#the halfway: Entropy

[many-faced]

the origins from the halfway as humans, i'm currently working on their redesigns! From left to right, this is Creation, Destruction and Entropy.

[calamitousarts]

My rules!!

18+ only interaction please! Topics may be suggestive or adult-oriented.

ERP in DMS only! Sex and sexuality-related conversations are fine on this account, as this is a large part of my characterization.

I prefer roleplaying in a semi-literate multiple paragraph style. I'll adapt to somewhat shorter or longer styles when appropriate, but I can't keep up with single-sentences or 10+ paragraphs.

I am open to mentioning or roleplaying this content, and these may appear on my blog: abuse, kidnapping, graphic gore, and death. Stay safe and do not follow if these make you uncomfortable! Thank you.

I am fine roleplaying with original characters and most fandoms, however I will NOT roleplay with: Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, IRL/YouTuber/Celebrity roleplayers, military/countries, and likely others that aren't coming to mind.

I'm most familiar with: Megaman, Sea of Thieves, Phantasy Star Online, Zelda, Transformers, and Steven Universe.

Mun is Atrocity (24, it/its) my main is my art blog @machinafulmen, I'll be following and liking posts from there!

My other RP blog @shoresofgold is where I play some bosses from Sea of Thieves: Gold Hoarder, Lord Greymarrow, and the Burning Blade.

MUSE INFORMATION UNDER THE CUT:

(Note: I will be adding reference images eventually.)

Primary: Entropy Zero (Megaman X)

Zero is a type of robot called a reploid, capable of making his own decisions and upgrading his body with diverse weaponry. He was part of a global task force of his world that hunts down "Mavericks"; plagued, destructive reploids who are dangerous to humans. He has left his homeworld to be with his interdimensional-traveling boyfriend, Master X; A once-reploid god capable of devouring universes to fulfill his unending hunger.

Secondary: Admiral Wily (Sea of Thieves)

Admiral Wily is a human pirate who sails the hidden and mysterious Sea of Thieves alongside his partner-in-crime, Master X. Originally, he was a protector of the Sea's merchant trade routes, defending them from greedy pirates. Master X was once his arch nemesis, and Admiral Wily was captured in battle and forced to join Master X's crew. They grew to understand each other and formed a genuine bond, despite their rough history. He is often away from Master X for extended periods of time, spending most of that time in his vessel, the Crimson End.

Tertiary: Landmark Zero (OC universe)

This iteration of Zero is a monstrous, highly-advanced robot called a ringer, his body can repair itself without the aid of another person. He is currently employed as a "Ranger", an organization that tries to keep the peace between humans, robots, and ringers. Outside of his homeworld, he is commonly found in earth-like worlds, awkwardly attempting to fit through doors without damaging anything.

[genderqueerpond]

sometimes when nyssa says no it sounds like there's blood in her mouth

[breadboylovin]

no idea if this will work (i may still be shadowbanned) BUT good luck with your job!! youve got this gamer :D 💪💪💪

omg wait this is 2 months old BUT I FINALLY GOT IT!!! WHICH MEANS YOU GOT UNSHADOWBANNED!!!!!! LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO

[dduane]

I'm halfway through So You Want To Be A Wizard and I have a bit of an odd question. Certain spells require ingredients like pens or string, but what were to happen if the spell components just... didn't exist anymore/would be impossible to acquire now? Like if it required the feather of a Dodo Bird, or leaves from a species of tree that died off a long time ago?

I'm loving the story so far, my brain just latches on to random little details and won't let go haha

No problem! I know how this is. :)

For spells of the kind we're discussing here—which (since they're intended for probationary wizards) are fairly simple ones—the Manual normally suggests the most readily accessible items that interrupt space in the right way to make a given spell work. For beginning wizards, if a given ingredient can't be obtained, the Manual will routinely suggest a slightly different spell that has more accessible ingredients.

Of course there are spells with physical components in which the non-availability of a given item may be construed as a challenge that the universe is offering you, in order to see how serious you are about the spell getting done in the first place. ...The dodo feathers, for example? Those aren't so much of a problem... assuming you're willing to worldgate over to London and break into the Natural History Museum to borrow one of the few they've got. (Naturally this is going to also require an effective invisibility spell, and the necessary resources to defeat the museum security systems. And it'd better just be "borrowing." If the spell's at all destructive of the raw materials it uses, stealing something to make it happen would unquestionably increase local entropy. Maybe it'd just be simpler to look around for a different spell.)

This is one of the reasons why most wizards engaged in active spelling try very hard to increase their skill levels to the point where they're able to do wizardry diagramatically, rather than with concrete objects. Affecting the physical universe with nothing but the Speech and the correct kind of spell diagram to support the "equation" is much harder work, sure... but it really beats having to go looking all over the place for the gimbal from some ancient TV set, or the right piece of string. :)

Hope this helps!

[strawberrystepmom]

bnha ending fix it fic. healing!tomura who goes by tenko x f!reader. reader has a defined quirk (magnetism) and is referred to using the nickname sparkles. | word count: 2.3k reading time: 8 minutes

When a knock echoes through your small apartment, you’re up and running to the door before you are even oriented enough to figure out what’s going on.

You fell asleep at your desk. Again. Probably slumped over halfway through the last audit you vaguely remember working on which was for the Ingenium agency. It’s easy to lose track of time when you spend it stapled to your tablet and work bench, fretting over how to make the country you now call home safer. 

A second knock rings and you groan softly, stepping toward the door as fast as you can in a half awake and partially dressed state. Your tank top straps sag off of your shoulders, one of your socks has disappeared but there’s no time to search for it.

The door is in view. You twist the lock to unlatch it, pulling the door open. Blinking to adjust your eyes, they widen before you can think.

“Tenko?”

The dark haired man stands in front of you, clad in a hooded sweatshirt and dark colored sweatpants indicating he likely just got off patrol alongside Deku. There’s still around 6 months until he’s released from the fellow hero’s watchful eyes to act on his own though the prior 6 passed far more quickly than he expected. It turns out this hero stuff isn’t so bad.

He won’t meet your eyes, hands shoved into his pockets, obviously chewing the inside of his cheek. 

“Are you okay?” You ask in a rush, opening the door wider to invite him in. 

His eyes further avert their gaze toward something that must be very interesting on the corner of your building. He shifts his weight from foot to foot, awkwardly. 

“I, uh…is this a bad time?”

Shaking your head, you wave your hand over the space created so that he can enter the practical hovel you call home. He doesn’t look at you while he slips inside, careful not to touch you in any way as he passes, practically melding with the wall. 

“I hate to ask again since clearly you aren’t,” you begin once his back has turned and he’s slowly started making his way toward your workbench stationed in the living room. “But are you okay? Did something happen?”

There’s no response for a beat. The man clears his throat, looking over his shoulder before quickly averting his face forward again. 

“You’re…I thought maybe I interrupted something since you’re barely dressed.”

You look down to realize you’re wearing nothing on your lower half but your scandalously small underwear. There’s no sense in making a big deal out of it so you shrug although he can’t see it, padding back into the main living area to join him. 

“I mean, I was asleep but you didn’t interrupt that because I would have been up in a little bit anyway.”

Stopping, you take a moment to admire the outline of him illuminated by your desk lamp, the strenuous routine required by a hero clearly doing him some good as far as you can tell. His hair is healthy, his frame is broad, and he turns his face to look over his shoulder at you once again. 

“I’m alright though.”

Smiling at his confirmation that everything is as it should be, you pick your pace back up and slide into your stool while he leans against the side of your bench. You engage your quirk, Magnetism, as a reflex and a stray bolt sticks to your arm. 

The faintest hint of a smile comes across his face, now turned downward in your direction. You disengage your quirk with a sigh, the sound of metal dropping back down to metal accompanying it. The screen on your tablet lights up when you look down at it, the time across it in large white numbers. 

2:15 AM.

“I can see why you were worried you’d interrupted something, these are booty call hours after all.” 

You joke, twisting back and forth on the stool and looking up at him through your lashes. 

“So are you here for business or pleasure, Entropy?”

He’s too used to that look, full of appraisal and perhaps a bit of interest, but he never wants to read too much into it. Especially not right now while you’re scantily clad, an eyeful of what lies under your shirt no more than a simple shift in glance away, and indiscriminately running your mouth.

Tenko looks away, cheeks warming. Hands that were buried deep in his pockets are now tucked into the crook of the opposite arm where they’re folded over his chest. 

He has visited your apartment multiple times since the first night he formally met you at Izuku’s. The pair of heroes stop by when they’re in the neighborhood or come by to chat if they’re off patrol, usually being joined by Deku’s girlfriend if she can be pulled away from her clinical studies for long enough to come and giggle for a couple hours. 

“I had some issues with my gear tonight and wanted to have you look at it.”

It’s the worst excuse possible but it’s the best one he could come up with on the fly. 

“Oh. You should’ve just said so,” you continue to mutter to yourself while unlocking your tablet. 

Truthfully, he has no idea why he’s here. Some pull in his chest told him to go the opposite direction when walking home to clear his head so he followed it, landing right at your doorstep and standing outside of the door, too anxious to knock, for longer than he’d ever admit. 

Scrolling through the diagnostics app, you gnaw at your bottom lip and jiggle your sockless foot. You squint at the screen because he knows you need glasses and don’t have them on, probably due to the abruptness of his visit. There are all these little things about you that become impossible to ignore when it’s just the two of you.

“Ah! There you are. Let’s see.” You excitedly sing, while wiggling your fingers. He watches with a smile, so soft he may even just be imagining the feeling of it in his facial muscles.

Everything about you makes him feel…inexplicable. 

The unfortunate truth that he doesn’t know how to face is that your place has become one he associates with safety and warmth, something the grown man four years your senior fears he’ll always seek out no matter how distant Tomura becomes from who he is now. 

Tonight wasn’t a hard night but he didn’t want to be alone, pacing until adrenaline finally slowed down and let him sleep.

How unlike him. 

You hum and continue to orate to yourself, squinting at charts he couldn’t even pretend to get. How you manage to do all of this, accurately, safely, and without breaking a sweat, is truly amazing. 

“It says everything is fine. Can you tell me what issues you were having?” 

Sitting up, you fold your arms over your chest and swing back and forth on the stool. He watches you turn small half circles, realizing he may have been caught. Smiling up at him, you raise a brow. 

“My wrist cuffs felt tighter than usual I guess but that might not be an issue you can fix,” he mumbles, trying to explain himself in any way that he can to cover his lie. 

Rather than torture him by forcing him to dig this little hole he’s found himself in deeper, you change the subject. 

“Have you eaten tonight?” You ask, brow quirked. 

He shakes his head. It was a busy shift and he doesn’t have a lovely girlfriend at home to make bentos with him like Deku does and he managed all evening on the half assed late lunch he packed for himself that was mostly made up of the type of shit he used to eat when he was still Tomura. It’s hard to learn to take care of yourself. 

“Alright. Let me see what I can find to make.” 

You stand, walking into the kitchen. Glancing over your shoulder, it’s hard not to get caught up in how intimate this feels. Your face warms and so does your belly, floored by how handsome Tenko really is in that low light that envelops his profile. 

There’s no way your work would’ve failed him tonight. It means too much that it works well

“Next time, come up with a better excuse. Or just text me and tell me you wanna come over.”

You confirm that he has been caught, literally and figuratively. He debates showing himself the exit but instead follows you into the kitchen. There’s no point in backing away now. His heavy footsteps echo after yours while you dig through the fridge and continue to hum, bopping your head along to a completely made up song. 

“Can I ask you something?”

Glancing over your shoulder while pulling out a carton of tofu, you nod at his question. He keeps his eyes as averted as he can, floored by how exposed you are now that you’re not in a dimly lit room, and clears his throat.

“Why do they call you Sparkles? Is it a hero name or something?”

Snorting, you shake your head and shut the fridge. Making your way to the counter that he leans against, you look up at him and slowly start to get to work while contemplating how to best answer the question.

“I’m surprised the Midoriya’s haven’t told you that story,” you joke about Izuku and his girlfriend as one, despite the formality of marriage not yet being completed. 

“I’ve never really asked them.”

Tenko has asked Izuku many other questions about you, namely about the nature of your friendship with Lemillion and how close you two really are.

“They just like each other’s attention,” Deku comforted his unlikely friend with a pat on the back the last time the entire group of you went out and Tenko watched the blonde man hug you a little too tightly. 

But beyond that, he has managed to feel you out himself. Perhaps against his better judgment and here he is again, desperate to learn a little more. 

“Well when I was a third year my final project to graduate from the support course was a glitter bomb.” 

You finally start, finishing chopping one item and moving onto the next. 

Graduation came not long after the Meta War ended. The project was something you’d worked tirelessly on for months before that, a sophisticated piece of equipment with a state of the art fireless ignition. Safety has always been the reason you wanted to invent and this was a golden opportunity to invent something that had no possible chance of hurting its user. No backfiring, no risk. 

“Honestly, nobody really found the invention that funny except for me given, you know…” you wave your knifeless hand around and raise your eyebrows hoping he gets the message without being insulted. 

Tenko tilts his head to the side, unfolding his arms and bracing them on the edge of the countertop. He picks up what you mean and doesn’t wish to pull the thread, eyes darting from his feet to your hand and back.

“But long story short, Hatsume told me once that they are still cleaning glitter out of the 3A classroom carpets and now everyone calls me Sparkles. I ended up selling the schematics to the support item manufacturer that one of my other classmates works for so it worked out.”

The lack of response worries you although it’s a bit silly to care in the first place. You don’t want his presence to be impermanent but you know that once his time trailing Deku around like a puppy is through, it’s likely he’ll never stop by again. It’s something you’ve kind of resigned yourself to over the last several months after finding yourself a little too invested in what you can do to bring a smile to that handsome face that looks a little more lively every day.

That’s a concern for a few months from now. You’ve always prided yourself on the ability to live in the moment so here you are, choosing to ignore an uncertain future to embrace what’s right next to you.

With an exaggerated sigh, you gather up a pile of green onions with the back of your hand and look up at him with a wry half smile. “Why did you think they called me Sparkles?”

Shrugging, he smiles down at you.

“Guess I always thought it was because of your personality.” 

Biting back a smile, your cheeks warm while you drop the tofu and a bunch of sauces into a now hot pan. 

“You really think I sparkle?”

Chuckling, he lifts himself away from the counter and walks to your other side to gently shake the handle of the frying pan. 

“I think there’s no way you don’t already know that about yourself.”

No sense in arguing with a man who is right. Giggling, you reach for the frying pan handle and gently shove him with your shoulder.

“Hey, you’re my guest. Let me handle it.”

Side stepping, he finds himself looking downward at the slope of your back and once again at your very visible derrière. That same ache that led him to your front door returns, his mouth drying out as he realizes it. 

Why does he feel comfortable enough to stand here? Is progress, improvement even, supposed to feel this terrifying?

“Go sit down Ten,” you nod toward the living area with a smile. “I can handle it.”

Ten.

It has been a long time since someone he considered a friend called him that. He doesn’t recall anyone he’d ever considered more than saying it. 

“And what if I stay right here?” He asks, smiling when you look over your shoulder at him again. 

Is he flirting with you?

“Then I won’t stop you.”

[t-underneaththeradardancing]

mr rogers even - would prolly bust out a fukk in this time of fuckery

wait -not that the above is wrong but sometimes there is the kindness of a wisp of a moon - can u sea it -a white speck halfway up near the middle on the right

or a song u never herd b4 or one u have onna gospel sunday

or mary oliver

a morning a kitty good and always if a little demanding sometimes

time passes into interlude tho now itsabit later - murder yes and birdsong even a mostly bluish through white clouds and wisps like the moon now

and laundry piling up into entropy - but lets knot get into physics its a week spot 2 much math and lets not talk falsely in this getting late midnight hour when it is actually morning still here now

well anyway

we had some gospel music soul stirring samuel

hallelujah

[szilverer]

Okay going off those tags about ghostie's yandere genes being activated, now I just have the mental image of Poor Edward pretending his love for the orphanage is romantic, or at least just overdramatizing his priority for it, solely to see if it makes Reisz jealous.

Probably not the best idea he could have, but I imagine Eddie would love to see Reisz actually being possessive over him.

OH 👁️👁️ SORRY i only saw this today but. hehe. HEHEHE. you're SO right. it would make him so very very happy <3 to find out that his wifey actually feels something as intensely as he does did.

this kabedon doodle isnt actually related i just had it lying around and it felt relevant to the subject

I'm trying to think if there's a period in my timeline where he could have had this idea with the Orphanage specifically, but Reisz has always kept him so confused and starved with their back & forth (visiting so sporadically, being controlling & strict but also randomly nice & fun, just generally keeping him on his toes) that he's simply. Not strong enough to deny himself their company

So he might have tried once or twice when the moonmilk was halfway fizzing out but. Rei just wouldn't take it seriously at first LMAO (it's a bloody building? not a people?). def Not the reaction he was hoping for! And then eventually they tell him to cut the weird crap or they're leaving & he's like . Tsk. Fine .

BUT YEAH this is a KEY point of their stupid dynamic: the fact that Reisz is even more jealous than him but ☝️ neither are aware of this

i dont think i ever like. mentioned any of this side of things before so am taking the opportunity. i also must preface by saying they weren't anywhere near this bad with their other past flings:

At this point if Edward as much as suspected this it would be exploited really fast and it would either advance the relationship at breakneck speed (good ending!) or one of them would go too far and ruin it all very badly possibly with a death count. (game over). and to clarify Reisz is not set on harming the hypothetical third parties here. theyre set on harming HIM bc how dare he.

(sometimes the H on their name stands for hypocrite)

The thing is that Reisz is so sure their Edward would not – will not – ever be interested in anyone else that this possessiveness never comes out. It's a certainty of life like. Entropy. Or math. Stuff like that. don't ask me where this guarantee is coming from i dont even know

Unfortunately, after all this time, Edward is Also so convinced his spouse doesn't feel anything of the sort towards him that the idea to test it out further never even crosses his mind. my eddie seems to be more isolated than the average (oopsie) so it's not like there's a lot of opportunities to come across a random dreamer/bohemian willing to flirt with him either

...but it crossed my mind a while ago bc ngl the reisz, too, needs to get pikachu surprised and pay for their sins sometime.

this is Extremely unlikely to happen but i never know what tf the future holds for these two. genuinely.

TL;DR:

[paperbacksinner]

could u write something with joe and a reader who like always keeps him on his toes, like shes always pranking him and is super funny

thank yew x💗💗💗

The Prank War Diaries

A/N: YESSSSS!!! You know Joe would be so confused and secretly obsessed with a girl who constantly throws him off his game. Like…he’s used to stalking and sulking — not dealing with someone who prank calls him pretending to be the library and says his books are overdue 😭

———

Joe was not built for this.

Not for this exact moment, standing in the middle of his apartment, covered in feathers, blinking slowly at you while you hold a pillowcase and wheeze-laugh like it’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen.

“You ambushed me,” he says flatly, pulling a white feather out of his hair.

You wipe a tear from your eye. “You were monologuing in the mirror again. I had to.”

He blinks. “I was shaving.”

“You were whispering about justice.”

He opens his mouth. Closes it. Sighs.

This is how it always goes.

You keep him off-balance. No pattern to follow. No breadcrumbs to track. Just chaos and sparkle and somehow glitter in his sock drawer. (How? He still doesn’t know.)

You once duct-taped googly eyes on every item in his fridge. He found a banana with lashes. You named it Brenda.

Another time, you fake-called him from a burner number, using your best fake voice, and told him he’d been selected for a random TSA screening. He was halfway to unpacking his carry-on before he realized it was you.

He should hate it.

But he doesn't.

He watches you now, still breathless from laughing, skin flushed, hair messy from the feather ambush. You are pure entropy and serotonin. A storm in a sundress. And he’s doomed.

“You’re going to pay for that,” he says, stepping closer.

“Oooooh,” you grin. “Are you gonna monologue at me again? Scary.”

He lunges. You scream-laugh and bolt for the hallway. He chases you, pins you to the wall by the waist, and you gasp, still smiling.

Your hands are on his chest, his nose brushing yours.

“You’re evil,” he murmurs.

“Me?” you whisper back. “You’re the one with all the murder eyebrows.”

He snorts. “Murder eyebrows?”

You nod solemnly. “They point inward. You look like you’re plotting something 24/7.”

He kisses you mid-sentence.

And it shuts you up.

For five seconds.

Until you mumble against his lips, “You taste like feathers.”

He groans. “I literally cannot win with you.”

“You already did,” you say, looping your arms around his neck. “You got the girl.”

He smiles despite himself.

And in that quiet, Joe Goldberg realizes something terrifying:

He’s not the predator anymore.

He’s the prey.

And he never wants to run.

[therottenkingsreckoning]

Part 2 of Chapter 9! I told y'all I'd get this done quick. This also means that we're halfway through this beast, and I'm so glad you've been sticking with me through this journey so far. Enjoy!

~~Little Flame, Ch. 9, part 2~~

Eddie's eyes widened, and despite himself a smile crept onto his face. "Wha- really? Oh, well that great news darlin'! She'll say yes, I just know it!"

"I really hope so," Sally murmured. Then, seeming to regain her normal bombast, she waved both hands above her head in a gesture towards the imagined spectacle. "But that's all the more reason it needs to be bold! Fantastic! I'll put on the greatest play you've ever seen, with her and I as the leading stars, and that moment will be the most beautiful 3rd act of any story ever written!"

"Oh I'm sure it will!" Eddie said excitedly. It was hard not to get excited when the girl got on moments like this. "And I'll help ya as soon as I've gotten Frank's food!"

She turned to look at him, crestfallen. "Y...you can't help me now?"

Eddie shook his head. "Nope. I've got my own sweetheart waitin' back at home with a cravin' for hot dogs, and by god I'm gonna get 'em." He'd not forgotten the original plan, nor was he going to be pulled away from it.

"Oh well, I'm going there too!" she insisted. "I need to get supplies after all. You could just...help me pick them out real quick, discuss a basic plan, and then I promise I'll let you continue your journey in peace!"

"No good," he told her. "Howdy's fresh out of the stuff I need, which is why I'm here at all." He wouldn't compromise on this.

Sally looked at him with sad, pathetic eyes. "Please?"

He'd maybe compromise on this.

"Alright, fine," he sighed, admitting defeat at last. "But only 'cus it's you, and I do wanna see it go well for ya."

"Oh excellent!" She squealed delightedly, pulling him into a hug. "I knew I could trust you!"

A few moments later, and with his groceries stored in her fridge for momentary safekeeping, the pair had set off. He could've brought it all back to his own house, but the thought of returning without those crucial items was...less than appealing. Probably why I'm choosing to do this at all, he thought. Rather here than there.

Unfortunately for him though, the pinball machine of entropy had not yet lost its momentum, as not even a full minute into their walk, an all-too-familiar pink figure appeared.

"Shit, it's her!" Sally hissed. "I can't let her know what I'm doing, it'd ruin everything!"

"Well whaddya expect me t-" Eddie began.

All that met him was the rustling wind, and a suspiciously star-shaped void to his right.

"Hi Eddie!" Julie said cheerfully, skipping up to him. "Who are you talking to?"

"...no one, apparently," he grumbled.

"Oh...well, have you seen Sally anywhere? I just thought of a great new game for us to play, but I can't seem to find her."

"N-nope!" he lied quickly, glancing around for any sign of his friend. "Can't...can't say I have, all day."

Julie squinted at him suspiciously, and Eddie felt the hair on his neck stand up. He wasn't a very good liar, especially when he was already stressed out as is.

"You sure?"

"Sure am!" He pretended to think for a moment. "Let's see... I went and dropped off all the mail earlier, but uhh...she was outta the house right then." That part wasn't a lie- she'd been gone, as she often was. "Then I came home and started workin' on sorting letters, but I remembered I needed to drop by the store and get and some food for Frank-"

"Oh!" Julie exclaimed. "Is that why you're here? Well, we could go to Howdy's together, and I can say hi to Frank when we bring it all back."

"Wait!" the man blurted out, realizing his mistake too late. She looked at him confused, already turning to head in the direction of the bodega.

"H-he doesn't have the ingredients I need," Eddie continued. "Ran out of the milk and cherries for those signature hot dogs, so I gotta go ask Barbie about it."

Julie huffed and turned to him, crossing her arms. "Ok well, now I know you're lying. Frank wouldn't want a hot dog, especially those ones, he hates them! So what's the truth?"

"That is the truth!" Eddie huffed back, hands on hips. "Ain't ya heard of a craving before?"

"I can tell you're hiding something, and sending me in circles!" Then, seeming to think of something, she smiled smugly and pointed a finger at him. "I'll believe you if you spin around 5 times and point back at me."

"What does that have t-" Eddie began, but it was no use. He was trapped and he knew it, however silly these games might be. Spinning once, twice, three times around and round, his vision blurred and wobbled until his outstretched finger nearly collided with hers.

"Is that good now? Can I leave?"

"Hmm... not quite," the monster said. "What am I thinking of right now?"

"Uhh...flowers?" He said.

"Nope."

"Games."

"Nuh uh."

"Look, lemme go!" Eddie shouted, stamping his foot in anger. "I'm runnin' late, and I just know Frank already hates me right now cus I couldn't just get 'em what he wants, and I'm tired and stressed and a terrible husband and I really don't need this right now!"

Silence. Julie looked at him in shock, and he could sense that wherever Sally had hidden herself she was stunned too. "Oh.." the rainbow monster said gently. "You weren't lying about that, were you?"

"What reason would I have to lie?" He growled, wiping away the tears that had begun to form.

"I...I don't know. I'm sorry," she said, stepping out of his way. "I'll let you get back to it."

"It's fine," the man grumbled. It really wasn't, but he was too tired to keep arguing. Glancing back at her for just a moment though, he said, "Maybe you should drop by later. Help explain what took me so long. He might get less mad at you."

And now, after all the nonsense he'd been through, he'd made his way over to Poppy's barn. Those big red doors might as well have been the gates of heaven, and his angel was visible still in the window, laughing away at some unknown joke. Finally, he could get this done.

Knocking on the door, he was greeted with a cheery "come in!" from the resident bird. She looked up from where she'd been adding pumpkin seeds to a recipe, and her eyes widened at his disheveled & miserable appearance. "Oh dear... are you alright?"

"Yeah," Barbie added. "No offense, but you look like you've been put through the wringer."

"It's been...a day," Eddie sighed. "Been looking for ya cus I needed to ask a favor."

"Oh?" The dog stepped a bit closer, scratching awkwardly at the space between her tied-up ears. It was rare that Eddie Dear asked anything of his friends- the man was self-reliant to a fault, and would much rather be the one giving than getting. So whatever this was must be important.

Eddie clasped his hands in front of him, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "Please tell me you have some cherries and condensed milk I can borrow. Frank really wants a hot dog and Howdy was fresh outta both of those."

An awkward silence, then the hound burst out laughing, relieved. "Didya really come all this way just to ask for that? You could've just asked Jonesy, I left him back at home."

The realization crumpled Eddie, and he hung his head in shame. Yes, he probably could've just asked earlier and saved so much of this hassle. But, fool that he was, he'd gone and overthought. Like a fool he'd made it 10 times harder on himself.

Barbie's laughter faded as she took in his reaction. She put a hand on his shoulder and sighed, "Well I'm sorry to tell ya, but I'm out too. I had my treat for today, but I'm prepared to go hungry for a bit."

And just like that, all his dreams had been shattered. He was so close to Paradise, but it had all been a mirage. Looking desperately over to Poppy, he was met with a shake of her head. "Dear, you know I don't eat things like that." Trying her best to reassure, she added "I-I'm sure Frank will understand. I mean... it's not your fault you couldn't find any."

Mhmm," Barbie hummed in agreement. "She's right. No, hey, look at me. She's right. You got nothin' to beat yourself up for. You tried, and that's what matters."

Eddie wasn't sure he believed them, but what else could he say or do by now? He'd exhausted his options, and would simply have to bear the anger, the crushing disappointment, that his lover would have for him. As he made his way home slowly, footsteps like lead, he was briefly considering swandiving into the nearest lake when the shaking of tall grass nearby caught his ear.

"Hey."

"Hey Mosely," Eddie said dejectedly. "Can't talk right now, sorry. Boutta go get my head bitten off."

"Ah, t-that's the thing actually," the grass continued. "I uhh...overheard what you were talking about just now, and I actually have some."

"Wha- really?!" Eddie instinctively whipped around to peer into the brush, then quickly apologized and turned away from his scopophobic friend. But was it true?

"Wait here. I'll go get them."

And wait he did. If it had been anyone else, Eddie wouldn't have trusted they'd come back. Even now he had his doubts, his nervous impatience as each minute ticked by. But he knew Mosely, and as soon as he'd fully begun to worry he heard movement again. He turned to see a can and jar stacked neatly on the dirt road, still cold when he went to pick them up.

"Thank you." Eddie's voice quivered, damn near sobbing with relief. "I could hug you right now."

"Haha... please don't," said Mosely.

The trip back went quickly. He snatched his groceries from Sally's fridge, checking first that no Julies were around (what an awkward explanation that would be!). Then he was off to the little yellow house with speed.

"Where have you been?!" Frank snapped when he answered the door to their mate. "And what's with the bags? I asked to get one thing for me, not all of this!"

"This is your hot dog," Eddie tried to explain weakly, already visibly wilting as the anger he'd been fearing bore down on him.

"How? Couldn't he m... huh?"

Words trailed off as the man before them seemed to crumple, sinking down to his knees as bags fell an uneven thud-and-rustle on to the floor.

"I'm sorry," Eddie began, hands again clasped in desperate prayer. "I am so sorry Frankie, I tried to go quickly. But then Howdy ran out of milk and cherries so I tried to get some from Barb-"

"Eddie..."

"-but then she was over at Poppy's, so I tried to go there but Sally stopped me to ask about a play and Julie forced me to answer riddles 'cus she didn't believe me when I told her ya wanted hot dogs-"

"Ed- wait Julie?"

"-And when I finally got over to Poppy's she was out which broke my heart 'cus I knew ya really wanted it and-"

"EDDIE!!!"

Frank had heard enough. Grabbing hold of his husband's shoulders, they pulled him forwards...

and into a kiss.

Eddie flinched in shock, then his arms wrapped around his love as he leaned in, finally breaking to rest his head on Frank's chest.

"It's ok honey," the grey chuckled. "I understand now. And you still got me what I wanted."

"I uhh...yea!" Eddie looked up at his mate with doe eyes. "You're not mad at me anymore?"

"Oh I'm still angry," Frank said as he helped their husband up. "But not at you."

Eddie was going to ask about that, but he didn't. Far better to not risk spoiling the moment when he'd seemingly gotten so lucky. "You still want your food now?"

"Mhmm!"

"Well alrighty then!" He practically skipped to the kitchen, feeling sunshine and rainbows right now as his previous worries melted in the loving presence of his partner. "I am sorry it took so long," he called through the doorway. "For what it's worth."

Frank laughed at this as he walked in and sat at the table. "Love, I was actually overreacting a bit. It's only been 15 minutes."

[many-faced]

More Halfway art, featuring some more major characters to the story. These are the origins (also seen in human forms in this post), some various entities and a realitybound from one of the realities that has a connection to the plot though Aurum (shown in my previous post of halfway refs) :3

I mostly only have side characters (and a few background characters that sure do exist) left to redesign now, being Death (who may be renamed), Chronos, Aether, Sonar and possibly the Phobias.

I am also planning to make a few new characters, probably some side character realitybounds connected to Coda and possibly a new overseer :3

[flightfoot]

ML Fanfic Recs for 2023: 80K - 125K Words

So I’ve been going through and adding particularly good fics I’ve read throughout the year. Only Complete fics, of course. Enjoy!

---

Tell Me Why You Love Me by @linnieluna

“Anyway, that piece of paper contains the name of this texting app. It’s completely anonymous, so you can download it, make your account with no attachments to your personal life, and communicate with me outside our suits. I included my username on the paper, too, so you can add me once you’re done."

Her partner skimmed through the words on the paper and nodded his head. “Brilliant as always, M’lady. I’m surprised we didn’t figure this out sooner within our superhero careers.”

“Yeah, it would’ve been nice to have this before, but hey, better late than never. Make sure not to have your phone screen on the messages if you’re going to leave it somewhere. We don’t want anyone reading our texts. Also, this is for emergencies only. No jokes or puns. I can only deal with you for so long.”

“I don’t know if I can agree to that last one,” he said.

Now 22 and working full-time, Marinette and Adrien seem to be getting busier and busier, which means fewer opportunities to keep track of akumas and show up on time. With the idea of using a messaging app to communicate with each other without revealing their identities, their lives immediately grew to be easier... until it wasn't.

This starts off as a mostly slice-of-life fluff fic, but about halfway through things turn dramatic when Monarch learns some things he really shouldn’t and takes action. I had a lot of fun with it as it was coming out, it’s worth a read.

---

Kwami Magi Homura Magica by Crossoverpairinglover

After eighty-four loops in time, Homura Akemi takes a new path to Paris to save her friends.

The sixty-third loop after that, Homura arrived at the Agreste Mansion.

After clash after clash with the heroes of Paris and its greatest menace, events have reached a tipping point.

Ladybug faces someone verging on a second wish, a wish that endangers space and time to save a friend.

This was an absolutely AMAZING story that crossoverpairinglover dropped out of NOWHERE. Seriously, if you like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Miraculous Ladybug, this is a real treat - but be prepared to sit down and binge, because it’s over 100,000 words and only has three chapters. 

Anyway, I adore the care that’s taken with going through Homura’s mindset here, she gets a lot of character focus. And the lore! There’s some good explanations here for the history behind kwamis and Incubators’ interactions, and the Order of the Guardians normally treats Magical Girls, and why the Incubators are wrong in their assessment of the universe needing more energy to stave off entropy (hint: it involves Plagg), and just... there was a lot of love put into this.

And the action! Most Miraculous fics don’t have much in the way of fight scenes, and what they do have is mostly just functional. This is one of the rare exceptions. There’s some really long, detailed fight scenes in this (roughly the entire second half of the second chapter has one between Ladybug and Homura), which are a treat to read! 

We also get some glimpses into a variety of other universes here, other timelines, alternate ways things could have gone down - I’m especially partial to the rather detailed view we get of one where Homura sent a message asking for help to the Ladyblog on her third time loop, and how things progressed from there. 

The ending I also thought was really good, a happy ending that generally made sense and dealt with the issue of the Incubators. 

If you can’t tell I’m really happy with this fic, it was incredible and unexpected. The length of the individual chapters can be daunting, but if you’re up for the task, I highly recommend giving it a shot!

---

If I Let Myself Love You by @uptoolateart

It’s hard to be a normal girl with a normal life when your mother has terminal cancer. And when fashion model Adrien Agreste moves back to Paris and wants to be Marinette’s friend – or maybe even more – her life is turned upside down again.

How can she risk opening her heart to love when her whole world is falling apart? Especially when Adrien is hiding a dark secret of his own….

- COMPLETE FIC – updates on Sundays

*** No kwamis AU - 100% Adrinette. About half of it is fluffy and half heavy. Please read tags for trigger warnings. ***

This fic can be rough, definitely pay attention to the tags. There’s no villains in this story, it mostly centers around themes of dealing with illness - both being sick and having a loved one who’s terminally ill - and death, grieving someone who’s lost, and how difficult that can be. It can get pretty gut-wrenching at times, especially as you slowly discover more layers of what’s really going on, what both Adrien and Marinette are hiding, both from others and from themselves in order to help cope with their circumstances. But they still move forwards together, regardless.

---

Eventually by @lucid-ao3

Adrien’s life has been dictated by rules, monitored, and controlled for years. He has learned to compartmentalize. It’s not that bad. It always gets better, eventually. Doesn’t it?

Recovery can be an unexpected obstacle when you didn’t realize you were being hurt in the first place.

OR: How Adrien lives and copes with the emotional abuse inflicted on him over the years, and how he ultimately could overcome it.

If you want a good “Adrien doesn’t realize how abusive his father is but slowly buckles more and more under his tyranny, until things come to a head, and he actually gets the HELP HE NEEDS” fic, this is a good one!

---

Between the Heavens and the Embers by @readersmoon

Everyone in Paris remembers the fateful night of January 16, when the city was attacked by the most powerful and destructive akuma ever created. The assault, which lasted for hours, resulted in the death of 439 people.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was among the casualties.

Years later, Adrien hasn't been able to move on, haunted by the memories of her broken body. So, when the opportunity to leave Paris for a while presents itself, he doesn't hesitate. But this trip might end up giving him more than he ever dreamt of.

This is a fantastic fic, though a serious and a dark one - make sure to mind the tags, and it’s M-rated for a reason. Vee - or rather, Marinette - is going through a horror story here. Imagine finding out that your life is a lie, that everyone you thought you could trust was manipulating you, that you were just being continually gaslit for years. 

As for Adrien, Alya, and Nino... well, none of them took Marinette’s “death” all that well, especially Adrien. Finding out that she’s been alive all this time, in these horrible circumstances, and they had no clue... it’s hard on them as well.

I love how this fic goes into how much trauma everyone has even after the immediate danger’s dealt with, you don’t just walk off this kind of experience, especially with how many years this lasted.

[spookyhetero]

I AM ASKING YOU ABOUT ENTROPY KAYNE!!!

*cracks knuckles* okay kaynesona ala this post

Entropy Kayne/Nyarlathotep is a version of Nyarlathotep that really embodies the idea that disorder and chaos are expected and necessary parts of nature and plays to Nya's powers of controlling nature.

Entropy lies directly in the middle between Kayne's violent desire to create chaos infinite and the Managers controlled need to prevent destruction. Entropy is the perfect embodiment of Nyarlathotep's role in the cosmos - they are the messenger, the gopher, the go between - they watch as things happen and they enjoy it. They have no desire to meddle what so ever.

Because a force of nature has no need to meddle. They are inevitable.

However, this doesn't mean Entropy is either A) kind or B) sane. Trying to talk to them is like trying to talk to a tornado capable of asking questions. Entropy does not care if you are alive or dead. They do however care if you want to hear a joke (the joke is always Abbott and Costello's 'who's on first')

When Kayne finally comes to kill Entropy, they're like, excited about it. It's a new thing to do. It was invetitable for them to die. And does Kayne think he'll succeed? How many are left? Is there an end to the death? Will their death change this world at all? If chaos is nature, and nature is chaos, does killing them do anything? will something take their place? Are they even a necessary part of the world?

And about halfway through trying to tell who's on first Kayne explodes their lungs for not shutting up.

[ma1dita]

works in progress

🪽 beginning stages || ✨ halfway there || 🥂 posting next

not your goddess ✨

entropy ✨

asking for trouble ✨

link to series masterpost (with descriptions)

....slice of life blurb!verse for spencer reid with @hotchfiles ...... 🪽

SET IT UP! spencer reid x hrt!reader miniseries

ready your position 🪽

this does not guarantee or reflect posting order, just a depiction of where my head's at currently xx

last updated 3/30

[stardustcypher]

So Serif got a new mech last night.

It is the Horus Balor, because Horus’s approach to mechs GREATLY aligns with her own (crowdsource, use what you got, tinker tinker tinker, make it yours, make it YOURS)

i can’t draw worth shit but all of horus’s mechs aren’t really “models” but “pattern groups” bc they’re open-source and halfway black market, (direct from playbook: As is the case with most HORUS pattern groups, the Balor has a thousand faces. The Balor pattern group, like all HORUS PGs, doesn’t describe a single recognizable silhouette so much as it gestures toward a combination of schemata that share a role in combat. These schemata can be printed according to pilot specifications and applied to a fully custom physical scaffolding) so this isn’t what hers looks like but this IS the image in the play book:

and i love it and she loves it, loves how modular it is. this is her first taste of a full horus build and her other mech, an everest named Atticus, is still close to her heart but god she’s so ready to take this baby out for a spin

Originally I named the new mech Entropy, but i’m debating if she’d give it a name to further exacerbate the verbal confusion of Serif vs Seraph (not helped by the fact her other squad mate’s callsign is Crusader) by naming it Heavenly Benediction (“Benny”) or Be Not Afraid (“Alfred”). many things to think about. many many things

[strandedaylily]

making a ref for lucid but got sidetracked halfway through

anyway I’m reintroducing these two gals <3 meet Lucid Entropy (left), and Ripples in Flight (right)