#and occasionally the two names are completely unrelated

[moxie-girl]

still workshopping some of these a bit, but here's the current mando'a name chart for the CCs (plus rex!)

green words are ones I took directly from the mando'a dictionary, yellow words are technically non-canon but are basically real words, orange are words I made up that could probably be real words, and red ones are the ones I just mashed words together and they don't always make the most sense

I'm taking constructive criticism on some of these names! If you have a better mando'a name for a character (esp. one w a red name) I'd be happy to hear it!

edit: other name lists can be found here: 501st 212th !!

[wlwcatalogue]

Chinese GL Webseries & Shorts for the Wuxia-Uninclined

Have you ever wanted to venture into the world of Chinese GL webseries and short films, only to find yourself at a loss about where to begin, or intimidated by the unfamiliar tropes and terms of the wuxia genre?

Well, worry no more! Here's a selection of non-wuxia webseries and short films curated by yours truly. Now you too can enjoy the lavish costumes and location shoots of these Chinese productions, so rarely seen in F/F works outside of feature films and the occasional TV series~

By the way, these are all translated and subbed by the inimitable Douqi (@douqi7s), whose immense contribution to the English-language baihe fandom is surely in breach of anti-monopoly laws. Offer up your thanks at her Tumblr and Twitter!

At-a-glance list

Webseries:

Ye-Mu Season 2 (1 hr 20m total, 2023) - standalone

The Vampires (41m total, 2022)

Ye-Mu Season 1 (27m total, 2022) - standalone

The Lost World (1hr 5m total, 2023)

Short films - order corresponding to the pictures above:

A Tale of Yearning (5 mins, 2022)

"She Brought Colour Into My World" (2.5 mins, 2023)

"I'm Her Weapon" (3 mins, 2022)

Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord (6 mins, 2023)

Women's Script (5 mins, 2023)

The Caged Canary (5 mins, 2023)

The Beauty of the Law (6 mins, 2023)

Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither (9 mins, 2022)

Commentary under the cut!

FYI, I've opted to link directly to the subtitled versions since they're probably more difficult to find than regular anime, TV series, movies etc. If a link is broken, please refer to Douqi's blog directly.

Important note for the uninitiated:

It’s a bit difficult to talk about canonicity in relation to live-action works made in the PRC, as things which would normally be used as evidence of canonicity all fall under the censorship regulations— explicit references to romantic relationships or queerness, declarations of love, kissing etc. are all off the table. So while these may not look canon in the most traditional sense, they are intended to be read as such and should certainly not be dismissed as queerbaiting or yuribait. Also, the creators can get very imaginative, so this is less of a problem than you may think – see the entries on Ye-Mu Season 2 and The Lost World in particular!

1. Ye-Mu Season 2 / 叶穆 2 (32 episodes / 1hr 20m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Despite the name, Ye-Mu Season 2 is completely unrelated to the first season; the only thing the two share is the cast, crew, and focus on Penthouse-style melodrama.)

Determined to take revenge for her mother's death, Xu Baiqing (Sheng Wei) marries a wealthy and much older businessman in the hope of finding evidence to put him behind bars. But first she must assuage the suspicions of his cheerily hostile second daughter, moody youngest son, and estranged eldest daughter (Ye-Mu Zhixia, played by Wang Laoji), the latter of whom Xu Baiqing dated in university and who is currently seething at the sight of her former girlfriend marrying her father...

If you want to get a sense of the potential breadth of Chinese GL webseries, this is a pretty good place to start. It does a decent job of matching the tone and presentation of a melodrama you might catch on TV (and in fact looks higher-budget than some I can think of), while committing to something that can’t be done on TV yet— namely, featuring an F/F exes-to-stepmother storyline and delivering on the drama inherent in such a premise. Of particular note is how the framing and behaviour of Ye-Mu Zhixia is very much consistent with that of a male romantic lead; thanks to some clever writing, it’s basically impossible to deny the nature of her relationship with the main character. They don’t even lean on the plausible deniability afforded by the label of “friendship”— in fact, in an early scene she is incensed when the protagonist refers to her as “[her] only friend”. There are a few caveats – the main character ends up in a lot of scrapes that her ex-girlfriend has to save her from, the reveals are often rather unsurprising, and the story shifts more to a mystery focus around halfway – but it’s still worth checking out if a Korean-style melodrama with an F/F take on a romantic storyline sounds appealing.

 (CW: violence, murder, attempted sexual assault)

Note: See The Lost World (below), from the same creative team, for an even more impressive example of Chinese GL pushing the limits of censorship.

Links: MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)

2. The Vampires / 吸血鬼鬼盲盒 (7 episodes / 41m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Spoilers for the first 15 minutes or so, because otherwise the summary would be “They end up locked inside with the monsters on board”, which wouldn’t tell you much more than the title already does)

Every night, Tianyue (Ye Miao/夜喵) has been having dreams about the mysterious cruise ship docked at the pier. Convinced that there is treasure hidden inside, she and her exorcist-cultivator girlfriend Xiao Ling (Wei Miao/微渺) sneak on board only to find that they are trapped there until the sun comes up. Things don’t seem too bad at first: although they run into two vampires – the cute, cheeky Xingming (Yang Fuyu) and her elegant mistress Su Tanya (Sheng Wei) – they are able to call a truce, on the condition that the humans help search the ship for the latter’s beloved (Fu Cha, played by Wang Laoji). But when Fu Cha wakes up without her memories, it is clear that something is terribly wrong, and that the ship and its inhabitants harbour more secrets than expected.

For a webseries, The Vampires takes a while to get started— it’s a bit difficult to tell what kind of story or indeed what kind of tone it’s going for just based on the somewhat campy and comedic first section. But after that wobbly beginning, it manages to pull itself together to tell a compelling – and sometimes genuinely tense – tale about a motley band of humans and vampires, and the truths they have to face together. While the ending is no happily-ever-after, I found it satisfying and hopeful, and surprisingly affecting. Also, a bunch of the characters have real polyam energy, and this is reflected in the narrative beyond mere flirting!

(CW: abusive parents)

Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation) / YouTube (compilation)

3. Ye-Mu Season 1 / 叶穆 (12 episodes / 27m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Ye-Mu Seasons 1 and 2 are standalone stories; each season is entirely self-contained and the second season is not a continuation of the first.)

The head of the Ye-Mu family has died, leaving the next generation to squabble over the inheritance. It's a web of secrets, lies, and hidden resentments, as the characters dig out old grievances and fresh accusations in a desperate attempt to one-up each other. They're tangled up together to an almost incestuous degree, and indeed, the F/F subtext here is the ambiguous relationship between eldest daughter Ye-Mu Nanzhu (Sheng Wei) and second daughter Ye-Mu Nanmo (Wang Laoji) (rest assured that they are at least not biologically related).

Those who prefer darker stories and don't mind the pseudo-incest or other content warnings will find a melodrama which makes good use of its short runtime to deliver on twists, turns, and an explosive - if tragic - conclusion. That being said, the story is about the family drama in general, so do note that while the relationship between Nanzhu and Nanmo is narratively important, it is not fleshed out in great detail and certainly not the focus of the series.

(CW: suicide, ableist trope (spoiler – disabled character turns out to have been faking it), ableist language)

Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)

4. The Lost World / 夏夜知道风的甜 (1hr 5m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Spoilers for the purpose of flagging triggering content, as it’s particularly easy to trip into for this show. Also, some vague spoilers for later episodes in order to highlight in order to highlight the themes etc.)

This webseries feels like two shows smushed into one: apart from the very beginning, the first half is a gritty, bullying-focused take on university life, while the second is a true-blue romantic comedy (aside from one blip – see the note below for details). But even if you’re wary of the bullying, I would still recommend watching the back half – which is basically standalone – as it’s a very funny and heartfelt story about two childhood friends finally getting their act together. Without further ado, here’s two blurbs!

From episode 1 onwards: After saving a classmate from the class bully, popular college student Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) is subjected to a lengthy harassment campaign by the latter. She is suddenly faced with having to protect her reputation in the face of false allegations and fake nudes– despite the fact that all she wants to do is focus on reconciling with another classmate, a high school best friend whom she had previously lost touch with (Mu Qingfeng, played by Wang Laoji). From episode 14 onwards: Childhood friends Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) and Mu Qingfeng (Wang Laoji) are caught in a weird gay purgatory where each has feelings for the other, and suspects that the other has feelings for them too. But both are exceedingly stubborn and want the other one to take the initiative in confessing, leading to ridiculous displays of I-don’t-care-isms and lots and lots of UST. (Does anybody use that term anymore??)

As you may have guessed, I’m not too keen on the first part of this show, nor the decidedly unnecessary attempted rape segment, though that’s partly on me for not checking the content warnings beforehand. And yet I’m very glad to have stuck with it, because the second half is not only hilarious, but also a masterclass in censorship-dodging that needs to be seen to be believed. Not just in terms of the suggestive scenes, of which there are many, either— the story is literally about two women starting a relationship and having to reckon with parental disapproval, homophobia, and other obstacles which platonic friends wouldn’t have to deal with. I honestly don’t know how this ever got approved, and can only applaud. Bravo.

Note: For those who want to avoid the triggering content, I’d recommend starting at episode 14, but make sure to skip episodes 19 and 20 as there is a foiled rape attempt.

(CW for entire series: bullying (incl. violence, fake nudes), sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault, fatphobic language, homophobia

CW for episodes 14-24: attempted sexual assault in episodes 19-20, homophobia)

Links - MEGA / Dropbox

SHORT FILMS

Quick note: Click on the English titles for the subtitled versions, and the Chinese titles (which are really just the video titles) for the originals. And yes, although the majority of these are shampoo commercials, they really do hold up as short films in their own right. Give them a try, you might be surprised!

A Tale of Yearning / 一见误终生，不见终生误 (5 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A bittersweet story about a literature-minded young woman (Sheng Wei) and a Chinese opera performer (Ai Ye) who bond over their love of fiction, only to be torn apart by harsh reality. Tragic ending, but I liked the more literary turn of the dialogue. Shampoo ad. (CW: homophobia)

“She Brought Colour Into My World” / “她走后，我的世界又失去了颜色” (2.5 mins, 2023, dir. Zou Hui Qu Le/走回去了) – A very restrained short film (actually, more like a music video) set during the late Qing era, wherein a sheltered young woman (Xiao Yu Za/小宇咂) falls for her female neighbour, recently returned from studying abroad (Sheng Wei). Lovely use of music and visuals to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Tragic ending. Not a shampoo ad.

“I’m Her Weapon” / 我是你手里的一把刀 (3 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A moody, interior piece about an assassin (Ai Ye) who yearns for some sign of affection from her handler (Sheng Wei), only to be left devastated by her new assignment. Surprisingly not a shampoo ad.

Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord / 我们是孤独行走的钟，但也要做敲响希望的钟 (6 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – I’d like to describe this as being inspired by the story of Mai Jia’s novel The Message and the aesthetics of Kawashima Yoshiko (1990), but most Tumblr users would probably find those references deeply unhelpful. Basically, a female spy (Sheng Wei) disguises herself as a male soldier and infiltrates the mansion of a Republican warlord. There, she meets the warlord’s daughter (Ai Ye), who quickly realises that there is more to the promising young officer than meets the eye. Shampoo ad.

Women’s Script / 纵使“科考”无女子，无碍红袖书香，星辰有光 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – While sailing down a river, a girl (Zhi Chun He/至春禾) catches sight of a woman writing poetry on the riverbank (Sheng Wei), and is fascinated by both her beauty and her flaunting of the rules against women’s literacy. Shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence)

The Caged Canary / 如果这是一场骗局，那我也只愿意输给你 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – The protagonist (Ai Ye) is sent by her parents to beguile a wealthy young man into marriage, but ends up developing feelings for his modern-woman sister (Sheng Wei) instead. Shampoo ad. (CW: attempted sexual assault)

Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither / 她们一个被铁链禁锢，一个被男装束缚，直到救赎彼此 (9 mins, 2022, dir. Qian Li Min/千里明) – Takes the romance between a cross-dressing noblewoman (Du Ruo/杜若) and her supposedly-mad stepmother (Rou Lian Cheng/肉脸橙) to tell a story about the restrictions placed on women in historical times, and how resistance, even when futile, can still have meaning. Tragic ending, obviously. Not a shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence, misogyny, accidental misgendering, gender dysphoria)

[fizzlo-and-the-cubes]

alr to help with the Great QSMP Content Drought of 2024 im gonna empty all the death family headcanons in my brain onto this tumblr dot com post

all these are cubitos unless stated otherwise btw i just didnt want to go through and indicate every name lmao

(also to my qpr deathduo homies (luv yas) I'm a bit of a romantic pissa truther so be warned about that)(but i also suck at writing romance so it's pretty subtle also most of these are about chayanne)

remember last year when Chayanne was almost always asleep because the admin was too busy? i think that his ties to death pulled his conscious into Kristin's domain whenever he slept, so he just spent his time chilling over there (i simply choose to ignore the fact that she isn't canon)

Tallulah can clearly see and hear spirits, all her brother can see are blurry figures and the occasional whisper

Chay's wings started growing feathers very early on, Phil had to pretend he had no idea where they came from whilst also assuring a heavily sobbing Missa that he didn't cheat on him

no one has known fear like a fed worker that tried to touch Chayanne's wings in the early days and almost lost their hands to a newly-grounded crow

unrelated to that Philza Minecraft puts the 'death' in 'death-glare'

Chayanne's first attempts of jumping off the wall on day one were baby-crow instincts but after that he was just doing it for his dads' reactions

Chayanne knows the blade, but he knows strategy far better - both draw blood in the end, regardless

Juanaflippa was the best at swimming, then Leonarda, then Chayanne

when they learn to fly, Chayanne is the best, then Tallulah, then Pomme

Leonarda wonders why bother flying when she has a cloud to do it for her

Chayanne wants to fly just as much as Tallulah, but she's more vocal about it since her brain is experiencing crow instincts for the first time

Phil taught Pomme how to aim

Phil has dreamed about his kids in his hardcore world more than once

Richarlyson was the one who cut Tallulah's hair short (THANK GOD HE DIDN'T LEARN FROM MIKE)

Tallulah often put flowers in her hair when it was longer, so she sneaks some into everyone else's now that its short

Chayanne can summon his mask over his face (like the Visoreds from Bleach. this is because i like Bleach and will put as many references as i want)

Phil acts more short-tempered than before, and the roses have started to wilt

upon arriving on a reset island, Phil finds Missa hanging off of a rose branch

i hc Missa's face to be similar to bad's since they're both reapers (so a black void with two white eyes and nothing else) but instead of horns Missa has flowy, almost mist-like hair that fades to cyan at the ends

Phil saw it for the first time at the prison when Missa's mask and hood slipped off in his sleep (entirely Chayanne's fault) and was completely normal about it end definitely went back to sleep and didn't stay up staring between Missa's hair and the ceiling.

upon stealing a kiss from Missa, Quackity had to sit down for a few minutes because he couldn't comprehend the texture of Missa's face

Phil was fine tho. he's kissed death plenty of times

[frozenjokes]

The Little Vex On My Shoulder

In the absence of an angel or a devil on his shoulder, Cub would say he had something like a Scar. This little Scar could be a tricky fellow, always wearing that shit eating smirk, and he spent his days buzzing around Cub’s head, providing commentary and the occasional bit of advice, all things the real Scar had said to him over the years. The Scar on his shoulder was not there to lecture him on safety or morality most days, neither of these things being particularly valued by both Cub and Scar, but the little vex had a thing or two to say about feelings.

Mainly, ‘Don’t do that, Cub.’ ‘That’s a bad idea, Cub.’ ‘Don’t say that, Cub’ ‘This combination of actions and words is going to really piss that hermit off, and not in the fun way.’ ‘Cub. Cub. Cub. Cub.’ Mostly vying for his attention, and Cub listened, he did listen, though after listening and much careful consideration, he chose to carry on 99/100 times. No shade to the little Scar, Cub just didn’t really care. Still, his insight was an invaluable resource, helping Cub not be blindsided when his actions did in fact have consequences. His little Scar could be as exasperated with Cub as he liked, but Cub hoped he took solace in the fact he was still very appreciated despite not having his advice heeded.

While Cub ignored him most days, the little Scar on his shoulder was his biggest asset when it came to uncomfortable situations.

Not much could get Cub in an anxious position; he had no problem speaking his mind no matter the consequences, and the hermits were an amiable group, there wasn’t much conflict to be had in the first place, but the minute someone started crying it was Over. That’s all there was to it! He was done. If he couldn’t escape before the incoming breakdown, missing the signs, he was reduced to ash, the most worthless, stupid, clueless person to ever exist in all worlds.

Why are you doing that. Stop. Stop it. Please. Please stop. Cub was easily at his most pathetic when someone else was upset, and he rarely did anything but make the situation worse, so his best and only move was to sit there and shut his mouth forever. He could offer a hug, but feedback from Scar led him to believe that this kind of physical comfort from the equivalent of a puffed up wide eyed cat stood on its very tippy toes was not.. not the most soothing thing.

This did not stop Scar from going to Cub when he was upset however. Something about how Cub’s emotional incompetence ‘never failed to make him feel better,’ which was simultaneously deeply offensive and- well- Cub couldn’t put a name to whatever else that made him feel, but it wasn’t necessarily bad, just- why? Why? Among the most deranged things Scar had said to him was that he just enjoyed seeing Cub squirm a bit, get real uncomfortable, crack, which was an extremely alarming thing to hear come out of someone’s mouth, especially when that someone was crying over something completely unrelated, but fine, whatever, that was fine.

These moments taught him a few do’s and don'ts for moments like these, which the little Scar on his shoulder was quick to remember and advise him when the waves got rocky.

In the pig pen with Mumbo, they were rocky, and Cub didn’t know what to do, he had no idea- Seriously, he still didn’t know Mumbo incredibly well, and even encountering these situations with Scar, Cub was less than worthless!

But while Mumbo was fiercely hating himself, Cub had one thing on his mind, one definitive counter to these arguments not rooted in sense, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it, even with the little Scar on his shoulder shouting over and over and over-

‘This is not an appropriate time to tell Mumbo you find the things he hates about himself to be extremely attractive! Stop! Do not say that! Do not say that out loud!’

‘Do you have any better ideas?’ Cub had internally shouted back, but the little Scar did not, because he was not real, just a manifestation of Cub’s mind. Still, the little vex did not stop screaming, even when Cub was struggling to spit the words out.

Mumbo’s back was to Cub most of the time, the other holding his pig for comfort instead of looking at Cub directly, but even without the threat of eye contact, Cub couldn’t bear to face him, mortified that the dumbest possible words were flying out of his mouth, and beyond that just plain embarrassed- truly, Cub was not sure Mumbo would take this well with how flighty and mildly uppity he could be, and Cub was right to be concerned, because the next thing he knew he was waking up in bed with a cold sweat, five thousand blocks from where he’d been standing before.

He’d gone immediately to Scar. Who else? Mumbo??? Fuck no!!!

Grian also happened to be around, but Cub didn’t care and neither did Scar (despite being nicer about it) and neither does anyone else, so Cub recounted the entire story from start to finish, permit office to second death, meanwhile Scar tried not to laugh (Cub could still tell!! He was so bad at hiding it!!) and Grian looked seconds from killing everyone in the room and then himself. It was horrible, everything about it was horrible, but Scar didn’t seem very concerned, saying he could talk this out with Mumbo as easy as one, two, three, a notion that filled Cub with dread imagining the length of far too intimate details Scar would share without a second thought, traumatizing Mumbo forever. It wasn’t that Cub particularly minded what was or wasn’t shared about his more intimate moments, but he didn’t need Mumbo getting petrified by detailed accounts of just how freaky Cub could be before he got a second chance to shoot his shot.

Grian interrupted, not for the first time, “Who cares!? If Mumbo’s still out there and still upset, we need to find him! At least bring him home! What are the coordinates to his pig farm, Cub?” and while Cub would have been content ignoring him, unfortunately, Scar seemed to agree, thinking for a long moment before lighting up.

“We should all go! Together!”

Cub and Grian both objected, but Scar easily drowned the both of them out, getting up with Cub still balled in his arms and marching outside as bright and brilliantly brash as the sun, blinding both Cub and Grian in his wake.

Mumbo was dead.

Cub was so sure Mumbo was dead because he could be nothing else, laying face down and utterly unmoving in the grass, but he also couldn’t be dead because he was here, not respawned, so the natural conclusion to draw was that he was permanently gone. Grian seemed to go down the same dismal line of thinking, a worried gasp leaving his lips as he dove down faster than Scar or Cub could on their elytra, and having turned Mumbo over by the time the two of them landed.

“Did he.. choke..?” Scar asked, poking Mumbo with a stick, which Grian snatched away and threw into the brush.

“He’s breathing. I think,” Cub mumbled, situated at his pulse.

“Food coma!” Scar announced, delighted, to which Grian let his face drop in his hands, “No, no!” Scar nudged him, “Seriously! Maybe this is what happens after he gets a particularly hearty meal, yeah? He just conks out. It’s been so long, too, I bet his body just went into complete overload. Or maybe he’s conserving energy?”

“He never said anything about this to me,” Cub frowned, but Grian was quick to snap at him.

“You only found out about this today! No wonder he hasn’t told you about one of his more vulnerable weaknesses, you talk to him like he’s a threat to society! Like he’s some kind of monster!”

“Well he is, technically,” Cub responded drily, “At least to us. If you won’t take it from me, you can ask him yourself. He has a lot to say on the topic.”

“I don’t- I just don’t believe that.”

Cub shrugged. “It’s your funeral.”

“Sorry Gri,” Scar grimaced in turn, but shook his head, “but I do think the whole issue is the eventual maiming and killing of the people he’s come to love,” and more slyly, he added, “even you.” Scar sighed, swooning over Mumbo’s unconscious body only to be fretfully pushed off by Grian, “It’s like a total Beauty and the Beast situation, isn’t it. You can fix him, can’t you, Grian?”

Grian huffed, running a hand through his bangs with an exasperated half smile, “No, Scar-“

“No. It’s not like that.” Cub cut in a little sharper than he’d intended, immediately flustered when instead of reacting normally (anger, preferably), both Scar and Grian Looked at him, Grian doing that thing where he could raise one eyebrow so high above the other, and Scar a snort away from full on laughing.

“God, I could really get back at you, and you would so deserve it,” Grian hissed through a short smile, and while it was mostly in jest, Grian was uninterested in most relationships physical or otherwise outside of roleplay, it still ticked Cub off more than he cared to admit. It must have shown on his face, because Grian really let his sharp smile loose, “You know it. I know it. I wouldn’t even have to bother with a fling, I could just take all his time and he would let me, gladly. I could bring him to the permit office and he wouldn’t even bat you an eye, you know it.”

“I don’t care if you want to ‘fix him,’ so long as I give you something to fix, first,” but Cub’s even reply was useless in this fight, not after Grian watched Cub wail about his own horrid confession in the hour prior. Still, he couldn’t help himself from trying, “We’ll see who’s turning his head after I’m through with him.”

“Oh, we will see,” Grian snickered, his full, complete confidence 100% warranted, because whatever the hell he and Mumbo had going on, it was at least as weird as what Cub and Scar had.

Regardless, with a little more banter that Scar seemed to find very amusing, the three of them decided Mumbo should definitely be moved back to Magic Mountain, however, getting him there was more of a challenge. Mumbo didn’t weigh very much, a consequence of his health, but it was still a lot to carry for the distance they were flying. Cub and Scar also had to manage rockets, not easy with a lanky beast of a man, especially when you were trying to keep him comfortable. Grian’s problem was arguably worse, having to consciously keep himself in the air being a problem with the extra weight, but with all three of them taking turns and a couple breaks, the journey wasn’t too bad. Scar was excited by the idea of prepping Mumbo’s bed and making it the perfect comfy cozy place for a nice long nap, and Cub joined in with the panicked realization that Mumbo was eventually going to wake up.

“You think that’s a little tight?” Scar mused, watching Cub lift the mattress all the way up with Mumbo on top, shoving the sheets and then the blankets as deep as they could go. “He might get hot, don’t you think?”

“Mumbo doesn’t get hot, he told me. Hand me the other blanket.”

And then it was a matter of waiting. Grian seemed determined to stay until Mumbo woke up, which was extremely irritating because Cub had also intended on doing so, and the two of them weren’t exactly getting along right now. Cub willed Scar to stay, deeply exhausted by now and in desperate need of a nap which he did not want to share with a bitter pesky bird, but alas, Scar left after about an hour, just when Cub was starting to fall asleep. Despite Scar’s best attempts not to disturb Cub while he was getting up, the wall felt a lot worse to lean against, and Cub found himself silently urging Scar not to go. His efforts were in vain, though Grian followed Cub’s eye as Scar left.

“You can go home, Cub,” he said after Scar had flown off, though Cub didn’t answer right away besides a slow shake of his head. He didn’t want to go. He needed to be here, explain himself, or maybe that wasn’t it at all, maybe he just felt responsible now. If something went wrong, Cub was the catalyst, and he did not regret pushing, he did not regret being this force, and he would not even regret this if his actions ended up causing Mumbo’s murderous rampage sooner rather than later. Sure, he hadn’t really expected how dire the situation actually was, but in Mumbo’s brain, it was happening one way or another, so if Cub got the chance to stop it.. It would be worth it. No question, it would be worth it.

“I want to be here. I should be.” With a small pause, he added, “If you have a problem with that, then you can go fuck yourself.”

Cub frowned, unhappy with that. No, he wasn’t actually angry with Grian, nor did he want to be. Given Grian’s similar expression and silence, Cub got the sense he was on a similar wavelength. “Sorry. That was unwarranted. I’m tired.”

Grian hummed a small acknowledgment. “It happens.”

Cub relaxed in the face of Grian’s low energy, who was likely also tired from the journey back to the mountain, among other things, Cub was sure. Grian almost got as little sleep as Mumbo. Regardless, even in Cub’s state of exhaustion, when it was just him and Grian, there was something Cub burned to ask.

“Did you know? Have you seen it, what he does away from spawn? I think you did, but I just wanted to hear it from you.”

Grian eyed him scrupulously, “I thought you were tired.”

“Not relevant.”

Grian bristled, “So what if I did, then? Gonna berate me for never bringing it up? Never confronting him? Not bothering to do anything while he wasted away, is that what you think? How many conclusions have you jumped to, Cub, that’s what I want to know.”

Cub was a little taken aback, but the little Scar on his shoulder didn’t seem surprised. ‘You do that,’ he said tutting as he went, ‘and it’s really fucking annoying when you do.’

Cub swallowed hard, looking away. “I.. I guess I did do that. I didn’t mean it. To do that. I just don’t understand. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“I’m not trying to be critical, I just want to know. Explain it to me, please.”

Grian took a deep, unhappy breath, releasing it harshly. “I don’t owe you anything.”

Cub frowned, the pill difficult to swallow despite knowing Grian was probably right. “I know.” He sighed, letting his head rest on the wall as he closed his eyes.

‘No shit!’ the Scar on his shoulder added unhelpfully, ‘If you can’t play nice on the merits of Not Being An Asshole, then you should do it for practical reasons! Maybe that’s worse, actually, you should just be nice because it’s a good thing to be nice. You don’t want to be an asshole, do you?’

Cub frowned, contrary despite himself, ‘If they’re annoying I do.’

‘You’re annoying.’

‘I am not annoying!’

‘You are. You’re annoying when you’re mean. Then people don’t like you because you’re annoying and they don’t want to talk to you. You’re more annoying than Grian.’

‘I am not more annoying than Grian.’

Cub was deeply offended by his own traitorous brain, but his little Scar did not care, dancing around his head, spinning on his shoulders and singing, ‘Yes youu are~!’

“Cub.”

Cub startled hard when Grian said his name. Grian didn’t look the least bit concerned about scaring him either, if anything, he looked satisfied, though the smirk fell when he continued, “To preface, I’m only talking to you because you’re the only person who gets it, Scar hasn’t seen it, he only knows what you told him, and that wasn’t much before this afternoon. If I don’t talk about it now, I’ll never get to talk about it to anyone because I am never going to approach you about this, but it has been on my mind, and I’d like to, so I’m going to, not because you want me to.”

“I- Okay. Alright.” Cub blinked, even the little Scar having gone silent. Grian did not continue for a short time, collecting his thoughts.

“Mumbo is.. Mumbo’s a really sensitive guy. He’s always been sensitive, a little awkward, but funny, he’s got this certain energy that makes him really botherable, it’s what drew me to him in the first place. I mean, come on, you’re just gonna afk out in the open and expect no one to come and do anything about it? He’s just as bold as he is a complete coward, you look at him the wrong way and his eyes get watery but even then, he doesn’t let much get under his skin. He fights back. He’s always chuffed about something, and it makes you happy too; you could not have a single clue what he’s rambling on about but he’s just so full of joy you can’t help but smile with him.”

Grian stopped suddenly, glaring, as if daring Cub to say something snarky. Cub resisted the urge to placate with raised hands.

“I- uh, also find him botherable. He has good reactions. Genuine kinda.”

“He does,” Grian nodded, apparently appeased. Then he frowned. “All of that kinda goes away when he’s not well. Not entirely; he’s still Mumbo, but it’s like a ghost has taken up residence in his brain, he struggles to focus, he doesn’t like the things he makes anymore, he doesn’t really smile. I was- I was still new to Hermitcraft when I started to wonder where he got off to when he disappeared. I was always keeping track of him, yknow, for pranks. It wasn’t hard to find him usually, I’d sing him songs when he slept around in the middle of the day while his machines were working then flew off, you know how it is.”

Cub did, a little bit. Grian continued.

“I started being able to tell when he was going to sneak off. He would always check in on me, ask about my schedule, and sometimes he’d even fly by to make sure I was sleeping before disappearing for a day or two. It was so odd. So I followed him. Lied about my schedule, pretended to be asleep when he dropped by.. the rest is history. I didn’t even need rockets like you do to keep up silently, it was very easy to escape his notice.”

Grian paused, brow furrowing. “What I saw really freaked me out. I mean, listen, when it comes to The Ethical Treatment Of Animals, I’d say most hermits score somewhere from Not Great to Downright Horrific, but this was worse than that, this felt wrong, and not just like morally wrong, it was a whole other brand of wrongness and he- I was hidden. Silent, too, I didn’t make a sound. But at some point he turned and he looked directly at me, like he could see perfectly well through the foliage, like he’d known what I’d done. It was the kind of look that said you fucked up, because now you’re next. I ran. I didn’t even care for stealth, though he never chased me, and I was far away to start, my eyesight’s better than a human’s but.. I don’t know. It really scared me. I thought he was human, and I even asked him again after he’d come home, and he said yup! Human! That’s me! I thought for sure he saw right through me. I also thought I had horribly misremembered the abilities of a human; I asked him that too, and he said oh, I’m pretty ordinary! That’s the human thing, not very notable beyond the typical ingenuity.”

Grian pursed his lips. “I still don’t know if he knew it was me all those years ago. I thought he did for months, I was terrified, but that genuinely seemed to confuse him, and all of a sudden he was seeking me out more than I had sought him in the first place. He’s a really nice guy, Mumbo is. He’s really great. The aversion to violence was odd, but it was so prevalent I had honestly started to convinced myself whatever I’d seen wasn’t real, that I’d hallucinated it or something.”

“So I followed him again. It was worse the second time. I wasn’t as scared, I forced myself to be calm, like the fear was too loud and he’d catch me spying on him but.. He’d set his sights on cows this time. It was horrible. Horrible. The way his body was contorting, the wailing from the cows calling to their herd, I can’t- still it turns my stomach. Even now, if I decide to check in and he’s chosen cows, I just turn around. Pigs are second worst, they’re screamers, but cows are sad. There’s a broken soul in those eyes.”

Cub nodded, though he couldn’t say he’d ever witnessed Mumbo take on a cow. “So it’s a regular thing, then. You following him.”

Grian grimaced, “I wouldn’t say regular. At least two or three times a year though. I don’t even know why I keep going back, I just.. Maybe I’m waiting for him to catch me. So he’ll know. So he’ll talk to me, tell me what’s going on with him.”

“Why didn’t you just ask?” Cub got the sense this was the wrong thing to say when Grian glared.

“It’s not that simple. Mumbo is sensitive and he’s a little flighty, and he was fine for so long I had no reason to suspect the reason he started getting sick was related to what he kept secret from the rest of the server. Sure, he never eats, but he hadn’t eaten for years. There are other reasons people get sickly and thin, and I don’t know, maybe I didn’t want to believe those two things were connected. I.. I only knew it somewhat recently. He was in a bad way, really bad, and I was with him and trying to figure out what was wrong.. He told me he was hungry; I’ve never seen anyone look that defeated in my whole life, he was so damn sad, all you can do for someone like that is to give them a hug, right? But he’d never said that before. Hasn’t said it since.”

Grian ran his hands over his face, miserable, “I’ve spent so much time trying to protect him from those things, violence, hurting people, I made games that catered to him, that he could play at least. Sometimes the rules had to be adjusted for him, but we made it work, right? I wanted to accommodate him, I didn’t think challenging him directly was a good way to go about this. I wanted to talk to him. I wanted him to talk to me,” Grian laughed softly, though his voice shook. He shrugged it off, “You and Scar are still nuts for jumping straight to literal cannibalism as a solution. There was zero evidence to suggest that’s what he needed.”

Cub shrugged. “He wants to hurt people and he’s starving, it was a very reasonable guess.”

“He does not want to hurt people!”

Cub made a face, mild disagreement, “That’s up for debate. The sentient saintly Mumbo doesn’t, but he was sure on the verge of snapping multiple times. He had enough Moments with a capital M to make it obvious, at least to me. Scar too, Scar’s been saying Mumbo needs to just kill someone for ages. It’s very sweet, Scar gets so excited when Mumbo does something deranged with him.”

“Uh huh.”

“It’s true!” Cub felt righteous in his insistence, but Grian snorted, laughing with a small shake of his head.

“I believe you, trust me I do. I was just thinking, I guess out of the whole server, you two would be the ones to pinpoint this kind of solution and get lucky enough to be right..” he paused, thoughtful, “Well, not that it’s technically cannibalism. Mumbo isn’t human, is he..” Grian looked wistful, which Cub dismissed.

“He is human, right now at least. He’s player enough that the server clocks him like he’s one of us, and I would argue player on player consumption is cannibalism unless you want to get really purist about it.”

Grian chuckled, rolling his eyes, “Wouldn’t want to argue with an expert.”

“Oh, I would love to argue! Let’s talk about it, do you want to talk about it?” Cub’s shoulders fell when Grian shook his head.

“No, I was serious. I do not care enough to bother. If you want to debate you’re gonna have to take that up with the other cannibalism aficionado.”

“Scar also doesn’t care. He says ‘Whatever you think!’ which is the opposite of what I want.”

“Unfortunate.”

“Please?”

“Go fish.”

Cub released a long, forlorn breath through his nose, letting his head hit the wall, but looking sad did not persuade Grian; perhaps Cub was not good enough at the expression, he would have to ask Scar for advice. Regardless, neither he nor Grian were in any rush to fill the silence, and Cub found himself drifting, sleep inching in at the corners of his closed eyelids. He opened them however when Grian spoke.

“I wanted him to tell me. I wanted him to tell me so bad. I didn’t want to confront him or force him, I could see he knew he needed help, and I gave him every opportunity, I’ve been there every time he called on me and many times he didn’t, and still,” Grian trailed off, eyes lidded over something like hurt. “He got so close. He told me he was hungry, he got so close, and then I saw the shift, I saw him bite his lip, and I knew it was over. I just. I wish he told me. We could have worked it out together. I would go to the ends of the earth for him, and I just wished he trusted me enough to see it too.”

Cub cocked his head, but looked away, the Feeling too much to take in, tangible as needle tips dotted threateningly across his skin.

“It’s not about trust. Mumbo is just as animal as he is human, and in his mind, the guilt of his inevitable betrayal would double if the whole server knew, if they tried to stop it, get rid of him, and failed. Same goes for if it was only you; the pain he would face at the end of the day would be much worse. He is animal. He’s looking out for himself. He’s been going for a very long time.”

“Self preservation is just as human as it is animal,” Grian mumbled, but Cub got the sense he was agreeing. “He’s been hurting for a lot longer than he’s known me.” Grian nodded, and Cub felt relief wash through him. The little Scar on his shoulder was pleased with him, dealing small and rare praises that Cub closed his eyes to bask in.

“He’s like. A bajillion years old,” Cub said, only half coherent.

“He doesn’t look bajillion,” Grian noticed astutely, and Cub laughed, though he didn’t really know why.

“You should tell him that. Bet it would make his day.”

Grian hummed a small agreement, then looked at Cub, something involuntarily fond, or maybe just exasperated. “Go home and sleep, you’re going to break your neck like that. I’ll call you when he wakes up if you want me to.”

“You’ll call me?” It was enough to get Cub to look up, though his eyes narrowed suspiciously, “No you won’t.”

“I will.”

Cub was silent for a moment, but then he remembered his bed, and wanted in it more than anything else in the world. “You’ve convinced me.”

“Right,” Grian snorted, waving him off, “Go on then.”

Cub got unsteadily to his feet, swaying a bit, but found his balance, giving Grian a small nod before doing just that. It was truly a miracle he made it home without crashing.

[atbussysparks]

Last Scout headcanons I prommy 🥺 LETS GET IT BITCH 🔥🔥🎉💯🗣️🗣️

He believes that theater is cringe. EXCEPT ROCK OPERAS. he flips the fuck out when they do anything.

He needs his tonsils out so bad. Genuinely a medical anomaly how decrepit they are

He pushes his body too far occasionally and has some pretty bad joint pain. Most of the time when he's off the clock he uses forearm crutches

He sleeps on a bunk bed. Top bunk. No one else sleeps on the bed with him.

If someone walked into his room at home the only decoration would be a magic eye wallpaper

Sharp canines

He doesn't remember anything from the troubled teen's camp bc he was dissociated the whole time

He found out how to make things explode with a rock covered in copper wire and a power line

Every time he talks about what's wrong with him he says it like it's completely normal. It's never normal. Your bones shouldn't go squishy.

He's a dog guy, but he has a kitten that he treats like his own baby. They have very similar actions. The cat is orange

If he was a teen in the 2000s he'd have an edgy wolf OC named dragonspark

He bought an "illegal firework" that was just a straight up pipe bomb

He gets stuck in a well regularly and pyro has a hard time communicating with others to help him

Favorite mode of exiting a room? Jumping outta the window!

Scout doesn't think that moles are real. The animals.

Unrelated but Medic uses a wheelchair because he was serving in the American army in WW2. That's how he got his citizenship! He'd lived in America for two years before that. He caught shrapnel in his knees during a battle and they pop out of socket. He also has joint pain. Just like me!

[inkluvs]

best surprise ever

a/n: requested for my celebration on my old blog, posted about two weeks ago originally. i think @maddipoof betaed this originally? not completely sure <3 (0.4k)

cw: pet names . fluffy .

firefighter! james potter x reader

The door shut behind you, the click of the lock draining some of the tension in your muscles as you padded further into your house. There was a sort of inherent warmth that came with a place you called home. The kind that was unrelated to the crackling of your fireplace It was more than just a place you lived, though it had been for a while, it was the style of the life you shared with James. It was the late Saturday nights that turned into lazy Sunday mornings, your cheek pressed against James’s freckled chest, the thump of his heart vibrating against your jaw, and his soft snores the only thing echoing off of the walls in your bedroom.

There was water running, the occasional splash letting you know that James was the one using it. He was humming something. You couldn’t tell what, just that you’d heard it before. He sang like an angel so effortlessly and it was funny really, the way heat rose to his face whenever anybody commented on it.

“I didn't know you could sing.” James jumped from his spot in front of the sink, the fork in his hand, slippery from the soap, clattering to the metal basin. He smiled a moment later though, recognizing the cadence of your voice, the way it’d slow down, that bit of rasp at the base of your throat when you’re sleepy or relaxed.

“You’re home early,” He didn’t mean the words with any hostility, just an observation, and besides, you were. James had had his first day off for the first time in months and you hadn’t been offered the same courtesy, hence your decision to surprise him. It was heartwarming really, the way James chose to help you with washing the dishes. To take on just that bit more responsibility, so you’d have one less thing to worry about when you came home. In a way you thought it had to do with guilt – the guilt that came with his long hours and not being able to spend as much time with you as he would’ve liked.

“Thought I'd surprise you,” his lips twisted into an easy grin, the same one as before, the one he had reserved for you.

He pressed his lips to your forehead, holding you there for just a moment before pulling away far enough to whisper, “Best surprise ever,”

[sciartherp]

CW: BLOOD/HORROR/MILD UNREALITY

WOAHHHH NEW TADC AU JUST DROPPED

GONNA TAKE THE LITTLE GUYS AND PUT THEM IN SITUATIONS!!!

So a few nights ago I had the wonderful idea of combining two pieces of media that are completely unrelated! Yippee!!

Welcome to The Dead Circus, a DBD/TADC crossover AU.

A strange virus was accidentally introduced into the Amazing Digital Circus thanks to "someone on the outside," as Caine puts it. Although Caine had put up a good fight, he was eventually beaten and the virus seized control of the Circus, becoming a malicious entity known as "The Ringmaster." The Ringmaster begins to alter the Circus, the once bright and cheerful realm has begun to desaturate and decay as the virus corrupts its coding. The Ringmaster then casts our show's main cast into horrifying Trials, where they must face off against one of the many corrupted NPCs and players in a twisted three-dimensional game of cat and mice. It was after a particularly brutal Trial that Pomni finally enters the Circus, who just barely misses Kaufmo's... vacation! Yeah. He's on vacation guys dw. Just goin to see Caine and Gangle!

The Ringmaster pits four of the Humans against mutated NPCs, who have lost their sweet cartoony charm, and only seek to eliminate the Humans in the name of their newfound master! And speaking of the Humans, let's give them all a proper introduction!

Pomni - Dwight Standin (minus any leadership abilities) The newest Survivor in the roster, acting as a... replacement for Gangle and Kaufmo. She's barely been here 5 minutes and she's already losing it. You go girl! Pomni's Perks are Calm Spirit, Off The Record, Buckle Up, and Fogwise

Ragatha - Claudette Standin The leader of this ragtag group and resident mom-friend, Ragatha does her best to keep everyone safe and happy, both in and out of Trials. She patches up other's wounds and mends any tears in their clothes! If only she gave a little more care to herself... Ragatha's Perks are Autodidact, No One Left Behind, Resilience, and For The People

Jax - Ace Standin The loose cannon of the group, Jax will often sell out his teammates in order to save his own hide. He's rude, impulsive, and generally hated all around, but DAMN is he good with those flashlight saves! Jax's Perks are Background Player, Deception, Red Herring, and Blast Mine

Gangle is ON VACATION

Kinger - Nicholas Cage standin It never ceases to amaze me how I can say I main Nicholas Cage in Dead by Daylight, so of course I had to give his silly powers to my beloved scrunkly, Kinger! Basically, nothing's changed between the canon Kinger and DC Kinger, he's still just as weird as ever! He SCREAMS whenever he sees the Killer, and occasionally when he sees another Survivor... or a rock... or grass... or breathes... you know. Average Kinger things. Kinger's Perks are Dramaturgy, Scene Partner, Plot Twist, and Bardic Inspiration

Zooble - Nea/David King standin (MEH!) Once again, nothing really changes between the show and this AU when it comes to Zooble. Their constant need to rebuild themselves after someone like Jax breaks off their limbs has made them a very skilled gen-rusher, and they will absolutely stab the Killer of given an opportunity! The Ringmaster was kind enough to let them keep their box of miscellaneous limbs, so they regularly customize their appearance. Zooble's Perks are Decisive Strike, Dark Sense, Iron Will, and Deja Vu

Kaufmo is ON VACATION

Caine is ON VACATION

[kaytrawrites]

QSMP - Crowbeast

Summary in which qPhilza is not ok, and goes off the deep end.

Notes CW // multiple main character death (non permanent), violence against semi-humanoid creature This is also very long (9.7k+ words)

---

Chayanne was slain by Code Beast Tallulah was slain by Code Beast Chayanne was slain by Code Beast Tallulah was slain by Code Beast

The feeling of icy, cold hands gripped Phils heart. He froze, staring at the words displayed upon his communicator. “Chayanne!? Tallulah!?” he screamed. He bolted past Fit, who was also staring down at his communicator in silent shock.

Messages from the other Islanders flooded the communicator.

<Etoiles> WHERE <Etoiles> WHERE <Etoiles> WHERE <Etoiles> WHERE <BadBoyHalo> WHERE ARE THEY??? <Etoiles> I WILL KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH <Etoiles> I WILL KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH <Etoiles> I WILL KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH <Etoiles> WHERE <Etoiles> WHERE <Etoiles> WHERE <Tubbo_> IM COMING

Fit followed after Phil, who was racing down the halls of the dungeon, occasionally screaming his children’s names.

Then Phil stopped dead in his tracks.

And Fit saw what had stopped his friend.

Shattered eggshells were scattered around the area, slashes and splashes of red covered the floor and walls. The air smelt of rot, blood and s̷̳̓t̵͕̿a̸͚͒ț̷͆i̷̱͝c̵͖͌. And in the center-ish of the room was a glitchy black and green figure; hovering above Chyanne’s rubber floaty and Tallulah’s red beanie. 

Phil was completely and utterly silent as he slipped his scythe off his back and into his hand. He shifted his weight and leapt toward the Code Beast that had killed his children.

Fit bit back a curse and grabbed his potato cannon from its holster and loaded it up with a golden apple. He carefully lined up the shot and fired. The power of the apple shot out and blended into Phil’s aura, providing an extra boost to the enraged man.

Fit reloaded his cannon, the crushed apple core dropping to the ground. He aimed and fired again and again, trying to keep his friend alive as the Code Beast laid into Phil as fiercely as the man did to it.

The Code Beast knocked Phil back, its claw catching on the strap of Phil’s backpack, ripping it off. Phil’s ruined wings flared out to help catch his balance. Fit fired two more golden apples at his friend in quick succession. Then swapped his cannon’s ammo to golden carrots. He fired several shots toward the Code Beast, forcing it away from his friend for a moment.

He grabbed one of his splash potions and threw it at his friend’s back. The potion bottle shattered, the elixir infusing Phil with a burst of instantaneous healing. Fit threw several more, taking advantage of the small moment he had bought by swapping his ammo. Phil took advantage of Fit’s support and lunged forward to slash the beast.

“I'm here! I'm here!” Etoiles cried out, sprinting past Fit, toward where Phil and the Code Beast were locked in combat.

Etoiles whipped his shield around and blocked a strike that would have dealt a horrid blow to Phil. “Strike, my bro!” Etoiles called out as he surged forward, knocking the Code Beast back.

Phil paused for half a breath, and leapt forward to land a strike upon the Code Beast. His scythe morphed, becoming an ax.

Tubbo bolted past Fit, his own scythe in his hand. He paused for a heartbeat, looking over the battle arena. He froze when he saw Tallulah’s hat and Chayanne’s duck floaty. Tubbo screamed and leapt at the beast, screaming curses that would burn Bad’s ears. 

Fit swapped his cannon’s ammo back to golden apples, rapidly firing and reloading.

Under the near unrelenting attacks of Phil, Etoiles and Tubbo, the tides of the battle turned, and Code Beast fell.

Code Beast was slain by Ph1lza

Phil stood above the body of the beast, his ax slowly lowering, and wings limp.

“Phil?” Fit asked. Phil’s knees buckled, and Fit dashed forward and caught his friend.

His eyes were vacant, his gaze flat. Fit carefully lifted the smaller man in his arms. Phil did not resist. 

Tubbo picked up Chayanne’s floaty and Tallulah’s hat, and silently followed Fit back toward the waystone.

Etoiles stayed for a little longer, glaring down at the body of the Code Beast. But he followed after Fit and Tubbo.

The waystone at spawn whooshed as the group arrived.

Bad jumped at the sound, Bad freezing in his pacing back and forth. “Hey-” The words Bad was about to say died as he took in their utter, defeated silence.

Tubbo shook his head and Bad’s eyes went wide. “Are they really gone?” He asked. Tubbo nodded, and sank to his knees where he stood. Sunny sat down next to her Pa, leaning against him.

“Fit?” Bad turned to Fit for confirmation. Fit nodded, walking past Bad toward the elevator up to Phil’s home.

Bad stood in silence as Fit and Etoiles walked away. Tubbo was utterly silent, his grip on Chayanne’s floaty and Tallulah’s hat tightening. Bad turned on his heel and walked away from spawn. He was barely 50 feet away before he let out an unholy scream, and began to sprint away.

Fit took the elevator up to Phil’s home atop the wall. He flicked open the trapdoor down into the Garden of Hope and Music, and carefully descended to the air locked doors, Etoiles closing them behind. Fit pushed open the doors, and carefully set Phil down on the bed.

“Want me to stay, man?” Fit asked quietly when the man stirred slightly.

“Just go…” Phil muttered. “Just go…”

Fit slowly nodded, and rested a hand on Phil’s shoulder. “I’ll be here to listen if you need me.”

Etoiles and Fit left the quiet space. The last sound they heard from their friend was a shuddering sob.

—

The next few days were notably absent of Phil’s presence. The other islanders had gotten used to him appearing sometimes, silent and silly, when the bakery quests refreshed for the day and Chayanne and Tallulah weren’t getting up for the day. But those who usually spotted him doing the quests couldn’t catch neither hide nor hair of the man.

On the fourth day Phil finally emerged from the basement. His clothing choices were notably darker. He was utterly silent, responding with only one or two words when Fit tried to talk to him. He quietly did the quests as usual. Tucking the cookies into his backpack as usual. Leaving extra items for the quests in the barrels as usual.

But he didn’t stay out and about for long, quickly returning to the basement.

Each day he emerged he looked worse than the last time, which Tubbo mentioned to him. Phil didn’t even refute it. The next morning he wore the plague doctor gas mask he had brought back from Purgatory.

It quickly became a rare sight to see Phil out and about without the gas mask.

Well, it also became a rare sight to Phil at all.

After he hadn’t been seen for an entire week, Fit and Tubbo went to search the basement for their friend. The space was utterly silent. Fit examined the space. It was tidy. Too tidy.

Then he found the letter. It contained only 4 lines, 9 words.

“I can’t bear it. I’m gone. Don’t look. Sorry.”

Fit and Tubbo tracked down Etoiles by N.I.N.H.O, just as the sun started to go down.

“We found this.” Fit explained, handing Etoiles the letter.

Etoiles read the letter, the parchment crumpling slightly in his grip. “That son of a bitch.” Etoiles muttered. He paced back and forth. “He hates to talk about what he’s going through. I am more than ready to help!”

Fit nodded along with Etoiles’ angry ranting.

“Even The Goat needs help!” Etoiles snapped. “And Phil helped when I needed help! That old man doesn’t know when to ask for help! And he is too good at hiding when he needs help…”

Fit nodded. “Yeah. Getting information about his mental health is like pulling teeth. I just barely got out of him that he was having hallucinations a while back.”

Etoiles stopped and snapped around to stare at Fit. “Explain.” Etoiles ground out.

Fit paused, then sighed. “Yeah. So, you remember when the eggs vanished before Purgatory; well, Phil disappeared for about a week or so during that time. At some point after he came back, he took me to a part of a forest and told me that was where he had been trapped.”

Etoiles frowned. “Are you absolutely sure that?”

“Phil would not lie about that.” Fit crossed his arms, letting out a huff. “As I said, getting information about his mental health is like pulling teeth. Healthy teeth. So if he admits that he’s having issues, you can Always. Trust. His. Word.” He growled, more angry with himself than with the French cucumber.

“And how do you know what he’s like?” Etoiles asked, cocking his head.

“I faced him in War.” Fit replied. “When you face The Angel of Death in war, you learn something about him. And yourself.”

He huffed. “Look. What’s important to know is that Phil is gone. He’s left no clues about where he is…” His head snapped around, locking on a shadowy figure that zipped out of the bakery and ran toward the spawn warpstone.

Tubbo bolted toward the warpstone just as the figure reached it and vanished.

“Fuck!” Tubbo cursed.

“What the fuck was that?” Fit asked. “It wasn’t a nightmare stalker.”

“What’s more important is that it can use waystones…” Tubbo muttered. “I’m gonna need to move mine and put them in a secure box.

“Fuck man!” Etoiles said. “Now that I know you are moving yours, I’m going to secure mine too.” He palmed his warp stone. “I will talk to you soon.”

Fit nodded. “Alright. I will keep everyone updated if anything turns up.” He palmed his warp stone, warping to his base.

He turned and looked up at the wall. An aura of subdued mourning hung over the entire structure. Even the glowing trees that Phil and his kids had planted along the top were dimmer.

“Fuck!” Fit cursed. He turned and laid a hand on the waystone. He teleported back to that dungeon. He had been back here twice in the past month since Chayanne and Tallulah’s final deaths. But both times he could not bring himself to enter the room.

He slowly walked down the halls of the dungeon; the only sounds he heard beyond his ever-present tinnitus, were his own footsteps.

All too quickly he stood outside the room where the battle had occurred. He stared through the doorway, gritting his teeth. This place hurt his old friend in the worst way possible. Fit took in a slow deep breath and reached into his pouch for some of the sticks of tnt he kept there. He had to destroy this place.

He took a step in, Then a second, Then a third.

He stood over the few remaining crushed shells of Chayanne and Tallulah and flicked open the lighter. He flicked the wheel, and brought the small flame to the fuse. “Sorry kids…” He mumbled.

“NO!” A young voice yelled out, and a relatively small frame slammed into Fit. “Tio Fit! No! No! No!”

Fit lifted the lit stick away from the small person, and looked down at the raven haired child, then up at the brunette that ran up after them.

The hair of both youths were unkempt, and they had what looked like very dirty bed linens wrapped around themselves.

Fit threw the single stick away from where he and the two young ones stood.

He dropped to one knee to better look at the one who had grabbed him, face to face.

The one who had grabbed him had dark hair, with small glints of golden strands that caught the torchlight. Their eyes were a bright blue. And most notable was the skull shaped mark on their face.

Now, Fit hadn’t interacted much with Missa to memorize his facial features, but he knew Phil’s face. And this raven haired child looked an incredible amount like Phil.

Fit glanced at the other child, and even though their eyes were blue-gray, their curly poof of brown hair was identical to Wilbur’s; except far longer. And although they were darker than Wilbur, they unmistakably inherited his features. 

“Chayanne?” Fit said, hoping beyond all hope.

The black haired child- no. The black haired dragonling nodded rapidly.

Fit glanced at the other child. “Tallulah?” He asked.

The brunette dragonling frowned and silently mouthed what Fit had said for a second, then nodded.

Fit lifted his hands and slowly signed out ‘Tallulah, remember the first time we met? Found you in basement by me, your papi and Forever?’

Tallulah grimaced at the last name Fit said, but shook her head. “It was only you and papi who found me. I was in an attic. Not a basement.” She corrected, her tone of voice a bit off due to her current lack of hearing aids.

“And Chayanne, do you remember that first meal I gave you? It was hashbrowns, wasn’t it?” Fit asked, praying that Chayanne would remember.

Chayanne shook his head. “Big Breakfast.” He said, insistently. 

Fit let out a breath. They probably are Chayanne and Tallulah, but something was different. “How are you two… human?” He asked.

Tallulah glanced at her brother, having not caught what Fit said. Chayanne frowned then lifted his hands, flipping them back and forth, palm then back of the hand, repeatedly. While the light in the room may be dim, it was bright enough to catch on the scales on his hands and arms. He reached up and squished down his hair, exposing a handful of small horns crowning his head. “Not human.” He said.

Fit blinked. “Yeah. Not human.” He said. “How are you two even alive?” He asked, enunciating as clearly as he could.

Tallulah pointed to the shattered egg shells on the floor. “Hatched.” She tapped her chest. “Rules for life are different now.”

“Died after hatching.” Chayanne nodded. “Didn’t feel in danger like when small.”

“So, now that you two have hatched, that means you’ll revive like me or any of the other islanders?” Fit asked.

Chayanne and Tallulah nodded.

Fit let out a breath. “Ok. Then let’s get you two back to spawn.” He stood and started to leave, but stopped when he felt his sleeve being grabbed.

“No xp.” Chayanne said.

“Oh! I’ll set up a sharestone and ask Bad to bring some solid experience so you two can get back.” Fit explained. Chayanne nodded, and reached behind himself to grab Tallulah’s hand.

Fit started walking toward the waystone and sent a message to BBH.

You whisper to BadBoyHalo: I’m setting up a red sharestone. Bring solid experience or experience bottles. You whisper to BadBoyHalo: They are alive. You whisper to BadBoyHalo: I found them. BadBoyHalo whispers to you: what? BadBoyHalo whispers to you: im coming

Fit set up the red sharestone and messaged Bad the name.

The far taller man appeared a few moments later, quickly followed by Dapper, “Fit, how did you run out of experience so quick-” His words died as he saw the pair that quickly ducked behind Fit. “Who shrunk Phil?” He asked.

“I’ll explain a bit more when we get Chayanne and Tallulah back to spawn and make sure their spawn points are there.” Fit insisted.

Dapper was staring up at Chayanne and Tallulah. And now that Fit could see an egg next to the pair, if one of them curled up real tight, they would be able to fit inside a space about as big as Dapper is. Would Ramon be like these two when he hatched?

Fit shook off the thought and turned his focus to BBH, who was staring down at Chayanne and Tallulah. “Bad. Focus.”

Bad nodded. “Yes. We need to get them back to spawn.” He handed Chayanne and Tallulah a few blocks of solid experience. “You two head there first. Fit and I will follow after.”

Chayanne nodded, and he squeezed the solid experience, absorbing it. Tallulah did so too and the pair rested their free hands on the sharestone, and vanished. Dapper followed a few moments later.

As soon as the pair vanished, Bad turned to Fit. “That’s them. Without a doubt.” He said.

Fit let out a breath. “Demon thing, I guess. Weight off my chest having that confirmation.” He walked past Bad, who seemed to be visibly shaken. “We need to get those two tidied up. And see if anything about Phil’s turned up.”

“Wait. Hold up.” Bad said, grabbing the back of Fit’s jacket. “Explain about Phil.”

Fit paused, “Phil’s gone awol. Tubbo and I found a letter in his base telling us to not look for him.” He shook his head. “Look. Let’s just focus on the kids.” He warped to spawn.

Tallulah and Chayanne were sitting in the entrance to the spawn waystone room, Dapper was standing just outside. Fit glanced up at the wall and frowned. “Let’s head over to NINHO and get you two cleaned up.”

Chayanne looked up. “Dad?” He asked.

Fit glanced at Bad, who smiled. “Fit will go get him. Let’s get you two cleaned up.”

Chayanne grabbed Tallulah’s hand and signed one-handed to her, repeating what Fit and Bad said. She nodded and stood to follow Chayanne and Bad.

Fit headed around the other way from NINHO toward the elevator up to Phil’s place. He grabbed his communicator and sent a message to Tubbo.

You whisper to Tubbo: Do you still have Tallulah’s hat and Chayanne’s floaty? You whisper to Tubbo: If you have them, take them to NINHO asap. Tubbo whispers to you: I have them. Tubbo whispers to you: Why do you need them? You whisper to Tubbo: I found Chayanne and Tallulah

Fit opted to ignore Tubbo’s spamming of his communicator as he descended into Phil’s basement. He grabbed Chayanne and Tallulah’s main backpacks from where they had been placed carefully on their beds. He paused beside Phil’s neatly made bed, then walked past and grabbed Phil’s extra bucket hat.

Fit left the bunker, a bundle of clean clothes from Phil’s closet in his arms, along with the kids’ backpacks. As he approached NINHO, he saw Sunny and Empanada perched on the edge of the garden bed outside with Tubbo. 

“Hey, Tubbo.” Fit said. “I’m guessing one of Em’s moms is inside helping Bad?”

“Yes. Tina is.” Tubbo folded his arms. “I would have come with you to find them, you know.”

“I did not know they were there.” Fit crossed his arms. 

Tubbo looked down at the red knit hat and yellow rubber floaty in his lap. “What happened?” He finally asked.

“I found Chayanne and Tallulah in the dungeon. They are different, but Bad’s confirmed that it’s them without a doubt.” Fit confirmed.

Tubbo looked up at NINHO, and nodded slowly. “Ok. I will trust you on this.”

Fit headed in, followed by Tubbo. They headed to the bathing area. A curtain had been set up around one of the baths, Bad was knelt down by one of the others. Fit set the bundle of clothes and the backpacks down. Bad glanced up and nodded, acknowledging Fit and Tubbo’s presence, then returned to helping Chayanne scrub off a month’s worth of dungeon grime.

Fit started sorting through the clothes he had grabbed, making sure every article of clothing was clean. 

Bad and Chayanne finished first, and Bad brought the raven haired dragonling over to Fit and Tubbo, bundled in an oversized, fluffy towel. Now that Chay was all cleaned up, he looked even more like Phil. Bad looked over the selection of clothes then shrugged off his backpack to grab some things. “I prepared these ahead of time for Dapper. I can make more.” Bad set some articles of clothing beside the ones Fit had grabbed.

Fit nodded. He hadn’t seen any in Phil’s base. Granted he hadn’t been looking very hard.

Chayanne slowly dressed, choosing brown trousers and one of Phil’s open back undershirts. Bad had to help get Chayanne’s wings through the shirt, being the only other person present who had wings. 

When Chayanne was dressed, Tallulah and Tina had finished. Tallulah was bundled in a similar towel, and with her hair washed, it was far easier to see her twin dark purple horns. With the dungeon grime gone, the scales on her hands and arms were a pretty purple-pink. Her steps were quite unsteady, clutching Tina’s hand for support.

“Men, turn around, or get out.” Tina said sharply. Fit and Tubbo immediately turned around, shuffling toward the entrance to the bathing area. Bad stayed behind to help get Tallulah dressed.

It didn’t take long for Tallulah to be dressed, at which point Fit and Tubbo were called back. “Gonna need new hearing aids for Tallulah.” Tina said.

“I thought so.” Fit nodded. “I’ll see if Ramon wants to work on it.”

Chayanne grabbed Phil’s spare bucket hat that Fit had brought. “Where’s dad?” He asked.

Fit glanced at Tubbo. “We don’t know, right now.” He started. Not a lie. “I think it would be best for you two to stay with someone until Phil gets back. Is that ok?”

Chayanne glanced at Tallulah who looked back. “That is a good idea.” Tallulah said, nodding. 

“Ok.” Bad said cheerily. “Who would you like to stay with?” Bad asked the pair.

Chayanne thought for a moment, but Tallulah spoke before her brother could answer. “Godfather Tubbo.”

Tubbo nodded. “Ok.” He knelt down in front of Tallulah and held out her red beanie. She took it carefully, flipping it around in her hands. Tubbo had cleaned it well. She put it on, tucking it under the back curve of her horns.

Chayanne stared at his old duck floaty. “It’s not going to fit.” He said. He looked over the sweaters that Fit had grabbed from Phil’s wardrobe. He grabbed a gray one that had little duckies knit on it.

Bad helped him get the sweater on, guiding him on how to tuck his dark feathered wings in comfortably.

“Who shrunk Phil?” Were Tubbo’s first words to Chayanne when the dark haired dragonling finished dressing and had plopped Phil’s spare stripped bucket hat on his head.

Chayanne snorted. “Tio please…” He giggled.

“Are you two sure about staying with me?” Tubbo asked.

Chayanne grabbed Tallulah’s hand, and nodded. “You are our godfather. Dad trusts you to care for us.”

Tubbo nodded. “Ok. Sunny’s house has some empty rooms I can set you two up in.”

It was a slow walk over to Sunny’s house, since Tallulah was having difficulties walking without support. Tubbo insisted that he’ll make her forearm crutches so she didn’t have to wait on someone to help her. And to have something to smack people with, he had slyly whispered after making that promise.

Sunny tried her best to make the space welcoming for Chay and Lulah, but Tallulah wanted to go straight to bed. Chayanne stayed up for a little longer, but was sent to bed within the hour because he was dozing off on his feet.

Over the next week, Bad checked in on Chayanne and Tallulah pretty often. Tubbo put together forearm crutches for Tallulah within 48 hours and she gleefully sat down to decorate them almost immediately. It took an additional day for Tubbo and Ramon to put together new hearing aids for her.

All through the week, various islanders reported seeing the dark figure around the spawn and the bakery. When spotted, it either bolted toward the spawn waystone, or vanished in a puff of purple particles after a few seconds. Fit managed to snap a picture of it and posted the picture at spawn for everyone to see.

A full week after Chayanne and Tallulah were found and brought home, Chayanne cornered Fit and demanded to know where Phil was.

And that was a conversation Fit had to drag Tubbo into.

“We don’t know where Phil is.” Was the hardest sentence Fit ever had to say. And the looks Chayanne and Tallulah gave in response were even harder for him to bear.

Fit and Tubbo explained that Phil had vanished leaving only a letter maybe a week or so before Fit had found Chay and Lulah in that dungeon. Tubbo showed them the letter, and Tallulah’s crestfallen expression broke him.

She silently left the house, probably heading to her casita. Chayanne left too, probably to the bunker.

Fit quietly left for spawn to check on the cookie quests. As he arrived, he could hear Bad muttering minced oaths in the room under spawn. Since Phil’s absence, Bad had been much more present to work on getting mobs for the cookie quests.

The shadowy figure that the islanders had been seeing raced out of the bakery and toward the spawn waystone. Fit sighed, but froze in his steps at the small figure that dashed out of the bakery after it. “Leo!” Foolish cried out, racing after the two.

The shadowy figure disappeared into the spawn waystone room and the sound of the waystone activating echoed out.

The small pursuing figure emerged from the room. “¡Maldita sea! ¡Casi lo pillo esa vez!” They growled, their tail swishing back and forth. Fit’s translator helpfully supplied the translation: ‘Damnit! I almost caught it that time!’

Foolish stopped his pursuit and dropped a large hand on the little dragonette’s head. “Yeah. You’ll get it next time!” He declared proudly.

Leo shoved his hand off their head with a “¡Deja de tocarme el pelo!” to which Foolish only laughed. ‘Stop touching my hair!’ 

“Oi Foosh!” Fit called out.

“Hi Fit!” Foolish called, waving happily at him.

“I see Leo’s hatched too.” Fit commented.

Foolish grinned. “Yes sir! My Leo’s awesome looking!” He declared. Leo lifted their chin, a broad grin on their face, as sharp toothed as their papa. Leo turned in place so Fit could see.

Their hair was deep, shiny black making their trio of golden horns stand out. Their usual red cap was flipped around backward. Cheeks and arms were covered in shimmery purple scales, and the tip of their tail boasted a webbed fin. Someone, most likely Foolish, had braided their hair into a beautifully intricate multi-braid style with pretty golden and purple beads throughout.

Fit nodded. “You look good, Leo. Dangerous.”

Leo grinned. “¡Apuesta a que lo hago!” They declared, lifting their chin in pride. ‘You bet I do!’

The clack of rubber on cobbles drew Fit and Foolish’s attention. Tallulah and Chayanne had arrived. Seeing Chayanne and Leo in close proximity, Fit would hazard a guess that Leo was shorter than Chay. Which Leo seemed to have noticed as well by the fact they started trying to stand up taller, nearly standing on tiptoes.

“Hola tio Foolish.” Tallulah said, smiling slightly. Her eyes were a bit puffy, but she looked fine otherwise.

Foolish gasped happily. “Talulu!” He exclaimed, grinning. He opened his arms, requesting a hug, which Tallulah accepted by simply thumping into his torso.

“Why is everyone here?” Chayanne asked.

“Well, Leo and I were working on the cookie quests,” Foolish started. “But when we got here, that goddamn shadow monster was already inside. Leo tried to catch it but it ran off and took the waystone again.” Foolish pouted, rocking side to side a little, still hugging Tallulah.

“Shadow monster?” Chayanne asked, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

“Not a nightmare stalker.” Fit added. “It hasn’t tried to attack yet. If spotted it just runs toward the waystone and disappears.”

“When did it start showing up?” Tallulah asked, having turned in Foolish’s gentle hug.

“Right around when Phil disappeared.” Fit said. “He… wasn’t doing good after he thought you guys died… He started wearing his Bolas mask more often and didn’t really want to talk much.”

Tallulah extracted herself from Foolish’s hug and pulled her teleport stone out of her pocket. She stared into it, sorting through the waystones she had saved. “Where did the Chunk Error Alley waystone go?” She said, aloud.

Chayanne frowned then pulled out his own teleport stone to flick through his saved waystones. “I recognize every waystone in my list. The Chunk Error Alley waystone is the only one missing… oh.” He looked up at his sister. “Remember what dad said when he showed us that place.”

Tallulah blinked. “¡Maldita sea!” She cursed.

“Language!” Bad called out from the room below spawn.

“Papa exiled himself to Chunk Error Alley.” Tallulah grumbled, shoving her teleport stone into her pocket.

“Chunk Error Alley?” Fit asked.

“A place dad found a ways-out that was really weird. Big tall cliff walls on either side of a valley. He said that if Lulah and I ended up dying at some point, he was gonna go there and just build.” Chayanne explained. “I already checked Rose’s Sanctuary, The Nest and both Uppies. Chunk Error Alley is probably the only place he could be now.”

Tallulah nodded. “That’s probably where he is.” She looked down at her arm crutches.

“I can go check.” Fit interjected. “What are the coords?”

Chayanne looked up at Fit. “No. I can go. He’s my dad.”

“And Phil’s my friend and I don’t want to let a kid go out on his own.” Fit countered. “Especially one of Phil’s kids.” Chayanne glared up at Fit. “I’ll place a sharestone when I get there and come back to bring you and Tallulah.” He offered.

Chayanne huffed but nodded. “Fine.”

Fit leaned back then pulled out his communicator. “I should see if Tubbo’s ok with Ramon staying with you guys for a couple days while I make my way there.”

Tallulah nodded. “He should be.”

“Yup. He is.” Fit confirmed when he got a response to his message to Tubbo almost instantly. “I’ll see if Ramon’s awake and let him know what’s going on.”

Fit palmed his teleport stone and vanished in a puff of particles.

Foolish rested a hand on Chayanne’s shoulder. “We’ll find your papa, I promise.”

Chayanne looked up at Foolish, and nodded. “I hope so…”

Across the server, Fit pushed open the secure door to Ramon’s little home. “Ramon? My beautiful baby boy~...” He froze as he saw what looked like Ramon’s shell shattered into two pieces on the floor by Ramon’s bed. “Ramon!?” He shouted, his heart dropping. He dropped to the floor beside the shells, and reached out, hesitant to touch.

“Ramon?” He whispered.

“Fit, shut up…” a young voice grumbled from the bed. Fit spun to look at the bed, where a groggy tanned dragonling was peeking out from under the covers. A pair of brassy horns peeked out of his dark, messy curls. Slightly off white scales were speckled across his cheeks like freckles, and his visible arm was completely white because of the scales. His face was notably more draconic looking than Chayanne and Tallulah, also having a set of asian dragon style whiskers.

“Ramon?” Fit asked, his voice soft.

“Yeah, I’m awake now, Fit…” Ramon yawned. 

“You’ve hatched?” Fit asked, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice.

“No duh, Fit…” Ramon shuffled the blanket around so he was able to sit up properly. He was wearing what looked like-

“Is that my shirt?” Fit asked.

Ramon crawled out of bed and yawned. “First thing I could find.” He said, rubbing his eyes.

Fit had to hurry to scrounge together clothes that fit Ramon while he explained what was going on. He let Ramon keep the shirt and found a pair of coveralls Fit had gotten from the federation that were too small for his larger frame. Ramon was pleased with them; and was perfectly happy staying with Tubbo and Sunny for a few days.

Ramon packed his tools while Fit packed for the long trip away from the settlement, and followed Fit to spawn where Tubbo was now waiting with Chay, Lulah and Sunny. 

Sunny immediately ran up and hugged Ramon’s leg. Ramon gladly picked up his little sister, holding her gently.

“Alright. Chayanne. What are the coords for Chunk Error Alley?” Fit asked.

Chayanne relayed the coordinates and Fit added a waypoint on his map. He flicked through his other waypoints to see what waystones he had that would be close by to reduce the amount of time he would be traveling.

He found a couple. “Alright. I'm off. I’ve got a red sharestone. I’ll set it up when I get there and come back to gather everyone.”

Chayanne nodded. Tallulah grasped Fit’s hand. “Come back safe.” She whispered.

Fit nodded, then used his teleport stone to warp to the waystone closest to Chunk Error Alley.

It took a little under twenty-four hours to get there.

When Fit arrived, he paused atop one of the cliffs and looked down over the valley below. A road cut its way up the center of the valley, various houses were pressed against the walls of the valley, flanking the road. A number of hanging bridges spanned across the expanse.

Fit looked down across the valley, looking for any sign of life. His eyes were immediately drawn to the only being.

The shadowy beast that had been seen at spawn numerous times.

It was building a house.

Fit grimaced and backed away from the edge of the cliff. He set up the red sharestone in a little depression a little ways away, and warped to spawn.

Bad was just emerging from the room under spawn. “Fit! You’re back!” Bad chirped.

“Hey Badboy!” Fit replied. “I found Chunk Error Alley. But I also found that shadow beast we’ve been seeing here.”

Bad paused, his tail lashing back and forth. “I see.” Someone emerged from the room after Bad.

The woman was brunette, a bit on the shorter side. “I have the rest of the mobs in cages, Bad.” She started to say, then looked up and smiled at Fit.

Fit recognized the woman instantly. Granted, the last time he had seen her, she was over 90 feet tall. Phil’s amazing wife, Kristin. Also known as Lady Death.

“Hi Fit!” Kristin chirped cheerily.

“Kristin! Hello! When did you get here?” Fit asked. Shit must be going sideways for Kristin to be here.

“Late yesterday!” Kristin smiled. “I finally got vacation time, and Phil’s been telling me about the island, so here I am.”

“Oh.” Fit grimaced. “How much have you been told about what’s been happening lately?” He asked.

Kristin frowned. “Well, I know that Phil’s awol right now. I can vaguely sense where he is because he’s my Angel and that he’s alive.”

Fit let out a breath. “Well, that’s a relief to know Phil’s alive. Have you met the kids yet?”

Kristin nodded. “I have! I did some baking with Chayanne earlier, then helped Tallulah in the garden. Phil raises good kids.” 

“Ok.” Fit glanced over to Bad. “Bad, call everyone you can to Phil’s garden. I’ve got news.”

It only took twenty five minutes for almost everyone to arrive. It took another thirteen for everyone to shut up so Fit could recount what he had seen. “So, the area has changed from how Chayanne and Tallulah,” Fit nodded to the pair of dragonlings sitting on either side of Kristin, “described the area. There’s now a road and buildings. And the shadow beast we’ve been seeing around spawn.” Fit finished.

Whispers and grumbles washed over the assembled group.

“I wasn’t able to see if Phil was there. But Chayanne and Tallulah want to go to look for themselves, so I think a guard would be a good idea to come with.” Fit continued. “Anyone want to volunteer?”

“If it’s for my bro or bro’s kids, I’m always happy to go!” Etoiles answered instantly.

Fit nodded. “Anyone else?”

Kristin and Bad raised their hands simultaneously. “Phil’s always been a help. Yeah, he’s emotionally constipated to the point he doesn’t admit when he’s having issues, but I want to help him.” Bad said.

“He’s my husband.” Kristin nodded.

Fit nodded. “Alright.”

Missa also raised his hand. “I’ll more than likely be useless, but I want to try to be of help.”

Cellbit, Baghera and Roier all raised their hands at the same time.

“He is Bolas.” Baghera said. “No Bolas left behind.”

“As Baghs said, Phil is Bolas. He is also a friend.” Cellbit nodded.

“I’m not letting Cellbit go without me.” Roier said. “And if it comes to a fight, I can take a few hits with my Mexican Lag.” 

Fit chuckled and nodded. “Is that everyone?”

“I want to come.” Tubbo said. “Ramon can watch Sunny.”

Fit nodded. “Alright. Anyone else?”

Silence. After a few moments, Fit nodded. “Ok. So the raid party is: myself, Chayanne and Tallulah, Kristin, Bad, Cellbit and Roier, Missa, Etoiles, Baghera and Tubbo. Anyone else planning on coming with?”

No one said anything, so Fit nodded. “Very well. Everyone in the raid party, pack your bags tonight, and when the sun rises on the morrow, we will set out for Chunk Error Alley.”

The group dispersed, leaving Kristin, Missa, Chayanne and Tallulah alone at the top of the wall. Fit was the last to leave, offering a nod to Missa and Kristin.

Chayanne and Tallulah dragged Kristin and Missa down into the bunker. Chayanne shoved all the beds together into one large bed, and had to drag his papa back away from the trapdoor down to Tallulah’s greenhouse with a “Don’t you dare go back down there. This is YOUR home.”

That sleep was the best Chayanne and Tallulah had in quite a while.

In the morning, the raid party gathered at spawn. Backpacks were topped up with consumables, exp tanks were filled with experience, armor was double checked to ensure it was at its best.

The raid party silently used the red sharestone Fit had set up to Chunk Error Alley.

They approached the edge of the cliff and looked down over the valley below. A waystone was resting on a raised dais down below. Etoiles was the first who leapt off the cliff toward the waystone, his glider catching the air, allowing him to land safely.

He activated the waystone, and brought his shield up, looking around for any sign of the shadow beast. Nothing. Etoiles waved to the rest of the group, who also used their gliders to descend to the waystone. 

“It’s changed…” Tallulah said. “The cliffs are softer.” Chayanne nodded in confirmation.

The cliffs rose high into the sky, casting parts of the valley into shadow. Slightly ruined houses and twisting trees lined the foot of the cliffs; bridges spanned the expanse overhead.

It was a beautiful sight. And almost utterly silent; except for the bird cries.

High overhead, birds flew and screamed. Crows. Thousands of crows.

A small flock landed on the roofs of the buildings flanking the road further down the valley. At first it was the one, soon joined by seven more. An additional two joined the resting flock. Then three more landed to silently stare at the raid party.

Fit felt a shiver go down his spine at seeing the thirteen gathered corvids.

The sound of their caws high overhead grew more and more fervent. Something was coming.

A large figure leapt down from the cliff, landing silently before the gathered beings. And the raid party saw the shadow beast clearly for the first time.

It was almost totally covered in feathers, vibrantly red eyes peered upon the group above a wickedly sharp beak. It was easily taller than Fit, probably somewhere around three, maybe three and a half meters tall. It was somewhat humanoid, with two legs and two arms, but it had an additional pair of limbs in the form of two massive feathered wings extending from its back.

Its eyes narrow as Chayanne steps forward, his scythe in hand. “Where the hell is my dad, monster!” The dark haired dragonling demanded.

Purple particles swirled around the Crowbeast, and a few moments later, it vanished. The particles trailed off further down the valley.

“Fuck!” Fit cursed. “Looks like we don’t have time to search the place for Phil. We might need to fight that thing.” Fit glanced at the avatar of the Goddess of Death. “Can you sense Phil in this area?”

Kristin nodded. “He is here. It’s very hard to pinpoint exactly where.”

Fit took the lead with Etoiles and Cellbit on either side. Following behind were Kristin and Baghera flanking Chayanne and Tallulah. Roier and Missa were behind them, with Bad and Tubbo covering the rear.

The group made their way down the road, keeping an eye out for the Crowbeast.

They had to pause a few times because despite the cobbled road being relatively flat, Tallulah was struggling. Tubbo ended up carrying the small dragoness.

All too quickly, they arrived at the far end of the valley and were faced with a courtyard. Where the Crowbeast was waiting.

Chayanne pushed past Fit, his scythe in hand. “I’m going to kill you…” Chayanne growled.

The Crowbeast’s eyes narrowed. ”Leave”. It growled. ”There is nothing for you, child”.

“SHUT UP!” Chayanne screamed. He leapt into the air, his feathered wings giving him extra lift. Chayanne landed the first strike.

He clung to the Crowbeast’s head, laying into it with his scythe. The other adults spread out around the courtyard, beginning their assault.

Fit loaded a gapple into his potato cannon, firing at Chayanne. Missa grabbed his throwing knives, each tipped in a different potion effect, and threw them into the Crowbeast’s hide.

Baghera revved her chainsaw and leapt at the beast with a scream. Cellbit followed after his blood-sibling, echoing her scream. Their madness fueled screams brought the Crowbeast’s attention to the pair.

Etoiles and Bad attacked from the far side, laying into the Crowbeast’s wings. Tubbo acted as support for the trio with his potato cannon, firing gapples, occasionally swapping to golden carrots to do chip damage to the Crowbeast.

Kristin took position beside the entrance to the courtyard, and fired volley after volley of tipped arrows at the beast. Tallulah released her battle beasts from their cages, trilling a tune on her flute, directing them to attack the Crowbeast.

Fit swapped between gapples and golden carrots. Aiming at his allies between the strikes to the Crowbeast.

The Crowbeast bucked, throwing Chyanne off after about 12 seconds, and the dragonling scrambled away from the beast and took up position beside Kristin to fire more tipped arrows at the beast.

Baghera and Cellbit laughed as they carved into the Crowbeast’s hide, tanking its focused strikes with the help of Fit’s gapple support.

Etoiles was bantering easily as he blocked the few heavy strikes from the Crowbeast that were aimed his way. “Oh! I almost felt that one! Come on! Come on! You can hit harder!” His taunting was helping Baghera and Cellbit immensely as it was drawing the Crowbeast’s agro away from the pair and toward the man with the near invincible shield.

Roier kept up a fast stream of Spanish with his strikes with his orcish sword. He caught a few stray wing blows from the beast, but his Mexican Lag massively reduced the power of the blows.

”Enough!”. The Crowbeast bellowed, and a surge of power pressed down on all gathered, knocking almost everyone off their feet. Only Etoiles and Kristin managed to keep their footing.

The Crowbeast seemed to grow an additional meter in height, a shadowy aura cloaking it. The wounds they had inflicted began to close.

Etoiles struck at the Crowbeast several times. Then pulled back with a french curse as the pressure abated and the Crowbeast swung a taloned hand at him. “It’s Withering!” He called out, falling back to where Kristin and the kids were. He grabbed the bottle of milk Tallulah tossed to him, knocking it back quickly.

The Frenchman dashed back into battle, swapping from his scythe to a multishot crossbow. He loaded it with fireworks and fired into the Crowbeast. The fireworks exploded into multicolored stars, the scent of burning feathers joining the smell of blood in the air. The Crowbeast reared back, its wings flaring, before it dashed at the Frenchman, swiping at his shield.

Baghera got a bit too close to the Crowbeast’s swipes at its agile opponents and was knocked across the courtyard into one of the buildings. “Baghera!” Cellbit screamed, laying into the Crowbeast, ignoring how its Withering aura destroyed his skin and its talons rent his flesh.

Fit cursed as he fired gapples at Cellbit, the instantaneous healing almost countering the heavy blows the Crowbeast landed, and the Regen slowing the harm of the Withering. Roier leapt upon the Crowbeast’s back, hacking away at the back of its head and wings, his Mexican Lag once more protecting him, this time from the Crowbeast’s Withering aura.

Tubbo worked to keep Roier’s health high, occasionally swapping targets to Etoiles or Bad. The latter of whom had stepped back and was now firing his own bow at the Crowbeast.

Missa muttered under his breath in Spanish as he clambered to his feet and hurriedly opened his backpack to craft more throwing knives. Fit paused his attacks to hand Missa a pack of poisons to apply to his knives.

Missa quickly finished crafting new knives and applied the poisons. He returned to throwing, going slower to try to reduce the amount of missed throws, aiming for the open wounds the close range fighters had opened. And the Crowbeast’s eyes.

Bad quickly disengaged to locate Baghera. She was hauled out of the house rubble, Bad dumping Instant Healing potions over her. She revved her chainsaw again, and leapt back into the battle, driving her chainsaw into its side, shredding flesh.

Bad followed after the golden duck woman, his own withering aura surrounding his scythe. He leapt into the air, slashing at the Crowbeast’s torso.

The Crowbeast snarled and reared back. It screamed, and its wings flared and pumped down powerfully, knocking Baghera, Cellbit, Roier, Bad and Etoiles away.

The wounds the group had just inflicted began to close again, but the Withering aura seemed to lessen.

Baghera, Cellbit, Roier and Etoiles raced back in, followed by Chayanne. Bad fell back, swapping to his multishot crossbow to shoot fireworks at the now raging Crowbeast.

It attacked indiscriminately, its regen higher than ever before. Any shallow cuts were almost instantly healed.

The islanders laid into the Crowbeast with even heavier strikes, trying to wear down its stamina and overwhelm its regeneration.

It was slow going, taking multiple minutes to draw close to the point of exhausting the Crowbeast.

Baghera and Cellbit wailed on the Crowbeast’s wings, bone crunching under Baghera’s chainsaw. Roier pummeled the back of the Crowbeast’s head, being grabbed at least twice and thrown across the courtyard.

Bad had swapped from dealing damage to focusing much more on supporting the fighters, racing around the courtyard, throwing Instant Healing potions and swapping totems whenever they popped.

Tubbo had swapped exclusively to using golden carrots, shooting burning rounds into the Crowbeast’s feathered hide.

It was beginning to slow, the Crowbeast’s attacks were growing weaker, and less frequent. That spurred the fighters into one last push, attacking with everything they could. 

The Crowbeast’s limbs faltered and it dropped to the cobbled ground, heaving. Chayanne took a chance leapt into the air, his grapple squawk firing out and latching onto the Crowbeast’s head. He slammed into the Crowbeast’s skull, and swung his scythe to bury the blade into its eye.

The Crowbeast is bleeding. The Crowbeast was slain by Chayanne

A ragged cheer surged from the fighters, and Chayanne stood gasping before the Crowbeast. He raised his scythe. “Where is my dad?” He demands.

The Crowbeast says nothing, simply laying panting, slowly bleeding out.

“ANSWER ME!” Chayanne screamed. “I KNOW YOU CAN TALK! WHERE IS MY DAD!?” He sobbed, raising his scythe.

The Crowbeast slowly looked up at Chayanne, the red of its eyes slowly fading. It said nothing.

Chayanne brought the scythe down, tears streaming down his cheeks. His scythe landed the final blow upon the Crowbeast just as its eyes fully cleared, becoming a beautiful, piercing blue.

Ph1lza was slain by Chyanne [-]Ph1lza

The Crowbeast lay dead upon the ground, its hide shredded by the fighters.

Chayanne stood over the body, trembling. The death message displayed across everyone’s communicators sent an icy chill over every single person awake. Even those not present at the Crowbeast’s death.

Tallulah sagged against Kristin, trying to muffle her sobs.

Chayanne dropped to his knees, his scythe clanking against the cobbles.

Missa slowly approached his son, kneeling down beside the dragonling and the transformed form of the man who helped raise the kid. Chayanne collapsed against his pa, tears streaming down his cheeks.

It was a silent return to spawn. Even Kristin’s insistence that Phil’s soul was ok wasn’t a sufficient balm for the hurt everyone was feeling that day.

The feeling of losing one of their own bit deep into all.

Over the next few days, Chayanne, Tallulah, Missa and Kristin stayed with Tubbo; Chayanne and Tallulah refused to return to the bunker that Phil had built for them.

Tubbo and Sunny insisted that Chayanne and Tallulah get out of the house after their first day of holing themselves up in the room Tubbo had provided for the pair. Kristin accompanied them on the short walk.

When the trio approached spawn, Bad was climbing up the ladder from the room under spawn. Except he was a good meter and a half shorter than usual. He paused and stared at three. His clothes were different. Far more formal than usual.

“Chayanne. Tallulah. Miss Kristin.” He said, nodding. The voice was wrong. And going by the series of events that had been going on, this had to be…

“Dapper?” Bad called out from the room. “You still have the Love Potion.”

Dapper looked down then at the red bottle in his hand. A mischievous smile wrinkled his pitch black skin. “I don't have it dad. I tossed it to you before I went up. Is your magnet on?”

It was silent down below except for the rummaging sound of Bad looking through his numerous backpacks. Dapper grinned. “I love messing with dad.” He whispered.

“Dapper, I can’t find it.” Bad said, sounding frustrated. 

“Oh! I found it in my back pocket.” Dapper grinned.

“Dapper!” Bad snapped, quickly climbing the ladder.

Dapper was a near clone of his father, pitch black skin, large demon wings, a pair of small curved horns at his hairline, and pure white eyes; the only differences being Dapper had white hair while Bad had dirty blonde. And Dapper had scales.

He looked to be only slightly taller than Tallulah. Only slightly. And he didn’t look at all mad about it. Yup. If you asked him, that’s what he would say. Not mad in the slightest…

“Oh! Hello Tallulah! Chayanne! Kristin!” Bad chirped happily.

“Hello Bad!” Kristin replied cheerfully. “How have you been?”

The two adults delved into small talk while Dapper, Chayanne and Tallulah shuffled off to the side. “How are you two holding up?” Dapper asked softly.

Chayanne shrugged.

“Really shit.” Tallulah said. “I- I just want my dad back.” She let herself drop to the ground to sit, her arm crutches splayed out to either side.

Chayanne sat beside his sister, and she leaned and rested her head on his shoulder. “I want him back too…” He mumbled.

Dapper stepped around behind his siblings and hugged them from behind, also wrapping his wings around them. “I’ll see if there’s anything in my grimoires about summoning souls of the departed. It’ll probably take me like a week.”

Chayanne nodded. “When you find something, come grab me and Tallulah.”

Tallulah and Chayanne eventually drifted back to Tubbo’s place with Kristin. Each morning Kristin took the two out on a walk, and each night after dinner, Tallulah and Chayanne went on a walk privately, just the two of them.

On the fourth day after the events at Chunk Error Alley, Kristin burst into Tallulah and Chayanne’s room. “Come come!” She chirped. “Spawn! Something has happened!” Chay and Lulah followed Kristin to spawn, where Fit and Etoiles were waiting.

“Hey Kristin!” Fit said upon seeing the trio arrive. “Can I ask what’s going on?”

Kristin waved everyone over to the waystone. “Come to Chunk Error Alley!” She insisted, warping away moments after the words left her mouth.

Etoiles frowned. “Well. Let’s go.” He said, shrugging. He quickly followed after Kristin.

Fit glanced at Tallulah and Chayanne who were both hesitating in the entrance to the waystone area. “If you don’t want to go, I can send Kristin a message.”

Tallulah inhaled and stepped up to the waystone. “I trust her. Papa spoke highly of her, so I’m going to trust that things will be ok.”

Chayanne nodded slowly. “What Lulah said.” He agreed.

The pair warped to Chunk Error Alley, Fit following close behind. Kristin was pacing back and forth, waiting for Chay, Lulah and Fit to arrive. She waved to them, indicating to follow.

The group of five walked down the road down Chunk Error Alley, crows cawing overhead, eventually they reached the courtyard where they had battled the Crowbeast. Where they had slain Philza.

His warped body was gone, the blood from the wounds the islanders inflicted having long dried. Dark feathers were scattered everywhere. The courtyard now felt so large.

Kristin stepped around behind Tallulah and Chayanne and pointed toward the center of the courtyard. “Look.” She said softly.

They looked. They saw. They ran. They grabbed the man who they treasured most in the world.

Phil dropped to his knees to clutch his children. “Chayanne? Tallulah?” He said, his voice soft as he leaned back to look upon the faces of the pair.

“It’s us, dad.” Chayanne said, grabbing onto Phil as tight as he could.

“Don’t you dare leave like that. Ever ever again.” Tallulah thumped Phil’s shoulder, squeezing him like he would vanish in a moment if she let go.

The soft rustle of feathers surrounded them as Phil’s dark feathered wings wrapped around them. “I swear. As long as you don’t die on me again. I’ll stay right here. As long as you need.”

Tallulah nodded against Phil’s shoulder. “I promise we aren’t going to die. Ever.”

Phil gently folded his wings and carefully stood, letting his beloved fledglings keep hold of him as best they could. He looked up at the three waiting and smiled. “Kristin…” He said softly.

Kristin walked up and intertwined her fingers with his. “I’m here Phil.”

Phil glanced at the two others. “Fit. Etoiles.” He smiled.

“Phil! My man. You’ve been through some shit.” Fit quipped. “Certainly came out the other side looking a bit better.”

Phil burst into laughter. “Fit, oh my god.”

Fit unlooped one of the thin lengths of leather he kept around his wrist. “You might want to tie up your hair, Phil. It’s a bit longer than before you turned into a big crow man thing.”

Which was the truth. Phil’s hair was noticeably longer than a month ago. Where before it just reached his shoulders, it now reached below the bottom of his shoulder blades.

Etoiles grinned at his friend who was wrapping the cord around his blond hair into a fluffy tail, then gasped. “Oh no!” He cried out in his joking tone. “The tropes! You have the anime mother ponytail!” 

Phil paused then burst into laughter. “Nooo!” He cried dramatically, leaning back a little. “What will my family do? I will die offscreen for some mysterious reason and that’ll kick off the hero’s journey for my traumatized eldest child!”

Chayanne punched his dad’s shoulder. “Dad shut up!”

Tallulah had dramatically fallen over. “Noo!” She exclaimed in the same jokingly dramatic tone as Phil. “I shall be so devastated by my pa’s offscreen death that I shall give up all music until my brother completes season 3 of his hero’s journey at which point he will return home and suddenly I’ll be ok again!”

Fit laughed at the trio’s antics. Kristin giggled then leaned in to give Phil a quick kiss. “My adorable Tech Guy Weeb.” She said teasingly.

It was a quick journey back to spawn. Fit had brought some solid experience so Phil was able to warp back to spawn, startling Bad who was in the middle of sorting out stuff for the cookie quests. 

“Oh my gosh!” Bad exclaimed. “Philza!?” 

“Sup Bad!” Phil chirped.

“I'm so glad you’re back!” Bad said. Two small beings ran past him and right toward Phil. “Ah! Pomme! Richas!”

The two smaller eggs thumped into Phil’s legs, making little sounds. They placed signs simultaneously, Richarlyson finishing writing first. ‘PHIL WHERE DID YOU GO?? YOU MISSED SO MUCH!’ Pomme finished up quickly after with ‘everyone’s hatching left and right im so overwhelmed’

Phil laughed and carefully knelt down to hug the pair of rambunctious eggs. “Ye. I’m back. Glad you two are ok.” He looked up at Bad. “You alright mate?”

The tall demon’s shoulders slumped. “It was so busy when you were gone. I was staying up at all hours trying to track this shadow beast thing that kept showing up at spawn. AND TURNS OUT! It was a certain angsty crow.” Bad leveled Phil with a glare.

“Oh.” Phil grimaced, his wings flaring then folding tightly against his back. “Sorry bout that mate. Wasn’t in the right headspace.”

Bad sighed. “It’s fine, Philza. At least you’re back and can start to heal now.”

Phil nodded. “Yeah. I hope so.”

Fit went and raided the bunker for clothes while Kristin, Tallulah and Chayanne took Phil to Tubbo’s. Tubbo was ecstatic to see Phil alive.

Fit brought a bunch of clothes for Phil. He ended up going with his usual outfit, but since Chayanne was wearing his spare striped bucket hat, Phil borrowed one of Kristin’s wide brimmed hats.

In the following days, Chayanne and Tallulah refused to leave Phil’s side for very long. Although his appearance had barely changed, Phil seemed far older than he had ever been. And whenever Chayanne and Tallulah left him alone and returned, he seemed… off.

So they stayed with him. As much as possible.

And when they couldn’t, Kristin took over staying with her husband.

Phil was a broken man. The Crowbeast was evidence of that. But his family was bound and determined to fill those cracks with gold.

[st7arlight]

meet the sims-blackwood family!! this is set post-200 in a new world where the fears are weaker and more hidden in the shadows, but quickly building strength as more avatars and artifacts are born. meet blaire and not-adam, two students in jon’s homeroom and english class!

worldbuilding and brainstorm notes under the cut :D

the student ocs i created here are

-a transfem student who straight up doesnt have a name. you can call her anything but her deadname. its a fun game the class plays. it started as a gag but jon went “yeah okay ive seen weirder and kids deserve a chance to explore” so he comes up with a different name every day during roll call. shes v chaotic and inspired (personality wise, not funky name lore) by an irl friend of mine

-the student she has a crush on and is best friends with, an AP art student who uses they/she pronouns

they both eat lunch in Jon’s classroom, where they eventually notice that he never really eats much? just. reads a book in his free time, maybe has cereal bars occasionally

they form really close bonds with jon and he sponsors their lgbt club,,,, the second student realizes she’s agender when hes explaining the ace spectrum,,,,,, they come across The Horrors that were released when jmart moved on to Somewhere Else and he saves them,,,,,,,,, after they start to understand that “something spooky is here bc of mr sims but he was a victim in it” they sneakily start categorizing what they call “The Horrors” into 9 groups and get into shenanigans. they save jon at some point

their romance follows the plot of jmart’s but jon notices student B treating student A like he did martin at the start of the year and intervenes

so theyre healthier

(maybe jmart adopt student b, as they’re in a rlly unsafe home environment and thats why they started lashing out at their buddy)

at the beginning of the year student A knows shes trans but isnt sure what name to use. her buddy suggests not-adam (as she isnt suuuper uncomfy with her deadname, just that its too masc for her) so they call her that for a good bit and it comes up occasionally until they learn about the fears and the joke kinda. sours.

jon called her anything but that. not-adam thought it was because he didnt want to deadname her (and she insisted she was cool with it and thought it was funny) but she said that he can use a name that isnt adam, just not to stick to one bc she didnt want to feel boxed in

so the joke of her being anything but adam began

!!! WHAT IF NOT ADAM HAS AN ENCOUNTER WITH A STRANGER OBJECT THAT MAKES EVERYONE UNABLE TO SEE OR REMEMBER HER??? AND (character B) IS THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERS HER BUT STILL CANT SEE HER!!!! AND THIS IS HOW JON REVEALS HE KNOWS STUFF ABOUT THE SUPERNATURAL

student b breaks down only a couple days in when she realized something was deeply, truly wrong, earing lunch (seemingly) alone with jon in his classroom. she says something with “not-adam” and “nobody remembers her but me” and jon’s trauma plus eye powers helps break his illusion, even though he doesnt remember her still

WHAT IF THIS IS AROUND WHEN NOT ADAM IS STARTING TO SEE HIM AS A FATHER

he adopts her bc she still legally doesnt exist and her family doesnt remember her , and its not like jmart already have fake identities anyways. they break the curse but everyone but B and Jon are completely wiped of her memory, just can finally see her now. its a mush of stranger, spiral, and lonely bc the horrors work different here

…she eventually settles on a name because she desperately needs to be reminded that they know her, they remember her, and that they remember all of her. (jon doesnt remember *everything* still, but most. every now and then she or B references something and they pause when they realize it was another memory lost to The Horrors)

oh also jon wears combat boots bc of daisy now. unrelated but important

im realizing my plan of them adopting B is a little funky with them adopting not-adam. however, unconventional found family prevails in tma. B just stays at their house most of the time bc she is neglected a lot at home so it usually isnt noticed when she disappears. theyre both 16 so fighting for custody when they can move out so soon is deemed too much stress on the teens. not-adam’s family actually are v loving and great, they just. dont remember NA. they dont remember how to love her, that they ever did

(thats why B needed to remember her. also, the effect intended of the horror was to torture NA until she died unnoticed and she will either be remembered by everyone when her body is found or will rot unseen until shes gone. or become an avatar, if she chose to embrace it. B was an intended victim of the leitner, the fear of nobody believing you and losing someone you love feed the Horrors)

(jon and his funky eye powers are likely the only reason NA didnt die)

in the end A picks the name astrid, but jon still calls her any name he can think of that starts with A when calling her down for food n stuff

anyways jmart unofficially adopting queer teens bc found family is so themcore but i *know* the fates would never allow them to do anything conventionally or fully legal

(all of this copy-pasted from me infodumping in a tma chat in the past couple hours)

[the-avaricious-meddler]

A Clandestine Meeting At Clathermont's Tattoo Parlor, and An Entirely Unrelated Incident Which Followed

For @convolutedperson for the @fallenlondonficswap!

Word Count: 624 Character: Hugues, The Begrudged Thug Featured: Clathermont's Parlor, Revolutionaries

Content warning: 

Implied deaths (none shown)

-

Ladybones Road was never truly quiet. The whispers and footsteps of spies and agents, the unsettling final sounds of hanged men. And, of course, the endless chat in and around Clathermont's Tattoo Parlor. 

On this particularly day, two individuals had entered the parlor. Their arrivals were staggered, one appearing about five minutes before the next, but they were attended to at precisely the same time.

A gruff, serious-looking man- a Parisian by the name of Hugues, took the chair to the left, whilst an unusual young woman took the chair to the right. No words were exchanged, not even a glance. It was as each was simultaneously were unaware of the others' existence, and reliant on their presence.

Once the tattooing was completed, they each went off their separate ways. Hugues headed towards Watchmaker's hill, whilst the woman vanished into a side-street. 

And clutched in the man's hand was a note- one passed along seemingly without any movement of hands or word of mouth. He waited, eyes sharp, until no one was around to see its contents.

Two addresses. One, a factory owned by Mr Veils, smaller than the one on Flowerdene Street, and frequented by Mr Cups' relickers to pick up the oft-valuable but unusable fabric scraps produced as a byproduct of the endless clothesmaking. The other, a hidden stash of explosives. And beneath it, a simple phrase: 'you know what to do'.

---

Even at night, the factory was abuzz with activity. Though not as jarringly bright as one of Fires' factories, it still stood out against the darkness of the cavern. Hugues'd employed some of his less lawful 'friends' to scope out the building ahead of time- he knew roughly where to go, and when.

The first primary explosive was placed under a high stack of fabrics- it'd ignite, creating additional destruction, and until then no one would think to check. The second, beneath an unrepaired floorboard. And the third, hidden in a room occasionally used by Veils on its rare visits. The rest were scattered somewhat haphazardly around the building, though still hidden enough no one would know until it was too late.

He quickly vacated the building once he was done, then gave the signal for the lookouts- other revolutionaries- to flee. There was minor apprehension- what about the workers? But it was brushed off quickly. Altering them risked alerting the law, and the entire operation would be ruined. No, they'd be left to fend for themselves.

And so they fled to a safe distance-

An explosion ripped through the air, followed by a massive fireball. Flames tore through what still stood of the decrepit factory, and already-strained pillars snapped like toothpicks. The sounds were deafening. 

But when all was said and done, and the blaze was finally gotten under control, then extinguished, the factory was beyond saving or repair. Even the machinery, sturdy as it was, could only be salvaged for what metal was still usable. A small group of survivors had been pulled from the ruined building, and were slowly being taken to the Royal Beth for... Something resembling treatment. At least if they died now, they'd be likely to come back. Some of the more concerned lookouts had gone after them, disguised as normal civilians, but Hugues stayed back, looking for something-

There. In a dark nook of a cave wall, glowing green eyes attached to an obscured figure. It nodded in approval, a job well done. 

It handed over payment, a large sack of rostygold, and a folded-up note. Not another job, it assured. But something he needed to see. Then it vanished into an unseen tunnel, and was gone.

'The path you walk is treacherous', it said. 'But in all things, look to love.'

[You gained x1 Hastily Scrawled Warning Note]

[astragatwo]

In contrast to my last two Rain World OC posts, these guys aren't one offs and are part of my current core OC group. More info about them under the cut since it's lengthy.

First starting with The Serpent —

The Serpent is one of AV's many bio-engineered slugcats - if you can even call him a slugcat at this point - as part of a simple passion of experimenting with flexible slugcat biology

They share several traits in common with red lizards, those being constant hyper-aggression, tremendous strength, projectile spit and size

As for similarities with slugcats, well, a general elongated shape? Oh, mobility, unlike red lizards, the Serpent is very adept with vertical movement

AV didn't really have a clear goal in mind with the Serpent unlike the rest of their tube babies, they just sort of... happened.

The spontaneity of their creation though has been very interesting as despite initially being created with the solitary lifestyle of a red lizard, the Serpent still keeps his slugcat instinct of adopting random children they find

Though the Serpent seems at first, displeased with this development but rest assured that if you ever LOOK at his pup wrong they will kill everyone in the room and then himself

Though not pictured in his reference since he was my first Rain World OC, created with very little knowledge of the lore and started as a one-off, he has a citizen ID drone which AV uses to keep track of him

He was also simply created out of my desire to have a long slugcat and my obsession with red lizards combined so there's that, too

Speaking of AV, moving on to Administrative Violence —

Named after the song of the same name by Lauren Bousfield, you'd expect them to be - well - violent. They're not, at least not with those they commonly interact with

They are actually quite sweet with Blown Blooms, their partner, and Peach the slugcat

Weather conditions, all things considered, are pretty mild where they are but far, far off into the distance their partner Blown Blooms isn't so fortunate and natural erosion as well as other random unfortunate events unrelated to weather, has taken quite the toll on them

As a result and fearing for Blooms in every way possible but especially for their communication's inevitable severing and also Blooms being lonely all on their own, AV created a slugcat who resembles a strawberry lizard - a species of lizard Blooms is especially fond of

Peach was designed for protection and companionship first and foremost and an emergency messenger/relay secondly.

Outside of worrying for Blooms' condition and yearning & longing for close physical proximity to them the way creatures who aren't supermassive structures have the luxury of, AV spends most of their time studying their bio-engineered slugcats.

Each and every one of them is given a citizen ID drone for ease of tracking as well as general classifications

They couldn't give a shit about whatever problem the other iterators are working on - just these funny little slugcats

They take the occasional interest in other animals too but it's mainly slugcats

And finally, Blown Blooms and Peach —

Blooms, like AV, is named after a song of the same name by Lauren Bousfield. Peach is just named after her colors.

Blooms, like their partner AV, has a complete disinterest in the great problem and a very big interest in bio-engineering

This time with plants rather than animals though they have a soft spot for small critters but they're usually never the subject of any experiments - just study and admiration

However, due to a deteriorating state, Blooms isn't quite able to use their equipment to manipulate genetic information like they used to - which is upsetting

So instead, they help AV with their current studies as well as keeping tabs on their own prior experiments

They have Peach now, though, which brings a much appreciated break from constant studying and nice close companionship

Peach will often catch prey outside and come back to eat it with Blooms and occasionally Blooms will play around with Peach and levitate the prey around for Peach to chase in anti-grav

The event that pushed AV to create Peach was when a creature entered Blooms' chamber and attacked them, partially damaging their puppet before being killed and then expelled from the chamber

Blooms is absolutely still capable of themselves and ultimately damaging the puppet a bit is nothing when taking account the sheer scale of an iterator - but AV will be AV

Plus, Blooms isn't complaining about getting a cute little companion from AV

And general trivia/info —

Everyone here is aroace. All of them. AV & Blooms' relationship is non-romantic in a sapphic way

The Serpent's pup's name is Pipsqueak

I know rudder tails shouldn't curve like that but I decided that after I finished drawing the Serpent and I wasn't about to redraw anything at that point

The other Iterators in AV and Bloom's local group are Illuminated Crown of Fire, Projections of Watchful Eyes, and an unnamed lunar-eclipse inspired iterator.

I have little information on them right now, but they are each based off of solar eclipses, stars and lunar eclipses respectively

In all, this local group is just a bunch of experiment freaks to varying degrees except for ICoF whose presence is often forgotten because of how little they speak but is also ever looming

And that's all! Thank you for reading this far in <3

[maarriiii]

Simp (Part 8) | Wilbur Soot

A/N: Part 8 or as I like to call it the part where I make up random name for characters. I feel like every chapter is slowly getting longer and I don’t know if people like that 🤷‍♀️ Also, completely unrelated, call me what you like is a banger. I love it. Have been playing in on repeat.

Summary: A day in the life of actor, y/n l/n. Also, Lovejoy sold tickets for their tour. Did you get one though? (Read to find out lol)

Pairing(s): OC x gender neutral!reader, OC x actor!reader

Warning(s): Rude journalist and swearing but only a little really

my masterlist :))

~~

 "What happened to keeping a low profile and staying off social media?"

You sighed. You knew this would happen. You were expecting it since yesterday, when your fans freaked about your appearance in Wilbur's stream—or more precisely in his chat—and the aftermath of it was you trending on Twitter again and another round of speculation about your love life started rolling out. You turned from the car window, the streets of Los Angeles passing by, to your publicist, Anne, who was sitting across from you in the car. Next to her was your recently hired assistant, Nicole, watching the interaction with intent and curiosity.

"I was bored and had nothing to do. So, I thought why not." You shrugged.

"You're doing press in the next few weeks. You know, there's a possible chance they might ask you about it, right?"

You waved your hand, suprisingly nonchalant about it. " I'll handle it. Besides, you could do your charm and ask them not to ask me about my relationship right, Anne?"

Anne rolled her eyes and sighed, writing something in her notebook. "Sure, I'll tell James about it when we see him."

The red headed woman turned to the person next to her. "If James and I aren't the room, and the interviewers started asking personal stuff, tell them to change their question, okay? Be assertive."

Nicole nodded fervently. "Okay."

"Thanks guys. Sorry for being such a hassle."

"Oh, please, I've handled far worse." Anne revealed. "You're practically a goody two shoes compared to all the delinquents I've had before."

You leaned closer to Nicole, lowering your voice. "By that she means I'm her favourite."

Nicole smiled, finally loosening up.

"I can still hear you."

You flashed a grin. "I know. I'm only doing that for dramatic effect. I am an actor, you know."

Anne shook his head, though a smile still escaped her lips.

After twenty minutes of car ride filled with comfortable silence and the occasional small talk, the three of you finally arrived at the hotel where the start of the press tour will happpened. The tranquility of the morning turned into a string of boisterous activities that you've grown all too familiar with. Coffee, hair and make-up, another coffee, food, clothes, light snack, and finally the interview. Everything was fast-paced, constantly moving and never staying in one place for a second longer than necessary. It was understandable, the rushing, but that doesn’t mean you like it—you never did.

~~

You were on your fifth interviewer of the day, talking about your film, Companion of The West. A drama driven film about a group of people trying to solve the murder of a person that seemed to be connecting them all together. So far things have been going smoothly, although the questions have became repetitive, none have asked you intrusive question about your personal life. But, there was this nagging feeling inside you that something was about to go wrong. And, it did.

"So, y/n, you've been very busy this year, haven't you?"

You smiled at the interviewer in front of you. "Yeah, I think this has been my busiest year yet. But, you know, I think it's because there have been tons of good project that I was lucky enough to be offered and you know, I just want to get my hands on all of them."

Martin, the interviewer, nodded along. A question card in his hand. "Oh totally, I get that. I mean you’re at the top of your career right now. Wouldn’t want someone to take that away, right?

You frowned slightly. That's not what you meant at all. But, still you kept a friendly smile.

"It's not really about that honestly. It's just that I'm very grateful to be offered these past couple of roles that I've gotten, so I just wanted to be in it, you know."

"Yes, yes, of course. Moving on."

It was at that point when it finally dawn on you. Behind the smile and enthusiastic nature was someone with hidden intention. Martin was one of those people who lulled you into a false sense of security to get you to accidentally talk about something or twist your words to create false and unnecesary drama. You were once caught in the middle of it. When you were still new to the industry, all bright eyes and too naive. You talked too much and they used that on you. You shared a glance with Nicole, who seemed to have the same suspicion as you. She grew wary behind the camera and prepares to interfere if it was needed.

"Recently, you were trending again on Twitter." Martin mentioned. "Did you know about that?"

You nodded. "Yeah, my fans have a habit of getting me trending."

"And your fans seems to be particularly excited about your interaction with a certain someone.”

At this point, your friendly nature disappeared. Instead, you just sighed. A stoic and bored expression ddecorated your face.

"Yes. Are you going anywhere with this?"

Martin was amused at your sudden change in behaviour. "Is there someone new in your life? It's been awhile since you and Alex Moore ended your relationship. Are you not interested in dating anyone?"

Before you could speak, a small yet firm voice beat you to it. "I'm sorry, but we're not taking questions revolving y/n's personal life.”

Martin turned around. "It’s just the one. I’ll be quick.”

"I think you should leave."

At the sound of your voice, both Nicole and Martin turned to you.

"If that is your last question, which I doubt it is, then you should probably just leave now because I'm not answering it. You see this, Martin." You turned around, showing the film poster behind you. "I'm doing promo for this film. Not my personal life. So, if you have any backup questions regarding this film, by all means, ask them and I'll forget this ever happen but if you don't then the exit is behind you."

He opened his mouth but you raised your hand, cutting him off. "Look, man, I still have a whole lot of people waiting and honestly, you’re just wasting everyone’s time. So, why don't you just do us all a favor and leave? That way everyone in this room could all go home early."

Martin was stunned. He wasn't expecting this type of reaction from you.  

You sighed again. "You could leave on your own or I could call the security to escort you out. I'm fine either way."

Martin glanced around, expecting someone to come to his defend. When he found nothing but pointed looks thrown at him, he scoffed before and walked away without a single word.

"Well, he's a swell guy," You broke the silence, sarcasm very evident in your tone. 

A few snickers was heard around the room.

"Do you want to continue, y/n, or do you need a couple of minutes?" Nicole spoke.

"Give me a couple of minutes. I don't want to accidentally direct my anger to someone."

Nicole nodded. 

~~

After a majority of good interviewers and a few bad eggs, you finally finished the first day of many of your press junket. You were already on the verge of sleep, eyes drooping and barely making it through the last couple of interviewers. The next step of the agenda was to head home, pack your bags, and head to the airport to fly to the Big Apple. You and Nicole were in the SUV, heading to your place, whilst Anne and James took another car straight to the airport to make sure everything was set up and no paparazzi was in the area. 

With barely enough energy, you scrolled mindlessly through your phone, liking pictures and videos of friends and fans when you come across a post that managed to wake you up. Nicole noticed, surprised about your sudden awake state. You were almost asleep just a second ago.

"What, what, what's wrong?"

You ignored her. "Shit, shit, shit."

"y/n, what's wrong? Did that Martin guy say something bad about you? I'm sure Anne—"

"No, no, it's not that." You shook your head frantically. 

"Then, what is it?"

In an Instagram post, Lovejoy officially announced their upcoming tour with a link to purchase their tickets. This was both good and bad. Good, because that means you could see them play and you would finally meet Wilbur in person. Bad, because the post was posted three hours and tickets for all the shows announced was already sold out. You kept refreshing the page, hoping luck would be on your side and a single ticket to any of the shows would still be available for you to purchase. Unfortunately, luck was not found anywhere.

"Fuck." You threw your phone on the seat out of frustration. "God, why did it have to be today of all days?"

Nicole, frustrated that you weren't giving her an explanation, took and examined your phone. 

She frowned. "It's only a band gig, y/n. I'm sure you could see them play some other time. Hm, I haven't heard of them though. Are they any good?"

Again, you ignored her. "I'm supposed to see him."

~~

The car ride continued with you gazing out the window, saddened and Nicole trying to comfort you to the best of her abbilities even though she didn't quite get the situation. She knew it had something to do with the rumor—she learned about it when Anne pulled her aside to address it—or more precisely, the guy you were rumored with, but if you weren't together then why would you be upset about not going to his show or maybe you were but you were hiding it. She knew that was a thing for celebrities that like to keep their private life private and you certainly seemed to be the type.

When the car finally reached its destination, Nicole frowned at the sight of your lit house and a car parked on the driveway. When you, Anne and Nicole left your house earlier that day, there wasn't any car on the driveway and as far as she knew, you lived alone. Were you expecting someone to come by?

"Hey, y/n, why is your house lit? Do you have someone checking up your house whenever you're gone?"

You turned around from the other window. "Oh, that must be Sam. I told him to come by after I'm done before the flight to New York."

Without another word, you opened the passenger door and trudged toward the house with Nicole following you behind. You haven't told Wilbur about the ticket situation and a part of you didn't want to. You already said to him, multiple times even, how excited you were for his tour and now you forgotten about the fact that the tickets were sold today. He even told you about it yesterday after he finished his stream but you only just remembered it after seeing the post. 

"Hey there, stranger—woah, what happened to you?" Sam greeted you, a glass of wine in his hand. 

"I'm a forgetful idiot."

"Forgetful, yes. An idiot, that's arguable."

You sunk next to Sam, almost sliding down the couch. A pout on your face. "I forgot that Wil's band was selling their tickets for the shows today, so now I'm left with none because it's all sold out."

Sam winced. "Oof. That's tough."

You didn't respond, wallowing in self-pity. 

"Well, it's a good thing I manage to get my hands on a couple then.”

It took you a couple of seconds to grasp the meaning of Sam's words. When you did, you fixed your posture, stood straighter, eyes wide awake without a trace of fatigue in them. 

"You're fucking with me right now." You stared at him. "Do not play with me, Sam."

Sam smiled, placing his glass on the table. "I would love to, but I feel like you're either gonna hit me or cry if I do. So, I won't."

You screamed in excitement and proceed to tackle your best friend in a bear hug. Sam chuckled, listening to you showering him with appreaciation, gratitude, and love. Nicole who had just been minding her business in the kitchen, ran at the sound of your voice, only to grow confused at the sight of you two lying on the couch.

“Uh, is everything alright here?”

Both you and Sam looked up at her, you with the most brightest smile Nicole had ever seen that day.

“Everything’s perfect, Nicole.”

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hiya

I’m feeling kind of empty recently. Like I’ll have days when I’m just sitting around feeling like there’s nothing to do and I just watch shit YouTube videos while lying in bed feeling as if I’m not in my body. And it’s even worse when I’m in school and tired and I just remember I physically exist and I all of a sudden stop feeling like I’m in my body and real.

I have exams in the next two weeks and everyone is revising but whenever I try and look at my books I completely zone out. Occasionally I’ll go hours with out talking because I forget I exist. Other times I won’t stop talking.

Unrelated I think, but I might have ADHD. My councillor at school told me like two years ago that I might have ADHD and a lot of people have said they can see the signs, even my mother but she hasn’t tried to get me diagnosed or anything.

Examples of the signes I have include talking non stop for hours, zoning out a lot, difficulty focusing/keeping on task (I went a whole math lesson colouring in and talking while my friend filled in my work sheet), forgetfulness, disorganisation, and difficulty keeping still.

I have a lot of the signs but can’t do anything about it. I’m getting worried about my exams because of my difficulty focusing, but they’re only end of year exams so I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Anyways, thanks for reading and possibly responding! I just needed to get all this out it’s really starting to bother me and affect my every day life.

Hi hon!

Have you tried to sit your mom down and tell her that you're truly concerned about this? Maybe if you explain everything you've told me, she'll take you seriously?

If not, you could also try taking to a teacher. At least for the ADHD part, some countries allow school systems to test students for things like that.

I think at this point, finding an adult that takes you seriously is the best course of action. Do you have one in mind?

Sending you luck on your exams <3

Naming you cucumber anon

[nomoreusername]

Silent Coffee Dates (Part 1)

Pairing:Sonya x female reader

Summary:When you go to return Sonya's book, you end up staying the night.

The routine hasn't changed for two years. Every Saturday morning at six I show up at Camila's Coffee, ordering every meal there as well, before coming back at seven in the evening. Approximately eight hours after me Sonya shows up. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I come here at four in the afternoon. She shows up around an hour later. After that I'm here any moment I can for the rest of the days knowing she won't be making an appearance.

That routine didn't stop today either. I was sitting at our booth in the very corner with my headphones in and sketch pad out. Beside me was a cup of hot chocolate. After all, I'm here for the peace. Not to taste a bitter drink.

Eventually, I only started showing up because she did. She sat across from me with either her book or her homework out and whatever drink she had decided to pick for the day. While she focused on that I lightly sketched her features. Occasionally, I would turn to other drawings and ideas that I had abandoned. Most of the time though it was her face I had on my paper since we were only together for a few hours. That isn't a lot of time for realism, but by now I'm sure I could draw her with my eyes closed.

As the sun started setting in the horizon she sighed before packing up her things. I just remained seated as I fixed the way I had drawn her hair just a little too dark. Without so much as a goodbye or see you later she was out the door. That was what was expected though. Despite being in our own little bubble at this place it was always popped when she left.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As the already almost vacant shop completely filed out I packed my things. Once I slid out of the booth I saw a red book with no cover on the front. Giving into my curiosity I picked it up. The spine was cracked as if someone constantly folds it while reading. It also has that old book smell. The one that seems to be a mix of dust and ink.

Deciding that maybe I could discover the owner of I took a look I opened it and peaked inside. Written on the front was the name Sonya.

Now even though we've never exchanged any words I knew her name. I've seen her write it on paper, and now that I think about it I do recall her bending the spines when she reads. At least, she doesn't dog ear the pages. That would be a true tragedy.

One other thing I knew about her was where she lived. Before you assume anything I'm not a stalker. While we live in opposite sides of town I used to ride her bus when I would babysit this little kid. He's in middle school now, but I suppose that's unrelated to the story.

Thinking it through for a moment I slipped it in my bag and headed out the door. Seeing as it's growing dark and I'm a teenage girl I should really hurry up. If I'm going to give it to her I'd prefer not getting kidnapped along the way.

Getting on my old bike with its creaky wheels and rusted bell I slung my bag over my back. Putting up the kickstand I pushed off.

As the evening, autumn air brushed past my face I resisted the urge to burry myself in my old sweater. For one, I like being able to see. Second, I'm still in a hurry. Besides, if I hesitate to do this I may not do it at all.

While normally I would give it to her the next time I see her she brings this one with her every time. Clearly, it must have some meaning to her. Even if it doesn't she has to carry it with her for a reason. After all, my sketchbook goes everywhere with me. If I lost it I would tear my entire apartment apart until it was safe in my hands. If it wasn't there I'd go through every inch of my school, neighborhood, and everywhere else you can think. To sum it up I won't let her be worried that something happened to the item she's so attached to. Our silent coffee meetups indirectly meant we were friends. It just so happens we don't actually communicate.

It's better than nothing though. I'm much too used to having nobody. It doesn't seem like Sonya's leaving though, and that means a lot to me.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As I was in her neighborhood I really took in the difference between ours. Before you make any assumptions I don't live in the ghetto. Not that I judge people who do. Some people are just in unfortunate situations.

To put it lightly my family's pretty broke so being back in this area that was hardly one step below a gated community is sort of like a culture shock.

As I carefully started walking my bike alongside me in fear of accidentally running into someone I heard quick shuffling and an irritated hmph. I turned around to see an older woman glaring at me. With a sigh and an eye roll I kept walking. How dare I walk in her big, fancy neighborhood when my clothes aren't all nice and ironed. My black hoodie obviously means I'm a criminal mastermind.

People like her really need to get a life. It doesn't seem healthy to be so worried about strangers. As I stated earlier I'm a teenage girl. What could she possibly be thinking that I'm capable of?

As I rounded a corner I spotted someone I hadn't seen in a while. While his hair was still in unruly curls, and he was as happy as I remembered, he had grown a significant amount.

"Hey Chuck,"I called. He snapped his head towards me before his eyes lit up.

"Hi Y/N,"He excitedly waved. Deciding it couldn't hurt I headed over and put my kickstand down.

"What have you been up to? How's middle school treating you?"I asked.

"It's alright,"He shrugged. "I kind of miss you getting to babysit me though,"He admitted, putting babysit in air quotes. He was a good kid so I basically just made dinner, made sure he was got to bed on time (which was negotiable on weekends) and made sure he didn't do anything dangerous. Sometimes, it felt more like hanging out with a friend.

"You're twelve now. You don't need me to look after you,"I reminded him, ruffling his hair. He swatted at my hand while still wearing his bright grin.

"I'm not twelve. I'm twelve and a half,"He defended.

"Of course Chuck. I'm sorry for forgetting,"I chuckled.

"What are you doing here anyway?"He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"I'm returning something to my friend,"I explained.

"Can I come?"He quickly asked, almost bouncing on his heels.

"It's getting late, Chuck."

"Please. It's a Friday."

"I just don't want you to be out after dark,"I explained.

"But I'm chivalrous, and I'll listen to you,"He promised.

"If your mom says so then I guess I'll let you come,"I gave in. He sprinted to his house before yelling though the door.

"Can I go walk around the neighborhood with Y/N?! Please!"He begged. After a moment she came outside and looked for where I was. When she spotted me she walked over and hugged me.

"You've grown so much. Look at you. You're almost taller than me,"She exclaimed, pulling away. If I'm being honest she's sort of like a second mom to me. They're pretty much my other family. This place was my home away from home. Even though I don't work for them anymore I know they wouldn't mind having me over. Not that I would ask though. Requesting things from someone isn't something I do.

"Where are you going? Especially, when it's getting late. You don't exactly live a short walk away,"She pointed out.

"I'm just returning something to a friend,"I explained. "And Chuck was asking if he could go with."

She looked at me before looking back at her son who was still practically begging. With a nervous sigh she shook her head.

"Not tonight, but if you'd like we'd love it if you stopped by after. Even better, I could drive you?"She offered.

"Thank you, but I'm alright. I'll come over another time though,"I promised.

"Are you sure? It's not a problem,"She reassured me. Knowing that she meant her words I still had to decline.

"Okay dear. Be safe, and if something happens you know where we are."

"I know. Goodnight Chuck. Be good."

"I will,"He responded, a hint of disappointment in his tone. After repeating that I would stay for dinner another day, I got back to my original goal.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When I approached her house the streetlights were already on. Despite this place being safe I was quick to get to her door. Ignoring the chills running down my spine I rang the bell. I just enjoy being able to do that since we don't have one.

The sound of a dog barking and muffled talking sounded through the thick wood before someone finally opened it. Instead of it being Sonya or even her parents it was her brother. He eyed me up and down before looking at me in a curious way. I suppose that's valid since I generally don't interact with many people.

"Sonya left her book,"I explained, pulling it out of my bag. Just as I handed it to him she appeared from behind him with a big, white dog trailing behind her.

"Y/N?"She asked.

"Yeah. I gave Newt your stuff. You left it at the shop,"I repeated.

"It's pretty late. Did someone drive you?"She asked, seeming more concerned about me than relieved about her returned item.

"I biked. Anyways, I'll get out of here now."

"It's dark out. Why don't you stay?"She offered, holding her dog back from bolting out the door. Why is everyone trying to do things for me today?

"No. It's honestly fine."

"So you're going to go all the way to your home but yourself? It takes me twenty minutes just to get out of my neighborhood. Being all alone at night is not a good idea,"She pointed out. I just shrugged as I kept my hands in my pockets.

"At least, call your parents and wait for them."

"I don't have a phone,"I admitted.

"Then, use ours,"She suggested. Tired of the way she was so persistent on helping me out I finally accepted as Newt awkwardly gestured for me to come in.

"Do you know the number?"She asked.

"Yeah. Where's your landline?"

"Our what?"Newt asked, speaking his very first words to me.

"Your landline. You know? The home phone connected to the wall?"

"We don't have one, but you can use my cellphone,"She said, unlocking it and handing it to me. After mumbling a thanks I typed in our number.

It rang once then twice before a beep was heard. Despite that usually mean somebody answered I still waited to see if it really was that.

When not even the hint of breathing was in the other end I knew it was just malfunctioning. I hung up before handing it to her.

"No luck so I guess I'll just bike home,"I shrugged.

"Just stay the night. We have the room,"She assured me. That wasn't the problem though. Accepting help isn't something I know how to do.

"I don't have any extra clothes,"I explained. While that didn't really matter I was looking for an excuse.

"You can burrow mine."

"I don't have a toothbrush."

"We have an extra."

"I don't have-"

"Anything you're worried about we have. Just stay until morning,"She repeated.

"But your parents-"

"Aren't home and wouldn't mind. Besides, you really want to go out there alone on a Friday night?"She pointed out.

"I guess not,"I mumbled.

"So?"She asked.

"So I'm staying the night,"I gave in.

All I wanted to do was return a book. Now I think I really should have waited until Monday.

Sonya's P.O.V

I showed Y/N to the bathroom so she could shower before going to find some clean night clothes for her. While digging through my drawers Newt quietly entered my room and expectantly looked at me.

"Why do you know Y/N?"He asked.

"We hang out at the same spot,"I vaguely explained, pulling out a pair of black sweatpants and a plain top.

"Is that why you're gone all those days?"

"Maybe. Does it matter?"

"If it's her then yeah,"He whispered.

"There's nothing wrong with her,"I defended.

"Really? Come on Sonya. We've all heard the stories. Everyone knows her name. She skips school to do who knows what-"

"Which isn't anyone's business. They're just rumors, and even if they're true we don't know the full story,"I pointed out.

"What good reason is there for that?"

"I don't know, and I'm not going to ask. Whatever she does she has her reasons, but she's not a bad person Newt. Don't judge her when you've barely heard her voice,"I sighed.

Just as he was about to reply the water turned off. Quickly shooing him out of my room I knocked on my bathroom door. She held her hand out through a small crack, and I handed her the clothes.

Taking a seat on my bed I pulled out the book she had returned while I waited for her. Coming all this way to return it was an odd decision to say the least. Especially, if she had to get here in foot. Still, it's a sweet gesture.

"I'm dressed,"She said, walking out of the bathroom and twisting her damp hair into a loose ponytail. She shivered in the tank top subtly rubbing her hands together.

"Hold on one second,"I instructed, going to my closet. Glancing around, I looked for something warm but not too tight or completely unfit for bed. After a moment I found a plain, purple sweater. Running my hands over the fabric, I was relieved when it was a soft texture.

I headed back out of my room and handed it to her. Without a word she slipped it over her head. Thankfully, it fit like a charm.

"Thank you,"She mumbled, her voice seeming naturally soft. Hearing her speak was different but in a good way. It is a bit unusual that she seems less shy when she's not speaking, but it doesn't matter. Honestly, I'm just glad that she's staying the night.

"We should still have leftovers. Are you hungry?"I asked.

"No,"She answered quickly. Before I could respond her stomach growled, showing the exact opposite.

"Okay. A little bit,"She admitted.

"You should have told me. Come on Y/N. Let's get you something to eat."

"Yeah. Okay,"She agreed, following me down the stairs.

This is seriously the girl people say is trouble? Yeah right, and even if she is there's always a reason people are the way they are. All I care about is that she has a kind soul, and she definitely does.

All Parts

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Orchids

The Locked Tomb fanfiction, about how Mercy might have learned about the events at the Canaan House. Probably an AU since, lets be honest here, I have no idea what was going on in Harrow. Or in general.

Anyway, enjoy?

There is an orchid in Mercy’s room.

An actual, real, honest-to-god orchid, with no teeth or eyes or bodily fluids leaking out of weird places. Which meant John hadn’t grown it himself – his brief gardening hobby somewhere around their third millennium, please don't remind her – and flowers? Gifts in general?

Well, that could only mean one thing: John has done something exceptionally stupid. Again.

(It could be Augustine being stupid, too, but that fucker still hadn’t apologised for when he ate the last of her favourite biscuits four hundred and sixty six days ago. Yes, Mercy has been counting.)

Alas, John; and Mercy has no choice but to ask, god, what is going on?

She lets himself into his room without knocking; if he didn’t want her to come, he’d lock it. He knew she was coming anyway.

„Mercy,“ he greets her, and he offers her tea and biscuits, that bastard. She grits her teeth as she watches his smile grow nervous – she can almost feel the speeding heartbeat in the black hole that he is.

„Anything is the matter, Joy?“ he asks, and why, yes, everything is the matter! „Did you like my present?“

Another insufferable presence shows up by the doors; Augustine, leaning on the doorframe and smoking a cigarette. She sends him a glare just to remind him that nothing is forgiven, then she turns back to John and marshes to his desk.

She hits her hands on it, spilling the tea her beloved emperor poured for himself anyway, and for her too, and says: „My Lord, what did you do?!“

His smile grows wider and his eyes twitch as he answers: „What did I do? Mercymorn my dear, can’t I just give you flowers?“

By the door, Augustine falls into a definitely unrelated coughing fit, the effect ruined by occasional wheezing laughs.

Mercy wrinkles her nose at that and then accuses The King Undying: „You never give me flowers! Only when you did something exceptionally stupid, beyond mortal comprehension stupid – actually, you don’t give me flowers enough for that either. So, what did you do, John Gaius?“

The God mutters something about full-naming and women that Mercy chooses not to hear, and Augustine gets out in between his barely subdued coughing: „You don’t give me flowers at all!“ He even manages to sound genuinely hurt enough for John to bloody get him some, and:

„This isn’t about you, Augustine!“ Mercy scolds, „John, stop trying to divert attention, what did you do?“

„…Tea?“ he says instead.

„I’m going to skin you alive and have you wear itchy sweaters and listen to It’s Raining Man for all eternity,“ complains Mercy as she takes the tea. She is seriously tempted to dump the hot liquid into God’s face. It’s not like it would hurt him. Much.

„Augustine, tea?“

„Nah I’m good.“

„John!“

And so, God sighs, and tells her that he didn’t have a choice, and that it wasn't his fault it all went so terribly askew, and that he had no control over what happened at the Canaan House, and poor Cytherea, horrible that this happened, neither of us saw that coming, I just wish we could have helped when we had the chance–

And Mercy listens to him as he speaks, sipping her cooling mint tea. Mint, she doesn’t even like mint!

The Mithareum is quiet as a graveyard.

Finally, he stops speaking – not his fault, and a funeral, and two new Lyctors, two new baby Lyctors – and Mercymorn the First looks God in the eyes as she says: „Flowers aren’t going to fix this, my Lord.“

(Maybe nothing isn’t going to fix this – she shoots a quick look at Augustine.)

On another completely unrelated note, Mercymorn would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone about her own meticulously planned funeral, the by half-a-minute program to be found in the second drawer of her bedside table–

She doesn’t get the bloody opportunity, as John speaks again: „…You could choose which one of the new Lyctors you want to mentor. I was just going to assign you one, but, for you, you can choose.“

„I don’t want a Baby Lyctor to mentor!“ bursts out Mercymorn, „Have you considered that?!“

„Well, the first pick is still yours,“ the God smiles, ever so bloody understanding, and Mercymorn doesn’t have the nerves for this anymore.

She pushes past Augustine and towards her room, which is not nearly far away enough. She can still hear the men, feel their presence. And she would rather not.

„Well now you’re just playing favourites,“ accuses Augustine.

„I don’t have favourites,“ the God answers, and: „I need to buy her more flowers, don’t I. Help me choose some?“

Flowers.Flowers. The only flowers that had ever fixed anything were the poisonous ones, and even these are no good for her.

Flowers.

With that thought projected into the aether, Mercymorn slams the door behind herself.

She hopes God all-knowing gets the freaking message.

[copiousloverofcopia]

So....I know I said I wasn't going to work on any new chapter fics until I finished the other 3 I have going but fate decided otherwise.

Here is the first chapter to my new fic featuring Papa Emeritus I!

Potpourri

During his retirement, Papa Primo Emeritus falls in love with a new Sister of Sin who has suffered a tragic loss. While the new sister settles into the Abbey, Primo can't help but grow more infatuated with her. Promising to give her everything she desires, but can he win her affections when she still can't let go of the past?

Chapter 1: That Funny Feeling

Also available HERE on AO3!

NSFW due to triggers below the cut

*See trigger warnings in tags*

Three months ago...

She doubled over in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks. Eyes heavy with the weight of grief, as the inevitable was well on its way to completion. Her hand fell over the small swell of her belly. Pain, now coming in sharp waves. Like an ocean of knives determined to take its pound of flesh. 

Her knees hit the floor, hands wrapped around her middle and the sounds of her crying desperately trying to drown out the word and it sympathies. The blood continued dripping along the white bathroom tile. Calling attention to her loss as she heard their voices. Well intentioned words, conjured from unassuming lips, that echoed in her mind. 

"Everything happens for a reason…" 

"Some things are just not meant to be."

"God has a plan."

It was over before it began. 

Present Day

It had been raining for weeks. The clouds squeezed for every last drop and the shining sun, refusing to come out from hiding. The morning downpour had turned into midday afternoon showers as Primo silently cursed Satanas for his aching joints. The weather changes, making him painfully aware of each passing moment spent in his mortal coil. A reminder that he was still somewhat human, unrelenting and bleak. He was getting older, a man now well into his sunset years and finally able to enjoy the well-earned spoils of his retirement from the Papacy. 

It had taken decades for his father to release control. A long overdue ascension that had only come after years of fighting with the Ministry. A power now all but led by Sister Imperator, his father’s former lover. Primo had done his best, serving as Papa for many years before resurrecting the Ghost project. 

It was not his choice but regardless he was successful. Ghost taking off in directions that only time would tell. A bright future for the Ministry burning like the fires of Hell that lay beyond Charon’s ride. When the time came however, Primo was more than happy to relinquish control to his brother Secondo. His reign, followed soon after by their other brothers Terzo and then Copia—the last of the Emeritus bloodline.  

Primo was, for all intents and purposes, happy. The Ghost project, reaching new heights in Copia’s capable hands. Leaving Primo to spend his time how he truly preferred, among his plants and nature. Occasionally communing with the spiritual realm and preparing his weekly Black Mass as he lived out the rest of his days. His life, having been up to this point full. 

Primo grew up wanting for nothing. His beloved mother, the last of the Prime Movers, had assured him a coveted education and apprenticeship with the finest necromancers, seers, and casters the Ministry could offer. He grew up with nobility in name, but his strength of character and his actions proved his right to the respect bestowed upon him. A respect shared by every congregant, sibling of sin, clergyman, and ghoul within the Ministry.

His happiest of days were spent raising his two younger brothers whose mothers had been unable and Nihil, incapable of raising by himself. He had hoped that his time now would be a return to solace and enrichment without the pressures of the Papacy. Something, however, had still felt unfulfilled. A gnawing in his stomach that told him a piece was still missing, one he might not ever obtain.     

A thought buried deep inside his mind, hiding beneath the dirt and soil he worked so hard to till. The like seeds he planted tirelessly, for the sake of promised beauty. But for now, the rain still fell. Primo peered out the large parlor window of his quarters, sipping on his favorite herbal tea and watching as the old bus pulled up in front of the Abbey.

“Oh Lucifer, that's today?" he sighed, his thoughts recalling an all but forgotten meeting with the Clergy about receiving a set of fresh would-be siblings—now only capable sinners.  Primo stood up from his chair, bone cracking as he went upright and headed out towards the main hall. He adjusted his collar and quickly smeared on his corpse paint before he left. While he would prefer to stay confined to his rooms on a day like today, it was expected of him to greet them.

Along with the other former living Papas, Primo would welcome them to the beginning of their new lives. One outside of God's watchful eye and held in darkness. He arrived downstairs just as they were filing out of the cabin. Terzo and Secondo, already waiting for them on the stairs. The two of them like hungry wolves, eyeing the group for their next bed mate. 

“Another flock for which to shepard huh old man.” Terzo mused, a smile on his face as one of the women glanced his way. Ever the charismatic lover, Primo knew he’d make his way through the new recruits as fast as one takes to breath—his lust essential to his being. 

“Ah si, but will you allow them to make it to their vows before having them singing praises to Asmodeus from your bed chambers fratellino?” Primo asked, clearing his throat as Terzo rolled his eyes. A typical gesture from the Third Emeritus son to be sure though Primo paid him no mind. While he loved him dearly Primo couldn't help but still see his younger brother as an obstinate child. Forever in pursuit of Lust above all things. Primo wondered how, despite his best efforts, his middle siblings turned out more like Nihil than either would care to admit. 

It was times like this he missed Copia, who just happened to be on the first leg of rituals. His first tour as Papa, for which Primo was very proud. It had only been recently that he had learned of the former Cardinal’s parentage and despite their not having grown up together, Primo left just as close with Copia as he did the others. Maybe even more so, since they both shared a distinct distaste for Nihil that was like no other. 

As the last of those from the bus had stepped off, the brothers were happy to welcome home Mr. Saltarian. The man in charge of bringing the group to the Abbey and Primo’s dearest old friend. As he approached the first Emeritus son smirked, “Well now…they just allow anyone to recruit new siblings during these times hmm.” 

“Well we are surely in times of turmoil my friend and well someone has to do it, it might as well be me.” Saltarian chuckled, raising an eyebrow and throwing his arm around Primo. The two men, sharing a hug before Mr. Saltarian headed inside. Not but a moment later, he returned, this time with Sister Imperator in tow. She was looking especially severe. Her hair pulled back tight and working her favorite charcoal pantsuit and red heels as she walked carefully down the entryway stairs. She began clapping her hands as she reached the drive, trying to gain the crowd's attention before beginning to speak. 

“Yes, attention. Welcome, welcome all Seminarians and Novitiate. I am Sister Imperator, the Abbess of this Abbey. Today we will settle you all into your dormitories with the other siblings. You will take the opportunity to rest and unpack. Tomorrow we begin your final training and preparations for full conversion. Now if you will please follow me.” she explained, everyone following her inside. 

Primo watched and nodded as the crowd entered the Abbey. The would-be siblings were excited to see the Emeritus sons in person. Most of them, smiling and nodding in reverence as they passed by. It was during this time he caught a glimpse of her—a would-be sister hiding amongst them. Her face was soft, and round. Thick black lashes surrounding eyes of honey brown that matched the golden brown locks from her head. Soft curls that hit just at her waist, seeming to bounce a bit as she walked. The standard crimson and black robes of the tributes, adorned in gold Grucifix embroidery, fitting a bit tight against her ample bosom. A quiet and melancholic demeanor, which may have kept her overlooked from others, calling attention to Primo. Her pale delicate features and withdrawn appearance like a beacon against the smiles and conversations of those around her.

Primo was entranced. There was something about her that made him want to know more. A needy feeling gnawing at the edges of his thoughts. He felt drawn to her, her very soul seeming to be reaching out to him he thought when he was abruptly forced back into reality by a swat to the shoulder. 

“Losing focus, fratello?” Secondo laughed, biting his lip as he contemplated his first moves with a number of the new recruits. His intensions worn openly as he practically fucked them with his eyes as they walked in. 

“Hardly.” Primo responded as Mr. Saltarian went to stand beside him. “ Salare, who is that woman?” he asked him. Primo’s eyes, never leaving the woman in the crowd. Saltarian tried looking around attempting to see anything that stood out to him. 

“You’re gonna have to be more descriptive than that.” he laughed. Primo pressed his lips together in annoyance as the woman that had captured his attention reached the doorway and disappeared inside. 

“The one in the back with the longer hair, solemn looking and quiet?” he continued, hoping that would be enough for his friend to figure it out. Saltarian got quiet, nodding to him just before he spoke.

“That's Novitiate Guinevere. Most of the group calls her Gwen not that she really talks to anyone. She’s quiet that one Papa. Why do you ask?” Mr. Saltarian inquired.

“Oh…It is nothing…just a funny feeling.”

Notes: 

Seminarian- Preist in training

Novitiate- Nun in training 

Salare- Salt