his awareness back to you, Johnny motioned with his head for you to approach. 

“Ever rode a camel, lass?”

“Oh, no. I learned side saddle on horses when we visited Kyle’s family estate during the summers, but beyond that it’s been years since I’ve even been on the back of one.” You reached out to give the animal a scritch on its head behind the ears, the short dense hairs course yet fluffy to the touch. 

“Not much different,” he shrugged, eyes keen on your form. “Jus’ a wee bit taller and bumpier a ride, s’all. Ye’ll have it down in no time.”

Johnny gave a downward tug on the reins; that paired with a clicking noise from his tongue had the camel lowering itself on folded knees to the earth, resting on its legs as he slapped his hand down on the padded blanketed seat. “Best we be gettin’ a move on then.”

You were suddenly aware of the fact that there were three of them in the vicinity, one for each of you to be riding separately. You’d anticipated having to share with one of the others, not quite sure how to logistically navigate this on your own. “How am I meant to sit on that thing? The way it moves I’ll be forced to grip the pommel the whole time so as not to take a tumble off the side.”

“Looks like yer gonna get a taste o’ wha’ it’s like tae be a man, lass.”

That wasn't exactly a welcome response.

“O-one leg on each side?” The notion caught you off guard, wide eyes glancing down at your dress which was admittedly a lot flowier and less constricting than normal. Flashing skin was far less scandalous than it had been when you were born, but it wasn’t something you were used to doing even with some type of pantyhose or stocking underneath. You hadn’t much need for flapper dresses nowadays with the company you kept.

“Go on, dolly.” Kyle was looking far too entertained at your obvious hesitance to break out of your comfort zone, hopping up on his own stead with practiced ease. “You wanted to be an adventurer, yeah? Gotta get over this hump first.”

You pulled at your bottom lip with your teeth, hands fidgeting with some of the small coins belted around your waist in nervousness. Should you scoot onto it from the side and swing your legs over? Do you gather up the material first and then sit down? Why was this so bloody hard when the men made it look easy?

“Right, up ye get.” Apparently not possessing the patience for you to figure out how best to mount the beast in a skirt, you squeaked as Johnny's firm calloused hands suddenly took hold of your waist, hefting you up the short height onto the animal and depositing you in the saddle. With how wide your legs parted to accommodate its size, your thobe rode up past your stockings to reveal your knees and lower thighs, grabbing at the thin material and trying to drag it down as far as it could go to maintain some slight modesty. 

You didn’t have time to be embarrassed as Johnny once again made a clicking sound with his tongue, patting the camel on its haunches as it began to stand from its resting position. You scrambled for the saddle pommel with a vice grip, squealing at the clunky rocking motion that jarred you as it rose to its full height. If your reflexes had been even a moment slower, you would've flown ass over tea kettle off the back and onto the hard ground below.

Settling back down after that brief scare, you were shocked at just how much you towered over everything. You were used to the elevation that came with being on a horse; this creature had well over a foot on your largest thoroughbred.

“Lookit that!” Johnny clapped his hands excitedly with a throaty chuckle. “Yer a proper natural.” With how wide of a grin he was giving you, you nearly missed the way his eyes briefly admired the exposed skin of your lower half before patting your foot from his spot below in supportive praise. 

He left you alone to mosey on over to his own ride, Kyle bringing his camel up alongside yours and flashing you a smile which you found impossibly infectious. Here you were, astride a massive beast in the middle of the Sahara about to undertake a journey that would help change humanity’s understanding of ancient Egyptian society during the New Kingdom forever.

You couldn’t wait to find the long lost City of the Dead and all the excitement it would bring.

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[cryptidsurveys]

Saturday, June 7th, 2025.

Who have you texted today? I texted my dad a couple of times, and I sent a medical photo and a cute kitty photo to the cattery group chat (the pic I posted with the previous survey - kittens with Mo in the background like wtf).

What was the last thing to piss you off? Hmm.

Recently, who in your house has gotten on your nerves the most? My dad is the only other person who lives here.

What at all has pissed you off today, if anything at all? Nothing has pissed me off.

How nice of a person are you, honestly? I don't think anyone I know would say I'm not a nice person, but I don't think I'm really all that nice. I don't always think the kindest thoughts; I can be selfish, envious, resentful, twofaced, etc; my motives aren't always pure and altruistic. However, all that being said, I'm probably not a terrible person either. Just flawed, but because I do have a conscience and I don't want to feel or act in certain ways, I'm continuing to work on those things.

What good things have happened today? The best part was getting to spend some time with the "fruit litter" kittens. They were moved into cattery just yesterday and they are so stinkin' cute.

What have you recently gotten the most compliments on? I'm not sure.

Who was the last person you made plans with? My dad.

Do you get angry often? When was the last time you got into a fight with someone? Is this something that you do regularly? I get angry on the inside fairly often, or some similar cocktail of emotions. I will share and express those feelings with others, primarily or most openly and vulnerably with people I trust, but I don't often have massive outbursts in which I direct my emotions at someone specific (or "the source"). They still happen, but they're much less frequent than they were in the past. The last time I experienced something like a fight was during a therapy session a few weeks ago. I haven't had an appointment go that far sideways in quite some time. Thankfully, the next appointment was a whole lot better.

Have you ever wanted to be homeschooled? If so, why? If not, why not? Do you know anyone who is, or have you ever been homeschooled yourself? I was "homeschooled" for a semester during high school through an online program. It was so brief and unremarkable that I don't really have much to say about the experience.

Do you have a lot of clothes? I have accumulated far too much clothing. I'm planning on getting rid of a trash bag's worth of junk per week from the master bathroom + closet area, so that will force me to finally go through it all and hopefully scale it down. One bag down, idek how many to go, lmao.

Have you ever got your phone taken away cause you were in trouble? I don't think so.

What was the last meal you ate? I had a steak salad for lunch.

Where is the next place you will travel to? I don't have any significant travel plans, but the next place I will be going is the animal shelter tomorrow morning.

Have you cried today at all? I haven't.

What were you doing at 8:00 this morning? I was on my way to the shelter.

Do you have any gay friends? All of my friends are somewhere along the rainbow spectrum.

What is something you currently want? Divine intervention for obsessive + intrusive thoughts. =__=;

Do you like to have long hair or short hair? Short hair.

What was the last thing that was bought for you? Some cute frog stickers! Riley bought them for me at the reptile expo I didn't attend.

Do you like to eat ice? Not really.

What was the highlight of your week? All the rainy weather, volunteering, and visiting the mountain park.

Are you good looking? I don't think I'm ugly, not at all, but I don't think I'm conventionally attractive either. I mostly like the way I look, though.

Last thing you ate? Greek yogurt with apple chunks, blueberries, and chocolate syrup, plus the last little bit of a snack bar thing.

Last thing you drank? Water.

When was the last time you had your heart broken? Relationship-wise, not since 2018.

How do you feel about your hair right now? Pretty good.

Have you ever been IN a wedding? No.

Are your toes always painted? No.

What states have you lived in? Louisiana as a young child and then Colorado for most of my life.

[irisrainbowplumed]

Hihi! Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in being an Iris devotee? I'm a beginner and closeted about my practice, so I can't have an altar.

hi!! i apologize for the late response since this blog runs mainly on a queue. and as a disclaimer im not an authority on anything haha so this is just going off my own (naturally ongoing) journey, i encourage you to do your own research as well.

i would definitely recommend getting familiar with the basics of hellenic polytheism and its concepts, like kharis, miasma, kthonic vs ouranic etc (i think i should have a basics tag, and i can also point you in the direction of people in the community with easily accessible lists of resources and basics and such, but i also recommend reading for yourself too! there's a lot to learn but ive found it very calming and educational. and you get to sort of decide whether you want to do things traditionally according to ancient sources or modernize a little)

id also like to point out the difference between a worshipper and a devotee. being a devotee, to me, means i spend extra time worshipping iris and working with her (so i approach her with stuff you might consider the domain of another god because she's the main deity i worship). ive worshipped iris for a good chunk of time, and i really thought about it before i devoted myself to her. it can be a bit of a jump haha

and the great thing about all of this is that you don't need an altar to be a hellenic polytheist! as someone who didn't have an altar for a long time, i absolutely understand the want for one, but i promise the gods won't think any less of you for it.

i like to write prayers/poems for the gods as a devotional act, which is one way to express worship. there are lots of devotional acts you can do specific to a specific deity. so for iris i wear/decorate with rainbows and write letters. sometimes i wear jewelry that makes me think of her, and ive drawn how she appears to me a few times.

libations are one way to give physical offerings to the gods, in this case liquids. stuff like wine, water, milk, honey and oil were used. depending on the type of god, they could be poured into the dirt for kthonic gods or poured into a bowl and left there. so personally i say a quick prayer before i drink something, like "i offer this libation/drink to you, [whomever]." but ill also offer drinks on my nightstand or on my altar and leave them there for a day or two before pouring them out.

you can offer food to the gods, too! whether it be your meal or something else. i have fig trees in my garden and i will often offer the first of the season to the gods. understanding that this is a different time and many people can't afford to burn food or dispose of it, i make a prayer before i eat offering it to the gods.

im disabled, so the way i worship might be a little different than the average person. i again encourage you to look up key terms and readings before jumping in. i know i sound like a broken record but i promise you'll be glad haha

i hope you have a wonderful time introducing yourself to iris!! be kind to yourself and your limitations and remember that the gods understand

here's some blogs that have good masterposts and resources !!

piristephes

honor-the-gods

verdantly-violet

thegrapeandthefig

theoi-crow

khaire-traveler

crazycatsiren

[sassysnowperson]

Soup 1: Leftover Autumn Squash Soup

I really need to get better at photographing soup if I want this Soup Quest thing to actually look good. Considerations for the future. Onto the soup!

Soup Source: holiday leftovers! I didn't cook it! I ate it on January 1st so it's not cheating.

Major Flavors: Autumn squash, carrot, sweet spices

Major Textures : Smooth, with some squash and carrot-y bits

Heartiness of soup: It was filling! The pureed squash adds a nice thickness

Post-Soup-Nap-Factor: Minimal. A brief doze at most.

Reheat-ability : Excellent. With the extra time for the flavors to mingle together, very good upon a reheat.

Travel considerations: The sporadic chunks make it a bit difficult to transfer, but once you get it in a container I think it'd store well and certainly reheat well for a lunch.

Accompaniments: I added a topping of sour cream and sriracha, this was wonderful for me. This would be amazing with a bread - a biscuit, or a slice of butter sourdough. Would also be very good as a first course before something like a chicken roast.

Final thoughts - a good soup, particularly since I didn't make it myself. I taste the love in it. Little underseasoned for my taste, but once I added the sriracha it, plenty of flavor.

[talesfromthespiritforest]

Fanfic Questions

I was sent these questions by @skelezomperman! I'm supposed to tag two more people to do this, but I'm not sure who to tag, so do these if you'd like.

How many works do you have on Ao3? 84

What is your total word count? 90,940

What are your top 5 by kudos? Wings, The Rose of Belhalla, One Solstice Night, I Walked With You Once Upon A Dream, Cinder and Ash

What fandoms do you write for? Primarily Fire Emblem at the moment, but I've written for Kirby, Dragalia Lost, and other various Nintendo franchises before. I have an interesting relationship with fanfics. Liking the source material doesn't necessarily mean I'll enjoy fanfics of it. I can't explain why, either-- it's a very je nais se quois feeling. Perhaps I'll branch out in the future.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to, but sometimes I forget or I just don't know how to express my feelings in words!!! But my goodness, I am very grateful for comments.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Most of the Darktober fics have angsty endings, but I think Zeal takes the cake.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I'm not sure-- most of the fics I write tend to have happy endings.

Have you ever gotten hate on fics? No, thank goodness… At least not yet. One future Longfic idea feels like it might be swinging a bat at a hornet's nest…

Do you write crossovers? Yes! Two plans I have for the future are crossovers between the two FE4 gens and another FE game.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No, and I don't see why anyone would.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I know of.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? No, and I've never considered it. I do worry I would be too controlling in this situation. This might be one of the few times that's a concern for me.

What's your all-time favorite ship? Oh dear… I've got a lot of ships I love. But I suppose Sigdre is the top at the moment.

What's the WIP you want to finish but probably never will? There's a crack fic draft I have deep in my Google Docs called "The Adventures of Sir Ferdinand and his Amazing Squire". It's all about Sir Ferdinand and Squire Ignatz traveling across Fodlan to save Princess Flayn from the clutches of the Agarthans. There's comically large chunks of meat, an entire Star Wars parody sequence, and a car that contains a copy of the Twilight series soundtrack. Unfortunately I haven't pieced together enough gags for an entire plot yet, and I'm not sure I ever will. But I do love writing crack fics as I can just let loose and be silly.

What are your writing strengths? I remember years ago I was told I have a knack for dialogue. It does come very easy to me, which is funny since I'm very introverted in real life.

What are your writing weaknesses? Description. I tend to worry I'm not being descriptive enough, and then focus for an hour on trying to find the right word while I'm drafting. I also struggle with body language and movement.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I've done this, and I do like it! It adds some worldbuilding in when done properly. However, I worry that since I'm not a polygot, I'm going to make silly mistakes due to the use of online dictionaries and translators rather than actual classes. I took French in High School and German in College, but most of it flew out of my brain. Right now I've got German as the old language of Grannvale, but I might have to remove it since I forgot a bunch of the rules.

First fandom you wrote for? Super Smash Brothers! I saw crack fanfic of it and it made me laugh a ton, so I tried to make some myself. Granted mine was very PG compared to the stuff I was reading.

Favorite fic you've ever written? I want to say The Rose of Belhalla, but it's nowhere near finished! I've been putting too much pressure on myself to make it my magnum opus.

[fromgenius]

Niche Kin Appreciation: Questions 1-10

credits to this post for the prompts! i'm gonna do them in chunks in my free time, so here's the first set! will link back when i do more questions lol sources censored so as not to appear in regular fandom search!

Introduce your kin.

Hi! I’m Kamiya from the anime idol franchise Sid//e//M! Currently, I go by Leo, as a reference to another kintype of mine. I normally also type way differently than this! But I’m gonna try and be understandable and have wayyyy less text strain since this kinda thing feels like it deserves it! Soooo yeah I’m Kamiya! I’m the leader of the unit Cafe Parade, as well as the owner of a cafe by the same name! I started it with my best friend Shinonome (who’s also in our system! hi luna!!!!), and we’ve picked up other members/staff over time. Shinonome mainly focuses on desserts, while Asselin is our main cook! Our two waiters are Makio and Saki. All together, we’re a five person unit! Aside from idol work and cafe work, one of my bigggg claims to fame is that I am TERRIBLE with direction. I absolutely love to travel! I want to travel the world and see all the sights I can, experiencing so many different cultures and learning as much as I can! butttttt i might not be built for it! getting on the wrong train, going to the wrong hotel, booking the wrong plane and ending up in a completely different place than where I planned on going… just par for the course, really! Thankfully, I have my wonderful unitmates to help me so I don’t die in a ditch somewhere! Again! I’m also Yuri from An//gel Be//ats, so, yeah, I’ve died in a canon source before. My dream is to make everyone as happy as I can. A cup of tea, a slice of cake, and a kind smile… Cafe Parade provides it all, so that you can have a wonderful day! We’re a little chaotic, but we have a great time! We hope our energy is contagious, and that you’ll have a good time listening to us!

Make a playlist for your kin.

technically it ends at drive a live, but i added more kind of because i thought all the titles next to each other would be fun

Share 5 fun facts about your kin.

1. Yeah, I’ve met aliens. You know how it is! No need to get real deep into it. 2. Why did I start Cafe Parade? Well. I got robbed while traveling overseas! Thankfully, I was saved from dying in a desert by a very kind cafe owner. I decided a cafe would be the best way to make people happy! 3. I am a littleeee bit obsessed with tea. Yes, there is an idol who is quite literally a tea ceremony preparer, so I wouldn’t consider myself to be the “tea idol” by any means, but I do enjoy making and drinking tea. 4. I did terrible in school! I’d love to learn languages more, and can generally understand English (I just can’t read it at all). Unfortunately… I’m bad at learning? 5. Shoutout to the time I accidentally walked into some random person’s wedding and just stayed to celebrate. Fun times!

Do a photodump for your kin.

Posted one above, but here’s some of my fave cards of me! 2 from each game!

Assign colors to your kin.

Well! In idol culture, series like Ido//lm@//ster included, a lot of idols have “image colors”! This is a color that is most associated with the idol. So, when that idol is performing in a concert, fans will hold up their penlights in that color. My own image color is brown, like tea. Though, oftentimes people prefer to hold up the image color of Cafe Parade in general. Our unit’s image color is purple! So, when Shopan (my voice provider) performs, everyone will hold up purple penlights.

Share about your kin’s hearthome.

Hmmmmmmmmm……… this is a toughy! While in source, I feel happiest when I’m traveling to Mexico, I’m not sure I personally have a hearthome! The world is beautiful everywhere. I don’t feel connected to any particular place. Traveling is in my blood! So, in a way, the whole world is my hearthome?

Share your favorite aspects of your kin.

Not gonna lie, it can be really hard to separate myself from being Kamiya! He's me, and I’m him! So, talking about my favorite parts of myself is a little… hard? I guess I like my positivity and want for everyone to be happy! I’m really motivated to help everyone and make life better, so that way everyone can smile and have a good day!

Write a poem or drabble.

aaaaaaaaaaaaa no im SO bad at writing poetry skip skip skip!!!!!!!!!!!

Create a moodboard.

Share a piece of media that relates to/reminds you of your kin.

Is it okay to talk about how my other kintypes remind me of Kamiya? I’m Chi//aki Mori//sawa! Hero that defends all, and fights against people who aim to make others unhappy! I hate bullies and want to protect everyone! So! Idkkkk I see the connection! Also I KNOW the aliens are such a small part of my character but I loveeee aliens. I did when I was Too//ru Oik//awa too! Aliens are great. But yeah! I see myself, Kamiya included, in anything heroic. Cafe Parade may not be a hero unit, but we’ll help you to smile!

[pkmntrainersquid]

[off screen post]

Fire on the Mountain, Lightnin' in the Air

[Non-Canon]

"Thanks, Chessie." Squid said, recalling the massive pokémon into its ball before sliding in through the window. Flicking on the light of her charger, he scanned this level of Dragonspiral Tower. The stairs upward are on the opposite side of the floor.

Despite being in better shape than the present-day tower, the thousands of years since its construction are evident in the rubble and wear throughout the site. Several columns have collapsed, littering the floor with chunks of the floor above.

Picking their way across the floor, he stops when one step pushes into the floor. Yellow eyes gleam from all around as the pressure plate activates the ancient guardians of the tower.

"Ope, that's not good." Squid calls Remmi out of her pokéball, the fish suctioning onto her trainer's forearm to keep their hands free. Absently testing the mobility of his ankle, Squid thinks up a strategy as the Golett close in.

Alright, Golett are not good at fighting ranged, so as long as I can keep out of reach... The upper floors should be safe, they aren't dexterous enough to get around the crumbling floor.

Deep breath in, and run. Dashing up a toppled column, they aim Remmi at the nearest guard pokémon to douse them with a Water Pulse. Alright, just keep 'er moving.

A small cluster of Golett block the bottom of the stairs. "Remmi! Aqua Jet, clear a path!" The water type detaches herself from Squid's arm, shooting off into the obstructive pokémon.

Squid retrieves her partner, climbing the stairs as fast as he could. The horde of Golett followed, their shorter legs slowing them down. Reaching the top, they take a leap across a gap to another platform. Leaning against the support pillar, she looks at the Golett staring at her from the top of the stairs. "Sorry boys, but I gotta go." He carefully makes his way across the third floor, wary of the edges of the platforms.

Other than the Golett, the only other pokémon they saw as he climbed were a few swoobat that kept to the dark ceilings of the middle floors. Soon she was climbing the last staircase to the seventh floor, an intense energy pushing back on every step.

The room Squid entered was beautiful. Ornate carvings across every wall and column, faded tapestries almost untouched by the hand of time. Two pedestals stand in the center of the room, round stones atop them seem to be the source of the powerful aura.

You have traveled far, wanderer. Farther through Time and Space than you should have.

It echoed through Squid's mind. The voice came from the stone on the left - the Light Stone, if her memory of Unovan history was accurate. It was stern, calculated. It reminds Squid of her flight instructor, all business so long as the engine's running.

We called you here as a test of character. To determine what shall be done. What it is that you seek.

The second voice, that of the Dark Stone, was rougher than its counterpart, with a passion, a pride underneath. It calls to mind how her grandpa's friends would tell their tales of braving the Lakes' heavy storms in ships laden with iron.

"I... I want to go home. Back to my own world." Squid had to put everything she has into not letting the fear slip into his voice. Not that it was effective.

Yet you know the Truth is that that is beyond your power.

Doubts and fear fill your mind. If you had the choice to fulfill your Dream, would you?

Squid paused, the words of the legends cutting deep. He had never been one to look to the future, and so hadn't given much thought to what leaving would look like.

"I really do want to go home, but I'm worried about my new friends. My world doesn't have the wild space for a pokémon as large as Chessie, and I can't separate Orpheus from his family."

These fears must be pushed aside if you truly wish to seize your Ideal path. Else you shall freeze at the moment of realization and it will slip from your fingers.

Maybe it's to be expected that the embodiments of Truth and Ideals also carry the negatives of each. Still, the callousness to suggest abandoning his partners enrages Squid.

"I'm not gonna just turn my back on them! Do you know how painful it is, knowing that in 40 years there won't be any Migratory Pidove anymore? That the swamp out there'll be drained damn near all the way down?" Squid pulls out her phone, taking a step towards the dormant dragons. "Seein' my friends go through all sorts of shit and being unable to help?"

The air becomes charged with ozone, pulses of energy emitting from the Dark Stone. Managing to stay upright, Squid unclips his shovel and takes a defensive stance. Suddenly the energy dissipates, silence returning to the vault.

I like this one. They carry their own Ideals and have the willpower to challenge any who oppose them.

They cloak themself in too many half-Truths for my taste. But I'll defer to you on this one.

Squid held his stance as the adrenaline fades, confused as to why the Dragons were sparing them. Her backpack opened slightly, a trinket floating out to hang in the air in front of him. A harmonica, bought from a little shop in Castelia as a gift for when she gets home. It becomes enveloped in lightning, etching designs reminiscent of the Black Dragon of Legend.

Although I cannot take you as my Hero, I can gift you with this. Your partners will be able to hear and understand the meanings behind its music. Use it to seek an Ideal relationship with pokémon.

Taking the instrument, Squid thanks the Dragons and starts making their way down the tower. The Golett don't attack, having been called off by their charges. Chessie brings her back to the spot they'd camped the night before, giving a concerned screech and nuzzling as lightly as he could against his trainer.

[jarl-deathwolf]

I heard about it, but only in passing. I didn't realize it had given qualities to all the trees like that, though, DANG! That's a treasure trove, honestly, since I've spent a good amount of time trying to find associations like that but all I ever got for my trouble was New Age nonsense.

Its very handy to have those associations on hand, especially since a good chunk of them aren't things I would naturally assume of Dagfolk. Having them be sneaky or poisonous or swift adds some variety and depth to them that I wouldn't have considered.

But also I'm quite happy that my two existing Dagfolk (an Ash and an Oak) line up rather nicely with their types. I will definitely be yoinking that idea about bluebell alarms in the Great Oak's glade

With the bards, I thought that was the case but I wanted to be sure. I feel like for her 'famous' name she'd pick a poetic-type name to do with her specialty of old legends and nearly lost myths. Like 'light in the fog' or 'Unfailing memory'. For a 'I just want to pass through without trouble' name... honestly I do like Seren for that. Maybe Seren Goch, since the red suggests itself? "yo i'm red seren, anyway heres the ballad of King Arthur" [four hours of intense crwth playing]

And speaking of bards! I got inspired to name a few of the realms after some famous real world ones, and after I had a few named it became easier to name the rest and now I FINALLY have all twenty four of the Fellish realms named 😤

I have a few new questions, which I'll slap under a Read More - though we might be getting to the point that a new ask or post would be a good idea. 🤔

First up, the environmental questions How do the seasons shake out in Wales? Is there a huge difference seasonally in different parts of it? I'm mainly asking since there is a lot of travel in this story during all parts of the year, so the main things I need to know are what sort of extreme weather they might face (thunderstorms, floods, tornadoes, etc etc), and what sort of clothes they'd be expected to wear across seasons.

I've been assuming that summers are warm enough to wear light or very little clothing, and winters require heavy cloaks and multiple layers.

Somewhat related to that is what can I expect that my character can forage in the woods while traveling? You've already mentioned some game animals, but what about things like mushrooms and berries? What seasons would they not need to worry about food so much? Lastly for environments is rivers and lakes - I assume that, with all the rain and hills, there are lots of little ones. Which would likely be the source of all those waterfalls. Do they flow together into big rivers, or do they stay pretty small and empty out into lakes and the ocean?

A couple new cultural questions as well: So I try to give each culture a few crafts that they are known continent-wide for, and for the Fellish I gave them weaving, wood carving, and poetry. I always heard that sheep - and thus, wool - were huge economically for Wales, and I read that flannel was invented in Wales (which I immediately gave to my Fellish). But the wood carving thing was based entirely off the stuff I've heard about the fancy love spoons (which I have since incorporated as Fellish wedding traditions). Are there specialized crafts in Wales? Either that exist to the modern day, or that Wales was historically known for? I also had a possible idea for a scene to establish Llywela's bardic chops early on in the story by besting Mari Lwyd (or her local, Fellish spirit equivalent) in a flyting duel. I just really like the silliness of Mari Lwyd that I've heard about (the drinking, the wassailing, the Shenanigans™️).

Hi hello! I'm writing a story in my original world, set in a Fantasy Wales. A King Arthur Returns type story, if that matters.

I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about Welsh ecology? And possibly also some cultural details?

Thanks ahead of time! And I understand if you decline or don't respond!

YES OH MY GOD YES HELLO

[traumxrei-archive]

【 book 6 thoughts ! (3) 】

back at it again ^^ had so much fun laughing bc rook and idia in this chunk of chapters jfksdjfs

part: one, two, three, four / ??

[ spoilers from 6-36 till 6-42 below the cut ! ]

[ about : hunt family's villas ]

lowk sad that they didn't spend more time narrating rookepeyuu's travels together. i'm sure we would've gotten a lot of good banter between them ++ taking a look at the hunt family's villas *eyes emoji*

also. rook being a middle child.....thinking on that.... but also WHEW five siblings, and they call themselves a clan ?? when epel says "the more i learn, the more mysterious you become" i am seconding his words.

[ about : le chasseur d'amour ]

FUCK IM CRYISNFDJSHFJS— i love the way the whole base is scrambling bc !!! omg the base is under attack !!! how could this happen !! and idia pulls up the surveillance feeds and it's this blond frenchman zooming around on a broom introducing himself to the mf OCEAN— (also rook calling vil his "meiyuu" aka sworn friend cryinggggg and sobbingggg)

I STILL CAN'T GET OVER HIM DOING A WHOLE SELF INTRO FOR THE PPL THAT DON'T KNOW HIM !! and then idia n ortho's reactions are so funny for no reason jdfksjf (once again, idia tryna avoid violence and ordering to "secure" rook instead of "removing" him)

[ about : alas... ]

ok rook was the only person whose "defeat" was convincing. the way epel is so bad at acting...and not yuu saying alas of all things to signify their defeat sjkfdsf this is so funnyyy

[ about : rule of the island ]

"the rule of this island is to return the living back to where they came from, alive." that means that they don't intend to hurt people or kill people. and the only beings that are on the island are the staff and probably any phantoms they kept alive for experimentation.

[ about : saving vil's life ]

i'm having such a blast laughing at rook's antics this time sjkfjdf not idia letting them in bc "vil might have a life threatening illness that no one knows about" and "rook might have the medicine he needs" aND HE BRINGS OUT A BAG OF RETINOL AND VIT C SERUM PPPLEASEEEE

idia: y-you're really just giving him skincare ? not trying to help them escape ?

rook: that is right ! as the chasseur d'amour it is my duty to—

idia: it's clearly not worth risking your life over skin creams. like, ever.

[ about : ouchhh ]

ok idia did NOT have to say that about yuu— that just hurt to even read bc we know how yuu's been feeling about themself after all that's happened around them...

[ about : nice ride, idia ]

ok but. why does this

kinda remind me of the batmobile— no but seriously, it looks like something that we should be seeing in book 7 rather than rn,,,the wheels are made out of spinning wheels, and it's in. the shape of a bat/dragon with two horns and red eyes....

[ about : ortho and phantoms ]

ortho....did you just say there's a "bunch of phantoms" under the pillar ???? you mean there's multiple phantoms down there that STYX has frozen. and...the more pressing issue...what does he mean "you wouldn't want to end up like me" ? the whole time he was talking about the phantoms, he was...talking in this very quiet and melancholic tone.... (did ortho get hurt badly by the phantoms ? is that why he's basically a robot now ?)

[ about : direbeast grim !! ]

so. grim is a species called direbeast with a high blot density? or they said he's a mix between direbeast n something else and to me, that reeks of experimentation...but who would do such a thing ? and his blot accumulation spikes and drops unexpectedly....maybe as a direbeast, grim is able to turn blot into a magical energy source ?

and there's traces of a...powerful spell on him ? the fire in his ears being blue isn't just a cute and silly thing and it's signs of a curse ? omg. wait do you think that grim is actually some sort of beast from thousands of years ago that got put to sleep by a powerful spell, and he just woke up now ? all this grim lore makes me wanna know more abt where he came from...

[ about : shroud family curse ]

so their curse is that blot gets incinerated the moment it accumulates within them. so the ancient shrouds led a revolt against the jupiter family using the original phantoms (whatever that means) and thus got cursed + banished to the island of woe. they manage tartarus (phantom prison) and the underworld (phantom graveyard). and they're doing blot research in order to get rid of the phantoms so that they can regain their freedom....wow.

and if they don't have any blot. the curse goes straight to eating up their magic, so they constantly need to be using magic to even live. oh my god. the reason why they gave them that job is bc the phantoms will continue to leak blot into the world even after they're dead. so jupiter family put that curse on the shrouds with every intent of making them like a sponge that can "purify" any blot that escapes. bc if not it'll start affecting the world.

so that's why they're doing blot research :00 !! they're trying to figure out a way to neutralize or reutilize blot bc. the shrouds want to escape. they don't want to keep living in the island of woe, which is why they want to turn the phantoms into an energy source. it would bring them back the honor they had once lost + they don't have to keep living at the island of woe to keep the phantoms in check.

[ about : another ortho ]

okay so. i noticed this before. but ortho was talking about himself in third person in one of the chapters. like "what can ortho do for him" instead of using his usual personal pronoun of "boku". and then idia mentioned "what happened ot ortho when we tried to leave this place". so...i'm assuming that there's two orthos, and that one of them is dead ? or something happened to him ? meanwhile the ortho we know rn also knows about this other ortho, and sees him as an extension, but not entirely, himself. (also take note this is all speculation i do not know if im right or wrong)

okayy we're stopping here for tonight ! when i tell you i laughed so much for this chunk of chapters, i mean it jskfjskf it was a nice contrast from last time, since last time was more tense + sad moments... until next timee

[bloodycassian]

FIRE AND ICE PART ONE - Reader / Cassian / Azriel 

Reader is in an intense relationship with Cassian. Will Azriel be the one to soothe her away from him?

This is a part of an ongoing series I will tag under # fire and ice on my page 

The flying had been difficult over the middle, and required several stops to rest your wings. The now cursed mountain was putting off some terrible winds. Cassian - ever watchful - always called for the breaks, making sure to check in every few minutes over the roaring wind. When the hail came, he practically smothered you trying to protect your wings with his shield. 

"I'm fine!" You shouted over the pelting, angling low and picking up speed. Hail was the worst condition to fly in. Snow was alright, Illyrian wings were built for it. But hail would weigh you down in a heartbeat. In Illyria Hail was known as the rain of death by many.

The small clearing you landed in was bordered by enormous boulders that led to a deep cave. You rushed inside, Cassian in tow. The pines swayed in the terse winds, hissing loudly outside. "We'll be here a while." You sighed, stretching your wings out behind you. They strained, sore and stiff from the last days of travel. You knew it would be worse by tomorrow without a warm bath to soothe them.

You thought about the mission - the reason you were here in the first place. The recon that Azriel was too busy to do. You wondered if it was really him wanting to be alone for a while with some peace and quiet in the house without having to hear you and Cassian arguing. 

Your stomach rumbled, and Cassian got to work making the fire quickly.

+

"Have some." He set his bowl of porridge next to you, still steaming. You shook your head, sipping from your own serving. He didn't touch it again. Frustration budded in your stomach. He was babying you. You tried to stifle the shame, but it was unbearable to have him being so upfront about the protecting. His habits came from when you first met him. The flashbacks were unwelcome. They threw you back into being the animal you'd once been.

He knew the glare your face rested to. He recalled it with ease from the first time he'd met you. That angry bitter being that holed up in a cave just like the one you sat in now.

A skinny unclipped female held her sword steadily at her side. He stared with the same curiosity his brothers shared. She struck at Azriel's shadows, making them recoil. Rhys hummed in approval. "This may be good for both of us." He said in that swaggering way he used with all his potential allies. 

Curiosity among panic gripped your features. And Cassian knew you were hooked on the idea of not having to scrap for food - or live in a cave anymore.

+

A roaring erupted from outside the cave. Cassian shot up, leaving your body exposed to the cold night air. His siphons summoned a vicious looking sword at his side. They were the only light source besides the coals of the small dying fire at your feet. They did not crackle. They only dimly glowed, and you knew they would be out by morning. 

He listened, his ears straining to hear any sort of danger outside. "We shouldn't be here." He said, voice gruff. He relaxed slightly when the trickle of rain outside slowed. You watched his back slowly ease of tension. You wondered if you had both imagined the sound. 

The night passed without another sound besides the coming and going of rain. 

The next morning, you didnt bother stoking the fire. Cassian was already awake and geared up. Ready to leave. He stilled when he exited the cave. The empty area outside was covered in blood. Your stomach turned at the smell of it. Dark chunks coated the trunks of trees. "What did this?" You asked, noting how Cassian clutched the sword at his side. 

"I dont know. You stay here, let me fly over first." His wings unfurled, and he made to take off. He tossed a siphon to you. He paused at the sound of it thumping against the forest floor. 

"I can fly over too. Let's just go together." You flexed your wings, sighing at the first stretch of the day. There was a pop from behind you. Cassian's head whipped to the dark figure creeping up, far too swiftly to be anything natural.  

He struck, gone from your vision in a second. His siphons were blinding. You pulled your sword out and readied for whatever threat he had attacked. He rolled with the impact against a dark tendon that spired from the forest directly at him. The other figure was coming stright at you. Far too quickly for you to bring your sword out against. You managed a kick at the snake's head, to no avail. 

Then, it was pulling at you. Your legs went from under you. It drug you back to the dark forest, through the bloodied ground. The snake's maw gouged at your calves, and hissed at you as you kicked and struggled away. You scrambled for your dagger, driving it deep into the beasts' scaled side. It released. You kicked away, hands shaking. Adrenaline made things move slowly. then, Cassian was above you. His sword cut the squealing head of the dark serpent from its body. The other half of it lay in the clearing, its head sputtering and trying to regrow its body.

You didnt have time to recover. He hauled you from the forest floor, and took off. His shield broke through the boughs of trees, snapping entire branches and leaving an exit behind. The snake far below writhed and grew.

His shoulder to your middle squeezed the air from your lungs. You wheezed and tried to fight him off. The forest below you widened and grew smaller. The small red stain on the forest floor became incomprehensible against the green and tan of the scenery. He flew high, and fast. "You were almost a part of that bloody mess." He growled, not letting you go even though your wings stretched, aching to fly yourself. 

"But I wasnt, let go." You bit out.

He didnt. He just held you tighter. Your adrenaline spiked further. "Let. Go." You growled, smacking his back between his wings. He shouted in pain and finally released you. "Do not go back there." His voice was sharp, commanding. As if he was speaking to an Illyrian solider. You stared him down. He knew that look. That long warning glare that you gave. He changed his tone. "We need to leave, call the mission a bust."

"One mis-step is going to make you abandon the entire mission?" You scoffed, banking far away from him. He was on your heels in an instant. "Azriel needs us." You eyed the cold black shadow that the snake was against the warm tones of the ground. Its dark blood left a stain behind. You wanted to end it. Cut it piece to piece was the only way it would truly die. With Cassian only beheading it, it would surely grow twice as large now. And terrorize others. 

"You're right. He needs us alive." He called back, not letting you out of his wingspan.

Again, he stayed silent. "You're really going home because of this?"

"You are too. Let's go." He swooped lower than you, and grabbed your hand. You could tell it was supposed to be sweet - a gesture. But the anger flipped a switch inside you. You snapped your hand away from his and pulled high up into the air, far away from him. Still, he followed. 

Rage ignited, fueling your belly with heat and venom that you spat at him. "You don't order me Cassian. I'm not An Illyrian rank." You desperately wanted to continue the mission. For Az, for Rhys, for your own pride. For Cassian to stop seeing you as a weak Illyrian who never got to stretch their wings. 

"No, but I'd hope that you would leave with me. For me. I won't go without you." His voice was tender, and it made your heart weak. It made tears sting your eyes at how vulnerable he thought you were. The dismissal burned low in your gut. Replacing that fire that he had started. He held a hand out to you, the siphon atop it glowing brightly with power. 

"Dont make me make you." His voice was soft, but laced with that threatening aura you'd only ever heard when he was talking battle plans with his brothers. Your blood boiled.

You didn't take it as you flew away, far ahead of him. You let the fury burn in your wings, enjoying the relief flying so fast brought to your coiled muscles. You arrived back home within half the time it had taken you to get to Autumn. You sighed at the relief of the cool familiar winds and smells of Velaris. 

[somerabbitholes]

Indian Non-Fiction

A list of books on India, almost all of which are by Indian writers; most of them are about history in one way or other but they also involve politics, culture, and religion. (Doesn’t include writing in Indian languages because most of my non-English reading has been limited to fiction). I’ve also added links to online editions for ones I found.

History

Pre-, Postcolonial India (+ other assorted history)

Land of Seven Rivers by Sanjeev Sanyal - looks at Indian history through its geography; great if you want an introduction. it’s a small book but has very interesting insights; definitely would recommend. Also check his Ocean of Churn, which looks at Indian history in terms of the Indian Ocean

The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati by Michel Danino - looks into the research and evidence on the existence of the Sarasvati river and makes a case for its existence

Hooghly: The Global History of a River by Robert Ivermee - about Hooghly as a centre of a trans-Asiatic and trans-oceanic commercial network

Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization by Namit Arora - what it says, it’s new and was well-received; it paints a holistic picture to start you off

Modern South India by Rajmohan Gandhi - this one’s new, and I’ve only barely read it. It’s the history of south India from the coming of the Portuguese to modern times and it’s really important because we don’t study about this or even talk about this in mainstream conversations

India Moving by Chinmay Tumbe - on migration within India and how migrants and migrations has shaped history, politics, and policy

The Courtesan, the Mahatma, and the Italian Brahmin by Manu Pillai - a selection of stories (real ones) from Indian history; very engagingly written and very, very interesting stories. Also check other works by Pillai - The Ivory Throne and Rebel Sultans. He also writes a regular column for the Mint

Panipat by Vishwas Patil - (a translation from Marathi) a history of the Battle at Panipat in 1761, which basically created a vacuum for the East India Company to step in and grab power; really expansive and highly detailed

Rama and Ayodhya by Meenakshi Jain - on the Ramayana and its cultural spread across Indian since the ancient times; also about the Ayodhya movement

Decolonizing the Hindu Mind by Koenraad Elst - lays down the ideological and intellectual development of the broad umbrella Hindu revivalist movement; really good starting point to understand the rise and development of a significant chunk of Indian politics in post-independence years; really straightforward work, very clear in its objectives

1962: the War that Wasn’t by Shiv Kunal Verma - on the Sino-Indian conflict in 1962; haven’t read it yet, but it’s supposed to be one of the best ones on the conflict

1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh by Srinath Raghavan - on the creation of Bangladesh; places the history in a Cold War context and includes all stakeholders like the US, China and Russia; has multiple layers to its narrative.The Most Dangerous Place by Srinath Raghavan - on American foreign policy in South Asia right from the earliest times.

Cricket Country by Prashant Kidambi - about how cricket took hold in colonial India and the making of the first all-India cricket team; super excited about this book, I added it to my list too

A Corner of a Foreign Field by Ramchandra Guha - on the growth of cricket in India; takes into account race, caste, and religion in pre- and postcolonial times; looks at how the sport was adapted in local cultures and how it became an expression of resistance

Himalaya: A Human History by Ed Douglas - basically what it says; very thorough and very fresh; about more than India because it takes Himalaya as a unit and so it’s really transnational in its approach

Colonial India

Plassey by Sudeep Chakravarti - a very detailed study of the Battle of Plassey which kicked off the colonial project in India

India’s War: World War II and the Making of Modern South Asia by Srinath Raghavan - on India’s involvement and contribution in World War II

An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor - about the economic impact of the British Empire in India; highly elaborate and detailed work on the economic drain in India during colonisation

Goa Inquisition by A. K. Priolkar - about the Portuguese colonisation of Goa and the subsequent evangelical campaign by the Portuguese crown and the Roman church; very, very, thorough and great if you (like me) know nothing about the whole thing

Hicky’s Bengal Gazette by James Otis - on the development and running of India’s first English newspaper; a fun read because honestly the story of the paper is very dramatic and full of political/colonial gossip; also tells you a lot about the early ideas of free press in colonial India

Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse by Meenakshi Jain - about the discourse on sati and the need for reform; reviews the idea of the abolition of sati being a progressive act

Castes of Mind by Nicholas Dirks - about the intersection of caste, race, and colonial knowledge and policy

Politics, Sociology, Commentaries

The Indian Trilogy by V. S. Naipaul - a semi-autobiographical work on the kind of civilisation Naipaul sees India to be; very, very honest; paints a picture of postcolonial India over the years. the trilogy includes An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilization, and India: A Million Mutinies Now. I’ve only read the first one; but I’ve heard and read great things about them all

Republic of Caste by Anand Teltumbde - about caste in post-Independence India; looks at political and policy-related developments and their impact on caste dynamics; sort of subaltern history; it is a little difficult to understand if you don’t already have some amount of knowledge on Indian politics; also a very academic work so not exactly easy to read - I’ve only read parts of it myself

Annihilation of Caste by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar - technically a speech that was never delivered because it was thought to be too explosive; argues that caste is rooted in oppression and for the complete destruction of the caste system; an excellent work, although you do need to know about caste in its religious and political terms. Really just read all of his writing (it’s an entire 14 volume set), they’re excellent and far ahead of their time

The Idea of India by Sunil Khilnani - an analysis of sorts of what pre-colonial and colonial society and the freedom struggle mean for the republic and the kind of nation-building that has happened.

A New India of India: Individual Rights in a Civilisational State by Harsh Madhusudan, Rajeev Mantri - rethinks the “idea of India”; traces cultural and historical legacy in making of modern politics, and explores how individual rights are reconciled with the state’s goals; great thing is that it takes a fresh look at things; perfect to be read after The Idea of India 

10 Judgements that Changed India by Zia Mody - recounts ten most important legal cases and court rulings in India; good starting point at understanding how the law works and its development

Republic of Religion by Abhinav Chandrachud - about secularism and religion in India in light of colonial rule, and its implications in postcolonial India

India Unbound by Gurcharan Das - it’s a history from the Independence to 2000 that focuses largely on the political economy and unpacks the kind of growth we’ve seen; it mixes the personal with the political/economic progress and it’s really easy to get into; best when read with his India Grows at Night

People

Kanshiram by Badri Narayan - a biography of Kanshi Ram, who pretty much laid the foundation of modern Dalit political movement in post-independence India; looks into how the movement developed under Kanshi Ram; a useful insight into both the man as well as early Dalit politics in India

Savarkar by Vikram Sampath - first part of a two-part biography (second part isn’t out yet) on V. D. Savarkar, one of India’s first revolutionary freedom fighter; looks at an insane variety of sources and highly detailed; a must read.

History Men by T. C. A. Raghavan - about the friendship of three of colonial India’s first native historians (Sir Jadunath Sarkar, G. S. Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh) and how they collaborated and supported each other in writing Indian history using scientific methods; also looks at their contributions to Indian history in general

Rammohun Roy by Amiya P. Sen - a biography of colonial India’s first social and religious reformers who reinterpreted Hinduism for modern times; very well-written, great for understanding how early reform worked out

Daughters of the Sun by Ira Mukhoty - about women in the Mughal dynasty. note that it only looks at women connected to and part of the royal household, but an interesting read nonetheless. Her other work, Heroines: Powerful Indian Women in Myth and History is a wonderful book on women in history right from the ancient times; also analyses and explains the changing perceptions of women

R. N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster by Nitin Gokhale - really, really, really interesting book on R. N. Kao and the development of India’s espionage machinery

Art

Indian Art by Partha Mitter - a history, he’s one of the best on Indian art, very useful

The Dance of Shiva by Ananda Coomaraswamy - a collection of essays on Indian artistic tradition in aesthetic and philosophical terms

The Spirit of Indian Painting by B. N. Goswamy - specifically about painting; explores different themes in different regionals tyles; also check other books by Goswamy, he’s kind of a big deal in art history

Indian Painting: the Lesser Known Traditions by Anna Dallapiccola - pretty much what it says; takes into account a ton of styles and traditions that are lumped together ‘folk art’

Cities, Travel etc

The Great Indian Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux - four-month journey from London to India by trains only; explores themes like colonialism, American imperialism, poverty. One of my favourites

The Epic City by Kushanava Chaudhary - memoir on Kolkata as the author explores and re-discovers the city when he comes back to it after staying in the US for most of his life; a lovely book, delves in the history of Kolkata a little in relation to how the city still feels it, how its people are still negotiating with it, and the kind of future the author sees for Kolkata

Bombay, Meri Jaan by Jerry Pinto & Naresh Fernandes - a collection of essays on Mumbai by a wide collection of people from Naipaul to Khushwant Singh to Manto and Salman Rushdie, compiled by Jerry Pinto; one of my favourites on the city

No Full Stops in India by Mark Tully - writings from when Tully was a journalist in India; commentaries on things he witnesses, also includes a fair amount of personal involvement; explores poverty, postcolonial development, religion and culture in post-independence India

Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash - a history of Mumbai city; looks at colonisation, industrial development, the regional politics, architecture and art, as well as the underworld/mafia

Banaras by Diana L. Eck - on Varanasi (Banaras), probably India’s holiest city; tells its history from its conception to now; blends religion, mythology, politics, and history. Also check Eck’s India: A Sacred Geography

The City of Djinns by William Dalrymple - semi-autobiography about living in Delhi; looks at the legacies of independence and partition while thinking about its past

The Book of Indian Journeys by Dom Moraes - it’s an anthology of essays and excerpts from works of a bunch of writers on travelling in India, it’s a favourite when I’m travelling

This is not exhaustive and I will keep updating when I find the time. I’ve tried to keep it diverse (and organised) in its content; hope you find something you like :)