#all three of the trio learn this in their own way. it takes some longer than others.

[dailyeca]

"Do you still want to wear your hoodie? The sun will be out for a long time now." or "thank you for helping me take this off :>!!"

[thebomb-thebird-andtheburntbitch]

Mosaic

kaeya/gn!reader

genre: hurt/comfort, teensy angst, fluff

warning(s)!!!: hydro-vision/polearm-user reader (bc i said so), kaeya word vomits all over the place, kaeya also becomes self-aware of feelings and Dislikes that, kaeya also makes some poor choices in leu of those feelings, all is well in the end tho! he learns (and cries) (tayls is pushing the pathetic crybaby kaeya agenda and cannot be stopped)

w.count: 8.7k

synopsis: kaeya is none the wiser to the people around him and what it is they think about him- he didn't get his title of 'top candidate for grandson in law' for nothing. however, he never thought he'd get so swept up in his own feelings that when he does, he decides he has to put a stop to them no matter the cost. but can he really follow through with that?

a/n: i love when tumblr nerfs my banner quality but it's whatever. have some kaeya nonsense (fr take this away from me)

“A mosaic.” 

That was your answer to a question Paimon and the Traveler asks while you were meandering around the Favonius Library looking for a book you needed for some personal research. They had run into you there and a conversation about what some citizens of the City of Freedom embody had sprung up somehow. For example, Paimon was very set on saying that Master Diluc was a rock- set in his ways and tough to budge- and so on from there.  The ideas and objects tossed around were anywhere between insightful and downright silly. 

So, it was inevitable that eventually the trio would cycle around to the Knights. Jean was dubbed a Dandelion according to the Traveler and Lisa was crowned as an elegant bookmark that was so sharp it would cause terrible papercuts. Of course, Lisa’s object was picked ever so gracefully by Paimon even if it didn’t make much sense she was set on her answer, and nothing would change her mind. Then, when the personification of one Kaeya Alberich came around, admittingly the two Outlanders were stumped.  

Kaeya would always peruse around with such an air of mystery. Keeping important aspects of himself tucked so far away that very few people knew of his secrets- and they were tight lipped for their own reasons.  His smooth tongue aided him greatly whenever someone would ask about himself personally- spinning tales and weaving verses that got him out of any sort of personal interrogation. 

The trio knew if they asked Diluc, he’d give a short and possibly crude answer.  Jean would probably give him some illusion of not being sorted into such games and Lisa would just think you three were adorable and not give her two cents at all. You, however, thought on it for a bit longer and finally had an answer. 

“A mosaic?” Paimon mimicked, making sure her voice was kept down in the sanctuary of books. “Like the artwork?” 

“He is good looking,” Traveler pitched and it was true. Even people with aged or poor working eyes could see Kaeya was far from being an ugly man. 

“I don't see how him being a little ‘good looking’ is deserving of the title of being a piece art!” You chuckle at Paimon’s small fit of confusion. 

“Well, ignoring his looks, a mosaic is a piece of work that is made of small pieces right? It isn’t whole until it’s all put together. Just like a puzzle.” 

“So, he’s a glorified puzzle?” 

“That isn’t what I meant,” you shake your head in a small chuckle. You take a small trip to another corner of the library and run your fingers along the spines of different books before you grab one and easily slide it out of its spot on the shelf.

It’s a book on different types of art. Flipping the pages you find a page with a drawn on copy of a mosaic from another country. You lay it down on a nearby table and tap the drawing with your fingertip. 

“What I meant was the process of becoming a mosaic- how it’s created.” you trace the empty spaces of white on the page where the piece of the drawn on piece were supposed to connect to create a bigger piece. “Various pieces of work all put together to make one big picture. A series of events leading to a grand conclusion of hardwork and patience. Maybe it took a lot of time and work. Sometimes creating such a piece was so frustrating at times you wanted to give up, or maybe sometimes nothing looked right. But, by the end of it all- it couldn’t be anything but a wonderful representation of all those struggles.” 

Paimon floated in awe at your explanation and the Travelers playfully placed their hands on their hips as they looked at you. 

“You sure think highly of Kaeya, don’t you?” 

“It’s that noticeable, huh?” You chuckle a tad embarrassed. Your long-standing puppy-crush on Kaeya you’ve had since you met him wasn’t always the best hidden secret. In fact, you were almost positive that the Cavalry Captain himself knew you had a thing for him, but you were happy he never cornered you about it. 

“You’re a love-struck citizen alright,” Paimon rushed to the Traveler’s side in making slight jests at you. You shut the book you had used to try and explain your choice of object and rubbed the back of your neck as you ignore the warmth in your face. 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” You turn on your heel and walk back to the shelf to replace the book. Paimon had cupped a small hand around her chin before she was floating over to your side and asking you another question. 

“So, if Kaeya is a mosaic, then who’s his artist?” You look at her and blink a few times, processing what she was asking. You didn’t expect a question like that.  You cup your own chin in thought and after a moment, you laugh at being caught off guard.  

“I hadn’t thought of that.  I guess maybe Mondstadt itself? It is where all his friends and family are after all. Oh, and his job of course.” 

“That makes sense,” Paimon muses, seemingly satisfied with your answer. The conversation had moved from the shelves to the open space of the library and soon out the doors. As the three of you left, the topic of objects to people shifted to one of getting some food into Paimon’s ever empty stomach. 

The book you had previously replaced back on the shelf was easily slid back out by a hand adorning open finger gloves. Taking a relaxed seat at a nearby table, he flipped to the very page you had been on before and looked at the image himself with a small huff that twisted into a quirk of his lips. 

“How interesting,” he muses before reading the whole installment about that specific piece of art. After all, how could he not? 

The next morning was quick to roll around. After a hearty meal at the Good Hunter and pleasant good nights exchanged with the Traveler and Paimon, you were more than ready to head back home to rest. After a swift debrief on the commissions set aside for you today, you move out of the way and off to the side so you could flip through the four pages of individual commission information. 

A typical site clearing of hilicurls, a balloon transport, and two other sites said to be infested with abyss mages and mitacurls. Taking a deep breath and letting it out in the form of a heavy sigh, you roll your neck and shoulders. It looked to be a very physical day, considering the commissions alone were already enough, they were hardly close in range to each other.  

“My, what does this sunny morning lack that is making your shoulder’s slack so much,” the familiar voice of the ever lingering person on your mind spoke. Lowering your commissions and offering him a greeting smile, you watch as Kaeya marches his way down the stone steps of Mondstadt to you. 

“The weather has nothing to do with it, I'll have you know.” When he finally gets to your sides, he silently offers his hand out for your daily commission sheets. You hand them over and resume your small effort of stretching. His eyes quickly scan sheet after sheet before he’s clicking his teeth and shaking his head.  

“Having your run all the way to Stormbearer, to Windrise, down to Springvale and then back up to Wolvendom is just cruel.” The way his voice has that familiar lithe to it, you knew he only half meant what he said. 

“Maybe I’ll get lucky and run into the Traveler who can do me a favor by hitching me a ride on a Waypoint.” You quickly take your commissions back and fold them down twice before storing them away in your pack. Watching the sun’s orange morning hue fade into its daylight yellow was tell enough that you had to get moving or else you’d be rushing to get your work done. Kaeya walked you to the city gate and even across the bridge before you were ready to set off.  

This is practically routine. You weren’t sure when it started, but at some point, Kaeya had started meeting you at the Adventurer’s Guild after receiving your daily commissions and would insist on escorting you out of the city. He claimed it was on the way of his morning walk to stretch his legs, but you weren’t sure how much you believed him. You allowed him to do it anyway since it always set up a good start to your day. 

Getting a small amount of Kaeya’s time was something you would relish since you never wanted to impede on his busy schedule with the Knights. It was the small selfish part of you that wanted to capitalize on this so-called ‘alone’ time that lasted only a small piece of the day. 

“Be careful,” Kaeya always tell you and you always nod back to him a simple ‘I will’ before he would watch you disappear down the worn, dirt paths. Your first destination would be Stormbearer Mountain it appears. 

Most of Kaeya’s morning consisted of going over documents shoved on him courtesy of his position as one of the ten Captains within the knight’s ranks.  With sighs echoing in his private workspace every few minutes and multiple tempting ideas of sneaking out without even processing the paperwork, he finally finished and approved the last document before placing it in a file on his desk that Jean would surely come and snag from him later. 

Leaning back in his chair that would soon need the cushions replaced, he craned his neck to gaze out the tall window in his office.  The sun was much higher in the sky than it was when he had arrived earlier that morning.  His thoughts easily drifted to you and a frown found its way onto his lips. 

“Are you doing alright?” Kaeya delicately asked to the air of solitude around him.  You were more than capable to handle yourself.  In truth, if you weren’t already associated with the Guild and kept so busy by them, Jean probably would’ve scouted you for the Knights instead.  ‘Your skills are impressive, and the others could learn a lot from you’, that’s probably what Jean’s pitch would be. All true of course, sometimes the job of trying to train the lower ranking knights was more of a chore than a duty, once Kaeya would often get stuck with.

He'd be more than happy to spar with you instead any day.  

Steering his gaze away from the window and moving it towards the ceiling, he traced the wooden beams above him with his single visible eye. He sighed again- this time not because of his now finished paperwork. 

“Surely, they’d be in Windrise by now… right?” His fingers drummed against the arm of his chair before he was bringing his chin back down to lock onto his office door.  His paperwork was done, so maybe…

Two knocks rapped against the thick door and Kaeya’s posture straightened out of habit. A muffled ‘Captain?’ heard behind it.  He let his head sink as a small, defeated breath left his open mouth before correcting himself again. 

“You can come in,” he answered.  Guess his plans to sneak away were once again foiled. 

By the time Kaeya made it out of HQ it was already late into the afternoon.  Stretching after stepping foot out of the large entrance, he stepped down the short set of stone steps before making his way towards the front of the city.  You must be back now, or close to the city at the very least.  It had been almost the whole day, if you weren’t back yet he’d simply go on an unprompted adventure to ‘bump into you’. Luckily, there you were; standing in front of the Guild and talking to Katheryne once again. Although, the look of you was less than encouraging. 

While you yourself seemed more or less fine, just from the distance between the top set of steps by Good Hunter to you at the Adventurer's Guild Reception, he could tell your commissions had worn you out today. It was no wonder considering the distance between them. Your clothes had clearly been fixed prior to you reentering the city since the dirt and stains on them were a clear indicator that you had your fair share of roughing up. 

Kaeya can, and did mostly, dismiss this all, however.  It was the serious look on Katheryne’s face and the way yours didn't show relief after a hard day's work like it normally would be. He started making his way towards you and started catching bits of the conversion you both were having. 

“I deeply apologize, y/n, but it’s an Emergency Commission we just received.” The way Katheryne’s voice was coated in tension made Kaeya’s pace harden. When he had arrived at your side, his hand came up to rest on your back without his notice as he looked at the way you held your head in your hand like you were preventing an oncoming headache. 

“What’s the problem?” Kaeya made it a point to look at you- directing the question at you and not Katheryne. Your hand dropped and you sighed with a shake of your head before looking at him. 

“It’s nothing, just a last-minute Commission.”

“What? You just got back from your commissions, didn’t you?” 

“It’s an Emergency. I can’t just brush it off.” 

“Make someone else take it then.” 

“No one else is available.” 

“y/n.” 

“Kaeya.” 

The small verbal battle you both engaged in was empty and Kaeya knew he was playing a losing game. He let out a sigh before he finally turned to look at Katheryne who must have all the patience in the world for standing by and letting you both bicker until she was needed for something. 

“What is the commission exactly?” 

“Apparently, a Ruin Guard has been spotted near Springvale after a passing Adventurer accidentally triggered its detection sensors. The nearby residents are frightened it could march into someone’s territory and wreak havoc there.” 

Kaeya pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand- the other still mindlessly resting on your back- as he sighed.  This is indeed something that couldn’t be pushed off for someone else to take. When it comes to those old machines, who knows what could happen if they aren’t swiftly deactivated. The Captain was at an impasse; letting you go after already being exhausted from running around all day or tying you to one of the Guild’s posts and keeping you there until someone else passed by that Katheryne could snag instead. 

“Fine,” Kaeya relented.  His hand finally dropped from your back and crossed with his other arm over his chest. “I shall accompany you then.” He saw you open your mouth- probably to protest- but he didn’t let you. “Ah-ah,” he tutted at you, “no arguments. Let’s get moving.” He uncrosses his arms to grab your shoulders, spin you around and lightly push you to get your legs moving. 

Luckily, Kaeya’s vision was extra compatible with your own. While your fight styles were different, the fact you had a hydro vision was very much a blessing. It was quiet easy work taking down a Ruin Guard that had been drenched in water then subsequently frozen. After picking up a few dropped items from the timeless machine, Kaeya had stood up and placed his hands on his hips as if proud of himself. 

“Aren’t you happy I decided to tag along now? We made quick work of that Ruin Guard.” 

You can only roll your eyes at the smoothtalker.  Still, you quietly laugh at his antics all the same. Finally calling it a day in the middle of the field you had previously battled in with him, you lay down on the grass.  You were already covered in sweat, dirt and other stains from your earlier commissions, so getting a little more on your clothes wasn’t a concern. You shut your eyes and took in the breeze you silently thanked Lord Barbatos for as you took in a deep breath, letting yourself decompress. 

Kaeya stood over you, moving so his boots were on either side of your head and he was looking down at your relaxing face.  With your eyes closed, you didn’t get to see the smile that was only ever present when you weren’t looking.  The moment your eyes would open, you would only see his normal everyday grin. And open your eye did and oh how lovely they were. The evening glow did wonders for their color. 

Evening. Yes, it is getting rather late now. 

“Are you ready to head back now?” He asked and you nod. Sitting up, Kaeya offers to carry you back to the city on his back- which you decline. That didn’t stop the fact that you reentered Mondstadt securely resting on Kaeya’s back as he held you up with a slight bend to his posture and firm grip on your legs. 

This routine would continue for as long as Kaeya’s luck would allow.  He’d be the first to see you in the mornings before being the one to walk you out of the city and if he was lucky, he’d be the first to greet you back (not including Katheryn). 

If Kaeya was lucky he would greet you back into the city and spend more time at your side.  Reporting in with you to the Guild. Running a few errands like stopping by to purchase things from Blanche or getting your polearm enhanced or repaired at the smith. 

If Kaeya was lucky, he would persuade you into getting dinner with him or dropping by the Cat’s Tail for some casual TCG matches when he was off duty. 

If Kaeya was lucky, the conversation between you both would be flowing well enough that even if there was nothing left to do, he’d be privileged enough to walk you home or come inside to continue occupying your time until you fall asleep or push him out the door saying that he had to get up for work in the morning. 

Today was not Kaeya’s lucky day.  When he got up this morning, his routine to finding you was practically ingrained in his muscles and when he didn’t see you at the stone steps, city gates or the Guild’s reception, confusion crossed his brows.  He casually took a seat on one of the nearby outside stools by the Cat’s Tail and waited until the time to clock in at HQ was growing closer.  With hesitation, he got up and looked around for you once more just to see if maybe he could at least catch a glimpse of you rushing around to get a (rather late) start to the day. 

He was antsy all day and he was astonished to find out that throwing a wrench in his morning threw off his day so much. Kaeya knew that seeing you first thing in the morning was quite a lovely way to start his day, but he didn’t know the extent in which it could affect the rest of it.  Not exchanging a good morning with you or even saying his usual ‘be safe’ message at the edge of Mondstadt nagged at him.  

Currently, he was sitting in a remote corner of the Favonious library, legs crossed as his rear was sat towards the front of the seat to make up for the fact his back was bent over the back of it.  He rests a flimsy, paperback book over his face, the pages scent of old paper and ink invaded his nose and the feeling of them rubbed against his cheeks. One of his hands held it open with his thumb and pinky and the other arm was hanging uselessly at his side, his wrist bouncing against his vision from time to time just for something to interact with. 

Underneath the book, his eye was closed.  He had tried reading the passages in this particular book at least four times now, but the words just weren’t registering in his mind, so he had given up. He was left listless; certain he could easily fall asleep in this very position at any given time. Of course, it wasn’t often that Captain Kaeya would get much quiet time to himself anyways. 

“Uh, what are you doing?” The voice of Paimon made Kaeya’s eye open under the book before he was pulling it down his face enough to only reveal that one eye.  Seeing Paimon floating at the Traveler’s side made him slip the book off his face completely and shut it before setting it on the table in front of him. His posture was corrected as he sat up straighter and rolled his neck. 

“Couldn't you tell? I was reading.” 

“Paimon think’s you were slacking off.” 

“Is that what it looked like?” He jokes as he pushes his chair back and stands up properly before placing one of his hands on his hips. “I would never be caught slacking off, you wound me.” 

“We’ve heard that before,” Paimon sighs with a shake of her head.  In the moment, Kaeya is reminded of the conversation he overheard before between you and the other two. The same time of day, the same location, the same two participants of that conversation. 

“Say,” he says to gain both of their attention, “what do you think it is?” Kaeya’s exceptionally broad and unprecedented question left the two Outlanders confused. The way the Captain could almost see materialized question marks float around their heads was comical before he elaborated. “I’m asking about my artist, of course. Surely you must have your own idea, no?” 

Both Traveler and Paimon’s mouth opened in shock.  

“You were listening?!” Paimon shrieks before she is shushed by other people in the library for her volume. 

“It’s rude to eavesdrop, Kaeya,” Traveler tells him as they cross their arms over their chest.  Kaeya fakes a gasp before shaking his head and shrugging with his arms up. 

“Eavesdropping? Why, I’d never.” He dropped his arms back to his sides. “I was simply in the area and didn’t want to interrupt such a compelling conversation topic. That would’ve been quite rude of me, wouldn’t you agree?” The looks he received were easily brushed off. “Anyway, you didn’t answer my question.” 

“Well,” Paimon started, “didn’t y/n say it would be Mondstadt?” 

“And? Do you agree with them?” 

“Paimon doesn’t see a reason why not,” she shrugs in the air. 

“I see,” Kaeya’s arm crosses over his chest before he’s resting his opposite elbow on it to cup his chin. His gaze shifts downward before he's blinking slowly, meaningfully. “I suppose I could give you half marks.” 

“Half marks?!” Paimon whispers. 

“What about ‘the people of Mondstadt?’” The Traveler interjects.  Kaeya’s eye shoots back to them and his hand drops from his chin to resume a casual stance. 

“That assumption is largely correct as well.” The smile he gives the two gives nothing away. It wasn’t clear if he was sincere about what he said or if he was just saying it to hear himself talk. “A mosaic is usually a large piece, yes? It would make sense for there to be multiple people taking part in such a project at some point I suppose.” 

“You suppose? You’re just running us in circles here!” 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Kaeya deflects with a lighthearted tone and short laugh. 

“Fine! We get it!” Paimon huffs before the conversation devolves into little to nothing until he is parting ways with the two, leaving the library and ready to end the day that seemed to have lasted longer than usual. Despite having a rather lax day, he felt lethargic. 

Yet, despite his lethargy, when he finally made it out of his day clothes and into his bed, all he could do was lay on top of his covers and stare at the ceiling. His eyepatch had been removed- just as always when he was in the confines of his home- and his long bangs covered the eye that was always so accustomed to the darkness.  One of his legs was propped up on the mattress with the other stretched out and his arms were folded behind his head. 

His mind was curious about a number of things all the time- so his racing thoughts weren’t unknown to him. Still, the nagging feeling in the back of his mind didn’t let up. Was not seeing you at all really that much of a clog in his daily life? It made him feel so off-set and that alone was enough to plant a seed of anxiety in his chest. 

Kaeya sighs to himself and his ceiling before rolling to his side and letting his bangs slip across his face and reveal his always concealed eye between the blue strands. He closes his eyes and wills his mind to stop dwelling on menial things. 

Heart and mind are difficult things to cooperate with one another though. 

Kaeya Alberich couldn’t risk getting mixed up in too many personal things- it made his future even more murky and daunting than it already was.  

After that one day of missing seeing you out before your commission, Kaeya tried to do it less on purpose. Maybe that was a message from the gods themselves that he needed to take a step back. If your very presence could affect his day to day life like it had, he needed to back off for his sake and yours. And while he didn’t see you off, he still would welcome you back any chance he saw you return to the city with a raised hand he would immediately tuck away again. 

“I didn’t do anything to make you upset, did I?” Of course, you had noticed his sudden shift in nature. 

“Of course not,” he tells you as sincerely as he could. His smile was strained on his lips and his nose felt like twitching from the sheer effort it took just to pull them up. From the unamused look you gave him at his answer, he knew you knew he wasn’t being completely truthful. Still, you just looked away from him and sighed. Kaeya was grateful you didn’t push the issue because a part of him was sure if you had, he would’ve spilled his guts about things he wasn’t sure of himself just yet. 

The process of slowly taking steps away from you wasn’t pleasant for either party. Kaeya’s days had devolved into nothing but more boring paperwork and patrols he could do with his eye closed, and that would mean seeing nothing at all. The dull lag of the daytime was boring to him with nothing to do between his job and downtime he suddenly had. The Angels Share's atmosphere was a welcome comfort to his new, unpleasant routine- though, he could do without the looks from Diluc.

Meanwhile, you had felt the sting of dejection in your chest. You had come to the assumption that maybe Kaeya had finally taken action on your unspoken feelings for him and was politely telling you to take a hike. It was logical to you; a common everyday Adventurer probably couldn’t make it work out with one of the Knights’ Captains. His previous time spent with you was probably just a hindrance, a distraction from his real work, so this was good. He could focus on what was important, protecting Mondstadt. 

Though, that mental pep talk didn’t make it hurt any less. 

Just like Kaeya, you decided to bury yourself in your work. Taking commissions on top of any other field requests. Clearing hilicurl camps wasn’t something difficult and while the occasional Abyss Mage was a pain, it was all manageable. So, when your back to back jobs kept you out of the city for days at a time, that slowly became the norm for the citizens of Mondstadt. 

It was only natural for no one to notice. 

“Has it really been that long?!” Kaeya had been passing through the central square of Mondstadt when he heard the familiar shrill of Paimon. His interest took little to be piqued and he easily strut his way over. “And no one has tried looking for them yet?” Paimon and the Traveler were stuck in a conversation with Katheryne as is the norm for them nowadays when their travels bring them back to the City of Freedom. “Oohhh,” Paimon worries, “Paimon’s worried.” 

“What’s the problem,” Kaeya interjects into the conversation. All eyes shift to him, his easy strides coming to a stop when he fully joins the group with his arms crossing over his chest. “My, what’s with all the long faces?” 

“Kaeya!” Paimon screeches. “Oh, maybe you’ll know! Have you seen y/n around?” Kaeya’s chest tightens. 

“Y/n? I’m afraid we’ve both been too wrapped up in our own duties recently. Sorry to disappoint.” The slight light of hope Paimon dawned dimmed and worry once again took over her features. The tension in his chest felt tighter, like a white-hot coil was entangling itself around his insides and replacing his ribcage. “Has something happened?” He asks slowly, making quite sure his voice doesn’t crack or waver. All his hard work to distance himself from you can’t unravel now; not when you aren’t even here. 

“We aren’t sure,” Katheryne fills in.  All eyes look to her as she repeats what she had just told the duo before Kaeya arrived. “Y/n had taken a rather dangerous commission the other day. It was a job that required them to explore and investigate some ruins that had been discovered behind a wall of rocks on Stormbearer. The commission should’ve well run its course by now, but we haven’t heard back from either the client or y/n, so some of us are beginning to worry.” 

Kaeya’s fists clenched, but no one took notice of them under his cross-armed stance. He made sure to keep his face from giving himself away. 

“Have you made the issue known to the Acting Grand Master?” He questions. Katheryne shakes her head. 

“No, we haven’t. We had had planned on bringing it to her attention if y/n still doesn’t get in touch with us by this evening.” 

“We should let Jean know right now!” Paimon insists and the Traveler easily nods in agreement. “What if they’re stuck in the ruins. Or- or hurt or something!” Paimon’s worry bleeds easily into her words like a fresh wound into water. 

“The last thing we should do is panic,” Kaeya said hypocritically. His gut felt like a boiling cauldron with panic as the main ingredient. Still, his many years of being persuasive and aloof didn’t let any of that show. 

Though, the off hand look the Traveler shot him made him doubt himself; they’ve been awfully diligent when it comes to reading him ever since his wild goose chase he sent them on not long after they arrived in Mondstadt. Or maybe it was just because they had more experience than he initially thought. Still, it almost made him squirm. 

“Well, we’re going to go tell Jean!” Paimon declared, her small hands on her hips as she bobbed up and down in the air. Kaeya just shrugs indifferently, surely not making any moves to oppose them. With a small huff, Paimon and the Traveler take off towards the Knights Headquarters. When they were well out of earshot and sight, Kaeya’s cross arms drop and his gaze moves to the ever-open gate that showed the wilds outside of Mondstadt. 

“Katheryne,” he almost whispers. “You said Stormbearer?” 

Your vision was blurred when you opened your eyes from your, albeit useless, slumber. You had long since tucked yourself between a small alcove of debris and rock in the ruins you had agreed to investigate. Had you known the person who had commissioned this job was some ruin machine-obsessed loon, you wouldn’t had agreed so easily. A couple ruin guards aren’t a big deal, but adding their mechanical brethren- so to speak- on top of a nut job maintaining them the moment you have to step away to recoup, that's when things get tricky. 

Your body had long since grown exhausted from using your Vision by excessively trying not to get killed. Luckily, the mad man only had his madness going for him, so hiding from his view was easy. Staying hidden from the machine’s censors was what worried you, but you had succeeded so far. Because of that very fact, however; you were reluctant to move. Beyond your weary body, hunger and thirst were starting to eat away at you too. 

Having been in hiding with no ample moment to even try fleeing back to the city for additional aid, you had run through what little rations you had. Your gut ached with hunger pains and your throat had never felt dryer, still you weren’t backed up against the preverbal wall so much you threw all caution to the wind. 

Your polearm had remained materialized as you kept it rested against your shoulder for ease of quick use should you require it.  Your vision had never felt heavier from its placement on your person and your hands cramped from how tightly you had gripped your weapon’s staff. You let your head fall back into the rock behind you and let out a silent sigh. 

In truth, you felt more foolish than injured or exhausted. You knew this commission sounded… odd, but you took it anyway. Anything to help distract your mind from the ever cloudy presence of Kaeya- or lack thereof. 

Your small sliver of respite you found in your cove of rock and debris was beginning to quake and crumble… literally. Your eyes you hadn’t realized had dropped back down shoot open and between the crumbling dust that threatened to get into them, you could hear the engines of machines whirring above you. You scramble to get out into the open before your previously, temporary safety could crush you. Though, coming out meant that you would be more vulnerable than you’d prefer. 

The moment your gaze lands on that familiar warm glow of the back of a Ruin Guard, you throw your polearm into its core, coating the blade with water from your Vision without much thought. The guard crackled with electricity as it malfunctioned and was brought to its metallic knees. Sprinting to its back to quickly retrieve your polearm, you made sure to use your Vision to drench its legs and feet just in case it got back up again. Perhaps the moisture would cause it to comically slip and buy you just a bit more time and maybe a chuckle or two. 

It was odd though, aside from the now jagged whirring of the jittering machine in front of you- there was nothing else. No crazed man trying to jump you or sick another random machine of his on you for whatever cause. It was in fact quiet, and that quiet put you on edge. Your brain knew you needed to stay on guard, but the silence was starting to lull your body into a false sense of security you couldn’t trust. 

Still, your mind that had been in fight mode for what should have been days now, had no chance against your weary body. Your grip on your polearm slips and the weapon clatters to the ground just before your knees did and your body slumped rather pathetically afterwards. 

‘If you fall unconscious, you’ll die’,  you mentally scold yourself. Trying to bully yourself into getting back up, keeping your eyes open, keeping your guard up. Still, your mind was beginning to feel as weak as your body. Thoughts swirled together into a mess of intangible words stuck in your mind and your sight was no better.  Perhaps it was your delirium and exhaustion, but your body suddenly grew cold and you vaguely felt goosebumps raise on your skin like winter itself had bloomed in these ruins with you. Among the changes you felt externally, you swore you heard a muffled voice too. 

Perhaps it was the mad man, the one who got you suckered into this stupid job. If it was, he could make quick work of you now since the last of your fight had disappeared taking out that Ruin Ruard core. The warmth you felt on your neck and cheek was the final thing you could mentally register before your body succumbed to its burdens.

‘Odd’, was the first thing that crossed your mind when you found yourself staring blankly up at a well maintained ceiling. You were sure that if you woke up again, and not gotten yourself killed or crushed, you’d be waking up to jagged rocks and mossy walls. So, the well furnished room you now occupied threw you for a loop- which your pounding head didn’t exactly take well. 

The room you were in was familiar, and you were sure you’ve been here before, but your foggy mind couldn’t process where you were.  The bed you were tucked into was soft and comforting, and with a wince the mattress gave when you push yourself to sit up. You were alone in the room and without much thought, you shuffle your legs out from under the blankets thrown over you to place your feet onto the floor and wobble up to your legs with the help of the bedside table acting as a- albeit less than desirable- crutch. 

The door creaking open was almost mistaken by you for the sound of your sore joints straightening out, as humorous as that was to you since you let a brief, lighthearted laugh escape you in a huff. Then, with your sights on the ground, you noticed a shadow casted by light you don't remember being in the room with you before. 

You follow the shadow along the hard floor covered with a single, purple rug until your eyes found a pair of all too familiar boots.  Your aching body starts to feel anxious- a small wave of gooseflesh running across your exposed skin at the idea of Kaeya being in your proximity for the first time in a while. Still, regardless of how you hadn’t been able to squash your silly crush on him or properly prepare yourself for a possible rejection without even confessing- you were no coward. 

With both hands tense on the bedside table, you raise your head to look at the blue haired man who had removed the fur, half-cape from his shoulder.  It was strange seeing how empty his shoulder was without the extra fluff the fur provided. Still, it was nice to see him in his entirety again since it had been a while. The blacklight of the space behind him made it difficult to see his expression since the lights in the room you had woken up in had been turned off presumably for your ease of comfort. 

“It’s been a while,” was the lamest thing that’s come out of your mouth in a while.

Of course it had been, you were both actively avoiding each other and practically the whole of Mondstadt picked up on it. Looking behind his shoulder you could only barely see corners of art pieces on the walls behind him and another rug that ran down the hall behind his heels.  “Kaeya, am I at your house?” You ask, finally realizing where you recognized your surroundings from.  

You’d been in his living room plenty of times visiting, but you had hardly been back in his room unless you were the one tasked with dragging him home from Angels Share and were generous enough to lug his body weight back to his bed. It was a rare occurrence since you were normally one to just dump him on the couch with a blanket and glass of water for his possible next morning hangover. 

Kaeya never graced you with an answer before he was marching into the room. His bootsteps seem louder than usual on his hardwood floors of his enclosed room, but maybe that was just the headache. His hands shoot out to grab your shoulders and turn you towards him, your hands that had been on the wooden night table were effectively removed from its surface and now Kaeya’s grip was the only crutch you had for balance before your brain could full calibrate standing without swaying again. 

“What on Teyvat were you thinking?!” He raised his voice and even in the dimly lit room with only light from the hall flooding in, you could easily see his expressions now. His brow was turned in a frown and his eye clouded with something you couldn’t pinpoint. It was a far cry from his normally suave and dismissive behavior. “Taking an obviously suspicious commission in ruins that hadn’t been officially investigated by the Knights? Seriously, you thought that was smart?!” 

His temper only made your headache worse and in turn soured your already not-so-great mood.  Reaching up to grab his arms like a hook for support, you verbally push back. 

“I think I'm capable of handling things myself, you know? The Guild doesn’t need the Knights’ to babysit them for every little thing, and as a member of the Guild that applies to me too!” 

“Oh yes, so capable you spontaneously disappear for days? Does that sound capable to you?” 

“It does actually because I was handling things just fine by myself, not that it makes a difference to you.” 

“You collapsed next to a Ruin Guard, y/n! What would you have done if it had restarted or if something else would have happened? Magically wake up and jump into battle again, because I have my doubts about that!” 

“What is your problem, Kayea?!” 

“You! You are my problem!” 

Astonished, you scoff before rolling your eyes.  It had been so long since you hashed it out like this with anyone, let alone Kaeya. It didn’t feel good, it made you feel sick to your stomach. Not hearing any retaliations from you, Kaeya guides you by the shoulders back against the edge of the mattress and pushes you to sit down again. You didn’t let yourself release the sigh of relief that you felt now that the weight of your own limbs was lifted- you wouldn’t give the Captain that satisfaction.

You expected him to let go of you, release your shoulders and march out of the room and maybe slam the door for good measure. Or maybe pace around the room before ordering you good enough to argue, so you would be good enough to get out of his hair. Out of the possibilities, the only thing that you predicted right was him releasing your shoulders. 

Kaeya's hands left your shoulders before sliding down your arms and dropping to the mattress edge on either side of you. You were stunned when he dropped to his knees in front of you and the pressure of his forehead resting on your knee felt heavier than anything. Caging you with his arms and using his head as an anchor on your legs he had effectively trapped you. You kept your hands tucked into each other by your stomach, making sure your knuckles wouldn’t brush even a strand of his hair and you could feel the thin strap of his eyepatch leaving an intent on your skin. 

“Kaeya,” you sighed heavily, his name leaving your lips like a weight. 

“I tried,” his muffled voice sounds weak that your gaze softens at the abrupt tone change. “I did. I tried to fix it, but my problem is still you and I can’t do anything about it.” 

“I have no idea what you’re-” 

“Tell me what to do.” His words that interrupt yours cause you to furrow in confusion. 

“What?” 

“Tell me what to do,” he repeats with a strained voice. “I have so many things I need to do, choices but I- I don't want to. So, do it for me.” 

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about. What does all that even mean?” 

“Make me choose you,” he sighs heavily before the hands of his that were placed on the mattress beside you move to lightly grab at your shirt like he was scared to touch you further. As if you’d push him away, scorn him for his actions and inactions alike. “Because I will. I just- I need someone- you, you need to-” His sentences never finish as his breaths become uneven. The hands that grip your shirt tighten to ball the fabric in his fists now. “I’m sorry.” 

Never had you seen Kaeya, the ever debonair Calvary Captain who kept all his secrets stored into his chest, kneel and subsequently crumble like this to anyone- much less to you. Perhaps in the past he never talks about, Diluc had seen him so weak, but that would be where the witness list ends. You lift your hands from your lap and hover them over his hunched body that clung to you like a child; you were unsure if touching him would set him off or if he would recoil from you. Your silence only made his hands that ensnared your shirt tug on the fabric like an anchor keeping a ship from sailing away. 

One of your hands reach to his head and your fingertips breach the blue tresses of his hair. His shoulders tensed and you almost snatched your hand away. 

“Don’t,” he mumbled into your leg. You weren’t sure if he was saying not to touch him or not to pull away. So, you kept your hand half in his hair and unmoving. 

You yelp when the tugging on your shirt flew into a harsh yank. The back of your knees that had previously been resting snug against the edge of the mattress were now well away with the back of your thighs replacing their spot. Closer to sliding right off the bed than comfortably sitting on it, Kaeya’s arms moved to wind around your waist and his face found a new home in your stomach as your arms hovered in the arm like a puppet's dangling from unused strings. 

You could feel the weight of his words fall onto your legs by way of the tears leaving his eyes. You could feel it in the way his shoulders shake and the uneven breaths that warms your lap through his mouth.

“Kaeya,” you softly start, “what has gotten into you? I've never seen you act like this before.” You slowly lower your arms and place your palms on his shoulders gently so as to not startle him; you weren’t going to keep them in the air forever, they’re sore. 

“I’m from Khaenri’ah, you know?” His voice strains as he lets out a pathetic laugh that’s damp with a web forming in his throat. He feels your hands on his shoulders twitch and his grip around you tightens so you have no chance of running from him. 

“Kaeya, what-” 

“My father abandoned me here with the intention of using me as a spy. I’ve only ever told Diluc, but when I did a lot happened and he left, abandoning me too. I don’t care about Khaenri’ah- not anymore- Mondstadt is my home. It’s where my friends are, my brother- even if he will never accept that role again. I can’t leave Mondstadt behind.” 

“I’m sure Diluc doesn’t hate you, not like you think. He just- he’s set in his stubborn ways and isn’t good at communicating.” You decide to speak only on his mention of Diluc, since the new information of the land in which he supposedly hails was still processing in your mind. 

Your previous comparison of Diluc to a rock briefly comes to mind at the mention of his stubbornnes. You nearly laugh at the thought, but now is definitely not the time.

“Please, please, make me choose you. Tell me to, order it of me, I don’t care. Just- don’t make me live without my artist. I can’t risk that again; I can’t take being abandoned again.” 

“Artist? Kaeya, what are you talking about?” You felt like you didn’t understand the words coming out of his mouth. 

There was a bout of silence after your question and the air felt heavy. You know Kaeya heard you, but he was reluctant to answer. Odd, considering the word vomit he had already coughed up in the last several minutes since he came into the room. Your hands start to move and lightly rub his shoulders over onto his neck, silently trying to coax him into talking more. 

“I heard what you said to the Traveler.” You almost roll your eyes because that could be literally anything. Does he know how often you get the chance to actually run into them and Paimon? He is just trying to dodge the question and by habit you lightly swat at his head. A silent, ‘okay smartass’ to keep him going in the right direction. He almost scoffs into your lap for that one. “You called me a mosaic.” Oh. “You told the Traveler that ‘Mondstadt’ is my artist; they said the ‘People of Mondstadt’, but only I know who my artist truly is.” His arms around you twitch and you could almost feel a stitch of pain in your side from how long he's been effectively squeezing you. “My artist is you. It’s just you.” 

The room is engulfed in a silence that feels heavy, yet... somehow also relieving. So much time recently had been the both of you dancing around the issues neither of you wanted to confront and all it took was you getting yourself into potentially mortal danger for days on end for the truth to come out. Kaeya knew you were someone important, but he didn’t realize just how heavy your permanent absence would be to him. Just the thought of possibly finding you in those ruins dead made his throat burn and ache like swallowing a ball of thorns. 

“Kaeya.” 

“I’m not lying,” his voice was strained, filled with fear of being labeled someone worthy of nothing. 

“I wasn’t going to say you are,” the hand that had previously tapped his head now rested on his nest of blue hair. The gentle strokes of your palm against his scalp were soothing as he felt your breath move your stomach against his head. “I don't see why you would lie to me right now.”  There was no doubt in your mind that everything that came out of his mouth was the unadulterated truth. You’ve never seen the suave captain bleed such vulnerability before. 

You didn’t say anything else to him after that. You move your hands to his arms, unwinding yourself from them before pulling him pathetically up onto his own bed. Not even bothering to fix your position, you fall back onto the mattress with your feet hanging off the edge and he easily follows you. From the lighting provided from the hall, you notice his eyepatch string had loosened from all his face hiding and you take it upon yourself to tighten it- securing it back where it belongs. Your fingertips linger around its material for but a moment before sliding down to his cheek.

His eye is brimmed with tears that had stained his skin with tracks and swelling. He also wouldn’t make eye contact with you, and you roll your eyes endearingly at his childish whims. With you both laying sideways on the bed, feet and legs hanging and not even a blanket to cover up with, your thumb run over his skin. Kaeya is quick to reach for and latch his grip delicately onto your wrist to keep it there. 

“‘M sorry,” he mutters again, sounding much more shy than he did before now that his face was in view of your gaze. You smile at him, knowing there was a long and meaningful talk in the near future. 

“I know. Go to sleep.” 

“But I-” 

“Artists' orders,'' you chortle. He just scoffs and offers his own eye roll, but his cheek warms under your palm. His eye closes and he let out a deep breath before taking one back in and repeating. 

“Stay until I open my eyes again.” 

“I will.” 

And you did. 

[shadow-pixelle]

Braided Fates 2

(Masterpost)

Part two of the Danny Phantom stuff for this AU! This thing just keeps getting longer and longer the more I think about it.

Updates might slow down a bit on this side of things, because I've got some events I'm doing fics for and also various real life events that're gonna give me less writing time, so it might be a bit before more gets added. We'll see.

--

Keeping track of days was… difficult, in the Realms.

As a whole, there wasn’t really a way to keep track of time. There wasn’t a sun or moon in the Realms as a whole, adding one to a Haunt was difficult without putting in a lot of time- hah- and focus into it, and that could still be inconsistent since a Haunt responded to the ghost in charge. At least they did in the Infinite Realms, since it was more flexible than the Living Realm. And not even clocks could help, since while they usually followed the passage of time pretty well, they sometimes skipped forwards or backwards at random, and unless you noticed it would make keeping track hard.

Even Clockwork struggled to keep entirely accurate track of time in the Realms, which really said something.

Tucker was determined to figure out a way to keep proper track of things, which Danny thought might be a lost cause, but he had no idea. It’d been a project for three years now, though, which made him think it might be pretty much impossible.

Still, all projects like that had been put to the side for the first while in the Realms. Instead, the three of them all focused on getting settled in. Because of the mess around Realms time, they hadn’t ever stayed in Danny’s Lair before. The most they’d done was visit, entering the Portal and rushing over there in order to look around, and added supplies to the house in case they hadn’t been able to get to any of the go bags in town. But aside from knowing what the place looked like, they hadn’t spent much time in the Lair, or the Haunt as a whole.

So now they were sorting it out to live in. Properly, this time.

With their families taking things so well, the trio had been able to gather all of the various go bags they’d stashed away for themselves and brought them all into the Lair with them, which would make living easier at the very least. They had fake identities and plenty of money as well, so if they needed to leave the Realms and go back to their home dimension for anything, they could, as long as they were careful of the GIW. And with Danny’s parents on their side, there was always a chance that the Anti-Ecto Acts would get removed at some point, and they could go home.

But until then, they were staying here, and had to make the most of it.

The nicest part about them living in Danny’s Lair was that he could make adjustments to things. It was a part of his Haunt, after all, and unlike having a Haunt and Lair in the Living Realm like he had before, the Infinite Realms were flexible.

He was able to make changes to the inside of his Lair, which meant that he could customise their rooms much further than they could do on their own. Sam’s was dark and gothic, Tucker’s was like his one at home but with more space for all his computer equipment, and Danny’s own was more like a planetarium, with his bed floating in the middle of the room and the walls looking like a starry sky.

They’d quickly learned they had to set up a bell to get Danny’s attention when they walked into the room, otherwise he’d be perfectly happy curling into a ball and watching the stars.

Sam and Tucker had wandered in and out of their own rooms for hours, sorting things out and asking Danny to make changes. Danny had kept out of his for the most part, after the first hour or so and the addition of the bell. He kept getting distracted by the stars, so he’d needed to change his room to not have stars on the walls before he unpacked everything he’d brought, putting it away on the floating cases and shelves that made up the room. Instead, while the other two had worked, he’d gone around the hallways to make more adjustments to the house, being careful to stay within shouting range of Sam and Tucker.

Apparently, the layout of the Lair would also respond to his subconscious, as well as his conscious desires and the requests he made.

The house was taller. The Ops Center on the top was as empty as it had always been, but there was more room now. There was an extra bedroom, right at the end of the hall, and when he peered in it was a mirror of his parents’.

They had a basement now.

The living room was currently a mirror of his Living home’s. Danny liked that, right now. It felt like he was at home, rather than hiding in the Realms because he’d half-died once and it’d put everyone in danger by opening the Portal.

That was where he settled, once he’d finished looking around everything. Curled up on the couch, listening to Sam and Tucker go in and out organising things, and sat there focusing on making a star cycle. He’d ended up making both a sun and a moon with a functioning lunar cycle, and patterned the stars to be precisely like the ones over Amity, just because he could. And by that point the other two were done as well, and had come to curl up beside him, all three of them nested together in a big pile like they were at home.

Not that they’d ever done this in that house in Amity, but that was besides the point.

Unpacking had taken up pretty much their entire first day, or what felt kind of like a day, and eventually, Danny knew they’d have to move. Get back to scouting out his Haunt, because while nothing would attack them here it was still a good idea to know what their territory looked like. They’d need to map things out, in case the subconscious changes to the Lair meant that he could also make subconscious changes to the Haunt, and if that happened they’d need to be able to compare the changes.

At some point, they’d need to map out the castle. They knew it was slowly changing to be more Danny’s, rather than Pariah’s- Clockwork had assured them of that- but Danny still wasn’t looking forward to scouting out the entire place. It was huge, after all, made for the Ghost King. It wasn’t as big as his Haunt, obviously, but it was still big and more likely to be dangerous than Danny’s Haunt. Who knew how much time and effort it would to map out the entire place, especially if it kept changing.

They really needed to figure out a communication method, too. Danny had no idea how that worked in the Realms normally, but hopefully if Tucker’s focused obsession on making a working time-keep for the Realms didn’t pan out, he might be able to use something in the system for messages instead. Or maybe Danny could do it. They had the basement lab now, which he could use for his work, depending on what it looked like down there. They could check that out sometime.

And when they’d done all that, there was still gonna be the house to deal with as well. Sure, the house was fine for right now; it being an almost-replica of the Fenton house in Amity, it was definitely functional for living in, but eventually Danny knew it was gonna get cramped. Even just disregarding the fact that the three of them had never lived together before, they were eventually going to need more rooms for things, and that was gonna require talking stuff over.

Like maybe replicating the games room from Sam’s, or the bowling alley, or the movie room. Maybe adding rooms from Tucker’s house as well, just to make things feel more comfortable. Add things outside of the Lair so Sam could have her greenhouses, assuming there was anything they could grow here. They’d done a few experiments with keeping food from getting so ecto-contaminated that it came alive, though they’d never applied it at the Fenton’s, so maybe at some point the kitchen would expand, or they’d gain a big freezer level somewhere.

But all of that was going to need them to sit down, probably with a floor plan of some kind, in order to plan out what they wanted to do. And at the end of their unpacking, all they wanted to do was sit, curled together on the couch, and pretend that they hadn’t had to run away from the only place that had ever been home.

-x-

The next few days went much the same, with them wandering around the house and making little changes, and exploring outside to see what the rest of the Haunt looked like. For the most part, it was a mirror of Amity’s parks, the main ones that the trio had used to visit most often. But none of the plants were quite right; Living Realm plants didn’t seem to like the Realms, Sam had discovered, so while they appeared much like Living plants, there was enough of an ectoplasmic tinge to them that they were warped into something not quite a Living plant.

Which was pretty neat, honestly. They didn’t really do much interesting, aside from the occasional swaying towards them when they walked past- which was really weird with the trees- they just… looked a bit spooky.

Mapping it was still a nightmare, but that’s just how the Realms were. Without the Infini-Map, mapping a place like the Realms wasn’t really possible properly. It was just a case of doing what they could to make something they could follow. Other than that, they made what adjustments they wanted; it wasn’t much, but they moved some of the parks and expanded them into a garden instead, added a greenhouse for Sam, and gave it more of a personal flare.

Then, finally, after what felt like about three days in the Realms, they went to deal with Pariah’s former Lair.

[llondonfog]

twst (horror) tober — day 1 (listen)

and we're back for round 2!! to keep my sanity this year, i'm going to do my best to keep prompts to ~500 words. if some go longer, then more delight for us all, but this is to keep my expectations manageable and who knows? perhaps i might come back to some of these prompts the way that i still am so very fond of 2022's twstober drabbles :) anyways, i do hope you enjoy the first day's piece! (fun fact: this is a snippet from a fic idea i have buried away....) and of course, these will eventually go up on ao3 when i have the time<3

➤ Day 1: Listen | "Listen to me!"

Sebek is haunted.

Not in the way that his family and friends and neighbors who pass him by on the street and cast him pitying, sorrowful glances think— but oh, how he wishes that he was.

He hears their whispers and murmured commiseration, the hushed voices that speak of a lonely boy lost to the clutches of the unforgiving woods. They shake their heads weighed with grief like the cattails by the river, unable to imagine the gruesome sight that one of their own had stumbled upon— ah, but it was the nature of the world they bargained to live in. A true shame, a tragic reminder, that the youngest Zigvolt was fated to learn such realities from the death of his dearest friend.

Sebek does not correct them.

It is better to let them believe that his drained expression was on account of having found Silver's body mauled in the woods by the animals they are familiar with, rather than the true ones that lurk deep within those ancient glades. It is better to let them cling to their ignorance, to think that the madness of paranoia scratching at his spine is only too understandable by having to discover one's best friend at the scene of his death and the ensuring nightmares that would follow— not that he doesn't have nightmares, that is to say, only that the contents contain horrific figures very much among the living.

Either way, his family knows no better when they find him tangled within his bedsheets, trembling and choking on Silver's name.

No, Sebek is haunted by a presence far too real than the ghost of memory, and his unnerved fingers twitch in the curtains of his bedroom window as his sleep-deprived gaze blinks out to the forest's edge where he can see them.

Three figures where there had once been only two, weaving in and out of the tree line like fish in the stream beneath the call of the moonlight. If he squints, he can make out the lethal curl of dark ivory spouting from the top of one of the figures, and the way that the smaller of the trio does not touch the ground as it tugs their newest member along in a macabre vision of a dance that Sebek cannot pull his gaze away from no matter how hard he tries. There is no mistaking the gleam of familiar silver hair in the beguiling welcome of the night— and even from a mile away, Sebek can all too clearly hear the words that smiling, laughing mouth is speaking, as if Silver himself stood directly behind him in the stillness of his bedroom.

(He wonders if he turns to look, if the boy will surely be there as Sebek remembers him last; blood-stained and smiling so sweetly even in death as Sebek had found him, reaching in the dirt as if to take the hand of one who had led him to his doom.)

"Malleus begs of you to join us, he misses you terribly," Silver's voice all but sings against his strained thoughts, tremors anew bursting down his spine like shrapnel. "Please, Sebek— don't you remember the promises we made? Father came back for me, just as he said he would."

That thing is NOT your father, Sebek wishes to shout and scream in spite of how it would wake his entire family to the horrors lurking outside, the entities cursed to wander the woods and tempt those desperate enough to find solace in their gleaming smiles. But Silver is right, as he often is; Sebek does remember— he remembers a childhood of playing in the woods with Silver, an orphan his family had come to foster and adore. He remembers two imaginary friends who could breathe fire and fly, who could coax butterflies to dance along the breeze and flowers to bloom into the prettiest of crowns. He remembers how much Silver would cling to the affections of a figure with burning crimson eyes, and how much he would the same for a being that smiled down at him with crinkled emeralds older than time itself.

As he had grown older, such strange fantasies had become just that: the result of lonely and imaginative children left to their own devices, spinning stories in the fertile soil of an enchanting landscape. Sebek did not question the time Silver continued to spend within the shadowed trees, for the other boy always did have a unique aptitude for the local wildlife, nor did he find himself with time to spare to wonder about the dreamy smile Silver would often return with, or the odd snatches of unfamiliar songs he'd hear the boy humming tunelessly to himself.

In hindsight, he'd have grabbed a torch and burnt the whole fucking forest down.

Sebek's fingers force themselves to move with a herculean effort that he did not know himself to possess, yanking the curtains shut and blocking out the terrifying sight as Silver's voice rises and fades like radio static, a nauseating sickness pitching forward in his stomach.

"We're supposed to be a family now, Sebek, aren't you listening? Can you not hear them call for you too? I won't let them leave here without you, I promise we'll stay and wait—"

They'd already waited forty-five days. Sebek rocks forward on his heels, squeezing his eyes shut and swallows a hoarse, empty sob.

How many more remained until he found himself walking out to join them?

[thekingbiscuit]

More than three people seemed to like the half drabble from my notes last time (insane but also thanks!) so here I shall give another.

It's a creature au where a loner mer legend finds a half dead bottled fae and reluctantly makes friends in his desperation to help the little guy out.

It's written like an outline and I don't have it I'm my soul to write a full on fic so consider this free and open source. (I'll also reblog with what I wrote about my creature headcannons so check that if it's confusing)

Legend is swimming around lazily in the sun, trying to get away from it all.

He's half asleep when a bottle knocks against him.

He's pretty far off and nothing should be able to get in or out of this water. But he decides it's not his problem.

He likes the bottle, and he's a bit of a hoarder, so he takes it. Back in his den he opens it to find a dead looking fairy.

He has no clue what to do, but feels kinda bad so he rests him on a ledge.

He covers it with a soft cloth, hoping it would die peacefully, but it clutches at his fingers, a gesture legend takes as wanting to live.

Legend is secretive but also a little lonely, so he decides to take on the task.

He flunders for a couple days. A first it's too hot, so he cools it with water, but then it suddenly starts to shiver, so he puts him in the sun under some blankets, that makes him get some kind of seizure. All the while he's accidentally getting attached.

It takes three days for the annoying human to come looking for him. It's warriors and he brought some fish. He's really after his flame rod for a bonfire.

Legend is stressed as it is and tries to get the intruder to leave, but wars finds out anyway.

Legend shields him protectively, but wars insists that the fae will die at this rate. Out of options, he accepts help.

Wars suggests time, who supposedly grew up with fae, but leg can't get that far into the island and is unwilling. He tells him to help him himself or don't help at all.

Wars does what he can, he's having a hard time with such a small patient. They have a breakthrough when his breathing is steady and he's no longer fitful, but he is still definitely going to die without any food.

Legend gives in and they go visit four, unfortunately that means including war's charge wind. Four has a forge near a river that legend is able to get near to, but he cannot go all the way. Wars leaves his scarf with legend as insurance and goes with the fae to get help.

Legend is beside himself despite himself and it shows so clearly that sky tries to cheer him up. Leg bites at him though. Sky says he wishes he'd hang out with them more, and he'd love to help him with whatever, but he needs to talk to them.

Sky flies off, and the trio returns with the patient. Legend tolerates four and vice versa, so four agrees to be a live in nurse in exchange for some sea minerals for his forge.

Legend is appalled at the idea of more people in his sea cave, but wars insists that the fae needs better care, so he agrees. Four moves in.

The fae child improves rapidly with someone his size to feed and look after him. He even wakes up one night. Legend alone talks to him, he's not very present, but he says he's lost and gives him his name. Leg is against it, but hyrule doesn't understand why, and learns that the fae boy is probably an orphan.

During Hyrule's recovery wild finds them, begging four for a new sword. He's mostly uninterested in the fairy. Four doesn't want to leave so soon, but hyrule is ok with it and legend is more than happy, like a liar.

Wild makes a meal for legend and crew as an apology for taking four away. Wars explains that wild is the only soul on the island who can cook a decent meal, and will constantly use this to bribe for his own way. It works too.

Legend has to coax hyrule into eating, and then learns that he enjoys watching his new little friend thrive.

Hyrule gets better on tall tales from Wind's seemingly imaginary time as a pirate and war's time in the army. Legend never knew the islanders had actual lives like that. Hyrule asks him about his own past.

He doesn't tell them all his trauma, but just that he was accused of kidnapping his own sister, the princess and was banished away. This was his second time washing up on an island.

Finally Hyrule tells his own story, he's a rare type of male great fairy nymph, with royal blood that can be used for premium dark magic, so he was being milked for his blood. He tells the story in an extremely innocent way.

His bottle fell out of a window, and he was at sea for a very long time. He thanks legend for all his help.

Later, hyrule worries about his wings. He's been trapped all his life and never learned to fly. Legend does not hesitate to enlist sky for help this time. Hyrule caught on quickly and they make a day of it, legend leaps as high up as he can to try to catch the airborne creatures.

The avian invites legend to a campfire. Legend hasn't been to one before, he avoids them, but this time he agrees. Hyrule is excited about the food. Sky warns him to introduce Hyrule to twilight first so there won't be any problems.

Legend does try, but hyrule falls into a panic attack at the scent of dark magic, and they learn that he isn't completely ok. Twilight is a little put off, but respects their space.

Time just pushes himself in at that point, wondering why he hasn't gotten to see the new islander yet. Time adores fae and is very good to hyrule, making legend jealous.

He leaves Hyrule in time's care to go hunt. When he returns hyrule tries to tell him about time teaching him that all dark magic isn't evil, and that he gave him something to show him, but legend brushes him off.

They're at sea when hyrule brings up the bonfire again, legend asks if he's sure, and hyrule isn't afraid of twili magic, only dark. He wants to show him the item time gave him, but legend has no time to react to the twili crystal and suddenly he's a drowning rabbit in the ocean.

Legend resigns himself to death, but the entire chain joins a rescue mission. Now legend is the sick one. He wants a moon pearl so he can grovel in his misfortune in his cave, but nobody will let him, in fact they take advantage of his situation and show him around the land bits of the island.

When he does turn back, he's just a dude with pink hair. He's forced to admit that he's cursed with legs if he gets beached, but he has to drown on air before it kicks in so he doesn't. The rabbit thing is a different curse. He's just really cursed.

They convince him to stay human just for the bonfire.

Finally they get to see what the bonfire thing is all about, and it's really just a good time with food and friends. Legend almost can't believe it deep down. Yet here it is.

[dcawritings]

I’m going to make a masterlist for all the AUs I might write for, but in case anyone wants a taste of the kind of enabling chaos that goes on in the Superstar Daycare discord server, here’s the list of AUs I’m positively feral about:

Freddy Fazvibes (Sex Shop AU)

Digimon AU

Borderlands AU

Livestreamer / Vtuber AU

Stardew Valley AU

Color of Your Eyes AU

(Longer description of each below the readmore!)

Freddy Fazvibes (Sex Shop AU)

William accepts and admits that he has some unresolved issues between himself and Henry, and decides to open a sex shop after learning he's a furry and it makes him quite happy. The shop -- technically still under the Fazbear brand (Henry is happy for his friend but thoroughly confused) -- features character mascots and lines of toys based on the parent company alongside an up-and-coming VR system to allow people to experience the company (sexual or otherwise) of their favorite characters!

The reader is just one of many customers after discovering the niche but passionate community the store and its characters have. It's bad enough that it's a sex shop with sex toys; how are they going to handle having their favorite character offer to demonstrate using one of them?

No deaths occur in this AU, it's just some good wholesome fun (as wholesome as a sex shop can get) where we don't need to worry about why the animatronics have genitals.

Digimon AU

The reader was supposed to be a member of their generation’s digidestined, but the others were killed by a mysterious power in the digital world many years before the present day. The reader discovers this information as an adult after being pulled into the digital world by a mysterious masked puppet creature who seems to know all too much about them. Trapped, they learn that their two digimon partners (Sun and Moon) had been waiting for them all that time; waiting for their human partner that never showed up when the digital world needed them most.

The reader finds themselves battling through not only their own tentative connection with the digital world as an adult, but also with their own partner as Moon has all but rejected them due to trust and corruption issues. Can the reader heal Sun and Moon's pain, regain their trust, and manage to save the corrupted souls of the other digidestined before the digital world falls apart at the seams?

And who could this mysterious evil force even be?

Borderlands AU

Sun is a prototype of a new line of caretaker bots designed by Hyperion to serve multiple domestic roles for people rich enough to afford them. The spaceship housing him during his live beta-testing experiences an unknown error and crashes on Pandora, where the reader (an ex-Hyperion employee) rescues him from the wreckage.

Things grow even more confusing when Sun realizes that he has a second personality onboard his processors, one that the reader had inadvertently helped to create when they worked for Hyperion: Moon, a military security protocol, and the true reason that the ship had gone down over Pandora. How will Sun deal with learning that his abandonment was part of the testing -- and what will he, Moon, and the reader do when they learn about the ECLIPSE protocol?

Livestreamer / Vtuber AU

After saving them from the Pizzaplex ruins, the reader helps Sun, Moon and the newly-formed Eclipse settle into day-to-day domestic life with them. Though the reader assures that they don't need to, the three search for ways to help pay bills -- keeping them charged has tripled the electric bill alone. So, unbeknownst to the reader at first, the trio take up being a vtuber, quickly becoming quite popular for their unique avatars (which is literally just them rendered into a live2d model) and wide variety of streamed content.

They all play all sorts of videogames, but Eclipse has become very popular for drawing furry art while Moon's realized that people really like his voice in ASMR content. Before they know it, they're able to help pay the reader's bills and beyond, leaving their amused and surprised caretaker to support both their newfound hobby and try desperately to ignore how the twitch chat is always asking if they're dating.

Stardew Valley AU

After the reader's grandfather passes away, they learn that he had left them an entire farm to care for as they liked. An entire plot of land beside a whole new town of people to meet, including the enigmatic trio of automatons powered by forest magic, and are apparently as old if not older than the town itself.

Sun is sweet as can be and helps tutor Jaz and Vincent alongside Penny, while Eclipse is a very soft-spoken personality who you're certain has been heavily damaged at some point (but he's often too busy tending to the community gardens to care). There is a third automaton, but he's only active after sunset -- some townfolk call him a demon and a menace, while others seem to find his pranks quite endearing. Moon is... an enigmatic figure, and it will take some time to get to know him properly.

Color of Your Eyes AU

The reader is just another employee of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, far from friends and family that they barely remember after moving away several years ago. They work a normal job in the daycare with a normal apartment and go to a normal doctor about normal symptoms of a chronic illness they've been dealing with since they were little -- or so they're told.

Is it all actually normal? Are they human, or are they... something else? Surely not, else it would mean their entire life is nothing more than a lie, a fabrication.

This is an AU about the reader learning they are actually a humanoid animatronic and that everything in their life -- their background, their parents, their memories -- are just that. A lie. They have been the property and research subject of Fazco's R&D division the entire time.

But at least they have Sun and Moon to help them understand not how to be human, but how to be a person again.

[kcsplace]

Eddie dies.

They save the world again.

Life goes on.  For some, at least.

One day, Wayne comes to see Steve and hands him the keys to Eddie's van asks him to keep it for “that Dustin kid” or something but he just can't handle seeing it anymore. 

it sits on the Harrington driveway for weeks befor Steve finally gets in it, head swimming with the rush of the scent of Eddie; leather, weed, cheap cologne.  The same scent that had lingered on the vest Eddie had thrown at him, until one day, Steve had brought it to his face, overwhelmed with guilt and missing the other man only to discover the aroma had faded into nothing.

Just like the public’s memory of Eddie.

Steve wants to back out the van, to shut it up, leave it a tomb, but he didn’t get where he is today - semi-permanently concussed and semi-reluctant brother/father figure to the most obnoxiously amazing group of kids he knows by running away.

Even when he probably should.

 He knows he could leave it for another day, hell another year; he's got some time before Dustin can learn to drive, and longer still before Steve lets him drive a fucking deathtrap of a van but he figures he should clean it out, make sure there's nothing illicit in it when he hands the keys over. 

And its not like it’s gonna get any easier.  It’s been six months since Eddie died.  Since the trio had returned to the trailer to find Dustin hunched over the body that had once been Eddie Munson and the wound was as raw and weeping as ever.

It had taken everything in all three of them to get Dustin to let him go, to step away, to leave Eddie behind, but with the ‘rope’ to the gate at the trailer cut, they had no way of getting Eddie’s body through.  It was going to be hard enough to get themselves back,given the state of Dustin’s ankle.

A couple joints so old they probably no longer qualify as such find their way into Steve’s pocket anyway, and a blanket that reeks of mildew is tossed in the garbage before Steve finds a tape under the driver's seat. Out of curiosity, and the need to drown out the thoughts of Eddie that he can’t push out of his mind, Steve pops it in the deck and turns the ignition. 

He’s nearly blasted into the back of the van at the volume and he has to clamber up to try and turn it down.  When he looks up out the windshield,  his grip on the pleather seat slipped and hefell  into the back again.  Slowly, he peeked over the seat in utter disbelief and not a little fear that all the blows to his head had finally done permanent damage.

Instead of his driveway and the red brick of his house, Steve finds himself staring at the smoking ruins of Starcourt Mall.

Its July 5th  1985, and standing just outside the truck, staring at the ruins is one Eddie Munson, alive, unscarred. No blood is pouring from his neck and side.  Instead of a second-rate spear, a cigarette hangs from his fingers.  A breeze has caught his hair, fanning it into a frizzy halo around his head and regardless of the Summer temperatures,he’s clad in both leather jacket and vest.

Throwing his hand out to bang against the window, to get Eddie’s attention, to do something, Steve somehow knocks the eject button on the tape, the music stops, and in a blink he's right back where he started, staring at the unwelcoming emptiness of his own home, the silence defeaning.   With a trembling hand, and more hope than expectation, Steve pushes the tape back in, the music starts, and there's Eddie, ten feet away, healthy, whole, and weeks away from having to start 12th grade for the third time. 

Unsure what he’d say, what he’d even do, Steve just stares at him in shocked silence, the music blaring out but the moment the final ear-splitting note whines to silence, once more he’s cast back to 1986 and a world without Eddie.

Unwilling to question it, uncaring of the how, all Steve can think of is that the music can take him to a time Eddie is alive.

 Which means there's time. 

Time to fix everything that went wrong, time to keep Eddie out of the ground, time to keep Dustin from becoming a ghost, time...time for Steve to not run away this time, not from what - who - he really wants.

Steve can fix things. 

One metal song at a time.

 He just might make a few mistakes along the way

[drabbles-of-writing]

how would your aus be like now that we know more stuff about the show?

oh god there would be sooooooo incredibly many changes. some I'm gonna leave alone unless directly asked but for some main ones atm--

Four Years: oh dear god so many changes. both just from learning more and also from the fact of being an au I came up with when I was 14 and I would never recommend anyone ever be the age of 14, my sincerest apologies to one luz noceda. I could make a whole other post about this but just to keep it simple lets sayyyyyy...first of all, Amity doesn't go into the Emperor's Coven. I personally still like the idea, but it doesnt really fit. theres helping her mom show off to customers, and then theres being forced into a Coven that wants to murder her crush and her crush's adoptive mom. Amity gives me the impressive of someone who would just start biting. Escaping Expulsion was Amity's "standing up to her mom" episode and I love that sm for her, I'm thinking maybe it could be redone in this au to also involve refusing to even consider the Coven? Dunno, but I know Amity doesn't join it, and neither do the twins.

Keene doesn't exist anymore, obviously. we're back on the Hunter show babey and his redemption arc (like most arcs here) take a much longer time to get on with. most remains the same, but he has a lot more interaction with Luz & the gang prior to Eclipse Lake. that episode becomes more of a "we were making so much progress but then the Panic Button hit in and everything collapsed in on itself" and then some tension between the gang of Hunter feeling shitty and not talking, the guys trying to figure out whats with him, and then Hollow Mind comes in an fucks up everything, as per usual

No more angsty fics about Camila missing her daughter because Vee's here now! yaaaaay. but this does mean Camila went a longer time without ever realizing her daughter was someone else, although I imagine at some point she WOULD feel that something was just Off. obviously shes a regular human shes not gonna think a shapeshifter took the place of her daughter, but shes gonna know something is Off and Strange but she cant put her finger on it and Luz seems happy...most of Yesterday's Lie remains the same but since it's at least been two years, maybe three, since Luz has seen her mom, she looks MUCH different than how Vee changed her appearance, so it throws Camila off quite a bit

smaller things will also stay, such as Luz becoming the Owlet and everyone being their own kinda brand of rebel. I'd have to figure out how to slide in Raine, Darius, Eberwolf, etc, somewhere in here. I'll figure it out

Beta: this one stays the most unchanged I think? granted I was updating it slightly more with updates in the show than Four Years. Hunter is still local nephew of principal and Belos's plan still involves killing all witches but its just in the "saving humanity from these evils" instead of "saving humanity from these evils and then going home". still unsure how the grimwalkers would tie into this, if my guy was just continuously making kids or if hes not actually a puritan and just a nasty old guy, and all the other golden guards are Hunter's older brothers? and he was possibly kidnapped when he was a baby or something? that part im the least sure on

Emperor: well, first of all, the duo of Amity & Luz becomes the trio of Amity, Luz & Hunter. none of them get along. Amity is constantly exasperated by Luz and her dumbassery & Luz thinks shes uptight and a tryhard at times. Luz and Hunter are dumbass on dumbass hatecrimes because Luz also thinks hes uptight but also a massive brat who thinks hes better than everyone & Hunter thinks shes annoying as hell and beneath him on every level. Hunter and Amity just take one look at each other, smell the Gifted Child With Parental Issues Trying To Be Perfect In Every Single Way on each other, and immediately drop into offensive hissing cat positions.

Luz and Hunter are the ones who get along first, mostly cause Luz getting brought over to the Emperor's Coven kind of guaranteed she'd run into Hunter first and they'd end up sticking to each other and realize they're massive nerds. Luz and Amity get along next through the power of Luz being stubborn and wlw. Hunter and Amity are last and technically it only really happens because they may be petty and spiteful but they can and will set that aside for one goal: being even pettier and even more spiteful to anyone being mildly annoying to Luz

This AU in particular hasn't had a lot of updates to it so theres a lot of room to work with her. Luz technically becomes friends with Willow and Gus because shes undercover trying to get new recruits (shes terrible at it). this also means that Hunter is more easily converted to the side of Oh Belos Fucking Sucks because he already has adopted sister Luz telling him to Run and her mildly okay girlfriend yoinking him along. course this also means it fucks up Luz even more to see that Hunter is a grimwalker and, per paraphrased word of Belos, she was the favorite. if it came down to it, Belos would've happily let Hunter die, hell, would've even done it on purpose. by virtue of being human, and Hunter being a clone, she was, in fact, given special treatment, and if anything went slightly wrong then Hunter would've died. these kids are fucked up

[exuberantocean]

Ted Lasso s3e01 - Observations

And anyone who guessed the starting close up for s3 was Ted would be right (I thought Keeley or Roy)

I also like that we can see some gray in the stubble (he’s in England so should I say grey instead?)

Also that text...oof  way to set up Ted’s headspace though.  That whole start was like a punch in the gut.

I’m adding the “I remember being left at school when I was Henry’s age” story as another to my list of “Ted’s parents not showing up/abandoning him” situations in his past...”Until my dad remembered to pick me up” 😭 )

Also what a crazy story all around though

And Ted cleaning up after Henry is all kinds of heartbreaking

Still uncertain if Ted’s flat has a bedroom for Henry.  I’d imagine he’d ask for one.  No clue if the fort and Ted’s bedroom is where he slept and, if so, if it was because he wanted to or had too. I suppose it doesn’t matter, just a little detail.

Is that a new shower scene or did they reuse the last one?  His hair looks longer in the shower than it does for the rest of the episode.

Brendan’s partner and kid!

Ted’s still nosy about Doc’s personal life which is...iffy to me but makes sense for his character

Rebecca.  Rebecca.  The thing is, this is exactly what Rupert’s after.  Whether you win or he does is, on a deeper level, immaterial.  He wants her obsessively thinking about him and he’s getting it.  The truth is, West Ham will sometimes win, sometimes lose and she needs to learn how to divorce (heh) her feelings about Rupert from the game. 

I’m glad that she has Higgins, Ted, and Keeley to bring her back down to what matters.  I hope she starts listening.  All three might need to be a bit more blunt going forward though.

Keeley babe.  I think you need help.  It’s 100% normal to be overwhelmed and I’m glad she’s reaching out but it sounds like maybe she’s trying to do too much too quickly.

I was thrilled that Higgins also has mascara stains.  I would hate to imagine the Higgins-Rebecca-Keeley trio is gone.  It thrills me that Higgins is still obviously in Keeley’s life

I love the team’s anxieties and the way Ted takes care of it.  I love Jamie stepping into “Ted Lasso” for the team shortly after.

I feel like the situation with Nate and Rupert really shows how well an abuser starts a toxic relationship.  Obviously they’re setting us up to look at Ted and Nate’s relationship some more this season, but I’m also hoping we get a look and Rebecca and Nate.  I feel like there’s some strong parallels there.  There always has been.

This is why I had Rebecca be the first one to talk to Nate in my fic “So Close”

I really thought the car thing was a good illustration of that.  It’s a gift but a rather backhanded one.  No fucking way Rupert didn’t know he was towing Nate’s car.  He set the whole situation up.

The whole conflict between Ted and Rebecca about taking the team to the sewers was interesting to me.  Something I think I need to think about.  But Ted’s doing the work that needs to be done and Rebecca’s worried about image.  “Rupert’s laughing at me, Ted.” But Rupert’s relationship to people and things is always shallow and condescending.  He’ll always laugh at Rebecca (or otherwise look down on her). That said, she’s not 100% in the wrong, as a business owner, to be concerned about image.  I’m not saying she’s right, just that she’s maybe not 100% wrong either (Ted was still right to do it, the need to get the team out of their own head was more important.) idk I need more time to think about it.

Not 100% sure I like the scene with Ted mocking himself.  I get why he did it and it was effective, but particularly when it came to mocking his own mental health.  It made me wince both because we know Ted’s struggling already with anxiety and probably some amount of depression and because, well, a lot of people with mental health struggles really aren’t taken seriously.

Overall, a great episode and good start to the season!

[aph-mable]

Dp x Demon slayer au; Nightgale arc

Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke, and Zenitsu all collapsed onto their respective beds in the infirmary house. They had just been double checked by the staff to make sure each of them were actually healthy and properly healed up.

It had been an eventual adventure for sure.

Having to dress up in drag for the mission, face off two demon siblings, and Tengen Uzui’s retirement means that the demon slayers are down another Hashira. At the very least there is a bit of a happy ending to it all, the demon siblings finally got a chance to move on and Uzui was still alive.

It's the little things to be thankful for. Even if, technically, it's big.

Though Tanjiro's true mission, gathering up high ranking demon blood to help Nezuko return human, was set back once more. He knows he should be grateful for being alive, yet it feels like obstacles keep getting in the way. Even if they win and survive, Nezuko was still stuck in her own torment.

Falling into an uneasy sleep, Tanjiro wishes something, or someone, could just help him on his mission to cure his sister. _________________________

The trio sat in front of Hashira Kocho, as she looked over their notes of the previous mission.

Glancing over at the three boys, Kocho placed her hands softly on the table. Knowing they worked hard and risked a lot, but missions have to keep getting completed.

"Well, I can tell you all this much, every one of you is healthy and ready to go back into the field." She told them with a smile.

Zenitsu groaned about wanting to rest up just a bit more and maybe hang out with the girls for an afternoon longer. Inosuke yelled in excitement, being ready to hunt more demons and not have to wear ugly clothes anymore. Tanjiro smiled softly, staying silent with his head slightly tilted to the floor.

Observing each, Shinobu Kocho pulled out the information for their next mission.

"And I'm happy to say it's going to be an easy one in comparison to what you have dealt with so far. You’re tasked with finding the Nightgale family and bringing them back to the Butterfly Mansion."

"Um, excuse me Miss Kocho, but who are the Nightgales?" Tanjiro's soft voice echoed in the small room.

"Ah, well where to begin. The Nightgales are one of the oldest demon slayer families. They were, in fact, the ones who figured out what metal could be used to fight against demons, and from there they branched out. Throughout the generations they have been doctors, scientists, slayers, craftsmen, magic users… really everything but cooks. Their entire livelihoods have been built on studying, and slaying, demons." Kocho's lips culled at the last statement as she watched Tanjiro almost jump at her words.

"Study? They actually studied demons? B-but how?! What have they learned? Are they willing to take an apprentice or share what they know?" Tanjiro asked question after question, only quieting down when Inosuke interrupted him with a tackle.

"Will you shut up, Tarongi! you ask too many dumb questions." he growled.

Laughing softly, Shinobu gently pulled on her sword. "Boys, no rough housing in my office."

In an instant both Inosuke and Tanjiro sat properly.

"Good. Now, as for your questions you'll have to ask them in person. The most I know is the latest Dr. Nightgale's have been studying demon blood and physiology, with their only child Jasmine recently finishing up her training to be a demon slayer herself in the last year. The reason you’re heading to meet them is because within that time frame the Nightgales seem to have vanished without a trace. You are to investigate why that is, bring as much information about their research back to the Hashira, and bring with you the Nightgale family as well in case they are in danger."

Tanjiro agreed with newfound determination in his eyes. He was ready to go right this moment and nearly bolted out of the door when Miss Kocho raised her hand to stop him.

"Now, I want you three to know some important information before you head out. The Nightgales are very hospitable to other demon slayers, but the moment they even suspect you're a demon they will not hesitate to attack, capture, study or kill you where you stand. Over the past 13 years they have been more paranoid about demons designing themselves as humans, so tread carefully. especially if you're wearing a mask, flirt, or have a demon with you." She stared at the trio, who couldn't even look her in the eyes.

"Hmp, I'll be giving you a crow to lead where the Nightgale house is… oh, and can I ask a tiny favour?"

“Of course Lady Kocho, what is it?” Zenitsu surprisingly asked.

"Can you get me one of the flowers they've been studying? There have been some rumours that they had found a new type that when matched with Wisteria flowers will amplify the power, and burn away a demon within seconds." She tilted her head playfully.

"A simple task to bring a flower to a fair lady such as yourself Miss Kocho, it would be an honour~" Zenitsu bolted out the door to get ready for the mission. Tanjiro and Inosuke followed, not wanting to be left behind.

__________________________

Tanjiro kept his eyes on his soundings as the crow led the way. To his left Zenitsu hummed to himself as Inosuke ran around looking for something to fight.

So far their journey has been calm, all they had to do was trek though a peaceful forest path, it barely counted as a hike. Nezuko was sound asleep in her box, restoring her energy while the sun was out.

As they continued on the tree's shade became thicker as the path was slowly but surely disappearing, leaving them lost. The crow they had been following seemed to have gone missing, and with the thick underbrush sounding the trio it was nearly impossible for them to find their way.

Untamed Nature caged them, yet strangely there was barely a sound but their footsteps. Not a bird song or the trickle of water, just pure silence. Taking a deep breath Tanjiro decided to keep moving forward, leading further into the unknown wilderness.

Both Tanjiro and Zenitsu were trying to step slowly around roots and lose rocks, but Inosuke got inpatient and didn't want to be stuck going that slow until nightfall, so he took initiative as he shoved past the two boys and ran ahead. With that they gave chase after their boar headed companion.

"Inosuke, slow down! We don't even know if this is the right way!" Tanjiro cried out. Zenitsu was just trying to keep up as he held back the need to cry, everything was going so good, but his friends just had to ruin it.

It wasn't long before Inosuke had run so far ahead he was out of sight, forcing Tanjiro to slow down and smell the air to see which way he went. As he slowed down to sniff the air, Zenitsu, being blinded by tears as he tried to keep up, bumped into the other slayer, causing both of them to fall down a steep slope. Crashing and tumbling down they come face to face with the bottom of the hill, a small valley covered in trees and thorny bushes.

Zenitsu slowly pulled himself up first, his hand pressed against some kind of rope. With lightning speed he moved out of the way just before the trap could pull him into the trees, landing right against Tanjiro’s side, who groaned in pain.

Tanjiro shook his head and got up, making sure Nezuko was okay and her box intact before looking over at a shivering Zenitsu, who stared straight ahead with a terrified expression on his face. Following his gaze, Tanjiro could see traps with rotting meat hanging from various ropes and rusted chains. Magical markings drawn in dulled, red paint covered the slowly degrading building, A vibrant orange sunset illuminating the forest and house before them.

"Yo! Zunkaka, Tabiroj, about time you got here! Hurry up, it's almost night you idiots!" Inosuke shouted as he stomped over. Zenitsu took small nervous steps towards the house, which just made the boar headed man huff in frustration as he marched over and picked up his sparky friend. Tanjiro quickly gathered his sword and Nezuko's box to join them, hearing her small growls and whines as he stopped his friends once they reached the front door.

"Hold on, this place smells weird. and Inosuke, you still have your mask on! Remember Lady Kocho's warnings? Let's just wait a moment." Tanjiro begs.

"No way, we came all this way already. If they want to fight me about what I wear, let them!" With that Inosuke shoved the door open.

What they were greeted by was the smell of medicine, blood, and rotting wood. Through the door was a darkened hallway completely absent of outside light, yet a distinct small shadow sat in the middle of the floor. As they stepped forward to get a better view the child sized figure snapped its head towards the trio, glowing eyes of green and blue illuminated the hallway as red lights flickered on, revealing who was really there.

A small boy with black hair and white tips sat perfectly still, not blinking, not moving, not even breathing. His porcelain skin cracked with scars across his face and down his neck, all while an oversized blue kimono draped over his small body. If it wasn’t for an almost familiar scent of Jasmine, cedarwood, rose and strangely ice, Tanjiro would have believed they were a doll.

Tanjiro stepped forward, about to speak but stopped as the living doll opened their mouth…

A piercing screech caused everyone to drop to the ground in paralysing fear.

Ao3 link here; https://archiveofourown.org/works/46063900/chapters/115954591 

check out @thegatorsgoose fan art too. https://www.tumblr.com/thegatorsgoose/712982462899404800/art-from-chapter-one-of-aph-mable-s-danny?source=share 

[aria-ashryver]

Bursts through the door then neatly fixes it back up again

Any hc’s you can spare us for the Starlight trio? 🫣

MY DOOR!!— oh. Oh, okay, thank youuu here have some trio stuffs 😊

Quickfire HCs!

❤ Cas has the most violent sounding sneezes

❤ Gabe and Luca like to pull silly faces at each other from across the room sometimes (if Cas notices them, they both pretend like nothing happened)

❤ Cas is lowkey scared of moths

❤ A few years down the line, Luca takes up ice skating / figure skating as a hobby

❤ Gabriel’s car is a classic muscle car in a deep burnt orange shade (like a Dodge Charger or something, idk, I don’t speak car), and he knows enough about automotive repair to work on it himself

❤ (Its the one thing Cas could never bring himself to insult when they were in their “enemies” era, bc Cas thought it was just objectively cool)

❤ CAS IS TICKLISH

❤ Gabriel is sometimes hit by an overwhelming urge to go floss his teeth, and if he can’t do it then and there he gets really annoyed and antsy

❤ All three of them grow out their hair at some point (not necessarily at the same time, but Cas keeps a bun for the longest time)

❤ Luca maintains that the single most supernatural thing about Gabriel is that he knows how to fold a fitted sheet

❤ Luca likes snuggling into Gabriel’s lap while Gabe is reading a book (he doesn’t read with Gabe, he just likes vibing in Gabriel’s calm)

❤ In fact, all three of them are HUGE on parallel play/body doubling. Sometimes ya just gotta be near the ones you love, while also quietly doing your own thing, you know?

❤ But that’s not to say they don’t do stuff together too. The next chapter coming up in SICSIG will feature Cas hooking up his PS4 to Gabe’s TV and he and Luca gaming together — there will be a lot of that sort of thing in their future.

❤ They also turn really dumb things into a competition (like who can carry the most grocery bags in one trip)

❤ Gabriel regularly has to put up with coming home to find out Cas and Luca have hatched a plan in their joint idiocy and they’ll have like… idk, bought a paintball gun and they are in the yard taking turns shooting each other with it lol (once Luca is past their trauma ofc)

❤ It takes a loooong time, but Gabriel eventually lets Cas bleach his hair (there are lots of Ken doll/surfer/himbo jokes) (he looks gorgeous bc of course he does)

❤ Cas still insists on doing his own hair for a good decade, he does NOT trust Luca with the bleach (for good reason), but he eventually lets Gabriel touch up the back for him

❤ After a few years Cas learns bass guitar so the three of them can jam together

❤ Luca collects socks with cute patterns and characters and stuff, but doesn’t wear half of them because of sensory issues.

❤ Cas has no such qualms, and will often steal Luca’s socks when he hasn’t got around to doing laundry. Please picture for a moment, if you will, Cas in his standard leather jacket and massive black boots, but secretly underneath all that, he’s wearing a teensy pair of baby blue socks with the Squirtle Squad on them.

Longer, ramblier domestic trio HCs!

✨ Gabriel gets a little particular and fussy about how certain things are done — like, he had been doing things on his own, in his own way for years now. It doesn’t especially matter to him whether certain condiments are left on the second or third shelf in the refrigerator, it’s just force of habit that they go at the top. Cas quickly realises he has an entire household of mundane objects he can use to wind Gabriel up by always leaving them in slightly the wrong place. Making the bed marginally wrong. Not quite drawing the curtains all the way. Leaving a drawer just a teensy bit open. It drives Gabriel mad… but all three of them know they are only bickering for the sake of bickering, and it never gets old. (In fact, they actually look forward to it)

✨ Speaking of kitchens — Gabriel still very much loves to cook, both for a love of cooking itself and the connection it gives him to his father, but he loves taking care of Cas and Luca too! Cas complains a lot that Gabe keeps serving them vegan food now and then, but he’s still the first one to ask when the next time they are having tortilla soup is. There are a bunch of recipes Gabriel’s dad and grandma used to make, and it thrills him to no end that they turn out to be some of Cas and Luca’s favourites out of all the meals he makes.

✨ After living together for a little while, the boys quickly found out that they were all really into the idea of DIY? Gabriel really likes finishing details of interior design, Luca did a lot of little carpentry projects with his grandda in his childhood/teens, and for Cas, getting stuck in to gardening and exterior work is deeply therapeutic, rewarding, and reminds him of his life in South Korea with his grandparents. The Adalhard family home very much turns into a big renovation project (that takes them like a decade to really “complete”, though there’s always little things to be done, a room to be painted here, a window frame to replace there. They start with the garden planter boxes in the front yard —Cas’s initiative— and this is probably something you’ll see in future Starlight chapters!)

Gabriel likes to ogle Cas when he’s out digging in the gardens shirtless in the sun. He brings him iced tea and sliced fruit and stuff, it’s a bit cute :)

...hey this door is still busted FIX MY DOOR NONNY 💖💖💖

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading the Dark Prophecy: Prophecy Analysis (SPOILERS)

The prophecy was too darn long it needed its own post. I was warned there would be a fourteen-line prophecy at some point in the series, but wow. I expected the lines to be short if there were so many of them, but the lines were longer than usual??? On the bright side, I'm suddenly a lot more familiar with iambic pentameter than I was before.

Okay, so, first line. Some important parchment is gonna be burned. Or somebody is just going to be burned, full stop. Maybe Apollo is made to forget something important. I dunno.

Second line. Moon. Artemis finally makes her appearance. Dunno where Devil's Mount is, but later lines mention the Tiber, so things will probably center around Camp Jupiter, so probably in California or surrounding states (Who's to say they won't travel a bit?).

The changeling lord doesn't sound like he belongs in Greek or Roman mythology, imma be honest. Then again, Apollo has encountered beings from other mythologies. The first Google search result for Greek shapeshifters gives me Proteus, that old man of the sea that Percy wrestled in the first series (Was it The Titan's Curse?). He doesn't seem very lordly, but then again, Phineas didn't seem very kingly when the SoN trio met him. I could search for more shapeshifters that better fit the bill, but I'm not about to waste half an hour on an answer that I'll get wrong anyway lol. Also, the prophecy makes it sound like the Lord Changeling is on our side, so maybe it is Proteus after all. He keeps to himself, sure, but he's not actively evil and that's about as much as we can hope for.

Line four. There's going to be a battle at Camp Jupiter, no doubt about it. It doesn't necessarily say the bodies will be those of the demigods, but monsters disintegrate, soooo... it's not looking good.

Fifth line, going into the second stanza. The sun is obviously Apollo. The enemy's base (where the third Triumvirate member lies) is south of Camp Jupiter. Easy peasy.

Sixth line, and the next book is The Burning Maze, right? Hope so, otherwise that's kind of weird that the maze is appearing a book early. It's probably a particularly deadly section of the Labyrinth. The Hidden Oracle established that the Labyrinth, now free of any singular master, can be controlled in small sections. Camp Half-Blood has a relatively secure section that they use for -- of all things -- three-legged races. Who's to say the Triumvirate hasn't secured their own section of hallways and rooms and made it especially deadly? Actually, the camp's and the Triumvirate's sections of the maze are probably just as deadly considering what Harley's been up to. As for the lands of scorching death: the last desert we went to we ended up losing Bianca in. Let's not repeat that.

Seventh line! I don't know who the swift white horse is (Arion is swift but caramel-ish) and I don't know who owns or rides it. Wow, I deserve a pat on the back. Great work there.

Eighth line. The crossword-speaker sounds like a really fucked-up sphinx. Don't know why you'd need a sphinx's breath, though. That's my best guess, but I don't have much faith in it. I'm really earning that pat, huh.

Ninth line, starting the third stanza. We've met the north wind, Boreas. We've met the south wind, Notus. We haven't met the east wind, but we have met the west wind, Zephyros/Favonius. He works for Cupid, sure, but he probably has a home of his own. I'm betting that's where we're going, especially since he and Apollo have history.

Tenth line. Apollo said in the first book that Demeter doesn't just sleep around. It takes a remarkable mortal to get her attention. Here we may learn more about Meg's backstory and her father. Maybe her family lineage is entangled with Greek mythology going way back, kinda like Reyna's and Frank's families.

Line number eleven. The cloven guide can be none other than a satyr. Or maybe a faun since we're with the Romans. Wasn't it mentioned in The Hidden Oracle that Grover was in Cali doing some environmental thing? I hope it's not Grover 'cause he already did his time in the Labyrinth, but it'd be nice to see him again before The Chalice of the Gods comes out. What I'm really hoping to see, though, is one of the New Roman fauns (Maybe Don!) stepping up and learning what they're capable of rather than just being relegated to a perpetually homeless and destitute caste on the streets. It hurts my heart to see them like that and maybe this is the first (albeit risky and possibly deadly) step forward.

Twelfth frickin' line and I'm wondering what the point of such a long prophecy was. It better be a good book with a poem this long. The third and fourth books in the Riordanverse are usually the best, so it should be, right? Anyway, I bet this line is very, very literal. It's going to sound metaphorical on purpose, but in reality he's just gotta wear some funky shoes.

*gasps for breath* Thirteenth line! Almost there! We may vary with the number of questers, but there will be three at the finale, this tells us. Why do they have to reach the Tiber alive? Isn't the first thing you cross upon getting to camp? This one stumps me unless... no... well, it's the Labyrinth. It's not out of the question that they'll have to go to the actual Tiber. Maybe. I'm stuck 50/50 on this one.

Last line! Number fourteen! Apollo does a jolly little dance! Bet it's to somehow find a way out of a dire situation he's dug himself into.

That was... far too long to be a respectable prophecy. I spit on your grave, Trophonius. Really fun prophecy, though. Even more so than the limerick one. We should get Shakespearean sonnet prophecies more often.

[whenthegoldrays]

Okay, review time for Around the World in 80 Days (2004)!

I actually really liked the setup and concept of this adaptation. Making Phileas an inventor, though being just the sort of change I'd expect from a Disney adaptation (minor eye roll), actually plays out quite nicely, taking him the logical extra step beyond an educated gentleman who knows about science, to being an actual scientist.

I admit the trailer misled me about how the wager came to be, and Passepartout starting a gossip chain and inspiring the wager in order to get out of England quickly was unexpectedly hilarious.

So our two heroes set off, landing first in Paris, France. My hopes are high, and so far I'm thinking this movie could end up being a solid 7.5/10.

And then I realize I spoke too soon.

Things quickly get annoyingly wacky. First Phileas meets the lady who will become his love interest — an aspiring French artiste (RIP Aouda).

After some action involving the Chinese gang trying to steal back what Passepartout stole (back) from the Bank of England, the trio set off in a hot air balloon and soon find themselves on a train that, after a time skip (and an admittedly hilarious scene involving Phileas and Mademoiselle Monique's — gasp! — uncovered ankles), stops in Istanbul.

And then, we are thrown into one of the most uncomfortable scenes I have ever been subjected to, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger (?!) and the traveling trio in a hot tub (?!?!)

Prince Schwarzenegger wants Monique as his seventh wife, Phileas saves her by threatening the prince's precious statue of himself, and they run. Time skip number two has us in India, and guess what? Inspector Fix is here too!

(Side note: the men discussing the robbery and deciding to send an arrest warrant for Fogg to India and one of the stuffed shirts going, "Thank God we own India!" is legitimately one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Thank you for your Very Subtle introduction to British colonialism, Disney.)

Fix is actually, legitimately, the most sad, broken husk of a man I have ever seen in my life. You could knock him over with a feather. How did this man get to be a police inspector in the first place? Your guess is as good as mine. But in this adaptation, he's a corrupt officer bought by the men of the Academy of Science to stop Fogg's journey. He actually somehow manages to get one (1) handcuff on Passepartout, only to promptly be used as his weapon to fight off the gang that's pursuing them.

Long Annoying Action Sequence, Phileas and Monique nearly kiss, and we're off once again!

We are now in China, in Passepartout's village (where we learn his real name is Lau Xing). Fogg, feeling rightfully betrayed when he finds out that Monique and Passepartout have been keeping the bank robbery secret from him and thereby putting his life in danger unnecessarily, storms off and decides to continue the journey on his own.

[insert Even Longer Annoying But Kind Of Plot-Relevant-This-Time (Though Not Enough To Make Me Want To Write About It) Action Sequence here]

Uhh... *checks notes* oh yes, Passepartout/Lau Xing accomplishes his mission of returning the sacred relic to his village, and then Fogg leaves China alone.

(Wow, one way or another, every adaptation has had Passepartout accidentally causing trouble for and then getting separated from Fogg between China and San Francisco!)

In San Francisco, Phileas has 19 days left to finish his journey. He's basically got the wager won — and then all his money gets stolen because he is A Literal Fool.

Passepartout and Monique catch up to him three days later, finding him failing spectacularly at being a beggar. Emotional Reunion, etc etc, and they cross America, meeting the Wright Brothers along the way (an actually really funny and good scene, featuring Owen Wilson!!)

And then it's time for Final Annoying And Probably Even Longer Action Sequence! This time featuring an unfinished Lady Liberty! Also featuring Scary But Cool Chinese Warlord Lady.

Maybe it's just because I already don't like long fight sequences, but these felt especially dragged out as they were so largely silly and exaggerated. I suppose it's a Disney movie, after all, but still. Not a fan of that.

And then, Phileas, Monique, and Passepartout board the ship Carmen (would it have killed them to call it Henrietta?) and, once the captain decides to go full speed ahead for the sake of Fogg's wager (which he's also bet some dollars on) and finishes up the coal, they resort to the classic practice of dismantling the ship and using the wood, but not to burn it for fuel! Instead they build a flying machine, the design of which Fogg somehow still remembers after briefly looking at Orville Wright's blueprints several days ago. (Also, there's a really weird... thing that I wouldn't call a joke involving the captain and an encounter with a shark that made me very uncomfortable once again.)

They fly into London (never mind that they would've had to go through Liverpool first), crash on the steps of the Science Academy, and the clock strikes twelve noon, indicating that they've lost the wager.

But then, in another painful reminder that this is a DISNEY MOVIE (!!), Phileas's rival, Lord Kelvin, starts ridiculously monologuing about how he sent assassins and other saboteurs after Fogg, and after a little girl states that the Queen will stop his evil plot, he begins to mock the Queen in the most cartoonish way possible, only to come to find that (of course) she's standing right behind him.

Kelvin is arrested, the Queen explains the International Date Line loophole, and Phileas and his companions rush up the stairs of the Royal Academy, winning the bet with over 23 hours to spare. He and Monique kiss, everyone cheers, and that's ✨the end✨

Honestly, this had the makings of a great campy adaptation and was incredibly funny at the beginning and other moments scattered throughout. The jade Buddha plot is actually compelling and General Fang is a cool villain that's on par with what I'd expect from Disney (in a good way this time). Unfortunately, this movie suffers a lot in translation. Fogg's romance with Monique is just... there? It feels incredibly rushed, with the actors not even having that much chemistry.

Speaking of rushed, I suppose we all knew that things had to be sped along to fit such a long narrative into a two-hour movie, but adding all those long action set pieces drained away a lot of the time that could've been spent building an actual bond between Phileas and Monique, or including anything found in the original book at all (RIP Inspector Fix, we hardly knew ye).

Also, Fogg is not very likable. I don't know what it is about him that just rubs me the wrong way. I think I'm officially placing him as my least favorite Phileas Fogg of all the ones I've watched.

And while, like I said, about half of the jokes and comedic moments land pretty well, the other half is just plain cringy and sometimes even painful to witness. At least those moments aren't dragged on for very long.

And what else to say about this film? I suppose it could be enjoyable enough if you're not familiar with the source material or show up with no particular expectations. But even then, one would more than likely notice the insane pace and lack of chemistry between the romantic leads. Jackie Chan is good though.

Despite a valiant effort, this movie lands, as expected, at the bottom of my ATWIED adaptation ranking, with a 5/10 rating.

Time to cleanse my palate with the David Niven version.

[rockislandadultreads]

November NoveList Challenge

For this month's challenge, give thanks and read a book about chosen family or family gatherings! For more recommendations, be sure to check out NoveList - all you need is your library card!

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots - fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled "HAP," he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio - a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic's assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin

Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days.

In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake - a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County - while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm.

And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees - and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves.

L.A. Weather by María Amparo Escandón

L.A. is parched, dry as a bone, and all Oscar, the weather-obsessed patriarch of the Alvarado family, desperately wants is a little rain. He’s harboring a costly secret that distracts him from everything else. His wife, Keila, desperate for a life with a little more intimacy and a little less Weather Channel, feels she has no choice but to end their marriage. Their three daughters - Claudia, a television chef with a hard-hearted attitude; Olivia, a successful architect who suffers from gentrification guilt; and Patricia, a social media wizard who has an uncanny knack for connecting with audiences but not with her lovers - are blindsided and left questioning everything they know. Each will have to take a critical look at her own relationships and make some tough decisions along the way.

Tell Me How to Be by Neel Patel

Lost in the jungle of Los Angeles, Akash Amin is filled with shame. Shame for liking men. Shame for wanting to be a songwriter. Shame for not being like his perfect brother. Shame for his alcoholism. And most of all, shame for what happened with the first boy he ever loved. When his mother tells him she is selling the family home, Akash must return to Illinois to confront his demons and the painful memory of a sexual awakening that became a nightmare.

Akash's mum, Renu, is also plagued by guilt. She had it all: doting husband, beautiful house, healthy sons. But as the one-year anniversary of her husband's death approaches Renu can't stop wondering if she chose the wrong life thirty-five years ago and should have stayed in London with her first love.

Together, Renu and Akash pack up the house, retreating further into the secrets that stand between them. When their pasts catch up to them, Renu and Akash must decide between the lives they left behind and the ones they've since created.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

For the past couple of years, I’ve been working with researchers in northern Greece who are farming metal. In a remote, beautiful field, high in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, they are experimenting with a trio of shrubs known to scientists as “hyperaccumulators”: plants which have evolved the capacity to thrive in naturally metal-rich soils that are toxic to most other kinds of life. They do this by drawing the metal out of the ground and storing it in their leaves and stems, where it can be harvested like any other crop. As well as providing a source for rare metals – in this case nickel, although hyperaccumulators have been found for zinc, aluminium, cadmium and many other metals, including gold – these plants actively benefit the earth by remediating the soil, making it suitable for growing other crops, and by sequestering carbon in their roots. One day, they might supplant more destructive and polluting forms of mining.

The three plants being tested in Greece – part of a network of research plots across Europe – are endemic to the region. Alyssum murale, which grows in low bushes topped by bunches of yellow flowers, is native to Albania and northern Greece; Leptoplax emarginata – taller and spindlier, with clusters of green leaves and white petals – is found only in Greece; and Bornmuellera tymphaea, the most efficient of the three, which straggles across the ground in a dense layer of white blossom, is found only on the slopes of the Pindus (its name comes from Mount Tymfi, one of the highest peaks of the range).

What I have come to understand about these plants is that, by virtue of their evolutionary history and their close association with the soil, climate and wider ecosystem in which they have emerged, they embody a certain kind of knowledge: an understanding and accommodation with the places they have found themselves in. Humans have sought out deposits of rare metals for thousands of years, and developed ever-more violent ways of accessing them, but these plants have been around far longer, and have found more equitable and regenerative ways of doing much the same thing. Perhaps we have something to learn from them.

Hyperaccumulators are far from being the only non-humans that we might learn from, as scientific research in recent decades has shown us. Take slime moulds: strange, unicellular creatures somewhere between fungi and amoebae, which turn out to be very good at solving some very hard mathematical problems. Researchers at Lanzhou University in China have shown that Physarum polycephalum, a particularly lively slime mould, can solve the “travelling salesman” problem – a test for finding the shortest route between multiple cities – faster and more efficiently than any supercomputer humans have devised.

Cows, sheep, dogs and other animals have been shown to predict earthquakes in advance of tremors which register on seismographs. Squids and octopuses, we have learned, spread their neurons out through their bodies in ways that allow their limbs, and perhaps other faculties, to act independently of a centrally controlling mind. Spiders store information in their webs, using them as a kind of extended cognition: a mind outside the body entirely. A new conception of intelligence is emerging from scientific research: rather than human intelligence being unique or the peak of some graduated curve, there appear to be many different kinds of intelligence with their own strengths, competencies and suitabilities.

We’re also discovering all kinds of abilities which suggest whole worlds of being and awareness among non-humans we were previously unaware of. Plants, it turns out, hear and remember. In one experiment, they demonstrated the ability to respond with chemical defences to the particular sound of caterpillars munching on their leaves, even when it came from a tape recorder. In another, mimosa plants – which curl their leaves up when disturbed – learned to ignore being dropped a short distance when it proved harmless, and to react in the same way when tested days or weeks later, having in some way internalised this experience. Meanwhile, beneath the forest floor, we have become privy to the commerce and conversations of trees as they trade nutrients and information between families and species through the networks of fungi which connect their roots, in ways we are only just beginning to understand. These, too, are kinds of intelligence: and among other things, they are the way other species have learned to survive life-threatening events.

In the struggle to mitigate and adapt to climate breakdown – and all the other entangled crises we face – we are starting to recognise that other ways of knowing and acting on the world, from indigenous knowledge systems to changes in our own consumption and patterns of life, are vital to surviving and thriving on a hotter, wetter and more conflicted planet. We know too that this survival is dependent not only on our own abilities and inventions, but on the survival of the other species we share the planet with. The collapse of biodiversity which is already occurring makes it harder for us to hold back the collapse of whole ecosystems on which we too depend: for the pollination of crops, for disease resistance, for safe and sufficient food, for protection from fires and other natural disasters. We will flourish together, or not at all.

The deep knowledge that is possessed by animals, plants and others – their intelligence, we should begin to say – is another reason why we must preserve and protect them. But more than this: we should be listening to them, learning from them and working with them. The hyperaccumulator plants, for example, show us there are other ways of getting what we need from the planet; they also remind us that there are limits to what we should extract, as to turn them into another agroindustrial resource like soya beans or palm oil would be just as damaging. The knowledge that there are other ways of being intelligent on this planet should force us to reassess the centrality and usefulness of our own. Other worlds are not only possible, they have been growing around us all along.

[nights-nonsensical-ramblings]

Sticks and the SCU boys being terrible influences on each other and being general menaces for the boom crews.

the gang tried to play jungle predator. once. all three of the scu boys tool it way way too seriously. scu tails kept making traps out of anything he could find including some that where never triggered and over the next couple weeks random villagers keep getting caught in them. scu sonic spent 10 years in hiding he knows how to stay out of sight. no one sees him during the game until a few seconds before he strikes. scu Knuckles was raised a warrior and is going all in at jungle predator and his brothers made very sure that he understood that it is basically just a training exercise and please do not murder anyone today. sticks is loving how much they’re getting into it. and has gone absolutely vicious. 

Sticks sees scu tails’ boomerang and quickly proceeds to sharpen her own one. Amy has tried and failed to confiscate it.

the scu boys keep getting extremely invested into Sticks stories and all listening intently. and sonic adding on with some of the ones he’s heard from crazy Carl.

the scu kids don’t fully comprehend what dose and dose not count as stealing. and will take things that seem abandoned or not in use. they are often completely wrong. many apologies have been issued by the boom crew as they yet again return items to various villages.

scu sonic found what what oobleck (that things thats a liquid but hard when you hit it.)  is and showed sticks. she ended up ranting for an hour about it being an alien concoction for making an inescapable trap.and at one point she ended up tossing the tub of it and all four ended up covered in it as well as whatever place they where at. and this was the point where it was decided that the four of them where no longer allowed to be left together without super vision.

many people have got caught in the crossfire of a superpower Cain instinct fueled fight. the scu brothers as with basically all their interactions take sibling squables to the extreame.

the villagers quickly learn not to insult any of the scu boys after: tails pulling a gun out “do you want to repeat what you just said about my brothers?” Sonic charging and zapping them with no hesitation and knuckles challenging them to fights in his brothers honor.

The boom crew have never felt more existential dread until the moment they overheard the trio laughing about something out of sight and going to see what was happening, only for them to go dead quiet, freeze and give that classic guilty kid look. The boom crew never found out what they did and live in fear to this day.

boom sonic has had to grab scu sonic many times mid run because he got an idea in his head and as any hyperactive kid with super speed would just went for it without really thinking about it. boom sonic is completly exhausted dealing with scu sonic who is excited at every little thing he sees. And he’s not used to someone with more energy than him.

scu tails and boom tails are equally facinated by each others inventions and loving swaping stories about their two diferent worlds. but boom tails is quite concerned about how many of scu tails’ inventions are dangerous weapons.

there is quite a bit of tesion at first between scu and boom knuckles. mosly comming from scu knuckles side, he hasnt seen another echidna since he lost his tribe and he’s not quite sure how to deal it. especialy one who seems to have no knollage of the echidna of this worlds culture. but things calm down and scu knuckles feels a bit more comfortable. at one point the two of them end up digging a massive pit out in the woods. 

Sticks is having the time of her life now that she has people that are as feral, wild and prone to trouble as her.

Amy is *this close* to marching over to Eggman’s lair and have him lock the scu trio + sticks up so she can have some piece and quiet.

Eggman is in a constant state of “awe so cute” and fear of the boys.

The boom crew are relieved when they can hand the boys back over to Tom and Maddie (they enjoyed their company but they’re such a handful. And they would not say no to future visits)