#ask me about my sci fi kid's book series

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

I don't usually do these, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone, so here's the Almitak and Oliver version of the meme I've seen around. Oliver would never condone killing, no not even for the meme, Milo.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

hi! sorry if you've answered this already, i tried to search your blog and didn't find much, but we all know the tumblr search function is...uh...but i'd be deeply curious to hear your thoughts about Stephenie Meyer's "The Host," specifically re: treatment of the issue of souls' colonization and possession of other species...and obviously, since i'm asking you, an animorphs blog, this, my curiosity is definitely coming from a place of comparison to animorphs, but that doesn't have to be your focus!

from the posts tumblr's search algorithm did grant me, i gather you see it as wanda unlearning the colonizer's propaganda stance she takes at the start of the story, which i agree with!

but i guess every time i read it, i really can't help but feel...unsatisfied? with the way it actually engages with the horrors and colonization of it all?

sort of like, okay, The Host is this one very individual YA romance story in a sci-fi setting, which is obviously different from a heavily-Star-Trek-inspired middle-grade series about guerrilla warfare and is going to grapple with these issues differently...but still! i don't leave feeling satisfied with how it engages with consent of "host" bodies the souls are in, and i don't feel satisfied with how it engages with the souls' systemic behavior!!! but i can't really put my finger on why, and i just...was curious, i guess, whether this was something you had thoughts about.

(full disclosure: i'm asking you specifically because one of my HUGE points of existential dread on my first adulthood reread of The Host was how Jodi never wakes up, and her boyfriend just starts implied-dating the soul who's in her body? or how kids who are infested from birth are just...gone, and they were like "well sweet we can just put Wanda in there, this is a perfect solution!" and that I think hit me so hard in comparison with having read Eleutherophobia--which is, by the way, a masterwork of fanfiction that wrecked me, overwrote canon a little bit in my brain, and I think fundamentally changed how I see the possibilities of writing and narration, so, you know. thank you for that!)

(also like, i know there's different worldbuilding where it's implied most hosts just...go away...but do they actually? because Mel and the Seeker's host are still there, which kind of implies to me that it's more of a problem than the souls want to admit?! and even outside humans, all the memories, and compulsions toward certain behaviors are still there! what makes a person in this universe of Meyer's?! it's kind of fundamentally horrifying?!)

apologies for this extremely long ask, haha, and i hope you're doing well, love your blog, your writing, and all your thoughts!

Oh my god, ALL OF THIS. I thoroughly enjoy the first 98% of The Host. It's a romance novel about consent! Where the characters have to struggle to resolve the plot in a way that gets the permission of everyone in the love quadrangle to boink everyone else, and spends over 500 pages doing exactly that! It's anti-imperialist as fuck! It's got an amazing supporting cast, like every Stephenie Meyer novel! The imagery is unparalleled in its richness and coolness, because Stephenie Meyer! I've written fan fiction about it! I have an extremely normal relationship with Kyle O'Shea!

And then Sunny. And then Wanda's unnamed second human host.

I think that Meyer, either because of romance genre conventions or pressure from publishers, felt she had to write a happy ending. But the book does such a good job of setting up an unresolvable moral dilemma — either Wanda gets to be with Ian, or she does the right thing by giving Melanie's body back — that there is no path to a happy ending. If Ian did as Wanda asked and sent her in a jar to some other planet, romance fans would feel cheated. If Doc did as Melanie asked and let Wanda stay in her body, then the book's anticolonial message would be for nothing.

But resolving it through PARASITING A KID IN A VEGETATIVE STATE? What if Doc makes Wanda a nice robot body? What if Wanda stays in a jar, but Ian finds a way to join her in the jar? What if she and Melanie set up a time share? Uuuuuugggggghhhhh. The Host was THIS CLOSE to being the best anticolonial novel ever written, and then falls on its face inches from the finish line.

Which, aside, is the reason I don't think Animorphs would ever work with a happy ending. "Happy" for the protagonists would never be morally okay in the bigger story.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Writeblr intro post

So yeah when I first came here I didn't know this was a thing so I've been working on this in the background. Now that it won the poll, I'm making it now!

I'm going to edit this post as I go so it has more links as I make posts about my WIPs!

About Me

Hi. Call me Kaylin. It's a pen name but I like it. (Some people are just finding out this isn't my real name and y'all should've read the bio)

I'm an education major and do writing on the side and it's a huge passion of mine (hence why I want to teach literacy)

Asexual demiromantic sapphic (she/her) currently in a relationship - (I am comfortable within reason to talk about my experiences)

Love ask games and tag games and generally interacting with others

Love reblogging mutuals' writing talking about WIPs!

21+ but my WIPs are YA - I don't usually reblog anything with a mature community label (sorry in advance for mutuals who do), but when I do I mark it 18+ and I try to label content warnings (LET ME KNOW IF I MISSED SOMETHING)

I'm an educator by heart so I love giving feedback, know a lot about kids, and of course education psychology and theory

I have minor scoliosis, early start of arthritis in my hands, and chronic headaches and migraines attacks in control with medication if anyone needs to ask me about these experiences for writing purposes. I also occasionally use a cane due to knee pain from an injury.

I have an ultimate get to know me game if you want to check that out

My asks are always open! Feel free to stop in whenever you want!

My WIPs

The Secret Portal

See linked intro post for more detail!

YA sci-fi/fantasy

Planned to be a five book series

Quick version: A bunch of adolescents discover a portal to a dimension populated by people with powers. There's also a war. Yayyy.

The first installment is currently in the process of being read by beta readers. Apply to be one here!

One to five game

Q&A (open at any time!)

Tagged as #the secret portal, #tsp, or #teaspoon if you want to give it a nickname. #tsp updates and #tsp excerpt are used as well. All characters get their own tag and #alium will be used when talking about my world building

Ask to be added to or removed from the tag list! @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet

School of the Legends

See linked intro post for more detail!

YA urban fantasy fairy tale retelling

International school for people with gifts (born with), majicks (learn), and curses (given).

Currently in planning stage but five chapters have been written.

One to five game

Tagged as #school of the legends and #sotl. Also use #sotl updates and #sotl excerpt, though not as often as TSP

Ask to be added to or removed from the tag list! @illarian-rambling @katwritesshit @wyked-ao3

I have a WIP questionnaire I have gone for BOTH TSP and SOTL!

Other Ideas

It Was All Just a Dream - (linked WIP questionnaire) high school senior gets an entire redemption arc via vivid dream

The Emerald of Secrets - temporary title for vague fairy fantasy idea

Perspectives - we watch the same event five times in a row from different perspectives

Eternity - temporary title for a supernatural detective story

The Others - temporary title for a sci-fi apocalypse story

There are more but these are the main ones

What I Post or Reblog

Updates on my writing

Tag games and ask games! I love them dearly but it may take a bit to reply! I have a lot piled up and not all of them are simple. But I will get to them!!

Writing from others

Writing advice

Beta requests, book announcements, and intro posts to help boost!

I try to keep things positive! If I see a negative post about writing I'll usually reblog it with some positive spin. Sorry if that's annoying but it makes me sad that people aren't happy about writing.

I always try to include image IDs to make my blog accessible - if something is incorrect or you have any suggestions for making IDs better let me know!

[mostrovskaa]

Hi! I love your art, your color and shape work is amazing!!

I wanted to ask if you have any Polish media you can recommend to us non-Poles - movies, shows, stuff like that

Hi! Thank you so much for the ask! It is a great pleasure for me to share some Polish media to the people! I just have to preface this and tell especially my fellow Poles that: I am by no means an expert on the subject, I like a lot of bad media, I like a lot of children's media and mainstream media that I love to shape by my own creativity ok and I don't know every single niche thing so please don't come for me. Be nice please or I'll die of embarrassment! With that being said, here are just some of my picks of some cool things I like that I would recommend to check out! (Again I don't know about how available these are around the internet and what would be the subtitle situation but still, i love these pieces of media and think they are interesting to even just read or check out visually if anything!)

- The Akademia Pana Kleksa movies (Akademia Pana Kleksa, Podróże Pana Kleksa and Pan Kleks w Kosmosie) (1984-1988)- These children's fantasy and fable inspired beautiful movies based on a book incorporate beautiful puppetry and set designs, visually they are one of my biggest inspirations. Having both dark,whimsical and sci-fi elements they have been in my visual language since I saw them as a kid! Really really recommend looking into them, even though they may be wacky and strange at times! 

And they contain absolutely amazing songs :

Available to watch without subtitles unfortunately here, but worth to check out the visuals of all the movies in the series: https://www.ninateka.pl/vod/dla-dzieci/akademia-pana-kleksa/ 

- Poszukiwany, Poszukiwana (Man- woman wanted) (1972) (one of my favorite movies ever!) - a comedy film about a museum curator who gets accused of stealing a painting and goes into hiding as a maid. You would think with polish humor it would be the typical: haha man dressed as a woman, hilarious! type stuff but no! It’s funny, charming, sweet and smart and surprisingly based. Marysia, just one chance please queen. 

available to watch with subtitles here (alongside many other great Polish movies): https://35mm.online/vod/fabula/poszukiwany-poszukiwana

- Ranczo (tv show, 10 seasons, I believe it’s available on Netflix) - the epitome of Polish society. This is just pure Poland in tv show format. A timeless classic, never gets old, never stops being funny and relevant. Watched it a million times and could watch a million more and not get bored. An American woman with Polish heritage comes back to her family village and chaos ensues. I think the characters are so well defined you don’t need to know so much deep Polish lore to get what is going on so I really recommend it!

Other stuff you can find on Netflix I recommend are: 1670 - comedy show about 17th century Poland, Rojst (all seasons)- crime show set mainly in the 90’s.

And something that’s a Polish phenomenon that I absolutely love is media based around popular copypasta: a short film Fanatyk  based on this timeless classic of a copypasta, and a tv show called Emigracja XD - about polish guys finding work in the UK.

And obviously the shows I make art for are always something I encourage people check out like Czterdziestolatek (amazing old show with a cult following) and Ojciec Mateusz (absolute shitty formulaic 30 season tv show that i love with all my heart).

Thank you again, sorry for the long post! There’s obviously many more cool Polish media to watch but this is just what immediately popped into my head! :-))

[stesierra]

Writeblr ReIntro!

I'm posting a new intro because now that I've been on Writeblr a little while, I realize how much information I left out! Hi, I'm Stephanie, I live in the desert with my husband and baby and three cats, and I'm an ace, bipolar fantasy writer! When I was a kid, they said I had ADHD but then I got my Masters degree in biology, so they claim I can't have it. Online tests say I'm probably autistic.

I used to write sci fi twelve years ago but only low tech sci fi about weird aliens, which nobody likes. Now I write fantasy novels! Lots of fantasy novels! I am beginning to post them on my website so if you want to read them, please keep an eye on this post.

My books often but not always have some romance (either m/f or f/f because I prefer female protagonists.) Since I'm ace (and demiromantic), my interpretation of romance and attraction is not exactly what you'd expect from, say, a romance novel.

I am not going to tell you about all my books! I've written eighteen! Four of them are shelved forever! Here's some recent ones (written or revised since 2018) that I haven't given up on. Please ask me questions about them! I LOVE talking about my books! Also, if you want to be added to my taglist for writing samples let me know! Please also tell me if you're interested in alpha or beta reading and for which book! Mutuals only, please!

My books are beneath the cut! As I add WIP intros, I'll update this list with links.

Cast Out

YA fantasy! On her sixteenth birthday, Zisha is cast out of the Plenary Cities for the crime of being born deaf, like her grandmother before her. In the wastelands, she meets Thesil, a depressed and bitter young woman. Zisha wants nothing to do with her — until she sees Thesil's face in a vision. But before she can find out what the visions mean or reach her grandmother's holdings in the wastes, the plague returns to the Plenary Cities. If the disabled really caused the plague thirty years ago, and were cast out to stop the spread, how can it be back when all of them are outcast?

Status: Finished. Being serialized.

WIP intro here.

Now being serialized here. First five chapters up, one posted weekly.

The Bone Queen

This is my NA fantasy about the aftermath of freeing an undead queen and her skeleton army. They take over the kingdom, of course! The main character, Elise, is trapped in Bandrum palace by Aubrey, the ghost who tricked her into falling in love and freeing him (plus everyone else.) He's an animated skeleton now with plans to marry Elise and force her to carry his children. The bone queen has promised him she'll make it happen. Too bad no one cares what Elise wants. If only she had magic of her own...

Status: undergoing a rewrite after developmental edit. Was 109k before revisions. Not available for beta reading.

Draft number? Hahahaha. It has two complete sequels (The Spellbound King (106k) and The Matriarch's Daughter (96k)) I must also rewrite. This series is going to kill me but I love it. My mom, who loves everything I write, complained that it was weird. I'm very proud.

WIP intro here.

First chapter here.

School of Souls

This is my YA contemporary fantasy about a boarding school in the Bighorn Mountains! It's supposed to be a place parents can send "bad" teens to have their problems sorted out, but secretly the founder is using it to train the kids as sorcerers. Even more secretly, the school devours the souls of the students sent there, and the teenagers who graduate aren't the same as the ones who arrived... Warning: does include teenage addiction to sleeping pills and ghosts and and parental death. It's going to have sequels but I haven't written them yet.

Status: Complete first draft. 83k. Available for alpha reading.

WIP intro here.

First chapter here.

The Many-faced Princess

This is YA fantasy with a historical vibe but set in a made up world. Vaguely inspired by ancient Phoenicia. It's about Princess Ameryi, who was blessed by the genderless trickster god, Akihel, to be able to change her face. If her father the king ever found out, he'd have to execute her, of course. Akihel is just plain evil. All the other gods say so. A daughter who's their champion? Impossible. An abomination. So Ameryi will just have to make sure her father never finds out. That was easier to do before the Asirtinsa Empire threatened to invade and her father sent her to secure an alliance with a neighboring king. She's supposed to marry him. Not steal his face and frame him for murder. But sometimes plans just don't work out.

This book was supposed to be about two lesbian princesses who frame the king for murder so they can elope, but both princesses decided to be ace and there was nothing I could do.

Status: Complete first draft. 83k. It's going to have sequels but I haven't written them yet. Available for alpha reading.

First chapter here.

Map here.

Court Phoenix

This is my NA fantasy! Kerra is a blacksmith's apprentice. Not because she wants the job, but because her mother sold her future to him when she was still a toddler who crawled into live fires and giggled as the flames consumed her clothes. Now she's a woman, trapped by the expectations of her family and her village. Until one day, a phoenix crash-lands and dies in her arms. When it's reborn, it chooses Kerra as its keeper. Soon, her dreary future is swept away. A princess from Skyfire, the moving city, offers her a job in the royal court. How could Kerra refuse? Her family's claims that she'll die if she ever leaves the village are just manipulative lies. Aren't they?

Status: Complete third draft. 104k. Available for beta reading.

First chapter here.

The Revenant Trilogy

Adult fantasy. Solving a murder should bring good fortune, but all it brings Mindral Thideet is disaster. Her fame and peaceful life as head researcher at the city of knowledge end abruptly. In retaliation for her investigation into his crimes, Payar Cheref, the head of the powerful Cheref family, burns her beloved cousins alive and scars her face. The scar marks her as a revenant, a body possessed by a godkin, one of the gods' evil children. Her life as a researcher is over. All that's left is revenge.

No one believes her when she denies that godkins have any power over her. But godkins, real ones, are far closer than she realizes. Tearing down Payar Cheref could destroy Mindral, her family, and the nation itself.

-The Halfway Revenant (rewriting draft 4) 120k. Not available for beta reading.

-The Soul-Seer (draft 2) - 130k

-The Godkin's Gambit (draft 2) 121k

First chapter here.

As Immortality Fades

Adult fantasy. Five hundred years ago, one of the immortal and unpredictable Valteifur visited the kingdom of Kathild and granted the young queen Nelone immortality. But there was a catch. She'd live forever, youthful and strong, just so long as her subjects were happy. For centuries, she's met her part of the deal. But when the Valteifur returns to check on her progress, he grants her a new gift: the resurrection of every single person in Kathild who's died in the last two hundred years. Then he disappears.

There aren't enough houses for them all. There's not enough food. And winter is here.

Status: Complete first draft. 98k. Available for alpha reading.

Bi MC, enemies to lovers.

First chapter here.

Stitches and Memories

This one's adult fantasy. Antea's father ripped her mind apart, left her for dead, and vanished twelve years ago, and she's going to find out why. But when constables try to kill her and strange truth magic grows inside of her, hunting her father starts to look like suicide. Too bad going home isn't an option.

Status: I exchanged this with a critique partner and now it embarrasses me. Fourth draft. 122k. Available for beta reading.

Trigger warning: magic seizures

First chapter here.

WIP intro here.

Triangle Park

Contemporary Fantasy. I have no idea who it's for. An elf exiled to the middle of nowhere ends up stuck with an unexpected child. It's about reluctant parenting and protecting the needy. And elves and faeries slumming it in a mobile home.

Status: Complete first draft. 86k. Available for alpha reading.

First chapter here.

Mud-Child

Adult fantasy. Rebeka has always heard that a woman who goes through menopause loses her spark (the magic that lets her create children). If she's had children, it just makes the neighbors a little more fertile. But Rebeka never wanted a man, and she never wanted to raise a child. Not since her twin sister died and her beloved Suza left her for a man. The problem is, the spark leaves a childless woman differently, everyone says. A bitter hag? She'll curse her neighbors. A sweet dim biddie? She'll give her spark to inanimate objects and create a monster. Rebeka doesn't know which she is, but she believes it's a myth.

That was before the clay in her clay pit woke up and called her mother.

Status: Third draft. 109k. Needs a rewrite! Not available for beta reading.

First chapter here.

WIP intro here.

I GUESS I'M WRITING A NEW BOOK

The Giant's Gamble

First chapter here.

I started writing this on Friday the 13th, 2023. LET'S SEE HOW LONG IT TAKES TO WRITE WITH A BABY.

Short stories

The Unfamous Dead

VERY OLD CRAP

The Scribe and the Sphinx

Adult historical fantasy

Status: second draft. Shelved for good. 85k.

The Adrift series

The River's Drift. 100k.

The Waking Mountain. 106k.

Low-tech alien sci fi. Shelved for good.

My first book whose name I forget. About 50k. Exists only as a hard copy in my parents' house.

Taglist so far (tell me if you want to be added or removed)

Tag list for everything

@harleyacoincidence

@anonymousfoz

@moremysteriesthantragedies

@elizababie

@sm-writes-chaos

@bellascarousel

@the-dragon-chronicler

@teacupsandstarlight

@vorskra

@wrenofthewords

@amostdelectablescribbler

@mysticstarlightduck

@phantommill

@gracewritesbooks

@aziz-reads

@owlsandwich

@symbioticsimplicity

@squarebracket-trick

@koala2all

@rmgrey-author

@atomatowriter

@cheerfulmelancholies

@delusionisaplace

@janec23

@writing-is-a-martial-art

@authortango

Just chapters and snippets

@da-na-hae

For The Many-faced Princess

@deadlyessencewhispers

@serenanymph

The Halfway Revenant

@acertainmoshke

For Stitches and Memories

@space-writes

@acertainmoshke

The Bone Queen

@janec23

@holdmyteaplease

@digital-chance

@thecrookedwriterspath

@tea-and-mercury

@coven-archives

I love you all!

[marvel-ous-m]

Been thinking about modern AU Elementary School Librarian!Eddie and Substitute Teacher!Steve.

Eddie, who doesn’t really know how he ended up working at the school. A series of events that made him luck out, he supposed. He had always loved books, and practically lived at the public library in between working at the shop and sleeping. He had gotten to know the librarians there over time, had familiarized himself with the Dewey Decimal System from browsing the aisles, and had begun to explore different genres of books after finishing his sci-fi/fantasy bucket list. One evening, while he was curled up on one of the couches in the corner, re-reading The Hobbit for the hundredth time, a little girl with fire-red hair and her front two teeth missing ran up to him and begged him to read to her. He had glanced around the room for a moment, searching for the girl’s parent, but came up with nothing. At a loss, he decided he might as well read to her.

They got through three books that the girl- Max, she had said her name was- had picked out. By the end of his time reading to her, a small group of kids had crowded around him, and a couple of parents were on the outskirts of the makeshift circle smiling at him, clearly pleased that their kids were enjoying “story time”. One of the librarians noticed too, apparently. As Eddie was leaving to walk back to his apartment that night, he was slid a printed-out job posting for the librarian at the elementary school. Eddie never really saw himself as a ‘kids’ guy, but reading to them had been the highlight of his day, and they had all said he’d done the voices well… maybe this would be a good thing. Certainly better than the muscle strain he had almost daily from fixing cars.

So he submitted a resume. He got a letter of recommendation from the librarian who slid him the job posting, and somehow, even without having any certification past his High School Diploma, he landed an interview. They had been desperate, apparently. It was a tiny school in their tiny town and they needed someone to fill in. After only fifteen minutes, he got offered the job- pending results of a four week job shadow with the retiring librarian they were trying to replace and background checks. Two months later and he had become a well-established faculty member at the school, ‘Mr. M’, who did the best monster voices (according to the kids), decorated the library to make it look like it was out of a fairytale (with the help of the art teacher and his now-best-friend Robin Buckley), and even filled in for the music teacher on occasion. It was the best thing to ever happen to him.

Roughly three years after he was hired, he finds one of his lunch breaks being interrupted by Mrs. Harrington’s 3rd grade class. She had always been a bit of a bitch, but she never operated off-schedule. Eddie put his lunch away and observed as the kids flooded into the library and ran around, all finding a book to read or an activity to quietly play with. Will Byers (one of his favorite kids- not that he had favorites, but he totally did) ran up to him, holding watercolor markers and giving him puppy dog eyes. Eddie sighed and rolled up his sleeve, then helped Will sit on his desk so he could reach Eddie’s arm better. Will had asked about Eddie’s tattoos at the beginning of the year, wondering why there wasn’t any color on some of them, and then had been determined to color them in. And Eddie? Well, he couldn’t say no to the kid. Plus it was pretty adorable to have his ‘metal’ tattoos covered in washable marker.

“Will! Did he say you could do that?” Eddie looked up at the exclamation, surprised to come face-to-face with somebody who was definitely not Mrs. Harrington.

“Wait- who are you? Do I need to get the security guard?”

“What? No- no, I’m Mrs. Harrington’s substitute. They sent an email out about me I think? I’m- her son, actually. But you can just call me Steve. Or- probably Mr. Steve in front of the kids? I’m still kind of new at this- my mom called me last week and said she needed to stop teaching for a while because she needed to go on my dad’s business trips with him, she’s always been a bit suspicious of what he really does on the trip, and since I just got my teaching certification she figured it would be best for me too be her substitute- and shi-oot, shoot, I’m totally over sharing right now- it’s just the kids begged me to come here and they weren’t doing our math activity so I kinda panicked-“

“Whoa, alright, slow down big boy.” Eddie chuckled under his breath, then grabbed a sticky note and a pen with his free hand and scrawled out his number. Once he was done he handed it to Steve with a smirk. “I’m absolutely terrible at checking my email. So there ya go- the first number is for my cell- teaching these rascals can be a handful, especially with Henderson and Mayfield in your class, so feel free to text me anytime. We can talk about school or… other things.” Eddie let his eyes take in the man in front of him- and damn, this guy was hot.

Steve blushed, stuttering as he spoke. “A-and the second?” Oh shit, he wasn’t just hot, he was cute too. Eddie suddenly wanted to make Steve this flustered all the time.

“Second number is my extension for the phones here, if the kids get to be too much I can come down the hall for a visit and get them focused while you take a break. They have library time on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm to 2:30pm.” Eddie smiled at him, softer this time. “I’m sure you’re doing a great job. They’re just antsy because of the change- but I think they’d like anybody more than your mom- um, no offense.”

“None taken, she’s a bitc- um, a not super nice lady.” Steve coughed, smiling nervously. “Still getting used to kid-friendly language.”

Eddie shook his head fondly. This was certainly the start of something very interesting.

[twomanyfandomshelp]

Hiya, welcome to my blog! This is gonna be all over the place, I can already tell, so you’ve been warned.

Disclaimer: Please do not ask me for money/donations. I’m a minor who has no way to pay for them or know if it’s a scam. I’m very sorry for whatever you’re going through, but I can’t help you. Any and all asks requesting money/donations will be deleted.

About Me Personally

Name: Lily

Pronouns: She/her

Sexuality: Aroace 🧡💛🤍🩵💙

Zodiac Sign/Birthday: Libra, October 1st

Country: United States (it’s a shitshow get me out of here please)

Likes: Pink, animals in general but especially dogs, literally anything sweet but especially chocolate, potatoes, autumn, reading, watching movies, swimming, cooking, baking, card games, board games, and spending time with family and friends

Dislikes: Spiders, peanut butter, spice, being cold, sand, stupid people, waking up early, politics, and horror books/movies

Extra Info: I’m an introvert and my personality type is Mediator (INFP-T)

Fandoms

As the name would suggest, I’m part of WAY too many fandoms, but I will do my best to list them all. In no particular order they are:

Percy Jackson 🔱

Harry Potter 🦉

Marauders 🐺 (yes I consider that a different fandom than Harry Potter)

Heartstopper 🏳️‍🌈

The Hunger Games 🏹

Marvel Cinematic Universe💥

Disney 🪄

Wings of Fire 🔥

Life Series SMP 💚 💛 ❤️ (mcyt)

Empires SMP 🌎 (mcyt)

New to Hermitcraft SMP 💎 (mcyt) thanks to smallishbeans

Currently obsessed with Epic: The Musical ⚔️ Please go listen to it if you haven’t already, Jorge Rivera Herrans is a genius!

Pretty much any fantasy or sci-fi book 📖 I’ve been a pretty avid reader my whole life, so there are a lot of standalones, small series, or underrated stories that I really like.

I’m also a theater kid. My favorite musicals are

The Sound of Music 🎶

Newsies 🗞️

Hamilton ✍🏼

Wicked 💚 🩷

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical ⚡️

Six 👑

Mean Girls the Musical 📕

Fandom Related Info

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff 💛 🖤

Godly Parent: Apollo ☀️ Athena 📚 or Poseidon 🌊

District: District 4 🎣

My Tag Lists

This is my list of mutuals that I tag in whatever tag games I get tagged in or stumble across.

General Tag List

@sushis-mylifeee @ivys-garden @thekingofworems @the-stars-are-ineffable @bippityboppityouch @kingofdandelions @sushi1056 @nyx-of-darkness-1620 @aaronofithaca05 @theghostnamedspecter @rubbercrowy @imobsessedwiththeatre @donutsalami @azoperoa @theoneandonlywinnie @rosegoldenatlas @the-decapod @decapodsrandomfandom @chaoticrei @jarondont @cherrytea556 @harley-the-pancake @thatstevenuniversegay @forest-city @chaotic-agender @alphabetical-az @fallenrain40 @shamelesswolfstarshipper @magicalmyths @a-fucking-tornado @poppitron360 @janru-writer @neilarissa @theconfusedbookshrimp @shellywith2ls @yourlocalbadgerscales @g0blinm0d3 @stargazing-with-friends

Epic the Musical

@thekingofworems @nyx-of-darkness-1620 @aaronofithaca05 @theghostnamedspecter @imobsessedwiththeatre @rosegoldenatlas @decapodsrandomfandom @alphabetical-az @jarondont @magicalmyths @a-fucking-tornado @shellywith2ls @g0blinm0d3 @stargazing-with-friends

Queer

@thekingofworems @bippityboppityyouch @kingofdandelions @aeolianmusic @sushi1056 @theghostnamedspecter @rubbercrowy @donutsalami @azoperoa @theoneandonlywinnie @rosegoldenatlas @the-decapod @chaoticrei @cherrytea556 @harley-the-pancake @thatstevenuniversegay @forest-city @chaotic-agender @fallenrain40 @shamelesswolfstarshipper @magicalmyths @a-fucking-tornado @poppitron360 @theconfusedbookshrimp @agayidiotsblog @yourlocalbadgerscales @g0blinm0d3

[oneinterests]

Hi! i really wanted to make a post describing all of my favorite books (especially since i just reorganized my bookshelf to get one whole shelf for all of my all time favorites) They’re all technically in order from “least” favorite to absolute favorites :D

8: The Golden Compass- This was one of my favorite books/movies as a kid. I wanted my own alethiometer so bad and from what i remember i actually tried making my own with paper. Rereading it again now that i’m older made me feel very nostalgic, and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart :) also the scene where Lyra eats a seal kidney raw is burned into my mind 10/10 i love the weird gory moments in this book.

7: The Subtle Knife- i never knew that The Golden compass had a sequel until a classmate asked me my favorite book- and when i said The Golden Compass he asked me if i liked the other two books. I was so shocked and for some reason never thought they would have a second book out. I really enjoyed this one, and the deaths physically made me put down the book. I 100% need to reread this one again.

6: Bluebird- From what i can remember, this was recommended to me as a Gardians of the Galaxy type adventure with a lesbian main character fighting against oppressive governments. I really enjoyed the story and the characters developments throughout it, and i should really reread it again :)

5: The Salt Grows Heavy- I finished this one in about two hours? it’s a quick and gory read that’s basically about characters from a very fucked up horror fairytale. A mermaid traveling after destroying her now deceased husbands kingdom, and a frankensteins monster like creature being haunted by their past. i love the descriptions of the two main characters and the horror is so so good. if you don’t like flowery writing (i think that’s what it’s called lol) you probably won’t like this one. i love complicated writing, especially if it’s in a novella.

4: This is How You Lose the Time War- Speaking of flowery writing, this one is basically poetry with how in depth the authors go into their writing. Two agents named Red and Blue fight on opposing sides of The Time War. This book really just throws you right into the deep end and it’s really a sink or swim type of read. I love books that make you think or ones you have to reread multiple times to appreciate everything fully :)

3: The Spirit Bates its Teeth- How do i even explain how much i love this one. It’s so horrifying but so hopeful at the same time? Meeting Daphne for the first time made me cry, she’s one of my favorite characters in the book. So many trigger warnings for this one, i thought i was ready but i had to take a break part way through reading it. So worth it though.

2: The Entire Murderbot Series (Seven books so far, and i literally cant rank them)- Quite literally one of two of my most favorite series of all time. It’s very Sci-Fi, with a self proclaimed Murderbot grudgingly saving its humans and figuring out what it wants to do after breaking free of its governor module. All of the characters are LGBTQ+, and there’s multiple polyam characters :D The only downfall is how expensive the books are, and 90% of them are novellas. I believe when i bought the first book it was $15? But i personally think it makes up for the price since i have reread them all at least four times now :)

1. The locked tomb series. (1-Nona, 2-Gideon, 3-Harrow to be specific) :D

I physically can’t describe how much i love this book series. I’m planning on getting a tattoo of one of the quotes in GTN after Alecto drops. They’re absolutely insane books, with random meme references sprinkled in. (“None Houses with left grief.” fucking threw me for a loop when i first read it) They are absolutely books you have to read multiple times to understand- the first pages in GTN took me three months to get through because i didn’t understand half of what was going on. But as soon as it clicked i flew through it and finished the book in under a week. Nona is my absolute favorite, and i annotated the shit out of my paperback copy. (Which i might make a separate post about… because i have literally no one to talk about these books with lol)

(Also yes. I do have two copies of each book… i bought the first two as paperbacks first, and the third one only had the hardcover available. I wanted a full set of matching books after reading them all, especially because i wanted to make a mini shrine for them on my shelf. i can’t wait for Alecto to come out.)

and that’s all of them so far!! i still have 39 books on my TBR shelf, so i might update this list whenever i add to it! :)

[your-local-simp-writers]

༺☆༻ Introduction ༺☆༻

Hello! 

We’re the dynamic duo behind “𝕐our 𝕃ocal 𝕊imp 𝕎riters,” just a couple of friends who love to get lost in the world of stories and games. We’re here to share our passion for writing and all the geeky stuff we can’t get enough of.

♡ About Us ♡

I’m 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹 and I’m all about gaming and art. You’ll often find me with a controller in one hand and a comic book in the other. My better half, the yin to my yang. She’s the partner in crime, the sweet melody to my wild riffs, and the one who brings a touch of grace to our shared tales of adventure and heart, 𝒞𝒽𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓃𝑒! She is the other half of this storytelling team. We both love creating stories that’ll make you feel like you’re right there with the characters.

♡ Our Writing ♡

We write what we love, and we love what we write. Our stories are inspired by our current fascinations—be it a game, a movie, or a manga. If it’s interesting and fascinating to us, it’s fair game for our writing.

Most of our stories are “x female reader” because that’s where we feel most at home. Occasionally, we’ll write “x gender-neutral reader” pieces for a bit of variety. However, we generally steer clear of “x male reader” or “OC x canon” stories. We want to create a space where female readers can see themselves in the worlds we love so much.

❤︎ 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹 '𝓈 Interests: 

Gaming: I’m a huge fan of Kingdom Hearts, Batman Arkham games, Mortal Combat, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, Doom 3, Phasmophobia, Five Nights At Freddy’s, Twisted Wonderland, Call of Duty, Halo 3 and 4, Sonic and Transformers. If it’s a game or relating to horror, chances are I love it.

Comics: Batman is my passion. I collect anything related to the Dark Knight, and my collection is my pride and joy.

Anime/Manga: I'm into One Piece, Princess TuTu, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Jujutsu Kaisen, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Kingdom Hearts, Sgt. Frog, Free!, HellSing, and a bunch more. I have also seen MHA, Fairy Tail, Dragon Ball, Soul Eater, Naruto, Castlevania, Diabolik Lovers and more.

Disney & Tim Burton: I’m a Disney kid at heart. My top 5 Disney movies are Treasure Planet, Cinderella 3, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and The Princess and the Frog. And I’m all about Halloween and everything Tim Burton.

Music: I love RnB and Y2K music so much! However, you can usually find me listening to cutesy, cheesy love songs.

❤︎ 𝒞𝒽𝒾𝑒���𝓃𝑒’𝓈 Interests: 

Gaming: I’m definitely not the biggest gamer around, but I do love to play Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft! Sometimes I’ll also dabble in some fall guys, FNAF or Poppy’s Playtime. On Roblox, I love to play pretty much anything but pvp games due to the fact that I’m not the best at them. Horror games are probably my favorite, even though I’m a chicken!

Anime/Manga: My favorites are definitely Fairy Tail, Jojo’s bizarre adventure, Naruto, and Demon slayer. I’ve also watched MHA, Danganronpa, Yona of the Dawn, Food wars, High Rise Invasion, Angels of death, and more!

Disney and Tim Burton: I’m definitely a Disney girl! I love all Disney Princess movies, both animated and live action. My top three not in any particular order would have to be Tangled, The Little Mermaid, and Princess and the Frog. For Tim Burton, my favorites are the classics, The nightmare before Christmas and Corpse bride. 

Books: I’m also a huge book girly! My favorite genre has to be fantasy/sci-fi. My favorite book series is The Lunar Chronicles, I definitely recommend it!

♡ Join the Fun ♡

This is an invitation to you, dear reader, to become a part of our narrative. Engage with us, inspire us, and let us inspire you.

So, come on in, get comfy, and let's share the joy of stories. The next chapter is always the best one, and it starts right here, with you and us. Requests are always welcome in the ask box! and even inquiries, should you have any!

With all the warmth in our hearts,

𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹 & 𝒞𝒽𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓃𝑒

P.S: 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹 drew the image, just so most people can get a idea of what we look like♡ AND THE G.M FIARY BOOK IS FOR FUN, for the pure shits and giggles TRUST

[empress-violetlight]

My Speculative Biology Library

Got talking on Discord about biology (it started with laughing about a pic of a bacteriophage my husband freaked out about) and because we're all sci-fi loving nerds, the topic of speculative biology came up. I'm no biologist (unlike two very talented other discord members), but I love science, and love reading and writing about animal life, evolution, and figuring out how to make my own aliens as "realistic" as possible (i.e. at least scientifically plausible).

One of my fellow discord members (Discordians? Discordees?) asked if I would post my collection of speculative biology "research material", so @admiral-arelami, this one's for you!

In no particular order, with some entries being more scientific than others:

Extraterrestrials: A Field Guide for Earthlings

by Terence Dickinson and Adolf Schaller c 1994

A kid's book, this little volume actually gives a great introduction to the idea of looking at aliens from a more scientific perspective. It starts with looking at some popular sci-fi aliens, then moves on to discussing theoretical planetary environments, and the aliens that might evolve to live there. The cutie on the cover is a creature that might live in the atmosphere of a gas giant!

Speaking of which:

Cosmos by Carl Sagan. c 1980 Both the mini-series and the book. Wish I could find my beautifully illustrated hardcover edition, but oh well.

This absolute classic features an unforgettable chapter where Carl Sagan speaks about the possibility of life in the atmosphere of Jupiter, imagining "sinkers", "floaters" and "hunters", as a small example. I was absolutely blown away and I'm not the only one! Notable sci fi writers like Robert L. Forward and Timothy Zahn (I'm a huge fan, if you couldn't tell by my blog) have both written novels about the same topic. If you're a fan of Classic Doctor Who, the Cosmos mini-series won't disappoint in the aesthetics department either!

After Man: A Zoology of the Future by Dougal Dixon c 1981

Considered one of the most influential texts of the speculative biology sub-genre, and probably one of the first to treat the topic with genuine scientific curiosity. It looks at a world 50 million years in the future, and theorizes about how modern day animals might have evolved during that time, assuming that humanity has gone extinct. Beautiful artwork accompanies intriguing looks at possible animals, all sorted by biome.

After Man is part of a loose "series" along with The New Dinosaurs (a speculative Earth where non-avian dinosaurs never went extinct)and Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future (what might have happened to humans in the After Man universe, who aren't so extinct after all). I don't have the other two (yet), but the whole "trilogy" is available to borrow (for free, and legally!) on the Internet Archive, so I've read them. Man After Man is messed up.

The Future is Wild c 2002

Basically a spiritual successor to After Man, this 13 part mini series has the same premise -- looking at how modern day animals might evolve in the future -- though it examines different time periods: 5 million years, 100 million years, and 200 million years in the future. I love this series for its creativity, pretty decent CGI (especially for its time) and some absolutely unforgettable animals, like the giant Toratons -- tortoises the size of sauropod dinosaurs! Some of its premises are a little questionable as Science has Marched On, but it's still a really fun watch, and puts as much thought into its wildlife as its predecessor.

Future Evolution by Peter Ward c 2001

This book also looks at possible future life on Earth, but takes a much more pessimistic view of things, and the author honestly doesn't sound like he enjoys the topic at all, which makes me wonder why he wrote about it in the first place. Unlike the previous two examples, he assumes humanity will still be around in the future, and our presence alone basically prevents any cool megafauna from evolving in the first place, and he assumes we'll never make any headway into space either. Kind of a downer, actually.

HG Wells Science Fiction Treasury c circa 1895-1901

The previous entry compared his work to Wells' The Time Machine, and honestly, he shouldn't have. Wells was a visionary. In his novels, long before anyone else even considered doing so, Wells thought about the effects of lower gravity on his Martians and their susceptibility to Earth bacteria in War of the Worlds, the possible future evolution of humanity in The Time Machine, and more on alien life in The First Men in the Moon, to name a few in this collection. The Island of Doctor Moreau is a borderline case, since the "beast men" there were made and didn't evolve naturally, but is still an interesting look at humans' relationship with other animals. Basically, anyone interested in spec bio would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn't read Wells' novels.

The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth c 2013

Part guidebook, part novel, this work looks at popular creatures from mythology and actually tries to examine them from a scientific perspective, looking at how their anatomy might possibly work, and their relation to humans, if any. Definitely an interesting look at creatures that are usually brushed off as pure fiction, like mermaids, harpies, centaurs, etc.

Speaking of mythical creatures ...

The Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickinson c 1979

The original "Dragonology", this book, which partly inspired the animated film of the same name (which was made by the same studio as The Last Unicorn). Its ideas on how dragons scientifically may fly and breathe fire have been "borrowed" by many other speculative works afterwards, and most theories seem pretty solid. However, I can't ever read this book again after it proposed wildly unfair sexual dimorphism for dragons. It said the cool, fire-breathing giant lizards we all know and love are the males, while things like Medusa or Grendel's Mother, mostly humanoid mythical monsters with barely any connection to dragons, are the females. Yeah ... that killed it for me, I'm sad to say.

The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide

by Terryl Whitlatch and Bob CVarrau c 2001

This book looks at the animal life of various on-screen Star Wars planets, with specific chapters on Tattooine, Dagobah, Yavin IV, the Forest Moon of Endor, Bespin Hoth, Coruscant (yes, Coruscant apparently has some wildlife!) and 3 separate chapters on Naboo, with a little bit at the end showing off other notable Legends animals (such as fan-favourite Ysalamiris!) Not the most scientific on in-depth book in this collection by any means, but the artwork is beautiful, and at least it tries. I'm really glad I saw it on Ebay!

To Seek Out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek

by Athena Andreadis c 1998

There's a couple Star Trek biology books out there, but I enjoyed this one the most. It doesn't really talk about animal life, but instead focuses on Star Trek's sapient (mostly humanoid) alien species, and tackles some philosophical questions, such as whether artificial lifeforms like androids or holograms count as life -- a topic the shows themselves have wondered about.

The Teeming Universe: An Extraterrestrial Field Guide

By Christine Cline c 2021

The newest book in my collection, the author and illustrator really puts a lot of thought into what alien life might actually be like, using the newly-discovered planet types of reality as opposed to science fiction, like a tidally-locked planet around a red dwarf star. He also assumes humans will be able to go out and explore these worlds ourselves, and that we can make peaceful contact with sapient aliens we may encounter (who will NOT be humanoid!). A refreshingly optimistic and fun look, and very up-to-date.

The Zoologist's Guide the the Galaxy by Arik Kershenbaum c 2021

I had actually completely forgotten that I picked up this book! Once I read it, I'll give a proper review, but considering it's just as new as The Teeming Universe, I'm hoping it will be just as accurate and fun!

[colorfullpaperbird]

Taste in books i think each of the sides on Sander Sides would have

Logan: Easiest side to tell since he says his book taste in canon lmao, mistery books guy, agatha christie, sherlock holmes, murders on rue morgue, he just really enjoys a good mistery (he’s just like me fr). He also probably reads books about scientific discoveries and psychological studies on a day to day basis (since he seems to have an answer for everything), either really likes or really hates sci fi depending on the scientifical explanations the books gives

Patton: Ok so, im gonna be honest, i don’t think Patton reads much? In fact hes probably the one who reads the least out of all sides, but he does seem to know his stuff, quoting studies in some episodes ( ‘Can lying be good?’ being the one who comes to mind ), so he probably reads a few articles about Morality and philosophy, also when i imagine Patton reading i imagine children’s books with deep messages like Dr Seuss, so personally i think Patton’s taste in books would be books like “The Tao of Pooh” which explains philosophy in a simple fun way taking inspiration from children’s media.

Roman: Roman’s my favorite side and although i would like to dump my personal taste on him i am aware that he canonically hasn’t read my favorite book and dislikes dark retellings of fairytales, leaving me to tears since those are my favorite kind of story. However i will indulge a bit and say that Roman would love Shakespearean plays ( His favorite would be Hamlet bc it inspired Lion King ) and typical fantasy books. Im also 100% sure that guy has a shelf full of Disney Movie Books like the novelization of Beauty and the beast and the villain’s origin books by Serena Valentino, also has those super pretty Disney Classics books ( lucky mfer ). And obviously he would have the original novels of multiple musicals ( Wicked, Be more chill, Dear Evan Hansen…) and some ballets/non-Disney classics as well (The nutcracker, The wizard of oz, Swan lake… ). Also Harry Potter i guess, since that’s canon 😒

Virgil: We all know what im going to say, Horror fan. Likes Edgar Allan Poe’s stories and classic horror books that inspired movies/series ( Carrie, Ring, the haunting of hill house… ), also reads a concerning amount of True crime about unsolved murder cases, and he has a special edition of the novel of The nightmare before Christmas somewhere trust me. And to self indulge a little, Dark retellings of fairytales, especially the Horror leaning ones.

Janus: I feel like Patton would read simplified philosophy books while Janus would grab shit like The gay science by Friedrich Nietzsche at the local library (never read this book, hilarious title tho), Overall i think Janus’s taste on books would consist of either philosophy and sociology books (especially the ones that annoying people read to keep gloating about how smart they are, except he actually likes them), and influential plays like Shakespeare, The Odyssey, The Iliad, Medea, Phantom of the Opera etc… His taste is the perfect combination of annoying Theater kid with pretentious philosophy kid (He is the guy they strive to be 😭)

Tw: Remus and everything that comes with him

-

Remus: YES, REMUS READS, YOU CANNOT CHANGE MY MIND ON THIS, The books he reads? Very simple, Dark romance and horror, the books are his inspirations for new creative ways to annoy the shit out of the other sides, he is slowly but surely making a list of new horrid murder and torture methods he learned via horror books, also dark romance for him is just romance since he thinks normal romance books are boring and lack taste, some other side definitely walked in on him reading once ( picture him reading on the sofa twirling his hair and bouncing his legs in a very stereotypical teen girl way ) and asked what he was reading only for him to answer something like “ ‘Taken Hostage by the Hot Mafia Boss’ :D” Also definitely read the Kam4 Sutr4.

-

Bonus: Remy/Sleep has a book detailing the multiple different ways on how to brew coffee and Picani has every Kids Show Book he could find ( Gravity Falls 3rd Diary, Star vs the Forces of Evil Book of spells etc… )

ALSO WARNING: If you want to buy any of the books i talked about here be aware there is currently a boycott of Disney and any other properties that have ties to the genocide committed by Israel!! And mainly, i would recommend to grab any book i mentioned in the library since they’re one of the only public community spaces that haven’t shut down yet, support your public library to make sure it stays that way!

[thiniceofeternalyouth]

MISLEADIN' ME SERIES: CHAPTER THREE

HATARAT

⊳ Gojo Satoru x f!reader

series masterlist

Genre: angst, fluff, adventure, sci-fi, cosmology.

Chapter warning&tags : ooc, mentions of blood, pus, arthropods and food; profanity, suggestive themes

Words count: ~12.5k

⊲ previous next ⊳

An unpleasant feeling pressed shamefully on your chest. You sat in your workroom replaying in your head the events that had happened a few minutes ago hiding your face in the palms of your hands. That weight was driven deeper beneath your ribs by a pair of green eyes across the room staring fixedly at you as if wanting to leave a burnt mark on your skin.

"If I'm understanding ya correctly," Rachel began saying squinting her eyes. "The first time in your life guy took your hand and the first thing ya did was put a dagger to his throat?"

"Technically, he didn't take my hand, he grabbed it," you tried to parry pulling your hands away from your face and glancing at Rachel. She only raised her eyebrows skeptically at your words causing you to grimaced your face and burrow back into your palms. "God," you squeaked into the skin of your hands.

"Come on, sis," Rachel leaned back in her chair and laughed. "I think our dad has long since resigned himself to the fact that ya're going to die a spinster."

"Don't bring Frank into this, it's none of his business," you mumbled sighing heavily. "In fact, don't tell him about it at all."

"Oh, come on," Rachel said cheering you up. "Ya know he says sensible things sometimes. The peace of mind and safety of mankind is a good thing, but ya shouldn't forget personal happiness."

"Since when does this 'personal happiness' consist of just marrying me off?" you muttered with skepticism in your voice.

"Who said anything about getting married, dumbass," Rachel moved toward you only to flick her long burgundy fingernails across your forehead. "Let's start by saying that it's easier to deal with adversity with 'your' man and it's less sad to die alone," the red-haired girl said with a soft sadness in her voice, her shoulders slumping a little as if nostalgia was smothering them from behind.

"Rach-" noticing her faded look, you started in an apologetic tone, but Rachel shaking her head from side to side, immediately interrupted you.

"Forget it, it wasn't your fault," she grinned, her green eyes brightening again and she immediately changed the subject. "There's no way in hell I'm going to believe you're running around with that white-haired guy just because..." Rachel stammered hesitating. "By the way, why are you running around with him in the first place?"

"His kids asked me to," you said without a shred of shame in your voice shrugging your shoulders.

"Oh, yeah," Rachel drawled squinting her eyes slyly. "Right. Kids. Well, since ya're not interested in him, I'm keeping him," you only nodded toward the door from the workroom at her provocation as if to signal 'go ahead'. "What kind of nerd have you grown into!" The girl was immediately in your face, your cheeks clutched in her hands.

"Raphel-"

"You expect me to believe that you went to Xibalba¹ just because the kids asked you to?" she asked clearly not expecting your answer. "Sure, you could chalk it up to the fact that your ass just can't sit still, but you know, sis," she squeezed your cheeks a little tighter. "Something you're obviously not telling me, because your face is getting a little too warm!" she exclaimed laughing.

"That's because there's nothing to squeeze it that hard!" you squeaked trying haphazardly to get her hands off your face.

***

[19 Nov, 2018; 07:02am; hunters' headquarters]

You had already drained three water bottles in the morning; your body was exhausted from the endless flow of information and lack of sleep. Your reddened eyes darted randomly from the screens of monitors to the pages of old dusty books, your gaze occasionally freezing on the cube that was among all this information mess on the table in your workroom. You felt a growing irritation inside, either from the endless search or from the coming powerlessness. Your gaze turned less and less often to the cube as if you were ashamed to look into the eyes that flaunted it and, damn it, how you wanted to exclaim that he should stop looking at it that way and that it was not easy for you either. The internal war of fatigue with stubbornness was interrupted by the click of the door and you turned around muttering something to yourself. Kyle.

"No, I'm not tired, I'm not hungry, and I'm still not gone insane," you mouthed in a monotone voice, and barely did you blot the exhaustion from your eyes when you noticed he wasn't alone.

"What ya doing?" inquired Kyle, looking at your desk.

"Recording an unboxing on YouTube, what does it look like?" you sneered, not expecting an answer to the question you asked. "Why did ya bring the kids here?"

"I had nothing to do with it," Kyle said raised both hands in mock defeat. Several pairs of young eyes stared back at you from over the man's shoulder, a naive flame of undiminished enthusiasm burning in them.

"We wanna help," Itadori said taking a few steps in your direction.

"I don't get it," you stammered wrapping your index finger and thumb around your chin and giving the kids a perplexed look. "You have air-conditioned rooms here with great sea views, unlimited access to food and gaming pc with Netflix subscriptions and you're still wanna to swashbuckle," your gaze lingered on the guys for a couple more seconds and then with a splash of your hands you jumped up from your seat and started dragging all the available chairs closer to your table. "Well, since you're so eager to help, welcome."

"What do we have to do?" inquired Maki.

"Here," you tossed a huge pile of books mixed with old scrolls in front of their noses, the dust rising into the air making Itadori cough. "Look for and mark any mention of sealing, closing, moving, anything square and small and anything that consisted of or is made up of human skin."

"Marking?" asked Itadori in bewilderment, looking at the ancient waste paper. "How can you do that? You opened your mouth as if to say something, but closed it and exhaled through your nose before grabbing the nearest pink marker and drawing random patterns on the page of one of the books.

"See? Nothing happened," you said with a shrug and tossed the marker aside. "No one died or got sick. Now get to work," you prodded them rubbing the top of their heads and turned to Kyle quietly, "Our house is starting to look more and more like a kindergarten."

"And the zoo, too," Kyle grinned glancing at Panda. You grinned back and settled back into your seat once again bending your head over the riddle. You could feel the excitement building in the room as if ancient magic had challenged the human mind. The workroom became increasingly filled with the sounds of rustling sheets and quiet conversations. The eyes of the kids were vigorously following the written lines trying to get something useful out of them, one could hear the squeak of markers and someone's methodical clicking of fingers.

As the clock ticked, someone would put away their markers, knead their hands or feet, someone would wipe their eyes with the palms of their hands and reach for a bottle of cool water, but the mountain of already re-read materials would inevitably grow behind your backs. The conversations had already died down, only measured breathing was heard and you looked around at the kids and stood up from the table heading for your personal small refrigerator. You opened it and appraised the contents with a glance, mentally figuring out if there was enough for everyone or if you'd have to spend the energy to go upstairs for more. Your hands grabbed a few chicken sandwiches and popped them into the microwave and while they were getting appetizing you pulled a few small boxes of strawberry mochi out of the fridge. When everything was ready, you scooped it all up and returned to the table arranging the loot in front of the kids. At the quiet but enthusiastic cheers, you unconsciously affectionately patted one of them on the top of the head glancing at your phone screen hoping to see messages from Megan, who was scouring the Internet for something useful among the pile of junk. Nothing. You wanted to curse under your breath, but you shuddered remembering you weren't alone in the room and settled back in your chair.

It was getting evening outside the window and you looked at the tired faces in the room." That's it, kids, rest up. First go to the canteen for dinner, and then do your own thing," no one objected to your remark because of fatigue. The students stood up and quietly said goodbye to you and walked out of the workroom. "You know what pisses me off the most?" you turned to Kyle, who turned his crumpled face to you. "Monks and Buddhists and whoever else sits in those monasteries never keep information about anything in an informational form. And I don't relish the thought of bouncing around shrines somewhere in the mountains of Tibet looking for scrolls made of papyrus and cow shit," you muttered and hid your face in your palms, Kyle only hummed tiredly. "How am I supposed to get it out of this fucking box!"

"God only knows," Kyle said shrugging.

Your eyes widened and you pulled your hands away from your face, your head snapping up sharply. "God, ya're a genius!" you exclaimed loudly and immediately jump up from your seat. You ran over to the closet and began throwing the contents aside in search of your backpack.

"Where do you think ya're going?" Kyle asked disapprovingly getting up from his chair. You glanced at the bottom shelves of the closet, then ran to the bed and leaned over to see what was underneath. You finally found your hiking backpack underneath and without slowing down you sprinted over to the table and grabbed the cube, then headed for the exit grasping your jacket in the process. "Hey!" shouted Kyle.

You holding the handle of the already open door, finally looked up at him. "An audience with God!" you said and with a final wave of your hand to him, you slammed the door on your way out.

***

Once you were on the other side of the door to your workroom, you quickly realized in your head that there was neither time nor inclination to waste energy on the long journey. You closed your eyes and mentally pictured an office whose windows were perpetually draped with dark gray curtains, with a laptop invariably on a graphite smooth desk, a mesh pen stand, a crystal decanter with an amber-colored liquid and a pair of shiny clean glasses beside it, all framed by a pile of folders and tax documents. Behind the desk was a black office chair that looked simple and unassuming, but a single glance at the materials it was made of made it clear that it was expensive. On the walls hung graphite shelves in the tone of the desk, on which stood various books, bling, and a few live plants. The whole picture was completed by a cozy and suddenly bright couch with soft cushions. You opened your eyes and before you stood the same picture that had just been in your imagination. There was no one in the office. You walked around the desk and sat down in the chair grabbing a tiny sculpture of an Art Nouveau woman from the shelf. Your fingers slid along the curves of the sculpture and you marveled at every carefully made crease in her veil, every dimple in her skin, as if the sculptor had subdued the stone and made it as docile as clay. The distinct sharp sounds of heels on parquet were heard in the hallway, growing louder and louder. As soon as it stopped just before the door, someone turned the key and pulling the doorknob and entered the office.

"Laitta! Long time no see!" you exclaimed cordially as soon as someone turned on the light.

"WAIT!" you shrieked as she leaned over the table, her face a few inches from yours, her hand clutching your chin in anger. "It's evening; let's not force things because not everyone has left the building. We don't want anyone to get hurt, do we?" You rambled quickly making innocent eyes. The goddess hesitated for a second, but immediately released you resting your head back in the chair.

"Stand up," she commanded icily, and you obeyed.

"Okay, okay, why are ya being so prickly," you walked around the table and Laitta sat down in her chair, opened up her laptop and started doing her busy work without paying any attention to you. "Laitta," you addressed her, resting your hands on the table. There was no response. "La-a-a-aitta," you tried again deliberately drawling your vowels. Nothing again. "Laitta!" you leaned over her and shouted right in her face.

"WHAT!" she barked losing all her patience.

"I need your help," you grinned clearly pleased with your result.

"First return what you stole," she leaned back in her chair crossing her arms over her chest. "Then maybe I'll help you."

"Aren't you a little petty for a Goddess?"

"Petty!" Laitta bellowed in your direction. "You stole an item capable of moving something into the past of something with the planet's position at that time intact! Is the Atlas just another piece of bling for you?"

"What difference does it make?" you asked in bewilderment shrugging your shoulders. "You as a user of Atlas can't employ that ability of it anyway."

"I wasn't going to use it, but I need its side effect!" she exclaimed. "Look what's become of me in these few years without it," she pointed to her face. The once young, statuesque lady had turned into an older, but still statuesque woman in just a couple years. Her dark curls had turned gray, her thin graceful hands were covered in wrinkles and fine cracks, as was her face. "Still, no one, no one can use it but me. Give it back," the rage in her voice changed to a plea.

"I knew you'd beg," you sighed pulling something out of your backpack. You placed on the table an object of silver or platinum that looked a lot like a compass, except there were many times more directions on it and the circumference of that compass was clutched by an Ouroboros ¹.  Laitta grabbed the Atlas and headed for the restroom in her office, and you sat down on her desk with your eyebrows raised wondering how important it was to her. A couple minutes later a young girl appeared in the office, her black hair glistening in the artificial light of the lamp; her skin, visible from under her clothes, became thin and velvety; her dark eyes having regained their youthfulness, gained luster. "Ya know, age was good for you," you sounded a little disappointed.

"Shut up," Laitta said smiling. She was clearly pleased with her new youth and her uplifted spirits seemed to wipe away any previous rage.

"My turn," you said, clapping your hands and hopping off the table and reached into your backpack again. You took out a light cube and put it on the table.

"What is this abomination?" asked Laitta taking a second to hardly tear her gaze away from the small mirror she held in her hand and examine herself going over her curls now and then.

"There's kind of a person in there," you said with doubt in your voice because you still didn't believe that was possible. "I wish I could get him out of there."

"Is it sealed or something?" asked Laitta finally transferring her eyes from the mirror to the cube examining it. "Nah, sorry. Can't help it," she said wrinkling her nose and returning to her beauty.

"Fine," you hissed in her direction maintaining a friendly smile. "Just don't whine later when your face starts getting wrinkles and Atlas disappears again."

 "Wait," she said in a low voice watching as you already stuffed the cube into your backpack and headed for the exit. "There is one option, but I can't make any guarantees." You turned around and raised your eyebrows, signaling her to continue. "There is one place, and according to ancient rumors it could destroy any seal that was imposed. A place called Hatarat."

"And it is located..?"

"Xibalba," Laitta said looking you dead in the eyes.

"Couldn't have worked out better," you mumbled rubbing your forehead with your fingers. You weighed in your head the facts that you hadn't been able to find a shred of information in the past ten days, hadn't moved forward with your search, had a little less than nothing on your hands and decided that maybe this gamble was worth it. "So how do I get into this underworld?"

"There's more to it than that," Laitta said with a shake of her head. "For mortals still alive, the gates only open in a parade of planets. A full parade of planets."

"Incredible," you said raising your eyebrows and looking at your hand as if there was a watch on it. "The only thing left to wait for is... How long is it? 143 years?"

"You won't have to wait," the Goddess said glancing at Atlas. "I can't move myself back in time, but I can't move the rest of the people," Laitta thought rubbing her chin with her graceful fingers. Noticing your concerned look and as if reading your thoughts, she added: "Don't worry, your little hooman in the cube won't be affected by the rules of the creation. It is done without his knowledge or consent. But you," she pointed her index finger at you drilling you with her gaze. "Don't look at anyone. Don't talk to anyone. I doubt there will be any other crazies like you in that place, but don't get into anyone's memories.

"I know the rules," you said with a shake of your head.

"I hope you're ready," said Laitta holding out her hand to Atlas. "You as a fragile living matter are more likely to be torn to shreds, though."

"And what are the odds of that?"

"Ninety-ten," chirped Laitta smiling sweetly.

"Ya could have kept your mouth shut," you said rolling your eyes.

"One more thing," Laitta said rotating the Atlas's case, with each section it made a distinctive clicking sound. "You'll have exactly twenty-four hours to return to your original location, or you'll stay there forever. You need to time yourself as soon as you get there."

"Wait," you stopped her frowning your eyebrows. "Are you telling me that if I unsealed him and he and I don't make it to the original location, we'll have to spend the rest of our lives chilling in the eighties?"

"What are you, an idiot? Are you listening to what I'm even talking about?" Laitta tried to suppress you with a look. "Moving you to the past is only necessary for you to enter the gate, Xibalba itself has nothing to do with time at all, it simply doesn't exist there and you will be the only entity that has it. I told you that this is done without the knowledge and consent of the person inside the cube, he is still bound to the present moment, whether you want it or not, so after the unsealing he will be here. Not specifically in my office of course, I honestly have no idea where exactly he will deploy. The fact is, once the cube is opened you'll be alone in there. But you, stupid creature, have given your consent, so kindly return to your original location within the allotted time frame or stay dancing to Van Halen ³.

"Okay, spin your compass already," you waved her off slinging the straps of your backpack over your shoulders.

"If you make it, I'll see you back here in a second," Laitta summarized, spinning Atlas faster and faster. "And if your body still can't handle moving, I'll be scrubbing your bloody dust off the walls."

***

[3 Mar, 1982; 12:01am; Central America, somewhere in the forests of Guatemala]

Bloody hands. The first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was your bloody hands. The skin was torn in places like an old lightweight dress. You rolled up the sleeves of your irretrievably ruined sweatshirt, and reached into your backpack in search of bandages and if you were lucky, alcohol. You pulled out what you needed and clamping the fabric of the torn off sweater sleeve between your teeth, you began carelessly dousing the fresh wounds. Your hiss merged with the hiss of your skin. You spit the cloth out angrily and began bandaging your hands starting at the wrists and working your way up to your shoulders praying that there was enough white material to cover everything. As soon as the procedure was finished, you looked up and realized you were somewhere in the heart of the subtropical rainforest. In the darkness of the night, each individual twig teased you illusorily depicting living creatures to which your imagination ascribed malevolent motives. Every sound created in this place seemed to be clearer and closer than it really was. You shook your head dumping such thoughts away from your mind and moved forward across the untrodden terrain ignoring the pain in your hands.

"The deeper into the wood ya go," you muttered to yourself treading through thickets of plants and tree roots setting your phone's timer for twenty-four hours and breaking branches of bushes and trees to give yourself clues to return. You could figure out where you were, but you couldn't imagine which way to go because Laitta hadn't said a word about it. Suddenly, for some unknown reason you froze in place turning your head from side to side and staring at the darkness of the forest. The emptiness of the forest to be more precise, because you couldn't even hear the rare sounds of animals or insects anymore. The hair on the back of your neck stirred and the ground fell out from beneath your feet. Literally. The ground sprinkled like crumbs leaving a huge hollow space as if out of nowhere forming a cliff.

"Oh, shit!" you shrieked grabbing at the bare, decrepit roots of the tree, your hands responding with a sharp pain that you didn't pay attention to. You hung like that for a few minutes wondering if this was the 'gate' that Laitta had told you about. After a few more seconds, you let go of your arms and flew downward more out of excitement than fatigue.

Your body didn't feel the pain of hitting the rocky floor, but you couldn't say you'd fallen into soft cotton candy. You rose to your feet and shook yourself off, then pulled your phone out of your pocket to check the time remaining; nine hours and twenty-two minutes. What?

"It's not good to steal time," you said to someone trying to make out your surroundings. Suddenly the torches were lit illuminating the dilapidated, dark walls, water dripping down to the floor filling the room with its gurgling sound. When you turned around, you saw a narrow passage into an unlit corridor.

You walked over to one of the torches hanging on the wall and pulled it from the torchere with some force. "I'm going to need this," and then you headed straight for the hallway.

All you could hear was the sound of your footsteps and the crackling of the flames. Unfortunately for you, you felt something crawling on your skin around your waist; you quickly slipped your hand under your sweatshirt and pulled it out sharply. "Ew," you squeaked with disgust in your voice, wrinkling your nose, and when you saw that you were holding a scorpion, you shoved it away from you.

Your gaze returned to the straight road; the space of the corridor had widened considerably, flanked by horribly detailed huge sculptures of scorpions that went further into the emptiness of the corridor, which seemed to have no end. "Ya're not coming alive, are you?" you said letting out a nervous chuckle. You walked forward slowly and once you were between the two statues, you aimed the firelight at one of them; your gaze lingered on the huge stinger, you swallowed nervously and continued on your way trying not to look back. Something ran down the back of your neck and your hand automatically flicked the arthropod away from you. It was as if the corridor behind you had begun to make unpleasant, subtle noises.

As you advanced, the noise grew inexorably as if a thousand tiny jackhammers were pounding behind you. The scorpions on your body became more frequent and you realizing that the noise behind you was coming from the approaching stomping of tiny limbs rushed forward without looking back. Suddenly a sharp pain pierced your side and you pulled out a small wooden stake; the end of it was soaked with your blood mixed with something else. Glancing at the wall, you saw that there was a small hole through each statue. All you could do was curse to yourself and toss the wood aside continuing to run. Your breath hitched, your eyes became hazy, your fingertips began to go numb and before you could react, you crashed into a wall that had appeared out of nowhere.

The stomping stopped. It was unclear whether the pursuit had stopped or whether you couldn't hear anything because of the ringing in your ears. Your body was lying on the damp surface and a strange force was trying to open your eyes. Your chest ached because you felt you were missing something important. Time.

Your eyes snapped open and you jumped up. Your head was still buzzing and you looked around carefully trying to keep your balance. Even though the torch was lost, you realized that this was a completely different room. Water was running down the walls echoing in the dark room. You took a couple of cautious steps forward, then something crunched under your feet; someone's remains estimated to be about a few hundred years old looked damp as if they were still decomposing. You stepped over the corpse carefully noting that your footsteps were becoming visceral.

Your eyes had almost adjusted to the darkness; there was nothing here but four walls that was deformed in places, a few corpses, a foul odor and a single double door that looked so impregnable at first glance that it was much easier to give up and go back. The trickling of the water increased. You ran your hand along the walls near the door - nothing. As your fingers formed the familiar triangle pointing downward, an inner voice said.

      "Relocate."

 Nothing happened, but you weren't surprised: in places like this, the 'lords' make sure that no magic is used in their territories. You took a step away from the door to try to get a better look at what was around it, making a bubbling sound; you lowered your head and saw that you were standing ankle-deep - no, not in water - in a thick, dark maroon liquid.

All the while the room was filling up with blood and doing so faster and faster as time went on. As you swallowed the nausea, you looked around trying to see where the fluid was coming from. You couldn't see the mechanisms, but you could see a lever that was just below the high ceiling. There were only two options: either try to get there on your own or wait until the room was completely flooded, which seemed easier. The problem was that if the doors opened inward, the pressure in sealed room would keep them closed forever or until the room was empty again.

The blood was up to your knees. You carefully shuffling your feet through the thick of it, came to the wall where the lever was located. It was absolutely smooth, but the adjacent wall was half-destroyed and had some defects and small protrusions. Climbing up this wall to the ceiling was easy except that you turned around when you were under the ceiling. There was about couple feets between you and the lever. It's unclear what kind of hope made you reach for the lever with such force that in an instant something crunched in your shoulder; you clenched your teeth and brought your hand back to the ledge grasping it. Your fingers, wet with sweat and blood, began to slip.

"Fuck it," you shrieked quietly and gathering more air into your chest and turning your body toward the lever, you pushed your legs off the wall with force. Your hands gripped the lever awkwardly and you slipped and grabbed it erratically pulling it down toward you; as soon as it gave way with a terrible creak, you slipped and fell straight into the bloody mess.

The room emptied again after only a few seconds, but immediately filled again with your gasping coughs and spit. You tried desperately to wipe your eyes, but it seemed to make them even dirtier. After a few failed attempts you still managed to see something, and you began to slowly rise to your feet, peering through the door. "Got the joke," you drawled words grudgingly examining the sashes, which were open not to the inside of the room, but to the outside. "Funny."

You waddled toward the door holding the side of your body where the poisoned stake had been stuck earlier. The sight before your eyes took your breath away. An incredibly beautiful huge cave, the walls of which shimmered with numerous violet lights as if someone had put a spotlight on them. Giant stalactites were hanging from the vaults of the cave, which you couldn't even see; you standing on the cliff could also see the tips of the same huge stalagmites except for which you couldn't see anything. The violet sparks of the cave circled around you flying up and down as if beckoning you to go somewhere; as if bewitched, you wandered after them.

Someone shoved you in the back forcing you to come to your senses; you turned around sharply, but there was no one around, not even the purple lights and you were alone in the darkness for the umpteenth time. You stood in the middle of the stone nondescript bridge and a feeling of confusion and loneliness slowly began to fill your chest. You looked around like a small child at a crossroads trying to figure out which way to go. When you couldn't figure it out you sighed and sat down on the edge of the bridge, your feet wiggling nonchalantly.

"I take it the river of scorpions and the river of blood have already been," you addressed someone in the void. "What's next on the entertainment program?" there was a rocky cracking sound after your line, the bridge sagging. The realization struck you with a lightning bolt as if conducting a current through your body, but there was no strength left even to run; your hand gripped your inflamed side harder and you collapsed down along with the splintered structure.

The sensation of something soft and pleasant spread through your limbs. It felt weightless. You still hadn't lost consciousness, though you were close to it. Your body was sinking into something again, but it was clearly no longer blood, much less water, trying to push you to the surface; it was something much, much thicker. You'd lost your coordination in the fall and there was no way to tell which way to swim and your eyes couldn't see anything either. Quickly extinguishing your incipient panic, you began to move slowly your arms from side to side, up and down trying to catch the flow of air. After a few minutes, the oxygen in your lungs began to run out and you desperately moved to the random side doing the same manipulations with your hands. Finally, your fingertips began to blow and you raked your hands in that direction with force. As you surfaced, gulping in air mixing with that was dripping from your face, you grabbed onto something at random hastily climbing up there. Once you were on some surface, you finally lost consciousness.

      "Get up."

You feeling a long-forgotten sense of unease began to mumble something indistinctly, your hands clutching yourself tighter in your arms.

      "I SAID GET THE FUCK UP!"

You jumped up sharply grabbing your stomach with a hand that felt like it had been kicked. Realizing you were alone and he couldn't be here, you moved your hand to your chest trying to calm your racing heart. After a couple of deep inhales and exhales, you finally came fully to your senses; your gaze fell on the spot you had floated out of. A whitish liquid was spreading across the bottom of the cave changing from a dull yellow to a dark green in places. Pus.

Fully regained consciousness you grabbed your back trying to make sure that your backpack was still there; when you found it, you took off the straps and putting the backpack on your lap and undid the lock, some dire need made you check if the cube was still there. It was lying carelessly among a pile of junk, scraps of some papers, alcohol, and even a climbing rope. "Ya know, I'm expecting at least an invitation to dinner after this," you muttered and pulled out your head from backpack before tucking it behind your back and slinging it back over your shoulders, hitching the extra straps around your waist. You noticed that the bandages on your arms had turned into ragged dirty rags and threw them off. Dark energy was already splicing your wounds with thin black lines that looked like nasty worms. 

"Bestie, I hope you keep me safe from blood poisoning too because I've got it with one hundred percent probability," you addressed the dark energy as if it were alive and after standing still for a couple more seconds, you moved forward.

The next environment was something like a huge unlit hall and unlike the previous places, the floor and walls were decorated with shimmering black tiles with silver joints, and around the perimeter of the room stood what looked like animated statues of owls with burning eyes and outstretched wings. Messengers of the lords. In the middle of one of the walls there was a huge gate, whose flaps rounded sharply towards the top forming a sharp long peak. Almost the entire door was decorated with an angular but systematic ornament that was illuminated in red. Barely had the annoying thought of how to open them popped into your head as the gate leafs began to slowly open. "I don't need a lot of begging," you said heading straight for the gate.

Once you passed through it, you stepped onto a road lined with a cool blue mist that blocked all vision. Unlike the other rooms you had passed, there was no sound here, the feeling of absolute vacuum beginning to weigh on your mind. Ignoring the loss of one of your senses, you stubbornly continued on your way. Your eyes still saw everything, and everything was clear; the fog began to swirl ahead as if enveloping someone in its weightless embrace. A familiar silhouette appeared and you caught a glimpse of blue-black hair as you came closer.

"Kyle?" you asked in confusion, unable to hear your own voice. He turned around and looked at you, immediately flashed back into the mist. In absolute silence a deep, low and yet humiliating laugh began to rise from the bowels of the underworld. Remembering the lords' passion for creating artificial scarecrows to humiliate travelers who mistakenly greeted them, you could only roll your eyes.

You finally emerged from the fog and found yourself on a vortex of four roads, each of which was saying something in unintelligible whispers, but all your attention was taken by a dilapidated low pedestal that stood between two of these roads. You tsked at one of the paths whose whispers seemed the loudest and walked towards the pedestal. Once up on it, you were faced with a huge circular platform, the circumference of which was marked with diametrically opposed small gilded circles, one of which had a narrow, thin hole in it, just the same shape of your dagger's blade that was already in your hand. "Need a twist?" you thought to yourself leaning closer to the gold circle, trying to insert the dagger into the hole, but it wouldn't budge as if it had been drawn. You wrinkled your nose in bewilderment shaking the remaining dirt and dust off the circle with your hand, but it wouldn't come off. "Reflection?" you asked yourself suddenly, and lifted your head up.

Your body thudded against the surface that was supposed to be the ceiling and you hit your head hard against the floor. The room turned upside down. Your nerve endings were no longer paying attention to the countless bruises, your mind was already at home taking a warm bath and eating a delicious dinner, perhaps even at the same time; something told you that there were only a couple of steps to go.

You looked again at the large circular platform and saw that there were now numerous straight lines connected to each other inside it; the dagger was now easily inserted into the opening of the small circle, but no matter which way you turned it, nothing happened. "They could have at least included instructions," you thought indignantly looking around the pedestal for any symbols. Nothing.

The lords of Xibalba, though fearsome, were very predictable creatures. All lords wanted sacrifices, and the masters of this place took gold or blood as the myths would have it. Since you hadn't brought any jewelry with you, there was only the second option.

  ��   Slash!  

You swung the dagger sharply across your palm and directed the flowing stream straight into the hole. The red liquid filled the lines as mesmerizingly beautiful as a falling domino would be stacked. As soon as the end of the broken lines joined the beginning, the platform flashed red and went out, immediately moving aside with a deafening screech; you were back on the edge of another precipice. Isn't this the Hatarat?

The first loud click sounded, the first step leading downward appeared. The next step immediately followed with identical sounds; the rhythmic clicks that were created seemed to count down the time to something inevitable. You obediently stepped off the first step plunging into darkness.

This time you could see nothing, absolutely nothing. You were standing on a tiny and looked like moonlit piece of land. As soon as you tried to step beyond the light, someone pushed you back. You tried again, with the same result. "One," someone's murmuring voice exploded and spilled the same recent laughter in your ears and you shuddered unseen.

"What do you mean by 'one'?" you shouted in indignation. "I'm fucking alone here!" barely had you finished speaking as you quickly slurred and it came to you. You threw off your backpack and began rummaging through it looking for the cube. When you pulled it out and brought it closer to your face, you gasped in surprise: all of its facets were glowing red; you spun around in disbelief at your surroundings. "See ya, boxy," you said, smiling. "I hope it won't kill you," after which you threw the cube with force somewhere into the darkness.

The ground beneath your feet shook so violently that you fell on your back out of balance. Your body was covered with stone chips. The faint light that had illuminated you earlier went out and you were left in a darkness that your eyes could not adapt to. Praying mentally that everything had worked and you hadn't accidentally destroyed the artifact along with the person inside it, you gathered your will into a fist once again and was determined to find a way out of this cloaca.

***

After a dozen bruises, a couple of fights, and hundreds of swear words, you were standing in Laitta's office again. You'd been here just a second ago for her and she was still clutching the Atlas, but her eyes were deep in the laptop screen. Unable to say a word, you just stood there, waiting to be noticed.

"Look, the news is reporting a four-point earthquake somewhere off the east coast of Japan, supposedly a tectonic plate shift. Your doing?" she asked you sliding her eyes over the lines then shifting her gaze to you. "Ew, you look like shit."

"Screw ya," you mumbled examining your body, which was covered in dried blood and congealed pus, your clothes were torn in places and your tangled hair added to your charm.

***

You and Rachel were already lying on the workshop floor; she was on top of you pinching your skin randomly in different places not letting you move. You laughed at the ticklish sensations and cried out when Rachel put too much pressure on you. You both didn't hear the door click open because of all the fun chaos.

"Are my girls fighting again?" a low baritone crept into the workroom. You and Rachel raised your heads at the same time looking at the intruder. A portly man of advanced age, whose eyes always seemed narrow because of his cordial smile stood in the workroom doorway watching you, his eyes full of paternal love. His long gray hair was gathered in a low ponytail, his not-young face was adorned with stubble in the color of his hair. Kyle was next to him, too. You and Rachel looked at each other sharply and realizing from your angry look that questioned if she was the one who called him here, Rachel shook her head in panic. "Hey, Dad!" Rachel jumped up first and ran in his direction. "We were just talking about you!"

"Kind words, I hope?" the man asked enclosing Rachel, Kyle and the approaching you in a hug.

"I'm gonna fucking die," hissed Rachel, who had the misfortune to find herself in the middle of a bear hug.

"Here they are, my loved offspring," the man chuckled kissing each of you on the top of your head.

"Hi, Frank," you said detachedly as if resigned to your fate.

"Dad, back off, we're not little kids anymore," Kyle muttered breaking out of his embrace. "I'm going to bed."

"Raised a rude boy," Frank stretched out with a smile on his face as he watched Kyle walk up the metal stairs, then let you and Rachel go. "And I have exactly two gifts for you."

"Mommy!" squeaked someone's childish voice, and from behind Frank's broad back something redheaded and small came rushing toward Rachel nearly knocking her to the ground.

"Mike, honey!" Rachel exclaimed picking the boy up and wrapping her arms around him burying herself in his baby soft hair. You mentally noted how pleased you were that her attention had shifted from you to him.

"So, what's the second gift?" you turned to Frank with growing displeasure in your voice realizing who else he'd brought.

"Hey, Y/N-ie," a quiet voice greeted you. Hidden behind the man's broad back was also a little girl in a blue dress, and she was covered in freckles from top to bottom, her small hands shyly clutching a sheet folded in half to her chest.

"Hey, my little bun," you greeted her softly in return gently picking her up in your arms and carrying her towards the bed that Rachel and Mike were settled on. "Tris, give me and Grandpa Frank two minutes and I'll be sure to look at what you brought, 'kay?

"Okay," Tris nodded her head clutching the sheet to her chest even tighter. Setting her down on the bed, you headed towards Frank and jerked him into the bathroom forcefully but still quietly slamming the door behind you.

You gave the gray-haired man a fierce look. "Frank, what the hell are you doing here? What are you bringing the kids here for?" you hissed at him trying to keep your voice steady.

"Are ya gonna burst or something if ya ever call me dad?" Frank looked down at you crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't ya dare change the subject!"

"Look, ya didn't even come to Hopetown for Christmas," Frank said shrugging, disappointment flashing across his face for a second and a needle of guilt stabbing into your chest. "So I decided to bring Mike and Tris to you at least, if only for a little while."

"Frank, I'm sorry, I really am. But you know it's very dangerous out here," you ran your hands through your hair and put your arms around your shoulders as if trying to reassure yourself.

Big hands gently touched your cheeks and you looked up at Frank, your eyes widening with worry. "Have you forgotten who your father is? I can give you all a head start still," and at the same time he pulled you against his chest, and you nuzzled your nose into it letting out a relieved exhale.

You would have been happy to pamper your soul further while you were stroked through your hair like a little girl, spitting and forgetting about all the misfortunes, but the sense of responsibility nurtured from childhood made you pull away and retreat a couple steps. "Ya take the kids tomorrow and you're going back to Hopetown," with that said you left the bathroom.

When you went back into the workroom, Rachel shushed you, even though you didn't make a sound. You raised your eyebrows in surprise, but when you saw Mike and Tris laid comfortably on your bed you nodded understandingly. Such a long ride to your place could take a lot out of even the naughtiest of children. You glanced at Frank and Rachel gesturing for them to go to sleep and after they had quietly left the room, you moved closer to the bed. As you adjusted the blanket and wrapped the little bodies tighter, your gaze fell on the bedside table; the same folded sheet laid on it that Tris had been carefully cradling. You sat down beside the bed and unfolded it carefully, and before your eyes was something blotchy and bright, made up of all sorts of shades of blue and purple with dull yellow incongruous stars sprinkled all over it. "So much for the cosmos," the warmth spilling into your chest came out of your mouth with a soft, quiet laugh that you tried to extinguish with your head tucked into the sheet.

The next afternoon as the sun was setting, you walked down the hallway toward the kitchen trying to hold on to the pile of paper bags that contained the groceries mixed with some medications you had just bought. Finally dumping it all on the dining room table, you opened the refrigerator and started filling the emptied contents grabbing Mike who was crawling from the kitchen unit to the refrigerator and putting him back on the floor; once the groceries were spread out on the shelves of the refrigerator, you opened the top drawer to put the medications in there, while changing the coffee cup someone had left in front of Tris' nose, which she was already reaching for with her little hands, for orange juice. "Keep an eye on them," you said to Frank grabbing the only unopened paper bag.

You grinned softly as you watched your students and older hunters pair up with students from the Tokyo magical college, probably having just finished eating dinner in the canteen walked out of the left door of the living room. Stepping onto the threshold of the living room and gathering all your courage into a fist, you headed towards the right door that led to the infirmary.

Your quiet footsteps were all that could be heard in the lighted corridor of the infirmary and with each step you took as you approached the room where Megumi and the white-haired sorcerer were lying your confident gait became slower and more awkward. There was no point in delaying the inevitable, so you stopped at the wall right next to the open door and drew in more air clutching the paper bag tighter to your chest.

Just as you wanted to step out from around the corner, you heard quiet negotiations; you shook your head in bewilderment. Had Megumi woken up? You appeared on the threshold crashing into two pairs of eyes. Both were sitting on Gojo's bed talking quietly about something, but as soon as they saw you, they immediately fell silent. "Oh?" you smiled, tilting your head slightly to the side. "So the reunion has already happened after all. It's a shame, because I wanted it to be a little more festive," you looked at infirmary's surrounding.

There was an awkward silence. After a few seconds, the headmaster got up from the bed coughing meaningfully. "Well, I don't want to lose my lunch muffins, so... I'll leave you two alone. Y/N," he nodded his head in farewell and you watched him going away, puzzled because his room was in the other direction.

Turning your head, you met the sorcerer's gaze. Not sure where to begin, you waved your hand gently. "Hey."

"Hey," he averted his gaze, fiddling with his fingers.

Exhausted from the growing awkwardness, you not knowing where to start until then decided to start with what you held in your hand. "Uh, anyway... I've got apples, peaches, orange and cherry juice in here," a smile grew on Gojo's face as you listed and he bit his lip. "There's also a mochi here. With green tea, chocolate and mango," the sorcerer stopped smiling and his already large eyes rounded with shock and you laughed. "Don't look at me like that. Your students served ya up on a plate," you walked over to his bedside table and carefully set the paper bag down all the while feeling the stare but somehow not feeling uncomfortable about it. "This is my apology for yesterday's uh, incident. I acted impulsively."

"Hey! Just an apology?" suddenly the quiet sorcerer was suddenly as loud as everyone had described him to be. "And here I was beginning to think someone actually cared about me." He turned away from you pouting his lips making you laugh once again.

"And I never said that was the only reason," you never saw the look on Gojo's face as you moved towards the unconscious Megumi. You walked over to the boy and running your fingers gently over his forearms, took his hand examining it; the dark energy was now painted in chaotic dark lines only at his fingertips. "There, he's feeling much better now, so he should wake up soon." Wrapped up in your thoughts of Megumi, you didn't even hear Gojo walk up close to you; turning around, a whistle escaped your lips. You'd never viewed him this close and full-length before not counting that incident when you saw nothing but a red veil; you jokingly raised your head covering your eyes with the palm of your hand as if protecting them from the sunlight. "Mister, isn't it blowing hard out there?"

Not looking up from another thousandth joke about his height, Gojo laughed softly sitting down on the couch at Megumi's feet. "Nah, it's not blowing," he wrapped his long fingers around his chin cocking his head as if in thought. "Though, pipsqueaks can really be kinda hard of hearing."

"We never introduced ourselves to each other," you held out your hand to him looking at him unflinchingly.

He felt either awkward or embarrassed under your gaze; hastily and invisibly clutching the sheets in his hands, Gojo tried to wipe away the sweat that protruded on his palms all the while feeling his cheeks grow warm, but he still extended his hand in return and you shook hands. "Gojo. Gojo Satoru."

"Y/N. Just Y/N," even though your lower face wasn't visible Gojo could feel how bright you were smiling at him taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"Well, Y/N," he swallowed quietly, feeling the warmth radiating from you and if you hadn't been in the room, Gojo felt like he would have slapped himself to come to his senses. "How much more do you know about me?"

"Let me see," you sat on the couch and started to dangle your feet. Even though the beds in the infirmary were quite high themselves, Gojo still had his hand over his mouth pretending to just lean on it, even though he was trying not to laugh. "You're kind of an arrogant creature who doesn't recognize anyone's authority, but with your power it's forgivable," you said, crooking one finger. "You have a heap of altruism in you just so long as nothing goes against your selfish desires," you crooked a second finger. "You're a very light sleeper, I don't think that point needs explaining," you bent a third finger. "You're a fan of ridiculously expensive shirts," you curved your fourth finger. "You also go to the dentist every two months to get another cavity treated because you love sweets too much," you curved the last finger on your hand. "And you also get drunk from one glass of wine," you added and though you really wanted to continue you were afraid you'd be considered a stalker.

"Wow," his voice sounded very quiet for some reason. "And you really remembered all that?"

"Of course I did," you shook your head and grinned staring at him. "I'm a manipulator," he stared at you wide-eyed for a couple seconds then the chamber filled with your soft, seemingly melded laughter. As you laughed, you looked him over with an elusive concern. "But more importantly, how are ya feeling?"

"Wonderful," he crooned looking at you the way professional liars do. He appreciated your skeptical look and realizing the attempt had failed, continued to reassure you. "Really, I'm fine. Sometimes weird thoughts pop into my head, but it's happened before," he smiled awkwardly his eyes fixed on the floor and he clasped his fingers together.

Your conscience gnawed at you for invading his personal space enough already. Suppressing the urge for further questioning and casting a glance behind your back at Megumi, you turned back to Gojo. "Just try not to be alone right now."

Loneliness. The curse or freedom that had followed him all his life, neither letting him fall normally nor fly high constantly keeping him between heaven and earth. "But I have no one to go to," he thought to himself, for the first time not finding the courage to say it out loud.

"Y/N-ie?" a thin voice made you look up. A little girl stood on the doorstep having changed from yesterday's blue dress to a light purple one.

You grinned and patted her knee gently beckoning her over and letting her know you weren't the least bit angry that she was walking around the huge house alone again. "There's my little tail," you picked her up, kissing her on the temple, making Tris giggle uncontrollably. When she calmed down, she immediately stared with her dark eyes at the white-haired man. "Tris, this is Gojo Satoru, the strongest sorcerer alive," you dramatically and meaningfully expressed his status causing his cheeks to warm again; afterward you glared at Gojo. "Gojo, this is Tris, my uh- my daughter," you stammered a bit as you stipulated her status, for which you mentally slapped yourself on the forehead. 

Gojo stared at you in amazement then furrowed his eyebrows incredulously. "Aren't you a little young for the role of mommy?"

"Why, do ya wanna figure it out?" there was a teasing challenge in your voice and you moved a little toward him.

"Yes! I mean N-NO! I mean- Oh my god," Gojo started to stutter and immediately hid his flushed face in his hands. You and Tris sat there looking at him with a look of satisfaction at your prank even though the girl didn't understand what just happened and was just copying your behavior.

"You didn't conceive Megumi at thirteen, did you?" Gojo was even more confused by your question, but when he realized what you were getting at, he pulled his face away from his hands and looked at you raising his eyebrows; you only nodded in response.

"Are we going to watch the Iron Giant?" Tris interjected into the conversation.

"Hmm, are we gonna watch this cartoon for the hundredth time?" you cocked your head as if pondering even though you already knew your answer; dark eyes were looking down at you expectantly. "Of course we'll watch it. Wanna join?" you turned towards the sorcerer again. "Or grown men don't watch cartoons?"

"Gladly," he said carefully hiding a smile. Picking up Tris, you headed into the living room and this time you got another tail.

***

Two elderly men sat in the kitchen sipping hot blueberry tea and watching the three of you on the couch in front of the TV. You and Gojo were sitting close together and Tris kept talking restlessly between you piling pillows around you and trying to get comfortable on either you or the sorcerer. Gojo seemed to be making jokes all the time and after another joke you pinched his nose instead of laughing causing him to let out a disgruntled squeak pursing his lips playfully. "They seem to be getting along quite well," Frank turned to Principal Jaga not taking his eyes off of you.

The headmaster hummed skeptically setting his cup aside. "That restless one gets along pretty well with everyone. As long as they don't get in his way. Anyway, I'm glad he can exhale a little now after everything," Frank sighed restlessly at the principal's words wondering when that opportunity would fall to you as well and the principal certainly noticed it. "So... demons?"

"Well, you could say that," Frank smiled shrugging his shoulders. "A good half of what's said about them in any of the sources is true except..." the gray-haired man faltered, unsure of how to present the information staring first at the end credits of the cartoon you and Gojo were watching then looking up at the night sky through the living room window. "Except they're not of mythological origin. And we call them dioreacts."

The principal furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Frank, but exploded into a low cackle a couple minutes later. "Aliens? Are you serious now?"

Carrying a soiled popcorn dish and hearing the last part of the conversation, you couldn't help but intervene. "What's the matter? Have ya always seen aliens as green little men with mustaches on their heads?"

"No, it's just... Extraterrestrial intelligent life exists after all?" the principal shook his head in disbelief squinting his eyes.

Having put the dishes in the sink, you turned around and leaned against the kitchen unit; Gojo sat down next to Frank and he seeing that you were without Tris, gave you a questioning look. "She wore us out pretty well and fell asleep on the couch. Don't ya dare wake her up," you pointed your index finger threateningly at Frank realizing that if she woke up it would be up to you to entertain her; you then focused your attention on the headmaster. "After all, in the concept of 'extraterrestrial intelligent life' we only understand one word: extraterrestrial. What 'life' is and what 'intelligent' is for some reason no one is in a hurry to explain. So yes, to deny its existence just because it is beyond our comprehension is rather silly."

"But how did they end up on Earth?" the Director asked and you could tell by the look on his face that he still took you for crazy.

"We have no idea why they suddenly began their space expansion. Maybe because of some threat, maybe somewhere in their world they had already evolved to the point where they had nothing left to do but conquer space to keep their evolution from stalling." You scratched your temple thoughtfully and stared up at the night sky. "It's also unclear where they came from, whether from another star system, another dimension, some parallel worlds, another fabric of space-time or Balk ⁴, but either way, there's two pieces of news, good and bad," you perked up, and walked over to the table and sat down across from Gojo who had been listening intently to you all this time. "First and good, they can't interact with us outside of the human body in any way, and neither can we with them. We simply don't have such senses, but the bad one... The bad one sounds exactly the same, but with a different implication. They're infesting people's bodies nonstop. And all this makes us think that they really left their homeland in a hurry because of some danger, and now having found themselves here and having found a shelter in a human body they want to settle here."

Gojo clicked his teeth, something dark and unfamiliar in his eyes. "Why don't they live in peace? We humans are friendly enough creatures."

"It's just that unlike Earth creatures who have an aquatic basis for life, they have it tied to human blood plasma. In large quantities. But they eat us because we're delicious, I guess," you tightened your lips at the unpleasantness of this conversation.

"How is that possible?" the principal asked. "I mean, it's human bodies that they're inhabiting, so they're an earthly life form now, too."

"There is nothing earthly and much less human in them after fusion because the atoms in their molecules have been reshaped and rearranged," you stated flatly, your voice as if it had turned metallic. "By combining certain atoms in a certain sequence we get a structure with properties that a simple bunch of the same atoms don't have, and the name of that structure is a molecule. The basis of life is not somewhere out there at the level of individual atoms, it is higher. The basis of life is molecular. Now try to swap at least two atoms in molecules and living matter having lost its emergent⁵ property will immediately become inanimate turning a human being into a corpse. Now imagine when the Diomorphea having appeared on this planet, began to collide with humans, either completely accidentally or completely intentionally provoking fusion; How many people were killed while the Diomorphea was trying to find the right configuration of atoms with which to exist?         

Gojo tilted his head to the side, which made his hair stick out even shaggier, reached out to you and snapped his fingers in front of your nose bringing you out of your information trance. "Diomorphea? What the hell kind of pokemon is that?"    

"So-called core. According to the information gathered over thousands of years, the hunters came to the conclusion that all dioreacts used to be something whole, but at the first successful fusion they split into pieces, God only knows how many," you kept looking at the sorcerer trying to stifle the urge to ruffle his hair. "So, the Diomorphea is the core or the first dioreact, ya name it. And there's a suspicion that it's the one that's somehow directly involved in the fusion of all the other split-off dioreacts, otherwise, if every dioreact could conduct a fusion we would all be dropping like flies without explanation."

Gojo hummed propping his head up with both hands. Although he showed genuine interest, his eyes were involuntarily sleepy and he desperately tried to blink away the drowsiness causing his long white lashes to flutter. A mesmerizing sight. "Given the nature of our work, it's strange that we've never encountered them."

"We'll take that as a compliment," you chirped swinging your leg, and your bare foot grazed his equally bare ankle. Casually tapping the table with awkward fingertips and pretending that none of this had just happened, you leaned back further into the back of your chair. "Yeah, and if you've encountered them, it's unlikely ya paid attention. Unless you could feel the effect of the uncanny valley, only instead of disgust and fear ya'd feel an uncontrollable rising sense of anxiety. No one's had that?" you looked around the table at everyone and seeing the headmaster and Gojo shake their heads negatively, you shrugged. "No wonder, ya people are unusual too," suddenly looking up and remembering that you should be somewhere else right now, you added. "Actually, not all dioreacts are bad. Some of them blend into the normal human rhythm of life, and just a couple dozen of them are of great help to us. We owe them a lot, because they told almost everything we know because now even though all dioreacts are divided, they are still a single organism and they see, hear, and feel everything that others see, hear, and feel. The name of such dioreacts is insiders," you jumped up from your chair grabbing your phone off the kitchen counter.

Frank, looking around in confusion and trying to catch a glimpse of your flailing figure looked visibly perturbed. "And where do ya think you're going, young lady?"

"Meet the insider, he texted me," you shouted already from the hallway sitting on a chair and putting on your socks.

"Actually, we contact the insiders ourselves for security purposes!" the indignation in Frank's voice grew with every word uttered, his low voice making the dishes on the table almost shake.

"Really?" you blurted out sarcastically, hoping he would hear it. "And for what purpose did you disable our house's security protocol then?"

Frank couldn't take it anymore, he snorted in indignation standing up from the table so abruptly that the chair beneath him fell over, and headed toward you out into the hallway. "Did I have to make Tris and Mike cut their hands open to give your artificial intelligence their blood for examination?" the tone of his voice sounded like you wanted to leave as soon as possible. "Ya do realize this is a trap, don't you?"

"Well, or the information is so urgent that the insider just doesn't have time to wait for us to deign to contact him. Come on, this one's been tried and tested over the years," you gibbered hastily pulling on your sneakers. "Otherwise, this is such an obvious trap that I'm going to fall for it purely on principle! That's it, I'm out of here," with that you gave Frank a quick hug and dashed out the door that led to the basement floor.

To your surprise, you heard the sound of rushing footsteps behind you. Gojo remembering his past experience didn't dare to grab your hand again. Luckily for him, you finally descended the metal stairs and turned around and seeing your face once again, all the words he wanted to say flew out of his head. "Well, uh— take care," he smiled nonchalantly tucking his hands into his pockets.

"As always," you nodded your head smiling back and examining his endlessly mussed hair. "I apologize in advance," you reached out with a hand, briefly but gently ruffling the snow-white hair. "Gosh, even softer than I thought," you squeaked and whether from haste or embarrassment ran out the huge metal door, leaving Gojo utterly confused, alone with his suddenly feverish heart.

Two days later, you were insanely happy to hear the usually annoying beep of the key card because it meant you were home. Your split eyebrow was almost healed and there were only a couple of minor bruises on your body. As you passed through the metal door, you noted the absence of the white room; the security protocol was still disabled, and therefore Frank was still here. He was right after all, this was all just another trap and the insider who'd been feeding you information for years was dead, but you'd rather eat your own pinky than admit that to him.

It was so late that you were sure that the whole house was asleep with its occupants, but feeling terribly hungry and remembering that there was nothing in the refrigerator in your workroom, you headed for the metal staircase trying to keep the sound of your footsteps in the quietest range. Finally, after turning the doorknob and closing it carefully behind you, you carelessly but also quietly kicked off your sneakers and went straight to the kitchen in total darkness.

When you reached the corner of the kitchen around the corner where the dining table and the refrigerator were located you heard a strange commotion. You listened leaning against the doorjamb, your hand in a dark haze ready to grab your dagger. The quiet creaks of the wooden table, the rustling of clothes and suddenly the sounds of kissing. Hearing it, you wrinkled your nose in confusion. Had Rachel really started bringing lovers into this house? The black haze from your hand disappeared immediately; after thinking about it some more, you hummed contentedly but quietly thinking that maybe it was Kyle who had finally found someone, but still remaining creepily annoyed by the fact that they weren't doing it in a more private place. "Nuh-uh, I told you," a teasing male voice made the already immobile you literally freeze in place. "No kissing on the lips, we've talked about this a thousand times."

He was answered by an equally teasing, languid foxy voice. "What's the matter? Are you saving yourself for the one?" you squinted your eyes and tried to rack your brain to remember anyone in this house with a voice like that.

"I don't see any point in exchanging spittle," Gojo barely finished the sentence as you stepped out from around the corner a bit to check that your hearing wasn't deceiving you. No, that's right. Two half-naked bodies pressed against each other on your dining table. Sorcerer pulling away from the woman began unbuttoning her blouse. "Are you sure you want to do this here?"

You stood still and not knowing what to do, watched their actions with completely blank eyes swallowing a disgusting lump of feelings that tasted more like a dirty floor cloth soaked in rotten blood. If only your legs had been buzzing with fatigue a few minutes ago, now even your head ached. The heavy chains that had shackled your heart long before and had loosened their grip over time, clenched it with renewed vigor.

 "Oh, come on!" she giggled pressing her naked thighs against his waist. "Those saints are all sound asleep by ten o'clock at night."

"Then spread your legs a little wider," Gojo grinned finally unbuttoning her blouse and exposing the last of what was hidden.

You flicked the switch, and the light spread across the room just as quickly as your patience was wearing thin. "Not everyone," your face now had a good-natured expression on it instead of blank eyes. "When I told ya not to be alone, I didn't mean it like that, ya know," Gojo pulled away from the girl abruptly and looked at you apparently swallowing.

You didn't forget for a second why you'd come here and you strode lightly past them and straight to the refrigerator. Opening it, you appraised the contents with a glance. "I don't judge people for their kinks, but if ya want to fuck in this house find a more private place."

"We'll remember that," the girl chirped giving you a sly look; still prostrate on the table, she playfully covered her bare breasts with the fabric of her blouse. You grabbed a carton of chocolate milk and slammed the refrigerator door shut and because of your unpleasant emotions, you didn't even notice the sorcerer standing next to you barely moving his parched lips as if he were struggling to get a single word out.

"Or at least not on this table," you tapped your knuckles on the wooden surface next to her white-gray mussed hair. "Because we eat here from time to time. Although, if you're going to eat her out, then I don't even have an objection," you were still keeping a friendly attitude, but it seemed to Gojo that you were literally spitting those words in his face and it also seemed to him that he really deserved it.

You were a moment away from leaving the room, but suddenly you heard the click of the door to the infirmary. You jerked open the refrigerator door and stood across from the two half-naked figures even though you realized that the refrigerator door and your size would not hide the outrage. The next unfamiliar faces were in the room and you slammed the door shut with force barely concealing your irritation.

A woman appeared at the door, a white medical coat draped over her shoulders; her tired look suggested that she was of the same profession. An old man came out behind her. She gave you a look that expressed nothing but a desire to go to bed. "What's going on here?"

"I could ask ya the same question," you waved your hands. "Who are you?"

"Shoko Ieiri, a doctor at Tokyo Magic College."

"Great, that says a lot," you said not hiding the irony bubbling in your voice. You glanced over at the bald old man standing next to her with the ridiculously long beard; you couldn't see his eyes from under his thick gray eyebrows. All of his ears were pierced in completely different places, the jewelry in them playing in the light. The old man seemed to be smaller than you were tall. "And what kind of fossil is that?" the girl behind you burst into laughter, though to you the whole situation was so absurd that it was no longer possible to keep yourself in check.

Shoko cast a glance at the old man before directing her eyes at you and if it weren't for the circumstances you would managed to note that you were crazy about her mole under her eye already. "As of late, our higher-up. Yoshinobu Gakuganji.

"Bring him back to the dig," dropping that phrase, you walked out of the room closing the door with such force that plaster sprinkled from the walls.

You were coming down the stairs to the workroom, one of your hand clutching a carton of hard-won chocolate milk, the other typing an angry message to Frank barely hitting to spell.

[11:57pm] You: I've only been gone for two days so bother explaining why the fuck some obscure doctor paired with a walking antique is walking around freely in our house and someone is fucking on our damn dinner table

next ⊳

Chapter notes:

Xibalba – the underworld of the Maya peoples

Ouroboros – a snake eating its own tail; one of the oldest symbols known to mankind. Representation of eternity and infinity, the cyclical nature of life

Van Halen - famous American hard rock band of the 80s.

Bulk - long story short, massive bodies like stars, planets and black holes bend space in the vicinity of themselves, roughly speaking in this form woosh ◡ (you can say 'push down'), space cannot be pushed into nowhere, so Bulk that's the theoretical place where space can be pushed

Emergence - the presence of properties in the system that are not inherent in its components individually; irreducibility of the properties of the system to the sum of the properties of its components (imagine that someone methodically and repeatedly throws a bunch of stones into the air and after each throw there is a non-zero probability that the stones will fall on each other in a certain way forming a certain structure and this structure will have its own set of properties that the pile of stones itself does not possess. For example if once the stones fall so that they form a house (it sounds stupid but this is just an example) it will have properties like protection from rain wind animals etc)

PHEW THIS ONE WAS HARD

[runawaymun]

If no one else has asked yet - I need to know about "MGME except it’s my OC from my sci fi novel."

This is just a really intriguing concept!

AHHHHHH yes I was really hoping someone would ask about this. While I love all my OCs obvi this one is my big blorbo from this particular project.

Ask me about my not-yet-written-fics from this list

MGME except it's my OC from my sci fi novel

so, this OC is very much Elrian coded. Or rather, she's a very similar character, I guess? That was actually one of my concerns while writing Stars -- to make them two distinctly different characters.

she comes from a very similar background to Elrian actually, just in a sci fi context and from a very different cultural set.

The other important thing to note here is that my sci fi has fantasy elements, and the OC's main culture is polytheistic. Her specific house worships a deity that's meant to grant immortality and prophetic dreams -- at great cost.

This OC has a lot of prophetic dreams.

Unlike Elrian, she does not have an Elrond figure to help her get out of her shithole of a life. She has to do that all by herself.

But of course I got to thinking haha what if she had Elrond.

And then I was like--- hold on, wait a second.....wait.... what if...

The main isekai force here are her dreams. I'm thinking like, her actual physical self is retained in her world but she gets transported into Middle Earth

Language barrier obvs because I'm a sucker for language barriers.

Elladan and Elrohir find her and are like "???? random???? woman/young girl (I have not decided at what point in her life she gets transported. The book series follows her life from about the age of fourteen up until her late thirties. My one stipulation is that she probably needs to have zero of her kids that she has yet). Anyway Elladan and Elrohir don't speak her language obvs and she's just like "well this is a werd af dream what the fuck."

They figure if anyone will know what she's speaking or at least what language root it is, their dad will.

So off to Rivendell they go.

(There is an alternate version of this actually because I can't decide between the two of her getting transported to the second age and having a much younger Elrond -- and this being set in Lindon and Gil-Galad's court, which I think would play off of this OC's backstory in very interesting ways....)

let's go with that because it's more interesting. The only further fun part of the Rivendell branch is just more of SOL and the weird dream back-and-forth.

But there are several cultural misunderstandings that can actually come from her being in Lindon around Gil-Galad because she comes from a god-king culture (and is, in fact, a crucial member of her particular god-king's household who is, you guessed it, striving for immortality and has so far succeeded. This is like.... a numenor situation? basically? I think that's the closest comparable situation).

I do love the idea of younger Elrond trying so very hard to learn her language and connect with her and figure out where tf she belongs.

And basically, when she goes to sleep in her world she's transported to middle earth, and when she goes to sleep in middle earth she wakes up in her world

And there's just this awful back and forth and it's very jarring and hard on her because her life in her world fucking sucks

And honestly I would love for her to find a way to stay in Middle Earth.

But basically it's an excuse for some magic, and my good ol fav trope of 'healing from trauma and learning to trust' -- and also I feel like once she and Elrond get to a point where they're able to speak in a broken mish-mosh of each other's languages there's potential for her to absolutely spill her guts because she still thinks this is a dreamscape.

which is great for her because this character is INCREDIBLY angry and INCREDIBLY traumatized and she bottles up all of her emotions.

I have not worked out how I get her to stay in middle earth though. That's the problem. Unless she makes some kind of deal with the Valar or something idk?

I am probably not explaining this well this one is soooo vague. It mostly consists of conversations between this OC and Elrond and a heck of a lot of cultural miscommunication and assumptions about things.

but she would hate Gil-Galad she would hate him sooooo much haha

poor Elrond trying to explain that Gil-Galad is actually really cool and not a god-king wtf

also there's that fun aspect of like. The house she works for is attempting to achieve immortality at any cost (and murdering a fuck ton of people to do it) and THESE people are immortal???????? Who did YOU guys murder to do it?????? hello?????

I'm rambling.

Thank you for coming to my incredibly nebulous "there's no plot here" tedtalk.

In conclusion

[whumpbug]

HI GUYS!! it's here as promised. a lovely anon wrote a fanfic with my lovely boys so be sure to go read that first BUT

i wanted to add on to it so show my appreciation and also because it was just such a cute fic! it got a bit long so i hope u enjoy! it's a christmas fic in july bc Why Not

(also the details of Archie's #1 Worst Injury can be found here)

ONTO THE FIC! (pls ignore hospital and medical inaccuracies shhh its for the plot)

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

Archie’s closed eyelids twitched when the steady, constant beeping flooded into his senses and roused him from a deep sleep.

He groaned softly.

It was unpleasant, sure, but he’d live. No, what was really bothering him was how it felt to breathe.

Every breath was an effort. His chest felt tight-- like someone was sitting right on top of it. His lungs felt weak. His body felt weak, which was not something he was used to feeling. He grimaced.

“Hey,” A soft voice murmured. “You awake?”

Simon.

Suddenly, Archie was aware of two hands clasped around his own. One of them reached up to sweep the hair from his face.

Archie opened his eyes.

Immediately, the light felt like an icepick driving through his skull. He must have let out a really pitiful noise, because Simon all but rushed to half-close the blinds. 

“Thanks..” He croaked, finally squinting around at his surroundings.

Right. He was at the hospital. Something about a pneumothorax, whatever that meant. All Archie knew was that he was shot in the lung, and that didn’t typically end well.

A quick glance down told him that at least the chest tube had been removed at some point. That was probably why he was struggling to breathe a bit. Still, it meant he was improving, and that was all he could ask for.

He lazily turned his head to face Simon, who was fiddling with the window, but something caught his eye.

On the table beside him, there was an assortment of various little things. A handful of lollipops, some cookies, a stuffed bear, a well-worn novel-- all things he did not remember bringing in with him.

“Si--” His voice broke off in a rasp. He winced.

Simon was at his side in an instant, pressing a straw to his lips. Archie drank gratefully.

“Simon,” He repeated. “What’s all this stuff?”

A hint of a smile flashed across Simon’s face, and he took a seat beside Archie.

“Last night, one of the nurses stopped by.” He picked up a cookie and took a bite before handing one to Archie. “He came with a bunch of other patients--kids you’ve saved. They wanted to share some holiday spirit.”

Now the smile was really creeping up on Simon’s face. He picked up one of the lollipops.

“These are from a little girl named Quinn. Said you saved her grandma, Emily, once?”

Archie’s face lit up through chews of his cookie. “I remember Emily! I still see her around sometimes. I didn’t know she had a granddaughter!”

“Mhm.” Simon picked up the book. “This is from a boy named Temo. Sci-fi.”

Archie grabbed the book with a shaking hand and let out a tiny gasp. “The Journey to Planet 56?! I’ve been wanting to read this series forever!”

“Yeah well, the kid really wanted you to have it. He said you saved his brother.”

Archie smiled, feeling his chest swell with pride. He glanced at the teddy bear, noticing that it was sitting partially aside from the rest of the items. He tilted his head.

“And that one?”

Simon blushed, almost imperceptibly. “A little girl named Esperanza gave it to me.. She uh.. She thanked me. For saving you.”

Even though he was trying to hide it, Archie could see how much it meant to Simon. He was holding the little bear close to his chest now, like he was scared it would be taken away from him.

“Awww Simon! Just for you? That’s so sweet!” Archie cooed, smiling even harder at the blush that creeped up on his friend’s cheeks.

“Whatever..” But the little bear remained nestled in Simon’s arms.

Finally, Simon leaned over and placed a red-wrapped box with a note on the bed beside Archie.

“This was from all of them, they said, but a girl named Natalie was the one who wrapped it and all. She said you knew her as Nathan?”

“Nathan.. hmm..” Archie tilted his head before perking up a bit. “Yeah, I remember! Car crash, right? She was really shaken up after.”

“She said you sat with her for a while.”

“I did! At least until the paramedics came. I’m glad she’s alright.”

“Well, this gift was from her and everyone else. I have no idea what it is. I didn’t want to open it until you woke up.”

Archie tilted his head curiously. “Hmm.. Help me sit up so I can open it?”

Simon wordlessly got up and hooked an arm around Archie’s shoulders, gently guiding him to sitting with the help of the motorized hospital bed. Archie fought tears at the pulls of pain the new position brought, but soon, he was finally upright.

“You alright?” Simon murmured, noticing the sudden pallor of his friend’s face and taking his hand in his own and running his thumb along his knuckles.

Archie squeezed his eyes shut. “Hng.. I’m fine. Just.. hurts a little bit. It’s fine. Hand me the box?”

Simon pressed a quick kiss to Archie’s forehead and carefully set the box in his friend's lap. Simon didn't say anything, but Archie could see from the look in his eyes that, he too, was dying of anticipation. Archie huffed a small laugh.

He turned his attention to the box, and with a bated breath, he slowly began to untie the bow and remove the wrapping paper. 

He had to dig through some tissue paper, but eventually, it revealed.. some folded fabric? He lifted an eyebrow and raised the cloth up to see what it was. 

It looked like a jumpsuit-- made of breathable, stretchy material that was still relatively thick for how mobile it looked. And then Archie saw it. The little “V” symbol right in the middle of the chest. Simon must have noticed it too, because his face broke out into a slight grin.

“Jeez.. A new suit? You’re getting spoiled over here, Archie,” He teased. He crouched down to pick up the tattered bundle of fabric that was Archie’s old suit-- something he had put together when he first started as Vigil and mended ever since. He was due for a replacement for sure.

Archie’s gaze flitted from the old suit to the shiny new one in his hands and suddenly, the dam broke. Tears poured from his eyes and he lowered his head.

“Aw Archie… don’t cry,” Simon laughed, dropping the suit and rushing over to cup Archie’s face. “This was supposed to make you happy.”

Archie sniffled. “I am happy!”

More sobs overtook him and he held the suit close, not caring that it brushed against the wound in his chest.

No, at that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the pain, not the fear, not the discomfort. All he could think about was the love he felt. It was the kind of love that wrapped every inch of the body in a warm embrace. It was almost overwhelming.

Simon’s hand was gently rubbing circles into Archie’s back. “Merry Christmas, Archie.”

Archie sniffled and leaned close to Simon, resting his head against his chest. “Merry Christmas..”

The rest of the day went by in a pain medicine-induced blur. They watched Home Alone 1 and 2 together. Archie idly read his new book while Simon worked on some homework, but after a while, sitting up hurt so Simon laid him down and read aloud to him.

Unfortunately, it seemed even Simon had limits when it came to sleep deprivation. Archie was alerted to this by the sudden lack of reading. A quick glance over revealed Simon, slumped over in the chair with his head lolling forward, breathing evenly. The book was gripped loosely in his hands. Archie smiled sadly.

“Psst. Simon. Wake up,” He whispered.

Simon’s head snapped up with an adorable “huh?” and he blinked the grogginess from his eyes. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay. You’re tired. You should take a nap. The armchair pulls out to a little cot! It’s not very comfy, but you can barely stay awake. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Simon pursed his lips and rubbed his face in contemplation. “Yeah. Yeah okay. Just for a few hours. Wake me up if you need anything--” He gripped Archie’s shoulder-- “and I mean anything at all. Okay?”

Archie smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll probably get some sleep too.”

Simon nodded and grabbed the thin, scratchy blanket from the couch and curled up in it, burrowing his face into his arm that was being used as a pillow.

Archie waited a minute.

Then two. 

Then five.

And finally, he heard the soft, sleepy breaths coming from Simon on the couch. Finally out.

Now it was time to enact the plan.

Slowly, painfully, Archie used the side guardrails of the hospital bed to pull himself to sitting. The process was arduous and agonzing, and he had to bite his lip in order to not cry out in pain, but eventually he was sitting up with his legs over the side of the bed. A quick glance at Simon told him he had succeeded in not waking his sleeping friend.

He didn’t like sneaking around Simon. Something about it didn’t feel right, but Simon would never let him be out of bed this early into recovery, and there was something Archie really had to do.

He grabbed the little note from the bedside table and put on a surgical mask to hide his face.

Go time.

The first steps he took were rough. He had to use the wall as support as he inched his way out of the room. He thanked his lucky stars that he had enhanced hearing, because it made hiding from the nurses much easier (but no less painful, unfortunately).

Finally, after some maneuvering and sneaking a peek at the hospital room numbers, Archie arrived at the first door. He knocked softly.

“Come in!” The voice called.

Archie gently pushed open the door to reveal Natalie propped up in her bed with a book in her hands. Upon seeing Archie limping into the room, she did a double take.

“Vigil?!”

“Surprise!” He smiled. “You’re Natalie, right?”

“Oh! Y-Yeah! I-- what are you doing here? Aren’t you injured?”

Archie bit back a wince and made his way to sit beside her on the bed. “Ah, I’m fine. I just wanted to say thank you. Y’know, for everything. It’s nice to see you.”

A smile creeped up on Natalie’s face and she set her book aside. “I’m surprised you remember me. I was a different person when you met me.”

“I’d recognize that smile anywhere.”

Natalie’s smile grew wider and she took Archie’s bruised hand in her own. “Vigil.. thank you. So much. And.. I hope you liked the gift?”

“I loved it. And I’ll be sure to try and not get shot in this one,” He said with a small laugh, but a hitched gasp of pain escaped him.

Natalie frowned. “You should go back to your room and rest. You’re still hurt.”

“I’m fine. I still have some other rooms to hit,” He replied with a small wink. He grunted softly as he pulled himself back to standing, and gave Natalie a small wave as he headed for the doorway.

“Merry Christmas, Natalie.”

“Merry Christmas Vigil!”

Once the door was shut behind him, he took a minute to grimace. 

Sure, he was feeling better than he had in the past few days, but he still was far from back to normal. He hated to admit it, but even the short walk to Natalie’s room had winded him and he had four more people to go.

He took a sharp breath and soldiered on.

He arrived at the next door just as a nurse was leaving it and he nearly collided with her head-on.

“Sorry!” She sputtered, dusting Archie off lightly.

“It’s okay! I should have looked where I was going,” He laughed softly. “Is Quinn in there?”

“Hm? Oh, yes! But I’m afraid she just fell asleep. Were you trying to visit her?”

Archie frowned a bit. “I was. Don’t wake her up though. Actually, do you have a pen and paper?”

The nurse smiled and nodded, pulling out a pack of sticky notes and a pen and pressing them into Archie’s hands.

“Thank you!”

Archie used the wall and scrawled a quick thank you note, as well as a doodle of himself as Vigil eating the lovely lollipops she left. Once he was finished, he folded it and handed all the items back to the nurse.

“Would you give that to her when she wakes up?”

“Of course. And I should probably take you back to your room. It’s almost lights out, and you look a little.. pale.”

“I’m alright! I just have, like, three more stops. Please? It’s Christmas after all!” Archie begged, looking at the nurse with his best puppy-dog eyes.

She sighed. “Alright. Fine. Just a few more minutes, but if you aren’t in your room I’ll have to get someone to escort you. And don’t be too loud or someone will catch you.”

“Got it. Merry Christmas!” 

Archie took off to the next room.

This one was a little further down the hall, and the walk had Archie panting laboriously by the end of it. Curse these stupid lungs!

He had to bend over and brace his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, the nurse was right. He was feeling pretty lousy.

But he could deal with it later. He straightened and knocked on the door.

“Hello? Who’s there?” A slightly timid voice said.

“It’s-- uh..” Archie lowered his voice a bit, eyes darting around. “It’s Vigil and technically I’m not supposed to be up, so could I come in?”

There was the sudden sound of rustling, the tapping of crutches, and a creak as the door flew open, revealing a bright-eyed and slightly frazzled boy.

“Vigil?!” Temo sputtered, looking Archie up and down.

Archie smiled, though only his eyes showed it, and gave a small wave. “Hi there.”

Temo looked as if he might pass out on the spot as he ushered Archie into his room and shut the door behind them.

“What are you doing here?!-- Not that it’s a bad thing!”

Archie choked back a grimace as he took a seat on Temo’s hospital bed and invited the boy to join him.

“Thought I’d--” He stopped to intake a sharp breath. “--come by and say thank you for the book.”

Temo’s eyes somehow lit up even brighter, and he leaned closer. “You like it?”

“I started reading it today-- it’s so good. The way the main character fights off those bird-things in the first chapter? It’s awesome.”

“Right?! It’s so cool how he uses double blasters and a melee weapon!” Temo chirped, practically vibrating with excitement.

“It’s epic, is what it is!” Archie smiled and placed a hand on Temo’s shoulder. “But really. Thank you so much, Temo. I really appreciate the gift. I’ll treasure it forever.”

Temo blushed. “Vigil, if anyone should be getting thanked, it’s you. You.. you saved my brother. That’s not something you can put a price on.”

Archie smiled. “Just doing my part.”

Temo returned the smile, and stifled a yawn into his hand.

“I’ll let you sleep now, okay? But if you’re up to it tomorrow, what do you say to binging the original Star Wars trilogy with me?”

Temo's eyes widened. “Absolutely!”

Archie patted Temo’s shoulder and slowly got up, arm instinctively wrapping around his middle. He didn’t miss the worried glance the boy shot him, but he flashed a reassuring smile and left, shutting the door behind him.

Okay. Two more people left. 

Archie sucked in a wheezing breath and began walking down the hall. He remembered Simon mentioning this little girl was deaf and used ASL to communicate. Archie steeled himself, calling on all of his knowledge of the language he had. He had picked up a bit while helping the deli owner’s wife after the owner had thrown his back out.

He knocked gently on the door before realizing that Esperanza wouldn’t hear it, so he very slowly peaked his head in to give her plenty of time to tell him to leave if she wanted.

Instead, she startled the slightest bit at Archie, but once she saw who it was, she motioned for him to come in.

He tip-toed his way in and crouched beside where she was sitting on the bed, waving a small hello. Then, he clumsily moved his hands in the shape of the signs he could remember.

“Want to say thank you,” He signed. “For the gift. For helping Simon.”

Esperanza smiled so wide that it reached her eyes, and nodded fervently. She took Archie’s hand in her own and gave it a small squeeze before grabbing a small notebook from her bedside table and scribbling furiously in it.

After a few seconds, she handed it back to Archie.

It read: Thank you Vigil. For everything you do. We love you.

Maybe it was the drug-induced haze his mind was in, but he found tears begin to well up in his eyes. He let out a watery laugh and scrubbed at his eyes. He felt rather ridiculous, breaking down in front of a seven-year-old.

Esperanza got up and wrapped her small arms around him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

All of the exhaustion caught up to Archie all at once, and he found himself sinking to his knees on the floor of the small hospital room. Wheezing, labored breaths left him. She looked down at him worriedly, and frowned. Her hands left him as she walked out of the door quickly.

Archie blinked away the black dots that danced in his vision. Damn it. This couldn’t be happening. All he wanted to do was say thank you to the girl and head back to his room without being caught. He should have been stronger. He should have powered through--

Suddenly, two pairs of footsteps returned.

“Oh, Vigil..” An older voice murmured, crouching beside him.

“You’re--” Archie inhaled painfully. “You’re Nurse Fred?”

Fred smiled and nodded. “That would be me. I was actually just about to go check up on you but.. seems Esperanza beat me to it.”

Archie huffed a sharp laugh and doubled over. “Thought.. Thought I’d be fine..”

“Yeah, well, most people aren't ‘fine’ after a severe pneumothorax. You should be resting.”

“I just wanted to say thank you..” Archie frowned and coughed weekly.

Fred pursed his lips and patted Archie’s back lightly. “Well, you did it. If anyone would be able to do it, it’d be you. What do you say we get you back to your room?”

“...Yes please.” Archie coughed again, whimpering sharply when it sent an ache right through his chest.

Fred turned to Esperanza and signed something, to which the little girl nodded determinedly and sat right beside where Archie was hunched over, clutching at his chest.

“Esperanza is going to stay here while I go get you a wheelchair,” Fred explained, standing up. “Just sit tight.”

And with that he left, leaving the little girl to rub soothing circles over Archie’s shoulder blades.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, the only sounds in the room being Archie’s labored breathing, but eventually Fred returned with a wheelchair and an oxygen tank cannula for Archie. Archie narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to argue, but Fred cut him off.

“Just for good measure, Vigil. Your lungs aren’t exactly operating at full capacity.”

Archie relented, allowing himself to be gently helped off the floor and into the chair with the cannula fitted around his nose. Esperanza timidly walked to the side of the chair and offered him another slip of paper.

It read: Get better soon, Vigil! Merry Christmas. Hope you liked the cookies.

As run down as Archie felt, he still managed to give Esperanza a warm smile while he signed thank you. Then, he thought for a minute, before fumbling through the sign for “Merry Christmas.”

Esperanza lit up once again, and waved happily as Fred wheeled Archie out of the room.

Archie wanted to keep putting on a brave face. He was so close to having completed his goal, but it really was starting to take a toll on him. Everything hurt. His lungs, his chest, his arms, his head. He couldn’t help the strangled whimper that escaped him.

Fred clicked his tongue and placed a hand on Archie’s shoulder. 

“When we get you to your room, we’ll get you another dose of pain meds, okay? You overexerted yourself.”

Archie let his eyes fall shut and nodded softly. “It was worth it, though.”

“I know. But even Vigil needs to rest.”

As they approached the room, the door suddenly flew open and a frantic-eyed Simon appeared, hair mussed and dried drool down his chin.

“Wh!-- Oh jeez Archie.” He crossed the distance between them, shoving a finger in Archie’s direction. “Don’t you ever leave like that again!”

His tone was sharp, but the undertone of worry was clear as day. He sighed and adjusted the cannula, letting his fingers brush against Archie’s cheek. “I thought something terrible had happened!”

“Haha.. sorry..” Archie rubbed the back of his neck and averted Simon’s gaze. “I just didn’t want to wake you up. You’re exhausted.”

“I’m fine.”

“Simon.”

I would have been fine if I had to stay up a couple of extra minutes to help you around.” Simon sighed again, softly. “But I’m glad you’re okay. No more excursions, right?”

“Hah. No. I just.. I wanna lay down..”

Simon pressed his lips together in a straight line and took over the wheelchair handles from Fred, wheeling him right next to the bed while Fred began to prepare his IV.

It took some maneuvering and a lot of pain, but eventually Archie was nestled comfortably in his bed with an IV sticking out of his arm. Fred began the drip, and within a few minutes, Archie was already feeling the pleasant buzz of the narcotics in his system.

“I’ll let you two have some privacy so you can rest, alright?” Fred turned to leave.

“Wait,” Archie murmured, catching Fred by the edge of the shirt. “Wanted.. I wanted to thank you too. For everything. For taking care of me.”

Fred only smiled. “It’s my pleasure, kid. If anyone deserves it, it’s you. Get some sleep, okay? Merry Christmas.”

Fred ruffled Archie's hair on his way out. Archie tried in vain to say Merry Christmas back, but found his tongue felt lazy in his mouth and his eyes fought to stay open.

“Sleep, Archie. No point in fighting it.” Simon took his hand and brought it up to kiss softly. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Mmh..” Archie nodded vaguely, and let himself drift off.

Merry Christmas, indeed.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 7) favorite BL and your top 3 (or top 5) favorite GL? And why do you love them? It can be from any media : books, manga, anime, manhwa, tv series or movies.....

Hard question again! I'm going to do 7 for GL and 7 for BL, again under the cut!

In no particular order:

GL:

Revolutionary Girl Utena - is including it on this list cheating since it's not primarily GL? I don't care, it's too good to not recommend. A teenage tomboy fencer gets 'engaged' to a mysterious girl by winning a duel, many more duels happen alongside symbolism, feminist messages and a really mature handling of topics like depression and abuse. REALLY dark though, but worth it! Deserves its place as one of the classic anime.

Bloom into you - incredible handling of internalised homophobia, first love, high school relationships both in the platonic and romantic sense and golden child syndrome. A heartwarming but occasionally heartwrenching story that felt very real. Bonus points for the author actually being a sapphic woman.

The Handmaiden - sapphic thriller from Korea set in the early 1900's! Dark but incredibly engaging, surprisingly happy and hopeful despite how much the girls have to suffer to get their happily ever after. The book it's based on, The Fingersmith, was also great!

GAP - Thailand's first GL series and got so popular there are now multiple other projects coming this & next year! The protagonist is a uni graduate hired in her idol's company only to discover the lady is both meaner and hotter than she thought. Lesbian crisis and full-on romcom shenanigans follow, though the series also comments on traditional family values in Thailand acting as an excuse for homophobia (the idol, Sam, is in an arranged engagement to a man as ordered by her grandma). Don't worry though, the show is mostly very fun and light & ends very very happily for the ladies.

Whisper Me a Love Song - look, as a former band kid I can't not mention the band lesbians manga. It's a highschool romance full of miscommunication and funny/cute shenanigans with occasional sadness to balance it all out. Very relaxing. It's getting an anime adaptation next year so looking forward to that!

Riddle Story of Devil - as an action series fan this was pretty incredible. A school full of assasins, everyone is sapphic and they're all badasses? High school me was obsessed and I still am. The manga is much better though, the anime is both way less gay and develops the characters much less due to the story being compressed into 12 episodes.

Legend of Yunqian - short fantasy drama from a small Chinese studio, it's about a regular young lady going back in time via a magic fan and falling for a magical warrior woman. Lovely and available on Youtube for free!

Honorary mentions: Flip Flappers (anime), Clear and muddy loss of love (novel), She likes to cook and she likes to eat (manga & TV series)

BL:

Heaven Official's Blessing - come on, it's incredible. Dark fantasy with immortal love that breaks even the most powerful curses, a complex and deeply human protagonist, a lot of emotional moments and incredible use of flashbacks to slowly reveal his backstory to the readers- what's not to love? Just a warning, when I say it's dark fantasy I'm not kidding. The series has funny and light moments but when shit gets real, it gets REAL.

No.6 - just like RGU isn't technically GL, this isn't technically BL but I am gonna talk about anyway, it's incredible. It's a dystopian sci-fi story about Shion, a teenager who discovers a government conspiracy and works to stop it alongside his new friend/love interest Nezumi. It treats the gay relationship super casually, there's no sexuality angst or anything, it was super refreshing! Read the novels though, the anime compressed the story a lot.

The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi - love the intrigue, love the main romance, love the fantasy elements! My first Chinese series and one I hold dear for introducing me to the wuxia (Chinese fantasy) genre. Any version of the story is great but I'd recommend to start with the series and then read the books.

Kinnporsche - it's deeply insane and I love it for that. Everyone is gay, everyone commits crimes (they're in the mafia, so. Yeah) and it makes for a really entertaining show even if its darker elements aren't always super well handled.

Not me the series - Motorcycle gang of young anarchists against corruption! Very radical and critical of capitalism and the police system, engaging and fast paced. The director/showrunner is a trans activist/filmmaker so it's not like she doesn't know what she's talking about. It's very universal so I'd recommend it even to people who normally don't watch BL. One minus point for minor queerbaiting with 2 side characters, nothing major but it did bother me a bit + felt unnecessary in a series full of queer characters.

Cherry magic - queer office romance + mind reading! If that combination sounds interesting please do check it out, it was super cute. Bonus for very realistically human protags and an explicitly aroace side character.

Semantic error - opposites attract-type romance between an introverted, collected STEM prodigy and an extroverted art student partnered together for a project. The protagonist is autistic and written pretty well so I latched onto the show immediately, bonus points for side queer representation (bi character who's a super cool and pretty lady, love her).

Honorary mentions: Word of Honor (series), Yuri on ice (anime, only homoerotic sports anime to make the gay explicit, iconic), Nobleman Ryu's wedding (series, short but v heartwarming!)

[fagbearentertainment]

The William Afton rant is complete. It’s barely proof read bc I’ve been writing it on and off all day so if I contradict myself at some point woops :p

It’s also written exactly how I would be talking about it irl so it’s the authentic infodump experience

Just know that y’all asked for this

So through the first 3 games William is like the PERFECT villain for the series. Knowing next to nothing about him or his motives makes him TERRIFYING, to me at least, and how he’s portrayed in fnaf 1 and 2 sets him up PERFECTLY to be the big bad in 3.

Speaking of Springtrap i fucking love him. Such a cool concept, William being stuck suffering in that suit like his victims is *chefs kiss*, and imo he’s executed great in fnaf 3. I swear if the jumpscare wasn’t shit the fandom wouldn’t hate it like they do the game really isn’t that bad (comparing it to everything that came after at least)

Also Springtrap is actually the best animatronic design in the whole series so my guy wins /lighthearted

Anyway William, solid 8/10 antagonist, very interesting and I’d love to learn more about him

So all of that might have you thinking “jee after all that you must’ve LOVED Sister Location!” well…

It’s complicated. Like I don’t hate William in this game or even the books. A sci-fi villain obsessed with cheating death at all costs is really fucking cool I like that

the real problem I have with it is that. Given what we know about the other games, the world set up in them, and the fact that Sister Location probably happened before all the other games, it just seems really outta nowhere

Honestly I could rant all day about my other issues with Sister Location but this is about William not whatever all that was so we’ll move on

Anyway all that aside I can enjoy what Williams got going on here because I really enjoyed Pizzeria Simulators ending and hey at least William wasn’t something stupid like a computer virus who mind controls people to keep killing kids for some reason!

*stares at Help Wanted*

Anything I say here is something y’all have heard a million times by now so just know I do not like William being a computer virus, it’s stupid even for fnaf standards and makes Pizzeria Simulator basically pointless. Also Glitchtrap should’ve been called Malhare the pun was RIGHT THERE

Ok that’s enough of the games let’s talk about the movie! I’m so fucking excited to see William and Springtrap in the movie y’all don’t even know. Can’t say much about him yet because the movies not out yet but I’m very excited to see where they go with him, whether they expand on Remnant and the sci-fi approach or go back to just a regular serial killer it’ll end up 10x better than what’s currently happening *stares at Security Breach*

Anyway long story short I love William Afton, he’s a very interesting character and a great villain (for the most part) very excited for the movie and Matthew Lillard was a great casting choice