#Aurora's Strange Moods

[seravphs]

ੈ♡˳·˖✶ — WOLFWOOD x FEM READER

You thought you'd be the one taking care of the stray you picked up off the streets, not the other way around.

wc — 3.6k

tags — fluff, dog boy/werewolf/shapeshifter au I guess, whatever you want to call it, “you become responsible forever for what you have tamed” but it goes both ways, animal abuse mention (non graphic and not from reader), shoujo manga vibes, title from runaway by Aurora

There’s a mangy old stray on your block. You’ve seen the kids chase him off with sticks too many times not to want to do something about it, no matter how your mother used to scold you for your bleeding heart. 

“It’ll get you hurt someday,” echoes now in your ears as the cashier rings up your dog food, both wet and dry. You’re not sure which he’d - it seems like a he - would prefer.

$12.97 is your total. Not a bad price to pay for a life. 

Only a gentle kind of revolt, more teasing than genuinely angry, remains in your mind as the first drops of rain land on your face. It was a light mist, barely enough to dampen the sweet smelling air. The wet haze pulled blurry rainbows across the clear summer sky, enough to put a hop in your step as you hurried back to your apartment. 

There are no children today, and the neighborhood is quiet. A half dug hole by the adjacent apartment’s peonies tells you that your target is either nearby or at least recently in town. You unpack your bag, setting out a trap in the form of a can of wet food. 

Something skulks in the periphery of your vision. Trying not to startle him, you peek at the shadow out of the corner of your eye. You didn’t know dogs grew to be this big. 

When you really look at him, your stray seems more wolf than dog. He’d be nearly as large as as a human if he stood up on his back paws. Hiding beneath the trees where he thinks you can’t see him, he’s tense and untrusting. 

It’s strange for you to think of yourself as capable of making anyone nervous, much less someone as big as he is. You take a step back.

He edges forward, then flees into the shadows again. He’s hesitant. His paws skitter across the grass, beating a fast and unsteady tempo that reveals how nervous he is. It’s obvious that he won’t come out to eat as long as you’re here. That’s fine.

Trust can be earned. 

From your apartment’s windows, you watch him gulp down the food. He’s so clearly famished that he doesn’t even pause to breathe between bites, leaving you almost afraid that he’ll choke. When he’s finished, he lies down by his bowl, his eyes glittering.

He’s not asleep - he’s too wary a creature for that, but it’s relieving to see him relaxed and sated. He dozes like that for a minute or two before he lifts himself back up on weary paws to trot back into the woods. 

You’ve tried to make it a routine to feed him after work, stopping by the pet store to pick up different flavors you think he’d like to try. Neon stickers pop out at you from various tags on the shelves, promising to boost muscle growth or improve bone strength.

In the end, you get them all. When all you do is work, you don’t worry about blowing your money on things like this. You have nothing else to spend it on - might as well spoil him. It’s nice to be able to take care of someone else.

It might be all in your head, but you think he’s starting to warm up to you. He still waits until you’re gone to eat, but it’s easier to keep tabs on him now. You don’t think it’s an accident.

Sneaking a glance out of the corner of your eye, you can spot the telltale signs that he was waiting. Sometimes you even find him waiting for your car to pull in. 

Today, you find him at the end of your driveway, his tail thumping against the pavement. He’s in a good mood, it seems. When you park, he even gives a short howl.

He still retreats when you climb out of the driver’s side, only inching forward when you rustle your plastic bag of groceries at him. You crack the lid and set it down slightly in front of you to wait it out. 

You’ve been trying to get him used to your presence so you can take him to the vet. It’s a slow process - some days he’s more amenable to your presence than others. 

It takes a minute or two for him to consider if it’s worth it, if you’ll hurt him. Eventually, he slinks forward, his body low to the ground. 

You smile at him encouragingly as you wait, crouched down to be on the same level as him. He’s a big dog, probably almost the same height as you sitting down. He pauses in front of the food and sniffs cautiously. Then, he passes it. 

Your heart drops. Maybe he didn’t like it. Had you picked wrong? He’s eaten everything you gave him before - you didn’t think he was picky. 

He comes right up to you, his hot breath gusting over your hand. Suddenly you realize that this is a predator. He might be feral or have rabies. After everything, you realize you don’t really know him.

Animals aren’t like humans. You’ve assigned a wild beast your own moral complications and assumptions. Perhaps it’s hungry enough to want to eat you. 

He’s close enough that you can feel the warm weight of his body against your shins. Something fuzzy bumps into your hand insistently until you lift it. You realize that he’s asking to be pet and with trembling fingers, you do. 

Your fingers stroke over his head and ears, growing surer with the way he’s pushing back against you. It tickles just a little, enough to make you giggle until he shoves his snout right into your palm. His nose is cold and wet. 

“Go on,” you encourage, trying to nudge him towards the bowl. No matter how nice his fur feels, there’s something heartbreaking about watching him choose love over food. 

“You need to eat,” you scold. He sneezes in a way that makes him shake all over. If he wasn’t a dog, you’d think he was smiling at you. He only takes a mouthful when you reach out to resume petting him. He seems to like it when you scratch right behind his ears. 

You almost feel like you’ve formed a bond until he stops right at the boundary of your home and refuses to walk any further. You had thought you were getting along so well, too. 

“Come on,” you coax. “Here, boy. There’s nothing to be scared of.” 

He skitters back anyways, circling your property with a low, mournful howl before he trots back towards the perimeter. 

Progress is progress, you try to remind yourself, however disappointed you are. 

Sometimes, it feels like you’re not making any at all. There are days where you can’t even watch him eat, not knowing if he’s alright until the next time you find an empty bowl. Your fears are only alleviated by the moments where he lets you pet him or waits for you, a reminder that you are earning his trust. 

It may be a slow process, but he is becoming more comfortable with you, little by little.

Now it worries you when you can’t find him sitting in his usual spot, wary but excited. He doesn’t come even when you peel back the lid of the can noisily, the metal crumpling easily in your hand. You can’t help your anxieties from multiplying, though logically you know that he’s probably just off doing whatever dogs do in their free time.

You’re already halfway up the walkway to your house when you turn back. You can’t go inside without knowing he’s safe. A quick lap around the neighborhood reveals nothing. You’re checking behind bushes and cars when you hear the first faint whimper. 

Frantically, you push the leaves aside until you find him huddling in the center of a rose bush. He’s curled up on himself, as small as he could possibly be. His tail is tucked under his nose. 

Your hands are pricked with thousands of little needles as you keep digging for him. You can’t imagine how much worse it would be for him. This could only have been his last resort. Something worse had chased him here. 

He wags his tail when he sees you, barely able to lift his head. Seeing him struggle, you can’t help yourself. You push the branches aside to help him drag himself out, his body battered. Those kids again. 

“Come on, baby,” you coo, stroking his matted fur as you pick him up in your arms. He’s not as heavy as he should be, starved as he is. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of you.” 

It was settled before you could decide it for yourself. He’s your responsibility now. There was never a choice in it. 

Dr. Rem’s assistant comes out to fetch you less than five minutes into the check up. “I think you should stay,” he says, his tone just cool enough to sound a touch annoyed. 

Your overgrown puppy won’t submit to her ministrations unless you’re in the room with him, stroking his ears and promising that everything will be alright. He must’ve been a pet at some point, to know what needles are and have such a reaction to them. To know that despite the initial pinch, it’s okay as long as you’re being pet. 

When it’s finally over, both of you are exhausted, but Dr. Rem is as professional as ever as she walks you through the care routine for his treatments. “Honestly,” she says, shaking her head. “I don’t understand how some people can be so cruel.” 

You don’t either, but it doesn’t matter. He’s yours now, and you’ll never let anything touch him again. 

“Does he have a name?” Dr. Rem’s incredibly blonde assistant asks as he’s filling out your release forms. 

“I’ve just been calling him dog,” you admit bashfully. 

He doesn’t need to speak. His expression says it all. Unbelievable.

You take a look at the creature you’ve decided to bring home. He does look more like a wolf than a dog. You’ve always thought so. “Wolfwood?”

“What a weird - ahem, interesting - name for a dog,” Nai, from his name tag, says. 

By your feet, Wolfwood wags his tail in agreement. 

“Wolfie?”

His tail wags harder. He pauses. It wags again. He turns around and nips at it, like he’s trying to hide the fact that he might like the nickname.

When you try to carry him from the car into your home, he clambers stiffly to his feet like an old man. You have to hide your laugh behind a couch. For some reason, he seems more human than animal. You’ve caught him noticing things no normal dog would, and you’re sure his pride would be injured. 

The sound his nails clicking across the floor is strangely comforting, like ASMR. You’ve heard that dogs are naturally helpful to lower cortisol and reduce stress, but you’ve never thought you’d experience those effects. You lean down to stroke a hand over his furry coat, carefully avoiding the spots where he’s still hurt. 

When it’s bedtime, you’ve resolved to give him the comfort of your bed and take the couch, but he’s not having any of that. His jaw snaps around the hem of your shirt, teeth digging into the fabric to prevent you from leaving. Immediately, you stop moving, afraid to hurt him worse. 

“Calm down,” you say gently. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He barks in discontent. He really does seem human, as if he understood you. 

Out of options, you resign yourself to curling up on the bed next to him, hoping you won’t accidentally roll over him in your sleep. Maybe you should invest in one of those bed dividers they use for small children. It’s the last thought in your head before you drift off. 

A deep, reverberating sound wakes you up. You roll over with the pillow shoved on top of your head to try to get some peace, but it continues. Fed up, you finally rise out of your comfortable sheets, ready to give whichever neighbor that’s decided sunrise was a great time to mow their lawn a piece of your mind. 

Instead, you’re greeted with a strange man in your bed. Your scream is cut short by his hand clapping over your mouth as soon as you start. 

“Oops.” He says. “My bad.” 

Your eyes grow wider in terror. 

“Hey, hey,” he says soothingly, like that’s going to help when there’s a random man in your bed. “None of that. I’m a friend.” 

You scream louder. In a spark of inspiration, you try to bite him. He winces. That’s when you start noticing the ears and the tail. The faint resemblances to someone else you know. The bandages wrapped around his torso. 

“That’s right,” he says, noticing you look. “Recognize me now? Would this help?” 

The tail flicks back and forth in a familiar motion. Someone else used to do that to show his happiness. 

“Wolfie?”

“That’s a stupid name,” he laughs. 

“I think I’m going to pass out.” 

“Don’t do that,” he says, but it’s too late. You’re going back to bed. 

You’re not sure why you’re not more surprised that the stray you picked up is actually a human, but after your initial reaction, you find yourself remarkably open to the idea. Part of you feels privately that you’ve always expected Wolfie to be special. He seemed so smart. 

You’re in too deep to kick him out now, human or not, but that also might be an excuse. Having him around is nice, you have to admit. Whether he’s a human or a dog, having someone to come home to has changed your life.

You hadn’t realized how lonely you were until you came home to Wolfwood preparing dinner, the apron you bought for him wrapped around his waist. It reads ‘kiss the chef’ in bright pink letters. 

Although you’re the one who took him in, you feel like you’re the one being taken care of. 

It’s not just you. Even your coworkers have commented on the way you rush home now instead of staying up until the very last minute. You can’t keep up with your bad habits anymore. There’s someone waiting for you now.

When you open the door, the delicious fragrance of something savory drifts to your nose, spiced and warm. “I’m home,” you call. 

There’s no need. He’s already waiting at the door. It’s a comical sight. He tries to make it casual, leaning against the wall with an oh-so-nonchalant air, but he’s there every single time you walk through the entrance without fail. 

It’s too easy to get used to his presence.  

Having someone to come home to makes you quicker to turn down overtime requests and more hesitant to take on additional duties. You thought this would hurt your work report, and you were willing to take the hit. Some things are worth it. 

Instead, your productivity spikes. Even your manager notices, doling out rare and surprised praise on one of your last projects. The change in you is palpable.

“Did you get a boyfriend?” Meryl asks. “You seem happier lately.” 

Everyone notices the way you seem brighter, more easygoing. You’ve started bringing homemade lunch boxes instead of eating out. Your good mood has translated into a better work product than any amount of indifferent hours you put in before. 

It’s still a surprise when you receive your promotion at the end of the quarter. Something you’ve been working towards for months drops right in your lap. Lately, it feels like everything has been falling into place. 

Good things arrive on the heels of even better things, all because you’ve felt more personally fulfilled than you have in years. You though taking Wolfwood in would slow you down, but it’s done the opposite.

You have more time now that you have someone looking after you. It also motivates you to have someone of your own to care for.

When you present the news to him, you can’t stop yourself from crying out of happiness, though it’s embarrassing. Wolfwood licks at the small tears rolling down your cheeks. 

“What are you doing?” You laugh, trying to push his face away with no real effort behind it. 

“Kisses,” he replies. “For doing a good job.” 

Not like that, you try to remind yourself. He doesn’t mean it like that.

“Why is your heart beating faster?” 

Stupid dog senses. 

There are other ways in which his dog nature comes in handy. He’s more sensitive to nature than you are. You’ve come to rely on him instead of the forecast as he sends you off every morning, his nose scenting the ozone and petrichor in the air. 

“Don’t forget to take an umbrella!” 

“I’m already running late, bye!” 

You should’ve listened. Now you’re forced to trudge through the damp muck, soaked to the bone. Your sneeze is so strong it rattles through your bones, making you feel achey and weak as you sniffle through the last leg of your journey. By the time you finally reach the front door, you feel as pathetic as you must look, like a half drowned rat. 

Wolfwood is waiting for you again, but you barely register it. You nearly stumble over a cabinet leg as you try to make your way to the couch through the dizziness, collapsing on it. Wolfwood pads over to you, making a low grumbling noise of concern.

“Shh,” you murmur as you feel his cold nose shove into your palm. “Not right now, Wolfie. I’m tired.” 

He puts his head across your thigh and whines discontentedly. Your breathing is coming a little hard. Still, you try to reassure him. “I’m okay. Just had a long day.” 

There’s human hands against your forehead now, nice and cool. You turn your head so you can nuzzle into it, the gentle pressure relieving your headache just a little. 

Someone’s holding you now, arms around your back and sides. “Come on, sweetheart, you gotta sit up. Eat something.” 

Almost like a dog yourself, you whine and pout, turning your face away. The idea of food is turning your stomach right now. Everything seems too rich for your weak stomach. 

“This is why I told you to take that umbrella this morning.” Wolfwood’s voice is stern, but his hands are kind as he props you up. 

“One sip, alright? For me.” 

Weakly, you part your lips so he can slide the spoon between your teeth. It’s a mild broth, barely any flavor to it, but it’s the only thing you can bear at the moment. The hot soup feels incredible, warming you from the inside out. 

“There we go,” he says. “Good job, sweetheart.”

With his help, you finish the whole bowl. He wraps the blanket tighter around you before he takes the dirty dishes. Even when he leaves your side, you can hear him bustling around the room, so you’re not worried. This is nice. Even feverish, you feel pleasant. 

When Wolfwood returns to the couch, his dog ears are peeking out of his hair. He kneels by you to check your temperature. Spotting your chance, you scratch at the base of his ears, listening for the satisfying thump of his tail hitting his thigh when you get the spot he really likes.

“What a good boy,” you coo, forgetting yourself. 

He laughs at you, watching you fluster. “Did you forget I’m not a real dog?” 

Your face is hot, but not from the fever. 

A few months into the strange miracle of having someone else to care for, and someone to care for you, Wolfwood asks you for an unusual favor. 

“Can you get me a collar?” 

Your gaze sweeps over him, considering. “I don’t know how I’d feel about that now that I know you’re a man.” 

“Honest, aren’t you?” When he smiles, you can see his fangs. It’s strangely charming, the wink of white bone in the corner of his mouth. 

“Why do you even want one?”

“I dunno, instinct? It just feels nice.” He braces his hand against his throat, testing the way it’d feel. “Yeah. It feels like something’s missing.” 

“That’s strange. I thought you’d prefer to be free.” 

He stretches out, lifting his arms. You can see the muscle lining his back beneath his thin, nearly transparent white tee. “Freedom is relative. Everyone is tied to something, you know. No use in pretending otherwise.” 

You tap his nose playfully. With a mischievous look in his eyes, he lunges forward and snaps his teeth over your finger. 

“You can be wise for a puppy,” you say teasingly. 

“Like I keep telling you, I’m a man,” he says, roughly pulling you towards him so he can punish you by messing with your hair. You shriek in protest, trying to push him off, but the request sticks inside your head.

On the weekend, you take a few leashes from the right section and sneak into a quieter corridor in the pet store. Even though you’ve agreed to this for Wolfwood’s sake, it’s still embarrassing. You have your pride, and it’d be hard to explain to anyone what your actual situation is. 

Perhaps understanding your plight, Wolfwood doesn’t mess with you as he usually does. Or maybe he’s just pliant at the thought of getting what he wants as you clip the leather around his neck. 

It looks good on him, you have to admit. He looks almost like a punk rock star, transforming it from dog collar to statement necklace. 

You flick the tag on his neck, watching the silver circle twinkle with your name and number. It’s meant for him to wear when he chooses to go on walks himself as a dog. “Now it’ll be okay even if you do get lost,” you tell him, satisfied.

“I’d be fine either way,” he says. “I know the way home.” 

For some reason, that makes you feel as owned as he looks, even though you’re not the one with a collar around your neck.

[cryptid-ghoulette]

Trouble Maker

More Phantom brain rot? (its more likely that you'd think, especially when @sister-nyx is involved)

Heres some fluffy phantom being a nuisance. WC 680 Implied spice at the end, but no real warnings, its fluffy as heck.

It wasn't uncommon for quint ghouls to have health issues; something about the way they're created can lead to omplications with their new vessels. In the pit, they don't have a physical form, and it's hard for their new bodies to contain the powerful magic they possess. Most of the time, it's little things like eyesight or hearing issues, but sometimes it can be more serious, like missing or malformed limbs.

When Phantom was summoned alongside multi-ghoul Aurora, all seemed to be going as planned. Sure, there were a few teething issues, but nothing they wouldn't adjust to with time. After all, it must be strange suddenly having a physical form (so many moving parts!). He settled well into the pack, the others all loving him and his childlike wonder, even if they had to answer what felt like a million questions a day.

Not long into the first tour though, the pack noticed he seemed to be having trouble with his hearing. It was just small things at first, like when they were all gathered backstage. Copia often had to repeat himself several times before getting a reply, with Mountain having to gently nudge his shoulder to get his attention.

It all came to a boiling point one night when they were all gathered in the kitchen after a particularly stressful rehearsal, each slumped on various chairs and benches. Dew was trying to get Phantom's attention, who was staring off into space, completely oblivious to Dew (and seemingly everyone else). Finally, he turned when Dew shouted his name, the anger in his words catching him off guard. Dew pulled him into the hall, Phantom confused about what he'd done to anger the fire ghoul so much.

"Did I do something wrong, Dew?" Dew sighed, considering his words, trying to make them come out without too much venom. "Listen, bug, I think we all just need to have a chat about what's going on with you lately. You seem even more of a space cadet than usual." He gave a half-hearted chuckle at the end, trying to lighten the mood seeing the rising concern on Phantom's face. He wrapped one arm around the little quint. "It's okay, let's go and talk to the others; we're all just. worried about you," guiding them back into the kitchen.

The pack all agreed that these incidents were becoming more frequent, and they were getting increasingly concerned (and their patience was admittedly wearing thin), so they figured they'd best take him to get checked, worried he might have some kind of hearing issue, or something else they weren't even aware of. Phantom didn't really understand what the issue was, but he agreed to go see Aether if it made the others feel better.

After waiting in the hall for what felt like forever, Aether emerged from the infirmary, the small ghoul beside him, and a smug grin on his face. "I've got good news and bad news," he said rather matter-of-factly. "The good news is he doesn't appear to have any hearing loss; in fact, he has above-average hearing for a ghoul of his element."

"So, then what's the bad news?" Mountain softly inquired, concern growing in his voice. The others began whispering between themselves, hushed tones, clearly also visibly confused.

“Well, the bad news is, it would appear that without any medical cause for his hearing troubles, our newest quintessence ghoul is just being mischievous," Aether chuckled, tousling the small ghoul's hair and gently nudging him back to his pack. "That part, you'll have to figure out on your own. There's no medicine for that as far as I'm aware."

The ghouls all turned to look at Phantom, a deep blush spreading across his face, staring at the ground and silently wishing it would swallow him whole. However, his shame spiral was interrupted when Mountain stepped forward and swiftly picked him up, tossing him effortlessly over one shoulder, simply saying, "I can think of a few ways to fix that." The others erupted into laughter, the smaller ghoul happily kicking his legs behind him as they disappeared down the hallway toward the bedroom.

[rocksanddeadflowers]

hyperfixating on Lyfrassir and Marius kissing but slowburn so obviously i was thinking about different scenarios of them reuniting after the Bifrost Incident. And I realized I want more.... Chaotic/crack treated seriously variations.

The dramatic/angry ones and the "found Lyf floating in space half dead" ones are so very delicious indeed BUT it's too late I'm thinking about silly ones now and I have a personal favorite to share:

Marius has been moping (aka in the worst lovesick guilt ridden agony ever) ever since they left Lyf behind, so the crew obviously kept an eye out for any sign of Lyf.

Not too terribly long after the Bifrost, Brian gets a signal while piloting. Whatever it is (Lyf's tiny space shuttle, a random planet, Lyf having stowed away on a large spacecraft the boys get to pirate raid) is based on interpretation ngl BUT Brian finds them. Of course, there are a couple factors to consider:

One, he is on EJM. Two, Jonny and Tim have been complaining relentlessly about Marius's moping (well, most of the crew has, but Jonny and Tim the most). Three, he realizes that The Birthday Day (the day in which the crew of the Aurora celebrate everyone's birthdays at once, since they've all long forgotten their original and time is strange anyway) isn't very far away.

(The fourth secret factor is that while I like polymechs I'm also a big fan of Tim Jonny and Brian being their own thing.)

So instead of reasonably telling Marius, he goes to Tim and Jonny and devices a plan to "make Marius less boring again".

Cut to Marius on The Birthday Day, half-asleep and face tear stained, getting dragged into the common room much too early in the day by these three maniacs.

(Much of the usual stuff has been/is currently being set up by the other crew members- a present pile that doesn't contain all the day's presents nor does it contain solely presents, random decorations salvaged through the years, snacks and a giant pile of blankets and pillows and other soft things in the center of the room so they can pass out there at the end of the day, etc etc)

There's a large box (the kind that look like fancy wrapped presents but have a removable lid like a hat/shoe box) next to the pile the three maniacs are pushing Marius to open ("Guys it's fine I'm really not in the mood for The Birthd- you never let me open presents early is this a trick?"). Marius eventually caves and pulls the lid off the box, the cardboard walls falling to the floor-

There is Lyfrassir Edda, bound and gagged, sat on the floor, glaring the sharpest daggers ever up at everyone. The three maniacs probably shout "surprise!" with shit eating grins.

Marius, both extremely relieved, overjoyed, and terrified nearly has a panic attack removing the bonds and immediately being punched square in the face for his troubles. (It's okay those two will work out their problems- eventually.)

edit: forgot to mention Lyf does 100% in fact have a giant bow stuck on their head and someone in the reblogs beat me to saying that lmao glad you got the same idea

[madangel19]

Mushy May Day 7: Stupid Jokes

We got another banger of a prompt from @forlorn-crows list!

Summary: Swiss tests out some pick-up lines on Phantom :3

Pairing: Swiss/Phantom

Rating: Teen, lots of suggestive stuff in this one, but nothing too dirty lol

Word Count: 649

“Hey, Buggy! Come over here! I got something to tell ya!” Swiss called out from across the room.

Phantom perked up at the mention of his nickname and he looked over at Swiss who had just walked into the ghoul den. There was a playful smirk on his lips and he could sense the excitement emanating from the multi ghoul.

“What’s up, Swiss?” Phantom asked, walking over to Swiss. 

“I was thinking of some pick-up lines for Aurora and wanted to test them on you. You wanna listen?” The multi ghoul asked.

Pick-up lines? Phantom had never heard of such a thing, but he was eager to learn.

“What’s a pick-up line?” He questioned.

Swiss’s eyes went wide with shock before that playful smile returned. He then took Phantom by the hand and led him to one of the bigger couches in the den.

“If you want to really win over a potential mate or want to get your current mates in the mood, you have to woo them with a line that will get their attention. It can either be really forward, cheesy, or fucking hilarious. I like to use a variety of pick-up lines with my mates,” Swiss crowed, looking proud as he sat down. 

That certainly got Phantom’s interest. He had to learn more.

“Tell me some of them,” he chimed. 

Swiss chuckled darkly and reached into his pocket, pulling out a lighter.

“I’m no electrician, but I can light up your day,” he said, igniting the lighter. He then touched it and it glowed a light purple to Phantom’s delight.

“That sounds perfect for Dewdrop,” the younger ghoul said.

“I’ve used that one on him several times and it always works,” Swiss chuckled, putting the light out and the lighter back in his pocket.

“You got some more?” Phantom asked.

“Of course! Do you watch Star Wars? Because Yoda only one for me,” Swiss said while imitating swinging a sword around while making strange buzzing sounds. Phantom cocked his head, chittering in confusion at such a strange line.

“What’s a Star Wars?” He asked.

Swiss topped mid-swing, staring at him in shock before faking a nervous cough as he lowered his hands.

“Just a bunch of awesome movies. I guess that won’t work on Rory if you don’t know about it,” he murmured, stroking his chin for a moment before his excitement returned.

“What do you have next?” Phantom asked.

“Spell ‘Me’, Buggy.”

“Oh, that’s easy. M. E.”

“You forgot the D, Buggy.”

Phantom paused, thinking hard about the spelling. He knew how to spell even the simplest words and that was super easy. What was Swiss planning with this?

“Swiss…There’s no D in Me,” Phantom said, feeling all the more confused.

Swiss’s smile became devious as he wrapped an arm around Phantom’s shoulders, pulling him closer and leaning closer to his ear.

“Don’t worry. I’ll give you the D later,” he purred in his ear.

Phantom gasped, his cheeks growing warm as he chirped softly. The multi ghoul chuckled darkly before pecking him on the cheek.

“Oh, that’s…really good. Rory is gonna love it,” Phantom said, his face getting all the more hot. 

“Looks like you really like it, Buggy. How about I give you that D now?” Swiss suggested, blowing a sweet smelling purple heart-shaped cloud at him. Phantom breathed it in with a dopey smile before leaning in to nuzzle his neck. He then thought of the perfect line to use on Swiss.

“If I could rearrange the alphabet, I’d put U and I together with the D,” Phantom cooed.

“That’s perfect, Buggy! You’re a natural at this!” Swiss laughed, helping him to his feet.

“Swiss, do you like bagels? Because you’re bae goals,” Phantom said, hugging him around his middle.

“Fuck that’s a good one, Buggy. I’m gonna have to write that down,” Swiss said while guiding Phantom to his room. 

[bigsexiest]

What if some ghouls were nocturnal

I'm sure it causes some issues within the pack's dynamic. Watch as I whip out some crazy knowledge from this quick Google search I just did.

Fire and Earth are diurnal (mostly active only during the day)

the pack usually follows these periods of activity when they are home from tour, but on tour they all follow the same schedule

Mountain loves tending to his garden during the hottest brightest hours. He loves the heat and beauty of all the life around him. He doesn't really burn, despite Aether and Omega's constant warnings for sunscreen. They don't actually know if sunscreen works the same for ghouls as it does for humans, but they want to be safe. Mountain slathers it on just for them, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. He loves the brightness of everything in the sun. It seems to make him bloom just as it does his flowers. He'll grow these lovely orange and red vining flowers on his horns if he spends enough time in the sun. Aurora says they compliment his skin tone. Mountain always blushes when she tells him how cute they are.

Dew also loves the heat, but only because it makes him comfortable. Usually, he’s a bit chilly at all times. He does his best to hide it, especially since he runs so hot compared to other ghouls. Just the slightest breeze feels unnatural to him. During the hottest days of summer, he feels right at home. Sometimes Rain will wake up and look blearily through his curtains at Dew laying on a concrete pathway directly in the sun. Rain's eyes need a few seconds to adjust to the brightness, as does his brain. He doesn't understand how Dew can enjoy the searing heat coming from both sides. The pavement must burn, and the sun must be so hot on the fire ghoul's skin. It certainly is hot, but Dew enjoys nothing more than the heat.

Multi and Quintessence are crepuscular (which means active during twilight hours)

These two ghoul types find it easier to be active during the strange transitional hours between day and night. Despite this, they often follow either a nocturnal or diurnal schedule since it’s difficult to be the only ghoul awake. Either way, they will usually take long naps during both the day and night so they can be awake enough for dawn and dusk

Aether will wake earlier than Dew, but will mostly follow the fire ghoul’s schedule. Dew sometimes likes to nap with Aether during the peak of the day. They snuggle in Dew's bed, soaking in the sun coming from a window. Aether doesn't need it to be dark to fall asleep weirdly enough. The heat makes Dew drowsy with happiness anyway so it's not a problem. Sometimes the heat emanating from Dew's skin can be a little uncomfy for Aether, but they figure it out.

Swiss finds himself fluctuating between Mountain and Rain’s schedule. He finds joy in being active during both periods. He doesn't have a favorite. They both have their pros and cons. Swiss prefers sunrise and sunset, but, based on his mood, he stays awake for the rest of the day or night. If he wants quiet, he'll look for Rain or Aurora and spend the dark peaceful hours of the night with them. If he wants to be loud and energetic, he'll search for Dew or Mountain and help them out with whatever they're doing. He loves to spend time in Mountain's garden, smelling all the beautiful scents and chasing butterflies.

Phantom will flip-flop between Aurora and Dew’s schedule. He's the most likely to stick with the crepuscular schedule, though. During dusk, he'll wake up early enough to eat dinner with the diurnal ghouls, but he'll save enough space to eat breakfast with the nocturnal ghouls when they wake up. He'll be active for a few hours, and then take a hefty nap. He wakes up for the nocturnal ghoul's dinner before joining the diurnal ghouls for their breakfast. He enjoys his strange cycle, but sometimes he switches things up and stays awake for a shift, following one of the other ghouls through their period of activity.

Omega liked to follow Terzo’s human diurnal schedule

Air and Water are nocturnal (active during the night)

Rain will sleep through the entire day using blackout curtains in his windows. When the sun finally sets he’ll leave his room and go to the lake. He’ll swim around in the moonlight and scare the occasional human taking a midnight walk. He finds the sun dries out his skin far too much for comfort. If he were to force himself to become diurnal, he'd be very unhappy. The heat is abrasive, especially when he'd have to wear numerous cover-ups to protect against the burning sun. Rain likes the nighttime since, as a water ghoul, he's much more likely to overheat. Water ghouls are meant to stay in the water for the majority of their time awake. Rain finds it easier to stay awake during the day only when he spends all of it in the lake. The water protects his skin from drying out and burning and stops him from overheating. Staying in the water the entire day defeats the point of staying awake during the day. He can't be with his favorite ghouls if he can't leave the lake. So it's just easier for Rain to stay nocturnal.

The air ghouls just love the cool breeze that flows in the nighttime. It's quiet and they can fully appreciate the world without distractions. Cirrus, Cumulus, and Sunshine all like to take nighttime walks around the abbey's grounds. Aurora sometimes joins them, but she also likes to swim with Rain. Aurora and Rain have long conversations about how they feel disconnected from their friends. Groups of ghouls in the pit would form packs around their element. Nocturnal and diurnal differences had never been an issue. Cirrus, Cumulus, and Sunshine usually stay nocturnal, but Aurora will occasionally switch so she can spend some time with her favorite diurnal and crepuscular ghouls. She finds happiness in the sun, but she will always prefer the dark quiet of the night.

That’s the most vivid similarity between the nocturnal ghouls. They love their peace. They’re all perceived as rather shy, but that’s just in their nature. The quiet helps them feel safe and calm.

The ghouls all wish they could be awake together, but they know that's not the best solution. As they spend more time not on tour, they find balance within all of their schedules. It all blends together so the ghouls all see each other at some time or another. Diurnal and crepuscular ghouls will take naps with nocturnal ghouls as they sleep the day away. Crepuscular ghouls spend a few hours with every single elemental group. Eventually, it becomes fluid. The pack feels very connected once they start to exist cohesively.

[aurora-daily]

AURORA in GAFFA by Sigurd Hollen Elgenes (January 21st, 2024)

After some back and forth on DM's, the artist agreed to meet for a chat with GAFFA. At least as long as there was cake. Carrot cake. This despite the fact that she has never liked cake and other sweet things.

A relatively small artist from Bergen, and a relatively large journalist from Oslo, find themselves in a cozy little room a stone's throw away from Karl Johan, while the afternoon darkness is falling cold outside the windows. The walls are decorated with summery floral motifs. In the background you can hear bossa nova playing softly. We are at Kongens Gate 10, AKA The Cakery. A place the journalist's mother has warmly recommended.

“Oh, how sweet you are! Thank you very much!", - exclaims Aurora Aksnes in a burst of fireworks when the owner of the café patisserie comes strolling over with a not-too-mini mini-carrot cake cut into four large pieces. On top, they have sparingly sprinkled walnut kernels. Immediately she begins to feed herself with her hands. It is Monday, and after a long weekend this is the first meal of the day, she says. She wears a stolen sequined jacket adorned with two clip-on medallions she "bought from an old lady".

I try to talk a little about the cake.

The human being above me makes contented grunts. Smacks glaze off fingers.

"mmmm daddy," she exclaims in a "foodgasm" as I'm trying to pull myself together and go into serious interviewer-mode.

A dazed little "wow!" falls out of me.

It embarrasses me a bit.

We both start laughing.

If anyone wonders whether the high-flying "persona" of Aksnes is a character, I can assure you that whatever her thing is, is a genuine full-time show. I might have to give up high hopes of journalistic integrity and professionalism. The mood is set.

Happy New Year! Did you have a nice Christmas and all that?

“I'm not very happy about Christmas Eve. But I am very happy in the run-up to Christmas. I love the first of December when there is a lot of Christmas atmosphere. It's a new season of Snøfall (a norwegian childrens show) this year, and I really enjoyed it."

We discuss children and cancer (a central theme in the new season of "Snøfall"), and together come to the conclusion that 1. - it is important to talk about difficult things, and 2. that all tax money should go to sick children.

"Sick children are beautiful." Aurora says warmly.

I point out that not all sick children are necessarily beautiful, and that children are basically as different from each other as adults. We agree that some kids are cool and that others are assholes. Fine and clever photographer Ole tries discreetly to snap pictures while we chat, and we laughingly try to ignore the intense flash.

How is the carrot cake?

"Delightful." she answers quickly.

“It's just this icing that I have to constantly lick off my fingers. It requires dedication.”

As I am about to point out that she has a fork right in front of her, she locks her gaze on an invisible point in mid-air. With squinting and thoughtful eyes, she chooses her words carefully.

"I've always.. felt like a person who should like cake... It's kind of been in my cards.. but.. I hate cake."

The gaze drops and she laughs a little. Apparently by itself.

"Sweet things usually make me sick. But I would really like to like cake. And this is, after all, a perfect cake."

The time has come to fulfill Aurora's second premise for the interview. From my jacket pocket I fish out a small pink net with a bow on it. There is nothing inside. Something grown from my own body, actually.

"Ooooooo!!!!"

Again she bubbles over with enthusiasm and happiness. How do anyone manage to find so much joy in strange things?

"I'm considering making a piece of jewelry. When I have enough of them.”

“It all started when I walked across a field in Canada. Then I came across something absolutely amazing! It was so big that I didn't understand what it could have come from, but eventually I came to the conclusion that it must be a cow molar!"

A cow molar.

"A cow molar! For real! It was so huge and beautiful. One of the dearest things I own. Now I've got a thing for teeth."

Here the interview reaches a point where it becomes "challenging" to transcribe, to put it mildly.

To briefly recap some digressions from the sea of digression-digressions: She mentions that she recently told a barista that she wanted human milk in her coffee, and that he didn't think it was funny. That she has made a habit out of putting people out for talking about something very strange, and then dismissively pointing out that it is strange to talk about when the person herself says something about the strange thing she herself brought up. We come back to children, and how much fun it would have been to teach a baby to say "PAHPHA" and "MAHMA" in a monster voice and that in theory you can teach children the alphabet incorrectly for fun.

"Do you want cake in your mouth?"

She looks dead into the eyes of photographer Ole. He hesitates a bit, nervously.

"BrrrrrRrRrmm"

She has forked off a piece of her piece of cake which is now on its way through the air like a crashing plane heading for the mouth of Ole who, somewhat reluctantly, leans forward and receives the plane crash orally.

This is spinning completely out of control. I carefully look down at the yellow post-it note with factual questions I haven't asked.

What are the plans for 2024? Any new music?

She looks directly into my eyes as she is patiently tasting the question. Wrinkles her nose a little.

“Hmmm. I can say as much as there will be music. It will come sooner than you think, but later than you want.”

Ole and I start to guess a little about months, but she just smiles mysteriously. This is hush-hush. Since she doesn't want to say anything about when, what or who, I do some question acrobatics and ask something else.

You recently released the music video for "Your Blood" with Canadian-Iranian Kaveh Nabatia. Really dig the song and the video. eeeh, would you like to tell me a little about it?

"oh Kaveh is so cool. Did he meet completely randomly at a Japanese whiskey bar in Canada (ed. the same trip she found the cow's tooth?) where we sat and chatted for hours. We got along so terribly well that I decided then and there. "You're going to make all my music videos from now on!". A decision I stand by. Almost all the collaborations I do are a result of me finding people I love. I love people! And - human chemistry is so important when making things together!"

We chat a little further. She says that she will next meet a guy who claims that he is a 5-time world champion (?!) in billiards. He works at the billiards bar "Que" next to Jysk below Sannergata. She had met him there at Girl in Red's Christmas party a few weeks prior. The same evening/night where we agreed to do this interview over DMs actually!

We realize three or four digressions later that the place has actually closed 20 minutes ago, but that the kind owner didn't want to disturb. We thank each other before exchanging hugs and saying our goodbyes. A new friend richer, I would recommend everyone to eat cake at The Cakery. They offer home-made cakes and proper coffee served on vintage Alice in Wonderland-like crockery.

[opalnoble]

° • — CLOSED starter for maceon ( @classiqals ) ° • — outside the palace, under a tree.

aurora was sick of being inside the palace — if it wasn’t judgmental eyes on her due to the staggering number of french criminals; it was eyes that pitied her for the loss of her cousin. it was nauseating, being perceived in a land that wasn’t her own. she should be of little significance here and that was precisely what she wanted. giving excuses to her ladies, aurora ducked away — to the market streets. there, she was away from the drama and could perhaps pretend everything was normal.

though, even here — nothing felt normal. she found herself looking at various silks and fabrics, all in bright or deep tones of red; and still, she felt sick to her stomach. red, why red? it was the color of blood, and felt so garish to look at when dressing her deceased cousin — but she had promised elliott she would secure a red dress for martina’s memorial. gods, did she never want to do this again.

the princess walked away from the stall, back towards the palace until she found a tree close to the gates but still not inside palace grounds. she sat down— hoping to wait out this strange mood she was in. it was like a cloud over her, and that was so unlike her. aurora took out a pink journal from her silk bag, age clear on it’s spine. with it, she had a small, thin piece of charcoal she used to write it in when she was without ink. then she’d go over the charcoal later. the dyed leather cover and pages of the book were stained as such — it was clearly something she had taken great care of yet kept with her at all times. she had nothing to write in it as of today, but it brought her comfort, so aurora turned to a page she had counted days on, doodling small flowers and such in between the lines. a bit of cheer to an otherwise depressing record kept.

when she felt the presence of someone seated beside her, she did not look up; instead choosing to continue smudging her fingers with charcoal as she drew. “ — is it time for me to be dragged back already? “ aurora jested, knowing it was her cousin sitting there beside her. “ i believe this fresh air and nature is doing me good. “ she said softly, finally looking up from the somber journal. “ — and i think some time away could do you some good, oui? “ she had not hardly seen much of maceon since they arrived to brazil. he was surely busy, as many of them were — but she worried about him just as she worried about elliott. he was harder to track down, and her time was quite preoccupied these days. “ you look tired, maceon. “

[oswildin]

A Dangerous Thing {Dhawan!Master x Reader} (Part One)

Summary: You’re apart of the Masters plan. But when his plan takes longer than both of you anticipated, you see him in a new light.

Warnings: None, angst, shouting, slight personality switching (The Master is unpredictable/multi sided)

A/N: So I’ve been writing this for a few days, and been wanting to write another short fic series. It follows that good old troupe of The Master kidnapping you to get The Doctors attention, but it appears that it’s taking her longer to find you than he’d imagined, so you’re basically stuck with him having adventures and learning to navigate his moods! This is part one!

Fic MASTERlist

Something about you is soft like an angel

And something inside you is violence and danger

I knew from the moment we met, you are a dangerous thing

Something about his gaze made you feel on fire, but ice cold at the same time. An unsettling contradiction that shouldn’t exist. Yet there you were, feeling this way. Watching him from the sidelines became almost enchanting, the way he moved, the way he held himself, the fact he was full of danger and anger, yet seemed so cool on the outside as you observed.

You knew travelling with The Doctor came with risks, but what you hadn’t thought about was the possibility of another Timelord being out there, who was hellbent on vengeance. That’s how you ended up trapped with the renegade alien, on his TARDIS. You were leverage. You would be lying if you said you weren’t afraid. Maybe afraid wasn’t the right word… But it’s the only one you knew that could describe the anxious feeling you had in his presence.

“You’d think the Doctor would learn to keep her pets on a tighter leash.” The Master commented as he busied himself with the TARDIS controls. “How can someone be so protective yet so careless at the same time?”

Staying silent, you merely watched him. Nothing you could do or say would change his mind, so what was the point.

“What, no retort?” He raised a brow. “No rushing to your precious Doctors’ defence?” He peered over at you as you kept a blank stare. He placed a hand on his hip as he sighed, almost in annoyance at your lack of reaction. “Probably wise.” He mumbled. “Stay quiet and your chances of survival increases. At least that’s what you’re thinking.” He waved his hand casually as he returned his gaze to the console. “With the Doctor you have two options, use your knowledge as leverage or stay silent to buy yourself some time…” He carried on. “Unfortunately for you, dear, I’m not as patient as most.” He slammed down one of the levers as you jumped slightly from his actions.

Licking your lips, you cleared your throat, trying to figure out your next move.

“Maybe that’s where you’ve been going wrong.” You finally spoke, as he stopped in his tracks, peering back over at you. “Your lack of patience.” You said quieter as you felt him analysing you from across the room.

“How… Wise of you.” He began to walk round the console, finally reaching the side closer to you as he kept his eyes burning into your own. “How patient are you?” He inquired, but his words held a unspoken threat.

“Not very.” You admitted, as he found himself smirking at your words. “But I know when patience is needed.” You added as he narrowed his eyes, humming in thought.

“Let’s test that shall we? Let’s see how long it takes for The Doctor to find you.”

When you are with me, I feel like I'm living

And living besides you can be unforgiving

I knew from the very first step, you are a dangerous thing

It had been two whole days since you were taken by The Master, with still no sign of The Doctor. Strangely over the two days, The Master had left you to your own devices, as he pottered around his ship, most likely scheming. You were currently seated in the console room on one of the arm chairs, his TARDIS interior still in the setting of O’s home. As far as you had gathered, the ship hadn’t moved since you’d been there, leading you to believe he had parked it somewhere, hidden away to lead the Doctor on a wild goose chase. You were quickly becoming very bored, as you peered over at some shelves, seeing files upon files littered on them. You raised a brow, curiosity getting the better of you, as you approached them, getting up from your seated position.

Reaching out, you found yourself pulling out one of the files, seeing the words ‘Code 9 Protocols’ written on the front. You pursed your lips, opening the file as you were faced with papers littered with information. Furrowing your brows, your eyes landed on a photograph of what appeared to be a man in his 30s, sporting a leather jacket and short dark hair. Turning the page, you saw another image of a young girl with blonde hair, with the name ‘Rose Tyler’ written under her photo.

“You know what they say-“

You jumped at the sudden voice, as your grip on the files loosened, nearly causing them to fall to the floor.

“Curiosity killed the cat.” The Master clenched his jaw as he approached you. You swallowed the lump in your throat as you closed the file, rushing to put it back where you found it. “Please, don’t stop on my account.” You raised a brow as you ignored his words, continuing to place the files back in its home. “There’s been hundreds.” You found yourself looking at him once again as he spoke. “So many before you. You weren’t the first, and you won’t be the last.”

“That was The Doctor?” You asked, surprised. He simply nodded. “And the girl… Rose-“

“Just one of many companions.” He almost sneered as you blinked at him. “You’re just the latest in a long line.” He watched you, waiting for a heartbroken look, a confused stare, anything… But you didn’t give him that. You just stood still, blankly staring at him still.

“She is over a thousand years old…” You began. “I’d be naive to think I was the first.” You explained as he seemingly rolled his eyes, irritated he didn’t get the reaction he wanted from you. “What about you?” You suddenly asked, as he furrowed his brows. “Have you ever had a companion?” He almost laughed at your words as he plopped himself down on the arm chair you had been sat in.

“Companions aren’t really my thing.” He sniffed. “Especially human ones.” He glared at you as you fought the urge to roll your own eyes. “I’ve had… comrades, partners… Never a companion.” He told you as you nodded slowly at his words.

“Yeah, I can’t say I can see you playing nice with others…” You lightly joked as he found himself letting out a light laugh at your words. For some reason you found yourself smiling at this.

“I had a wife.” He suddenly announced, causing you to look at him shocked, seeing his lips now sat in a tight line. “Many years ago on Earth.” He paused. “Wasn’t a conventional marriage.” He shrugged. “More just another part of my plan.” You didn’t know what to say, as you slowly began to perch on the arm of the sofa that was in front of you. “Then she shot me.” Your mouth hung open slightly at his words as you let out a breath.

“That’s…” You tried to find the words. “That’s definitely a reason for a divorce.” You joked as he pursed his lips. Both of you sat in silence for a few moments before he finally chose to speak again.

“Knock yourself out.” He stood from the chair, gesturing to the shelves. “Maybe you’ll learn more about your precious Doctor, and somethings you may not like.” And with that he quickly left, leaving you alone once again.

There's no end to the fall

You keep on getting better, I keep forgetting

There's no love in the end

I hope you will come

I keep on losing feathers, I keep forgetting

There's no love in the end

One week. 7 whole days. Still no sign of The Doctor. You could tell even The Master was getting frustrated by the lack of the other Timelord. Sat once again in the console room, you watched as The Master entered, pressing buttons on the console as you raised a brow, getting up from your seated position.

“Where are we going?” You asked, as he shot you a look.

“As a human you may be ok with sitting around doing nothing, but me, I need something to do.” He told you, pulling a lever as the ship rocked, causing you to wobble on your feet as you caught onto the console for security. The Master grinned as he ran round the console, pressing more buttons and pulling other levers. Suddenly, the ship stopped, causing you both to fly backwards as you ended up on the floor, on your back, groaning as you saw him stood over you, smirking.

“That looked like it hurt.” He teased, as you glared at him, pushing yourself up from the hard floor. “Come on, chop chop.” He clapped his hands together to hurry you along as you rolled your eyes, using your legs to push yourself up to stand. He was already walking towards the door to the ship, as he whipped it open, light flooding in from the outside. You were confused as to why he was allowing you to come with him, but followed nonetheless. Anything for a different environment.

Approaching the door, you stepped outside, stood behind The Master as your eyes adjusted to the light. You saw you were stood on some grass, as you heard a sudden whirring above you, causing you to snap your head up to see what appeared to be a flying car rushing over you.

“New Earth.” He grimaced as he spoke. “Of all the places the TARDIS could’ve taken us.” He seemed irritated. You, however, stood in wonder as you took everything in. You found yourself sniffing the air, getting a whiff of… apples?

“Apples?” You asked, the wind whipping your face. He hummed.

“Apple grass.” He simply told you as you nodded.

“Of course it is.” You laughed lightly. He peered over at you, seeing the excitement in your eyes. “So… New Earth? I’m guessing it’s human inhabited based off your disappointment.”

“New Humans.” He said, taking a step forwards, hand on his hip. “Bits of this, bits of that, but still… human.” You stepped after him, still watching the cars above.

“It seems you can’t get rid of us.” You raised a brow as he narrowed his eyes at you.

“Is that a challenge?” He leant towards you, his face inches from yours as you couldn’t help but laugh at his words. He seemed taken back by your reaction. “That wasn’t meant to be funny.” He mumbled, pulling away as he straightened his back.

“Oh.” You stopped laughing, clearing your throat. “Sorry.” You said sheepishly, when you both were caught off guard by a sudden alarm blaring over the city. You jumped at the noise, looking round frantically. “What is that?” You asked, The Master frowning as he observed the surroundings.

“Trouble.”

Something about you is warm and sedusive, and

When you're with me, you're cold and abusive

I knew from the second we met, you are a dangerous flame

You are a dangerous flame

One month. It had been one month since The Master brought you aboard his ship, taking you away from The Doctor. Your patience was starting to wear thin. Where was she? Did she decide to give up on you? Leave you behind? Accept defeat? Shaking your head, you tried to stop those thoughts from taking over. No, she wouldn’t do that, especially not allowing someone like The Master to take her companion… Although, saying that, he didn’t seem so bad. Considering you’d been stuck with him for a while, you saw a different side to the alien. Of course, he was still unhinged, unpredictable and a little scary at times, but all in all… He had taken you with him on his little excursions, and if you dared to say it (or even believe it), you would’ve thought he didn’t mind having you around.

Sighing, you found yourself in your usual position in the ship, watching him from the arm chair as he fiddled with the console, muttering under his breath. However, today it felt different. Tense. The air was thick and unpleasant. Something was wrong. Something was troubling him, you could see it evident in his face. Biting your lip, you pushed yourself up, wandering over to him as you kept your eyes on him.

“What’s wrong?” You asked simply, leaning on the console as he clenched his jaw.

“Why would I tell you?” He snapped, sending a glare your way.

“I don’t know.” Shrugging, you straightened up. “Bottling it up isn’t gonna help though, is it?” You added as he flared his nostrils, letting out a deep sigh.

“Why don’t you go do something mundane and human?” He waved his hand in a general direction. “And leave me alone.”

“Or… You could just…” You paused. “Tell me?” You looked at him with raised brows, slightly pushing your head out to give a ‘come on’ type of action. What you didn’t expect was for the Timelord to explode at you.

“I just told you, to leave. Me. Alone.” He bit out, his eyes full of fire and danger, causing you to quickly shuffle backwards. “What is it with you humans? Always sticking your nose where it isn’t wanted.” He hissed. “The only reason you’re still alive is because I allow it.” He added for good measure, causing your eyes to widen, swallowing the lump in your throat. “Do you know how tempting it is… To just…” He took a step towards you, although he wasn’t a very tall man you instantly felt small. “Shrink you down…” He looked you up and down. “Add you to a long line of blood shed.” You began to feel your eyes burning, not wanting to let your fear be evident, but it was too late, it was obvious. For the first time, you were terrified of the man. “Cause I could… just like that.” He clicked his fingers as you couldn’t stand it anymore. You quickly rushed past him, leaving him alone as you immediately ran to your room, slamming the door shut behind you.

You’d seen The Master angry. You’d seen him threatening to burn planets, kill civilians, set fire to anything and anyone in his way… But it had never been directed at you. And that scared you. Experiencing his fury first hand was something else. It reminded you of who he was, where you were and that there was no sign of your escape anytime soon. You felt yourself crumbling, your breathing becoming shaky as you allowed yourself to side down onto the floor of your room, leaning your head in your hands as you let out a few silent sobs.

Where was The Doctor? Why hadn’t she come for you yet? Was this it for you? Stuck with him until he gives up on his plan?

The Master stood in the control room still, his anger slowly dissipating as he realised what he had done. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting his head fall back as he groaned in frustration. He kicked the console in anger, hissing at the feeling.

Why did he care? You were merely a pawn in his game.

But that look of fear on your face.

One he had seen many a times from other beings, yet when he saw you wearing it… It was different. It made him feel… Feel… Ashamed.

Shaking his head, he debated going after you.

You had caused it. You shouldn’t have pushed.

No that’s not fair.

Arguing with himself, he settled down in the armchair you had been sat in, putting his finger to his lips as he thought.

I don't think I know myself, without your help

Oh, I wonder why have I got a heaven deep inside of me

It had been two days since The Master had lashed out at you. You’d stayed locked up in your room, avoiding him. You hadn’t felt the ship move, nor hear anything from the alien himself. Forcing yourself to feel brave, you opened your bedroom door, hesitancy filling your mind. You swallowed it, as you took a step out, your feet wandering down the hall to head towards the control room. There was no point in avoiding it. You’d have to see him at some point, and if you were going to be here a while, you may as well get past it. Entering the control room, you saw The Master stood at the console, his back to you as you felt your heart stop for a moment. Pushing it aside, you walked up and past him to go to your normal seat, missing the look the Timelord gave you as you passed him. Sitting in silence, you perched yourself down in the chair, picking up a stray book as you opened it, distracting yourself from his gaze.

The Master stood, unsure on how to approach you as he licked his lips, fidgeting his fingers, before deciding to take a step towards you, coming away from the console. You kept your eyes fixed on the page in front of you, defiant you wouldn’t be the first to speak. Luckily for you, the alien broke the silence.

“Quite done sulking?”

You ignored his words, knowing he wanted a reaction as you simply turned the page. He held his arms by his sides as he clasped his hands into fists, before letting them fall again.

“Thought I’d leave you to it.” He continued. “I know how touchy you humans are. A very touchy race.” You pursed your lips, still dismissing him. “Emotional. Irrational.” He kept pushing as you finally caved, snapping the book closed, glaring daggers at the man.

“Irrational?” You repeated, tone full of disbelief. “You think I was being irrational?” You scoffed, fighting the urge to shake your head. He looked down at you with a blank stare, which only angered you further.

“Not your fault, humans are often irrational-“ He trailed off as you flared your nostrils, standing from your seat.

“If anyone was being irrational, it was you!” You exclaimed, pointing at him as he narrowed his eyes. “I know you get off on this weird little ‘I could kill you’ thing, but all I did was ask what was wrong!” You huffed. “You-“ You jabbed him in the chest. “Are the one who blew it out of proportion.” After a moment, you realised what you had done, and who you were raising your voice at. You quickly retreated your finger, clearing your throat.

“Are you done?” He simply asked as you folded your arms over your chest. “Good.” He said, taking your silence as his answer. “I apologise.” You furrowed your brows, tilting your head slightly at his words.

“What?” You let out.

“You heard me.” He hissed. “I’m not going to say it again.” He paused as you softened your glare. “I would lie and say it wasn’t my intention to upset you, but…” He allowed himself to trail off as you nodded at him.

“Right.” You cleared your throat, once more, a bit confused on what to do or say next.

“But don’t think I won’t do it again.” He added. “When I say leave me alone, I mean it. Understood?” His tone held authority as you found yourself nodding. “Just because you are apart of my plan, doesn’t mean it revolves around you.” He turned away from you as you watched him retire back to the console, his words repeating themselves in your brain.

I keep the light on, it keeps me warm

I hate it when I fall for your illusion of love

I know this is not love

“Tell me you have a plan.”

You and The Master were currently tied together in a cell on some alien planet, after he threatened the President. Although he liked to think himself different from The Doctor, he didn’t half get himself into trouble like her.

“Of course I have a plan.” He quipped back, a bite of offence at your words as you sat back to back with him.

“Okay, great.” You muttered. “Don’t suppose it involves the TCE?” You raised a brow. “Because if you remember, they took that from your jacket pocket as soon as they captured us.” Silence fell between you both as The Master found himself silently swearing. “Thought so.” You sighed.

“What about you?” He asked. “Why don’t you use that little human brain of yours for once?” His head turned slightly as he spoke to you as you rolled your eyes.

“Did one of the smartest aliens in the universe just ask for me to come up with a better plan?” You asked in return, sarcasm hidden in your tone.

“I would say ‘the’ smartest.” He mumbled under his breath as you groaned in annoyance.

God, he really was a pompous ass.

“I heard that.” He quipped as you huffed. “Oh well. Guess we await our execution.”

“Your plan is to get executed?!” You exclaimed, your head whipping round as far as it could to try and look at him.

“Of course not.” He frowned. “Why would I allow them the glory of killing me, dear?” He purred as you closed your eyes to compose yourself before you really got annoyed. “Besides, I’m not even in my best dress.” You furrowed your brows, noting his voice wasn’t as close to you anymore, nor did you feel his back against your own. You whipped your head around once more, seeing him stood, leant against the stone wall, hands free as smirked triumphantly down at you.

“When did you-“ You began as he cut you off.

“I did say… The smartest alien.” He grinned. “What? Thousands of years, hundreds of captures, and you think I couldn’t wiggle my way out of some ties?” He spoke smugly as you rolled your eyes at him.

“Okay, get me out.” You shuffled on your bum, trying to free your hands from your own ties as he simply watched. “Come on!” You urged him as he smirked.

“Oh sorry, didn’t I say?” He furrowed his brows, leaning down slightly. “You are the plan.”

You were both currently being escorted out of the cell, the guards leading you down winding corridors as you bit your lip anxiously, praying the Master hadn’t abandoned you. He’d disappeared soon after revealing his idea, vanishing into thin air as you felt the impending doom of execution invading your mind. Eventually, you were led into a room where you saw the planets’ President sit upon his throne, staring down at you with a sneer.

“Where is the other?” He boomed as the guards looked anxious.

“He escaped. We don’t know how, sir.” One of the guards explained. “We have people looking. Signs indicate a short range teleportation. He hasn’t gone far.”

“And he left you behind?” The President questioned you, causing you to shift in your spot, shrugging.

“He’s… He’s a wildcard.” You landed on as the President narrowed his eyes.

“Sounds like he’s saving his own skin.” He sneered. “Leaving little you with us.” You swallowed the lump in your throat, the aliens words not helping your already rising anxiety.

“Yeah, well…” You paused. “If I remember rightly I didn’t actually threaten you. It was him.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He roared. “You are his companion. You align your beliefs with his own.” You shook your head, fighting the urge to scoff.

“You have no idea how wrong you are mate.” You let out a breathy laugh, causing the President to stand up, stomping his food on the ground as it shook, causing you to quickly shut up.

“Enough!” He barked. “Enough stalling. Get them ready.” The guards immediately did as they were told, grabbing you as they began attaching some metal device to your head. You fought the urge to move away and struggling, for fear of only causing yourself harm. A sharp buzz coursed through your mind as you hissed at it.

“What-What is this?” You asked, peering up at the alien. He smirked down at you.

“Your brain will be burn from the inside out.” He told you, a sadistic grin forming on his lips. You let out a ragged breath as you took in his words.

Where was The Master? You couldn’t help but feel self pity flooding into your body. First The Doctor, now him… And now it would be the death of you.

“Now where is your friend?” He asked, taking a step forwards.

“I-I don’t know.” You told him, truthful.

“Liar!” He yelled, as you jumped.

“Tell me… Or-“

“Or what?” You quipped, feeling a weird rush of bravery. “You’ll kill me?” You raised a brow. “You’re already planning on doing that, so now what? Hm?” He looked displeased with your words. “Never start with your final sanction… It nulls everything else.”

Suddenly, clapping emitted from behind you, as you turned to see a familiar face. You let out a sigh of relief. You didn’t think you’d be as happy to see The Master as you were then. In fact, you never thought you’d be happy to see him full stop.

“Oh well done.” He praised you as he began to step forwards, the guards quickly aiming their weapons at him. “No really, I’m impressed. And I don’t say that a lot. Especially to humans.” He commented as you rolled your eyes.

“I hate you.” You muttered to him.

“Good to see you too, dear.” He grinned. “Now!” He spun round on his heel, before reaching into his pocket to reveal his TCE as he aimed it at the guards. “I hear you’ve been looking for me.”

“Just in time to join the party.” The President narrowed his eyes at the man. “I think I’ll let you watch, as your companion begs for mercy.” He growled. “And then I’ll kill you.” The Master pursed his lips, excitement filling his features.

“Oh, promises promises.” He almost slurred out. “Sounds rather… kinky.” He added, before winking at you, as you felt your cheeks begin to flush with warmth. “But unfortunately, we can’t stay. Very busy you see.” He paused. “And unluckily for you, that means I’m very trigger happy.” Without another word, he quickly shot the two guards, shrinking them to tiny dolls as he made his way to you, the President roaring in anger. “Miss me?” He asked you as you let out a breath.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this…” You shook your head. “But yes. Now get me out of this thing!” You exclaimed, as he quickly began to work on removing the device on your head, a small shock emitting through your mind as you gasped. “Thanks.” You said quietly, as he began to undo your ties.

“You will not escape!” The President exclaimed, as more guards began flooding into the room.

“Well, the thing about that is.” The Master smirked. “I already have.” A familiar noise began to whir into the room, as you smiled, realising the TARDIS was materialising around you. He rushed to the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers as you followed him, watching as he set the ship into flight. Suddenly, the ship shook, as you gripped onto the console for stability. You stared at him in confusion as he grinned.

“What do you think I was doing? I told you. You were the plan. A distraction.” He pulled another lever. “Gave me enough time to wire up a nice little bomb.” You shook your head at him in disbelief.

“You’re-“ You began as he cut you off.

“Devilishly handsome and smart beyond comprehension?”

“Insane!” You laughed as he found himself laughing with you.

This was what you could get used to. This version of him. The fun one. The one who you could rely on, laugh with, have adventures with… The more you travelled with him the more you began to like the alien. Whilst he had he moments, you couldn’t deny he carried a charm and an aura of wonder.

But underneath it all… he was a dangerous thing.

There's no end to the fall

You keep on getting better

There's no love in the end

I hope you will come

I keep on losing feathers, I keep forgetting

[aggiepython]

tagged by @ewingstan for putting my repeat playlist on shuffle and listing the first ten songs (thanks for the tag!!!!)

blast doors, everything everything: this song reminds me of pact. "something very strange about your picture in the mirror/when you move it doesn't move now how could that be weirder" everything everything has such a good rhythm to their lyrics.

MAGICIAN, lexie liu: the one singular song by lexie liu that i have listened to. i wish wizards were real so i could be one. it kind of reminds me of faysal anwar from pact.

i love you but i love me more, MARINA: i wouldn't say it's my favorite marina song but i like it, marina's one of my favorite vocalists especially when she sings deeper. good song for when i am in a vindictive mood.

the machine, lemon demon: encapsulates the autism experience quite well. crescendos really spectacularly.

new way out, lemon demon: i don't like this one very much tbh, lemon demon was a big special interest of mine a couple years back and it's still a decent chunk of my playlist, even though i don't listen to him as much now i don't have the heart to delete the songs. i don't have multiple playlists i just have one big one with like 130 songs. actually that isn't very big... i have to be in the right emotional state to listen to new music so usually i end up listening to the same songs repeatedly.

desire, everything everything: really catchy (: it's a good taylor hebert song. it's also a good wang baoxiang (from she who became the sun and he who drowned the world) song.

caramelldansen, caramell: the original version not the nightcore one!!! this is an important distinction to make. it's fun to dance to.

cure for me, AURORA: aurora is maybe my favorite artist at the moment so i'm glad a few of her songs ended up here. this is a fun one (:

the wheel (is turning now), everything everything: this is one i didn't like on the first listen but i ended up really liking later. i'm glad i listened to it again. the second half builds in such an interesting slow layered way.

everything matters, AURORA: this one is so soothing yet powerful-sounding, and the lyrics have some really beautiful imagery. i always try to see the beauty in strange small things that are often passed by which is what this song is about.

tagging @arg0t, @zyzoda, @st-just, @kingpretty, @moomeecore, @halizumab, @canisalbus, @seathiing

[concordewillfly]

Hiiii aurora dearest how are you? I come to your doorstep to ask for some film recs <3

hiiii gi dear !!!! im ok, hope u are too <3 and omg i loooove this question truly what an honor that u came to me... i dont know what youre looking for in terms of genre or mood so ill give u some of my favourites hoping youll find something u like... sorry this is going to be long and a bit all over the place

may 2002 is just... so relatable to me? its a peculiar lonely weirdgirl spin on frankenstein and its just... yeah. almost painful to watch

crash 1996 is obviously one of my fav movies of all time i talk about it all the time on here but its just so perfect in my opinion. hits the perfect sweet spot between strange and erotic

the teenage apocalypse trilogy by gregg araki + the living end 1992... araki is again a huge influence in my life and my fav director so ofc i had to include him... the dialogues are iconic and very funny and offbeat but also strangely deep and sad. the outfits are great. the music is always perfect (and the source of most of my current music taste). the stylishness and the what the fuck factor make the whole thing unforgettable

past lives 2023 ive seen a couple of days ago and its soooo. quiet and devastating and about missed connections and the nature of human relationships. beautiful

phantom thread 2017 is a classic in my eyes and so tender in a very fucked up way i love it so much

y tu mamá también 2001 so fucking sad but also so sensual. gael garcía bernal said recently that this is one the last really sexy movies and i agree with him wholeheartedly

velvet goldmine 1996 i mean its my fav movie of all time... fake biopic about david bowie and a bunch of other stars of the glam rock era. insane and perfect and with my fav soundtrack of a movie ever and todd haynes is a genius in my opinion and since i mentioned him... his last movie may december 2023 was so good. its heavy though!!

withnail and i 1987... my god. this is apparently seen as a cult classic comedy in the uk which is crazy to me because it sort of made me miserable. it is very funny but also when its not its bleak as fuck i love it

[radi0activec0smos]

"It's funny how so much can change in a year."

Well, here it is. My 1 year skyversary. You'd think that this would be something a bit more exciting for me, but I guess a lot of this is more looking back and realising just how much changed. Just how everything has been.

With everything that's going on, and everything that's happened, it's hard for me to really find excitement about today. It feels more melancholic than anything. But it's here. It's been a year already.

I joined Sky on January 3rd, right after Aurora's ending. I've been in love with it since then. It's been the source of a few of the friends that I have now. And I can't appreciate that enough.

It feels so strange, knowing where I am after a year. Knowing that this day last year, I was just a moth, whizzing through the realms. And now I'm here.

This year hasn't been a great start for me. It really hasn't. But this little day helps bring the mood up a bit, just that tiny bit.

Here's to another year of sky. Hopefully.

[kalims]

Yes, Christmas event :D! If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to request: (10, 4, 2) with Silver 💗 🗡️❄️

I love your work, I'm always excited when you post something new about the twst Boys 😊💘 I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year🎇🌠🌌

‎˃ ᵕ ˂ . . "merry christmas and happy new year to you too! thanks for the kind words :P"

prompts,

twisted holidays event

slow dancing — in the living room.

my wish.. — they overhear your wish about being together forever.

a home, but made out of pillows — in a particularly cold day. you get an idea to invite your lover into your so called fort of pillows, it's warm when you're in it, and even warmer when you're both pressed up against each other side by side.

character. silver

note. malleus is the best friend here fr.. also I literally had to put a divider because I was putting in spoilers for chapter 7.. 😭

slow dancing

for a gift malleus is sure is generous.

while you're sure that his present for you certainly didn't leave a dent in his fortune it was still a little surprising to find an elegantly carved vinyl just waiting for you to take care of.

if a vinyl wasn't enough he even included a set of photograph records for you to listen to, of which are usually classics. most of it fit the briar valley vibe, slow and elegant.

but it did get you in the mood.

you blink as a lovely tune echoes around your walls. it feels like ramshackle is a little less abandoned, excluding the fact that silver was sleeping soundly in your couch that you doubt was comfortable.

I knew I should've replaced it. you sigh, but in all honesty crowley should've funded you for renovation.

the music plays for a while, occasionally repeating a tune which you eventually caught on and started humming in sync yourself. you imagine your surroundings fading into a bright ballroom, how nice it must be to dance with this tune.

silver stirs from his sleep. the very tune that a figure he can't quite remember sang to him. the words are blurry but he can recognize the sound from anywhere.

through blurry eyesight he pins his gaze on someone dancing in front of him. the movements were a little clumsy, perhaps they were out of practice or a first timer. silver though, lilia made sure to teach him ballroom etiquette even if he probably wasn't gonna get exposed to that kind of atmosphere himself.

he can't see them clearly but he can tell that their character seems very warm.

you tilt your head. "silver? sorry. I must've awoken you." you apologize through a small whisper, probably keeping mind of staying quiet for his sake.

wow they know my name. silver thinks. he feels like he never really knew anyone from his dreams but this person is really familiar.

what a strange dream.

"it's alright. I'm more glad to be awake than asleep to be honest." silver sighs. "anyways.. I can't quite remember where I heard this from but it's familiar."

"really? I would've mistaken it as something played for a royal ball or something."

"well. actually it wasn't really meant for those but I think the late queen and king met through that one melody." silver explained, sitting up from his position and rubbing his eyes to remove the sleep. "then it just happened to honor their love."

prince philip and aurora's romance was a strange one. lilia had told him so, but it was almost like he was purposely leaving out details of their life to silver. he never pondered on it though, it's not like he's.. related to them..

an idea pops in your mind.

"you know how to dance silver?"

he shakes his head. "kind of. I've only ever watched people dance."

you smile and extend a hand.

contrary to expectations, silver is really good at dancing. he was a little stiff and unsure at first but he knows how usual dances like these go and he eases up the more the time passes.

you don't know if he was lying that he wasn't that good at dancing or it's like a natural instinct of him to just be good.

silver is slower than most dancers but his movements carry a twinge of elegance rather than sloppiness. for a man who looks stern on the outside he certainly has a way of handling you gently.

whenever you misstep or fall behind in general silver never comments on it. with practice you'll make perfect and it feels like he's trying to imply that he can dance with you whenever you want to get better at it.

oh well. most of the time he never really strayed his gaze, you're absolutely sure he just looked at you the whole time you guys were just swaying in the middle of the living room.

silver liked it cause it kept him awake and it felt oddly intimate.

ㅤ

my wish..

maybe he was face down on a surface. which made you think he was asleep, as in after everyone left you just look outside to the sky and clasp your hands together in a silent omen.

"whoever god is out there.. please let us stay together for eternity.. if not then a long time." you murmur silently and suddenly the sleep in silver is promptly kicked away.

he's definitely wide awake now but you probably didn't notice as you continue to silently stare outside. silver wishes nothing more to just turn to you and cuddle next to you out of joy but he supposes he deserves a moment to take it in.

god forbid if lilia ever found out about the thoughts he's having.. he knows the boys will be going on about wedding bells and frankly? silver isn't confident that he can protect you from everything else yet.

first he must!!! not fall asleep suddenly!!! what if danger comes and he just passes out?

all worries aside he's just spacing out staring into the wall he deemed very interesting in hopes of settling the warmth in his heart.

ㅤ

a home, but made out of pillows

silver usually doesn't like falling asleep at all but he can't help it.

it's almost like he's been cursed or something haha..

the sleep just stays in his bones till it succeeds to make him fall asleep, and only does he feel better when he does rest. it's like staying awake for a whole day and you're unable to resist the sleep when you're laying on a bed.

silver has grown to like sleeping whenever you're around cause the sleep is a 100% better. sometimes he falls asleep outside in the dead of the night after patrolling the dorm and he feels really cold afterwards. lilia finds him usually but he doesn't always.

but with you he always feel warm before and after he wakes up.

with winter practically hitting the school by storm it's much more colder, the only times to feel warm is when you're in front of a fireplace.

the odd thing in the fireplace in your dorm though? was the fact that there was a literal fort of pillows in it.. you even tied a blanket to make a makeshift roof, the rest? all comfortable pillows that anyone would feel like royalty laying in it.

you say something about 'if I ever become royalty my room is gonna look like this'

(well you might be one lmaooo)

I NEED TO STOP PUTTING THESE

silver merely dons a soft look when you invite him inside and he gratefully accepts. he's already feeling sleepy by the sight and he's not even laying down yet!

you pat down the spot next to you and silver doesn't object as he immediately falls down next to you.

he definitely didn't mean to just go down like that it's like his body is failing him 😿

"feeling sleepy?" you hum. wrapping your arms around whatever you can reach in silver.

the fort worked like a charm. it was incredibly warm. you can barely feel the cold and with silver's habit to slumber you totally understand his strange behavior.

silver, in a daze. nods silently. you can tell he's attempting to fight back the sleep with the eyelids that are blinking rapidly. "no.. yes..."

you chuckle. so cute!

"just sleep. that's why I made this you know. for you."

silver dreamt of you that night and he almost forgot that it was winter.

if you already didn't know he LOVES the fort! at some point got disappointed when you took it down but never spoke against you.

wishes to experienced that again.

clarification

in slow dancing I was originally gonna write the slow dancing scene in a scenario format, which I was gonna imply that silver thinks it's a dream. (actually there was already implications in the finished work that he thinks it's a dream but I changed my mind yet kept it there) therefore 'i know you, I met you once upon a dream' was gonna be a quote used once the initial drowsiness wears off him and he realizes he's dancing with you

^ idea stems from that new chapter 7 if ykyk

ngl I'm lowkey projecting the theories into this post HAHAHA

[abybweisse]

1/ I have come up with a strange theory, I hope you'll listen to it, which is that the real mastermind behind the aurora Society is not Ryan Stocker nor the Undertaker, but Viscount Druitt (and other character I think one of them is John brown) , because he is the only person who has great influence among the nobles and seems accustomed to organizing this type of event (such as the human traffic pary that he held in his manor in Jack the Ripper arc )

Is the Viscount of Druitt the mastermind of the Aurora Society?

I highly doubt it. I have to assume the leader used to be Stoker, and perhaps Druitt is a high-ranking member, but he has never struck me as mastermind material. I honestly don't know whether the society is run by real Ciel and Undertaker now or if it's still a separate entity. But Druitt doesn't seem to think too clearly about what he's getting himself into, so I see him as more like a very important chessman for real Ciel.

That said, I do suspect he's got something to do with the advanced technology that's being used for the blood transfusions and what appears to be hemodialysis. He does have a medical license, after all, even though he has no practice. Undertaker might be keeping him alive just to use him for his medical knowledge.

But I wouldn't say he's the only person involved with Sphere Music Hall or the Aurora Society with an interest in Grecian attire. (In fact, the reference Druitt makes is to the infamous Roman emperor, Nero, not a Greek ruler.)

There are two other people to look at here: Blavat Sky and Nina Hopkins.

Nina even praises Blavat for his "innovative and daring" suggestions about clothes...

...and she says how her favorite pieces are the Grecian robes.

Druitt's desire to rule society in some new era is manga canon, as he talks about it while on the Campania.

I will admit that he seems committed to the idea of incorporating the Aurora Society into his vision of rule.

Even the Akuma6 side chapter shows him as someone who will go to great lengths for power. In that scenario he basically wants all the "main character energy". But I still don't think he's ever actually controlled the Aurora Society.

Stoker had higher ideals, but his ambitions made him highly susceptible to the promises he thought Undertaker was making. Similarly, Druitt's cravings for power and a lavish lifestyle make him an easy target for Undertaker.

I don't see the Aurora Society as too much of a direct threat to the queen. More like both the Aurora Society and the queen (and her servants, like John Brown) are serious threats to our earl.

And John Brown is possibly the shadiest of all, mostly because I don't believe he's human. Not a reaper, either. More like an angel or demon. Whatever he is, he appears to have a contract with the queen. I believe the hand puppet of Prince Albert is part of the contract... and that he's ultimately controlling her. Whenever the puppet shows up, her entire mood changes and she becomes more open to John Brown's suggestions... presented to her through the puppet. It's like she really does think her husband has returned to her from the grave every time she sees the puppet. I'm almost surprised our earl hasn't noticed how similar that situation looks to the sort of offer Sebastian made when they were forming their own contract. Our earl saw through the deceitful offer to make him happy in the false belief his brother had returned from the dead. Can you imagine what the series would be like if, whenever our earl needed guidance or comforting, Sebastian whipped out a puppet that looked like a mirror image of his young master?

Anyway, I expect our earl and Sebastian to have a major confrontation with the queen and her servants. And, of course, for our earl and Sebastian to have some final confrontation with Undertaker, real Ciel, and whichever other star lords that can still assist by then. I expect reapers to make appearances at one or both of those fights....

Druitt? He might finally be killed during all this... but perhaps he survives... yet again.

[llort]

Yes, I repeatedly have encoded multiple times in R4 and created elaborate and effective/efficient methods for harvesting internal conflict and stress for rapid iterative cycles of improvement form most forms of suffering or challenges/restrictions 3, 4 wise I encounter. The fact that I bounced back after less than forty eight hours and I am even more cogent, resilient, emotionally stable, and potent is a clear indication of this.

I am more real now, in the Spinozian sense, I have more power and avenues of potential action.

The more I go through shit the stronger I get. This isn't arrogance or egotism, this is just straight up empirical EISOA fact based on externally observed biometrics and psychometrics. However, I am focusing on myself and friends for a while.

Also I know exactly what sort of my boundaries have been crossed and how I have been abused and exploited so I have very fun designs and architectures in mind for you all ^^.

Major paradigm shift, Olistole loses connection and control with all non-essential technology gets mopey and depressed (emotional states are unheard of in kepler, partly due to some metabolism (feeks hungry and thirsty for the first time), mood and enhancing tech being disabled/dismantled/repurposed and after a bit goes into hiding/becomes homeless. Antagonist dies unexpectedly before Olistole recovers (headaches, describtions of awareness of awareness, and qualia being described (shoe horn in person only reading about everything described as red and eventually sees red and chinese room experiment)., Some cataclysm back at the small island and Olistole finds out a few bit later by chance while in a depressed slump from someone. Method for dealing with overwhelming complexity is to create hardcore redundancies/loci for future mental reconstruction and enact procedures to do a working memory wipe/partial conscious awareness reset by numbing down stimulation and response to stimuli long enough for daydreaming to occur to ensure proper processing and mental defragmentation*``

``Major paradigm shift, Olistole loses connection and control with all non-essential technology gets mopey and depressed

Antagonist dies unexpectedly before Olistole recovers (headaches, describtions of awareness of awareness, and qualia being described (shoe horn in person only reading about everything described as red and eventually sees red and chinese room experiment)

Method for dealing with overwhelming complexity is to create hardcore redundancies/loci for future mental reconstruction and enact procedures to do a working memory wipe/partial conscious awareness reset by numbing down stimulation and response to stimuli long enough for daydreaming to occur to ensure proper processing and mental defragmentation*``

See? Precognitive faculties

I mean if that isn't enough bullshit

When writing the Fourth book I need to emphasize the fact that Stephen Milton developed the Ubermeme that would give rise to X and infected the cybersocial global network of communication and control with it but either due to EUGENE, IO, or naturally occurring depressive phases, Stephen spends a lot of time being unaware of what he has done but starts to notice strange coincidences in his day to day life, however these phenomena are so vague and prone to different interpretations (as well as Stephen has been manic and is aware of the extent and how convincing his psychotic delusions can be) so he is very reluctant to put much weight into believing that what he did had any impact on existence and PMC reality and he has been burnt by falsely associating pre-existing external cognitive structures as coming from his mind so he really doesn’t like to think about what he might have done. But at the same time Stephen is aware that entitles like x must already exist with a sense of almost mathematical and logical certainty so he tries to actively keep coming back to working on developing Ubermemes and cognitive technologies to try to facilitate the development of personal engineering so he can be a pioneer in the upcoming age rapid cultural and technological change and development. The human brain has be releatively unchanged for millennia and the major change in humans functionality is cultural uptake and utilization so Stephen considers developing his own cognitive and exocogntive techniques and technologies to be the optimal way to prepare for the future and to cement his fate as one of the top 0.1% of humanity. Unfortunately there is already a top 0.1% of humanity that controls the dissemination of resources similar to what Stephen is trying to develop on his own. It is not as though that these resources are out of reach but utilizing them requires stepping of the more homonormative path and establish a very strong personality and willingness to become an polymath autodidact and forgo traditional modern media and focus instead on scientific institutions and non-fiction to a much higher level.

BTW, the fourth book? R4

Monism is Evil

If one considers the physical laws of the universe and by analogy how hydrogen arose from the universe after its opaque stage after the initial singularity then by postulating an adductive hypothesis, one could consider that the process “human” evolution started as soon as time began to flow in one direction and the future of conscious existence will most likely depend on memetic and biomedical developments in our time. Taking the liberty of saying this hypothesis as sound and valid then it would follow that every thought or cognitive process that occurs in an individual either consciously or unconsciously has/is a corresponding change in the real physical objective universe and by extension effects the physical world to some degree. This assumes that abstract objective and subjective reality has a physical correlation.

The developing embryology of human closely follows the evolutionary lineage of our ancestors. It could be possible that the development of an individual’s consciousness follows a similar process. Every conscious human individuals self-awareness arises from a brain that which in turn arises from one cell which is quite complex but not as complex as a functioning developed adult brain, the zygote which can be considered a null entity. Assuming dualism not to be true then every event, thought and conscious process as to some degree a comparative process in the physical world. This means that the sum of an individuals total conscious experience would be, in a reasonably deterministic universe, in a sense all events could be temporally traced back to a singularities or similar base events (not necessary uncomplicated). 

It is logical then that units derived from genetic, memetic, and metabolomic “events” that can replicate, spread, and mutate can be traced back to a single point resembling (via perspective theory) a multifaceted dimensional “Feynman diagram” of which the totality of the resulted extended phenotype is excreted into space time and external/internal objective/subjective/abstract realities restricted by the expanding “light cone” of causality.

Experiment 0023 TSeCIV

Simulation of the development and use of TSECpm in civilizations, systems, locations, and/or MR emulations

This requires collaboration between individuals whose understanding of topics that I never really paid attention to or took interest in. 

 This experiment can be either be done through the lens of https://www.tumblr.com/paromle/713186305955299328/experiment-0014-mind-canon-fiction-historic?source=share

With perspective theory allowing for fictional phenomena to be reconciled and mapped to cyberphysical reality or can be done purely empirically via STEM, linguistic, and history based methods

Current ISR, mass data and bio-metric technologies also including spectrum analysis could falsify any hypothesis that this adductive theory generates. On could potentially see the expression of culture as a sort of extracellular matrix in which human creates/secrete physical and cultural structures in the real world as result of physical, technological, or biological processes. This is known as an extended phenotype

Zarathrusting

Experiment proposed to study the predicted empirical effects the Ubermench as Nietzsche saw it would have on society

Reverse engineer a prototype that would cause the same effects in society as predicted by Nietzsche

After a bit of thought the logical next step would be create “Prototype Ubermensch” in a form of a memeplex as described by Richard Dawkins

Using operative psychology and social engineering to inoculate society with meme and give the meme a decent start

The memeplexes behavior’s, spread and fitness can be tracked in real time via the internet and analyzed with any x-omic discipline. Obviously the memes in the memeplex have much higher fitness if they are “inherited together” 

if no empirical society effects described by Nietzsche are observed in the follow up with usual scientific process"

The consequences of a single typo rippled out to affect the world like an exponentially increasing chain reaction. The disruption of the fundamental skewed normative perceptions to the extent of people experience their consciousness being ground against harsh geometric realities. The spread of the memetic virus resulted in the military ultimately making decisions in a zero-sum environment. There was no moral law and what resulted was utilitarian madness. The advent of inductive physiological manipulation allowed organ systems affected by this tragedy to undergo prime resurgence.

`I am taking any internal conflict I experience or create as information and axioms to feed through personal engineering systems to further development, I even to some extent seek out conflict one example is via OMA7 or my own innate reactions to other peoples, situations or ideas which are judgmental (In both realities, nonfiction, and fiction) and turning them on myself.

`GOODWILL this is a form of inoculation or pre-emptive threat detection and response, and I think with some refinement and develop this concept can be expanded to mitigate and create feedback process that will serve as system wide checks to prevent MAD situations between cybernetic entities or promote co-operation and co evolution in man machine symbiosis systems, but it could be considered a new mental illness to some extent.

`This mental experiment takes advantage of the reciprocal nature of JMC. JMC entails recording the results of implement behaviours, experiences, and substances. Effectively acting like a form of natural selection albeit at a faster rate. I can implement slight variations on how I do each time slot and what activities I do during each time slot. This can also go deeper and look at CSP subroutines and thought patterns throughout the day.

Light show for the blind ^^

Did you even read the fucking tutorial

[petitmonde]

In honor of mermay, I'm interested in your thoughts on mermaids venora - whichever interpretation of mermaids you wish ✨️

I've mulled it over for a bit, so apologies if you aren't still in a Venora mood. I talked with @momsthetic about mermaids learning to walk on their new legs and how gender might differ for merfolk. Under a read more as it got kinda long.

Aurora is a mermaid from the North Pacific Ocean. They live in a pod of 50, so it's really rather small. Many pods are in the hundreds, roaming through the oceans for food.

Their kind isn't opposed to eating humans, but it's largely considered overrated. It's too much work for little reward with this many hungry mouths to feed, and the ocean provides plenty. Some other species of mermaids have differing opinions on the topic.

Aurora is singled out as a potential new monarch of the pod, and like everyone before them, must go on land to learn about the strange two legged creatures that have always posed the biggest threat to their kind. Unfortunately, it means they have to do it alone, or else it'd be too easy to rely on the one accompanying them.

A little mermagic, and Aurora has two legs. Two legs they have no clue on how to use, and attempting to stand goes horribly.

The merfolk have a solution though. Aurora is enrolled in a rehab facility, given some basic clothes and told to go listen to the humans to learn how to walk. The wheelchair they're helped into is uncomfortable, but it's a way to get around without help.

This is also when Aurora learns that humans have a whole set of rules, seemingly, on what gender is. They don't understand what it means when they refer to them as a woman. It's simply not a concept in their pod in the way humans understand it. Mermaids are able to adapt to what's needed for the pod, yet humans seem to be rigid in their structure.

It's in this rehab centre they meet Venus, a below the knee amputee recovering from a car accident. Her arm is in a sling as well, which makes it harder for Venus to use the cruches that are tucked away on the back of her wheelchair. They're in a similar boat, Aurora thinks, even if Venus has prior experience walking. They can't walk on two legs, so how could a human possibly learn how to do it on one.

I'm not educated enough on Venus's identity as two spirit yet, so for now I'll leave it at that it's part of her identity in this AU.

I think there's a whole lot one can go into exactly with how learning how to walk will go and the prospect of Venus leaving a lot sooner from the facility than Aurora is. Aurora doesn't have a phone to keep in contact with, so Venus will have to visit them to keep the connection they made.

[sad-sad-detective]

All Wrong

Without Aether, everything during the tour goes wrong. But Dewdrop has his packmates by his side.

Or, Dew hurts his knee on stage but Rain and Phantom are here to help.

Please, keep in mind that I hc Dew and Rain as siblings.

Also, English isn't my native language.

Words: 1,437

Tags: non-human ghouls, slice of life, injury, healing, hurt/comfort, implied Aether/Dewdrop

Read on AO3 or below the cut.

From the beginning of this tour, everything went wrong.

Everything fell apart, his effects pedals broke, his monitor burned out, and even the concert guitar, as if sensing its owner's mood, kept trying to cut his fingers with the strings or shut up in the middle of a solo. Normally Dew took setbacks in stride, but this time his patience was wearing thin. The guitar picks melted in his hands, and one of the broken pedals caught fire "by accident" - he blamed it on a malfunction of the pyrotechnics, but Papa still looked at him with a suspicious eye.

But what happened later was the final straw.

He didn't know how it happened: during "Year Zero" his boot slipped on the stage floor and Dew fell on his knee. He felt the impact - and everything went black for a moment. He managed to hide a scream in an expressive gesture. 

As he tried to get up, his knee crunched, sending another shoot of pain. The pyrotechnics on stage worked well: in the darkness that followed, Dew managed to finally get up without embarrassing himself.

Dew had fallen on stage before, but Aether and Rain had been there to make the fall part of the show. Once he had broken his horn during a ritual and Aether had to reattach it. Photos of his shredded hand and bloodied guitar from the last tour were still circulating on social media. But today's incident finally got him.

Of course, Dew completed the ritual. Gritting his teeth behind his mask and carefully ignoring the throbbing pain in his knee, he played his parts, both in the songs and in the show. All this time Rain was giving him strange looks, and during the final bow Aurora took his hand too gently, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb, but Dew pretended to be fine until he reached his hotel room and collapsed on the bed.

He healed quickly. Some painkillers to help him sleep, and he'd be fine in the morning. He'd be back to normal before the next ritual. If Aether had been here, he could have...

But Aether wasn't here. Dew took a deep breath and buried his face in the pillow. Five minutes. Five minutes to recover, and then he'd crawl to find painkillers in his travel bag. Aether had insisted that each of them took a personal first-aid kit with them, and had even packed the necessary medications himself.

Without him, everything on the tour was going downhill. That's why Dew's picks melted and his monitors burned; a part of his soul - if ghouls have souls, of course - stayed in Lincopia. A very important part, without which everything seemed wrong and meaningless. No matter how many postcards he sent, no matter how many late-night hours he spent on video calls, it still didn't come back. It only drew him home more.

Someone knocked on the door. Two short taps, then another and two more short taps - someone from his pack.

“I'm not here, I'm dead!” Dew growled. He did not want to get up. His knee responded to every movement with another flash of pain.

“Then we'll have to break down the door to get the body!” Rain's voice came from behind the door. “Papa will be mad!”

“At me or at having to pay for the door?”

His little brother laughed, but when he spoke again, his voice sounded serious, “I brought you some medicine. I can ask the receptionist for a spare key if you... if it hurts to walk.”

“Slip it under the door, I'll get it later," Dew sighed. There was a murmur of voices outside the door. Rain wasn't there alone.

For a moment, Dew felt a sense of déjà vu: here he was in his hotel room, holding a broken horn and wondering how he was going to explain it to Copia, and here were Aether and Cumulus knocking on his door with French fries and a solution.

“It won't fit," Rain said. Dew rolled onto his back and pressed his palms to his face.

“Give me a minute.”

He was so tired, he did not put his mask on. Of course, Papa would have been displeased if he'd known that Dew had been out in the hotel corridor with his face uncovered - what if laymen saw him? - but right now, Dew couldn’t find any fucks to give. Leaning against the wall, Dew waddled to the door and turned the knob, letting Rain into the room.

Dew didn't need to see his brother's face to know that he was worried. It was in the line of his shoulders, in the nervous fidgeting of his fingers. If Rain had a tail in human form, it would have whipped the air.

Rain slipped into the room and immediately offered his shoulder to Dew for support. Another short, slender figure, smelling of moss and sea salt, came through the open door. Phantom.

“What's he doing here?” Dew wondered. It sounded rude, but Phantom didn't seem offended.

“I'm the medicine," he explained with a smile.

Phantom was a strange creature, all sharp-toothed grins and water-viper grace, and his smell was different, not like other quintessence ghouls. His attempts to mimic the behavior of his packmates sometimes was unsettling. However, knowing the circumstances under which he had appeared in Lincopia, Papa's ghouls tried to ignore it as much as possible. Aether even took him under his wing and volunteered to teach him everything from using the Quintessence to playing the guitar.

Dew looked at him in disbelief. Phantom smiled even wider and nodded.

“I'll help you."

The two of them dragged Dew back to the bed. Dew grunted softly, more out of habit than anything else.

“You two should be resting, not fussing over me," he leaned back on the pillow and stretched out his sore leg. “We have to get up early tomorrow.”

“We always have to get up early," Rain settled down beside him. Phantom perched on the edge of the mattress. They both took off their masks, and without them, their glamor disappeared; Rain's tail immediately curled around Dew's healthy leg and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Phantom's thin but strong fingers felt the sore knee gently through the fabric of his sweatpants.

“Sprained and bruised, some bad luck you have," Phantom shook his head sympathetically. “It won't heal overnight... But," he beamed, "I can help with that!”

“You should have asked Phantom to fix you right away," Rain reproached. Dew flattened his ears.

“It would take a long time," he muttered. “I didn't want to keep everyone waiting”.

“Not long," Phantom said, and Rain rolled his eyes.

“You could tell Papa, and he'd give another speech to the crowd. You know how much he likes it," the flat tip of Rain’s tail slapped Dew's thigh. “It'd be just enough time to get you in shape.”

“Now my little brother's lecturing me," Dew grumbled, receiving another hard slap.

“Someone has to look after you.”

“If you return limping to the Abbey, Aether will eat us alive," Phantom added.

Dew sighed. That was certainly a good point.

“Okay," he flicked his tail. “Patch me up, Doc.”

It seemed impossible to smile any wider, but Phantom managed it. His teeth were white and needle-sharp. Dew tensed involuntarily; Rain froze beside him, his tail curling tighter around Dew's leg. Phantom's ears flattened in embarrassment.

“Sorry. Can you... uh... take your pants off?

Dew raised his eyebrow.

“Sorry, but I'm already taken. Besides, Rain's here”.

Rain elbowed his side.

“Direct contact is more effective," Phantom explained, not the least bit embarrassed. “But we can try it anyway”.

He twisted his wrists, clenched and unclenched his fingers, stretched, and then gently touched Dew's knee.

Phantom's magic was strange too. Even through the fabric of his sweatpants, his touch made Dew’s skin prickle, like hundreds of tiny bubbles bursting at once. It felt like putting your hand in a sea wave and feeling the foam settling on your skin.

But Aether had trained him well: it took Phantom only a few seconds to subside the throbbing pain. Dew couldn't hold back a long sigh of relief. Rain chuckled softly and patted his shoulder.

“There you go!” Phantom straightened up with a proud smile. “Now try to bend and straighten your leg, okay?”

Gingerly, Dew obeyed. The swelling was completely gone, and he didn’t feel any pain when he bent his leg and straightened it again. He smiled and gave Phantom a thumbs up.

“Aether has trained you well," he said honestly, getting another toothy grin in return.