#yeah we fae keep scrolling

[tatzelbookwurm]

A Round Door Like a Porthole Lazarus Green Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Pt. 3

Part 4: An Unexp-ectoed Party

“So if I sink through this floor are you going to just summon me back here?” the man who had transformed into a child and then a small cat snake creature asked, resigned.

“Safe bet, yeah.” Tim answered before Constantine could point out that the summoning circle hadn’t done a very good job of containing him. Tim had so many questions. What was up with the first transformation? The guy had undergone some hellish amalgamation of a magical girl transformation sequence and spaghettification into a gordian knot, with all the grace and majesty of a dog horking up a half digested hot dog and then eating the barf. Tim wasn’t sure if he wanted to watch it again on repeat to analyze the bizarre, physics breaking sequence, or if instead he wanted a swift concussion that would  make him forget everything about it. Also, why turn into a child? And how? Is the guy a meta? Why did he do a color switch and reappear/reform wearing a jumpsuit that looked like a cross between a Level C HazMat suit and a superhero (or -villain) costume? Why was he in the lab in the first place? Who was he? Where’d he come from? Why was he disassembling a vehicle? Was this an attack against Fenton Works, WE, or something preemptive in case Luthor got his hands on the place? Is he working for Luthor? Fuck that would be bad. Tims thoughts kept scrolling through a list of all the information he needed to extract from the man.

“Ugh, fine. Let’s get this over with.” He swiped his hands down his face and sat up, uncaring or unaware that he left a big smear of grease on his cheek. “Before we start, what do you plan on doing with this information?”

“I’m doing an assessment of assets for Wayne Enterprises.” Tim prevaricated.

“And I was hired to consult when it looked like some magic shite got tangled in the tech.” Constantine added when the man turned his pointed gaze in his direction.

“Okay, so if it isn’t related to WE’s business, will you keep everything I say off the record, just between us?” the stranger asked. 

“Yeah, of course.” Tim lied.

Constantine shot him a strange, warning glare. “If it doesn’t endanger anyone to keep quiet, I agree to your terms.”

“Great!” His grin stretched inhumanly wide, full of teeth that were just a little too sharp. “The pact is sealed. So mote it be.” He clapped his hands together and a wave of green light washed over them.

Fuck! Was that some kind of fae bargain!?

[milfronin-archive]

HI THIS IS THE SONAVERSE BACKSTORY LORE POST

Hello and welcome hi this is Sunny's big ramblepost about Sonaverse :+)

Sonaverse is where I put my ocs that are liek, my fursonas, and stuff like that.. Most of them are technically fursonas because im a very deep and varied critter lol. But yeah I wanted it to be fun and more unique than just like. Well It's Earth! So I came up with some fun worldbuilding touches hehe :3

One note before we start: Whenever I say the word "Human," that is a BLANKET TERM! "Human" refers to any creature with the intelligence equal to or surpassing a Homo Sapien. Because there are furries and humans and elves and demons and angels and robots and on and on and on.

The rest will be under the cut to not give you a mile long post to scroll through but It would make me Very Very Happy if you read it :+)

SO TO BEGIN.

At the very basest there are three sort of base inherent energies about the world that affect everything, sort of like thermodynamics or, like, gravity. I stole those psychology (?) terms because I like how they sound and Freud was a quack and I can do what I want I don't care.

-Id, being originally defined as like, wishful thinking, illogicality, desire, etc. is the name given to, essentially, magical energy. Magic! You know magic. You can do a lot with it. Id is associated with life, growth, movement, warmth, things of that nature. ID IS NOT INHERENTLY "GOOD" DO NOT MAKE THAT ASSUMPTION.

-Superego, being originally defined as rigidity/morality/stuff like so, is basically anti-magic, like how there's matter and antimatter. It's the fact that things end, death, slowing and cessation, cold. SUPEREGO IS NOT INHERENTLY "EVIL" DO NOT MAKE THAT ASSUMPTION. I know I said this like twice but people love to think "death is EVIL!!" no its fucking not okay if nothing died thered be way too much shit. Mf hoe /like that one post.

-Ego, being the thing that keeps both of them in check originally, is now... The same thing essentially. It is still an energy that permeates reality, but it is more prevalent in humans. Everything contains it, but humans contain FAR more ego, which allows them to sort of manually balance their own levels of Superego and Id. It will do it automatically naturally just due to how they interact, but people can shift it however they like. They can't shift it astronomically in either direction though, because the results are... Not ideal.

SO. Earth is... Different.

-Earth has multiple different planes of reality. [Well. Technically the entire universe does, but Earth's specifically will be relevant later.] There's the mortal plane, where... Mortals go. Big surprise there. There's the spiritual plane, where creatures comprised more prominently of Id reside, fae and supernatural creatures and the like. There's the plane of Divinity, where all things along the lines of gods, demons, angels, and things like that reside. This one is split up differently, being heaven, hell, and Paradiso [that one's where real gods and stuff reside.] You don't like... Go to heaven or hell though. It's just where angels or demons live. They're like the spiritual plane but theyre mmore unique manifestations of Id with distinctly divine touches. Reincarnation is real and people know that it's real but there's not really a way to carry stuff over. Reincarnation super is real though and like everyone knows it.

-Earth has rings! This is because I think it'd be cool if Earth had rings. Those edits of what it'd look like from the ground if Earth had rings like saturn were cool as hell and I'm like well yuppp.

-Earth has three moons! Luna, Aegis, and Cassanova. I haven't developed much about these yet but I think it'd be cool if Earth had multiple moons.

-And... Something else that needs its own section.

So like what's the catch besides that.

Well a long time ago Earth used to be more normal, in that its axis was actually Normal and Upright. However, later on, but still really really far in the past, some guy that was pissed off about nobody paying attention to them said "I'll give you people something to remember," and did the, still to date, largest and most intensive incantation to ever be recorded. Nobody actually knows how they did it, but what happened resulted in an absolutely massive crater on the planet, and the utter concentration of magic actually shifted the Planar Axes. The Metaphysical Axis was shifted drastically, causing a torrent of Id to spill forth, and saturate the planet with it, making literally everything more magical.

This metaphysical axis shift also means that Id-composed creatures [Spiritual plane, Divine plane] could enter our plane FAR easier. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as most things live in relative harmony now. However this is a minor problem as now non human demons (and some human ones), prone to mischievousness can and do rather frequently enter the mortal plane, infesting places. Due to this, demon hunting is a somewhat common occupation, and it's treated like an exterminator job, essentially.

Due to this, Earth has some more unique changes as well!

-Oxygen content is higher, resulting in creatures having the capability to get a lot larger! Megafauna are back on the menu. -Plants grow a lot more! Most cities are much more "solarpunk" looking. Plantlife and vegetation is seen not exactly as sacred, but a place with none of it anywhere is generally accepted to be incredibly dry and boring and distasteful. Almost all locations have plants growing on them inside them, the like. Magic helps sustain them but they all sort of magically manage to make stuff work fine. And that's the main bulk of it all :3 Here's some other little notes:

-Magic and Technology work hand in hand in a lot of things, most technology is magically powered as well. -I make the lore stupid as fuck like tf2 lore almost cause I feel like it and it's funny to me. Shit like Abe Lincon pictured on the penny, rocket jumping. -The city it "Takes Place In" [where all my ocs go] has a building that's sort of its highlight called the Gaia Archive. Think of it like the Library of Alexandria on steroids. Mass collection of all of humanity's knowledge, digital and physical, a combination museum and library and archive and anything else of that nature you could think of.

Soooo thats abt it for the basics :3 If you have any questions or stuff puhLEASE ask me I looove talking about it. Thanks for readinggggggg :333

[sekhisadventures]

Last Call for Cinderbrew Meadery

Orgrimmar, Midday

Gronk was a peon, but he was a happy peon. Rather than having to mine, chop wood, or occasionally get bonked on the head by novice adventurers, he instead had a respectable job. He was a rare peon, one that could read well, so he worked for the courier office in Orgrimmar… and today he was heading to the vulpera encampment on a delivery.

This wasn’t to say that illiteracy was commonplace in the Horde, but with no school system (or schools in the sense that we think of them really) such lessons were passed from parent to child, and if the parents were not literate neither would their children be. The Horde Council was working to correct this, some of the literate members of the Horde offering to tutor children like they were tutored when they were young, but setting up such was slow going.

Gronk’s delivery was an unusual one. There were very very few letters that came from the Alliance-held lands, even with the armistice. The truth was the cease-fire was still very tenuous even several years on… but it did happen. Mostly among the Forsaken. Some had made pen-pals of their living relatives, building upon Calia’s failed attempt to help them reconcile that had resulted in her death at the hands of then-warchief Sylvannas Windrunner… but this may well be the first to go to a vulpera.

He read the outside of the scroll again, then looked around the various fox-like peoples. “Who here know Atu ‘n Risala?” he asked, waving the scroll, “Dey got letter!”

One of the vulpera looked up at him, then held up her hand, “Um, I’m Risala.” she nodded, wondering who on Azeroth would be sending her a letter. She’d have hoped it was from one of her daughters, but as far as she knew they were still stuck on that new Island… at least she hoped they were.

Gronk nodded and handed her the scroll, taking a few copper coins as payment for delivery, and waved goodbye as he continued his rounds.

“Whats the letter Risala?” asked her husband Atu as he sat near the campfire, the twins playing with the little wooden Night Fae toys that Sekhi had brought them back from her time in the Shadowlands.

Risala broke the seal on the scroll and unrolled it, then began reading.

Atu and Risala,

You don’t know me, but you know my daughter. Jaie Swiftpaw.

She was able to reach me from the Isle of Dorn and wanted me to send word to you about what happened there.

Sekhi, Leza, and Jeemjazo are safe and well. They’re with my daughter and her allies. Jaie says that as soon as they find a way to use portal magic on the island they’ll try to send Leza back to Orgrimmar… but that it may take some time.

She wanted you both to know that she and her friends will do their best to keep your family safe until they can come home.

Wishing your family well,

Xinyi Swiftpaw

Atu read it over Risala’s shoulder, then the two sagged and let out a loud sigh.

“Thank the sands!” gasped out Risala as she rolled her eyes, “I swear I wanted to scream when we found Leza’s letter… if only we could’ve gotten to Bilgewater Harbor before they set out…” she sighed, shaking her head.

Atu nodded, “Yeah… first Sekhi vanishes into that Shadowlands place without a word, now Leza runs off after her to this ‘Isle of Dorn.’ Its practically becoming a family tradition at this rate…” he frowned, then glanced over at where Zato and Eeda were playing with their toys.

The kits were still young, not even twelve years old yet… but Zato was already showing aptitude for archery, and Eeda was sometimes sneaking off to watch Ji and the other pandaren practice martial arts.

“… I wonder how much it’d cost to buy a really sturdy cage…” he mused aloud.

Risala bristled a bit, narrowing her eyes, “You had better be joking Atu…”

“You were thinking it.” he shrugged.

Risala looked away as her face flushed under her fur, “… eh, maybe a little…”

Meanwhile, on the Isle of Dorn…

Galdia rode through the woods on Nightpelt’s back as, beside her, padded along a second large wolf… though this one was a bit odd (well, odder than the one she rode, which was clearly undead.)

This wolf seemed to be almost semi-transparent, as if it wasn’t really there. Its footpads left no marks on the ground, and it moved with an unnatural silence to its steps.

Also, it could talk. That was pretty odd as far as animals went even for Azeroth.

“Poor Dareley… can’t blame ‘im fer hidin’ that from us…” it said in a thickly accented voice reminiscent of Halfhill.

Galdia shrugged, “Eh… like I said on the boat, I get it. No orc wants to die old and weak. Go down fighting with blood on your tusks. If it’s your enemy’s blood that’s best.” she nodded.

The wolf shrugged as best as a quadrupedal creature could shrug, “Well, I can’t cure what Dissonatia did to ‘im, but I wanna do somethin’. Those earthen swear by this ‘cinderbrew’ stuff, and its definitely got one fel of a kick to it… so maybe if I can pick up a few tips from th’ meadery I can make ‘im somethin’ to take th’ edge off this whole mess, at least fer a bit.”

Then they rounded the corner and ahead of them stood the mead yard. Huge barrels stacked two deep all over the area, with a strong scent of spices and honey coming from them.

The wolf grinned, then there was a swirl of elemental power and Zhan-min stood up straight and nodded. “Mmm… smell that? Nothin’ beats it when its fresh!” he laughed, “C’mon Galdia, lets see what we can find out. Remember though, no bullyin’ ‘em.” he warned, “If someone says somethin’ is a ‘trade secret’ then that’s th’ end of it. I ain’t gonna try ta force it outta ‘em.”

Galdia snorted, “My way works, and its funner.” she replied, but didn’t argue as they made their way onto the open storage area… only to find it deserted.

“That’s odd… where th’ heck is everyone?” murmured Zan-min as he looked around. “This time of day most any brewery would be busy as a hive’a bees…”

Galdia slid down off Nightpelt to the ground, then looked around and noticed something. Several long ropey objects leading to the kegs. “Hm… hey bear…” she grunted, moving to get his attention… but then they felt something.

The ground was shaking… and Nightpelt was growling and staring into the distance.

The pandaren and orc glanced at each other, then they looked in the direction that Nightpelt was staring in… and saw it. A cloud of dust, as if many feet were kicking it up as they ran towards their location. After a moment, they saw what was making it.

A swarm of nerubians, dozens of them, all bearing down on the meadery!

The two gasped as they realized what was happening, “THE NERUBIANS ARE COMING FOR THE MEADERY!” they shouted together.

“We gotta stop ‘em!” growled Zhan-min as he drew his maces, elemental fire and wind swirling about them.

“WE GET TO FIGHT ‘EM!” grinned Galdia as she drew her sword and slid her other arm into the straps of her shield.

Zhan-min paused, then glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

She grinned back, gripping her sword tightly in excitement.

“… eh, I can work with that…” he shrugged, then clanged his maces together over his head, “C’MON YA SCUTTLIN’ BASTARDS!” he shouted, the three of them charging forwards as the swarm split, heading along different paths. Zhan-min swore under his breath. He knew that they couldn’t hope to stop the entire horde of nerubians alone… but there was no time to call for help!

Galdia, however, didn’t really care…

“LOK’TAR OGAR!” she roared as she raced forward to meet one of them head on, the nerubian noticing her just in time to get a face full of shield as she smashed it into him, cracking his exoskeleton in several places as she spun, then slashed out with her sword and the attacker fell to the ground in two pieces.

Zhan-min lashed out with his maces, a blast of elemental lightning slamming into a group of them as one’s body erupted into flames, the pandaren bringing his mace around to smash into him as flames swirled around the weapon and the fire seemed to leap off the nerubian into his allies. Soon the entire group was ablaze!

As the enraged arachnids focused on him he channeled elemental power into both weapons, then brought them down hard infront of him! With a crash the ground split open and blasted molten rock out onto his enemies, the nerubians screaming in pain as it burned through their bodies!

Galdia roared and taunted more of them into attacking her, Nightpelt backing her up as he savaged any that Galdia brought down without killing… but more and more kept coming.

“Dammit, how many of these buggers are there?!” swore Zhan-min as he glanced at the orc.

Galdia didn’t even notice, she was a warsong warrior and she had enemies. She had been stuck on the Glittering Prize for weeks with very little to do, and as far as she was concerned this was all that mattered right now. Really, that kind of laser focus could be good in a fight… but not always.

When Zhan-min glanced over another nerubian suddenly smashed into him and sent the pandaren man stumbling back across the battlefield, then two more nerubians behind it began weaving webs together before a sudden wave of silken fibers shot out and attached themselves to Zhan-min’s hands.

“W-woah!” he yelped as he was pulled forward, the nerubians quickly scuttling towards him. “Ah shit! GALDIA! HELP!” he yelled, struggling as the nerubians began weaving their webbing around his form as he fought to free himself, but nerubian threads were strong as steel!

“Huh?” grunted the orc, snapping out of her battle fury at his cry, then growling and rushing towards him only for another group of the arachnids to block her path! She slashed her sword at them and brought one down, but the other two dodged and countered, the orc only just getting her shield up in time! “OUTTA MY WAY DAMMIT!” she snarled, smashing her shield into another, only for the other one to slash out and land a blow across her bicep, Galdia roaring in pain.

Zhan-min struggled, but he was almost completely webbed up now… and he remembered what Nelen had told him. They’d seen it on the beach following Dalaran’s destruction. The nerubians wanted live captives… if he didn’t get free, they’d drag him off to their lair!

Zhan-min sighed and said something, though his words were muffled by the webbing… and then there was a swirl of elemental energy, and the scent of hops and spices filled the air.

The nerubians hesitated, sensing something was wrong… A moment later the webs that held the pandaren captive began to swell from within, bulging as they started fraying from the pressure inside!

With a loud ripping sound the cocoon exploded into stray fibers as Zhan-min broke free, once more transformed into a massive alemental! “Alright then ya creepy crawlies! ROUND TWO!” he shouted, smacking his hands together before he aimed one at each of the nerubians who’d been trying to capture him and with a spray of elemental ale they were both sent flying away from him, Zhan-min’s attack having the force of a firehose!

This did however draw the nerubian’s attention to him as they turned away from Galdia. A giant beer elemental was hard to miss… but this was a mistake they wouldn’t make again. Galdia had been injured, and her orc blood was already boiling from the fight. She roared behind them and slashed out, and two of the nerubian went down headless before a third turned to meet her shield, held sideways, slamming into its throat!

It fell to the ground flailing its legs as it clutched at its ruined neck, before Nightpelt dove on top of it and sank his fangs in, tearing its throat open!

As an alemental Zhan-min towered over the other nerubians, the pandaren man smashing his fists into them as they were tossed about like monstrous toys… but then the ground began to shake and suddenly the floor of the production area burst open as another nerubian giant emerged. Nelen had said that they were known as ‘crypt lords,’ or at least the ones employed by the Scourge had been (he didn’t know if the living ones were called something different) but it was as good a name for any for them.

Zhan-min flexed as he turned towards it, then he heard the cry of a large bird from above.

High above them was an earthen astride one of those lighting-gryphons, what the people of Dornogal called ‘stormrooks.’ As Zhan-min watched he realized something, the earthen was making ready to jump at the crypt lord, his weapon glowing like a spotlight as he channeled a massive amount of elemental lightning into it!

Zhan-min paused, looking around at the barrels around them. He’d tried cinderbrew in Dornogal, he could tell how high-proof it was. A spark like that… “Ah heck!” he gasped, looking around as he spotted Galdia and Nightpelt, then raced towards them as he flailed his arms, smashing the swarm out of the way!

He grabbed the both of them in his arms as he got there and surged forward through the horde of arachnids, making for the edge of the storage area, then as soon as he got there he leapt off into the surrounding forest as Galdia swore and flailed her sword. “ONE MORE! LEMME CUT ONE MORE DAMMIT!” she barked.

“NO TIME!” was all that Zhan-min could get out as he landed just as the earthen jumped as well, aiming his hammer down… and there was a tremendous boom of thunder behind them!

The whole world seemed to turn white as they were blown into the distance, Zhan-min’s transformed body protecting the three of them as they landed among the trees.

With a swirl of elemental power Zhan-min shrank back down into a pandaren once more, the shaman standing up and looking back, then making a sound in the back of his throat at the sight.

The meadery was in ruins, flames and wreckage and dead nerubians everywhere… and every single barrel of cinderbrew had been blown to bits! For the Shamanbrewer and his love of alecraft, it was… an unpleasant sight to say the least.

Zhan-min’s eye twitched, then he fell to his knees and slammed his fists into the ground. “YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT ALL UP!” he cried out, “DAMMIT!”

Galdia shook herself off, licking a bit of the ale that had made up Zhan-min’s body off her arm, then sheathed her weapons. “Eh, yeah, but that looked like their plan anyway.” she shrugged.

Zhan-min hesitated, then looked up at her, “Huh?” he grunted.

“When we got there, right before the swarm showed up, I noticed half the kegs were wired with fuses. I think they were gonna use the meadery as a trap, lure ‘em in, and blow it up with them in it. Grom and the rest of us used to do shit like that back on Draenor sometimes when the Lightbound found us.” she explained.

Zhan-min looked up, then noted that there were quite a lot of dead nerubians there, far more than he and Galdia could have killed. The crypt lord itself was over by the path that the nerubians had come from, and on the opposite end of the storage area, and on the mountainside nearby, and hanging from the trees. He had been right at the center of the blast and my goodness he was rather large, wasn’t he? There were a lot of bits to go around.

The shamanbrewer sighed and stood up, adjusting his belt and kilt. “Hmph… well dammit, so much fer learnin’ a new trick… guess I’ll have ta find somethin’ else to try to cheer up Dareley…” he sighed.

“Eh, I mean you really think beer would do it? He’s fucking dying, remember?” grunted the orc.

Zhan-min looked down, then shrugged his shoulders. “I mean… I wanna do somethin’… ‘n makin’ beer is what I’m good at. I can’t heal ‘im, I ain’t strong enough ta break th’ curse… at least I can do this…” he nodded.

Galdia noticed his expression, then glanced away as she thought about how many people she’d lost in her lifetime. Grom, Zayera, her parents, hell there was a whole list. She grew up on the Draenor that had been host to a fanatical version of Yrel and her Lightbound inquisition… most of the people she’d known didn’t make it out of that.

Zhan-min hadn’t had her experiences with death and loss. Dareley may be the first person he’d cared about who could die like this. He and the dwarf were good friends, Dareley always first in line to try his new brews and eager to give feedback and advice to him. It would be a hard loss for the pandaren.

“Hey… lets just head back ‘n… I dunno… keep our eyes out for some stuff you could brew eh? I mean, the animals are rocks, but there’s plenty of plants ‘n shit right?” she offered.

Zhan-min glanced at her, then smiled a bit, “Yeah, sounds like a plan…” he nodded, changing back into his ghost wolf form as she mounted Nightpelt once more, the two making their way back to the Glittering Prize.

None of the team was really handling the idea of losing their friend well. Dareley had been with them since the beginning. He was the one who originally agreed to teaming up with Savage United, he was one of the founding members of Avalon. He had helped Shalandrae with her grief when she lost Teldrassil, he had stood by them all when hard times came.

Now, with Dissonantia’s curse eating him alive, that may soon come to an end… and their friend, the devout and kind paladin they all knew, would be no more.

Next Story

Previous Story

[asirensrage]

Ten Lines Game

Thanks for tagging me @wordspin-shares!

Rules: Pick any ten of your fics, scroll to the midpoint, pick a line (or three or more) then share it. Tag others if you want.

the real question is which ones to pick?

Tammy Thompson Takes on the Upside Down - Stranger Things

“This is my friend Steve. I ran into him walking the dog. His parents are out of town.” Deanna looked at him sharply. “They left you alone?”  “Uh, yeah,” he said. “But they left me money and stuff. It’s fine.”  “You were going to spend Thanksgiving alone?” she asked. Steve nodded and Deanna wiped her hands on a towel. “Tammy, add another place setting.” 

there's a heaven above you (don't you cry) - The Lost Boys

“Did he hurt you?” he asked, eyes glancing down her body. “Who? David? I’m fine. He won’t be though if I ever catch up to him again.” She glared at Paul. He had taken her away just when she was going to start getting her point across.  “Dwayne. Did he hurt you?” He seemed abnormally serious from how she knew him.

This Means War - Daredevil and The Punisher

Billy pulls back for a moment, eyes going over her face as though he’s trying to memorize every feature. She grabs the back of his neck, moving him down to kiss her again. Anything to keep him from looking at her like that.

Serendipity - John Wick

Staying in New York probably isn't a good idea. Not when they’re out for his blood. Still, it’s home. At least the one place he’s lived the longest. He has memories here and he knows the ground well. He doesn’t want to be driven out.  John goes to Aurelio. He doesn’t really have anyone else he can trust anymore. He shouldn’t even be here but he’s known Aurelio for years and the man told him that if he needed help, to ask. So John’s asking.

A Study in Intimacy - Divergent

All in all, after the final test, Eric passes. He is Erudite.  It is a relief but it is only when he sees Jeanine’s face as she welcomes him fully into Erudite that he feels like he can breathe. Her expression is trying hard not to be pinched especially when he says loudly that it is all because of her and that he hopes he can continue to make her proud. Her grip tightens almost painfully at that, but everyone is watching and all she can do is smile. He can't push her too hard. Even if he wants to...right off of a cliff. 

It's Always Darkest Before the (Second) Dawn - Shadow and Bone /HP

She glances at the other men in the room. This is not part of her plan. She wants answers. However, judging from the look on Ivan’s face, the clench of his jaw and the blatant disregard on Kirigan, she knows she’s unlikely to get them now. She takes his arm. “Certainly.”

"Season 2" of Caught in the Crossfire - Supernatural

“He agreed to be friends,” I said. “Just friends.”  “Good,” she said. “That’s...good. Right?”  “Yeah.”  “Well, as someone who was friends with Sam while you two were having your...weird sexual tension last year, he’s a good friend to have.” “You guys were friends?”  She looked at me unimpressed and rolled her eyes. “Yes. What? Did you think Dean and I were going at it like rabbits 24/7?”  I shrugged and hesitantly made a noise of agreement. “Oh my god Michelle!”   “What? You go at it enough here!”  “We do not!” “I’m sorry, but have I not walked in on you multiple times?” “Learn how to knock!” “It was the living room!” 

Untitled - Jujutsu Kaisen

“I thought you said we were avoiding the country?” she asks herself softly.  “There’s no choice,” the voice echos back. “Better we deal with him now and find whoever’s helping him.”  “And then what?” She shoves her hands in her pocket. Her headphones are covering her ears, helping it look like she’s just on a call.  “We deal with them.”  She sighs. “Yeah, I thought you’d say that. So what’s the plan?”  “Stay hidden,” it says. “Until it’s too late.” “For them,” she agrees. “You sure no one will sense you?”  “They never have. They’ve forgotten about me.” “Well, not for long I guess,” she says.  “We will remind them.”

"Fae M-" - Undecided, Maybe Shadow and Bone

It’s not a lie. She meant no harm…mainly to herself. What she stole was retaliation. They tried to steal hers first.  “Are you bound only by a contract?” She asks. “Or are you bound fully?” Her meaning would make sense to those who know. She needs to see exactly what he understands and who his loyalty is sworn to.  “You’ve gotten yourself into something deep,” he says. He avoids the question which tells her that at least he knows the type that has contracted him.  “So have you.”

Reality is Fictional - Multiple Fandoms

“What’s your name?” Helen asks softly.  Her eyes snap up at Helen. She still doesn’t know where she is or what happened. She doesn’t trust this. So she gives them a name that she’ll remember, one that she remembers reading about before she left on that date. A name of a woman who was left for dead. “Ariadne,” she says. It oddly fits. 

tagging: anyone who wants to join in! Make sure to tag me so I can check out your fics!

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High: The Seven Ep 5

Through a Glass, Darkly

Welcome back to the Temple of the Earth Defiant where the girls and their magical horses (and one pony!) have found refuge from the strange, twisted, fae creatures that have been chasing them. The statue of Asha Hammerheart that Ost animated last episode is still alive and wrecking house on the remaining harpies and beasts that are foolish enough to keep fighting and the rest soon get the hint and flee. 

Ost does some healing (boosted by the ambient Hallow effect of the temple which gives everyone a short rest) and then, seeing the damage to the temple caused by erosion, starts using Mending to fix things up. Her friends help out too with Sam and Yelle being most effective--Sam by repairing water damage and Yelle by creating tree cover and other druid-y tricks. But of course, we can’t overlook Katja’s crucial addition of carving “A Horse is a Home” into one of the walls of this sacred temple. 

Anyway, the girls are nesting super hard, the horses are having their scrapbooking reviewing club (an insane thing that was established last episode) and then Sam asks a question. Did y’all mention something about a photo of me going viral? Everyone’s like yeah, but don’t worry, you looked super hot. That’s not the part Sam was worried about. What she’s worried about and what all the girls except Zelda don’t really seem to know is that Sam doesn’t really have a social media presence. So like, 180k and climbing views (as decided by a dice roll) isn’t really what she wants. She scrolls through the comments really quick and sees that they’re not awful but one person is like, “Hey that girl looks a lot like that character from that old show”. Which Sam doesn’t love. She says that she’s fine but also that, even without an Insight check, she’s obviously not. 

Sam kind of looks to Zelda to bail her out and Zelda is like, “Hey, I’m gonna delete this video.” The other girls follow suit, even though they don’t quite know what’s happening. When they have to split up to investigate, Sam has Zelda kind of bail her out again and they split up to go check a nest outside--Zelda waving off Danielle when she wants to go with. Ant and Yelle decide to check out a cache of some treasure they saw earlier and Ost and Katja stay with the horses to keep fixing the temple up. Penny initially goes with Ant and Yelle but rushes back to be with Ost and Kat when Ost discovers a hidden lock while she’s fixing a wall.

So, the girls are split up, let’s run all these scenes.

Antiope and Yelle

Ant and Yelle go see the pile of treasure (near the statue of dwarven paladin Yvonna) which they learn is like a “take a penny leave a penny” situation for weapons and items. They were left by adventures who were similarly chased here and you can take what you need as long as you leave something to help others. Like, “Oh no I only have an ice sword and I need flaming arrows.” It doesn’t have to be equivalent exchange, you just need to leave something useful.

In this space, Yelle feels a weird melancholy and like they’re within the watch of something vast and powerful. She tries to check for TK’s presence but rolls low. Antiope leaves her Kalvaxus killing shortsword and takes some really nice, white feather fledged arrows with mirror tips and an ax Kat wants as a present for her dad. Danielle takes a bandolier of potions (3 healing and 2 mystery I believe) and leaves a bunch of mushrooms. Some of them are psychedelic and Ant takes one because this is probably a good time to be high, right?

It’s not messing with her competence obviously though because she rolls a 25 on Primeval Awareness and gets a weird sense, like something is closing in on this place. And like something very powerful is bleeding, which combined with the chaos of the mountains might explain the weird harpies and the cat/dogs. But she’s high so she explains this is a very spacey, stoner way. Probably a good thing she’s with Yelle.

Sam and Zelda

Sam can fly and Zelda can basically walk vertically with her goat legs so they check out the nest. Well, ostensibly that’s what they’re doing. Really they’re just having a heart to heart. Sam thanks Zelda for saving her ass and apologizes profusely for being so short with her. Zelda gives her a huge mid-air hug and says it’s not a big deal because she knows Sam is just lashing out because she’s hurting but Sam says it’s not a good enough excuse and she’s truly sorry. It’s been her coping mechanism for so long but she doesn’t want to be that way. She tells Zelda that the Everpetals are divorcing and that she’s living alone and Zelda says that any one of the girls would be happy to have her stay with them. Sam further explains that this is a big part of the reason she’s been so broken up about the possibility of their group splitting up and Zelda immediately takes out her crystal and texts her “I’m in” in the thread, breaking Sam again. 

Since they’re in heart to heart mode, Sam tells her that she talked to her bio-mom and an agent and she’s not sure what to do. Zelda says that she’s gonna be spectacular no matter what she does and she doesn’t have to do any of them but it’s cool doors are opening for her but also Antiope and Penny are gonna be PISSED that she’s out here making side plans after she gave them so much shit for theirs. Lol, well it’s a nice moment in the meantime and we cut to…

Penny, Ost, and Katja 

While Penny is lockpicking (and also trying to teach one of the horses to lockpick because sure) Katja and Ost go talk to the statue of Asha Hammerheart. It seems to be animated with at least some level of her true consciousness from beyond the grave and that she can kind of woge into her statue when she wants, which is cool. She’s been there for like 250 years so that’s a lot of history to see. 

Ost is maybe the most polite we’ve ever seen her talking to Asha (at least to begin with lol) and they ask her about TK. Asha says she saw TK show up 12 years ago but she never left, at least not through the front door. And then about 2 years ago (right around when they were in the crystals) that’s when the harpy queen showed up. At first they were normal and then they started mutating. Also, recently, Korra (one of the other statues/heroes) saw a woman in the mountains--not TK. 

Ost then takes a page from the book of one St. Kristen Applebees and asks, “Hey. What’s the deal with our god? He never talks to us, does he just suck?” Asha--who has never talked to him even though she’s a martyred hero and literally in dwarf heaven makes some excuses for the guy but Katja scoffs at them. “If people wanna take care of you, they do.” Ost then straight up asks if Logran Soulforger is even real which sets Asha off but Ost isn’t mad AT her, she’s mad FOR her. You go and do all this cool shit to the point where you have this cool ass statue, you fully DIE for him and he doesn’t even say hi? With a 21 Persuasion check, Asha admits that yeah, she would have liked some recognition. She decides she’s gonna go do some talking to some people and leaves after getting Ost’s number but before they can ask more about the woman Korra saw (who they think is Charity). 

OK, that’s all the small group stuff! Everyone comes back as Penny finishes up with the lock and they go down into this room that’s full of polished, precious stones. This is probably where people who were upkeeping the temple stayed. While everyone else is going down, Sam feels some powerful magical pull--much like her episode 1 Lightning Lure--calling her from the top of the stairs so she goes back up. We’ll get back to her in a bit. 

Penny rolls a high check to clock what’s going on down here. First off, she finds flintlock bullets and airship uniform scraps which makes it seem like there was a battle here involving some airship guys from the Baronies. Which is not just the place of origin of Riz’s imaginary Romance Partner. It’s a cluster of nations known for high rates of monarchical turnover and renaissance style intrigue. I’m picturing just a nation of [REDACTED]s from Crown of Candy. 

With all of this stuff, Penny finds an emblem of a billionaire airship mogul named Lord Talcidimir Tallbreeze who is a friend of her dad’s. Yelle is immediately like FUCK billionaires which isn’t plot relevant but it’s nice to know she’s always on brand. 

Oh also, Penny just casually finds the Legendarium so that’s neat. 

To be safe, Ost casts Protection from Energy on Ant (who is the one who knows how to use it) and brings out her Spirit Guardian (who is a combo of her mom, nona, and Asha, with her dad’s rings). Ant checks it out and sees that there are currently no A, B, or C quests in all of Spyre. While Penny cross references the bylaws to see if there’s a way to get around this, Yelle does some druid BS that I still do not understand to use the crystals in the cave to jailbreak this super powerful magical Artifact so they can just have copies on their crystals. While that’s happening, let’s check on Sam. 

Sam goes back up the staircase where she sees Ending who doesn’t look menacing at all, just extremely sad. She’s looking out the mouth of the cave and, when she turns, Sam can see she’s crying blood. 

“What’s wrong?” asks Sam, the acid-tongued but good-hearted. “Can I help you?”

With a 25 Persuasion check to get her to talk, Ending apologizes for scaring her and her friends before. She didn’t mean to. She sometimes forgets that her very nature can be frightening and dangerous to others. She says that when she escaped, she tried to rejoin her sisters but found their mirrors shattered and them gone. Sam thought they escaped but that doesn’t make sense to Ending. If they had, why wouldn’t they have freed her as well?

Sam asks who her sisters were and we finally get true names for Ending and her sisters:

Chrona, Terra, Pyrria, Nira, Zefira, Anima, and herself, Talura (which is what I’ll be calling her now that we know). Talura is the baby, the youngest. Sam realizes she’s talking about the Eidolons and Talura seems surprised and a bit pleased that Sam recognizes them. 

Sam asks if she can hug her and Talura hugs her tightly in a very cold embrace that doesn’t hurt. Downstairs, she hears her friends (Penny specifically) freaking about about the lack of quests but she doesn’t break the hug. 

“My own sisters are struggling right now but I’m gonna stay with you because you don’t know where yours are. But maybe we can find them.”

Talura clocks that the way that Sam is being is her true nature, not the bitchiness she often uses as a shield. Then she starts to talk about her history. That she and her sisters were sealed away when the gods were done with them (Sam can relate to being used and set aside) and the only way out was death. Talura has been crying and looking for her sisters to no avail. Her tears of blood leaking seems to be what caused the monsters to mutate which is in line with what Yelle and Ant were sensing. 

Talura doesn’t think anything could have destroyed her sisters so she’s very confused. Sam offers Talura her Mirror of the Past because it almost knocked out Sam to get god-tier information but Talura presumably won’t have that problem. Talura offers her a boon in exchange for this great kindness but Sam says she doesn’t need any quid pro quo. “This is just because you’re hurting.”

Talura is supremely touched and still wants to do something for her new...friend? Sam accepts the title and says that what she needs is some help on her GED quest. Once she explains what she means, Talura again recognizes Aguefort and is like, Oh, you need a quest? I can totally help with that! As we learned earlier, these guys are kinda genie connected so it’s not super surprising when Talura very happily goes full your wish is my command.

Downstairs, a Class A quest suddenly appears in Spyre on the screen. 

Back upstairs, Talura says that it’s been too long since she got to grant a wish and seems really happy about it. Sam gives her the mirror so she can check what happened to her sisters but when she does, she totally flips out and gets super angry--not at Sam, just at whatever she’s looking at. She can hardly believe it. Sam tries to figure out what’s wrong but she just gets super big and then disappears into a puff of smoke, leaving Sam's mirror on the ground, covered in frost. 

Downstairs, the Class A quest expands across the entire globe and then the Legendarium cracks. Ost’s spirit guardian disappears because of alarm bells ringing in the afterlife. And the girls learn that a Class A quest is a quest that affects the whole MULTIVERSE. Yikes!

So anyway, they girls go upstairs to check on Sam (on a bear that Penny makes because sure) and they see that something clearly just happened with Sam. Yelle asks if she’s good and Sam is like yeahhhh I don’t think ANYONE is good right now. Sam seems like she’s about to cry and Antiope instantly forgets all the petty bullshit going on between them and rushes to make sure she’s not hurt. 

Sam gives the girls a rundown of what happened and Yelle concretely puts together what I said earlier about Talura’s tears messing with nature. 

Sam wants to check her mirror to see what Talura saw and Brennan says she can do it the safe way with risk of failure of the surefire way with risk of personal harm. She, of course, picks door 2 and rolls a 13 on her con save which means she rises into the air like Storm from X-Men, eyes wide, and then instantly passes out and goes into shock. Antiope is there to catch her as she does. 

Also, she looks SUPER hot while falling on a 31. Honestly, it’s a shame she doesn’t allow herself a social media presence. 

Anyway, we’ll get to what she sees in a bit. Yelle and Ant make sure she’s OK (she is, but the has to be knocked out for this or she won’t be able to handle it). 

Penny tells them what she knows about each Eidolon from her earlier research which is what element each goes with:

Chrona: Time (Related to astral and elemental planes) 

Terra: Earth

Pyrria: Fire

Nira: Water

Zefira: Air

Anima: Life

Talura: Death 

They also talk about TK never leaving via the front door and all this airship stuff being around. Maybe she left out the top of the mountain on an airship? Katja has the hookup with this Tal guy (she’s met him when she was younger) so they decide they need to check it out once Sam is good. 

The girls fix the Legendarium and Ost, when she goes to pray for her spells for the night, doesn’t pray to her usual god. She prays to Asha. And not only does she get her spells, she also gets a new one--Commune. 

And now let’s get to what Sam is seeing in her Vision Coma. 

She was told by Talura that the only way out of the mirrors given to them by the gods was death. And what Talura saw that drove her to do whatever multiverse threatening thing that she did was every one of her sisters walking out of their mirrors and choosing death. I will specifically highlight that the oldest sister leaves almost immediately with a small, “Oh,” of realization and Anima, the closest sister to her seems terrified before coming to a joyful realization and leaving.

And that’s the end of the episode! Join us next week when apparently there is talk of a masquerade ball?????? Brennan, you shouldn’t have!   

Superlatives 

Sam: Most Likely to Accidently Snag a Brand Deal

Did you guys ever read the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche? Where Psyche was born so hot that it was basically a curse and she was miserable because she was so hot that Aphrodite hated her? That’s Sam. She is incapable of almost dying in a non-aesthetic way. It’s like a Pantene commercial every time. This is my favorite running gag.

Random Thoughts

Man, I have so many feelings about Sam. She’s such a BITCH in so many ways but it’s so obvious that she has a good heart. Every time she has an opportunity to be nice with no gain--helping Lola find her dog, magically turning the pages for the horses during book club, fully refusing a boon from Talura--she does. And I’m glad she gave Zelda such a sincere apology and didn’t let the extenuating circumstances absolve her because she said some pretty uncalled for things. But at her core she’s so kind and I want only good things for her. 

Also those of you who know me from my FH recaps know I’m a messy bitch for sister stuff so Talura and Sam both referring to the other maidens as her sister had me dead. You can tell when something in this show is f’ing me up when I just start directly quoting instead of paraphrasing. 

Katja being richer than Helio but having no idea what any of the brands Ost is mentioning are is peak comedy.  

As is Ant’s response to the take and penny leave a penny translation from Ost, “No, Penny didn’t come with us.”

Ost: I get service in the afterlife.

You could really tell which of the players watched Sophomore Year because the Baronies came up and all of them went into fight or flight immediately. 

Very Elsa vibes from Sam during the top of the scene with Talura. (Sam is, of course, a better sister but we simply do not have time to get into my feelings on Frozen 2 right now).

I was wondering why this season was called just “The Seven” when it dropped initially. Like, was it snappier? Did they not want to use the word “maiden”? But they still call themselves the Seven Maidens in the show so it’s probably not that. Now I’m wondering if it’s just to parallel the 7 of them w/ the 7 Eidolons. 

So it seems clear based on the reactions of the first and sixth sisters that they didn’t just “go gently into that good night” as Ant would say and ditch Talura. It seems like they figured something out. Also Brennan isn’t really a “and then they all died, the end” kind of DM, you know? Credit to my friend @camwritery for getting here before I did but the gods said the only way out was death and she is death so you know? Those def seem like puzzle pieces that go together. 

The only crit rolled this episode is a 1 by Penny which she gets to reroll as a halfling. 

[datawyrms]

Ectober Day 20 Full Moon

On Ao3

Okay, things he’d learned about Phantom. He hated food, and the moon. Which didn’t seem connected, but it sure didn’t stop the demon from trying to rip into his shoulder when he noticed Phantom spacing out again.

He should probably add that to his personal rules, don’t nudge the demon when he’s in the weird spaced out look. Apparently it was fine if he was sleeping, but awake it just made him into a jumpy doom shadow. Or maybe something was making those spacing out times worse? Any attempts at asking had been met with complete silence, to the point Tucker actually thought the demon went back to his world. Until he noticed his shadow lingering when he walked past a bus stop covered in graffiti. Phantom might be good at hiding, but he sure got distracted by new things.

Which left him with less direct options for learning about demons. He’d gotten most of Sam’s weird book that actually worked scanned, but it didn’t exactly talk about demons having emotions? Or panic attacks. Really, it just talked about how to use them as tools. Not exactly helpful. So he had to turn to his preferred method: trying every single search engine to pull up relevant pages about the moon. Just in case some legend or history might give him a hint to why Phantom seemed so agitated about it.

Turns out there’s a lot of information about the giant rock in space that’s apparently actually a super important giant rock in space. Like literally, it actually influences the tides level important. Which was neat, but didn’t exactly help in figuring out what got Phantom all tied up in knots. Unless he was super into how the ocean worked. No, probably not. He didn’t seem to care that they weren’t near any large bodies of water in Amity Park, at any rate. Okay, how about things that were recent? There was a full moon coming up? Maybe that made fairies or demons more powerful?

This would be so much easier if Phantom would just talk about it. He just had a bunch of maybes. That and werewolves! Lots and lots of werewolves. Maybe demons were werewolves, and that’s why he was moody? Phantom the shadowy werecat? Nah, that didn’t really fit. Still, there was a lot of fairy related stuff showing up related to the moon. If he had a fear of ‘fae’ things, the moon might make it worse? The full moon this month was called a ‘Hunter’s Moon’, apparently. Neat, but didn’t help. Not unless the demon was scared of getting hunted down or something.

“Hey. You feeling any better?”

He got more silence in response.

“We really do need to think of a better name to call you in public though. Phantom stands out too much, and we’re trying to keep you a secret, you know?” Tucker was many things, but a quitter wasn’t one of them.

Green eyes snapped open, a chill seeming to emanate from his shadow. “Don’t talk about me then.”

“That’s not really possible.”

“You’ve been doing it so far just fine.”

Okay, so he hated food, the moon, and talking about names. It would be nice if he could stumble onto something the demon actually liked. Maybe Sam would have some ideas? She must be done with Operation: Figure Out What The Heck Gregor’s Deal Is by now? Wasn’t she going to come to his house when she was done?

“Uh. Sam’s okay, right? If you can tell with that weird talking in our heads thing you do sometimes?”

“Hm? Yeah. Why?”

“Just making sure. I’m still not sure how to feel about that guy.” Tucker tried to relax, but his shoulders still felt stiff. It shouldn’t be a big deal but he creeped him out. “For all I know he’s got a demon or something too.”

“Doubt it. Usually you humans are older.”

Which reminded him that Phantom had never actually been conscious or present whenever Gregor was around. He half thought he was Phantom, for a bit. Letting out a sigh, he settled back down to scroll through mountains of data to pass the time. Homework could wait. Probably.

“Tucker! Sam’s here.” His mom called, distracting him from yet another page of moon phases.

“Coming!”

“Is your other friend coming later, or just Sam?”

Well, he was already here, technically. He slipped down the stairs, shrugging as he passed. “I don’t think so, he usually goes home.”

“What was his name again? I can’t believe I managed to forget it.”

Sam looked just as uncomfortable as he felt at the question. She closed the door behind her before meeting up with him. “Don’t worry about it Mrs. Foley, he probably didn’t actually say it. He’s a bit shy like that.”

They tried to escape upstairs without continuing the topic.

“All the more reason I should get it right, it’s so rare for you to bring new friends over Tucker.” his mother was not going to let the subject drop so easily.

He just scrambled for something, anything. “Oh, right! Uh he’s. Danny.”

“Well make sure to tell Danny he’s free to visit as often as Sam is, alright?”

“Y-Yeah. Sure will!” He couldn’t be more thankful to have a door, pulling it shut the second they were both in the room.

“Seriously? Danny the demon? Could you be any more obvious?”

“It was the first thing that came to mind, okay! I didn't hear you make something better.”

Sam rolled her eyes "At least it wasn't Damien."

He expected the gentle mockery from Sam. The fact Phantom was curled up against the wall in his human disguise, shuddering was very much not.

"You didn't tell me he wasn't doing well." Sam hissed.

"He wasn't even pretending to be human when I went downstairs!"

Their voice's caught the demon's attention. blue eyes flaring green. "What did you DO to me?"

[sobaboyos]

I don't know if it's my bad memory but is SJM using pinterest? I accessed it twice this week and it looks like there's new stuff there. It even reminds us of the Valkyries. And other photos seem like they are no longer there. Am I freaking out or is this happening? I found out today that in some photos she left a comment, I'm having fun with it

She does but not frequently. When you go to her pinterest it says under each section how long its been since she reblogged to any board. Which isn't an sjm thing it's a pinterest user thing. Acotar hasn't been used in a year. Which for writing/plotting isn't a bad time frame at all. From what I noticed these are the newest to me. But if you scroll a little further down you'll see more Valkyrie images as you mentioned.

Looking at the screen shots below I'd love to get inside her head. Does she reblog what just gives her vibes? Or is it next book stuff? Maybe scene inspo? Below to me looks like this:

Vassa

Elain (the white bg art has persephone vibes so I think Elain cause floral and feminine come to mind. But if the reddish orange is flames then this is Vassa)

The other image could be Koschei, dead trove or even Valkyrie related.

A library/throne idk why it gives me Helion vibes tbh though the library could be linked to Gwyn or even Nesta as well (House of wind.)

The fae with a dagger 100% valkyrie

Random spring court aesthetic lmao. Though it probably represents Elain.

Speaking of Elain let's check out that last dude. Looks like a certain fox boy huh? Not to mention the necklace is a flower 👀 interesting stuff there Mrs. Sarah Janet.

Her pinterest is loaded with cool, spectualtive stuff. Some makes a lot of sense to me. You can easily look at some pins and know exactly who or what it is. Others I'm like wtf does this mean??? I check it occasionally but tbh her boards stress me out it's just chaotic if you see mine you'll see why. Most of my boards are organized and if they're not it's because I'm working on organizing them.

Also, in regards to her pinterest the further down you scroll take with a grain of salt. As we know she has a change of heart on certain aspects of acotar like this :

As you mentioned she randomly titles some. I don't know why she does this. Perhaps these heavily influenced her. And with her deleting images, I don't think she does this.

Case in point this "Azriel & Mor" actually, yeah let's talk about that. Like I said the further you scroll down her boards the more you'll end up seeing things like this. We obviously know Az x Mor aren't going to happen. That's been burned many times. But the images are still up there on her pinterest. Some could be for friendship. Most are probably still there just because she has to scroll and scroll and scroll to find them and delete. Let me tell you, it's a pain the ass to do when your boards are disorganized. It's time consuming to delete those. I don't blame her for keeping them up. I wouldn't bother with it either.

If you find something interesting on her boards feel free to show it in my asks!

* edit to add this in: if she commented on some do you mean adding a title like Az & Mor or she left an actual comment?*

[kagesdumpsterfire]

!!BRIDGEWATER SPOILERS!!!!

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SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

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LAST CHANCE TO SCROLL PAST!

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!!!!SPOILERS NOW!!!!

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!

Bridgewater EP 9 thoughts:

Ethan

I'm glad they found him alive but Celeste has me thinking that something dug it's claws in his phyche deep and I have a serious feeling that he's going to be a conduit for something big. I'm pretty sure the "whispering voice" that distreacted him from the Fae like creatures and got him from the ledge to the lake was Thomas. I think he was almost stuck in the same situation as Thomas and he saved Ethan. I think Thomas is stuck between realms and the Gathering is having a hard time keeping the opening under control and that's why hes been able to break through in the little ways that he has.

Celeste

Adore her! Pretty sure she is the only hope in keeping the triangle safe. Jeremy and Anne are going to have to suck it up and work with her. Katie I am not 100% on I'm not sure why. I think some of The Children of Tituba infiltrated the Gathering and are junking stuff up.

Vipin

Severely disappointed in the lack of Vipin inthis episode. Unacceptable . We need to know how the baby boy is doing.

Big time SPOILERS are now. Juicy info dropped.

Anne, Jeremy and Thomas

I knew it!!! I KNEW IT!!!

Im going to break this down into sections so i don't get overly ranty

Ok but Anne trying her fucking damndest to tell Jeremy "Hey, Your father and I were together" with out actually saying it was KILLING ME! Like "yeah, my daughter's father also went missing 40 years ago and I was too obsessed on finding him that I lost a relationship with my family. "

I am honestly a little embarrassed for Jeremy that it took him that ling to piece together what Anne was telling him. She's been dropping hints for a few episodes now. Like, you are a professor my guy. In a feild that requires you to gether evidence to discover the truth. Pull your shit together.

*side note: really hoping this means that my vibes of Jeremy having a crush on Shelly when they were younger were way of 'cuz...ew...like i know he didn't know... HE DIDN'T KNOW...but still

Learned something fun about myself during that episode. Apparently I'm not only too emotionally unstable to watch "The Scene" still, I'm also not emotionally stable enough to listen to the sound of Misha Collins crying. It uh...it triggered something. It was absolutely heartbreaking to listen to Jeremy's realization that his whole life was a lie. That he has a family, a support system that he never even knew about. A whole life. He had somewhat of a right to go off on Anne. Honestly, I would have too. It was kinda harsh though. It was just...a lot...

The fact that Anne was willing to help raise Jeremy when she never even wanted kids...honestly the whole speech about how Thomas and Jeremy's mom were getting a divorce and how they were going to be a happy little family and she would go on hikes with him and wanted him...it caught me in the feels. HOWEVER, I know she was emotional but blaming a child for someone's death/ disappearance is NEVER okay. Jeremy can be a thick headed A-hole sometimes, but he didn't deserve that. He feels guilty enough, obviously. I do feel sorry for her though. Like, her whole life was torn away from her in one night. I'd be obsessed too.

It was a hell of an episode. Im super scared/ excited/ bummed about next week.!!!

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 137

Trying to figure out Author’s notes is hard.... Sometimes I just don’t have anything pithy to say, or have too much to say and don’t know where to put it all.

Obviously I am an overthinker.

So, for the sake of everyone reading: Let’s cut to the Shoutouts!

The obvious first: @baelpenrose, @the-raven-fae, @anotherusrname, and @charlylimph-blog! I love all of you, you are the best.

Special mentions to: @zommbiebro bc I miss you and hope you’re okay. @nekohuntslight for being the OG person to message me about liking the story (yes, Bael, this is the dirty secret behind why I thought you lived in Australia when we first started talking.... shhhhhh). And alllllll the binge readers who blow up my inbox every day, Iloveyousomuchyoudon’tunderstand. Very much adore all of you, you have no idea how serious I am being right now. I need to go through and make one post just screaming all your names to the universe.

Tyche brought drinks and snacks from my kitchen before flopping on the couch in my quarters. The guys were at work, along with Antoine, but my office was closed down for the day. “How are you feeling about tomorrow?” she asked.

“Vati and Hannah have everything planned to the smallest detail,” I shrugged. “They’ve already coordinated with Xio and Evan for all the crowd control and monitoring shifts, and the murals are going up today.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m well aware of the logistics stuff. I literally handle all the staffing for the humans on the Ark, and Antoine was also part of the crowd control conversations.”

“Then why did you ask?” I laughed, grabbing a cracker and carefully stacking cheese and other toppings on it. 

Before I could get it to my mouth, she snatched it and held it out of my reach. “Because I’m asking how you feel. You’re only attending as… well, an attendee. No monitoring, no calling the shots, no working from the floor.”

She surrendered my cracker, but I found myself setting it down, appetite gone. “I’m okay - “

“Lie.” There was suddenly a finger levelled between my eyes like a gun. Just as quickly, it was lowered, and my sister was tilting her head at me. “Come on. You know you can’t lie to me - I’ve known you longer than literally anyone on this ship except yourself.”

“Fine! It’s weird!” I admitted in frustration, standing to pace and shoving my hands through my hair. “My skin is crawling with anxiety, my hands are twitching to snatch up the files and nitpick everything to the smallest detail….”

“Except they locked you out.”

“Except they locked me out, yeah. But I’m pretty sure I could get Derek to let me in, which is why I’ve made a point to tell him not to, no matter how much I ask.” Dropping my hands, I sighed. “But if I ever want to leave this position, I have to let them do this.”

She shrugged and stole my cracker, this time chewing and swallowing before she responded. “You could have kept some involvement in it, you know.”

“Pfft, yeah right. I would have taken it over, and you know that.”

“Yep.”

“Then why even ask.” I dropped back down on the couch.

“‘Cause you needed to hear yourself say it,” she explained, nonchalant as ever, snagging an olive and watching me calmly.

I sat in silence, processing it.  I hated when she outsmarted me like that, especially when she was right. “Can I at least eat first?”

She laughed and let it go, telling me how well the murals for the Festival were coming.  I hadn’t even gotten to - allowed myself - to see the designs, and the more Tyche talked about them, the more I wanted to see them.  By the time I finished my share of our snack, I decided to check out the progress.

We finally made our way to the decks where the Festival would take place, and I thought Tyche was going to die laughing at the way I gaped. The alcoves where the vendors would stage looked the same on first glance, but a closer look revealed very subtle shapes added that would give them a more savage, wild look in the right lighting. Metal sconces had been added to hold what looked like torches, but with special light emitters to simulate open flame. As we walked further, swirls of color revealed themselves slowly, first in light, curling tendrils, but slowly sharpening and taking on a more angular shape, twisting together into phantasmal images that vanished as soon as you tried to focus on them.

“It’s like walking through a garden, or a rainforest, but when I turn my head, I’m in a city.”

“Right?” she laughed as we came around the final corner. 

At this point, we were surrounded by this mural.  Just up ahead, there was a messy head of black hair tied back with a green piece of cloth. Bare feet and arms show smears of paint, and overalls covered a tank top - that, or the cloth for the hair had formerly been sleeves, I couldn’t tell.  One hand propped up on hips while the other hung down, holding a very familiar paint pen.

“Christ on a triscuit, Vati, this is incredible,”  I gasped softly.

She turned and smirked at me over her shoulder. “Not yet, but it will be when I finish.”

“I mean, all of it. The sconces…”

“Those were Hannah and Ivan.” Parvati walked over and touched one with her finger tip, stroking it gently.

Tyche made an impressed noise. “I’m only a little shocked that he had enough time.”

“The materials are on loan from the engineering departments, and we wanted them to be rather rough in the finishing. It helped. Sophia, no matter how curious you are, please do not lick the walls.”

A giggle bubbled up through my chest. “The thought never crossed my mind. I was trying to put together all the flavor profiles here. It’s… a lot.”

“Forgive me if I focused more on color than how the walls would taste. I don’t generally cook, remember.”

I stared down a swirl of pomegranate, popcorn, and gochujang. The colors - blue, pink, and yellow, respectively - worked well together, but the thought of the flavors made my stomach churn. “I solemnly swear not to lick the walls,” I promised. “How much of this are you expecting to still be up by the third night?”

“We have a team that will specifically come touch up the mural in specific places the morning before the second day.”

Tyche turned toward me and away from her study of the art. “Also, you would be surprised how much paint is on the walls. It will take a lot for Else to eat it all, once they are allowed in the area.”

“Before you ask,” Parvati cut me off. “We just asked them nicely. Well, Sam and Derek did.  They’ve become quite the ersatz diplomats to Else.” 

“Anything left?”

“Hannah is putting the final touches on the curtains for the alcoves and the seating areas. She’ll have a team installing them tonight once I finish.”

It was clever, and explained why she was only touching up part of the mural halfway between now and the closing of the event. “You two have really put your stamp on it.”

“Feel better?” She held one hand up gesturing at the entire entire project, eyebrow arched  to show me that she hadn’t been fooled for a moment.

I rubbed my neck, and glanced at her from underneath my eyelashes. “Busted, I guess.”

“That would imply that anyone had believed your charade,” she smirked.

Taking a deep breath, I looked around us again. “I honestly do. I could never have done all this. Holding on would have…”

“Kept you in a position you frankly hate,” Parvati interrupted gracefully. “It’s the same reason Sebastian went back to the Undine. He’s passionate about it, and it shows in the quality of his work.” When I gaped in insult, she held up a hand. “Not everyone can succeed through fear of failing and a determination that things be done right if they must be done at all.”

“Everyone talking about me needing to retire, like I’m old or something,” I joked, throwing my hands into the air.  “Physically, I’m only thirty-five.”

Tyche nodded to concede my point. “What about the food? I haven’t seen a menu come out yet.”

The change in topic made Parvati’s face collapse. “What? It should have gone out yesterday…” She flicked open her datapad, which flickered from the overspray that covered it. Frantically scrolling, she groaned. “This was scheduled, why didn’t it send?”

“Did you check the date?” I asked calmly. “Specifically the year.”

“Three times, it’s scheduled for tomorrow,” she insisted. “Right here: May seventeenth, twenty-forty aw fuck….”

“At least you got the decade right,” I pointed out. “You wouldn’t believe how many scheduled emails I’ve tried to automatically send out for ten or fifteen years ago.”

She nodded and seemed to get her bearings back. “So, protocol for this is… just send it right now and apologize for the late notification, don’t try to make excuses or explain?”

“Exactly. They won’t care why, they’ll just be excited the list is out.”

With a couple quick gestures, she sent the email and dismissed her datapad. “Okay, that was the last thing, then.” Turning back toward the wall she was working on before, she waved to us over her shoulder. “I’m not trying to be rude, but I really do need to finish this up. Thank you for coming to see everything… it was oddly reassuring to have both of you give us your stamp of approval before the Festival instead of making us wait until after.”

“For the record, you two have always had my stamp of approval, or I wouldn’t have tried so hard to keep my nose out of it.” I knew she couldn’t see me, but I still smiled. “We’ll catch up with you after the Food Festival.  Remember: both of you need to plan on taking the day off afterwards. I’m serious.  Have your unofficial advisors drop in and chat about everything, that’s fine. But no actual work, and I won’t let either of you see the survey results until the second day after. So rest.”

“Got it, boss lady. Have a good night!”

Tyche and I turned and headed back to my quarters. We remained silent as we took in all the preparations that had been done, waving to the handful of vendors who were bringing their supplies in already. Once we were back in normal corridors, the silence broke almost immediately.

“I think they’ve got this,” Tyche suggested nonchalantly.

“Oh, I know they do.”

<< Prev   Masterlist  Next >>

[doodleimprovement]

The Ghosts of Subcon Forest

Wow I wrote another ficlet based off another of @cupcakeshakesnake‘s art posts that you can see here. 

This is the last one I promise ajkdkasldjshd

--

Hat Kid had heard the scary stories of the ghosts of the Subcon Forest. Cooking Cat - though she’d only known the kid for a few days - had showered her in the horrifying tales of a ghostly king and queen with rag doll children and ghoulish animals. 

It honestly all sounded pretty cool to Hat Kid, who had gone down to the forest once the cat lady left. 

It was indeed dark, but it didn’t feel nearly as foreboding at the Cooking Cat made it seem. 

The colors were cold, but not uninviting. 

The glowing of certain plants gave the forest an ethereal, gentle aura - at least to her. 

She was so enthralled that she didn’t notice the trap beneath her feet until it was too late. 

Stuck in a sack, she feebly attempted to escape until the bag was untied, and she was unceremoniously dropped into a large, fluffy-feeling palm. 

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA FOOOOOL!!! YOU HAVE FALLEN INTO MY DOMAIN” The booming, echoing voice yelled. Hat Kid looked up- terror evident in her eyes as she stared up at the glowing, fanged face of the ghost king of Subcon Forest. 

“NOW, YOUR SOUL ISS-Oh shit” He paused, staring in surprise at the little girl in his hands “You’re not one of those bumbling mafia idiots. How old are you?” 

Hat kid’s brow furrowed in confusion “Uh.. Uhm…. 8?” She guessed. 

“Oh, OH!” His head turned “VANESSA! ITS A KID!” 

“Oh?????” A lighter, but still echoing voice came from the shadows, and suddenly the ghost before her started to change size, shrinking and adjusting his hold until she was resting on his arm. 

“Yeah, not even double digits. Geez, I almost just took her soul and gobbled it up without thinking” He grumbled “I am pretty hungry” 

“Well thank goodness you didn’t! We don’t take children’s souls” a similar being made themselves known, with legs this time, and sharp looking fingers, but strangely kind eyes. She looked down at Hat Kid, and her jagged mouth formed what Hat Kid assumed was supposed to be a kind smile. 

“Hello there, child. What brings you to Subcon Forest?” 

“Uh.. uhm….” 

“Oh, hah! Where are my manners?” The red ghost interrupted “I am Queen Vanessa. This is my partner, he tends to go by “The Snatcher” these days” 

“King Snatcher, Vannie” The ghoul holding her corrected. 

“Yes dear, of course. And what is your name?” Vanessa looked back at her

“Uh..  I go by hat kid” 

“Ooh, not giving your name. Smart kid. I mean, we’re not Fae so we can’t use your name, but smart” Snatcher complimented. 

“And why are you in our forest, Hat Kid?” 

“Uh, have you seen any hourglasses? About…” She made a large size with her arms “This big? Its fuel for my ship and they’re really important” 

“Hourglasses… Hm, oh yeah, one landed in the manor, didn’t it?” Vanessa thought “I think I saw another near the village” 

“I think one landed on my reading tree! Those were flying through the sky like meteors!” Snatcher announced 

“I- I need to get them!! … please?” Hat Kid muttered the last word 

“Oh, well if they’re so important, surely!” Vanessa nodded “We’ve no need for Hourglasses from space, no no” 

“Buuuuuut” Snatcher cut her off “We need a few favors from you first. 3 hourglasses, 3 favors, that sound fair, kiddo?” 

Before Hat Kid could even respond, Vanessa jumped in “Favors?? Luka, honestly” 

“Just some of the lighter stuff, Vannie! Mail, those fire ghosts, I’m not tossing her in my lab or anything” 

“You have a lab??” Hat kid jumped in his arm “That’s so cool!!” 

“Hah! I told you I was cool” Snatcher grinned at Vanessa “Well she must be a nerd too, dear” The woman rolled her eyes “Well… how do you feel about helping us, Hat Kid?” 

“Oh,uh, I’ll help! No problem!” She jumped in Snatcher’s arm, who then put her down. 

“Excellent!! Let’s get it in writing, shall we?” The ghost snapped his fuzzy looking fingers and a scrolled paper appeared with a burst of flame. 

Hat Kid hoped this wasn't some kind of trick. 

oOoOoOoOo

At long last. She was going home. 

It only took two solid months of running around and getting the crap beat out of her by birds and mafia guys and one time- just as a “test”- by a ghost! 

And then there was the whole thing with Mustache girl. 

Yeah, she might not be super fond of her home planet, but at least she’d reunite with Bow and they’d get to explore the galaxy together. 

She was gonna miss the crazy planet though. Especially Vanessa and Snatcher (She tried calling him Luka and he threw whatever the adult ghost version of a “fit” was) They were really nice, even if Snatcher decided he wanted to test her magical abilities. 

He was a bit of a butt, but Vanessa made up for him. 

Admittedly, she was still surprised when she saw him, not Vanessa, hanging outside her ship, asking her if she was really leaving. 

She felt a little bad for knocking him off, but he could float, he’d be fine. 

In fact, he was so fine that he popped into her bridge and scared her half to death. 

“Heya kiddo! Not even gonna say goodbye, hm?” 

Feeling a little embarrassed, she grabbed at the bottom of her oversized shirt 

“.... I didn’t wanna say bye” she admitted

“And why is that?” He asked, his voice almost seemed soft. 

“Well uh… cause I wanna come back” She explained further “My friend, she’s still on my home planet, and I wanna get her! We always said we’d fly together in space and I keep my promises!” 

“Hah, heck yeah you do kid, you’re one of the best contractors I’ve had in years!” He complimented, holding up his hand, which had a brown bag in it. “Vannie wanted me to give these to you before you left. She made you -” 

“COOKIES???” 

She jumped on him to grab the bag, which he lifted up further 

“Ah ah ah, gotta sign a contract” She backed off him with a confused and slightly annoyed look. A contract popped into being, and had a pretty simple request

[COME BACK AND BRING YOUR FRIEND] 

She couldn’t help the glassy eyes as she stared at it. 

All the other planets she’d been to on her test, on her adventure, no one ever asked her to come back. 

She grabbed her marker and scribbled her name carefully. 

“Nice” he responded, looking down at her with a rather genuine smile, putting the cookie bag down, and reaching around his neck for his handkerchief. 

“Huh?” 

“Well, Vanessa’s giving you something, and I think I should give you somethin’ too” he reasoned “I’ve got a dozen of these, I can give you one” He admitted, unfolding the handkerchief and draping it over her shoulders. It was as big as a shawl. 

She grabbed it with her tiny hands and looked up at him with those glassy eyes. 

“Th-thank you…” 

He pat her head “See you soon, kid?” 

She reached out and hugged his noodly tail “See you soon” 

Taking a moment to think he grabbed the girl and gave her a quick, full hug before letting go 

“Don’t take too long! Vanessa can get impatient” 

Hat kid giggled “You got it!” She gave him a little salute, before he flew directly through her window. 

She stared down at the forest, her smile wide and excited. 

Oh, she’d definitely be back. 

Bow was gonna love this. 

[dreamcatcher-au]

Chapter 8

Virgil grimaced as he leaned on Roman to get a closer look at the screen. “Geez, these people really went in on him, huh?”

Roman scrolled down through the messages sent to his little blog and stopped before pointing one out. “This one thinks he’s a fae because they can’t lie!”

Virgil scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard Logan lie to people before so that’s not it.”

Roman looked up from his laptop as Logan walked in with a glass of water in his hand. “Hey, Lo!”

Logan placed the glass down on the table as he sat. “Yes, Roman?”

“Why don’t you just say you’re human so these people leave you alone?”

Logan tensed and glanced away, mouth open to speak but not saying anything.

“Or,” Virgil began, “why did Patton ask you that in the first place? Any ideas? Because I don’t get it.”

“Well, I... am not quite sure, exactly.”

“I always thought it was because you didn’t know any slang or anything like you’ve been living a century ago. But Patton wouldn’t know any of that either.”

Virgil hummed and sat back against the couch. “And you never really sleep. Your insomnia is worse than mine!”

“You keep dodging questions about what you do for work.”

“And you get all weird and silent randomly when we talk about things. Like our families. Or how Virgil and I met!”

“Yeah, how did we meet you anyway, Logan?”

Roman and Virgil shot curious glances at the man silently panicking on the couch. “I just... I don’t quite remember all the details, it was so long ago.”

“Just give us a straight answer, already!” Virgil yelled in frustration. “What’s the big deal?!”

“Because I’m not human, Virgil!” Logan froze and turned away. “I mean, I...” He sighed and shook his head. “I can’t lie to you. You both mean so much to me.”

Roman placed a hand on Virgil’s shoulder as they looked at their friend in concern. “Lo?”

“I’m not human. I’m... I’m similar to Patton, okay? That’s how they knew.” Logan looked up and slowly removed his glasses, his blue eyes glowing as he stared them down. “Is that okay?”

Virgil opened and closed his mouth a few times before smiling and leaning closer. “I have so many questions...”

[mossy-covered-bones]

The Abyss: Xanthar’s Tale

Part 5

(Introduction)—(Previous)—(Next)

You guys ready for some plot? Because there’s gonna be some plot.

:)

—

“So would you answer questions about your other friend as long as they’re not about whatever it is you’re hiding from me?” X asked, lying on their back in front of Asterisk’s mirror. Their hands were held in front of their face, them and the mirror lit by the soft glow of X’s lantern—now with new batteries.

Asterisk responded slowly, hesitantly. “I… do not see why not. What would you like to ask us?”

X squeezed *s eyes shut, thinking. “Do you have an idea of how long it’s been since they’ve visited you?”

“My sense of time is very unreliable—“

“Right, silver frame, it was a dumb question, sorry.”

Asterisk let out a low laugh. “It is unreliable, but I know they left for good before you set foot in this building.”

“Oh. So ten, eleven months at the very least?”

“Yes, if that is how long you have been here. Their visits slowed long before they left this place for good, however.”

X hummed to *self. “Why did they stop coming down here?”

“They got what they came to me for, there was no real reason for them to stay. They were never one for needless pleasantries.”

“Were they nice? Did you like talking with them?”

“We did enjoy their company, but I… would not call them nice. They were fairly brash, and crude, and impatient. But they were good company.”

X nodded, humming to *self. “Do you miss them?”

“I will once again remind you that we are not a social creature, and do not require companionship.”

“You don’t need to, to miss someone’s company.”

Asterisk blinked, glancing away for a moment. “I… suppose you are right. Perhaps I do miss them, in a sense. But I am happy for them. They have achieved the life they have always wanted, and it would be selfish of us to take that away from them in order to keep their company.”

“Did you help them get that? The… what did you call it, the life they always wanted?” X asked, hands folded over their stomach as they glanced over to the mirror.

Asterisk let out a low hum, contemplating its answer. Or just contemplating whether it wanted to tell (———).

The eyes bobbed in a nod. “Yes, yes we did.”

(———) sat at *s computer, scrolling through one of the advice blogs * found over the past few days, reading over the response to an ask * had sent.

They’d been mulling things over, the euphoria of shorter hair and slightly more androgynous clothing pushing (———) to try and find a word for how they felt. The odd feeling of gender they hadn’t even considered trying to pick apart until now.

They still weren’t sure yet, but… nonbinary seemed to fit. For now. (———) was still looking through terms, finding nonbinary people to follow, trying out pronouns. They didn’t want to rush anything, to throw themself in first to all the confusing terms and neopronouns, but… it was relieving, to find a term that fit them and that odd disconnect they’d always chalked up to a bad body image.

X had been spending more time on the internet than usual, the little niche of openly nonbinary people and those questioning their gender like them somewhat homey and reassuring, like being wrapped in a warm blanket. Everyone was so welcoming and helpful with the questions X had, supplying them with terms to look into and things to consider while they puzzled themself out.

They really felt like they belonged with these people.

“Does your kind have, like… any concept of gender?”

Asterisk let out a low laugh. “No, I’m afraid that’s mostly a human concept. Some of our kind has attempted to describe themselves with your words, but they often fall short. One cannot capture the essence of self in just a few simple words. Why do you ask?”

“Well I…” X let out a huff, biting their lip. “How much do you know about western concepts of gender?”

“The vague idea, I suppose.”

X nodded. “So traditionally it’s male and female, most people stick with what they grew up being told they were. It’s, uh… there’s a small fraction of the population that… realized they’d rather be the other one? So if people thought they were a guy growing up, but they realized they were actually a girl.”

“Yes, being… trans? I have heard of that.”

“Okay…” They swallowed, wiping the sweat from their palms. “So most people think of gender as just being A or B, yeah? But some people don’t feel like they fit in just one of those boxes, they call themselves nonbinary. It’s another way of being trans, since they aren’t what people thought they were when they were born. They don’t… identify with the gender assigned to them at birth, that’s the official… uh… words for it.”

Asterisk blinked slowly. “That makes sense. I do not see why anyone would want to limit themselves to only two options.”

X let out a sigh of relief, sagging against the wall. “Yeah, me neither. I’m nonbinary, too. Figured that out recently.”

“Ah, I do believe we should be congratulating you for the discovery? Our previous visitor did not tell us about the proper etiquette for these situations.”

“Thanks, I—“ X paused. Blinked. “Your other friend told you about trans stuff?”

The eyes hovering in the mirror crinkled at the edges, almost like Asterisk was smiling. “Yes, they did. They told us they were trans.”

“You… what? So then why did they… you said… did you…” X frowned, squinting into the mirror. “Why are you smiling?”

“Tell me, X. Do you remember what I told you, the second time we met?”

X shook their head. “What does that have to do with this?”

“Just think. You were trying to guess what I was.”

“Is this about the Fae thing? If so I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything bad about it—“

“We do not require an apology for that, X. But yes, that is what I mean.”

X frowned again, but nodded. “Yeah, I kinda remember. What about it?”

“We said that they are not the only beings who deal in names, in identities.”

“Are you… implying that you do, too? Steal people’s names?” They raised a brow. “Why are you telling me this?”

Asterisk let out a slow, deep sigh. “It would probably make more sense if I told you more of the one that came before you.”

—

Tag list: @definitely-a-living-human @catdragonunicorn @genesiscaveat

[mythrilhusk]

Despite Everything - Chapter 3

NOT RPF Featured Relationship (Only SFW): Puffy/Niki

(Ao3 Link) Words: 1,759 Last Chapter CW: violence, coercion

Next Chapter

Niki arrives home to her apartment after a harrowing day of working in a field where all her male coworkers talk over her constantly, barely notice her when she offers ideas, and then promptly take credit for said ideas. Sometimes she hates men as a whole concept. 

She collapses onto her favorite beanbag and flicks on a show. Puffy sings in the shower, oblivious to Niki's arrival. Smiling, Niki hums along and relaxes to the tune. 

Puffy emerges from the bathroom dripping wet and covered in a towel. She waves to Niki and retreats to the bedroom to change into her comfy jeans and the hoodie she stole from Niki. "I ordered takeout, there should be some left on the table!" 

"Thanks, babe, you're amazing." Niki laughs and gets up, going to the kitchen. 

Puffy's scroll lays innocuously on the table, open and blinking with seventy new messages. Niki avoids looking at it, not wanting to invade her girlfriend's privacy, and picks up a plate of pizza. "Puffy, you're pretty popular today!" 

"Oh? Can you read them real quick and tell me what they say?" 

Niki blushes. "Sure." She picks up the scroll awkwardly and taps through the apps to get to the messages. "Uh, it's all your superhero shit, Puffy, I don't know what any of this means." 

"Really? I told them to call the other one if they need me... oh, it's dead again, dammit." Puffy storms to the kitchen with lightning in her smile. "Thanks, Niki, I'll take it." She skims through the pile of increasingly desperate calls for help. "Ugh, I'm sorry, babe, I have to go. Sam got in trouble with the law again. Eret's good, but he's no lawyer." 

"Don't you have a legal representative?" 

"Niki, I've told you, we're not backed by anybody. We're on our own. The officials see us as vigilantes, and yeah, that's kinda what we are." 

The fact finally sinks in. "Ohhh!" Niki laughs with relief. "So your battles aren't staged?" 

"No, babe. Real battles." Puffy grabs a slice of pizza. "I gotta go bail Sam out again, sorry." 

"Let me come with." Niki decides. "I won't help you fight, but I'm a paralegal. I can help you with the officials." 

"Really?" Puffy stares at her with stars in her eyes. "You'd do that for us?" 

"For you, yes." Niki says firmly. 

"Thank you, you will not regret this." Puffy stuffs the pizza in her mouth and grabs Niki's free hand. 

Down at the city's holding facilities, Niki strides straight to the front desk. "I'm here to legally represent Awesamdude." She slams down her identification. "And this is Sam's employer, Puffy." 

The bastard in a suit behind the desk gives Niki a bored, dismissive glance. "No visitors allowed." He drones. His nametag marks him as Sapnap.

"Sam has a right to legal counsel. I am here to provide that." Niki snaps. "Let us see him." 

"What are you two, his sisters?" Sapnap laughs. "Run along. You'll see him again in five years or so." 

Niki smiles sweetly at the guard, hiding her anger. Sam hasn't been convicted of anything yet, but the officials can legally postpone the trial and keep him captive for up to five years. "You wouldn't want to piss off the Nemesis corporate heads, would you?" 

"Nemesis?? Haven't heard of'em." He shrugs. "You got anything to back that up?" 

"Puffy?" Niki gestures her girlfriend forward with the bribe. "Sir Sapnap, we'd like to see our employee and make sure he hasn't been harmed. We at Nemesis take utmost pride in our marketing team." 

"Oh?" Sapnap leans forward as Puffy transfers several thousand bullion credits to his account. "Ohh. That's an admirable missions statement, ladies. I'll see what we can do." 

"We are going to visit Sam, now." 

"Yep, he's back there." Sapnap waves them along. "I'll send the code to unlock his cell, but I'll need a bit more, uh, compensation for the paperwork to release him." 

"Of course. We will take care of that in a few days. He could use a bit of discipline for allowing himself to be caught in the first place." Niki shushes Puffy's shocked little protest. "Good day, Sapnap." 

Leading Puffy back towards the holding cells, Niki waits to speak again until she's out of ear-shot. "I'm sorry, Puffy, but we had to make it seem as though he's just an errant employee."

"It's fine, I was just startled. You're so cold in your business mode." Puffy laughs lightly. 

Niki blushes. "I have to be, or nobody will take me seriously." 

Puffy bumps her shoulder. "I take you seriously." 

"You do. Thanks, babe." Niki bumps Puffy back. 

Puffy gasps and rushes to one of the cells. "Sam!!" She cries. "What the hell did they do to you??" 

The man in the cell smiles weakly, his lips and cheeks bruised, his clothes torn and muddy with blood and grime. "Hey, Puffy." He coughs. "I got in trouble." 

"I see that, but how??" 

"I shouldn't have gone after them alone." Sam groans and struggles to sit up. "I thought I could take them, but they were too strong, Puffy, they were too strong for me." 

"Who??" Puffy snarls, vengeful fire blazing in her eyes. 

"Pax Triumvirs." 

"Damn Angels." Puffy growls. "How dare they?? I oughta whoop their asses!" 

"It's fair, Puffy, I attacked them first." Sam laughs haltingly. 

"They didn't have to beat you up so badly!!" Puffy cries. "Now we have to hire a healer!" 

"I'm right here, Puffy." Niki crosses her arms. 

"You said you didn't want to get involved. Let me respect that, babe." 

"I am already involved. I just invented an entire corporation for you." Shrugging, Niki opens the cell. "Let me do this." 

"Darn, does this mean I have to actually pay my team now?" Puffy laughs. 

"Probably, yes." Niki kneels by Sam and places her hands over his chest. "This will hurt a lot." 

She activates her magic and pours the healing fire out into his body. Sam gasps, gritting his teeth to hold back a yell. His head lolls back as he faints, but his wounds are all healed. 

Niki rises and leaves the cell. Puffy stares at Sam's prone body, tears welling in her eyes. "Is he okay?" 

"He'll be fine when he wakes up." Niki responds. "Let him sleep for now. Healing takes a lot of energy." 

"Are you good?" Puffy turns to Niki. "You aren't going to collapse too, are you?" 

"No, I'm good." Niki smiles reassuringly. "Just thirsty." 

"Can I buy you a drink?" She says it like she's trying to flirt, but she's too worried to commit to a teasing tone. 

"Sure." Niki takes Puffy's hand and leads her out of the facility, waving to Sapnap on the way out. 

In a small indie bar, Niki and Puffy sit together in a corner booth. Puffy sighs over her bloody vodka. "Sam should know better than to mess with Angels."

"Is he a Spirit too?" 

"Spirit of Dark, yeah. His boyfriend disappeared a year ago, and he's been recklessly hunting for him ever since. I don't know what I can do to keep him safe." Puffy takes a gulp of her drink. 

"Who else do you work with?" 

"Hmm. There's Jack, Spirit of Light. Oh yeah, he told you already. You just met Sam. Then there's Eret, who's Ice, and Foolish, who's Life." Puffy grins and shrugs. "And then there's me, the hot one."

"What are Angels?" 

"They're like Patrons. You know how Patrons are aligned with a type of creature or being, yeah? Angels are aligned with a concept or ideal, and they're each chosen by a god, which gives them extra power. The one downside is they're always in their fae forms." 

Niki stares at Puffy, slightly confused by some of the words coming from her girlfriend's mouth. "Gods aren't real." She finally manages to giggle. 

"Niki, where the hell do you think our magic comes from?? Thin air??" Puffy cries. "Gods are probably the realest thing about this crazy world we're living in." 

"Okay, okay. But what's a fae form?" Niki raises her hands with a placating smile. 

"All us magic folk can transform to use more of our power." Puffy explains. "It usually takes a lot of focus and willpower to stay in your fae form for very long, so nobody ever does it for staged battles, but most of us Spirits can shift easily on command." 

"Why would staying in your fae form be a downside, then?"

Puffy laughs. "Most Angels' forms are absolutely terrifying, Niki, unless they're under a glamour. None of us can take one Angel alone, much less three like Sam tried to do!" 

"Huh. How'd they become Angels?"

"Generally? They break." Puffy spins her cup in her hand, then gulps it down. "They break, they die, a god chooses them, and voila, new Angel. Then they owe the god their life, so they're bound to serve. Probably some Angels pledge voluntarily, but most are broken and pieced back together. Like kintsugi." 

"Oh. That does not sound pleasant." 

"I mean, that's life, y'know." Puffy takes another fatalistic swig.  "Us Spirits, we've at least got a choice to fight or not."  

++++

Sapnap looks up as someone enters the holding facility past visitation hours. "Hey, you're not supposed- agh-" He chokes as an unseen power slams him against the wall. 

"Where is Awesamdude?" The Lucid Spider's mandibles click and chirrup as the low, mockingly gentle voice permeates the air with menace. 

"In- in cell eight!" Sapnap gasps. "Sir, please!" 

"You never came for me." 

"I couldn't, I couldn't find you, I'm sorry!" Sapnap pleads. The Lucid Spider drops him. He rubs his throat, gulping. "My pledge never expired, Dream. I live to serve you."

"Where are the others?" 

"We lost- we lost Quackity. Bad turned against us. But George and Karl are still loyal to you, sir." 

Dream shifts down to a humanoid form, his holographic vectors of neon green containing the death-white Wurm inside. His camo-shields activate to hide the painful neon behind drab black armor. "Take me to Sam." 

"Yes, sir." Sapnap hastily goes back to the cells, trembling with confusion and terror of his lord's sudden return to life. 

Sam glares at Dream and Sapnap as they approach. "You." He growls. 

"Me." Dream laughs. "Hello, Sam. I'm going to give you one last chance, old friend. Are you going to be smart like Sapnap here, or should I kill you last after I rip your precious team to shreds?"

Sam drops his head meekly. "I'm yours to command, my lord." 

Next Chapter

[ginezu]

The Librarian

Part 1

Luka Arnette {Werewolf!} x Female Reader {Human!}

Centuries passed, and much changed for Idlen. The old little town in the Craven Kingdom, just south of the Capital. However, for one stubborn library that refused to go, there was a generation of librarians loyal to its books and scrolls.

Where our story begins, its little life, is in the very town of Idlen, following the very librarian who now watches the library. To watch over the library, her grandmother taught her to keep a very trained eye. The library moved on its own playing tricks and just being downright mischievous. Mara could not turn her back or it would attack. Last time she did, the library changed all its books to Creole, which no one in the vicinity of the library knew. So her patrons left. It took a scolding, to get the library to return to English, even then it pranked her with ink explosions when she opened a book. However, after all that, the library still tucked her into bed when she fell asleep at her desk reading its scrolls.

-❈-

On a fine cloudy day, Mara helped Miss Leona Price find a book about ancient heroes. Miss Leona was eleven years old, every time she finished a book, she would ask Mara what her favorite book was so she could read it. Of course Mara never ran out of favorite books so she gave Miss price a list, and since then the library’s most popular patron was Miss Price. For Miss Price’s sake Mara ignored Miss Prices little crush on her.

After Miss Price left with her new book, Mara waited for the familiar jingle of the front door bell, with a book in hand. She reminisced of when her grandmothers face lit up when she heard it. The library always amped up the jingle for her grandmother as she got older and her hearing got worse. So, Mara would keep ear plugs in as a little girl.

It took about seventeen minutes for Mara to hear the bell ring. Mara shot out of her seat and bookmarked her page. When she went to welcome the patron, the library seemed to not want her to. It shifted creating an intricate maze of bookshelves blocking her from greeting the patron.

Mara stomped her boot scolding under her breath “Lib!”

The bookshelves didn’t budge.

(Y/n) weaved through the maze finally making it to the door, to see no one.

She clenched her fists at the library, by now it would seem the Patron was wandering the library.

The library calmed down as she went back to her desk to find the floor plan of the library. It seemed the library was up to its mischievous ways again however she was ready with an enchanted map that could spot anyone in the library's location.

She saw the customer in the ‘beast, creatures and everything in between’ section. It seems they stopped and were staying their for the time being.

(Y/N) squeezed through the library’s shelves, it was keeping up its shenanigans and not letting her through.

Once she was through for some reason (Y/N) grew nervous approaching the patron whose back was to her. A very broad and handsome back at that. His focus was into a book she was familiar with ‘Lycanthropy.’

In her Library was a werewolf. A very large and handsome one at that.

Mara walked up to the wolf greeting him like any other patron. “Welcome, do you need help finding a book, sir?”

The wolf jumped and turned around knocking his elbow into the bookshelf.

As his eyes looked into hers they widened into saucers. He froze with a hand on his elbow.

Mara laughed and asked “are you all right? These shelves are pretty hard.”

Just as she said that Lib dropped a book on his head. A very big encyclopedia.

“Ow.”

The werewolf rubbed his head. Mara winced and hovered her hands over him. “I’m so sorry, why don’t we head to my desk and I can get you some ice.”

Mara wondered how an encyclopedia ended up in the beast creatures and every in between section.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Mara blushed at the voice she thought sounded like honey. She lead him to her desk and walked to the back struggling with her kitchen freezer as it wouldn't budge.

After a while she came back with a back of ice wrapped in a paper towel.

“Here, I’m so sorry, that's really never happened before, that book wasn’t even in the right section.”

“Its all right, my pain disappeared when I saw beautiful your face.” He cockily grinned holding the bag of ice on his head. To Mara he looked ridiculous but she couldn't help but blush harder.

Now that she got a good look of him, she could see his curly black hair, deep blue eyes, and a gorgeous pair of hands. He looked exactly like what she pictured a royal guard to look like. She heard rumors about the handsomeness those guards possessed.

He didn't have the normal burly bulky werewolf look. He looked half werewolf half Fae to Mara.

The man put his elbows on the desk looking at Mara across from him with a dopey smile.

Mara quickly got her shit together, her grandmother would scold her for acting like this with a boy or even talking with a boy.

“So what exactly were you looking for or were you just browsing?”

“Well.......my sister seems to love it here, she talks about this little bookstore and its most intelligent librarian. I came to see what the fuss was about. Now that I’ve come myself. I see how beautiful this librarian is.”

Mara almost melted.

“your sister.?”

Mara tilted her head quizzically. Was he talking about Miss Price?

“yeah, Leona, I always wondered where she wandered of to.”

He let out a small smile when he talked about Leona, and Mara scolded her self for what seemed the hundredth time because of the butterflies she felt.

“Miss Leona is the wandering type.” He laughed at that.

“So Ms. Librarian, may I have the honor of knowing your name?”

“Oh of course its....um...Mara. Now may I have the honor of knowing yours?” Mara smirked gaining a hint of confidence and getting control back from his spell.

“Luka, nice to meet you Mara.”

“you as well.” she curtsied playfully.

Both of them laughed playfully. 

“Prince!!!!” A sudden voice came running to Luka. Once in front of him he pointed to Luka full of rage. “You and your sister are one in the same, your highness.”

Luka glared at the man who abruptly entered the library. 

“Damnit.” Luka mumbled under his breath. 

The voice ‘Quin’ bowed to Mara. “I'm very sorry to interrupt your day but the Prince must be leaving now.”

“Prince?” Mara said quizzically.

Luka, winced as she said that. He knew how people reacted when they see royalty he was ready to leave getting up from his spot on the other side of the desk.

What he didn't expect was Mara to Belly laugh in front of him and his future attendant Beta.

They both looked at her with quizzical looks.

“You?!” she asked dumbfounded wiping tears from her eyes.

Quin began to scold Mara but was held back by Luka. “What's funny?” he asked.

“I'm sorry its just, I've read and heard things about you, and from the royalty my family has met you are a pleasant surprise.”

“Thanks? I guess...what do you mean about Royalty you've met?” 

Mara walked over to a bookshelf behind her grabbing a heavy looking  book. She placed it on the desk in front of her. She flipped through it and rotated it toward the two men. She pointed to a picture. 

“My father?” Luka asked. He was surprised at the picture. Not only was his father in the library in the picture but he was at least 20 years younger looking through a book with his mother. 

“Mother?” He said gripping the edges of the book tightly. Mara then flipped to pages before. She showed him all the royalty that came to this library. 

“My grandmother told me about the King, he was always bringing the queen to the library after visiting the village. They came to ask my grandmothers advice on many occasion.”

Luka looked toward Mara who looked affectionately at a picture of her grandmother.

Mara finally flipped to the last pages of the book. She came pointed to a picture and tapped twice. A little boy and girl sat on the floor thighs touching, a book laid across their legs. Whereas the girl marveled at the pages, and pointed with a smile, the boy was looking at her with a wide grin. 

“We’ve met before Luka.”

[theres-no-protocol-for-this]

Magical Artifact

A Murderbot fanfic set in an alternate universe where a guardian is making a concerted effort not get its humans killed. Part IV. 

Note: FlipSpring has been absolutely amazing at beta reading this story (and I can’t thank them enough for it)! So, yeah, now with more clarity because of this wonderful person. :)

This is also available on AO3 for those who prefer reading in order and not hunting around on Tumblr. 

The enormous ballroom had been decorated by people with more money than common sense. Long refreshment tables stood against one wall, overflowing with food I couldn’t identify. Humans mingled in the middle of the wide-open space, surrounded by haphazardly placed tables and chairs. An auctioneer and two of her employees milled around on the stage at the front of the room.

Dr. Mensah and the rest of the investigative team sat at a table toward the back. I lay under it where other humans couldn't readily step on me. They had smuggled me in as Baradwahj's support animal, and I preferred that to dressing up and coming to this "party" as a human.

I wasn't the weirdest creature in the room—one of the guests had a miniature pony—but with any luck, I was the only one with access to dark magical talents. I didn't belong here any more than I had at the restaurant, but at least this qualified as work.

A tall woman in a shimmering dress stepped up to the podium and began introducing the auction. All of the items up for auction tonight came from the collection of some famous, eclectic writer who was now dead. Honestly, I didn't care whose stuff this was or why it was being sold. 

I was more concerned that everyone's perfume made the room smell like a sick interpretation of a meadow. My nose hurt just thinking about it.

Ratthi tried to educate me on how auctions worked—I'd never been to one before. At first, the items on display looked mundane. They sold for a lot of money (in my limited understanding), though, so maybe this writer was amazing or something.

Then, the hosts brought out a tall and worn wooden chair, and instantly the temperature in the room dropped by a couple of degrees. Overhead lights flickered briefly as if they had trouble staying on.

I nuzzled Mensah's foot under the table. 

"I know," she whispered back, shivering.

"Is that the thing?" Arada wanted to know.

"Most likely," Ratthi whispered back, leaning toward Arada to explain. "The Guardian thinks so, too."

I could see the seething dark magic wrapped around the chair pretty clearly, so it was more than just an educated guess. Other than the evil aura, it didn't look all that special otherwise. According to the stuttering auctioneer, the writer had done his best work while sitting on this monstrosity. I could guess why.

Pin-Lee pulled out a tablet and was scrolling through a document. "Go ahead and bid on it, and we'll see if we can do this without causing a scene."

My gut said there was absolutely no way that thing was going to let my humans anywhere near itself. It was a creature of the dark, and the investigators were brimming full of light. As soon as its spreading magical tendrils found us, it would know exactly who and what it was dealing with. 

But whatever. Maybe high society evil had different standards. 

"Remember, the department wants this thing alive," Pin-Lee reminded us.

The bidding began, and I sat up to pay attention. The numbers sounded outrageous—I couldn't understand why anyone would spend money on a chair when there were perfectly good tree stumps outside. Sure, there was a fae creature attached to the artifact (probably the kind that dealt in soul bargains and supported the fine arts), but still... It was a chair.

Suddenly, the magic surrounding the wooden seating implement expanded ten-fold. The lights in the ballroom flickered a few times and then surrendered and went out completely. 

"What the hell," someone muttered at one of the other tables.

I got up and crawled out from under our table because this is usually when shit hits the fan. 

The chair wobbled dramatically—I swear, half the monsters I've encountered have a flair for drama—and then shot up into the air. For a moment, it hung there, building up suspense, and then shattered into a million fucking splinters. Wood rained down on the participants, even though most of them couldn't see much of anything in the dark.

The fae let out a giggle as the humans in the front row  of tables screamed as wooden shards penetrated their skins. 

Mensah let out a yelp, and all of my clients ducked. That was the safe and sane reaction to a suddenly unpredictable situation. It's not what happens in the best adventure novels, but my clients aren't stalwart adventurers. They're a group of paranormal investigators whose magical skills are mostly theoretical. They're not crime fighters; they don't go places to do battle with the forces of evil. 

I changed forms so I could help them get away. "You need to leave," I whispered, "immediately. The door is a couple hundred feet behind you."

"What about—" Ratthi's sentiment was lost in another round of screaming as the fae decided to set part of the stage on fire.

"I got this. You need to get to safety."

"It's you we're worried about," Arada whisper-yelled at me.

I actually paused for a moment because that made no sense. This is my job. This is literally why you brought me here. I didn't say that, though. Instead, I said, "That thing is a high-ranking member of the fae court. It's not safe here."

I was hoping the humans would just listen to me, but I didn't have time to keep arguing. The longer the fae rampaged around here, the more damage it would do. 

I could smell the fucker even as it materialized. It smelled like the forest, actually, like places where I'd lived before, like home.

Right then, it was sitting at a table.

It had tossed a human out of a chair, sat down in the human's place, and was nibbling on appetizers. It saw me and got up, silks floating lazily around it in ribbons.

The creature was about five feet tall, with pointy ears and butterfly wings. And then it opened its mouth and revealed hideously sharp, pointed teeth. This fae looked like it had stepped out of a fairy tale and into my nightmares. 

"You look lost, little wolf," it taunted.

Talking to a member of the high-court fae is just asking for trouble. So, I turned into a wolf and stared at the asshole while around me, humans scrambled to get out of the way. The fae dispelled the magic that made it hard to see for normal humans. As far as it was concerned, no one posed much of a danger to it—it was a master of wild magic and, thus, the scariest thing in the room. 

"You wanna play, puppy?" it laughed.

I growled at it. 

"Looks like you do." It gazed at me with pitiless eyes. "I wonder where your master is, little pup."

I had high hopes that my humans wouldn't reveal themselves, but there was Ratthi with, "It's not a puppy. It's a person."

Fuck me.

The fairy chuckled. “There they are."

I did the thing I usually do when faced with a monster. I got a running start, leaped across a table, and lunged at the fae noble.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 125

I am so sorry that this is posting late today!! I didn’t realize my queue ran out, or that I didn’t load these in there.

Thank you, every day, to everyone who helped me hang in there as long as I’ve been lucky enough to write this story.  As much fun as the weapons expo was, I swear we are working towards everything else that has changed in the time skip!  I would love to hear what y’all are most excited to find out about.

Shoutouts always go to @baelpenrose, @charlylimph-blog, and @the-raven-fae for all your encouragement, plot bunnies, and beta-reading.

The day after the weapons exhibition, the air on the Ark was still crackling with excitement. Every time I overheard people chattering over a specific performance, I smiled to myself.  That particular event had been the first that Parvati and Hannah planned without my help, and hearing the overwhelming approval for it was something I would be all too happy to convey back to them.  They really had done a great job.

Sebastian ended up bowing out after the first year, because he was unable to balance the demands of the mentorship and the Undine.  As the only one of the three who could not just change their job responsibilities, he had chosen his passion - which absolutely no one was upset about.   Parvati had even joked that we had backup Councillors, but only one Undine.

The response I received from my mentees when I shared what I heard, however, was underwhelming. Hannah gave a small smile and nodded, while Parvati waved off the praise with a scoff. “We were essentially following a template,” she pointed out.

Hannah nodded at me with a rueful expression. “Unfortunately, she’s right.  There wasn’t much of a challenge, there.”

Just as a full pout was settling into my chest, Alistair breezed in and took off his scarf - for once, I couldn’t tell myself it was just for dramatic effect, as the climate controls in public areas were phased in to mimic what was projected for seasonal changes on Von.  Currently it was the cold season, and Alistair was miserable about it. “Of course it wasn’t a challenge,” he scowled. “You both have been assisting Madam Reid since the exhibitions began. However, it is profoundly rude to ignore the feedback you received.” He glared at Parvati and Hannah, who managed to look sheepish. “One of you will be Councillor one day, and your responsibility will be things just like this. You should be pleased with a job well done, not resting on your laurels.”

I nodded and didn’t bother hiding my grin. “He’s right, you know. Besides, don’t forget that this is when the hard part starts.”

Two sets of eyes widened at me, with Hannah adding a gasp of horror. “Oh gods. The feedback…”

“Yep.” I popped the last letter as I took my seat and the coffee that Alistair offered, noticing that he did not retrieve any for my mentees. Apparently he was really miffed by their attitudes before. “And, along with coordinating the event on your own…”

“Sophia, you’re joking,” Parvati glared.

“I am most certainly not,” I shook my head. “Every event, you have to read the feedback. You can filter it all you want, narrow down the categories, whatever. But I strongly recommend that you read all of the negative feedback if nothing else.”

“But you’ve always had help,” Hannah pointed out calmly.

“I did,” I admitted, “but that doesn’t mean I ignored or delegated the important parts.  Having people who you trust to do a pulse check of what is being said unofficially is an extremely valuable tool. However, at the end of the day, the performance of the events, or the projects, or the staffing balances, comes right back to this office and only this office. I can listen to Tyche, or my partners, or other Councillors until my ears fall off. But if something went wrong, or could have been done better, I’m the one who catches fault for that. Which means, eventually, it will be one of you.”

With a deep breath, both women nodded and opened the files in question. After simply staring and scrolling for a few minutes, Parvati sat back and tapped the side of her chin. “Can we filter out all comments under five words and comments with only positive adjectives that do not contain a conditional statement?” She glanced at me and I nodded my approval.

That seemed to spark an idea in Hannah. “Prioritize comments including the words ‘dangerous’, ‘barbaric’, or synonyms of.” When her co-mentee gave her a quizzical look, she shrugged. “It’s good to have at least a count of people who object to the weapons exhibitions, and if they are just a small number at least there are guaranteed to be a few in there that are pretty funny.”

Parvati still looked like she wasn’t convinced, so Alistair spoke up. “If you do not enjoy the weapons exhibitions, why are you attending?”

“Ahhh,” she smiled. Clearly the thought had never occurred to her, which was entirely unsurprising.  Parvati hadn’t dated Xiomara as long as she did by harboring a secret grudge against self-defense and proper applications of force.

Now that they found a starting point for weeding through the feedback, it was clear they were engrossed in gathering information.  Periodically, I would hear one make a considering noise before jotting down a note to come back to later.  I quietly moved to my desk and observed how differently they handled the process - When I went through feedback with Alistair, we shared it on the table emitter so both could see.  Parvati and Hannah, however, sat across from each other, on their singular data pads, flicking particular pieces of information back and forth to each other without even glancing up.  The partnership they had developed over the last four years of working with me was astounding to watch.

“What you are feeling now is exactly what it feels like to watch you and Tyche,” Alistair murmured, startling me out of my reverie. When I glanced at him, he simply lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Even after working with you both for so long, there are moments where it is clear you both are working on some sort of wavelength the rest of us are not aware of.”

“Charly is pretty tuned in to it. And Arthur, when he wants to be.”

“Miss Harper is a force unto herself.” The corner of his mouth lifted in one of his rare, fond smiles. “As for Farro, I am beginning to believe that Reidish is one of the languages he learned for historical manuscripts.” Snark dripped from his tone out of old habit - if there had ever been any animosity between the two, it was long gone.

Although, apparently the hypothetical existence of ‘Reidish’ as a language was still bopping it’s merry way around the Ark.

“Noah,” I pointed out. “They understand us perfectly well.”

“Yes, let us all congratulate you two, not only on the fact that a mind-reading alien understands your communication better than your own species, but also on the fact that you have tainted them with your mannerisms.” The sarcasm would have stung, had he not felt the need to demonstrate by tipping his index finger and thumb over his eye in imitation of an eyebrow with one hand, while making a sock-puppet nod with the other - both of which were gestures Noah used as filler for human body language. The contrast between his words, the gestures, and the absolute deadpan expression on his face sent me into hysterics.

I didn’t realize we were being watched until Hannah’s voice broke through my laughter. “Derek actually taught them the eyebrow one.  That wasn’t Sophia or Tyche.  He started doing it because he can’t just lift one eyebrow, and Miys started mimicking him when they saw how useful it was to convey tone.” When Alistair only stared at her in disbelief, she huffed and turned to her datapad before flicking a recording to the table emitter.

Sure enough, there was Derek, adjusting Miys ‘fingers’ and repeating the gesture for them to imitate. After several adjustments of where the vomu was held, Derek seemed satisfied and flashed a double thumbs-up, which was returned in triplicate.  As the recording ended, Hannah turned back with the smuggest expression I had ever seen on her gentle face.

“I’ll be damned.” Alistair’s voice was soft with surprise and a hint of admiration.

“Hannah, how do you have that?” I asked, concerned for Derek’s privacy.

She waved me off. “Zach was doing routine security sensor testing, found that in the process, and asked Derek if we could keep a copy of it. Derek said it was okay, and asked for a copy for himself.” She shrugged. “I’d never seen him voluntarily touch someone that much before, and even without that, it was adorable.”

“I’m glad he knows you have it,” I sighed in relief. “But yeah, it makes sense, honestly.” Hannah nodded in agreement, while Parvati and Alistair were clearly waiting for an explanation. I started ticking off reasons on my fingers. “Miys is very careful of personal space because they know how large they are, and Derek hates having his space invaded without permission. Miys is never ‘too loud’ for Derek, or touches without permission, or even speaks to him without Derek speaking first. There’s no pressure for eye contact, even just in Derek’s head, because Miys doesn’t have eyes.”

“Your mind is a strange and wonderful place,” Alistair stated drily before turning to Hannah and Parvati. “I hope you two have been taking notes on it. I happen to know what your next event is, and you’re going to need that level of insight.”

Arching an eyebrow at him, Parvati did not even look away to pull up her calendar, dragging it into her line of sight. Her eyes widened suddenly.

“You have three months,” I pointed out.

She reached out and shook Hannah’s arm vigorously. “Han.”

A quick glance and a second horrified expression looked at me from the table.

“Three months.”

“Sophia.”

“You’ve both helped me with it, for at least the last four years.  And you said you wanted a challenge.”

They both groaned comically, but I struggled not to smile at their antics.  I knew they weren’t really as worried as they pretended to be.

Alistair leaned over the whisper again. “I thought Tyche was the evil one.”

That did get me to smile.

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