#and a whole bunch of stuff occurred leading up to it but he started making a mystery type thing for us to solve while we’re doing the word

[carolmunson]

okay, since some of you asked for it:

unpopular opinion but i don’t actually think eddie was a nice soft boy at all. dustin and mike are literally afraid to ask him to move hellfire. ‘he’s always revved up,’ implying that he’s always like this, always a little close to snapping. he’s not nice to them when he asks them to find a replacement. he also guilt trips them about 'taking them in like lost sheep' and shoves them off to find a replacement instead of keeping lucas included. which is why i don't understand the 'fierce protector of his friends' take because he's so quick to drop lucas just because he's 'moved to the dark side.' aka, throwing balls into laundry baskets.

which leads me to when he gets up on the table, people are not trying to fuck around with him. this is a common occurance, people are not surprised to see him up there and yelling. they aren't surprised that he's making a spectacle of himself. if eddie was soft and sweet, he would’ve gotten beat up. if eddie was soft and gentle, he'd probably be scared of jason. guys like jason in the 80s loved being macho and punching out losers — eddie just gave him the devil horns and called it a day. eddie’s absolutely gotten in fist fights before and won (his dad is a literal criminal!) otherwise someone would've thrown something or told him to shut the fuck up. people are scared of him, even his own friends! there’s more reasons than just playing DND and metal that make town certain that he’s a cult leader. you don't just assume someone is a murderer if they haven't shown any interest in violence before, especially considering his dad was likely a shitty dude. he even bullies erica when she first shows up to hellfire and only respects her when she bullies him back and bests him. he is someone you have to EARN respect from. he will never respect anyone outright or be understanding outright. he doesn't fully respect dustin or mike to start either, he views them as underlings.

even chrissy assumes he's going to be mean and scary, there's gotta be reason behind that. he's not nice or kind in school, which is likely a defense mechanism. he’s sweet with chrissy because he likes her, he has a crush on her. it’s very clear that he has since he was a kid, otherwise why would he bring up them hanging out in middle school? why would he even remember that if he hasn’t been pining for her this whole time? he admits too, albiet flirtily, that he thought SHE'D be mean and scary too, because he doesn't like people 'like that', people he assumes are 'on the dark side'. i’m sure he hoped they’d kiss a little when she went to his trailer. he's even a little sarcastic when she's there, again, defensive. 'the maid took the week off'. but ultimately, he's nice to her because he wants to kiss her and has a crush on her. i don't think it's because he's fully 'showing her who he really is'.

also he's a literal drug dealer????? like?????

he only becomes more gentle and open with dustin and co. when he gets pulled into the upside down/vecna stuff because he needs support. they grow a bond over shared trauma. and i do believe eddie had a big brother type relationship with dustin, but just like steve he loves him begrudgingly 'i love you, you little shit bag' kind of shit. i do believe he liked and cared for his friends but i also think he always had a big layer of mean kid armor on because he had a hard life growing up. how i percieved the character is 'mean bully whose secretly nice but is mean and boisterous and loud as a cover' trope. when he explains that his father taught him to hotwire, he seems bitter about it. of course he is, all the other kids were learning to play ball. but he obviously still retains this information and a whole bunch of other crime tricks from his dad. he's BEEN partaking in this shit. he KNOWS he's a shitty guy. you don't just get taught how to hotwire once and then suddenly know how to do it years later. he's done it before! multiple times! he has practice! he likely knows about warzone cause his daddy absoLUTELY had a gun or two. his dad probably took him there once. he was pulled left and right into bad shit growing up and that will HARDEN YOU. wayne says that murder 'ain't in his nature' and i'm sure it's not. i'm sure he's different with wayne, but idk, to me, it doesn't erase the fact that outwardly, i don't think eddie was nearly as sweet and gentle as people think he is canonically. i think he's a very hardened and tortured person and that even becomes clear with his reaction to chrissy's death and how he goes about things going forward. he was a weird kid with weird interests in a cookie cutter conservative town, had a criminal father, and an unconventional family situation in the 70s and 80s, that shit'll fuck you up and over -- look at boomers y'all! they are emotionally stunted! but, i could go on forever with this character analysis. so i'll stop here. but -- in the words of the real housewives reunion meme: that's MY OPINION!

[dizzyhslightlyvoided]

@diva-of-the-reef replied:

I’m wondering if Sage and shadow are like, at war with each other 200 years in the future or if sage just becomes a business tycoon with the most successful corporate empire on the planet and she and shadow rarely talk. Maybe she’s handling a shadow organisation that shadow constant thwarts? So many ideas...

My preferred vision for Future Sage In Silver's Era is highly specific. Okay basically ...

The whole thing hinges on the fact that Sage's tragedy as a character is that unlike Eggman, she isn't wrapped up in a permanent ego-trip, and so she's able to think up ideas and solutions which would never occur to Ego-man (i.e. "team up with Sonic"); however, she's blindly obedient and loyal to Eggman, and he's kind of fifty-fifty on even listening to her when she tells him something he doesn't want to hear!

In my idea, this ironically leads to a happy ending. When her old man finally kicks the bucket, her simulations on the "violently conquer the world and transform it into a monument to Father's ego"-plan show a success rate of zero percent, and he's not there to say "do it anyway" anymore. So for starters, she just ... doesn't. Sonic and Shadow reach out to her, and she goes along with it, becomes proper friends with them. Grunkle Shadow is also family, after all! They can help her recover from (vague gesture at everything about Eggman), help her gain independence from the idea of being "just Eggman's daughter." Teach her to be her own person, to find her own way in life.

And in that way, she gains everyone's trust. No need to blow it all on her daddy issues! In fact, hey, she's great at running simulations and probably inherited a bunch of Egg Knowhow, why not start, y'know ... selling out her services! She's got Shadow at least to vouch for her (even after Sonic and everyone else is gone), everyone knows that he and Omega would be there to thwart her if she tried to do something evil. And she's not gonna let anyone else use her services for evil either, of course! Eventually, she starts getting the ear of different heads-of-state, maybe even help out in people's homes using some sort of distributed intelligence stuff ...

... and long before the 200-years-from-now, she's basically running the whole world, at everyone else's behest. It's only pragmatic to make it a veritable utopia, too, so that nobody wants to "overthrow" her!

There's any number of ways this could go, of course, but in my idea, the twist is that there is no twist: she isn't secretly evil, she's not setting it all up so that she can conquer everything later, she genuinely does have the world's best interests in mind and wants it to be a utopia. Her father threatened the entire world, and she lives to serve, so now she serves the world itself!

That said, for Eggman, it was never about ruling per se. He wasn't a people person, and with anything that wasn't fully automated and programmed to obey his every command, he couldn't govern his way out of a wet paper bag; he just wanted it to be illegal for anyone on the entire planet to not be worshiping him 24/7. Which means that if he does cause problems from beyond the grave with i.e. some kind of time-delayed Cunning Plan set to go off after his death, his robots might have objections to how Sage has been running things! Good thing she's got the help of a great-uncle who's the Ultimate Life Form, a killer robot "brother", and hey wait, her data-network has just recorded the birth of a hedgehog named Silver ...

[mercurytrinemoon]

How do you rectify a chart? I can’t figure out if I’m Leo, Capricorn or Virgo ascendant

It's kind of a complex thing to do and a lot of explanation so I'll try to give some of the most crucial tips:

First important thing in rectification is to use a wole sign house system. If you're a Leo rising at 29 degrees, it doesn't matter. The whole Leo is your 1st house and so on

Also REALLY think of what makes the most sense to you. So you say Leo or Virgo or Capricorn. Now I'm assuming you have approximate time frame for Leo/Virgo cause they're next to each other but where does the Cap possibility come from? Is it an am/pm debate or what?

Look at each possible rising sign through whole sign houses and try to REALLY be objective when it comes to your planetary positions and what planets rule what houses. Look at the ascendant ruler. Where would each ascendant ruler fall? WHAT planet is your ascendant ruler? Being Saturn-ruled will be SO much different than being Sun or Mercury-ruled.

Ask people around how they view you. Think of what you value the most about everything. Think of what approach in life you have.

That will be your basis but the real rectification starts with looking at transits and progressions:

Prepare a list of dates of important events in your life, it can be anything that stands out in your memory (injuries, heartbreak, starting/ending a relationship, getting a job, moving, travelling, starting a hobby, weird coincidences etc).Use profections to see what planet was active during a given year to see what planet will be the most prominent during that year.

Look back at transits regarding those events. If you have 3 options with your rising sign, you need to mix and match and see what makes sense in terms of planets transiting your houses/planets.

For example: in 2017 I went through a 3rd house profection year ruled by Mars. So Mars was my time lord. Almost immediately after birthday I started getting ill and having various acute health problems pretty much throughout the entire year. So I could already tell the energy for that year was very martian: inflammatory and sudden and just malefic in general.

Another example: my sister is a Pisces rising and during one of her 1st house profection years she got married. Her 1st house profection would of course be ruled by a benefic Jupiter, which can indicate a good year, especially for someone with a day chart (Sun above the asc-dsc axis). That year transiting Jupiter entered Cancer - her 5th house where she has her natal Moon. That year during the transit she also happily got pregnant. So she got a double blessing from Jupiter cause it was her time lord and it also coincided with a good transit to her chart.

Look at planetary cycles. For example, Venus is retrograding every 8 years in the same sign. Last summer it was rx in Leo. How did that affect you?

Think of your Saturn transits. What heppened when Saturn was in Leo vs Virgo vs Capricorn? When Saturn transits the 1st house, we often take solid care of our health and bodies, start work out routines, often times because health issues pop up etc. Sometimes Saturn through the 12th can bring health issues (usually chronic or ones that are hard to diagnose) as well tho so keep that in mind.

You need to really sit down and do a bunch of notes and draw conclusions.

Let's take an example of my exhibit Gemini rising: his ascendant ruler is Mercury. During his 1st house profection year (which already indicates there can be stuff happening to the body), he injured himself. So his time lord for the year was Mercury - this will be a planet that is more sensitive that year. Now looking at his transits, his injury occured when transiting Mars was squaring his Mercury. On top of that, that Mars was also opposing his ascendant, which can also lead to accidents.

Generally also look at the state of your potential ascendant ruler: is it in a good or bad house, is it well or badly aspected and is it exalted/fallen/whatever etc.

Secondary progressions can also be useful. Look at progressed benefics and malefics and if they went over your potential axis. Now it's hard to rectify an exact degree of the ascendant but let's say you have your natal Mars in Cancer and it progressed into Leo at some point: if you're a Leo rising, it would progress into your 1st house and so maybe you started being more accident-prone or started having anger issues or suddenly found interest in sports. Now I don't know the rest of your chart so that's just a hypothetical example.

Generally it's a tedious thing to rectify a chart but you either REALLY sit down for a few days or weeks and do it yourself or you can pay a ton of $$$ for someone else to do it for you. Also once you feel like you did the job, still keep an eye out for transits and how they affect you, just to have a confirmation.

Hope that helps

[scover-va]

I love your fnaf stuff so much! And I'm very sorry if you've already covered most of this, but like- any more details on Michael post-scooping? Idc whether that be how to fits in publicly (if even possibly lol), relationships he builds, his mentality, or just important events you planned for him after the scooping! Idc if it's even an AU you have, I just love how you write Michael and would love to hear more of anything! :)

cracks my fucking knuckles oh BABEY ok this is going under a read more because i know damn well this is gonna be multiple paragraphs long. Ty anon, michael afton is my favourite topic ever

Okay so, something important to note here is that even if I choose to ignore all of Dittophobia, my au still does have Sister Location occurring after FNAF 1 - Specifically late December, so like. A month after fnaf 1. It ALSO coincides with the fnaf 3 minigames that lead up to William's death. That's a longass discussion all in itself tho so I'll probably make a follow up post on that if requested

But! Post-Scoop Mike! During the time period of Ennard inhabiting his body he was essentially unconscious for the entire ordeal. Like. Yknow how majority of the ghosts are kinda lacking some level of awareness while in the suits? Yeah. Michael doesn't really remember it, but he still remembers the time passing, so it's not just. Like. Dying on the scooping room floor, then BAM! Alive on the sidewalk. It's sorta like. Yknow those movie/show/game cutscenes where everything's vague and blurry and slow-motion and the audio is funky. Like that

When he DID get his body back, for a few minutes it was sorta like. He was back to full awareness. Noticed he could see things, and that his limbs felt heavy, and that he could hear a mix of ringing and the "You won't die" line and flies buzzing around him. The sunlight felt too bright. You know when you take one of those naps that severely fucks you up, and because of that you wake up half-numb, dizzy, and disoriented? Now imagine that but a million times worse. He's in pain everywhere, his senses are readjusting, he knows he shouldn't be able to see or hear or speak but he can do those things anyway. And he can tell that despite it being a bright, sunny day, no one's coming to his aid. So he forces himself up and painfully stumbles home.

Now, well my timeline of events between SL and 3 is a bit vague, I do have the important stuff down. He gets home, and despite not having been allowed to contact his mom since late '86 (this is important and relevant guys i prommy) and having been told she was dead, he called her anyway. Long story short, one phone call later and also lots of general, messy emotional stuff, Michael. Left the state of Utah as a whole and went and lived with his mom over in California. Because of the whole being dead thing, he did kinda unfortunately sever ties with Jeremy and Henry (aka the only two living people left he even spoke to, besides William but he's a week dead by now), but like. He wasn't really sure how he could approach those situations. A guy who's lost a bunch of cognitive and motor abilities, and a man who fell into a deep depression after his daughter's death. Michael kinda saw telling them as like. I dont really have the word for it, but he saw abandonment as the better option. Figured it'd hurt them less

When it came to fitting into public, it was essentially the same as how he blends in during fnaf 6, just with MUCH darker clothes. He likely did hide away for a while, refusing to go outside, but started slowly readjusting. He didn’t make any bonds while there (unless his mom’s adoptive parents count), mostly keeping to himself. He worked, but it was always nightshift jobs where no one else would be around.

Luckily, his hygiene has gotten MUCH better! Due to being a rotten corpse, he tends to start smelling bad and being a general safety hazard rather quickly, so typically he’ll do a thorough shower in the morning, and then another quick shower at night, just to be safe. And also he wears perfume, to avoid a smell building up. Just to be safe.

About 10 years (ish. I picked a general number so I didn’t have to pinpoint exact timing) into his 30 year disappearance, his mom does unfortunately pass. Lung cancer, turns out smoking a shit ton out of grief is a bad idea. Better than the murders, probably. It was very much so a rough time for Mike, given being in and out of a hospital (bad memories from Evan’s death and Jeremy’s near-death kept him in a constant state of anxiety during this time, not to mention those events already made him plenty anxious, paranoid, and overall jumpy when in hospitals) and then the eventual death. That’s when his goal to hunt down his dad kinda went into full swing. Because, well, that last sorta tether just snapped, so now he’s far more goal oriented.

It was probably full of him following small leads. Contacting some distant relatives of his, contacting his father’s old business partners - he kinda tried to procrastinate going back to Utah (specifically Hurricane) for as long as possible. But then news about Fazbear Frights came around, and the return kiiiinda became inevitable. Because unfortunately, it was a damn good lead. Also, once again, Michael remains friendless in this time. Outside of any possible employers or the people he contacted, he hasn’t actually properly, freely spoken to anyone since his mom or grandparents. And he kinda cut ties with his grandparents out of guilt after his mom passed.

And Fazbear Frights is. Interesting! Because as he’s used to, he has to go in to meet his employer! But what he’s not used to is seeing his estranged kinda-cousin-kinda-brother whom he hasn’t seen since they were, like, 14. Aka Sammy. It’s an incredibly awkward experience all around, despite them both having somewhat similar goals. They agree to pretend not to know each other.

Work goes, well, as it pretty much does in game. Nothing special. Probably some panic and resurfacing trauma on night 2. Anyways the fire! That’s the important part!

As one would expect, Michael was quick to get out of the fire. Wasn’t exactly hard to set it - the place is old and dirty and fucking *moldy* - he just tossed a half-smoked cigarette at some loose oil or something and the bitch was ablaze.

William (slash springtrap but im just saying william for simplicity’s sake) caught him in one of the hallways. And had the fucking *audacity* to try and plead with Michael to help him out of the building. And the kicker is that if it weren’t for survival instincts kicking in and causing Michael to topple William over and crush Will’s arm with an arcade machine to keep him down long enough for a quick escape, it would’ve worked. Michael is. Uh. Very emotionally and mentally vulnerable.

A couple years pass after that, before a new Freddy’s place opens, needing someone to run it. Michael does have experience business-wise thanks to watching and learning from his dad as a kid, so it couldn’t be *that* hard, right? He applied under a fake name, got himself all disguised and whatnot, and headed in!

Michael Afton’s Emily Family Reunion Counter: 2

It did take a few minutes for the recognition to actually happen. But. Yeah it was a lil awkward. Considering Michael’s very silent and very sudden exit 32 years ago. Oh yeah also i have fnaf 6 taking place over more than just a week, stretches out from about 2025-2026. No specifics, just a general span of time. Feels more realistic to me, idk. I get the 1 week thing for gameplay/continuity reasons, but hey! This is just an au! I can do whatever shit I please!

And Iiii! Still need to actually flesh out the fnaf 6 stuff beyond my silly lil jokes. Uhh, I think majority of the stuff gets covered here? Feel free to ask further questions on anything, im more than happy to talk about it :-)

[kingsknights]

so, what would i be without starting at the flagship oc of mine- ronin. he’s arguably my most fleshed out oc, and is like “king if he was cool , but also missing an arm” (someone ate it)

he’s a titanfall pilot that is picked up by a phys gun and thrown into the multiverse , to distill a bunch of story beats into one hyperbolic sentence. warning - very long read coming up. take this reading in bits , and come back as you can <3 also - trigger warning for topics like mental illness and violence . the warning will appear again closer to when its going to show up .

of course since i actively write this character he’s still being added to, and his story is going to be kind of “what he’s doing in this verse” rather than “here’s an arc”.

im gonna make a few introductory posts about my characters , then just whenever something hits me that is specific character coded , ill be like “this is ronin” on this blog

all of these first posts will be a stat sheet (height, build, age, name) then some important pre-multiverse stuff.

ronin bueller

age: 28

height: 7’3”

build: athletic, not crazy hyper muscular - but strong enough to do his jobs .

TW: mental illness , violence

(titanfall recap: humans discover space travel, colonize planets- a big corpo rises called the imc and starts taking over planets, the people form a militia called the frontier militia and they fight)

ronin’s story starts with his parents, of course- but not in the way you expect . ronin’s mom served in the first titan war, coming out of it early for the frontier militia’s early experiments with void energy. specifically, human-void energy usage.

in simulacrums, (a robot that a human’s uploaded into) void energy allows them to temporarily enter a different reality to avoid damage or just teleport seemingly. however , its gone mostly untested* in humans until ronin’s mom , morgan .

*wraith from apex legends, but that was imc testing

so, between the events of titanfall one and two , morgan and the project lead on this whole void-human experiment- tomo, get together as they are nearing the apex of the project - actually injecting void energy into morgan . upon injection, near unspeakable things occur. equipment is broken, and people are left barely breathing. when the dust settles, its tomo who is able to quell whatever happened to morgan .

the people sponsoring the project , seeing what happened- quickly pulled funding and covered up what happened . several bribes later , the research station was decommissioned and laid dormant. but morgan and tomo stuck together.

one night , tomo just admitted he wanted a kid. it was entirely out of nowhere for morgan, but.. she was ready.

when morgan and tomo go to the doctor for their (very privately documented) checkups , gene projections show that their baby would either end up having some crazy and unknown super power , or end up with some genetic mutation because of the effects of the void serum injection.

i have intentionally neglected explaining what happened to morgan , because it doesnt become a problem until ronin is born- but ill explain it.

ronin is born, and as it turns out- he is just growing rapidly. like, 6” by age fifteen, and topping out at 7’3” at 22 .

so , a few months after ronin is born , tomo and ronin are out going on an evening walk when upon returning , find the house trashed . and , morgan huffing and writhing on the floor . not in pain , but in an other-wordly anger . tomo steps back outside holding ronin close and calls someone to help . hours later , baby ronin lay in a crib next to tomo in a hospital room . with morgan laying motionless .

a group of three doctors approach , and explain to tomo that morgan has what they are calling “ARS” , or “Always Ready Syndrome”. this means nothing, and is more an attempt to put a name on something even they dont understand because they need to document it .

what is later learned as ronin grows up and is main source of ronin’s troubles coming up is that when morgan is injected with this void energy , she is connected with an alternate reality where she is still alive, but.. the imc had arrived at the main frontier militia planet , harmony . where morgan and tomo moved to to conduct the void experiments .

however , the morgan in that alt reality is connected with the reality that our story is in .

basically- morgan and alt morgan know each other exist . and at first, thats all it was . but , seemingly at random times, the morgan’s will swap . alt morgan exists in ronin’s reality, and morgan goes to the alt reality . eventually , alt morgan realizes that tomo and ronin are alive in this universe .

medicine is very slowly developed, and morgan is able to keep alt morgan out . at the cost of losing more control of herself if alt morgan breaks through .

alt morgan watches as ronin grows up- and even wants to be a pilot through morgan’s eyes . and she grows angry . incredibly angry .

one night , when ronin was 15 , he was up late doing homework when who he thought was his mother shuffling down the stairs . of course , ronin was never told about any of this . not until recently . all he was told that if mom didnt seem right , to call a number and leave the house .

ronin calls out to his mom , but .. nothing is returned . she shuffles towards the knives and ronin notices . he taps his shorts to find his phone , but its across the island where morgan was .

his footsteps were careful . intentional . adrenaline coursing through him as he attempted to reach over the island and take his phone . he reached out and got his hand on it , but his mom was too fast . ( violence ahead, you’ve been warned)

morgan brought the cleaver down into ronin ‘s arm , letting go as ronin pulled away . because of her strength- she nearly cut it clean off . ronin bursted out the side door - screaming as the cleaver slides out and onto the now crimson sidewalk he rushed out through . everyone in the neighborhood was woken by the loud sirens , and ronin collapsing on the concrete .

ronin can barely remember what happens between arriving at the hospital and the news being broken that his arm would be better off amputated than being treated . militia insurance wouldn’t cover ronin , and especially wouldn’t cover any prothesis .

he does remember tomo crying above him . head hung low with stress weighing on him .

ronin couldn’t return to school for a while- so had to learn and catch up while recovering from the amputation while missing his left arm from the elbow down . tomo was there every day , talking with doctors , family friends and trying to find something for ronin .

when ronin was finally able to return to class , he was gifted a.. very custom-made wooden arm that - if nothing else let him at least have something to fill his sleeve so outfits didn’t look odd .

his classmates all banded together to make it for him , in a rare case of kindness . when ronin came home , tomo started crying again . holding ronin , and feeling both arms again was amazing .

morgan was sent to 24/7 care center , personally overseen by one of the old void experiment sponsors . they felt responsible for it, in some way- however , it was either morgan or ronin . tomo didn’t get a say , just .. saw morgan leave .

as ronin grew up - he felt even more of a drive to be a pilot . so , he spent a lot of his free time training as best as he could , until he was 19 . when , a recruiter noticed this same drive , and ronin’s last name .

the marauder corps pilots personally oversaw the development of a grappling hook arm to replace ronin’s cobbled-together wood arm that he had to reinforce with metal to be able to lift weights . tomo was with him the whole way , and watched him graduate basic training with that rickety wood and metal arm .

when ronin joins the marauder corps- he was gifted the arm and a titan specially fit to his seven-foot stature . ronin was beyond excited , and the moment he was free , sent pictures and tried to call tomo to no avail .

tomo was probably busy , which is what ronin believed as he went on to greet his titan .

pilots are really units that consist of two elements , the pilot , (ronin in this case) and the titan , who is DE-3492 , or delta . pilot’s link to their titan via a brain chip that allows the titan to connect with the pilot and do complex actions when a pilot is piloting a titan .

but , this linking also creates a special bond that is solely unique to a specific pilot and titan unit .

the role titan-pilot units fulfill is to not only battle other titans , but give the side using it an overwhelming amount of firepower .

ronin and delta become practically inseparable . always training , or doing something together . that is , until he is offered to join the ACES , Angel City’s Elite. a group of pilots lead by titan war veteran robert “barker” taube .

ronin joins , and really finds a place he belongs in . of course- there’s a titanfall one and two, so where is ronin during that? he is mostly not fighting typhon , the main planet - but is called in for a big assault on an IMC base where the power to a planet destroying gun is being held . ronin is part of the initial assault force , and is left at the entrance to cover the flank at the entrance .

ronin and delta fight tooth and nail to hold their position , with the two finally being evac’d before the planet explodes . as ronin is being treated for his wounds, and delta is repaired - the two rejoice in their victory .

okay - thats everything . pre-phys gun into the multiverse . thank you for reading! expect longer stories like these between other posts <3

[anotherexistingbeing]

Reborn primordial headcannon dump:

A king's last hope/A warrior's internal conflict/A reincarnation's path

After the whole "sealing powers away from a 12yr cub that was basically going insane, The cub didn't want Wukong to touch them or anyway cuz they were pretty angry and upset

Wukong thought he could leave the cub to some alone time but later on when he tried to pick them up(because it started raining), he saw they weren't in the same spot and panicked a bit before using his golden vision to zoom around to find them

Wukong from afar saw 12yr Kito being taken care of by Ao Bing and the kid actually being a bit happy for the first time in 6 years, Wukong had some time to reflect on how his parenting skills were and upon thinking it over

He decided not to retrieve Kito and instead give them up, At least he put the restraints on Kito so they wouldn't hurt themselves as well as anyone around them in the near future

When Kito uses too much power and especially at once, they have a high chance to physically hurt themselves pretty bad

Externally or internally, the injuries could be fatal and if not treated could lead to death, So you could save Wukong saved their life a bunch of times which is something Kito didn't understand for a long while

______

We already know he's the type to watch from afar and upon seeing Kito actually growing up and getting better via health, emotionally and mentally speaking, it actually pains him that he mostly failed as a dad but his love for Kito never wavered

It's hard seeing someone you cared about so much end up doing better without you and the moment you get a chance to attempt to be close to them again, it doesn't always go so well

Upon Kito's perspective, They don't like Wukong but they don't hate him(same with Macaque)

They still have memories of the two simians in their childhood where Macaque actually cared (he still does he just thinks he hides it well, his hatred for Wukong overshadowed that love though) and the king who loved too hard too fast Wukong still has those habits of physical contact like a hug or a simply paw on the shoulder, ECT.

But he always gets bonked by Kito who showed on multiple occasions that they are not close/not comfortable with that buddy buddy act

(same goes with Macaque cuz he does the buddy buddy act too)

_______

Now what causes more a problem between Mac and Kito is that Mac knows Kito can act like Wukong when triggered correctly, We all know Macaque likes seeing Wukong pissed af and the fact Kito tends to pull off that same personality sometimes causes Mac to always. Piss. Off. The. Cub.

Or at least he tries to, So far Macaque only triggered Kito badly when it came to Red son's safety in the past(cuz Kito looked like they were bouta kill Macaque on the spot, Lbd's voice trying to encourage the cub's yang side but Kito has stupidly high self control)

Moving back to Wukong and Kito's relationship, Wukong gets worried a lot because not only does Kito struggle with morals and stuff but also they tend to show Macaque's manipulative and bitter side

As in "let's fight right now, seeing you makes me upset" sort of deal, When Wukong sees this side pop up he tries dismissing both him and Kito from conversing further until Kito calms down

But Kito has those negative tendencies to provoke and fight Wukong (especially for the shit he pulled with the gang in lmk)

______

Kito is the type to struggle with letting go of things of the past, Hence why they have grown to be so bitter despite the MEGA amount of training and lessons they went through

Sadly enough, Kito is a neutral character who only reacts depending if injustice they connect with occurs, family or friends get threatened or if they even care if a problem arises

Despite everything they tried to learn and stuff they had been through, 414 years later and they still never got the crown off their head

The inability to actually be what they are expected to has always crushed them and they even tell guanyin that despite their efforts, they can't be what everyone expected them to be

They're no better than the simians they have issues with nor will they ever complete this training, They're accepting the crown as part of their life as well as the Qiankun hoop

"I am many things but a child of heaven is not one of them, I resign being it's student."

_____

Are they a hero?

Are they a villain?

They don't know themselves, The expectation to know exactly who they are is something they always disliked, they're just someone with a butt load of trauma who's still figuring things out and come to accept that it doesn't matter how long it's gonna take anymore

Settling down with people they care about is all they ever wanted

[the-firebird69]

And there are some deep stuff here Ferguson this the plumbing supply company that means us they're mad about it all and they want to reverse it and do a transition and includes demon fighting and we are starting to get upset and angry and good finally. There's other stuff going on if they miss the date of July 1st they'll be up on Mars that's what they say and they say they'll capture him to do it and they say it worked and so forth but no I don't think so they sent their goofballs somehow they managed to get there and the screwing around the whole time and don't seem to get much done that goes on for a time and then zig zag takes control and Schwarzenegger's movie occurs and there is atmosphere created and huge ships show up and fight each other it is his tradition and he is the guardian of the solar system and the universe and it is the way it is and it's greatness and my husband and I assigned him to it and it has been awesome and that's how we see it in American and he knows the language that we're seeing it now because they're speaking Norwegian everywhere

Hera

It means they're finally hunkering down and shutting off all the frivolty stuff and they're getting down to it it's good they're probably the wrestling matches and more but they're very intelligent people but sometimes they need to settle which way it is by his right by who is right

Zues

And we wrestle and it's intellectual wrestling and it came close a few times and we used to do it and we understand it and it's like bears in the woods but really if if some people don't get this I'm going to make them get it and I'm huge like my son and he's gigantic I have to be because he's huge damn it

Thor

She's huge too and from a certain cadre so we have to keep our wits about us but he's right we did get frenzied and ruffled and it's come out but really he says we kick butt in this mode they didn't say it we don't want people thinking of other stupid things but he knows about it the two big ones know it too it's time to get serious they'll play their own chess game and a lot of people can't beat them at all and they can't beat us and we're much better at it and bigger a lot bigger and we're going to help lead and use it as a strength and they can hear us then the smile and think you're back and we've got this thing and that's what he thought too and he loves us very much he says

Freya

I heard him said it happened with some others of us and he said this is great and they said why you guys getting serious and also they said we're hunkering down and that's no doubt about it and we see what you're saying here too and they say it now this is very serious what you're trying and what they're going after and they're making it seem like it's not but boy they're going to get the pants beating off them now people are up in arms it's going to be great

Zig Zag

It's hard to understand a little but he's grown up with it he just puts it down there after a while cuz it's leaking out for about a month he said this is great they're back in action the whole bunch of other people even ours they say you guys aren't speaking correctly it's backwards again lazy you're tired and it is true that's what it is but it's like an all-nighter before the final exam they start smiling and said I know what it is too but boy if you didn't want to reaction

Atlas and Goddess Wife

There's a lot of us who are smiling because he was pushing and pushing he's waiting for us to just turn that amperage up and it's gone up and it was amazing to see him

Ajax and Goddess Wife

This is horrible I'm doing it too and he was very happy about it I'm calling out and calling out and I don't know I've got to do something they start doing stuff and it's working you should have to sign it make it work cuz I can't even get on my own way to get meals and so I looked and it's true I said what are we doing so I decided tons of people and we're moving out I'm going to take it and take the addition and it made me think of apocalypse and I've been coming apart a little bit too this is going to be careful with Africans it's not really true or hunkering down did I tell you what we need to see people help us and they still are and it is helping us get there and then pressing us a lot more it's part of their plan and method and he sent his voice and his boys were sent in his cadre followed and his girls and they discovered tons of stuff and they listen and see it and study and do studies and sent them in and they they're saying what he saying is kind of true where do I threaten everybody's threatened already and then it came to me that it's too dangerous and we are working on it very very feverously we've got tons of help now too and we have class A stuff coming online they're going to regret all this stuff but boy what time it's perfect and I'm getting up too

Apocalypse and She Apocalypse and it is us Gu Oya

We published now it's very important Olympus

I like you all to accept my thank you for paying attention and he's speaking his language and I'm trying to speak mine yes we're hungrying down and the morlock I'm going to start doing it hopefully

Hera

[distantwave]

[pochapal]

Based on your current knowledge, any thoughts or predictions on how the Episodes of Umineko are structured? Like, at what point do you think 1 will end, for instance?

i think currently one of a couple ways.

one way is episode 1 deals entirely with the first twilight's murder of six (and then episode 2 is the two who are close, 3 is gouge the head, 4 is gouge the chest, 5 is gouge the stomach, 6 is gouge the knee, 7 is gouge the leg, and 8 is the solution) so each crime goes into excruciating detail over the course of the game. only thing i'm not sure about with this one is that the rokkenjima conference + typhoon are only slated to last three days and at the current pace for that to work it would have to be a situation where the ushiromiyas are stuck there for at least a week (each "twilight" occurs on a different day) and i think kinzo stated that the golden witch's revival is to be completed over this one weekend. possible, but i don't know.

or we get the whole bunch of epitaph murders in episode 1 and episode 1 ends with the witch's revival. then episode 2 starts as another set of murders. something kind of like homestuck where we cut to the trolls as in "oh let's do the same thing again but with a different bunch of people who are extended reflections of the first bunch". where like the events of each episode are self-contained but connect as part of a wider tapestry until we get a version of umineko where the characters have their shit together enough to solve everything without people dying - in homestuck terms, think things like retcon and post-scratch realities. the thing i'm uncertain about here is that this would lead to massive cast bloat (eight sets of ~eighteen characters all with their own complicated intersection of melodrama and murder is A Lot) that would perhaps water down the individual significance of each character's plot beats.

of course if the meta stuff really comes into play then that opens up a whole bunch more possibilities. stuff like "battler becomes aware of the narrative stream and deliberately edits the events of rokkenjima again and again to brute force a better outcome for those he cares about" or "battler fucks up as a detective/pov character so the unseen author rewrites the story but with a better protagonist who can better uncover the truth they seek to extract from umineko" or even something like "the events of the murders complete in episode 1, then episodes 2 and beyond are individuals on a higher plane/perspective literally going over and trying to analyse and make sense of this series of events just as we the readers are". the obvious problem with this is that i don't know how explicit the metanarrative stuff is going to be so all of the above is equally as possible as it is impossible.

so i'm really not sure! i'm sure once it's first hinted to me i'll Get It but at this stage i don't really know.

[rantswithhannah]

Euphoria Season 2 Review

Just finished the Euphoria finale, for season 2. I have a lot to say.

Firstly, it definitely wasn’t as good as season 1. Season 1 felt a lot more structured - it was more grounded, focused on a few key characters, highlighted each episode by the flashback character work at the start (which would then lead to something in the episode) and managed to center the narrative around a few key character arcs.

This season was a lot more messy.

Let’s list all the major plot lines this season (most of which occur from the fallout of the last season). And then let's unpack them! Warning - major major spoilers for the entirety of Euphoria Season 2!

1) Fallout from Jules leaving Rue, leading to Rue’s relapse, and the breakdown of Rules.

I like how Jules running away led to both special episodes - which unpacked the trauma both of them were dealing with. I especially liked Jules’s rejection of traditional femininity and linking that with being appealing to men. They did manage to solve this pretty quickly - Rules getting back together within one episode - although it did make sense: Jules wanted Rue to commit to something. And then the actual fallout from their split at the end of season one was Rue screaming at Jules and blaming her for her relapse. But the fucking thiing I hated the most was the addition of Elliot to this plot line. Aside from eventually telling Jules about Rue’s relapse, which he knew would cost her 10k fucking dollars, he didn’t really do anything. He wasn’t a good friend, he had no personality outside liking BOTH rue and jules, and he wasn’t a good person either. I think that the eventual devolving of Rules throughout the season due to Rue’s drug use would’ve been enough - Jules could’ve figured this out herself, and then the fallout would’ve been exactly the same. The rest of this plot is virtually the same as the last season - Rue arguing with her family, doing drugs, getting worse, having a traumatic experience and finally getting clean.

2) Ash murdering Mouse, and the whole drug dealing stuff.

This was kind of running throughout the season. I like the introduction to Fez and Ash at the beginning, and their backstories. I liked Faye and Custer. Laurie was kind of an unnecessary addition, in my opinion (at least bringing Rue into the equation - there doesn’t seem to be any reason to include her, at this point, since there wasn’t any fallout from the 10k Rue now owes her). She could’ve been mentioned, just so that there was an idea of a backup drug dealer to Fez, but other than that, the introduction scene in the first episode took too long. This show is character driven, it shouldn’t be focusing on the other aspects that don’t matter as much. I saw that a bunch of people thought that Ash was acting out of character - and that his death was fucking pointless - but I think it was a  decent try to show how growing up in an environment such as that can traumatize and eventually kill a child. But again - kind of unnecessary, but makes sense within the plot.

3) Lexi and Fez! And the play.

I like this aspect of trying to develop Lexi’s character. The play was a nice way to include flashbacks and show Rue and Lexi’s friendship (although maybe not in the last two episodes, where they should’ve wrapped everything up better). And I really like Fez and Lexi. This adds more tragedy to the fact that Fez is now probably in prison. Lexi is also a super compelling character, and I like how they contrast her dealing with her dad being gone in a completely different way to Rue and Cassie (despite all of them being in pretty similar scenarios). Overall, probably the best outlined of this season? It was neatly tied up, at least.

4) Cassie and Maddy and Nate.

This is probably the most interesting arc of the season. I liked how this wasn’t really “fallout” from last season, but was a newly introduced concept that slightly links to where our characters were last season. Maddie and Nate are on their “off” part of the relationship. And Cassie is boyfriend-less and looking for someone. This made Cassie a lot less likable, but also showed her true emotional trauma from her dad leaving - at the lengths she’d go to get someone to love her. It exposed Nate’s truly toxic side (as if he could get any more toxic) and it gave some sympathy to Maddy (who isn’t the best person, overall). I liked how Maddy had her side plot with that rich old lady, and how she finally is free of Nate. The last scene, of her and Cassie in the bathroom, and how she says “this is only the beginning” really sums up the toxicity of Nate as a person and how he manipulates people to be obsessive over him (or maybe it’s not a conscious thing, maybe that’s just who he is). Regardless, I want to see how Cassie pulls herself out of this, and how Maddy focuses on something else now that she’s free to be whoever she wants.

5) The tapes and Cal.

I liked the addition of Cal’s backstory - it gave his character a lot more depth. Him and Nate are definitely the most developed characters (aside from Rue) and you really see their dynamic in this season. How Cal was sexually repressed and forced into a life he didn’t want - making him create a “side” life which brought out a side of him that enjoys hurting people. How his actions of hiding who he truly was affected Nate (as he found out about the tapes) and how their entire family, with their repressed emotions, created the monster that is Nate Jacobs: too repressed to feel anything and only used to taking his anger out on other people. I like the idea of Cal being afraid of Nate - of how he’s ashamed of raising a son like Nate - but also aware that it was his own fault. Also - the fact that he tried to raise his sons to be nothing like him just resulted in his son being him and so much worse is very cool. This arc, with Nate explaining how he used to have nightmares of his dad assaulting him (which is just, woah, poor eleven year old Nate), closing off with Cal being arrested is great. I just don’t know where Nate goes from here. Also - the conversation with Nate and his mom added a lot of depth to how Nate considers his dad to simultaneously be a villain (explaining how all his pent up anger is for his father alone) and like him (with the whole being attracted to men thing) which pretty much sums up Nate - of course, with the added level of violence from the tapes he watched.

6) The forgotten characters.

So - this is what I’m angry about: Jules and Kat and the lack of both of them. Both of them had such compelling stories in season 1 - with Jules exploring her being a trans-girl and what it means to be feminine and how that intersects with being a girl. And Kat (who had a very relatable storyline in my opinion) with how she was insecure and how she had to accept herself for who she actually was. I like this a lot! And then Kat has a ridiculous breakup scene with Ethan (this plot actually had potential - they could’ve explored how you don’t need to be in love with your first boyfriend, how you can make mistakes and don’t need to feel pressured to love someone back) and Jules’s only plot is linked to Rue. We don’t have a single just Jules scene. The fucking scenes with Elliot are pointless - don’t give me a trans-girl and woman of color lesbian relationship, then insert a straight man in the middle. Rue and Jules LOVED each other - they should’ve thrown Elliot out the window. So yes. My two girls deserved better.

7) Cinematography and soundtrack.

I didn’t particularly notice any amazing songs from this season. And neither did I notice any particularly cool shots that did something for the narrative, and weren’t just added for cinematography value.

8) The narration.

For some reason, they got rid of Rue’s beginning narration - in season 1, this really held together the plot for me. Rue narrated at the beginning, gave us a brief look into a character’s childhood, and then showed us how it linked to current events. And then linked current events to other current events. It was a constant driving force that helped the show flow, especially with all the characters present. Why the fuck did they just decide to remove it this season?

9) The ending.

I think it’s a fucking fake out to have the entire last two seasons focus on Rue getting clean, and then state “and I stayed clean for the rest of the school year” like what the fuck? It was that easy this entire time? No, thanks.

10) Final thoughts.

So, euphoria season 2: pretty interesting watch, still with compelling stories and characters. However, not as good as season 1 plot wise, character wise, cinematography wise, or soundtrack wise. A little messy. Could’ve used a lot more Kat and Jules and less Elliot. Also - the pacing was wack. We’re going to have to wait until 2024 (at the least) for season 3, so I’m not going to hope for anything amazing.

[felizlombriz]

Ok i just finished binging Regular Show and I have so many emotions right now. I decided to get into it again because I had finished watching Close Enough and after that I just felt nostalgic for it after seeing jg quintel’s storytelling style and animation. I had never watched the last season and would always watch it on and off when the episodes would air on Cartoon Network but I finally got around to watching it and just finished and gotta say I was not expecting where it was going. I may have binged Regular Show but i remember a lot of the earlier episodes very well from when I would watch it back then and just finally seeing the ending made me so sad but so happy. I wasn’t feeling the whole space thing for a while because I thought regular show was just supposed to be a REGULAR SHOW about a bunch of guys working at the park and their lives but the whole destiny thing with Pops eventually grew on me and jg quintel really got me with that cop-op I legit thought they were going to show the first episode all over again in the finale. Like my mind blanked and I was genuinely shocked when the “bud-dum” theme opening came on and “The Power” episode began to show because it was so sudden. But then they DIDN’T do that and Pops was able to keep the universe from resetting and have his friends continue their lives all with a hug. I loved seeing everyone grow up and mature especially in the end but also throughout the show. I had only remembered the earlier episodes back then so I had come in remembering Mordecai and Rigby as lazy and immature and honestly that would get on my nerves a lot during the rewatch. But as it continued they also continued to grow and had more character depth. I was really happy for Starla and Muscleman when they finally married. Fives was happy playing as a dj with Celia and doing his own thing. Benson finally ended up with someone, Pam, long-term and adopted a bunch of cats and Applesauce the pig and started running the park after Mr. Maellard passed. Skips continued doing his thing but changed things up with some jorts instead of jeans. Rigby graduated and married Eileen and became a loving dad. And I loved how Mordecai didn’t end up with either CJ or Margaret. He was able to move on, begin an art career, and start over and I just really liked that. Pops was my second favorite character (Skips and Gary tie for first place but just barely above Pops) and seeing how he became the focus really surprised me. He’s so loving and loves his friends and I just love how he cares so much. I especially liked the episode “Cheer Up Pops” because I was crying right there with him and it felt like that episode was for the viewers as well to help them cheer up.

I cried seeing everyone continue their lives and I was just sobbing when everyone put up a memorial statue for Pops.

I was sad to see that he didn’t get to live with his friends and continue to grow with them, but I also liked the direction the writers decided to take the story in the end. I always like to look up stuff at the end of something I watch when I really care about it because that just makes me feel a little better and I had found the animations that quintel presented to Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon to try and get the show launched and I really really liked “The Naive Man From Lolliland”. I ended up watching it a lot lol. It didn’t register for me until like probably the last couple episodes of season 8 that Pops was supposed to be a lollipop. I just thought he had a big head lol.

undefined

I had been in a slump for a long time and I loved all the surreal weirdness that would occur in the show and the fourth wall breaking as it lead up to the finale, especially with The Seer. Just seeing everyone and the continuation of their lives and happiness made me feel like everything would work out. I’m a little late I guess but finally seeing one of my childhood shows until the end may have been the boost I needed. Jolly good show.

[maybege]

Birthday Party Adventures

Summary: With his daughter’s birthday party approaching, Paz has many plans to make it all go right. What he didn’t expect was for Emily to invite her teacher and his crush – you.

Pairing: single dad!Paz Vizsla x fem!teacher!Reader

Wordcount: 4.0k | Rating: T

Warnings: Modern AU, fluffy fluff

Oh I feel like it has been ages since I initially wrote this (back in September actually!) but I love it just as much as on the first day and I hope that you will enjoy it too! This is dedicated to my Paz Gang @aerynwrites @datmando @hdlynnslibrary @princessbatears and @stubbychaos who came up with this wonderful AU idea. ❤

masterlist | crossposted on AO3

Paz was overwhelmed.

Paz was truly and utterly overwhelmed.

“Can I go and get my cereal?” Emily asked next to him, clearly bored with her father’s antics, “You will take ages to choose, Uncle Din was right.”

“All right, go ahead,” he mumbled, choosing to ignore the fact that Din had – once again – infiltrated his daughter’s thoughts with horrible lies. He did not take ages. Anybody would take as long as he was taking when the choices were so … vast.

Cake mix after cake mix was displayed in the aisle and how would he know which one he should get?

Emily’s birthday was this weekend – Saturday to be exact and he had promised her a cake. He always promised her a cake. And he always failed.

But not this time.

This time, he had listened to his best friend and would settle on a cake mix although he still felt like he was cutting corners. But at least it would not be store-bought. And, as Fennec had suggested, he could still buy some decorations to make the cake special.

Because that’s what Emily deserved – a special cake, made with love.

So, while his daughter was probably trying to find the sweetest cereal there was available, he tried to settle on a cake.

Deep down, Paz knew that Emily was probably eating way too much sugar. But to be honest, there were so many battles he could fight at once and he was more prepared to fight some judgmental soccer moms than the will of his own daughter.

Holding two cake mixes in his hands – birthday confetti and chocolate – Paz whipped around as he heard an all too familiar voice greet him. “Mr Vizsla, it is so nice to see you.”

There you were.

The woman of his dreams.

Emily’s teacher.

Stars, he knew he was probably acting absolutely ridiculous around you. No matter what kind of school event there was, as one of Emily’s main teachers you were always around he was never able to take his eyes off you.

Not only were you pretty and smart but you were kind. You kept all the kids in check with a calmness that he admired you for and he could see how you valued each and every student in your class. And now you were here, wrapped in an oversized cardigan and clutching a shopping basket in your hands.

But you beamed at him and he was sure he’d never seen anything prettier.

Forgotten were the cake mixes in his hands as he lowered them to the sides of his body. “Hi, um, Miss –“

“Emily was mentioning you were having trouble choosing.”

“Em saw you?”

You chuckled, avoiding your eyes as if you were embarrassed, “I came over to say hello and she mentioned you needed help to choose a cake?”

Speak, for maker’s sake, speak! A voice in his head screamed at him but his brain was still processing the fact that (a) this was not a school event and (b) you were speaking to him, leading to (c) you were speaking to him in your own free time.

“Chocolate.”

“What?”

“I would go with chocolate,” you gestured to the box in his right hand, biting your lip and stars, he wanted to hold your hand and kiss your cheek and take walks through the park with you. Instead, here he was, making a fool of himself.

“I will trust your judgment, then,” he nodded, carefully putting the other box back on the shelf. When that was done, you kept standing there in front of him looking up at him expectantly. Why – why? – couldn’t he speak? It should not be this hard to open his mouth.

He just needed to say I think you are wonderful and I would like to get to know you more. Would you be interested in having dinner with me?

“Um, would you like to …”, his voice trailed off.

You did that lip-biting thing again and your whole face lit up and stars, maybe you wanted him to ask you. “Yes?”

“I was wondering if you would like to –“

“I know you said I wasn’t allowed the sweet ones but it’s my birthday soon,” Em announced loudly, dropping a box in the already full shopping cart and pouting at him, “Can I have it as an early present, pretty please?”

Mission: Ask Pretty Teacher Out For Dinner was immediately aborted and he swore he saw a look of disappointment flash across your face. At least that was something to give him hope.

“Dad always makes me a cake and he fails every year, it’s a tradition by now,” his daughter explained and he groaned inwardly, but then she had her thinking face on – the same she had as a toddler – and suddenly added, “You should bring one.”

“What?”

“Em, I don’t think your teacher has the time to …”

But Em, bless her soul, would not be deterred from her plan. By now he cursed the stubborn streak that ran through his family and had evidently taken root in his daughter as well.

“Dad always talks about how much he likes your raspberry chocolate crumble,” she shrugged, “And my classmates like it too.”

When would the ground open up and swallow him whole?

And the worst thing was: Em wasn’t even lying. She had her blunt honesty from him and the way he had gushed about that raspberry crumble had been unusual, especially for him. But it had also been unusually good. And the way you had smiled at him when he had taken a second serving had made his heart warm.

Now though, there were no words that could describe the embarrassment that flowed through him. He felt exposed in a way that he had not felt for a long time and being at anyone’s mercy – even if it was yours – was not something that he cherished.

“Well,” you started with a smile and looked at him, “If your dad won’t mind, I could certainly bring over a cake for your birthday party.”

“He won’t mind.”

“I won’t mind.”

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise and you smiled, genuinely smiled, at him. Paz’s breath caught in his throat. Stars, you were beautiful. Everything about you was just magnificent from the tips of your hair to your eyes, your nose, your lips, how you hugged your oversized cardigan closer to you.

“Great,” you nodded, “So … I will see you then?”

“My dad will text you the info,” Emily added, seemingly the only one who kept her cool at the situation.

You furrowed your brows in confusion, “Oh, but I don’t –“

“Dad, why don’t you give Miss Y/L/N your number?” Em brazenly suggested, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes that he knew all too well, “For adult stuff.”

He could feel his ears burn, could hear himself sputtering out words about how he did not want to be inappropriate and how this should be your decision and not Emily’s. And stars, he didn’t want to make advances towards you.

Well, he did.

He did want to flirt with you, wanted to compliment you on your kind eyes and your shining smile. But not like this. Not if it made you uncomfortable. And certainly not in the blaring lights of the grocery store aisle.

But before he could say anything more, before he could dig his hole deeper, you had your phone in your hands and were looking at him expectantly. And then he stumbled through his phone number, you nodding all the while and typing the numbers into a new contact.

“Great,” you smiled, “So – I will see you then?”

“Yes,” he murmured dumbly, “I will see you then.”

*

5:33 pm: Hi! This is Y/N 😊 Just wanted to say I’m really looking forward to Emily’s party this Saturday. Is there anything I should bring next to the crumble?

5:59 pm: Sorry, it just occurred to me that you probably only know me by my last name. I’m Emily’s teacher.

6:12 pm: Hello, this is Paz. Emily’s dad. You do not need to bring anything other than the cake and yourself.

7:43 pm: I am looking forward to seeing you too.

*

Saturday rolled around quicker than he had anticipated.

He had spent the week trying to make sure everything would be ready for Emily’s party (and your arrival) and that the apartment would be in tip-top shape to be destroyed by a bunch of kids.

He had spent almost all of Friday night wrapping presents when Emily was fast asleep only to be woken up at sunrise by his very energetic daughter who wanted to have some tasty pancakes from their favourite café around the corner.

He loved mornings like this.

Where it was just Em and him and they could enjoy their peace and quiet. Seeing her grow up was bliss and torture at the same time. He loved her, he was so proud of her and seeing her grow slowly but surely into a confident young woman was everything he’d ever wished for. But at the same time, it felt like time was slipping through his fingers. He wanted to catch these precious moments in his hands and never let them go.

This moment of calm did not last for long though, only for breakfast and until they were back in the apartment, preparing excitedly for the party that was to come.

Baking a cake was a disaster just like Emily had said it would be.

Maybe she had been right in saying that it was a tradition now. Maybe he really would not be able to bake a cake for her.

But now it was not only the cake. In less than an hour, 10 kids would swarm the way too small city apartment and he would need to prepare some food and why had he decided against ordering pizza and what if something went wrong?

And you would show up too, sometime, and he had wanted to change into something more appropriate for actually having a teacher (aka crush) over and being dressed in his flour-covered flannel shirt was certainly not it.

The doorbell rang just as the bowl of cake mix fell to the tiled floor. “Kriffing shit” he cursed trying to jump out of the cloud of grains just as he heard the tell-tale footsteps of Emily running to the door. “I got it!”

“No, Em, wait -!”

But it was too late. He had just caught himself on the doorframe when you stepped into the hallway, looking around curiously. You fit in so well, he thought instinctively, you could live here too.

“I’m a bit too early, I hope you don’t –“ you halted in your words, tilting your head at his flour-covered appearance, “mind.”

“I – I am so sorry,” he started, trying to dust off but only making it worse, “I was a bit in a hurry and I –“

“It’s all right,” you replied quickly, lifting the box in your hands lamely, “I brought cake.”

“I will take that,” Em decided, taking the cake off your hands and transporting it to the dinner table in the living room. But not without showing him the huge grin on her face.

“I’m sorry for the mess, I just …” he threw up his hands in defeat, desperation clear in his voice, as you followed him into the chaotic kitchen.

“No worries, we will manage that just fine.”

The way you said we made his heart beat faster and he stepped aside to make space for you.

The apartment Emily and he lived in was actually a miracle to find in such a big city and he still thanked the stars for the day when the landlord had decided to let him, a single father and his tiny daughter, move in. But for all its perks – the layout, the view, the small balcony that fit a small bench – the apartment had one single flaw: The kitchen.

It was a tiny kitchen with the counters wrapping around all three walls and leaving only the space free where the doorway was. And it was narrow. He had always cursed it, especially with his size, and more than once had he accidentally hit his head on a cabinet door that his daughter had left open.

And where it was small for one full-grown adult, it was a tight fit for two. Which made it even worse. Or better. Depending on how one viewed things.

You bumped against him constantly, his hands brushing accidentally against yours, one time almost smashing into you but only hitting your foreheads together. And you only ever giggled or smiled shyly at him, never ever stepping away from the closeness and it made his heart flutter in his chest.

Maybe – maybe you wanted that too.

While he was mixing the dough together under your careful eyes, you had started to slice some apples that he had found in the pantry. He threw a few glances your way, catching you looking at him too before smiling at you.

Stars, he really was behaving like a lovesick puppy, wasn’t he?

“You are pretty good at this,” he commented, nodding towards the cake that you had brought with you. You spooned a bit of cinnamon into the apple mix, before spreading the dough in the baking form he had found somewhere in a cabinet.

“It’s a hobby,” you shrugged your shoulders, “I was never good with finding new connections when I moved and I found that making good food helps people to talk to you.”

“I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to talk to you,” he blurted out, feeling his ears grow hot, “I mean because – you don’t need baking to be nice and I – fuck, wait, shit no, I don’t mean fuck, I – “

You laughed, full-on giggles escaping you as he sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “I’m sorry, I imagined all of this differently.”

“How – how did you imagine it?” you asked quietly, stepping closer to him. Your eyes were so big now and you looked so hopeful and he could feel his heart skip a beat.

“Well, I wanted to look competent for once,” he stated, gesturing around the filled countertops, “And not forcing you to help me make up my mistakes.”

“You’re not forcing me to do anything,” you protested, biting your lip, “I – I like helping you and … spending time with you.”

“Dad, Alyssa is already on her way, are you sure want to cook? Is the cake even ready? I invited Isabelle and I don’t want her to think that I can’t –“

Apparently, he could not hide the misery on his face – when had he decided that it would be a good idea to not only bake a cake but cook for a hoard of hungry kids? – because you snorted next to him, clearly amused. Emily had crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking pleadingly up at him.

“Don’t worry, your father and I will make sure there will be enough cake to go around,” you reassured his daughter before looking at him, “Do you have a plan for dinner?”

“We could always order pizza,” Emily suggested, the hope in her eyes clear as she looked at him.

Stars, when would he ever be able to deny her anything?

“It’s true,” he chuckled, patting his daughter on her back, “We always end up with pizza anyway.”

So, while you and Em busied yourselves with putting the pie in the oven, he ordered pizza for everyone. (A few family-sized pizzas would be enough right?) And because he was feeling a little more confident, he also added a side of garlic bread and a bottle of wine to the order. Maybe you would like to stay if he could offer a glass of wine?

On his way back, he passed Emily on the way to the bathroom. “I will go get ready,” she announced loudly while also wildly gesturing towards the kitchen.

When he entered the small room, he could feel the heat of the oven already.

“It should be done soon if everything works as it should,” you announced and straightened up, “The kids definitely won’t starve.”

“I cannot thank you enough,” the relief in his voice was clear, “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Then it is a good thing we won’t have to know,” you teased him and the mirth in your eyes made him want to kiss you so badly. And there it was again. That silent tension between the two of you.

This would be a good moment, he thought to himself as he slowly lowered his face towards yours, Emily was occupied getting ready, the pie was in the oven, you were alone with him and he could hear your breath hitch in your throat.

Delicate fingers closed around his wrist, pulling him closer and he could feel your breath on his face and just a little bit more and then –

Ring!

He flinched away from you, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s probably Alyssa,” he whispered, avoiding your gaze.

Alyssa was dropped off by her mother. Her eyes fell to you, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, drying your hands on a towel and looking very much at home (he tried to ignore how warm that made him feel).

“Miss Y/L/N,” she greeted you, clearly caught off guard, “what a surprise to see you here, I didn’t know that Emily had invited you too.”

“Oh well you know …” you shrugged your shoulders and he could hear the wheels turning in your head, searching for a good excuse.

“My dad invited her,” Em announced smugly, her and Alyssa grinning from ear to ear.

The awkward silence between the adults would have been hilarious hadn’t he been a part of it. But what his brain decided to focus on the most was the fact that you had not denied it, you had simply smiled at Alyssa’s mom, made some small talk about the newest English project you had the kids working on, and remained standing next to him the whole time.

Paz was sure that his gazing at you was obvious to everyone present but he could not help himself.

One after another, the little guests trickled in, playing board games and eating your delicious cake in the living room. He helped Em set up the little karaoke game that she had gotten from Din last Christmas and excited cheers filled the room as they tried to look at the different song options.

Paz left them to their own devices, knowing that should anything go wrong, Em would come and get him.

But with the living room occupied, the only space left for him and you to be was the tiny kitchen.

“So … I, um, I helped you with the cake,” you started to shuffle, hands wringing in front of your belly, “I really don’t want to outstay my welcome and –“

“You could stay if you want,” he suggested, blood pumping in his veins, “I – I have ordered some wine and garlic bread if you’d like.”

And that’s how you ended up sitting next to him on the kitchen floor, your legs stretched out in front of you. He had to angle his legs a little, the space between the counters too small for him. But the closeness it provided to you was more than worth it. He fished two wine glasses from the shelf, handing them down to you before grabbing the bottle of wine.

There were no clean plates left so he spread the pizza carton out on both of your legs, the warmth of the food seeping into his thighs.

“To a successful birthday party,” you stated, carefully clinking your glass with his, “And to the very talented father who organized it all.”

“To the best baker out there,” he replied and the way you bit your lip made him smile.

He bit into the garlic bread heartily and his stomach grumbled satisfied.

“This is so good,” you moaned next to him, mouth still full and he grinned.

You ate in peaceful silence, munching on a few leftover slices of pizza that the kids had graciously left. With the warm glow from the kitchen lamps, he decided that birthday parties weren’t so bad when he had you there to enjoy it with.

When he looked at you, his gaze fell to a drop of red sauce that had found its place on the corner of your mouth. You tilted your head questioningly.

“You, uh,” he murmured, gesturing towards his face, “You got something there.”

When your hands missed it, his own rose up to your face. He swore he could hear your breath hitch as his thumb brushed over the tomato sauce, wiping it away.

But your face remained turned towards him, your lips slightly open and were you getting closer?

Was he reading the signs right? He didn’t even know. All he knew was he wanted to kiss you. Really. Truly. No matter how inappropriate it might be.

And with the karaoke in the background and a bunch of 10-year olds shrieking the lyrics to the newest chart, he bowed down his head and kissed you. Full on the mouth.

It was soft and gentle, both of you not moving an inch. But then his hand crept forward, gently framing your cheek and you gasped against him, your hands wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer and stars you were returning the kiss.

You tasted of wine and cake and you were soft, so soft, he loved every second of it.

Slowly, he started to move his lips, brushing his tongue on your bottom lip, pulling your closer and suddenly you were straddling him, his hands on your hips pulling your closer and his back against the counter and the screeching of some Jojo Siwa song in the background.

When he slowly pulled away, your bottom lip falling from his teeth, your chest was heaving from his kisses, your lips were swollen, and he wanted to pull you to him again. A smile tugged at his lips.

“Would you like to go out with me sometime?” he asked breathlessly, eyes searching for any indication that he had crossed a line. But you were still clinging to him, your hands wandering down to grasp at his forearms.

This. This would be what he dreamed about now. The smile on your lips, how your eyes shone in the low kitchen lights, how you kept touching him.

“I’d really like that,” you nodded, the small smile on your lips growing bigger by the seconds.

“Really?” he asked, his nose nudging against yours, “That’s – that’s great, how about tomorrow? We could go for a walk in the park?”

“A walk in the park sounds great,” you whispered against his lips and he dipped his head to kiss you again, just as slowly.

“Good,” he murmured.

“Good,” you repeated, your tongue mingling with his.

“Dad, do we have any more of that cake left, it’s actually really –“

In a panic, he almost threw you off him.

You were doing your best to right your cardigan as Emily entered the kitchen, eyeing both of you suspiciously.

“Sorry, what was that, Em?” he asked, swallowing hard and hoping to all the stars that she hadn’t seen him make out with you like a teenager.

“I was just wondering if you had any more cake left, I can’t believe it but it actually tastes good?!”

He laughed and gestured towards the counter, “there some more, you can take the tray to the living room, I – we will just clean up some more.”

“You know, I totally saw you two kissing, right?”

“Emily Vizsla!”

“What? It is not like I am going to scold you or anything,” and with her usual confidence, she swayed away, the cake in her hands.

“Well, you heard her,” he grinned, hands coming up to frame your face again, as he kneeled on the tiles, his lips descending yours, “It is not like she is going to scold us or anything …”

And with that, he kissed you again.

[themonotonysyndrome]

REDACTED verse - Those that stood above the rest

Summary: Everyone in D.A.M.N simp for the power couple at least a little bit - the Vampire Prince of Dahlia and the Electro Energetic. Gavin and the Freelancer would be lying if they said they haven't been watching them... respectfully. 

TW: [Swearing], [Profanity], [Explicit implications courtesy of Gavin, of course] & [Oblivious narrators]

Apologies for any grammatical or spelling errors because I wrote this the whole night and only edited it once. I’ll do the editing process again tomorrow morning.

-

Life as a student in D.A.M.N is nothing like regular colleges or universities. While the environment is hectic with exams, assignments and teachers with sticks up their asses - there's also a hint of craziness thrown into the mix. You can never really predict how your day would go here in the academy, and to most of the students, it's the typical college experience you'll get everywhere. Just... taken to the next level. 

That's what you get for a magical academy, after all. 

An Air Elemental would accidentally shatter the windows in a classroom with a powerful gust of wind on a random ass Tuesday because she was laughing too hard. A Graviton Energetic would sneeze, and suddenly, the gravity in the music room would stick the instruments on the ceilings. The entire soccer team would fall flat on the grassy field, snoozing because the Serenity Daemon playing as the Goalkeeper uses too much magic to calm their anxious Sweeper during his first play with the team. 

With so many Empowered creatures of all kinds attending D.A.M.N, there's never a dull moment. You learned that the moment a loud growl came from the Debate Club on your second week as a student. A Wolf Shifter had gotten into a heated argument with a Vampire about the toppings that should and shouldn't be on a pizza. 

So yeah, typical college life with magic thrown into your daily shenanigans. 

Today, you can't help but wonder what sort of excitement would occur as the large clock above the lecture hall ticks by, counting down the second before the class is over. 

You check the clock and sigh. Just ten more minutes to go, but it feels like time is creeping forward at such a snail-like pace. Tapping your pen on the open notebook laid before you rather irritability, you just want the lecturer to stop yammering already so you can grab lunch at the food truck parked outside of campus. 

Something gently knocks against your knuckle. You tilt your head to the side and meet with Damien's unamused stare; it looks like this is the third time he caught you losing focus in class. 

"I told you to grab a snack before class started." Damien whispers, mindful to keep his voice even so the lecturer won't catch them chatting. Sadism Daemons are scary when you piss them off, and the way the lecturer's eyes sweep through the students is more than enough to have them all shut the hell up the moment he begins their topic of the day. 

"I was meeting up with Lasko and we lost track of time." You hiss back. Yesterday you made a promise to catch up with the Air Elemental before your first class started to organise the date and invitations for the next game night. Once Lasko starts talking about the things he's comfortable with, he loses his stutter and launches into an animated one-sided conversation. You didn't have the heart to stop him, not when he looks so happy and cute. 

Buying that Arkham Horror board game was the right purchase to surprise him with. 

While your mind replays the morning you spend with Lasko, Damien rolls his eyes. "Of course you did. Here." He pushes his coffee cup towards you. His fingers linger on the cup for a few seconds to make sure that the coffee remains hot enough to drink. 

You grab the cup, grateful for his consideration, and take a big swing. The coffee settles pleasantly in your stomach as warmth spreads within your body. 

You're more a tea drinker - the classic Early Grey and Gunpowder Green - but at this instance, coffee would hopefully kick your focus back into gear. 

"Thanks, Damien." You said before passing the cup back to him. You peeked at his notebook and wasn't surprised to find that it's packed with notes written in different coloured pens. "Hey, want to grab lunch together after this?" 

Damien switched the yellow pen for a red one when the lecturer mentioned something about a topic for the upcoming test. You absentmindedly wondered if it's worth your life stealing his notebook. "Sure. What are you in the mood for?" He asked. 

Finally, the lecturer dismisses the class. Chatters erupt as students pack up while some scurry over to the podium to ask a few questions.

You lean against your seat to stretch your back; your notebooks and stationery are already in your school backpack. You're just waiting for Damien now. "I'm craving for a burger and some cheesy loaded fries with a boba tea." God, just thinking about it is already enough to make your mouth watered. 

Being a health nut, Damien throws you a judgemental look at your food choice as you two made your way towards the main campus entrance. He easily follows your lead through a crowd of students, and Damien even gently pulls you closer to his side when a student whizzes by on her skateboard. 

With so many people talking and laughing around you and Damien, you can't help but hear the conversations hovering around you. 

"...had class with them yesterday? Dude, you're so lucky! Did you sit beside them!?" 

"Are you fucking crazy? No! I sat two rows behind them, but it was enough to smell their perfume. God, they're so gorgeous - I couldn't focus the entire time!" 

"I've heard a few players from the Earth Elemental team tried to invite them to their party this weekend, but they were shot down. Apply cold water on burned area." 

"Well, duh. You can't just walk up to them like that! They're one of the hottest people in this academy."

"Yeah, but those players are in one of the most well-respected sports teams in all of Dahlia, and even they can't stand a chance against them!"

Students parted ways as you and Damien approached the gates. Rows of food trucks parked across the street with tables and chairs placed about. The conversations tapered off behind you, along with the hubbub of the academy. You have a pretty good idea of whom those students were talking about. It's been a topic surrounding the academy ever since the start of the new academic year. 

Even as an introvert who prefers to hover to your few but close group of friends, you couldn't escape the latest academy gossip.

"Finally, I thought my ears would've fallen off before we could escape," Damien mutters. It's a cloudy Wednesday; dark clouds are rolling above them with an occasional burst of strong breeze cutting through. "You'd think they would just give it a rest already." 

The food truck you and Damien stop by displays a menu with a wide variety of food and drinks. From burgers to pasta and desserts ranging from ice-creams to Thai banana pancakes, your stomach begins to growl. You place your order in a hurry, whereas Damien selects a hearty sandwich stuffed with juicy and tender slices of slow-smoked beef brisket with veggies of his choice and chipotle mayo in between two crusty loaves with a bottle of water. 

You and Damien grab your meals to sit at one of the vacant tables and enjoy lunch together. Good food and good company - what more could you ask for? Well, other than Damien's tsk-ing and wiping the barbecue sauce that smudged the corner of your cheek like the mother hen he constantly denies to be. 

"Can't you eat your food properly, Freelancer? You're getting your fingers dirty too. Give me your hand." Damien demanded halfway through his sandwich. You grin impishly and offer your left hand for Damien to wipe with some tissue while the other is holding a burger. The thick sauce begins to drip. 

Soon enough, a familiar voice shouts at them from across the street. 

"Yo, Damien! Freelancer! Are you guys, like, having lunch? Can I join!?" 

You can't help but beam and wave your hand (that was still holding the burger) high up when Huxley crosses over. Damien squawked with eyes wide in horror when the barbecue sauce got all over the table. He hurried to wipe the table clean while you greeted Huxley. 

"Hi, Huxley! Are you grabbing lunch too? Take a seat, man!" 

"Thanks a bunch, dude. It's been a while since I hung out with you two." 

"We literally had a class together two days ago." 

"Two days too long, Damien. I miss you guys." 

"Aww, that's super sweet of you, Hux!"

"Oh, for the love of - just go buy something already before the next class starts." 

Huxley happily gives Damien two thumbs up before grabbing his food and drink. When he returned to their table, he brought a tray of smoothie consisting of kale, spinach, banana, orange, and vanilla blended into green mush in a plastic cup and a plate of vegan quesadillas. 

The moment Huxley sat down, you took a sip of his drink and made a face. 

"Yeah, I ask them to hold back on the honey because I like the vanilla more," Huxley explains before tucking in. "Oh! But I can ask them to add more honey if you want. That’s like, totally cool." 

You quickly shake your head and clean your palate with your sweet boba tea. "It's cool, Hux. Just wanted to try a sip. You're really into these crazy healthy smoothies." 

"They're the bomb, dude. My Mums introduced a few recipes to me when I was a kid, and I basically hooked ever since." The Earth Elemental explains after gulping down a good chunk of the green goo. 

"Yeah, well, with the calories you burned up during practice, I guess you can't go wrong with smoothies," Damien added thoughtfully. His sandwich is all gone. He props an elbow on the table and cradles his face in one open palm. "Anyway, what's up, Huxley? Anything new happened?" 

"Nah, it's been nothing but the same shit lately. Classes, assignments and practices for the upcoming Elemental & Energetic Games - normal stuff. What about you guys?" 

"More or less the same." Damien replies, soundly ignoring your "We're hitting the tournament arc!" outburst. "Planning to organise a study group for the upcoming tests. I expect the two of you will be joining, by the way." 

At Damien's words, Huxley beams brighter. Any brighter, you'd need a pair of sunglasses. "For real, dude!? You're like, the best friend ever, Damien! C'mere - lemme give you a hug!" 

You snicker when despite Damien's frantic protest, Huxley shoot up from his chair and quickly hugs the Fire Elemental tightly before he has the chance to weasel away. 

Also, you didn't miss the chance to snap a quick picture of them to show Gavin tonight. 

Unaware of your phone, Damien grumbled when Huxley finally released him, and they sat down again. The three of you continue to chat about everything and anything. Soon, the topic shifts from tests to plans for the weekend. 

Huxley snapped his fingers when you mentioned Lasko's gaming night and the tabletop game you recently bought for him so they could all play together. 

"I totally forgot about the party! A few guys in my team are having a party this Saturday, and I want to invite you guys and Lasko. Oh! Gavin too! It's going to be a blast, and on Sunday, we can play that new board game."

You and Damien exchange a glance. "Sounds fun. Actually, we've heard about the party just now. How many people are your team members inviting?" You asked, curious. 

Huxley takes a moment to ponder before shrugging. He's nearly done with this food. "It's supposed to be just with a few close friends. Nothing too crazy, you know? After the last party that ended with fireworks exploding in someone's bedroom, they want to keep it lowkey." 

"Huh. Close friends, but they tried to invite a certain Energetic," Damien interjects. "What's up with that?" 

"You heard about that too?" Huxley replied, surprise coloured his tone. "Word travel like, super-fast around campus! It happened, like, yesterday morning!" 

Damien let out an annoyed groan and ran a palm down his face. "I think it's safe to say that everyone in this fucking academy is talking about it and nothing else. God, no matter where you go, you can't escape it." 

You pat Damien's arm in a comforting manner. "They're hot and popular; people will be talking about them until we all graduate." 

"And if it isn't them, people would be talking about their boyfriend," Huxley pointed out, stirring his smoothie languidly. Huxley smiles and offers it to you when you critically stare at it for a tad too long. Against your better judgement, you try again. 

Blek! It still tastes the same! Huxley just chuckles and finishes the rest of the smoothie while you seek solace with your boba tea again. 

"Besides, it's not often you see an Energetic and Vampire couple walking around," Huxley continued. "I think they're living together too. I mean, that's what I heard." 

"Don't tell me you also have a crush on them."  

Before Huxley could say anything, you tentatively raise your hand as if you guys are in class. Now you bear Damien's annoyed glance. "I was kinda hardcore crushing on them and their boyfriend before Gavin and I officially got together. They keep to themselves and their boyfriend most of the time, but they're super nice in classes." 

The Elemental and Energetic courses often have classes that intermingle every week. However, they're primarily compulsory lessons like magical history, laws regarding coverts and taxonomy of various Empowered creatures. 

So you're practically classmates with the hottest Electro Energetic in the academy and had even sat beside them a few times during class. Unlike many of the students who simp for them at a distance. 

The power couple of D.A.M.N is certainly interesting, to say the least. 

You narrowed your eyes at Damien when he refused to let up his disappointed stare. "Don't lie to me. You simp for them too." 

Damien huffs and crosses his arms. "Both of them look good, alright. Anyone with a working pair of eyes could tell from a mile away. They're gorgeous, and the Vampire is hot - so what?" 

"They're both super strong too." Huxley unknowingly throws more wood into the fire. 

By the time their lunch ended, Damien had demanded they talk about something else, so you jump into plans for the weekend. Party on Saturday and a gaming session on Sunday. 

Typical college life.

-

When the time on your phone displays 10.30 PM in glaring bright light and you're still on campus, you know what death feels like. 

It's quiet in the cafeteria, save for a small group of students huddled together around tables scattered in various places. Their heads are hunched down as they go over textbooks and assignments. One of the students happens to be a Vampire judging from the blood bag beside his laptop. 

A red swirly straw juts out of the bag, and for a brief moment of exhaustion, you entertain the image of the student sipping the blood bag as if it was a Capri Sun. 

Just like those students, the reason why you've stayed late in the academy's cafeteria is because of assignments. You know that if you bring your homework back home with you, you won't get any of it done. It's better to stay here and slough through them instead. 

Damien would scold and drag you home if he knew. Huxley would be sad and plead for you to rest, and Lasko would put on his guidance counsellor voice and advise you that a good night's sleep would help you think better. 

The boys mean well, and you love them for it, but you know yourself better than anyone. If you don't finish these assignments tonight, you would just procrastinate until the deadline punches you right in the face. 

You sigh and rub your temple in frustration. You've made good progress so far, but there's still a few left and you want to complete them all before going home. So you resume writing down the essay about the importance of convert and the Department on your laptop, fingers deftly flying all over the keyboard. 

Nighttime at D.A.M.N is not as busy as it is in the morning. The students that are going in and out of classes are mostly Vampires and nocturnal animal Shifters. The academy's faculties are also lesser in terms of numbers compared to their morning counterpart. 

Twice you've experienced the nightlife at D.A.M.N, and tonight would be your third. You wondered if Gavin is at home already. Hopefully, you can return to the apartment before him. Better wrap this up, then. 

The steady rhythm of your fingers on the keyboard and quiet discussion from the group of students slowly lull you to sleep. Hang in there just a little more! 

The sound of a Daemon Rifting into this world startles you awake. 

"Here you are, Deviant," Gavin said, his ordinarily seductive voice laced with conceal anger. Oh shit, you're in trouble now. "I thought we talked about this." 

You have no choice but to face him. Gavin looks devastatingly as sexy as ever; his black t-shirt snugly fits his body to the point that it showcases his biceps tastefully. A pair of dark blue jeans that he just so happens knows will get your heart racing and accompanied by a pair of shiny black Doc Martens boots. A rainbow-coloured bead bracelet is on his right wrist; a gift from Caelum. 

You would've swoon at the sight of him if you weren't seconds away from face planting on your laptop. 

So instead, you greet him with a, "Whaaa... Gavin?" You rub your eyes and blink at him. "W-What are you doing here? I thought you'd be - " You break out a yawn before sighing. "At home by now." 

"Funny. I thought the same thing about you but colour me surprised when Caelum reached out to me while I was grocery shopping — saying that you aren't home even when it's close to midnight." Gavin explains and tilts his head to the spread of books you have before you. "So, want to explain why you're at the campus cafeteria right now instead of in our bed?" 

The gears in your head are scrambling to come up with an excuse that's good enough to appease Gavin. So lost in your thoughts that you didn't hear the whispers coming from the nearby students. 

"That's the main boyfriend..." 

"Holy fuck, an Incubus? Damn, they're insatiable!" 

"How often do you think they have orgies? Twice a week?" 

" - collecting them like Pokemon!" 

Oh fuck it, you can't come up with anything decent. "I'm nearly done with my assignments, Gavin." You assured the worried Incubus. "Just need to write down a few more paragraphs..." 

Gavin is undeterred. "Freelancer, we talked about this. It's not healthy that you're making a habit of staying over at campus late at night because of assignments. You're going to burn out like this." 

Well yeah, you could feel your body is already seconds away from collapsing but like hell would you admit that to your boyfriend. It's been a long day and an even longer evening. It's a good thing that tomorrow's the weekend. 

Gavin startles you once more by leaning against the table and cupping your face in his large hands, so you're forced to look straight into his eyes. He's many things, but to those he deeply trusts and loves, his eyes would always betray the worry and concern he has for you and Caelum; even if his words aren't as forthcoming at times. "My stubborn, enticing Deviant... Are you being a brat again? Not listening to your Dom like you should be?" He purrs. 

All of a sudden, your throat suddenly feels like sandpaper, and your heart skips a beat at Gavin's tone. You're very familiar with that tone - it always promises punishment and pleasure mixed together until nothing else exists except for your boyfriend. 

But the question now is, how far can you actually push him. So with Gavin still refusing to release your face, you swallow and reply as nonchalantly as you can, "Oh, I don't know about enticing, Gavin. I-I mean, I've been running around campus the whole day. Probably have some barbecue sauce stain on my jacket and - Ow!" 

You puff out your cheeks when Gavin pinched them. 

"Are you purposely trying to test me, Freelancer? You know that just means more fun for me, and you tie up and helpless on the bed, right?" Gavin is all too happy to remind you, cocking one eyebrow at your impertinence. No doubt he already has your punishment in mind when the two of you are home. 

But you're not going to budge that easily. Sensing your stubbornness, Gavin lets you go and unleashes his ultimate move with a sigh. 

"I can see the Knots on you, Freelancer, and if I can see them, Caelum can too. I'm not covering your ass when he comes over for breakfast tomorrow and starts crying." 

You gasp and immediately recoil. "Low blow Gavin!" You counter, but you know that he speaks the truth. Your heart will literally break if you're the reason that Caelum cries. 

Gavin smirks when you switch off your laptop. He helps put your things away and offers a hand to you. With a small smile, you let yourself be gently pulled up by him and sling your backpack over a shoulder. 

"Are you hungry?" Gavin asked as the two of you stepped into the large hallway, hand-in-hand. "I didn't manage to make anything when I put the groceries away, but I can whip something up real quick when we get home." 

It's a sweet gesture, and you made sure that he knows how much you appreciate it by squeezing his hand. Ever since you two started living together, Gavin is determined to feed you properly. According to him, it's only fitting since you've constantly been feeding him too. "I'm more sleepy than hungry." You reply after a yawn. "I'll just eat a big breakfast tomorrow." 

"I'll hold you to it. Also, look alive, Deviant. Hottie approaching at 12 O'clock." 

That got your attention immediately, and snapped your eyes forward. Your jaw would've dropped if it weren't for Gavin lightly nudging your side when you saw who was walking towards the two of you. 

It's them — the Electro Energetic that became the talk around campus. 

They're as breathtaking as ever, even after a whole day of classes and club activities. Not a single hair out of place and clothes unruffled. Their body language stood out to you; their gait is a little hesitant but friendly, while their eyes are kind. 

It's easy to see why so many people harbour crushes on them, and you've always been a sucker for cute faces. 

When they finally approach you, they pull out a pair of wireless white earbuds from their ears. That's when you hear intense music playing:

It's the Pumpkin Patch King 

With the corpse with the ring

And she'd fuck my best friend if I die here today...

"Um, hi. Good evening. I'm sorry for bothering you guys so late like this. Are you heading home?" They inquire tentatively. 

Gavin waits for you to take the lead. "Hey, man. Yeah, we kind of are, actually. Want us to walk you home?" You could feel how pleased Gavin is beside you. The offer just crosses your mind, and besides, it's not nice to walk alone this late at night. 

That's what you're telling yourself despite the small part in your brain whispered that walking them home would be a great step of getting to know them better. It's just a harmless crush anyway. 

Unfortunately, they decline the offer. "I'm waiting for someone, actually, but when I saw you, I wanted to talk for a bit." 

Your heart skips a beat for a second time tonight. They specifically sought you out? You? When they've never done so towards anyone before? 

"O-Oh," You embarrassingly squeak, clutching Gavin's hand tighter.

The Electro Energetic nod. They tilt their head like an indulged, curious cat and god, that simple gesture shouldn't look so hot. "I don't know if you notice me, but we share Covert Laws - "

If you notice them? If you notice them!? They have a stronger presence than the lecturers themselves! They radiate magic like thunderstorms - intimidating, powerful and commanding that you have no choice but to submit to it. 

Sitting beside them was an experience and a half! There's no way an Empowered creature could ignore them despite their quiet demeanour! 

" - and I was wondering if you would like to be partners for the final project this year? Um, I heard that you're really good in that class, and I promise to pull my weight with the research and - "

You don't know how to react. Is this really happening? One of the most popular students in the academy wanted to be your project partner? You thought this sort of situation only occurs in animes! 

"They'd love to." Gavin smoothly answers when you're too shocked to say anything. "It's always nice to make new friends after all. Especially with a walking wet dream such as yourself." Here, he purposely pauses to appraise the Electro Energetic. 

Just like his Freelancer, Gavin has heard all about this Empowered human and even basks in the delicious energy coming from the thoughts and emotions his partner has for them. As an Incubus and their boyfriend, it's hilarious that his Deviant thought he's not aware of their crush. It's cute. 

Hmm... it'll be nice if he and the Freelancer could invite the Energetic and their Vampire lover into their bed one of these days. Regardless if they've been Marked; honestly, that just made the couple as appealing as the biblical Forbidden Fruit. 

And besides, Gavin has a strong feeling that the Freelancer wouldn't oppose the idea. It'll be the perfect anniversary present for his Deviant. 

"...Was that supposed to be a compliment?" They ask warily. Oops, looks like he's coming on a little too strongly. Time to take it down a notch. 

"It's whatever you want it to be. Anyway, now that you guys are... partners, what say you get to know us better, hmm? My lover has been eager to be friends with you." Gavin explains. You whip your head at him incredulously. Is he seriously doing what you think he's doing!? "I'm Gavin, by the way. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." 

The Energetic look confused, and you can't blame them. You need to save them before Gavin proposes something as crazy as an orgy on your behalf! 

You laugh awkwardly, bringing their attention to you. "Right! Partners! I'd love to be yours - I-I mean, uh, for school stuff! Yeah! Can we exchange numbers?" 

"Smooth, Deviant." Gavin teases. Something caught his interest, not that you notice as you and the Energetic trade contact information. They compliment the cute picture you have as your Home Screen (it's a selfie shot of you and Gavin, Lasko, Damien and Huxley during the previous game night. It's a shame that Caelum couldn't appear), and in return, you ask where did they buy their sick phone cover. 

While they still feel like the human embodiment of a fierce thunderstorm, it's nice to have a casual conversation with them. They're thoughtful, kind and fun that you soon find yourself calming down a little. 

"Not to cut this riveting conversation short, but are you sure that you don't want us to walk you home? It's getting really late, and we're more than happy to have you crash at our place for the night." Gavin interjects with a seductive grin, eyes half-lidded. 

"Umm..." 

Whoa, what happened to being friendly, Gavin!? You shoot him a look; he's going to drive them away! 

"We have an extra guest room at our apartment." You hurried to explain. "So it's totally cool if your place is far away or something." 

Their hesitation melts to understanding. The last thing that you want is a misunderstanding between you two. 

"You guys are sweet, but I'll be alright. Actually, I'm about to leave the campus too. I'm just going to hang out at the cafeteria until he arrives." They said. You have a pretty good idea who 'he' is judging by their soft smile. 

Gavin, for some reason, amp up his game. With a smirk, he cajoles, "Since he hasn't shown up yet, how about you hang out with us for a bit? There's a bar not too far from here - "

You flinched, and Gavin automatically shuts up and pulls you close to his side when a Vampire appears behind the Electro Energetic. It was so sudden that his appearance was a blur at first. 

"Vincent? You're done with class already?" They blink. An arm snaked around their waist as the Vampire pulled his Mate close to his chest. The Energetic had to crane their head up slightly to look at him. 

He's as tall as Gavin. Dressed in a casual black coat that screams money with a dark grey shirt accompanied by a pair of black jeans and boots. His silver studs, rings and watch glimmer underneath the fluorescent lights. Everything about this man reminds you of a panther sizing up its prey. 

You gulped. He's currently glaring daggers at you and your boyfriend. You're itching to stutter out a, "This isn't what it looks like!" for some reason. 

Now, ever since you learned about the existence of magic and Empowered creatures, you did your best to be open-minded. Even that whole ordeal with Vega didn't stop you from reaching out to the various Daemons attending the academy. 

However, you haven't managed to befriend a Vampire due to their night classes, and even the few times you stay back like today, most of them are running back and forth through the hallways to catch their next lesson. 

So to be the target of a pissed off Vampire made you uncomfortable. You want to fidget, but Gavin's arm secured around you ease some of that tension. 

"Mm-hmm. I'm on break right now, so I can drive you back home. You done with that talk with your guidance counsellor?" The Vampire inquired, eyes still glued at you and Gavin. 

"All done. We lost track of time when we discussed next semester's timetable for the Energetic course and potential careers once we graduate." His lover explains, unaware of the displeasure rolling off like waves from their boyfriend. "I think I need some time to go over them again. It's a bit much to take in."

The Vampire hums in acknowledgement. "We can go through them together this weekend if you like, Lovely. Maybe we can ask Will for help since he's coming over on Saturday for dinner too." 

Oh, you suppose that's why they reject the Earth Elemental players' invitation to the party. 

But the Vampire wasn't done. He assesses you and Gavin with narrowed eyes as if you were stains on the bottom of his boots. What the hell? "By the way, are these guys bothering you?" 

A chill sweeps through you, sending goosebumps crawling on your skin at the sudden shift of tone. He was warm and affectionate when speaking to his lover, but now? It's colder than ice.

Gavin, whose smirk turns into a shit-eating grin, is utterly unfazed at the Vampire's hostility. In fact, you would go as far as to say that he's relishing it. "We're just keeping your gorgeous Mate company while they're waiting for you. I was just about to propose that we move the conversation to a bar so we could all get to know one another a lot more... intimately." 

Oh god, they're so fucked. You have no idea why your boyfriend is trying to start shit up, but you're too tired to deal with this drama. So again, you try to salvage the situation. 

"Just as friends!" You quickly butt in. "We decide to be partners for an assignment in Covert Laws, so hanging out at a bar sounds like a good idea as friends." You're sprouting bullshits at this point, but you hope it's enough to save both of your asses. You also made sure to emphasise the word 'friends'. 

The Vampire quickly looks at the Energetic for confirmation, and they readily nod. His aggressive body posture relaxes somewhat, but he's still wary of you and Gavin. 

Maybe this is the best time to introduce yourself to him. 

"Uh, it's a little silly that we didn't introduce ourselves right away, but I'm a Freelancer." You mutter out rather awkwardly. Should you offer a hand to him? 

Gavin saves you from doing so. "And I’m their boyfriend, Gavin. An Incubus." 

"...Vincent Solaire." The Vampire - Vincent - reluctantly replies. 

Wait - his surname sounds familiar, though. You think you heard it in one of the classes about the supernatural factions in Dahlia... It's on the tip of your tongue... 

"Oh, we've heard all about you, Your Highness." Gavin slyly quips. "You and your lover are quite the celebrities around here." 

Holy shit. Solaire! The most powerful Vampire clan in the city! You remember now; the King has two progeny - A Vampire Princess & Prince. You didn't expect the Energetic boyfriend to be the Prince himself! What a twist! 

"Celebrities?" The Energetic - Lovely, as Vincent calls them - pipes up in confusion. The way their eyebrows furrow is adorable, but you wisely keep that to yourself. 

They really are a mesmerising couple. You detect the perfume that lingers around Lovely is sweet and misty. It's calming yet so light that it dances just out of your reach; like a coy lover. Slowly driving you mad with desire. Vincent's cologne reminds you of husk and cedar. Subtle, but once you catch a whiff of it, it'll stay within your mind for hours on end. Wondering if that particular scent will ever return - like the perfect one night stand. 

It says a lot about the couple. 

"We haven't done anything wrong." Vincent Solaire stated, voice as hard as steel. "I don't know why you're trying to rile us up, Incubus, but I don't appreciate you and your lover hitting on my Mate when I made it clear that I Mark them." 

Ooooh, he's jealous! Wait - did you come across as flirty to him!? Did Gavin purposely flirt with Lovely to make Vincent jealous? You've completely lost the plot. 

"Consider it as an act of public service," Gavin answers, easily brushing off the Vampire Prince's irritability. "Besides, how can I not when you both are half of the student body's recent fantasies." 

Lovely 'eeped' when Vincent bare his fangs at your boyfriend. "Back off, Gavin. Lovely is mine. Not yours or the Freelancer's." 

Whoa, whoa! A severe misunderstanding is boiling here! No one is stealing Lovely away from him! 

Fortunately, Lovely has gotten tired of the conversation. With a put-out sigh, they pat the arm around their waist to capture Vincent's attention. It worked. "No one is stealing the other's partner, Vince. It's all good; chill. You know you're the only one for me, right?" Here, they peck his cheek. "When did you get so possessive?" 

Vincent grumbled but didn't explain himself, so Lovely just shook their head. 

"Anyway, we better get going before Vincent's next class starts. It was nice meeting you two. I'll text you soon so we can plan on how to tackle that project." 

You give a shaky smile and a thumbs up. "Looking forward to it." 

Immediately after you said that, Vincent bares his fangs to you next. Oh my god, this guy needs to fucking relax! 

"We're going! We're going! C'mon, Vincent. You're driving me home. Now." 

And with that, you watch as Lovely drags the Vampire Prince to the parking lot. It's a strange yet comical sight. You only sigh in relief when they're out of your view. 

"I thought I saw my life flashing before my eyes!" You complain. Those were the single most stressful moments that you’ve encountered— second to Vega invading your home. 

"I think that went well, Deviant." Gavin objected, very pleased with himself. "He's pissed now, but he and his Mate will be thanking us soon." 

So you were right; Gavin purposely flirted with Lovely just to rile Vincent up, and for what? Possessive, sexy time later tonight? Oh, whatever. That's enough drama for one night; you seriously just need to pass out now. 

And with that, the two of you head home without realising your interactions with the power couple of D.A.M.N didn't go by unnoticed by the several students who were hovering close. 

-

"Are you hurting anywhere, Lovely?" 

"I'm alright, Vincent. The hickeys and bruises are healing nicely; my body still feels a bit sore but not enough to cripple me, so stop hovering near the door." 

Vincent guilty did as he’s told and takes a seat on the corner of the bed. He watches you apply some light makeup on your face and neck in front of the vanity table as you're getting ready to head out to the academy. Your outfit compliments your look and, most importantly, hides any patches of skin except for your hands. 

Vincent really went all out last weekend after his night classes ended. It's obvious that Gavin unleashed something within your lover, and you will freely admit that an unrestrained Vincent makes for a very fun and wild night. 

The moment Will came over and realised that Vincent re-Mark you an hour before he arrives, he graciously decided to take a rain check and promise to have dinner with the two of you some other time. 

Once Vincent gets it out of his system, he teased before leaving you gobsmacked and Vincent a blushing mess. 

"You know, your guidance counsellor wouldn't mind if you're absent from classes today, Lovely. Probably." Vincent tries; a part of him doesn't want his Lovely to attend their lessons while their body is still healing. Then again, that part also whispers that the Incubus and his lover would be around them without his supervision. 

Nope. No. Bad Vincent. Lovely is more than capable of taking care of themselves. They don't need him acting like a jealous, clingy boyfriend. 

However, something that the Incubus bothered him. 

"You and your lover are quite the celebrities around here." 

What did he mean by that? He and Lovely had been playing good students the entire time they've been on campus! Their assignments are always delivered on time, grades nothing but above average, and they keep to themselves to avoid any typical college dramas.  

Is it because of his status? For some reason, Vincent feels like it's more complicated than that. What a headache. 

"Maybe, but I did promise the Freelancer that I’ll catch up with them to discuss our project," You commented and spritz your favourite perfume on your wrists and neck. You love this scent, despite it being cheap and common. "Vincent, honey, you're making that face again." 

"It's my face, Lovely." 

"Yeah, well, you have your happy-snappy-neck face again, Vincent." You dryly point out before sitting beside the Vampire. "Did that Incubus really rub you the wrong way?" Your voice is gentle. You didn't get any bad vibes coming from Gavin and the Freelancer - just genuine, harmless, friendly flirting. In a way, you welcome it as their attempts helped you drive your anxiety away. 

God, walking up to them was hard enough. You always feel a little intimidated whenever you're around charismatic people. 

"I don't know... I thought they were making you nervous, and the words that kept coming out of that Daemon's mouth? He knew what he was doing; I just can't figure out what or why." Vincent admits, frustrated. 

Seeing him look so frustrated saddens you, so you propose a suggestion. "How about this, I'll ask the Freelancer what that whole thing on Friday was all about, and if it's anything gross, I'll give you a call so you can deal with them. How's that?" 

It assured Vincent. Seeing his tiny smile urge you to peppered his face with kisses until he laughs. With your boyfriend now properly appeased, you leave the apartment for D.A.M.N. 

It's a bright Monday morning. You hope that this week will be a little kinder to you than the previous one. However, the moment you arrived on campus, everyone was glancing at you curiously. When you made eye contact with the stares, the students couldn't walk away fast enough. 

Weird. 

Your first class of the day is on the second floor, so you didn't waste any time heading for the stairs. Students mingle around as they go about their day; some grab breakfast at the convenient store, while others chat with their friends at the cafeteria and lounge room. A Water Elemental is performing simple tricks at the marble fountain to an adoring crowd.

Just as you rounded a corner, the crowd parted ways with a subtlety of a serial killer in slasher movies, which is to say, absolutely none whatsoever to reveal your new friend. The Freelancer is flanked by their boyfriend, Gavin, on the left and on their right, the famous player in the Earth Elemental team Huxley and one of the academy's guidance counsellors, Lasko. 

You couldn't help but notice that everyone is giving them a wide berth. Not that it matters when Gavin's body is positioned to shield the Freelancer from bumping into any of the passing students. Huxley passes a bottle of orange juice to them while Lasko is staring at something behind the Freelancer. He mutters something under his breath.  

A loud voice suddenly bounces off the walls. "What happened to my water tumbler, Freelancer!?" 

You and every other student in the area watch as the Freelancer turns around and loudly replies, "Don't worry! I already got you a new tumbler, Damien! It looks exactly like your old one. Except it's pastel pink with kittens on it, and the shape looks like a really fat snowman with bunny ears for straws." To make a point, the Freelancer rummage inside of their backpack and proudly present the weirdest looking water tumbler you had ever seen in your life to their boys. 

"AAAAAHHHHH!" 

"You know you could at least see it before you judge it, Damien." The Freelancer grumbled and shoved the tumbler back. Huxley gently pats their shoulder in a comforting manner. Lasko laughs nervously while Gavin continues to protect his lover silently, all the while looking at ease. 

Everyone knows of the Freelancer and their boyfriends. They're the most popular group in D.A.M.N for a reason. Friendly, yet no one can be a part of their group due to the tight bond they have with one another.

The Freelancer is quickly shaping up to be a remarkable magical individual in their own right, marching to the beat of their own drums rather than the world's. Unwaveringly kind and friendly, constantly making sure the people around them are comfortable and safe. 

In terms of academic performance, Damien remains unchallenged among his peers. Everyone could tell that he would undoubtedly change their world for the better the moment he graduates, especially in governing. He's also known for his fiery temper, yet that fire becomes a hearth when it comes to the Freelancer. More than once, students have stumbled upon them huddled close in the library, softly discussing the future they wanted. 

If Damien is known for his academic excellence, then Huxley is famous for his prowess in the field. His mastery over his element made the younger Earth Elementals look up to him as their role model while his teammates view him as their ace. Charming, cheerful yet a bit absentminded at times, and even then, you can't help but be fond of him. You can find the Freelancer cheering him from the bleachers during his matches, and once Huxley won the game, he would immediately launch himself at them. Sweats, dirt and grass all over him, but the Freelancer would laugh as he hoisted them up in his embrace. 

Lasko is an odd addition to their group, but once he drops his stuttering, he shows just how capable he is as one of the academy's guidance counsellors. Acknowledged as one of the most powerful Air Elemental of his generation, Lasko is well on track to graduate D.A.M.N with honours, and while the future might be uncertain, students like to speculate that he will remain with the Freelancer and the others no matter what. Sometimes you can even catch a glimpse of them hanging out at one of the local cafes and see how bright and alive Lasko can be when around the Freelancer. 

Gavin came with a mystery trailing his saunter. See, no one knew how exactly he and the Freelancer first met. Speculations range from a cute, accidental meet up in a random convenience store to the Incubus boldly inviting them into a threesome when the Freelancer stumbled upon him mid-feeding. Lovely wonders if there's a betting pool going around the academy. The seniors would recognise Gavin, for he was their peer before he suddenly dropped out and vanished for a while. But judging by his frequent presence around the Freelancer, some say that he's looking forward to retaking his previous course. But whatever the reason may be, no one can deny the chemistry he has with the Freelancer. How fiercely protective he is of them when the Freelancer isn't looking. 

They're certainly an intriguing group, that's for sure. 

And when Gavin notices you were watching them, he winks at you. No doubt as an Incubus, he could scent what you and Vincent had been up to the entire weekend. 

That's what you get for a magical academy, after all. 

-

PS: Everyone in D.A.M.N (including Lovely & Vincent) hilariously assumes that the Freelancer is in a poly relationship with Gavin, Damien, Lasko & Huxley when in reality, they're just with Gavin. BBBBuuuttt... Gavin could detect the romantic/lustful feelings the other bois harbour for the Freelancer but kept it to himself for now. He's just waiting for the Freelancer to feel the same way so he could give them all The Talk™ and then go buy a bigger bed!

Anyway, I seriously had a lot of fun writing for this oneshot! It's been a while since I had that writing fever again so I hope you guys enjoyed it!

[kagenoneko]

Ouran Anime Vs. Manga

Episode 1

This is a post that I’ve toyed with doing for a long time. And what a better place to start than with the first episode? The first episode is based on the first chapter of the manga. Most of these differences between the anime and the manga are several things that appeared in the manga only. There is one thing in chapter 1 of the manga that will appear later in the anime. For this first post, I might have to come back and update this post since I haven’t watched the first episode of the anime in awhile. If that happens, I will leave a date of when it was last edited.

See below the cut for a list of everything.

The first manga only thing is with Haruhi and Tamaki talking about her life. During this conversation, Haruhi mentions her dad bringing over his girls during the day because her dad works nights. She also mentions that her dad has money problems and they are okay. Then Tamaki says a whole bunch of stuff that is just making assumptions about how poor Haruhi is. Haruhi asks where that comes from. Tamaki then says he is hook on reruns on Oshin and how he thinks Haruhi could be living that story in real life. (Oshin is a Japanese drama series that follows a woman and covers a period of the Mejji era to the early 1980s. The linked Wikipedia article gives more details about the series). This scene leads to Tamaki telling Haruhi if she gets 100 customer requests that he will waive her debt to the host club.

The next scene that appears in the manga only is the host club investigating ramen of the common folk. In this scene, Haruhi is designated as the person to instruct the host club on how to do the ramen. This scene is also where Mori first speaks in the manga and Haruhi is surprised to hear Mori speak. This scene eventually flows into the twins talking about women being attracted to gay men and how they as twins can “crank that sort of thing up to the maximum danger level.” (That quote is directly from the manga.) Then this scene leads to Tamaki taking off Haruhi’s glasses.

When Haruhi is interacting with her first guests, something that gets mentioned only in the manga is that Haruhi takes the train to school. Haruhi mentions there is no car for transportation. In this scene another thing that is in the manga and not the anime is Tamaki talking to his guest, Ayanokoji, about ramen and little snacks.

In the manga, the Which One is Hikaru game get introduced at this point and it is revealed that Haruhi was able to figure out who is Hikaru and who is Kaoru at this point.

In the manga only, it is shown that Haruhi had to deal with a blade in a textbook and some sewing needles in her uniform jacket. This occurs before her stuff is dump in that pond. 

In the manga, how Tamaki finds out about Haruhi’s gender is different. After Tamaki raises Haruhi’s debt, he picks up Haruhi’s student ID and finds out she is a girl that way. Haruhi only had to change the clothes in the anime. When Tamaki finds out, it is revealed the rest of the host club wasn’t fooled for long about Haruhi. The manga does not give us any clue when each of the other members of the host club learned when Haruhi figured out her gender. Also Haruhi says some things about gender and her father. There is a picture of her father in the manga and him saying he shopped in the wrong section again.

This is all of the items that I could recall that are different. I might have forgotten some anime only things. On a final note, the art style of these early chapters are very different from what you see in the anime.

[valdomarx]

La Campanella

McShep + Rodney plays the piano Rodney never could resist a challenge, especially when it’s set by Sheppard.

Atlantis is a place of many wonders, but Rodney's favorite is this:

In a distant part of the northern pier is a short, squat tower which he and Sheppard investigate on a routine patrol.

And in that tower is a large, unassuming room like a lecture hall.

And in the center of the room is an object seven foot long and three feet high, elegant, delicate, and familiar.

“Is that…” Rodney practically runs over to touch it, as reckless as that urge can be in Atlantis, but he knows this isn’t a weapon or a piece of broken technology or some dangerous machine. It’s a thing of beauty.

It’s an instrument remarkably like a piano: white and black reversed, keys slightly different lengths, but the same 12-step configuration making up an octave. Keys which strike strings stretched over a wide frame with soft hammers, and this can’t be a coincidence.

“How... ” he starts, and then he answers his own question. “The Ancients must have invented this instrument and brought the concept with them to Earth. But that would overturn so much musical history they’ll have to rewrite the textbooks, can you even imagine the implications -”

John does not look as fascinated by the profound repercussions of this discovery on the history of western classical music as Rodney is.

He waves questions of history aside and sits on the low stool in front of the keyboard, blowing away the years of accumulated dust. His hands instinctively settle into arches, his wrists loose, and he plays a few simple scales. The notes sound out clear and true, but -

He frowns.

“Something wrong?” Sheppard is leaning over the instrument, studying him and it with interest.

“This is tuned half a tone lower than an Earth piano. Feels a bit weird, that’s all.”

“How do you know that?”

Rodney affects his smuggest smile. “Perfect pitch, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Sheppard says, rolling his eyes.

Rodney looks around the room furtively, keen for reasons he can’t articulate that no one else should observe them, and he starts to play.

-

It becomes a habit, a place to unwind, somewhere they visit on off hours and in quiet moments.

Today Sheppard is flicking through a golf magazine while Rodney warms up with some Bach. The music is pleasing and orderly, and the sparse, bright notes explode in fractal-like patterns, unfurling and changing and becoming more complex the closer you look.

John tilts his head to one side and says, “You know there’s a whole bunch of classical music on the Atlantis server?”

Rodney grins. He did know that, in fact. Never get between a team of scientists and their file sharing. “I may have heard.”

“I listened to some of the Chopin you like. Then some other piano stuff as well.”

“Yeah?” Rodney picks at a fingernail. Something about the idea of John listening to music just because Rodney likes it makes his heart beat a little faster. “Find anything you liked?”

“A bunch actually. Have you heard of a piece called La Campanella? By a guy named Liszt?"

"Have I…" Has he heard of the single hardest piece in the entire solo piano repertoire? The fact he could never get those double stops right haunts him to this day. "Yeah, it rings a bell."

"I like that one," John says decisively. "It's nice."

Nice??? Sheppard thinks the most epic and demanding piece of all time is nice? Of course he does.

"You should learn to play it," John says casually, like he's suggesting they watch an action movie instead of a scifi.

"I should -" he splutters. "Do you have any idea how difficult that is? It's practically impossible."

John smirks and says, "I thought practically impossible was your specialty?"

Rodney is still spluttering when John throws him a wink and walks out.

-

And then, because despite being the finest mind in two galaxies, on some level he truly is an idiot, he stretches out his fingers and starts to practice.

-

It's not like he had copious free time to start with. But he makes space whenever he can to come to the piano room, chipping away at this ludicrous piece, bit by bit, phrase by phrase, over and over and over.

People think that learning to play is artistry, and maybe it is that too, but mostly it's a grind. You keep doing it again and again until you get it right. It's as much about stubbornness as about skill.

And stubbornness is something Rodney McKay has in abundance.

-

Liszt really was a sadistic old bastard, Rodney thinks sourly as he works on the right hand jumps until his fingers turn to lead.

-

Sometimes Sheppard comes and sits with him while he practices, and on those days he plays easier pieces, things which are familiar and casual. Not that John seems to pay much attention, but Rodney has the urge to impress him all the same.

He’s always having that urge around John.

-

He spends an entire week working on his goddamn trill.

It shouldn’t matter and it’s not like anyone will really listen to it. But it seems to represent something important — a sequence of paired adjacent notes, next to each other but never quite touching, bouncing off each other time and time again, a dance of two — though he doesn’t want to examine that too closely.

-

He doesn’t tell anyone else about the piano. He tells himself that’s because it’s convenient that he doesn’t have to share and can use it whenever he wants.

But really, he likes that it’s his and Sheppard’s; their own tiny secret in this vast and sprawling city.

-

He hears the piece in his sleep, and on missions, and when he’s working in his lab. It becomes a background hum of his brain, always there, a sort of yearning for the possible, the platonic ideal, the way that things could be.

He tries not to examine that too closely either, though the weight of the realization is becoming harder to ignore.

-

Eventually the piece is as ready as it's going to be. He scribbles a quick note during a meeting, folds it into a paper airplane, and throws it at Sheppard's head. He hits him right in the temple, and he manages to avoid cheering when Elizabeth glares at him.

I have something to play for you, the note reads. Meet you at 7? You know where. - R

He jots it down without really thinking, and only once he's thrown does it occur to him how soppy it sounds.

John doesn't seem too perturbed though. He smiles down at the note and meets Rodney's eye with a little eyebrow wiggle which Rodney takes to mean, Gonna impress me?

-

By the time John arrives, Rodney is all warmed up and more nervous than he's ever been about a performance. His heart is racing, and when John gives him a fond look and says, "Hey," it trips even faster.

Once he settles in to play though, there's a certain kind of mental clarity that settles over him. His hands know how to do this, he just has to sit back and let them.

His wrists are still tense as he sounds out the first few bars and then, all at once, he relaxes into it and lets the music carry him. Hours of repetition have made every chord, every melody, every insane and unreasonable jump into something almost effortless. He even forgets John is there: there’s only him, and the piano, and the music.

The music builds and builds, each section becoming more and more ornamented, more complex, more physically demanding, all at a relentless pace that sends most players reeling. But he's got this, he can do this, it turns out all he needed was a bit of motivation.

The penultimate section is his favorite: The technical parts are done and here he can throw himself into the wild, over the top glory of the final melody. And perhaps he shows off a little bit, catching John's eye and grinning at him, but that's all part of the fun.

The piece ends with a crashing, massive finale that makes him feel like a virtuoso, and then in a last few epic chords it's done, as tight and perfect a five minutes as you could wish for.

The final chord reverberates on and on through the stillness of the room, glowing out beyond the city and into the night.

"Wow." John's eyes are wide. "That was great."

Rodney preens, because that ineloquent little comment somehow means more to him than an auditorium full of ecstatic applause. Having John look at him like that makes the months of practice worth it.

"You liked it?" He's fishing for compliments, but he figures he's earned it.

"I did," John says, staring at Rodney's hands like they hold the secrets to the universe.

He looks up and blushes at having been caught staring. Then he deflects and shrugs one shoulder. “Honestly, though, it’s not my favorite piano piece.”

Rodney narrows his eyes. He has the distinct impression he’s been played. “What was your favorite then?”

"I prefer Songs Without Words."

"Mendelssohn?" he explodes. "You wanted Mendelssohn? Jesus Christ, I learned to play that when I was eight!"

John grins. "I appreciate simplicity in music."

"Then why on earth did you make me learn Liszt?!"

John has this joyous, manic light in his eyes, like he's having the time of his life here, messing around with Rodney, of all the things he could be doing. "I like watching you do impossible things."

He sucks in a breath. "I hate you."

"No you don't." John leans in, smug and delighted, and oh, Rodney is so in love with this ridiculous, infuriating man that he could burst. "You learned La Campanella for me."

"It wasn't that hard," he says quickly, because he has a reputation to maintain here. But John laughs and gives him this soft, teasing look, one eyebrow quirked at a ridiculous angle beneath the chaotic mess of his hair, and Rodney is defenseless.

"Whatever you say, McKay," John says, and Rodney has the feeling he sees straight through him. "Now play it again."

[incorrectlumityquotes]

FULL REVIEWS: “Hooty’s Moving Hassle”

I’ve only seen Howl’s Moving Castle once and I thought it was just okay. The animation was amazing. The story and characters were just...okay. But we’re not here to talk about that today.

A Hooty centric episode? Count me in, hoot hoot. The hype train just keeps on going and I was so glad that I found my new favorite show. AND my niece loved it too, so that’s a huge plus. The only thing that I was sure about this episode going in way back when was that Gus and Willow were going to be in it. Let’s check it out and see if it’s still as good as I remember it, hoot hoot.

“Cards! The paper rectangles that old people think are fun.”

Hot damn, Luz. The episode just started and she’s already out firing shots. But to be fair, she did grow up with smartphones and game consoles being a thing so I doubt she sees the appeal. Do kids even still play with toys anymore? Or do they all just play on tablets now? Probably why Toys R’ Us closed. 

Speaking of things that can only happen in this generation, callbacks and continuity! Eda’s curse is rearing its feathery head and like the irresponsible adult that she is, she’s out of elixir, hoot hoot.

It’s not our full introduction to Owlbert, but at least he gets some screen time where he actually moves and stuff. I totally get where Luz and King are coming from. When a friend discovers they’re really good at a game and they want to play it all they time because they like winning but it’s super annoying and you always lose because it’s not a game you would ever play on your own, hoot hoot. Yeah. Eda is that friend. 

People watching in a fantasy world would actually be a fun little way to do some worldbuilding, but I’m afraid some people would call it lazy. We get a bunch of set-up for the third act and then the spice of life returns, hoot hoot.

“Who hurt my babies?”

Hyper fangirl Luz spots her babies wearing frowny faces thanks to Amity and her little group. Apparently Amity’s forced friend brigade is going to have a moonlight conjuring which is basically just a slumber party. It’s literally exactly like a slumber party. I have proof. Just check out this video and see that slumber parties are just modern witch gatherings. 

Thanks to Luz though, Willow has enough friends to have a moonlight conjuring of her own. Wow, typing out that sentences actually made me feel really sad. Willow is a sweeties and she deserves the world. Okay I feel better, hoot hoot.

Also Penstagram? Really? Like freaking really? I hate Instagram. The feed is never in chronological order, I don’t know what “link in the bio” means and I never have enough pictures to just be on there. I mean, who freaking takes pictures for everything all the time? It’s a madhouse, I tell you. A madhouse, hoot hoot.

Like Owlbert, this is our kinda introduction to Boscha and her crew. It’s not a full introduction, but it’s not like we’re not going to see more of her later. There’s Skara again and Cat. Thank you, Owl House wikia.

Eda’s dealer suggests going to the Night Market to pick up what she needs and shoots down Luz’s moonlight conjuring idea. But Luz isn’t going to let something small like a parent’s permission stop her from helping her friends, hoot hoot. So Luz pulls the laziest plot device in all of fiction and lies. 

Sleeping King in a baby sling and Willow saying “I’m a sneaky sneakster” hoot hoot? This episode is all kinds of cute.

Eda heads to the night market and Luz has her little slumber party. A sad thought just occurred. What if this is also Luz’s first slumber party too? Her mom did say that she didn’t have any friends. I made myself sad again, hoot hoot. 

Luz, ever the good host, tries to accommodate her friends and they get to work on the moonlight conjuring. Luz chanting that she doesn’t know the words made me laugh. Especially because I’d do the same thing. 

Side note, but Gus insisting that Beefy Bob is a figurine is just kinda funny. All I kept thinking about was the difference between action figures, dolls, and figurines. Dolls don’t move but you play with them. Action figures do stuff and you play with them. Figurines don’t move and you don’t play with them, hoot hoot. “A real man never takes accountability” is hilarious and unfortunately true. 

“Light as a feather; stiff as a board. Light as a feather; stiff as a board.”

“Something ridiculous this way comes, hoot hoot.”

And just like that, our heroes conjure the whole house. How? Why? Never mind that shit, here comes Bosha! And the set up from early in the episode, hoot hoot. 

Meanwhile at the night market, Eda meets the recurring villain of the series. I like to call these guys jobber villains.

For those who don’t know, a “jobber” is a pro wrestling term. It’s a guy who is hired to just lose to the big name guys. I use the term “jobber villain” to describe any antagonist who isn’t the main villain who is used frequently to lose to the heroes. Think Team Rocket in Pokémon, Dr Light in Teen Titans, Ludo in Star vs the Forces of Evil, etc, you get the idea.

Tibbles hustles Eda over the Hexes Hold ‘em game and we get a bunch of funny ass jokes that I dare not ruin for you. The two plots cross for just long enough for Luz and co to get busted. 

I have concerns, hoot hoot.

Meanwhile, back in the other failed moonlight conjuring, the moonlight conjuring has failed. The girls do what every young girl would do in that situation and complain on social media. Amity gets a really cool shot that I don’t have and the episode ends with a hint that someone on our main trio is more powerful then they are letting on.

FINAL SCORE: 5 - Loved it.

This episode is funny as hell. That’s the main highlight for me here. There are so many good jokes especially since it’s my type of dialogue humor. 

Lots of character work. The reveal that Willow and Amity used to be friends adds depth to both characters, making the relationship a bit more complex than just bully-victim scenario.

I love it whenever Luz speaks Spanish. As a Hispanic guy myself, I’m really happy about this kind of representation. This plus Marco Diaz. 

We kinda get introductions to several characters who play bigger parts in later episodes. Bosch and Owlbert get soft intros while Tibbles takes the center stage as the episode’s main villain.

I’ve never been to a slumber party but I doubt they’re as fun as this.

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I forgot what the next episode is so I don’t have a lead up line for it...hoot.