#asph: ask

[asphodelis]

Your Jugdral brings me so much joy, I love how fluffy you make them (especially Seliph your Seliphs are fantastic) ! You give me the will to go back to my ever so slightly neglected playthrough of FE5 <3

thank you kindly!!! fluffy hair is sm fun <3

(i also need to finish my run of fe5 oops

[aspharon]

Had to Google what the CLE towers looked like and I swear I thought I was looking at Minecraft.

I honestly don't think the design is that bad but the decision to change them is just... weird. In a show that tries to mimic the original quite a lot in the animation department and just has small changes to make things look better now that the technology is there, making the towers look different completely is such an incredibly odd choice. It's jarring.

[rcdiostcrs]

THE CARPENTERS

THOMPSON STEPHEN CARPENTER (m.ark sh.eppard) —

the patriarch, married to danielle. fifty-six years old.

DANIELLE ANALISE CARPENTER nee MURDOCK (j.ennifer an.iston) —

the matriarch, married to thompson. fifty-five years old.

JANUS, GOD OF DOORWAYS ( j.ared pa.dalecki) —

asphalt's biological father. has no other relation to the family.

SHEAMUS BARRON CARPENTER (b.renton th.waites) —

the adopted son of thompson & danielle.

KIRA DESIRÉ CARPENTER nee KEBE (m.ame-a.nna di.op) —

sheamus's wife. a demigod daughter of vulcan who guided sheamus to new rome to find his brother.

ASPHALT "ASPH" ROBIN CARPENTER (c.olin fo.rd) —

the demigod son of danielle & janus.

NOT SHOWN —

barron murdock. danielle's father.

robin murdock. danielle's mother.

rayshaun hayes. asph's boyfriend. son of somnus.

[mayasaurusss]

Chapter one: Old tales.

Warnings: midly detailed description of wounds, not totally proof-read, gramamtical errors.

A/n: I'm really really scared to publish this (I'm shttng myself). The title is not really for my liking, maybe I will change it. English is not my native language so there may be some errors. Words: 4k and 500

"...will replace number eleven, Allie, after her accidental injury due to breaking her leg during practice" you heard coach Ben's words, but didn't fully register them yet.

Mere days have passed since Allie broke her leg, or to be exact, her leg was broken by Taissa.

When Allie broke her leg, you were on the bench, having had to swap with her during practice. You were relaxing, enjoying the sun when Misty walked over to you and started rambling about the most random things she could say, something about a philosopher, Misty was Misty after all. You weren’t really sure on how to even talk to her, so you just stayed silent, nodding sometimes while she talked, but your mind didn’t register anything of what she said. Misty-trance was so strong that, at first, you didn’t hear Allie screaming in agony. Your mind went into panic mode only when Misty bolted from her seat next to you to the green field: from your position on the bench you couldn’t see it but as you got closer to the scene, you saw Allie clenching her leg, her bone sticking out, pure white contrasting with the deep red of her flesh.

"... did you hear me?" you hear your name begin called, you peered at coach Ben.

"...What?"

"I asked if you'd like to replace Allie as the winger for the Nationals," coach repeated himself.

"Sure..." your voice was small, truth to be told, you weren't sure of this decision.

You weren't that brilliant as a player, certainly not that better than Allie, but at least you could fulfill your duty pretty well, you just weren't that certain you could perform well in such a big game. And, you weren’t exactly the most loved player of the team.

When you looked up, you could see all your teammates look at you weirdly, judging you and your absent demeanor.

"Despite what happened to Allie, we're gonna go to the Nationals, we're going to go and we're going to win, all right?" Ben said to the team, not receiving a response.

"All right?"

"Yes coach" the team responded in unison.

You gathered your things, heading out of the changing room when Shauna approached.

"Hey, are you all right? You seemed a bit shaken up before" Shuna Shipman was one of the few people in the team that talked to you, you used to be more of a loner but she and Jackie too, sometimes involved you in their conversation, you didn’t know if they did it out of pity or real interest.

"I am ok, I think. I'm just scared that I'm not gonna live up to the team's expectations, that's all".

Shauna smiled at you, "You're going to be great, don't worry, you'll just have to think you're playing during one of our practices".

"Thanks Shauna" she could always be kind, though her eyes were so deep and dark you felt lost looking at them, making you feel little and scared.

"The team will go to a party today to celebrate our success, are you going to come?" she asked.

"I don't know, I think I'm going to go back home tonight so I can spend the last night with my parents" you answered Shauna, you knew from deep down that as soon as you said that, you doomed yourself to 'unsocial girl' of the group.

“I see…” Shauna’s gaze felt heavy on you.

“Well, I’m gonna go” you slumped your bag over your shoulder and bid goodbye to Shauna, getting out of the changing room.

Rain pours heavily, pooling at your feet and wetting every inch of you, your shoes sink in cold puddles and your skin feels uncomfortably damp. 

You had been walking for half an hour, being that your home was in the outskirts of Wiskayok and the bus hadn’t yet come, your best chance was walking to another bus stop and waiting there; walking under the rain had proved to be more challenging than you thought, especially when the wet asphalt made you slip. 

At last you arrived at the bus stop and shielded yourself from the heavy rain. You sat on the bench, waiting for the bus which  had to come in a few minutes now, so preoccupied with trying not to slip and break a bone you had almost lost track of time and missed the bus.

You hold your face in yout hands, retaking in the events of the day and wishing Allie wouldn’t have broken her leg: you couldn’t perform well under pressure at all, you remeber once when you had to perform a penalty shoot during pratice and failed miserably, while all of the team watched you. The thought of people watching, watching you inevitably fail made you recoil in fear. 

A sudden noise interrupted your thoughts, something moved just inches away from you, hiding in the corner of the bus stop. You couldn’t make it out in the darkness, but your ears picked up on the fact that whatever it was small or certainly small enough for you to defend yourself. You jolted up, arms at your side tightening and muscles moving under the skin, ready to flight at any second. 

A ruff of red puffed out from the shadows, followed by a movement, whatever it was was now turning on you, having heard your noises. Two pairs of golden eyes peered at you from under the dark, studying your form and stance; maybe it was scared of you too. Slowly, ever so slowly, from the dark corner a fox appeared: it was bigger than you imagined, it was as tall as half of your leg, red and orange and white shades coloured its fur. It looked soft, the kind of fur that shielded from the cold winds of winter, a thin layer of what seemed to look like snow heaved on the tip of its coat and nose, tinting it white. Golden eyes reflected the dim street lights, giving it an eerie human look. It didn’t seem malicious, but there certainly was something unnerving in its presence.

“There shouldn't be any snow on you, it’s raining…” your voice was small, almost muffled, like sound and time stopped right here, under the roof of the bus stop. 

It continued to watch you, you, you, you in the eyes, your face, how you were. For a small second, you felt tightly connected with it.

Something talked, you didn’t know if it was your brain, your subconscious or the fox magically knew how to telepathically communicate with you but you heard thousand of tree whispers and thousand of voices reunited and combined to talk to you, to say “Come”.

Your skin freezed, blood running cold in your veins and feeling like it dripped from your fingers onto the floor. Goosebumps fell down your spine and in your mouth flooded the taste of blood, you had bit your tongue in fear.  

The fox watched you, puffing its chest and with hurry, ran behind the bus stop into the dark woods. You didn't know what compelled you to do it, but you followed it, cornering around the stop expecting to see it waiting for you at the line of the trees, but you found nothing staring at you beside the darkness. 

Lights shined through the rain, finally the bus had come. With newfound energy, you sprinted in it and almost tumbled over, making the driver eye you in confusion. You searched for a seat, finding it in the middle of the bus. You were still shaken up, not by the fact that you encountered a possibly dangerous wild animal, but at the fact that something talked clearly at you. Arms wrapping themselves you didn't fail to notice a small pair of golden eyes watching you from the darkness and as the bus moved, you lost sight of them.

“Come”.

“Mhm…no”

Shauna moves back to the clothes, changing once again her dress.

"You know, there’s Randy tonight at the party”. 

Huh? Why did she brought up Randy? I don't care about him.

“...ok” Shauna once again changed, once again she received the same response from her best friend.

“He asked Jeff to ask me if you’re gonna be there”

“Randy? Really?”

“What? I just thought you wanted to know if someone asked about you”

Wow, ok.

“Shauna, just put on the red dress I gave you”

Am I your dress-up doll Jackie?

“Maybe I don’t want to wear the red dress, and I’m sure as hell I don’t want to hook up with Randy -fucking- Walsh!”

Why can’t you see me? I don’t want to be with Randy, I want…

Jackie was taken back from Shauna's sudden outburst “Jeez, what crawled up your ass? Just put on whatever you want…”

“Thanks, I will”

The room filled with uncomfortable silence. Jackie felt like she just managed to ruin the night for both her and Shauna.

“...You’re probably right about Randy, you know? I once saw him having trouble with an escalator” 

Shauna cracked a smile, even in the most dire situations Jackie never failed to make her laugh “I once heard him ask who invented the Pope”.

Around 9 a.m, most of the soccer team arrived. There was a faint smell of earth in the air, covered by the smell of booze and fire. 

Shauna had followed after Jackie, just like the shadow Jackie wanted her to be -or did she want to be Jackie’s shadow?- she stood out among the other girl friends, she knew she didn’t belong here. 

Shauna stopped Jackie from dancing with her, her stomach clenching “Wait, l need a second” without waiting for a response, she walked away and Jackie did not bother following her. 

Shauna leaned against a pickup, watching Jackie in the distance.

To her, in that instant, while she was enjoying her night with her friends she looked ethereal. Shauna could not understand if she wanted to be with Jackie, if she wanted to be Jackie or if she wanted to consume her. Shauna can’t understand if what she’s feeling is longing, loneliness or anger, anger towards Jackie, for not spending time with her, for not begin with her. Shauna chugged down the alcohol burning her throat. Her emotions were too much, she had to go away, to get away from Jackie,  it didn’t help that behind her Randy fucking Walsh was drunk off his ass and bothering her. 

She had to release her pent up energy, -she had to get Jackie’s attention- , so she walked to where Taissa was, willing to start a fight.

“I admire your resilience Tai” Shauna’s voice was bitter, deliberately trying to get Tai angry and argue with her.  “It can’t be easy, knowing you fucking crippled someone today”

“Cool, good talk”. A vein in Shauna’s head pulsed “Just admit you did it on purpose” she yelled, “Excuse me?”

Away from her, Laura Lee recognized her teammates voices, she saw Taissa and Shauna talk to each other.

“Woah, calm down”

“No, listen you guys, we don't have to worry about the ‘Allie problem’ anymore because Taissa fixed it for us!”

Laura Lee walked over to the scene, leaning near Natalie “What is she talking about?” she asked. 

“She’s talking about Taissa having a plan”

Taissa visibly rolled her eyes at their exchange “Oh please, since when do you give a shit anyway? Don’t you have a bong to hit or a dick to suck?”

“Don’t talk to her that way”

“Fuck off Shauna! I don’t need you to defend me! Last time I checked you were fine with ‘freezing her out’”

“Ok, seriously, what are you guys talking about?”

“Shut the fuck up, Laura Lee!”

The atmosphere got heated, both Taissa and Shuna were too stubborn to let the other one ‘win the fight’ .

“Somebody needs to take her wasted ass home”

“Say that again you bitch!”. A fight broke between the group, everyone screaming their asses off.

“Enough!” Jackie screamed, the others hushed.  Everyone was watching the group, all the eyes of the party on them.

“Yellowjackets, with me!” Jackie said, leading the group to a secluded space.

“I don’t know what the fuck that was, but I do know it’s over”  Shauna shifted uncomfortably under Jackie’s gaze.

“We are about to go to Nationals, and based on what I’m looking at right now, we might not even bother getting on that plane” the underlying message wasn’t missed by the team: they weren’t close enough, they weren’t ready enough.

“Alright, everybody line up. I’m fucking serious, line up, come on!” The girls lined up one near the other, waiting for Jackie’ orders “I wan’t each of you to go down this line and say one nice, true thing about every other girl on this team”

“What is this, fucking girl scout?” Taissa's annoyed voice whispered to Van. “Who wants to go first?” Jackie asked. Laura Lee smiled “I’ll go Jackie”

She walked over to Taissa, looked her in the eyes and took her hands in hers, “Taissa, you’re beautiful in the eyes of our Lord” making Taissa smile -maybe more like trying to hold her laugh-. Laura Lee moved to Van, repeating herself when she was interrupted, everyone laughing. Everyone in the group moved, going to ‘say something nice and true’ to their teammates.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier” Shauna said to Tai, dark eyes burning a hole in Tai’s skin. Taissa looked at Shauna, voice unsure and laced with regret “I didn’t -you know- mean to…hurt her” 

“...ok” 

Laura Lee walked to Lottie, her hands rubbing nervously: sometimes Lottie made her tense. She didn’t know if it was out of fear or respect for the girl, or if it was some sort of other emotion plaguing her heart.  With a bit of uncertainty, Laura Lee looked up at her teammate, “Lottie, you’re really tall, you are one of the best players in the team, and I  admire your strength. And, you're beautiful in our Lord's eyes”. Lottie just smiled, that smile that reassured Laura Lee that everything would be fine “Laura Lee, you have a beautiful soul and you are a great friend. I admire your devotion” Lottie said.

“Thanks, really. Wouldn’t you want to spend some words for Y/n?”

Suddenly, Lottie’s voice got sour, her brown knitted together  “Why would I want that? It’s not like she’s here, no?”

Laura Lee knew that by how Lottie reacted, she had unknowingly pushed something inside her: Lottie had tried and failed to be friends with the other girl, but the -Operation: become friends- had failed on both ends because of Lottie stubbornness (and secret shyness) and the other girl not knowing how to relate herself with others.

“I know it’s just that she’s not really part of our group and I feel bad for her...”

“If she wanted to be part of our group, she would’ve come” Lottie wanted to go away, the air seemed thick now and a faint headache was starting to form. She started to walk away when Laura Lee stopped her, grabbing her arm.

“I understand why you would think so, but I think she's just shy or lonley. Maybe she requires a bit more of work to get her to open up her shell”.  She took Lottie’s hands in hers, rubbing at the skin to soothe the other girl's tension.

“You should aske her to sit next to you on the flight” .

“...alright”.

You stumbled into your home, leaving a wet trail behind you. The house was dark, dark and cold, shadows looming over the corners of the room.

I hope no foxes magically get out of them and make me shit myself, you thought with a bitter smile, still not feeling completly safe.

You called out for your parents but no one answered. Taking your phone out you saw a missed called and a message from your father

“Hey kid, just a heads up, me and your mother are going on a date, we will be home late tonight, in the fridge there’s a leftover pizza. Be safe”.

You sighed, you couldn’t blame this on them really, you knew they had a date and they still didn’t know that you’d be gone to the Nationals soon, besides you still had a few days to spend with them. 

After dinner, you went upstairs to your bedroom. It’s dimly lit, shadows creep in the high corners, making your skin crawl. On the nightstand, an old copy of ‘Grimm’s Tales’ sat, the one that your grandfather gave to you some weeks before passing, when you were just eight. It was meant for children apparently, but it was more like pages of pages of inducing nightmares stories: young women envied by queens, of children in woods being chased by wolves or finding an evil witch house. You were still reading when you fell asleep.

That night you dreamt. You dreamt of thousands of trees, branches tangling with each other so much that you couldn’t see the dark night sky. The woods were silent, fog embraced them and not giving you enough space to see. In the distance a howl echoed out, something that sounded angry, angry and hungry. Your skin crawled, cold shivers running down your spine and without thinking, you ran. 

You ran not knowing where to go, without guidance while the howl got closer and closer, branches scratching at your skin staining it of red. The howl multiplied, as if whatever was chasing you had called its companions. Skin bloodied, lungs burning in pain, eyes watering, sky crashing on you. 

Finally your energies gave out, mouth tasting the dirt beneath you. Something grasped at your body, hands prying you up, someone was holding you to their front, brushing your hair out of their way to your neck. You felt someone biting at your jugular, blood oozing from the open wound. Hands, so many hands touched your skin, clawed at it, brushed your blood away from bruises into the dark surrounding you. Teeth, thousands of teeth clenching your skin, grounding on it, ripping it open, eating like the prey you were, like a fox caught between the jaws of a bear.

You woke up from your nightmare, sweaty and with a heart beating irregularly. 2:02 am. You looked at your book still open in your hands, fingers keeping it open on the middle of 'Red Riding Hood'. Your body fell back on the bed, sleep overcoming once again.  “I really shouldn’t keep on reading these books…” 

On the other side of town, Lottie dreamt too. But hers was a good dream unlike the ones she had the previous weeks. Lottie wouldn't wish anyone to know but she too was scared of playing in the Nationals; the tension is what to her the the woods looked more alive than ever now, she did so much to keep them alive, offered so much of herself to the woods that now they thanked her in return. The voice spoke to her, whispering through the trees, animals and wind and leaves all swirled togheter to create It. 

She wouldn’t give this gift to any one, the times she tried talking about it, talking with her parents, her father got mad and screamed at her mother - “Lottie doesn’t see the future, she’s not normal. We’re taking her to a child psychiatrist”-.

She never understood if he did it out of love or disinterest to have her around. It favored her, this secret is just for her. Before coming to have an audience with it, she had positioned small wooden dolls in a circle, one for each of them.  But they were sad. She couldn’t understand why,

Why are you crying? Yes, it began snowing and it's cold but can’t you hear It? 

Why? Can’t you hear Its voice? 

Can’t you hear the woods?

Finally it was the morning of your flight. You got up at five am, too nervous to go back to sleep and started to recap if you got everything for the trip. At seven am you had eaten breakfast with your parents and bid goodbye to your mom, kissing her on the cheek “Be safe”. 

Your father drew you to the airport, “Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you near the plane? Your bags are heavy”; bless your mother, even if you did pack enough, she just had to help you pack, inevitably heaving you down “Take this sweater if it’s cold, you never know, and these pants, and this shirt, and these…” you had to physically stop her to pack more.

“I think I’m capable of carrying them on my own, I don’t want the other girls to see me as a ‘daddy’s-girl’”.

You got out of the car, grabbed all your bags and walked to the driver seat “Alright then, have you packed enough?” you looked at your father with a look that said ‘seriously?’.

“Fair enough…”

Your dad ruffled your hair, “Call when you get there, ok? Become a champion”. You gave him a corny smile, “Sure dad”.

“Have a safe flight!”, he drove away, you watched as the small car disappeared from your sight then walked to where your teammates were.  When you got there, all the team saw was a make-shift Santa Claus coming to them.

“Heyyy, forgot to pack something? Mommy helped you?” Tai said to you sarcastically. 

“Tai, enough” Van answered, making her friend scoff. The bags hit the floor, you let out a heavy sigh at the action finally free from the weight. “Don't mind her, she's just a bitter asshole”, Taissa scoffed at her friend “Oh fuck off”.

Lottie and Laura Lee were close, watching the exchange between you and Van “Lottie! Come on, go!” she wisphered to her taller friend. Lottie shifted uncomfortably on her legs, hands rubbing together behind her back, she walked to where you were, followed by Laura Lee “Hey…” her called, small and unsure “Hi”.

Lottie wasn’t one to be awkward, most of the time, but confronting you one on one made her feel less confident in herself and

“So, uhm… how are you today?” she cringed at herself. 

"You should ask her to sit next to you on the trip" Laura Lee voice chimed in her head

“Huh…good, I think? How are you?”

“I see, uh, yeah yeah, I’m good too”

Silence fell over you, both not making an effort in trying to make small talk. 

The staff announced that they were ready to leave.

Van chimed near you, draggin you with her “Hey, you want to sit next to me? We should be friends” she playfully said to you.  Laura Lee sighed, “Oh... We'll get to know her once we land” she patted her teammate on the shoulder.

The inside of the plane was modern, everyone was mouth agape.

Van laughed “I’ can’t believe your dad paid for a private plane”

“It’s pretty much his only form of parenting. I guess I’ll take it”

“Well, thank you, Mr Matthews!”

Every girl in the team sat, Van tugged you with her near her seat, you fell between her and the window. 

“So, what do you like?” Van asked, a smile forming on her lips

“W-What?”

“What do you like? As in movies, games, magazines? Is there something you even like?” 

Oh, did she want to sit with me to make fun of me? 

“Uhm… The last movie I got to see in theaters was 'Intervew with the Vampire'...but that was sometime ago ”.

“No way! Really?! Did you go alone?”.

“Yes…”

Her mouth was agape with shock, “Wow, I wouldn’t have your courage, you know? I like those movies -well, I like slashers more- but if I’d see one alone, I have nightmares for weeks” . You smiled and laughed with her, she was trying to make you feel less lonley “The last movies I have seen were ‘Halloween' and ‘Braveheart’”.

“What’s that last one about?”

“A drag queen fights the English army”.

“What?!” you laughed wholeheartedly with Van, she was holding your arm in a subtle effort to include you more and more into this conversation.  “You know, there’s this movie that's supposed to come out in december, it’s called ‘Scream’ and it’s supposedly a slasher, I can’t wait to see it. I’m gonna need someone to keep me company though, I'm not really that brave”.

You looked at her “Whit who?” asked, “Maybe you, maybe Taissa”.

“Ohhhh, I see”

She playfully shoved you, “What do you ‘see’, moron?”.

After a while of talking, your eyelids started to get heavier, begging you to take just a tiny nap.  “I think I’m going to sleep for a bit, I’ve woken up so early today…”

“Sure, I’ll wake you up when we got there”. You closed your eyes, sleep overcame you faster than you expected.

You were hungry, you finally managed to catch dinner after a while of running and biting and howling in the woods, she fell so dumbly into the trap, you wouldn’t ever die like this if you were in her position.  Blood runs down to earth, tinting the snow red.  She was so stupid to get caught.  The queen had made you wait, telling you that a meal is far more filling when you are patient. But you had been patient for oh so long, always grumbling and biting at your own flesh to keep your hunger at bay. 

When the queen nodded, all moved to the dinner plate like hawks, bit and ripped and grounded the meat under their teeth, surrounded by the flickering lights of the torches. If one doesn't think too much of it, this was just like the holidays you used to have once, food and lights. After all, a family's most intimate moment is at the dinner table. None was left of her.  It was still watching you. 

Scream erupted from the deep woods, you looked at the trees, your hair disheveld, face dirty , a trail of blood running down on the right side and dripping from the chin. 

You woke up from your haze, screaming filled the plane. “Van?! Van, what’s happening?!” Van is desperately trying to get out something from the ceiling above you , punching and screaming while everyone around you was either hugging each other, passed out or panicking. You felt your fingers weakening, trying to help Van and failing to get out the oxygen masks, dizziness overcame your senses, breathing erratic, goosebumps on your skin, eyelids heavy.

Lottie took your hand, ushering you gently to follow her, “Come on”.

You felt something hot travel up on your arm.

“It’s time to go”.

What’s happening?

Green trees are getting closer, your eyes roll to the back of your head and you lose yourself.

“We have to hunt”.

Am I going to die?

“We have to eat”

I don’t want to die!

“Is the meat cooked well enough, dear?” 

Mom?

The plane is crashing.

“Did you liked dinner?”

L-Lottie?

You can't breathe.

Help me!

A voice called out to you in thousands of whispers. 

“Come”. 

[the-masked-ram]

Sweet and Sour- Part Three

CW: SFW, Slow burn, Eventual NSFW, Tags will change with each installment, Fem!reader, sassy reader, opposites attract, distrust, Kaji falls first A/N: I really need to rewatch/reread windbreaker ---

Kaji couldn't answer the questions that his friends had been posing recently. Why was he so distracted? It was a logical thing to ask, even he was aware he wasn't... himself. He wasn't someone who drifted when surrounded by his chatterbox friends even if he didn't actively participate in the conversation. He listened, even when the music in his headphones was loud enough that he shouldn't be able to hear anything. And yet, he found his eyes drawn to the street when they sat at the cafe, or he was checking around corners more often than necessary as they patrolled. He couldn't answer them because he wanted to keep this to himself, keep you to himself.

Because that was the answer, wasn't it? You, the newest mystery in his life, had him in such a chokehold that he couldn't hope to escape. He couldn't even breathe without thinking about the various things you'd said and perhaps even future conversations.

Ren wasn't completely out of his depth when it came to infatuation or even love. He'd had a few relationships before, none recently and none that had grabbed his interest as hard or as fast. Was it the way you seemed to keep him at arm’s length while also letting him glimpse behind the walls you carefully kept strong around your mind and heart? You didn't seem to welcome him, but you didn't push him away completely either.

The conversation buzzed into background noise around him. A handful of the older generation who still belonged to Bofurin had joined up at Pothos. Food was set in front of them. Something that would normally draw Ren's attention, however he had just seen a familiar face and silhouette out on the street and suddenly felt that familiar pressure on his chest.

Since when had he become so soft? Since when did a virtual stranger have this much control over him? His heart stuttered and Kaji placed a sucker back in his mouth, caught it between his molars and rolled it, focusing on the gentle crack of the sugar.

He stood and the rest of the table went silent. As he stepped toward the door, Sakura called out to him.

"Hey, Kaji, where ya goin'?" He frowned as he swallowed heavily around the food in his mouth.

Ren's eyes drifted from you for a moment before snapping back to make sure he didn't lose you in the crowd.

"I'll be back," he mumbled as way of a half-assed answer.

They would know soon enough anyway. Kaji was not adept at keeping secrets. Yet, he wasn't sure where you would finally fall when they found out. Would you still be a stranger, would you be a friend, a lover, or something even more distant than you were now? He felt so incredibly vulnerable when it came to you, and Kaji didn’t like that. He hated when others had power over his soft insides. And still he found himself moving into the crowded streets to find you, unable to fight the draw.

The air smelled of baked bread and cooking meat, it was enough to make his nose twitch over the sweetness of his candy. And though he was hungry, his stomach making that fact known loudly, he ignored it all to chase the crown of your head and the sway of your backpack as you weaved between people.

Soon enough, he lost you and his frustration began to boil into anger as he glanced down side street after side street to no avail. God, he had shit luck.

"You looking for me?"

Or maybe he didn't. How did you always seem to surprise him? Even when he saw you first.

He swallowed, rolling the lollipop on his tongue thoroughly as he searched for an answer.

"Maybe," he said gruffly, but he didn't try to put any deflection into the word.

Just by the tone of his voice and the way his eyes weighed heavy on you, it was obvious he had been following you. Still, you didn't seem scared, and yet, from the tension in your shoulders and the way your feet dug into the asphalt a little more, Ren knew you also weren't comfortable with him. He wasn't sure if it was just him though. Was it everyone in town? Just men? Bofurin itself? What was it that kept you on your toes? Why did you constantly look like your fight or flight response was cranked up to ten in his presence?

Kaji didn't necessarily dislike the way your guard was up. It was smart. It made him appreciate you. It was hard not to realize how strong you were when your chin tilted in defiance and your eyes hardened in challenge. But something had to have happened to make you like this.

"What do you want, Kaji?" you asked.

He never asked how you knew his name. He assumed you finally figured it out because of how well Bofurin was known around the inner city.

"I just...," he inhaled deeply through his nose, trying to smooth the roughness and sharp angles out of his voice. "I just wanted to talk to ya."

He wasn't sure what his expression was, but you seemed to soften under it.

"Why? I don't know you and I don't particularly have any reason to talk to someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Ren pushed.

He wanted a chance. You were an anomaly. You pulled him in. He craved to know more.

You cocked your head, "Don't ask question you don't deserve to know."

"Let me show ya. Let me earn your trust," he nearly growled, biting back the desperation in his voice.

The corner of your lips twitched as if you were fighting back a smile, "How about you show me your worth my time first?"

With that said you turned on your heel and stalked away. His eyes slid over your form hungrily as you melted into the crowd once again.

"How do I do that?" he asked the empty air.

[vvarvvon]

asph actually likes his full name. he only shortens it to confuse less people as all of his teachers were confused as to why there was a kid named “asphalt” in their class.

however, this doesn’t always work out as sometimes people then ask “why do you go by ass?” and he has to explain that there’s a “ph” at the end so it’s pronounced “ass - FF.”

there was a period of his life when he went by his middle name, but people would then wonder why he goes by robin (“do you just like batman?”).

he gave up on correcting people on his name, responding to asph (preferred) or ass, and occasionally robin if people find it easier to pronounce.

[duncancully]

"Hm," he nodded. "Don't mention it." It was unusual for him to have guests at all, so he wasn't quite sure how to make them comfortable...besides alcohol, that is. "Asph, right?" He watched the brown liquor waterfall down into the glass, filling it halfway.

There wasn't much to Duncan's apartment. It was an undecorated one-bedroom, one-bathroom loft with a kitchen and small living area. There was a couch in the living space, which he put a blanket on for his guest. He didn't have extra blankets, so it was the comforter from his own bed. "You got everything you need?" he asked, taking a sip of his newly poured drink. "...you old enough to be drinkin' that?"

Duncan watched him take a sip and regret it. He smirked. "Careful now," he said, lifting a glass of his own to his lips and shooting back all of its contents. His had an extra shot in his own, per the usual. He let out a satisfying "Ah" and set the glass on the kitchen counter.

"I'm letting you crash here while your place is gettin' fixed up, so you can't waste good whiskey." Duncan wasn't the best influence, naturally, and only made his guest's drink with half a shot. It was responsible...ish. Right?

[ghosttides]

& 2! (-E.)

2: what is the scariest horror movie you've seen?

I don’t really get scared per say by a lot of these? But the Collector, Don’t Breathe, and Invisible Man (2020) kinda stuck weird.

[nistarot]

♪!

Before my time runs out

What if I run away to Mars?

Would you find me in the stars?

Would you miss me in the end

If I run out of oxygen?

When I run away to Mars

send me a music note & i'll shuffle my playlist and share my favorite lyric!

[barrenclan]

oooh also following up to the last ask i literally just sent,,, i do realize that maybe daff DOESNT realize he likes corm, as i realize what asph said was very low. and just thinks that fact that he likes toms like daff and asph do is cool. which is going to make for a lot of fun when she realizes the only tom pine could actually like in the clan is... corm

Daffodilpaw: wow Pinepaw that's so crazy that you like toms! haha how'd you know? :)

Pinepaw, thinking about the fact that there's literally only one other tom in the Clan besides a middle-aged father of two, who joined the Clan very recently, whom he's been pretty obviously flirting with:

Pinepaw: just one of those things

[ask-nyo-prufra-blog]

Maria: Hey, Frankreich! You ready for opening this blog?

Francine: Oui, but mon dieu, why are you so heavy? You certainly don’t look like it.

Maria: It’s themmm musclesss!

Francine: Let’s just open this blog already, cheri.

//Ask blog start! The muses are ready to answer your questions!

[asphodelis]

Hey I just want you to know I stumbled upon your art recently and it's totally reinvigorated my love for fire emblem after a phase of just not really enjoying the franchise. Currently replaying fe4 and having a blast so thanks for that.

im genuinely so honored by this, im so glad to have inspired you!!! hope your run goes amazing >:))

[aspharon]

I am inviting you to get into all the details on the new order (😏)

(This is in reference to the alternate Code Lyoko watch order I made which shuffles around some episodes in season 1. I talked about it first in my Code Lyoko rewatch thread here, and you can find it in this link:)

Okay, you asked for it. [big inhale]

Code Lyoko season 1 is rough. Apart from the final two episodes, the series can be watched in pretty much any order. However, the timing and grouping of some episodes can make for an awkward overarching story and can be a bit of a pain for new people, as its first few episodes can be somewhat rough. I made a bunch of changes to attempt to fix it, mostly aimed at new viewers.

If you haven't watched the series yet, this post will contain some spoilers for the first season and particularly the finale, so be warned. Good news, though, as this alternate watch order was made specifically for people like you, so I'd say just jump into it.

My watch order starts with the prequel. This one's obvious. It was made between seasons 2 and 3 so it shows off the better animation the series gets later on, as it is particularly rough in the first season, and also explains the status quo.

I've swapped the first two episodes, making Seeing is Believing the first real episode. I feel like it introduces the series a little better, as it explains why they don't just tell any adults/the police about the situation, and also has some great characterization, particularly showcasing Aelita's selflessness. It's great.

After that, I've kept Teddy Gozilla and Log book together, as they're the only two episodes where Odd has a different voice actor. Thought it be better if they were back-to-back.

Then comes The Trap, which takes place exactly a year after the prequel, setting it on October 9th, 2002. This'll be important later. It's worth noting that the entire first season takes place in the school year after the prequel, so this isn't as big of a time jump as it might seem.

Then comes Ghost Channel, which I moved allll the way from the end of the season. It was recently voted as the best episode in the series, and though I don't agree with that, it is really good for season 1 standards. In the original order, it is directly followed by the finale, which is already great, so I thought I'd move this one much earlier to give new viewers a taste of what's to come.

Then comes Big Bug, followed by Holiday in the Fog. Moving Big Bug to before Holiday in the Fog actually solves a continuity error: In Big Bug, Jim mentions never having seen Kiwi before, but he does see him in Holiday. Switching them fixes this!

Holiday in the Fog also has to come after The Trap, as it portrays the first holiday of the school year, which in France takes place towards the end of October. Told you that date would come up again.

Then there's a group of five episodes, originally aired back-to-back: Cruel Dilemma, Image Problem, End of Take, Satellite, and The Girl of the Dreams. These episodes have been dubbed by fans as "Pick on Yumi week", as Yumi generally has a bad time in all of them. I've scattered them throughout the season to make this less obvious.

Skip this paragraph to remain spoilerless. There's four episodes in the first season that elude to the season finale, being Cruel Dilemma, The Girl of the Dreams, Just in Time, and Frontier, all of which show Jeremie working on Aelita's materialization program. In Cruel Dilemma, originally episode 6(!!!), he is just a few keystrokes away from finishing it, though it takes him 18 more episodes to actually finish it, which is silly. Same thing with Just in Time, where he manages to materialize one of Aelita's hairs, but can't materialize the rest until 11 episodes later. I've moved all these episodes more towards the back of the season, with them getting more frequent as the viewer approaches the season finale.

There's a few other tweaks as well. Originally, Image Problem and The Girl of the Dreams only had two episodes between them, and they're the only two episodes in the series that have XANA use a Guardian. I've moved these apart to make this less jarring. Similarly, I've moved Plagued and Swarming attack apart. Originally back-to-back, they have very similar XANA attacks. Moving them far apart makes this much less obvious.

I've made Killer Music the last 'normal' XANA attack of the season, as it shows him directly paralyzing humans. Having this late in the season shows how he's slowly getting stronger.

In the end, only three episodes keep their original place in the season: The final two episodes, and Routine (which needed to stay towards the end, as the episode revolves around Ulrich getting tired of doing the same thing over and over).

I think that's everything? This will be on the test. If anyone has questions, meet me after class.

[rcdiostcrs]

carpenter bros reunion.

triggers: child abandonment, asph being a dick about sheamus being adopted (one line, but still)

Sheamus had been living in New Rome for about a year. Being surrounded by creatures his father told stories about and children of literal gods hadn’t even been the hard part of the year. Nor was the hard part being asked who his godly relation was only to explain that he was painfully human. The hard part was clinging to hope that Asph would one day cross the Little Tiber like so many other demigods who enter the city for the first time.

What would a fourteen-year-old version of his baby brother even look like? Would he still be swamped by fabric? Would he have grown lanky? Would he look like their mother or would he be unrecognizable? So much time had passed it was hard to even recall the seven-year-old’s face.

He was mid-conversation with his ex-guide and current best friend, Kira, when a commotion was heard outside.

“Someone new crossed. And it made a big splash,” she chugged the rest of her sparkling water (“You drink TV static?” Sheamus asked when she first ordered it. / “You don’t?” Kira responded, downing the glass in one go.) “Let’s go see, Mr. Hopeful.”

“I hate it when you call me that.” The mortal rolled his eyes before slamming back the last of his own drink—a much more sensible Coca-Cola—and following her.

By the time the pair had made it to the Little Tiber, the newbie had already crossed, receiving the cleansing. They collapsed, sending a pang through Sheamus. Curse his bleeding heart. When once he couldn’t care less about children, now there was a soft spot for them. A need to protect them from the horrors of the world. Too many had been through too much. Especially the demigods.

His eyes caught hair that was just-shy of a light brown. The pang worsened. That was his brother’s hair color. When the kid shook the water off, his eyes landed on a scar peaking out from their ear. While not one he remembered his brother having, there was the near-miss in the ER. (“This ID isn't valid, I can’t let you in.” / “Don’t tell anyone, I could lose my job, but he’s doing quite well for someone who took a lawn mower to the side of his head. Now leave.”)

“Hey, they look about the right age.” Kira’s voice was drowned out by the waves of regret. Sheamus had only been a teenager, unable to do anything, but he still felt that he had abandoned his sweet baby brother all those years ago. Was now the time to make it right?

~~

Asph had finally settled into the barracks when his new centurion joined him. “You are requested in the Fifth’s Meeting Hall.”

“The… where?”

They grabbed his wrist and marched out the door, dragging him with. They only let go upon arriving at said meeting hall. “Newbie’s here,” they shouted into the door as they shoved him in.

He regained his balance and stood straight up, hands behind his back. “I was told you needed to speak with me?”

“Damn, you look so much like him for not being blood,” a woman said. She was flicking a coin back and forth.

Instead of speaking, Asph tilted his head. What was she on about?

“Kira, you’re going to freak him out.” A man in his early twenties spoke up from right next to her.

Wait. Dressed only in blacks. Triangular head. Brown eyes. He was older than last seen, but it was clearly “Sheamus?”

“Seven years. Two of which I was stuck at home. Four of which I spent searching. The final one, I spent here. Waiting. Hoping.”

Asph’s confusion grew. “Why would you do that? It wasn’t like we were friends or anything. We aren’t even really related.”

Sheamus stepped back. “I may not have been the best at first, but you disappearing was the worst thing to ever happen to me.” He had wallowed for years, changed schools, leaving D.C. as soon as he could.

“You were such a sweet kid. What happened?”

“I was abandoned!” he exclaimed. “Without any explanation! That’s what happened.” Asph stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

[andorahq]

May the gods watch over you, ASPHE VESPER. Please report to the village watch in no more than 24 hours and be sure to complete the watchmen’s checklist. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

(bruna marquezine, 200, female) by the gods is that ASPHE VESPER? the locals say they’re FEARLESS & SILVER TONGUED and DECEPTIVE & PROVOCATEUR. SHE is known for being the THE ROYAL ADVISOR/GRAND DUCHESS. word around the tavern is that SHE IS A BASTARD CHILD WHO MURDERED HER FATHER'S CHILD TO OBTAIN HER TITLE & WAS THE SNAKES’ TONGUE IN THE FORMER KINGS EAR, but you didn’t hear it from me. (ooc: Saintess, 21, she/her, GMT + 2, n/a)

[hetalia-club]

haha who is the person in the framed picture in your high Matthew comic?

It’s Snoop Dogg

Stoner Matt has multiple framed pictures of Snoop Dogg in his house.

He has a reason for it. If you ask him he will give you a big run around answer. That eventually gives no true answer. No one actually knows why he frames google search images of him. It could be an idol thing, ironically, or maybe not that at all. Maybe he just really likes Snoop. People have stopped asking.