#big pond loop

[orofeaiel]

Caught in a Downpour

[writingoddess1125]

Texas State Fair

TF 141 + Alejandro going to the Texas State fair with Gigs

Just me on my Crack Head Shit again! Don't take anything seriously

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• After a far too hard of a mission you decided the guys all needed to lay low and get a fun treat- So you took them to your home to stay till their flights back over the pond.

• Back at your home you had them set up in your guest rooms and livingroom.

• Of course treated them with the upmost hospitality you decided to let them have a little fun.

• Starting of course with a hearty breakfast for the bunch

• "Fucking Hell-" Simon grumbled as he saw the damn platters of food. Eggs, Hashbrown, Grits, Biscuits, Pancakes, bacon, sausage, sausage gravy and some fruits you had lying around.

• "This is a scone-" Gaz said as he held the buttermilk biscuit in hand, Earning a hard glare from you.

• "Just eat the dam' thing" You shot back at him with a glare, the man grumbling before taking a bite and freezing.

• A hint of a smile going over his lips as he finished off the pastry quickly-

• Fucking thought so-

• Each one of them tucking into the hearty breakfast at hand and clearly had favorites.

• Alejandro enjoyed the hashbrowns with over easy eggs

• Price enjoying the grits quite a bit with scrambled

• Gaz dogging out the Biscuits and Gravy.

• Soap ate his stack of Pancakes in delight along side the mountain of Aunt Jemima syrup

• And Simon ate essentially everything but you noticed he liked to make sandwiches with his food using the biscuits.

• "Alright boys, ready to be tourist today?"

• You say cheerfully and watch their eyes get big-

• This was going to be fun - For you

• Maybe lucky was just on your side but you'd taken them to the Texas State Fair. Getting them civilian clothes from Walmart which they had a trip going through.

• Ending up at the Fair after a nice drive in your old truck you smile as the guys get hit with the wave of people and games laid before them. It was absolutely massive

• Deciding to just get the christening over with you take them to the Pits- Getting them to try that years contestants and pit masters specialties from each stall.

• Them almost losing their minds when they saw the prices-

• You of course needing to flex your home so it wasn't a problem as you handed them the paper plates.

• Simon took a peice of the meat and slipped it under his mask first. You see his eyes widen at the taste as he continued to pick through the damn thing at quick speeds. The rest following suite.

• Price Having a damn good time with the smoked sausages as he acted like he hadnt had breakfast. Even if you knew the poor old man would have some heartburn after this.

• Drifting through the fair you showed them all the fusions in for the big contest- which had defiently been hit or miss by your guys standards.

• Alejandro speaking to some stall members as they gave him some stuff to try free and trying different fusions of some things he grew up on.

• A Froot Loop Shrimp doing Gaz in as he damn near lost his Breakfast and BBQ after a bite.

• The favorites among the men being a smothered Torta which they all demolished.

• Which you were greatful for since your wallet was defiently starting to burn-

• Soaps eyes however handed on the Funnel Cake stand and you of course bought him one.

• Soap had the biggest sweet tooth out of the bunch and looked at the Funnel Cake like it was the second coming of God.

• "Ay Fuc ya thats good-" Soap said as he took a bite of the Funnel Cake and gave laugh. You could practically see the sugar rush setting into the Scotsman.

• After a few hours of running you get to the drink stands, Deciding some liquor was in order.

• "Bitc' about it an I'll clock y'u" You warned pointedly at them. Which made him shut up and drink the beers provided.

• From some shots, to Margaritas and then of course a river of beer ready for you all.

• " 'merican Beer is disgustin" Soap grumbled as he looked at the light colored liquid set infront of him by you.

• After the drinks, the alcohol clearly getting to the men as they went to play some games.

• Releasing highly trained soldiers out to kiddy Fair games was probably the worse decision ever- Like setting a Olympian to a athletic competition.

• Winning time and time again each game, getting the biggest prizes or even cash at times.

• By the end of night the men were full and ready to sleep for the next 3 days. You driving them all the way back to your home and smiling as you saw the pile of hardened soilders passed out in the back of your truck like children.

• Sharp shooting, Darts, Ring Ross, Test of Strength-

• Every. GOD. DAMN. GAME.

• By the end each man had a clear plastic bag full to the brim with shit and most was offered to you. The giant bull stuffed animal as big as you being as much evidence-

• This leading to more drinks of course-

• When the rides came however they were well drunk- You feeling like you were watching a group of 6ft+ Toddlers wreck havoc over the fair as they dragged their prizes and went on Faris wheels and mini rides.

[axcel-lucci]

Fishman!Law X human!reader

A/n: so apparently fishes lay eggs... ehem... also, I tried my best :P

Tw: smut. Dirty... dirty smut.

My masterlist

(Y/n) and Law have been together for a long time now, Perhaps 2 years tops? Even she wasn't sure.

Law had saved her from nearly drowning one time, when she was thrown off the ship by her own fellow crewmembers.

He brought her to his home, which was just an underwater cave that had looped around to a big massive dome with a pond in the middle, how does it work? (y/n) and Law questions to this day.

"Hmm... law" she called as they had entered his home once more

"Yeah...?" Law hummed as he placed her down so she can change from her wet swimsuit to some dry clothes she keeps in there.

His eyes were gold with inky black surrounding it, his arms had scales but he had the ability to make them blend into his skin as he was drying off, his four arms looked so delicious with his muscled chest making her stare a bit before snapping back

"I was wondering, I researched some things about this and that."

"This and that?" He raised a brow at this and looked at her while she looked at him with a tilted head. 'fuck-- she looks so damn cute-' he thought to himself but played it cool

"Yeah. You know, about fishmen? I wonder if... fish and fishmen are the same? I mean... they are both fishes, one is just... human like?" She asked herself the last part

"And what did you discover?" He turned to now look at her fully as he was dried up

She hesitated for a bit before shrugging, "that fish lay eggs" she said before stepping over to him and look him in the eyes with pure fascination, "can you lay eggs?"

Law was beyond embarrassed and ashamed at this point.

Yes, fishmen do indeed lay eggs, after all, they're just evolved versions of fish so that's not really something that should change.

He cleared his throat, "i-i mean... we do but... it's weird to explain, so bare with me"

She got all excited and nodded before he motioned for them to sit down at his big soft bed

"We can lay eggs, but... the eggs usually form in the female's body. Though... some types of fish can lay eggs without any other DNA in it... I'm still researching how that is even possible."

"Oh..." she hummed, mesmerized, "so... you can't lay eggs?"

Law debated whether to be truthful or not, eventually he settled to be truthful. He sighed deeply, "my... bloodline can lay eggs without... you know..." he blushed intensely

"I see" she nods with a smile, "but how does that feel though? Like... do you produce eggs while cu-"

"Shut--!" He cuts her off with a hand on her mouth and him blushing furiously

She giggled, "I understand Law." She smiled before kissing his cheek, "do you mind if I use your desk for a bit? I need to finish my homework..." she cried

"Oh that's right, you decided to go back to college, right?"

"Yep...! I want to provide for myself not by stealing or fighting, I want honest money." She said excitedly

"Sure, go ahead." He smiled softly before pressing a kiss against her lips, "just make sure to clean up right after."

"Thanks Law...!"

Later...

"(Y/n)" he called as she hummed from the desk, "I've been thinking... I want to live with you." He states making her pause

"What...?"

"I want to live with you, I want to be with you, not just periodically. I want to move in with you, now that you're back to school, you need someone to take care of you." He states as she paused her studying all together to get up and sit down next to him on the bed

"Are you sure? What about... this? Your home? Aren't you gonna miss it? It's not like you can carry stuff in and out of here" she mumbled

"I can visit from time to time I suppose" he nods, "I can figure it out. Don't worry"

"If you say so..." she smiled and kissed him deeply

He smiled as well before reciprocating the kiss which eventually lead to one thing and the other, the two eventually making out heavily on the bed while slowly shedding off clothes.

Law only had a few articles of clothing making him growl and basically tearing her clothes off of her

"L-law...!" She gasped and covered herself in embarrassment

"Hey now. Don't be shy" he pouted before taking her hands and placing them over her head, leaving him with three free hands that started exploring making her gasp and whine at every whim.

"Those were my favourite pajamas...!" She huffed with a pout

"I can buy you another" he smirked.

Truth be told, despite being a fishman, he's a high paying doctor with a reasonable time. (Which itself was quite rare to begin with)

She just pouted even more making him chuckle and kiss her

She then gasped once more when he pulled her legs away and his other hand play with the wet flower that bloomed in between

"Mmh... I haven't done anything yet and you're already wet... this is our first time, no?" He asks before kissing her again and pushing his fingers inside.

She moaned and threw her head back, Law physically grinned darkly before biting and sucking on her skin as a way to mark what's his, which was all of her

"L-law...!" She whined as her back arched when his fingers brushed against the spot inside her

"Oh... here?" He smirked before playing with the spot making her see stars and eventually come undone with shaky legs and gasping for air. As well as being dazed enough to not realize his hold on her was disappearing for him to take off his own clothes.

"S-so big..." she muttered once she grounded herself when she saw his member, "would that... fit?"

"We can always make it fit" he smirked as his hand then trapped her wrists together over her head once more and his other two hands secure her legs over his shoulders and eventually holding unto her hips.

His remaining free hand took hold of his own member and rubbed it against her wet entrance teasingly making her whine, begging for him to continue

"Alright..." he smirked before starting to push himself inside.

The sheer size of him made her walls stretch unforgivingly as she gasped and moan at how hot it suddenly felt

"L-law...! A-ah... wait..." she gasped once he's fully inside, "s-so big..."

"So tight" he groaned with a chuckle as his free hand from before gripped her thighs and started to grind against her and bite his own lip

"Law-" she gasped before starting to moan and whine

"You're ready" he muttered before gripping her hips rather tightly and raising them to a comfortable position only for him to mercilessly start to pound and abuse her cunt in the most pleasurable way possible.

Causing her to toss and turn in her position while gasping, moaning, and even whining for him to go faster despite his already rough pace

"Faster? Heh... why not." He smirked before adjusting their position swiftly and fulfilled her request by going in and out of her poor sorry cunt as fast and as roughly as he could

It didn't take long for (y/n) to come around him once the tip of his own dick started pressing against her cervix with immense pleasure.

With her coming around him, it just fueled him more as she gripped him rather tightly, sucking him back in as it grew slippery around him, letting him go in and out as much as he wanted.

He could feel his own release coming and his dick feeling heavier and heavier with his eggs.

(Y/n) could already feel the outline of his eggs inside his dick, ready to burst

"W-wait law" she gasped, "I don't think-"

"Shh..." he leaned down to her ear and bite it rather harshly, "just keep moaning like the pretty human that you are."

She gasped and moaned as she felt another climax build up inside her and suddenly release.

Law couldn't take the heaviness anymore and just shoved himself deep inside and release all the eggs stored in his body along with his warm cum.

(Y/n) moaned loudly at the feeling of the eggs filling her up, some of it even pressed rather dangerously against her cervix, one move and the eggs would directly go inside it.

By now there was a bulge by her lower abdomen and the eggs kept coming making her moan and beg law to put it somewhere else

"What a GREAT idea" he grinned darkly before pulling her hips so that he could press deeper inside her and his tip basically pressing against the cervix, the eggs started to enter her deeper inside making her gasp and moan even more

"L-law...! Not in there- I won't be able to- ahh-!" She moaned loudly as her legs shook violently, her insides was now probably filled with his eggs and she doesn't know how to take them out.

It just formed a lumpy bulge on her abdomen making her pant heavily and moan even more until the very last one of his egg slipped past her cervix and deep inside her womb.

"L-law..." she moaned once he slowly pulled out and a few eggs were already starting to spill out but he only put them back and prevented any of them to get out.

"Shh... it feels so good, Huh?" He bit his lower lip once she started squirming and the eggs moving inside her rather deliciously.

"L-law... please... how-" she gasped once law plugged that hole up with some device most fishmen use on their partners so the eggs don't escape.

"I said shh" he rolled his eyes and laid down beside her, he felt her legs immediately close and tighten before rubbing against each other, "hey now. Don't tell me you're getting off of our babies being inside you, Huh?"

"B-but law..." she looked at him with such cute eyes but he already saw those eyes a million times before and not be affected by it

"This calls for some punishment" he chuckled before flipping her over so that her chest was against the bed, his hands once again trapped her in place before thrusting inside her unprepared ass making her scream in pleasure.

"L-law...! You're not planning to-"

"I so am" he smirked before starting to thrust more harsher than before.

Her whines and moans, coupled with her begging for more, despite complaining about what's inside her womb being rubbed against her.

"I'm close" Law chuckled making her moan, "law... please."

Her voice was hoarse at this point. And just like before, his dick grew heavy until he can't take it anymore and spill his eggs inside her now wet anus as she moaned with tears in her eyes.

It felt so much more erotic, being filled with eggs on both sides as he plugs the holes up tightly, not letting any of the eggs escape

"There. We can just clear them tomorrow" he chuckled before laying down beside her spent form, a now large buldge on her abdomen as he softly strokes it's lumpy surface, "you know... I don't mind you giving birth to my children" he hummed at the idea

"Law!"

"Just kidding, don't worry. We can take them out safely tomorrow, even the ones inside your ass and those that were pushed through your cervix." He smirked at the mental image of (y/n) being so full of his eggs they start to slip out themselves.

She grumbled before eventually drifting off to sleep while Law watches intently and kissing her cheek.

"I don't think I'll be able to control myself tomorrow..." he chuckled to himself.

He eventually drifts off as well with a hand on her abdomen.

[tesalicious2]

For some odd reason I got the idea in my head that Monnk and Fox HATE each other.

Like they cannot be in the room together, they will beat each other to death.

No one knows why but since they were cadets they can’t.

No Jedi knows because it’s never been an issue until there’s this big meeting and any Jedi available shows up in person with their commander.

Kit joins and Monnk is meant to be there too but is late. No one sees an issue until Commander Thire shows up, he’s meant to accompany Fox for the meeting.

Thire looks at Kit Fisto and shakily asks, ‘where’s Monnk?’

‘He’s running late. He’s probably showing Commander Fox the way, since he’s never been to the temple before.’

The Jedi laugh and the commanders freeze, ‘uh oh’

then all the commanders run out of the room, shouting for Fox and Monnk.

The Jedi look towards the holo of Ponds and Mace, all direction to Ponds.

“No one knows why but everytime they meet they fight. Not like spar fight but I’m gonna kill you fight. We don’t leave them alone together, ever.”

Well, the commanders return a few minutes later. Fox and Monnk split apart and once settled, motion for the meeting to start.

After all is done, everyone moves to leave and Thire loops an arm around Fox. The man isn’t really putting any weight on his leg and is breathing uneven. Commander Cody goes and helps him out.

The Jedi seem taken aback by this and leave somewhat confused. Commander Doom helps stabilize Monnk and walks with him out. All they hear is a mumured ‘why every time. You have to beat the snot out of each other.’

Kit Fisto looking confused, looks toward the Commanders.

‘They got to each other first, might wanna get Monnk to a medbay.’

Kit nods and quickly goes after Monnk.

[baby-trash-lmao]

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ Adam as a regressor and Lute as a caregiver ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

(requested by annon)

【☆】 Adam is very private about his regression, no one knows about it besides Lute

【☆】 Adam is a tweenager regressor most of the time but has a secret baby regression age that he hides from Lute (Lute definitely knows, she just pretends she doesn't for Adam's sake)

【☆】 When Adam is in baby mode Lute will wear her helmet so Adam doesn't know it's her, he calls her Maleficent

【☆】 No matter what age Adam is super bratty about eating anything that doesn't have in it sugar and Lute has fully given up on trying to get him to eat his veggies

【☆】 Adam loves coloring pictures for Lute, she has three whole binders full of his artwork and forever treasures them

【☆】 The two of them can't fall asleep without music so they have a CD player! but no lullabies (that's for babies Adam would scoff) the two of them fall asleep listening to classic punk and metal

【☆】 Adam likes to be in control of the TV and what they watch, he likes to annoy Lute by playing the same three shows in a loop

【☆】 Lute is more of a cool older sister she takes Adam to the park or pond, doesn't scold him when he swears, lets him have a taste of her coffee, and lets him read from her comic book collection

【☆】 Even when regressed small Adam doesn't like a lot of baby stuff but he will NEED his bottle and/or paci on him at all times

【☆】 Adam calls Lute Lu-Lu and Lute has given Adam the nickname little man, big guy, and booger (in the affectionate way)

[separatist-apologist]

Still A Sunbeam

Summary: As a child, Elain Archeron is pushed into a pond by the heir to the Day Courts throne, Lucien Spell-Cleaver, and vows she'll never forgive him for it. But as an adult, Elain finds that if she wants out of an arranged marriage to a Spring Court prince, she will need Day Court's help. More is at stake than a decades-old rivalry, and when their home is threatened, Elain and Lucien will have to set aside old differences and work together

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Read on AO3

Elain had been home all of a day and was on her way to meet with Lucien when Arina came crashing down a hall. Green eyes found her own, big and wide and filled not quite with fear…maybe mischief. 

“What happened?”

“The Autumn Court,” Arina hissed, looping her arm through Elain’s. “They’ve sent their best emissary for the week to discuss some squabble over sugarcane.”

“What’s wrong with—”

“Eris Vanserra is their best emissary…and also their general…and probably a dozen other roles he’s assigned himself simply to annoy me!” Arina declared. 

“Maybe he is their best emissary,” Elain said charitably. “And maybe he’s here to annoy Lucien.”

“Who’s side are you on, anyway?”

Truthfully, Elain thought the whole thing with Eris and Arina was terribly romantic. Sure, he’d been unkind about it the last time they spoke, but Elain knew Eris wasn’t a heartless monster. He’d saved her life when letting her drown was just as easy. And, had he truly hated his brother, letting her die and pinning the blame on Lucien would have ruined Lucien’s chances of ever becoming High Lord. 

The Spring High Lord and Lady were mates, and terribly in love, besides. Why wouldn’t Arina and Eris be, too? Other than how stubborn Arina was and, given Eris was her mate, Elain assumed he was, too. They just needed a little shove toward the other. 

“Yours, of course,” Elain assured her, smiling sweetly. “You’re too good for Eris.”

Arina narrowed her eyes. “You’re mocking me.”

Elain sighed with exasperation. “I think you’re overreacting a little. If you want to avoid Eris, that’s easy enough to do. That is what you want, isn’t it?” 

The gleam in Arina’s eye told Elain that was not what she wanted. “Is it wrong I just want to know what he’s like. Just once?”

“Why not sleep with his brother?” Elain asked flippantly, surprised by how jealous she felt. It was just, had they slept together? And if they had, why had it ended?

And if they hadn’t, why not?

Why did she care at all? Elain couldn’t put her finger on on it, but the morning in winter when she’d found Lucien shirtless in bed with his hair wild around his face, she’d felt something. A spark, a tug that she hadn’t been able to escape, though she was doing a decent job ignoring Lucien. 

Arina’s bright laughter pulled Elain from the strange tumult of her thoughts. “Sleep with Lucien? No, I think I’d prefer his older brother. That’s funny, though.”

“So you never—”

“Cauldron boil me alive, no,” Arina admitted, whipping her head around to look at Elain. “He’s like a disgusting brother. Why are you asking, anyway? Did something happen in Winter?”

“No,” Elain said hastily, thinking again of that auburn hair spilling over strong, broad, muscular—stop it right now. 

A sly smile spread over Arina’s face. “Are you dreaming of our handsome prince again? No, Luicen, don’t stop—”

“All you have to do is ask,” came the male himself. Lucien rounded the corner, a frown on his handsome, arrogant face. “Though I thought you never would.”

Arina’s own expression dropped into a scowl. She wouldn’t betray Elain, though, which meant she was forced to endure his smug presence while Elain swallowed her own jealousy. While Lucien surveyed Arina, draped in bright red, with slow appreciation, his russet eyes merely flicked to her briefly. It was as if she was beneath his notice or attention. That frustrated her beyond measure, though it shouldn’t. Elain wasn’t supposed to want his attention or to notice anything interesting about him at all.

“I suppose this is why you’re late. Again,” Lucien said dryly, crossing his arms over his mostly bare, muscular chest. 

Touch him, taste him, smell him— something in her gut was rising with interest, pulling her closer. Elain remained utterly rigid, grateful when Arina answered. “Your foul brother has descended on our court—again—and I am taking Elain to the pool.”

Lucien’s expression flattened. “The pool?”

“Yes, Lucien. She can’t work all day, every day—”

“She barely works at all,” he snapped, holding himself just as rigid as she was. Lucien seemed to vibrate with anger, now entirely focused solely on her. Just like she’d wanted, though, maybe not like this. Which was worse, she wondered? Being pinned down by his fury or his desire? Each seemed equally terrifying, like playing with fire. 

“One day won’t matter,” Elain murmured, hating the way he cocked his head like some sort of predator. 

Don’t look at me like that. Don’t look at me at all. I can’t explain to my mother I wrecked an engagement on the prince of Day. 

Lucien wasn’t her savior. He’d take what he wanted and leave, and Elain wanted more from her first time. Though Arina suggested she just get it over with, Elain wanted a little romance. Something that was special, even if it wasn’t forever. That didn’t seem unreasonable to her. No matter how Lucien fascinated her, he wasn’t that kind of male. 

“You want to see Eris that badly?” Lucien asked, his question a taunt. 

Is this the game you want to play? Elain swore golden light flared in those russet eyes, rising to the challenge. “He is rather handsome,” Elain replied, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. Arina didn’t move, didn’t react at all. It was only after Elain said it that she remembered Eris was Arina’s mate.

And Arina was her friend. 

Still, Lucien took the bait. “Oh I bet he is.”

“Glad we agree,” Elain replied lightly.

“What is happening?” Arina whispered, ignored by both of them as they flounced off in opposite directions. Arina chased down Elain who began to feel foolish the further from Lucien she got.

“What was that?”

“I’m sorry,” Elain immediately began babbling. “He just—he’s so irritating and I—”

She swallowed hard. And she what? Elain didn’t know how to explain the effect he was having on her. Elain blinked, feeling so stupid. 

“He’s aggravating,” Arina agreed, her pretty face rich with sympathy. “And stupid. I love the Lady of Day, but surely it can’t be a coincidence all her sons are such idiots. If you want to punish Lucien, I know just the way, though.”

“With a knife?”

Arina chuckled. “How very Spring Court of you. No, not with a knife. Not yet, anyway. There is a party tonight. Let me dress you. Let him watch you walk around, wishing he could have you and knowing he can’t.”

“That’s the last thing Lucien feels for me,” Elain said, embarrassment threatening to choke her. 

Arina laughed again. “Oh, Elain. Trust me. Lucien was burning with jealousy back there. All you have to do is touch another male and he’s likely to combust.”

“You’re wrong. He hates me.”

“Lucien is too stupid to know what he feels,” she disagreed, eyes sparkling. “Trust me, Elain. And come with me, if only to keep Eris away.”

“You think he’d brave a Day Court party just to bother you?” Elain couldn’t imagine tightly wound, iron-spined Eris Vanserra at the same sort of party that saw Lucien ducking beneath someone's skirts. 

“Everyone wants to know if the rumors are true,” she shrugged, leading Elain toward her bedroom. Elain wanted to know that. The last party she’d attended had seemed rather tame—a little drinking, a little dancing. Calanmai put it to shame.

“Are they?”

Arina’s grin was practically feline. “Yes.”

LUCIEN:

Fingers drumming on the arm of the throne he was currently reclined in, Lucien thought this was the most boring evening he’d witnessed yet. No Eris, no Arina—no Elain. He uncrossed his legs only to cross them again. Who fucking cared? Who cared when Larissa was running her hands over Ayla’s stomach and in an hour, no one in the room would be wearing clothes? If Elain was there, she’d turn it into a book club or something equally chaste and polite. Besides, Ajax was there, already bare chested and Lucien didn’t want to watch her fall over herself for him.

Larissa crept closer to the dais Lucien was still sitting on. With his spread legs, he was sure if she positioned herself a little to the left on that gleaming marble floor, she’d see right beneath his clothes. There was nothing worth looking at given how soft and uninterested he was, but maybe her clever mouth would change that.

Or maybe not. Lucien laid his head back against the cool gold, trying to remember what he’d even liked about Larissa. He’d been with her just often enough to know what buttons to push to make her come. He knew what she tasted like, knew what little noises she made when she came but did he know anything else?

Did she know anything else about him? Or was he merely decoration, too? A prince she might marry so she would one day be Lady of Day. Yearning slammed into him, rough and fierce. He wanted what his parents had.

Cauldron damn him, but he wanted it so badly. This was, perhaps, the worst place to have that sort of realization and yet Lucien still stood. He was going to bed, he decided. He’d sleep off his bad mood and try again in the morning.

Fuck, maybe he’d finally let his mom pick out some of the ladies to court. Why not? Maybe knowing they were all still young and had centuries and centuries of time would settle him for another decade. Or, maybe lurking somewhere in his court was his actual mate, and he’d find her and—

Lucien didn’t finish that thought as Elain Archeron strolled into the room. What had Arina done? Lucien couldn’t take his eyes off her, a sunbeam made manifest in the tight, yet flowing gold dress all but painted on her stunning body. Lucien stumbled down a step, and then another, drawn to her hair flowing over her shoulders in loose curls and her pink mouth that seemed to glitter beneath the fae lights overhead.

No part of her was on display and yet somehow, it was still the most obscene thing he’d ever seen. He needed to touch her.

He needed to taste her. 

A hand slammed against his chest, preventing him from taking another step. The finger of his eldest brother pressed beneath his chin, closing the mouth he hadn’t realized was open. “You’re drooling,” Eris said with a relish, those amber eyes dancing with amusement. “It’s unbecoming for a Day Court prince.”

“What would you know about that?” Lucien sneered, forgetting Elain for a moment so he could face off with Eris Vanserrra. Overdressed, like always, in a buttoned up coat that was likely stifling, his black trousers neatly tucked into equally shining boots. Not a drop of sweat on him, which seemed like the real magic, given how hot it was. Even with his fathers magic cooling the palace, Lucien was overheated. 

Eris shrugged. “After listening to mother lamenting what a disappointment her youngest son is, I might be positioned to know more than you think. Are you that spoiled you’d punish Elain Archeron for something that is my fault?” he asked.

Lucien’s stomach dropped. “She said no such thing.”

“Then how do I know you’re tormenting her? And why did mother beg me to talk with you if not because she’s disappointed with how poor a male you’ve turned out to be. Harassing innocent females, brooding, hurting mother—”

Lucien’s fingers curled to fists, and might have connected with Eris’s jaw had his brother not raised his own hand in warning. “I will burn this palace to the ground,” Eris whispered, taking a step toward Lucien. “Hit me. I dare you. Give me a fucking reason to turn this whole city to ash.”

“I’ll bet you’d love that. Kill father and I, drag mother back—”

“What’s going on here?” 

Both Lucien and Eris looked up, breathing heavily, to find Arina wedged between the two of them. “Are you two going to dance?” she asked, looking at them both like they were little more than candy stuck to the sole of her sandal. “Surely you’re not about to fight.”

Eris took a step backwards likely because the mating bond forced him to please her. He still looked murderous, his words ringing in Lucien’s ears. He’d never heard Eris lose control like that, or admit that he hated Day Court. Of course he’d assumed, but smirking Eris had never said anything to confirm that. 

What had mother said to him truly, Lucien wondered? It was easy to get caught up in Eris’s words, which was exactly what his brother wanted. Creep under his skin, tangle him up in knots. Just like he’d always done. Lucien forced himself to take a breath.

“No fighting,” he said, hoping his smile seemed relaxed instead of forced. “Eris was complementing our city—”

“Don’t lie to me,” she snapped, rolling her eyes. For Eris’s part, he was silent, watching Arina like she might erupt at any moment. This was what Eris deserved, Lucien decided. For the rest of his life, no matter what he said, he’d want Arina. And she’d never let him touch her. It seemed a fitting punishment, knowing your mate was smart and beautiful and powerful and being doomed to watching her from afar.

He wished Arina would reject it and get the whole thing over with. He’d have a little celebration in the city, toasting to Eris’s demise. Finally, his eldest brother wasn’t getting something he wanted. 

Lucien only shrugged. “Mind your own business, Arina.”

Eris’s lips curled over his teeth, his eyes flashing with pure, undiluted hatred. Arina didn’t need Eris’s intervention, stepping closer to Lucien. Did she know the look on her face was a match for the male behind her? That they both looked so ready to hit him it was almost funny. 

“Destroying the palace is my business,” she whispered, nearly pressed chest to chest with him. And despite how Lucien still towered over her, taller than the already tall Arina, he felt like dirt again. She had that way about her when she straightened her spine and looked at him with…with disappointment. 

Cauldron boil him a-fucking-live. “Congrats, Arina. You managed it. I can’t wait to see what you do next—”

She hit him. Right across the cheek, a ringing slap that made his teeth ache. He’d taken it too far and for his part, felt immediately guilty.

Behind Arina, Eris stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a smile on his face. Asshole, those amber eyes said. 

“Do you feel better, Lucien?” Arina asked him, shaking out her hand. Unaware of the silent threats her mate was making behind her. 

“Not at all,” he retorted, turning his back to them both. He needed to get out, to leave before he did anything else someone might hate him for. Lucien left them both, weaving through the crowd for the open archways…and Elain Archeron, pinned against a wall by Ajax.

No.

The thought slammed into him unbidden, filling him with a fury he didn’t know what to make of. All he knew was he couldn’t stand this, another insult on top of Eris’s indictment that he was a disappointment and Arina’s slap.

If he was going to bed, so was Elain. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to fuck Ajax, or any other member of his court.

Because you want to fuck her, came a traitorous voice in the back of his mind. 

That only enraged him more. Lucien strode toward them, ignoring Arina in the distance demanding he mind his own business. Maybe she should mind hers and get Eris the fuck out of Rhodes. Every minute she dragged this out was another Eris would be around, harassing them all while he waited for her answer.

This was her fault, then. Arina’s fault when Lucien demanded Ajax move and Arina’s when Lucien hauled Elain over his shoulder, screaming at him to put her to the ground.

And Arina’s when he strolled right out of the ballroom, leaving the noise and music and people behind. 

“What are you doing?!” Elain demanded, her fists beating pathetically at his back. 

“Doing what you should have done the minute Arina offered to paint you like—” Gods, he nearly called her a whore. He didn’t think she’d forgive him if he said that. 

“Like what, Lucien?” she hissed, guessing all the same. 

Well aware he was already fucked, he plowed ahead. “When I dragged your fiancé—”

“We’re not engaged!” she screeched, slapping him hard enough it stung. He hissed, though he didn’t release her. 

“You will be,” he said, unable to admit the thought made him angrier than anything else. Just the thought of spending this year with her—of how unforgivable it was that he liked her the way that he did—only to know she would consent to the marriage and spend the rest of her immortal existence planning tea parties and smiling at that bastard filled Lucien with fury he couldn’t contain. It was seeping out of him in the form of hot, golden light. 

He hadn’t been so close to erupting since he was a boy. 

“No, I won’t,” Elain panted, bracing her palms against his lower back. “That’s why I’m here. And when this is all over, I’m going to vanish into another court—Summer or maybe Night—somewhere they don’t force females to get married.”

“Not here, though?” he demanded, pushing open her bedroom door when he reached it. “We don’t require that.”

“Why would I stay and work for a High Lord who hates me?” Elain demanded as Lucien dumped her on her neatly made bed. The scent of her slammed into his chest, heating his blood and Lucien was so, so fucked. He felt insane, wild and out of his depth. Elain scrambled up on her knees, throwing out a hand like she expected him to grab her again.

Lucien knew if he came any closer he’d do something he’d really have to apologize for. 

“I don’t hate you,” he said truthfully. 

Elain raised her eyebrows, looking around. “This doesn’t feel like the friendship you offered, Lucien.”

A growl slipped when she spoke his name like that. Too intimate, it was too much. He backed away. “I don’t know…” Gods, he didn’t know what was wrong with him. “I’m sorry, I—”

“It’s okay,” she said earnestly, slipping from the bed to come toward him. He watched, staring down his nose at her while forcing the rest of him to remain still. “You don’t know how to be friends after hating me for so long.”

No, that wasn’t it. He didn’t know how to be her friend when standing in her presence was pulling such an extreme reaction. But maybe it was better to let her think the opposite. After all, friends didn’t want to do the things he wanted to do to her. And if Lucien ever got the chance, he had a feeling it would start a conflict in Spring.

“You can stay here,” he said, heart pounding. “When this is all over, I mean. I don’t hate you. Don’t leave on my account, I—”

Fuck. I want to taste you so bad it’s making it hard to think. 

Elain blinked those wide, fawn brown eyes up at him. They seemed bigger, brighter beneath the gold dusted over them. Her mouth, too, was pinker, her cheekbones glittering beneath the light. What the fuck had Arina done to her? 

“Just admit you like me, Lucien.”

“Haven’t I done that already?” he grumbled, fisting his hands at his sides. She was going to scent him if he stayed much longer and their whole talk of friendship would be wrecked over the arousal rolling off him in waves. “Of course I like you. You’re coming to Summer with me, aren’t you?”

My legs are trembling, don’t you see that?

“Then no more outbursts like this?” she asked, too forgiving for her own good. “Maybe next time you should hit Eris.”

“I’d like to,” he admitted.

“Do it. Please,” she added, seeing perhaps how he meant to argue. “Instead of taking your anger out of me, take it out on Eris. It might do you both some good—I don’t think anyone has ever put him in his place.”

“I thought you liked him.”

“I do,” she mused, though her eyes seemed to say, I like you more. And though she didn’t explicitly say those words, just the thought was enough to ease some of the tension in his chest.

“He’s clearly trying to get a rise out of you, Lucien.”

“He wants to know how powerful I am,” Lucien said, the words all coming out in a rush. Eris had been baiting him into exploding for years and tonight he’d nearly succeeded. Lucien took a breath, settling himself enough to stand in front of her without being a threat. “He wants to know if I’ll be a threat to him someday.”

Elain cocked her head, spilling those thick curls over her shoulder. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe Eris is just jealous of you?”

Lucien rubbed at his jaw. “No. Why…why would he be?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?” she asked with a pretty laugh. Elain tried to turn, but Lucien caught her wrist. Not because he wanted to hear more, but because he wanted her to stay right in front of him, close enough he could still smell her. Elain glanced down and Lucien released her, letting her think what she wanted.

She shrugged. “You were raised here with your mother, in a place that clearly adores you and a father who hopes you one day take his place. And Eris, I think, would have liked that, too. I think he would have left with his mother if he’d been given the chance.”

“He loves power,” Lucien disagreed. She shrugged again.

“Maybe that’s the only thing left to love. Now. Get out of my bedroom, Lucien. I want to fix my hair and I don’t need you breathing down my neck.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, stalking for the door. He paused, though, looking back. “You could do better, you know.”

He didn’t stick around to hear a response—didn’t want to see her face as his words registered. If she guessed what he actually meant.

You could have me. 

[writingonjorvik]

Did it.

Was this ideal? Absolutely not, but the first week of every event is always rough. I know a lot of folks will contest the 18k, but under the assumption that SSE is going to follow their methods of increased gathering from (almost) every prior event, Hollow Woods was almost 33k before the price change and plenty of folks did that in a week. Is that overlooking the other methods of gathering from the Summer Camp and Hollow Woods? A little, but under the assumption that those things will be added as the event goes on. Is this still the best way to encourage people to play? Eh, you need like 500 a day which is a half hour of play time if you get a good loop, and that time will go down. I hold that judgement until later in the event personally, they may add a wisp and/or cache equivalent Wednesday and that would make progress feel a lot better.

The bigger issue I think with this track was the filter. I never personally had issues with the color filter, but it did make the map feel oppressive. Which, if you lean into the spooky ghost stories part of the season, is a vibe. But I know a lot of folks did have an issue with the filter, either with headaches and migraines or with making it feel like the event was depressing due to the lack of color. I think the markers for change to the filter are way too high. There is no noticeable change at the first quest (6k) other than some crystals lighting up, and the filter only drops to 50% at the second (12k).

I think there are far better ways to indicate lack of life in the village than the color filter that would have had less of an impact on the game, like the animals slowly returning or there being less visitors or some vendors (like the retro shop or cafe) being closed. The filter should have been dropped at like, the first reward, which should have been a boosted tutorial for free players who haven't played the Hollow Woods content yet. I think also instead of as many XP or shillings rewards, there should have been more quests to indicate this progress throughout, because the rewards as are made the whole thing feel slower for me as someone with all maxed horses.

If you want to make things a little more bearable, looking over any mechanics that may be added in future updates or big rewards in the Advent presents, here are my recommendations for getting through it:

Listen to something. I say this about training too. I was super behind on CR campaign 3 when the event started and I got through like 3 months of episodes in the process.

Avoid the ice as much as possible. The drift will only add time trying to catch singles. Do a pass for the piles, any singles on the way, and then do a circuit on solid ground.

Nooks are not worth it. You will get more mounds to respawn by running around the edge of the lake and then through the lake than you will going off into nooks for maybe a mound and more likely singles.

My circuit was to start by the small pond with penguins at the bottom of the ramp and circle clockwise until I reached the other side of the lake, and then I would counterclockwise on the lake to get back to the pond. Repeat.

Something I didn't notice at first, but EACH of the ice carvings reward 20 snowflakes, do all 4.

If you're saving the Advent for horse XP, day 7 is 500 snowflakes.

Have someone to share progress with. @centeris2 helped me with this, particularly today doing the last 4k.

The bar at the end is looping rewards for, as far as I can tell, just more HXP. Now, I've got a text RP and my new project to get back to because I couldn't just do this but also had to dive 10k + worldbuilding doc into a new project plus my home game's downtime stuff to do.

[cdyssey]

The Big Bang Rewatch Thoughts:

The way Moffat plays with time travel in this episode is SO much fun to me. Watching the Doctor zip back-and-forth in time to set the pieces for the future, and then getting to see the moments where he realize that he has to do that in the first place, is so clever. It makes time feel fluid and complicated—possible to be rewritten.

I get weepy at so many moments in "the Big Bang," but especially at the Lone Centurion keeps Amy safe for two thousand fucking years segment of the episode. goddamn, seeing that kind of devotion changes a brain chemistry.

And really, how the entire episode is about all the unassailable love between this core cast of characters. Rory and Amy. Amy and Eleven. Eleven and River. Hell, even River and the TARDIS—I've always been made tender by the notion that the TARDIS puts River in a time loop to save her. That's her daughter right there!!!!

ANOTHER MOMENT THAT CHANGES THE BRAIN CHEMISTRY. A devastated and ruthless River making a Dalek beg for mercy!!!!! ahhheojsdoijfoisjfoiejiojoisoi!!!!!!! she's so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I am!!!!!!!!

God, Eleven and River's dynamic in "The Pandorica Opens" / "the Big Bang" is a delight all around. The Doctor is finally starting to relax around her and openly flirt—pet names, nose boops, trusting that she'll arrive at his line of thinking when it comes to saving the day. They're having their first dates at the end of the entire universe.

And so that makes it all the more harrowing when River understands that these tentative moments are still early ones, and that the Doctor doesn't know her well enough at what they both think is his end. GOD.

I always lose it a little when Future!Eleven returns to "Flesh and Stone" to talk to Amy. the way that this sequence was so meticulously planned out is really a marvel to behold from a directorial and writing level.

jesus christ, Matt Smith is magnificent. Him tenderly putting Amelia to bed and gently talking to her as their history turns into a mere fairytale right before his eyes is nothing short of stunning. As young as he is, he absolutely sells the fact that he's a 900+ year old alien who has seen so much and traveled for so long. And in his devastated face, you absolutely know that every heartbreak he's ever had—including the one unfurling in front of him—is as fresh as the first.

I gasp every time river walks past her parents' wedding reception even though I know it's coming. oh, she's serving!!!!!

Amy's realization that there's someone missing is so beautifully done all around. One of my favorite moments is her seeing a random bowtie and suspenders in the crowd, and it helping to jolt her memory.

"Raggedy Man, I remember you, and you're late for my wedding!" WEEPS, SOBS, ETC.!!

JSIOJDOSOI, yeah, he's Rory Pond.

"Did you dance? Well, you always dance at weddings, don't you?" oh, god, I'm so unwell about river song sioaoioijsiojios.

The euphoria that the episode ends on is spectacular—the Doctor, Amy, and Rory flying away in their blue box of a home together to solve another mystery. What a trio. What a family.

I enjoyed this rewatch so much. S5 is stellar in a thousand different ways, and this finale took it home with... well... an absolute bang. ;w;

[twst-drabbles]

Leona 18

Summary: Cheka follows a beautiful dragonfly to a pond.

(I can feel some of you gulping at this summary.)

It didn’t take much begging to get his dad to let him come here, to this college way before the tournament starts. Of course, it was with a lot of bodyguards, and while Cheka liked them a lot, they don’t want to leave him alone long enough to find Uncle Leona.

Uncle Leona doesn’t relax when they’re around. Cheka doesn’t get it, they’re very nice ladies, but he understands that Uncle Leona doesn’t like it. Cheka likes Uncle Leona better when he grumbles and yawns rather than quiet.

So, when Cheka heard doors opening and students pouring out the classrooms, Cheka squeezed through their legs and before they could pluck him up. He’s done this many times. Sure, his dad isn’t going to like it, but he promises to say sorry once he’s done playing with Uncle Leona.

This place, Night Raven College, he hasn’t been here much, so everything here still seems so new. Familiar, yet always has new things to discover. It’s sparkling and pretty!

Sparkling and pretty, like the dragonflies in zipping in the air, heads twitching like they're actually looking at him and only him. One of them even landed on his nose like how his mom would kiss it goodnight.

Cheka tried to grab it, so he can show Uncle Leona, but it flew away from him. All of them gathered in the air, looking down at him with their big eyes before they all flew north. Cheka had to follow. Their wings were too pretty and he wanted to see where they would go.

They all went into a small garden hidden away in the trees. A secret garden, with a pond just a few steps away from him. Bright green reed grew from the water, so tall that it drooped and almost touched the pond. The golden dragonflies swooped and did loops, never hitting each other as they made ripples.

Cheka ran and knelt by the grass, enraptured by their dance as droplets clung to their golden bodies. One of the dragonflies, the biggest one he’s ever seen, landed on the water, somehow not sinking at all. It looked at him and stayed still.

Now was his chance!

Cheka gripped the ground, nails digging into the dirt, and stretched his whole body. He reached out a hand, tried to get out as far as he could to get the pretty bug so he can show it to Uncle Leona.

It pulled back farther and farther, skidding across the water. One by one, more dragonflies joined the biggest one on the water’s surface. All that can be heard was the distant wind, empty of any buzzing wings. They all stared. They all waited as Cheka’s bright eyes focused on the most beautiful one.

A hanging reed got caught in his hair and tickled his nose. He sneezed, lost his grip, and tilted forward. The light glared off of the shiny heads of all those dragonflies.

A hand gripped the back of Cheka’s shirt and yanked him from the edge of the pond. Cheka would’ve struggled as he was lifted into the air, if it wasn’t for the familiar growl of irritation that entered his ears.

“Unca Leona!” Cheka celebrated with a big fat smile, outstretching his arms as though to hug him, even though he knows Uncle Leona won’t do that. But he might someday, so Cheka can’t lose hope.

“You…” Uncle Leona looked like he wanted to scold him, but something in him gripped his jaw tight and just sighed instead, “What are you doing here? Are you trying to cause a international panic?”

The dragonflies in the water flicked their wings and lifted themselves in the air. They swiftly rounded around the both of them, but most of them lingered over Leona’s shoulders. They're so pretty but Uncle Leona's prettier.

Cheka laughed sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I wanted to catch one of those,” he pointed, “and give them to you.”

Leona titled his head, directly looking at the bug, then shook them away. “All this trouble for a couple bugs.”

Cheka already had his legs tense for when Uncle Leona would drop him like he usually would when he gets annoyed like this. But, Uncle Leona lifted him up higher and higher until Cheka was settled on his shoulders. A warm, giddy feeling at being so high up made him kick his feet out.

“Careful with the ears,” Uncle Leona grumbled, gripping his ankles to keep him steady, “this’ll be faster anyway.”

“Okay!” Cheka laid his chin flat on Uncle Leona’s head. He may not have gotten a dragonfly, but at least he got this.

“And don’t tell Falena about this.”

“But—”

“No.”

Uncle Leona’s no fun!

[stemmmm]

Stem's thoughts on Harvest Moon GBC2

AKA how I ruined a perfectly good game for myself

The first Harvest Moon on the GameBoy was a port of a pretty simple game onto an even simpler console. The limitations involved meant that only the most basic mechanics could reasonably be left in. The farming gameplay loop still existed, but without any superfluous aspects like wandering the forest for forage or speaking to any of the NPCs. The town still existed of course, as you needed to have a place where you could buy more things for your farm. The compromise they made was to turn the whole thing into a menu where you could choose a business and go inside to buy things, but nothing else, which is disappointing but understandable for such a simple game.

The first thing that Harvest Moon GBC 2 does is put you in a conversation with an NPC, and then makes you run around the town– a place that you can actually walk around in, with buildings and people outside –to talk to and meet everyone as you tell them that you’re going to take over the old farm.

To say this game was a relief to play is an understatement. I actually played this one immediately after GB1 because I decided to skip 64, so when I turned on the game and experienced its opening, I was still extremely raw from how awful GB1 felt. The first time I played it, I actually had to stop after day one, I didn’t even get to do any farming yet, because I was reeling so hard from how absurdly different this one was– and how COMPLETE! The excuses I made in my mind for GB1 were a complete and total sham!

The first thing that you see when starting a new file is something of a character creator. It’s a simple menu where you choose your name, your gender, pick a birthday out of any day in one of the four seasons (64 only let you choose a season), and then choose between a cat or dog for a pet. You aren’t told this in the selection, but a cat will bring home random seeds you can plant, and a dog will scare away wild animals, meaning that you can only leave your livestock outside overnight if you have a dog. I like free stuff though, so I chose the cat.

The next thing you’re exposed to is the town and what story there is, but I’ll get into that later. What I’ll instead explain next is your farm, which is a little weird compared to earlier games. In the first area, you have your house, a big open space, and then the usual barn, coop, silo, wood bin, with extra space on the left and bottom of the farm for a sheep pen and hothouse/greenhouse that you can buy in the future. You cannot grow crops in this area. Instead, there’s a different area to the south that hosts a huge, empty field where you’re expected to grow everything. This is also the only place where there’s an outdoor shipping bin, so you have to go all the way down there rather than just to the entrance of your farm if you have forage to ship. To the east of the farming area is a lake where you can catch fish, and a pond where you can save fish you’ve previously caught. The only thing to do with fish is sell them though, so the only reason I can really see for using the pond is if you caught something past 5PM, when anything put in storage will rot before it can be picked up. The lake is connected to a river that runs through the crop fields, and there’s actually a space to put a bridge so you can access the other half of the space for double the planting capacity. 

You won’t use any of that space to plant grass though, as all of that is meant to go behind the animal houses. Each one has its own individual field behind it for planting grass, and the game won’t let you buy any animals to go in the corresponding buildings unless a certain amount of grass is growing in the field behind it. It’s pretty awkward to make sure the grass is actually cut, as a player who doesn’t go back there every day, but I see the logic behind it.  They want to make people plant grass as an extra way to gatekeep animals beyond just money. It also works pretty tidily with the mechanics they have for putting animals in and out, which is that you get special tools for each of them that automatically sends them in or outside. I didn’t use these things because I didn’t have a dog, so putting my animals outside was equivalent to throwing them to the wolves… literally. And as you may have already theorized, individual items for three different types of animals turns into an inventory disaster because of the way tools work.

In your house is a tool chest that opens a menu when you interact with it. The chest holds up to 20 tools, each with a designated slot, and it has an additional page for all the different types of seeds you can buy. You’re able to carry four different tools or types of seeds on your person at any given time, with the ability to swap between which one is equipped quickly via the START button, or more precisely by opening up the inventory menu via the SELECT button, which is pretty nice in my opinion! It works quickly, and four tools is more than any other game has let you carry so far, but that only means so much when the game has such an excess of tools, while most others only have about six– not including seeds. Navigating the tool chest also becomes something of a pain because there are so many items, so it’s desirable to only keep the absolute necessities on your person.

Included in the excessive amount of tools is an exciting new item: the bug net. See, this game has reincorporated the forest as a foraging area, but it’s a little more than that. While it has the usual seasonal wild plants, a daily-replenishing supply of lumber, and a hot spring, it also has a myriad of insects that wander or fly around in short, predictable loops. It’s no Animal Crossing– the bugs always spawn in the same place and do the same thing for a whole season until the next one, where they’re replaced by a different kind of insect doing the same amount of nothing, but I think that’s appropriate for a game on such a short schedule. Bug catching is less about skill and more about remembering to bring your net with you on days and times that you haven’t gone bug-catching before. The fishing mechanic is similarly simple– it’s less about waiting and more about timing, as the rod will bob in the same pattern every time you cast it, you just have to catch it at the right time. As a result, if you get the timing down, you can always reel it in at the first bob and catch fish extremely quickly. This strategy ended up being my favorite during the time while I was getting started and didn’t have a lot of cash for seeds or animals yet.

But what do you do with these things you catch? You can sell fish but you can’t sell bugs. Instead, both are recorded in collections that you can access at the library in town! The function of the library is to let you access your collections of bugs and fish, view photos that you collected through experiencing events (kind of like what was in 64), and connect to the save files of your friends who have the game to share information and trade items. See, this game took a little inspiration from Pokemon in that while there aren’t separate versions, you only get access to certain things if you’re playing as either a boy or a girl. You get different crops, different bug and fish spawns, and there’s a certain quest that requires making a connection. It’s very cute! But inaccessible if you aren’t playing a physical copy of the game on original hardware, unfortunately.

Other than the library, the town has a carpenter, clinic, church, restaurant, ranch, tool shop, and flower shop. My making a big deal about how the town isn’t a menu this time feels a little disingenuous getting more into it, because while it is a space you can navigate and where people walk around, once you go in a building it’s almost exactly the same– no interior, just a portrait of the shop owner and their wares, but all of this is preceded by an option to talk to them this time around! Not that they have much to say, but it’s still a difference. You get another chance to talk to the shopkeepers and give them gifts (because you can carry items between rooms this time) on Sundays when all the shops are closed, which is another unique feature compared to GB1 where every day was exactly the same.

To the north of the town is a little square with a fountain and bulletin board where everyone who isn’t employed usually wanders about during the business week. At the start of the game, the bulletin board is loaded up with handy tutorials on how to play the game (yet another thing GB1 severely lacked). Later on, it fills up with dates for town festivals like the cherry blossom festival and horse races. The festivals usually aren’t much, shops don't even close for the majority of them, but they give the world a little more life and variety and the horse race gives you the ability to purchase a minigame from the tool shop that you can play anytime you want! There are several minigames which are all unlocked to replay by doing things like going to events or completing certain objectives.

The last new thing in this game is that if you press SELECT twice, instead of giving you the option to turn on Harvest Sprite helpers (no sprites to be found here), you get a more detailed menu with information about your animals, possessions, and then a long FAQ list with information like “weeds are back!” and explanations on how to get sheep or grow flowers inside the hothouse.

The Story

The premise of the story is that there’s an old farm in town that’s going to be replaced by an amusement park. It opens with your character trying to talk the mayor out of agreeing to any deals, saying that you’ll take over the farm to save it. He agrees to give you three years to do the best work you can and then you’re sent on your way. The first thing you have to do is announce the deal to everyone in town, who all happen to already know you… and apparently very well! The town doctor confirms that you grew up in this town, and everyone around is your childhood friend. I’ve never personally seen any farming sim take this angle, and I think it’s pretty fun! The game doesn’t do a ton with it, but it at least has a different vibe. It works well for a game where you do have relationships with these people, but they’re not in a ton of depth and they don’t go anywhere in the end because marriage doesn’t exist here.

This entry is also the first in the series that we see a wholly unique cast (almost). You could argue that 64 does it since technically the folks in town aren’t the same, but they’re awfully damn similar. Everyone here is a new character design unrelated to anyone we’ve seen before. Aside from Mary (librarian) and Ken (carpenter) anyways, who are both the same exact design as their counterparts in 64. While their personalities are similar, there’s nothing to indicate that these are the same characters in any way.

The stories to do with all of these characters mostly aren’t anything too special. There’s twin boys who run the tool shop and their narrative is tied to how you get tool upgrades. Whether you play as a boy or a girl, there are a couple events that indicate certain characters have a crush on your farmer. There’s also a marriage that happens once you make it into year three that puts a tiny change in the town where Rosie, who runs the restaurant is replaced by her sister. Some of these events have to do with little quests where just about all you have to do is go to a certain location when asked, others just occur. As I said before, the story’s all very simple, but it’s just fine like that. 

For the most part, necessary events will trigger when the time is right, but other things only happen if you’ve made good friends with everyone by talking on a regular basis and occasionally giving gifts. You’ll know if you’re on the right track when peoples’ dialogue changes, which happens a few times as you become closer. There’s apparently all kinds of little events in the game, but I failed to see a good number of them.

As usual, the easiest way to get on everyone's good sides and progress the story further is by doing well on your farm and either giving people the appropriate harvests as gifts or just upgrading things further. Despite all the changes to your farm layout, the actual things you have to do to work the land and care for animals are the same as ever. It’s pretty simple and quick to get good farming work done, and a decent amount of options afforded to you in terms of how you want to focus your energy– be it crops, animals, fishing, forage, or friendship, so it’s up to you how you want to get to the finish line. While you’re not told the requirements very clearly, the game is pretty low-stakes and just wants you to take your time and enjoy the three whole years it expects you to play.

How I ruined the game for myself

So of course, without a clear goal given to me, I had to look up the endings as soon as possible. Which brings me to my problem with this game: the requirements it has for the best ending are completely absurd. Well, to be accurate, one of the requirements is completely absurd. The best ending in the game requires 70 or more Happiness Points, having 10,000 G or more, have at least 3 of each animal (cow, sheep, and chicken), find 10 Power Berries, and have the third home expansion built, which are all extremely reasonable to do. So reasonable in fact that I handily managed all of those things before the end of year two out of three. The final, problematic requirement is to ship 10,000 or more items. This is a ridiculous amount of items. This is a “fill your entire field to the brim and never let it run empty” amount of items. I knew this from the second I saw it, but… well, it’s three years of gameplay right? And you aren’t told this is what you need anywhere within the game that I saw, so surely the developers thought this would be a reasonable goal for people, right? I had to give it a try, right?

Saying this from the future where I succeeded, I wish I didn’t try at all. I spent the full three years of this game constantly on the grind, filling my fields as completely as I could, and panicking to rush everything to the shipping bin before 5PM hit so I would have more empty land to plant more crops that I would water in the dark of night before going to bed and doing it again. Fun fact, this game doesn’t make you reset until 6AM the next morning and without any real repercussions. I only found this out because I’d stay out all night weeding and watering. There was very little time left to talk to the people in town after that. I did manage to get them all up to their maximum friendships pretty early on, before I had the means to constantly be churning out veggies, so I had every opportunity to catch their events, I just missed them because every day, no matter the season, I was farming.

The funny thing is, I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy playing the games this way. That is still true, and I very well could have enjoyed my time much more if it weren’t for the damned horse and its awful AI. See, there may be four inventory slots for tools, but there are none for items. Every individual one has to be plucked and carried to the shipping bin, same as SNES, same as GB1. The saving grace in those two games, and technically this one as well, is that around winter-ish of your first year, a horse will appear on your farm, and when it grows up in a couple seasons, it either already has or you can buy for it a saddle bag which functions as a mobile shipping bin. All you have to do is ride your horse out to where you’re harvesting and while it wanders a bit, it stays put well enough for you to load it up with veggies as you run back and forth to harvest, which speeds up the process dramatically in the vast fields you have to work in these games.

This horse is not like those other horses. This horse will take off in a dead sprint with no warning in any direction it pleases. In my experience, this was usually in the worst possible direction that would put it the farthest away from me. And the timing of it was typically whenever I was about to throw something into the saddlebag. This aggravated the hell out of me not only because it was a huge waste of my limited time, not only because it wasted a ton of crops, but also because it was constant. Nothing I did, no positioning I tried was able to help keep the horse where I needed it, and this was how I was spending 80% of my time in this game, dealing with this horse. I could have been seeing fun events, I could have been peacefully farming at my own pace and leisure, even better this technique easily could have just worked out if the horse didn’t behave so erratically. 

But I can’t judge the game on the merit of all the time I spent with the horse alone because that was my own choice to do. The best ending may require 10,000 shipped items, but all it takes to avoid the worst ending is to have more than 10 Happiness Points, more than 2,000G, more than four Power Berries, expand my house, and ship 100 items. With three entire years of game, the only way you fail to achieve that is by basically not playing the game. The vast space between the requirements for the best ending and the worst ending is to get a normal ending that accomplishes exactly the same thing as the best ending does, only the cutscene is different and you get a trophy for the best one. The cutscene barely stands out as anything special, which led to me having no idea what ending I got until I discovered the trophy was a thing I had to search for in my house. That’s it, you still get to keep playing the game either way, not that there’s terribly much else to do regardless of which ending you get, since there’s no special post-ending content.

I’ll still judge it a little bit though

While it makes sense to use your workable area to its fullest extent, having it be a requirement for the good ending to use all of it to the best of your ability for the whole extent of the game is excessive to me, especially since by year 3 it becomes completely unnecessary to try to earn money. I already had everything I was working for, and the requirement being to ship more things rather than better things meant there was no reason to get anything other than what was cheap and quick. No reason to make my animals like me so they’d produce better stuff, no reason to use the maker machines even though they weren’t obtainable until it got to the point where money had no meaning. I hardly bothered with the hothouses because they were both so confusing about what I could plant in each, and so tedious both to unlock and to harvest things since I needed a special tool that would take up a precious inventory space, lest I have to run back and forth between the tool chest. The hothouse might have been more useful if there weren’t winter crops, but there were.

What’s wild about my criticisms is that the game itself has something built in to mitigate everything that I struggled with. There is a tool called the miracle glove that automatically ships your crops the moment that they are harvested. But the only way to get it is via a link connection to a friend’s copy of the game– something near impossible in this day and age because you’d need to somehow find two working copies of this game with two functional GameBoys, and completely impossible if you’re using the magic of the 3DS eShop which doesn’t exist anymore and didn’t have functional multiplayer for most games anyways. That item alone would have solved the biggest problem I had in playing this game, and it was functionally DLC.

Closing thoughts

It took me a really long time to try and get to this review, and I’ve beaten two more games since, which has given me a new perspective. My original nugget for this one was going to focus on how much I hated the horse the whole way through and on how disappointed I was that the game was so hard for such little reward, but I’ve since realized that playing in a way that was no fun for me was my own choice. At any point I could have scaled things down and reprioritized to focus on the details of the game that are more fun like seeing events, but I just clung to that damn horse for 50 hours instead– which by the way, is longer than it’s taken me to beat any other game in this series so far that I’ve recorded my playtime for. The average sits around 25 hours.

If you don’t play like I did, it’s actually a really neat game!It’s not dissimilar to a scaled-down version of 64, with the way it focuses a little more on events and adds features to make the world feel just a touch more alive like the bug and fish collections. It’s not as deep or detailed as 64, but you still get to experience something of a sweet little story with a small set of characters in a game that feels very smooth and fun to play.On the bright side, even with the struggle I went through trying to get the perfect score, it was still a better game than GB1. It says a lot that I’ve found it more appropriate to compare it to  64, a fantastic game, rather than its actual predecessor.

[orofeaiel]

Big Pond Loop

[oldsargasso]

WinnerDean spy AU?

thank youuuu I love you 🥺 sorry for taking days to answer lol I have been. so sick.

five VERY LONG facts...honestly this is just a story outline at this point. TW for violence

the first time they meet it's because Dean's been sent on his first solo mission, instead of Babe or Way getting it done. and he's so proud of himself - finally Alan has recognised how hard he's been working! sure it's not like Babe (currently holed up at home with a broken leg) or Way (currently undercover as a high-end ~companion) could have been sent anyway...still. Dean was the one Alan pulled from the team and sent out into the field all on his own. and he's going a great job---bypasses all the security measures, is in the CEO's office with his password being cracked as Dean pokes around the desk drawers---when the door opens and the number 1 ranked agent at X Hunter's rival agency saunters in.

2. Winner had incredible scores throughout his stint at the academy. But X Hunter has some more avant garde recruitment practices and Winner's not bitter about it at all. Working at RDR means he stays number one, big fish in a small pond kind of thing. His talents are being wasted looking after the very lucrative contract Tony's hired them on for; officially it's "locating and correcting weaknesses in the security framework" but it's really corporate espionage. and it's boring as hell. Winner hates it. why become a spy if not to go around guns blazing and driving dangerously and seducing hot targets? turns out there's a lot more paperwork and sending phishing emails and standing around waiting for people to leave their office in actuality. that is, until Winner makes the usual midnight loop around the top-floor offices and finds something very interesting. (Winner's a little miffed that X Hunter didn't even bother sending their top agent for this job.)

3. Tony offers Alan a deal: give Tony Babe, and Dean gets released with nary a scratch.

Alan doesn't take the deal.

Winner doesn't care, about the deal or Babe or the way Tony's aide keeps hovering around like he wants to say something and definitely not about the pretty agent he captured. But he DOES care that Tony has his own guys doing the interrogation. Like why even hire Winner and his agency if not for something exactly like this? So he hacks into the security feed and finds Tony's guys aren't even asking questions. It's like they're just ...playing almost, landing blows all over the agent's body while his arms are held so he can't protect himself, both eyes blackened and blood dripping to the floor from his torn-up mouth. And Winner notices someone else in the system too. They've covered their tracks very well---unfortunately for North there's only a handful of people that can cover their tracks like that. It pisses Winner off: any good agency would have gotten their guy out, or at least gotten him a bullet---instead X Hunter is just watching? Listening to the sounds of Dean gasping for breath after another interminable minute of being held underwater? Winner kicks North out of the system and patches the weak point and decides to cater to his own particular moral code.

4. Dean doesn't break. He doesn't talk. He clings to the hope of getting out (and then he hopes for it to end). He repeats to himself that Alan wouldn't have left him here if he didn't think Dean could handle it. Alan has faith in Dean so Dean will have faith in Alan. And he manages to keep it up for a few days, or maybe a week---the only way of tracking time is the comings and goings of Tony's guys, and Dean's not sure they have a set schedule. He hurts all over. There's no position he can sleep in that doesn't have his ribs screaming at him, and the comments from Tony's men have started to get very pointed in a way that has his skin crawling. Dean knows the protocol, and he should have gotten at least a message by now. It's easier then, to give up a little, and let his anger and bitterness turn to apathy and carry him through.

5. Winner's favourite thing about being a spy? The vast array of beautiful guns he has access to. He was top of his class when it came to shooting, and taking out five guys before any of them manage to fire back is barely enough to spark any satisfaction. Dean doesn't answer when Winner asks if he can walk, so Winner just slings him over one shoulder and makes his leisurely way out. He's planted enough explosives around Tony's estate that every man is going to be completely occupied elsewhere.

He does run into Kenta on his way to the exit---Winner doesn't shoot, because the guy is armed with a knife and that's not a fair fight---and Kenta just nods at him, like. with approval. Weird guy, but probably has to be to have worked for Tony for so long.

And then when Winner makes it to the garage North and Sonic are waiting there? with a guy Winner distinctly remembers seeing tied up in Tony's office a few weeks ago. And they just take Dean from him and drive away??

So Winner goes back inside and shoots a few more people. He finds Tony's body, and Kenta kneeled next to it, and is like "well I have an empty seat in my car now..." and then they drive away.

(bonus fun fact is that Babe and Charlie are having a whole Mr and Mrs Smith AU thing going on in the background)

[smilesthroughfandoms]

A Bone to Pick (Chapter Preview)

How could I not share this super sweet moment I just wrote?

Mei pondered this. Her control over the Samadhi fire had been brought out by her own understanding of her abilities and what she was capable of. She figured if Bai He could reach that point as well, there might be a chance she could grasp her own abilities. But that was going to be difficult if the mere thought of her powers brought on such existential terror to the little girl, it nearly paralyzed her.

Then, an idea occurred to her.

What if Bai He already had better moments associated with the abilities, maybe not with the being or origination, but with the type of magic she possessed.

“Do you have any good memories of winter?” Mei asked. Hoping she wasn’t throwing Bai He for to much of a loop.

“Ice Skating with my Nainai,” Bai He answered almost immediately with a small smile. “She used to watch me when I was practicing my figure skating… I haven’t done it as much since she passed away.”

Mei smiled. “Ok, focus on your breathing. Breath in… and out. In… and out. Picture ice skating with your Nainai in your head. Feel the cold air on your cheek, the warmth of her hand in yours, hear the scrape of the skates on the ice. Can you see it?”

A moment of quiet. Of meaningful, profound quiet. The kind you hear after a beautiful fireworks show, before everyone decides to get up and leave. Then, a nod. “I do… I see her smiling at me, I see the snow on the banks of the pond, I can see the frozen pond in the park near my house.”

“Ok, focus more on the ice. Feel it under your feet as you skate… Now, look at the skates. Can you see them?”

“Uh-huh. I see them.”

“Keep that picture in your head and, carefully, focus on remaking that memory. Feel the cold under your feet, hear the sound of ice skates and--” Mei was cut off by a loud, unexpected Woosh!, startled back, Mei looked down at Bai He’s feet. She smiled.

Confused by how Mei cut her sentence off, Bai He opened her eyes and, seeing Mei’s gaze, looked to her feet with a gasp. “Are… are those--?”

“They sure are, Little Lily.” Mei stood to her feet before gently tugging Bai He into a standing position.

On Bai He’s feet, were thin, icy versions of the skates she used to wear as a littler girl, when her Nainai took her ice skating every winter. Neat and sharp and oh-so cold on the bottom of her tennis shoes. But, Bai He didn’t really mind the cold. Instead of a choking, overbearing winter, these skates almost felt cozy. Like the first snowfall of the year, like making a snow angel with friends, like spending time with your grandma on a cold day.

With a little nudge from Mei, Bai He pushed off. Almost like it was second nature to her, Bai He started to do a few minor turns and spins. She had been in child figure skating competitions since she could walk, but had stopped skating after her NaiNai passed away. It had been long, too long for Bai He to really remember, since she had just gone skating on the ice. No competition required, just a simple return to form.

It was nice, finding out that she hadn’t lost her touch after all this time. “I’m doing it! I’m doing it, Mei!”

Bai He looked up and saw Mei, holding two kittens in one arm, holding out her phone with the other, beaming at the little girl with wet eyes. “You’re doing it, Little Lily. You’re doing it!” She sounded like a big sister watching her baby sister perform the role of “Tree Number 3” in the school play.

[memories-beneath-the-skin]

Ducking my head, leaning forward under the lift gate of the brown AMC Hornet, dropping my arms worth of tree chunks,discarded remnants of a logging site, firewood for our week camping

Wiping away the stinging sweat getting into my eyes, I felt my fingers sticky from tree sap, that off putting, unnaturally disturbing feeling of the sides of your fingers joining together and pulling apart as you flex your hand, especially that section from big knuckle to the webbing.

I hated collecting firewood, it was hot, we had to be careful not to disturb a wasp nest, rolling your ankle is a very real possibility, and my shirt had become a wet weight of reminder that it was high 90s and humid.

I bent down grasped a handful of sand as best I could from the gravel road and rubbed my hands together like it was soap, it helped coat the pitch, now it felt stiff and weird when I flexed my fingers, a gentle breeze kicked up and I shivered a moment, enjoying the reprieve.

That was our last load, my dad in front of the car walking up towards a stretch of road that had thick cat-tails, a pond of some sort. I see him step inside and disappear from view. Nothing unusual. I would do similar, I still like to explore and muck around, though not usually in the muck of a swamp.

I start to walk up to where he went in. I hear him excitedly say "what the heck"!, I pause, I see commotion from the cat-tails, like the tall grass being disturbed by velociraptors. I smile at the mental site of them running out onto the road.

My dad "run"! He screams, then I see him frantically run into the gravel road, black mud flying from his feet, eyes wide. "run like hell"!

I heard a long, whooshing sound, like a tire that is losing so much air, a steady drawn sound. Then I saw a huge impossible version of what I've seen before, round thick head, giant, it was all head, thicker as it goes towards it's base, this looked surreal, as wide and long like manhole cover, a tail looked like a rat tail only thick as my fist and a foot long

I see the opening of its mouth, beak? Half of his giant head opened up, Jaws wide, big enough to wrap around a calf or forearm. It was worse than a fucking velociraptor, this was an angry prehistoric tank of a snapping turtle, it's shell chipped and ragged, and it was thrashing as the gravel surface, with powerful legs and claws, plums of dust and rock flying, all wheel drive fury as it was chasing my dad.

Hissing loudly, I see him gaining on my dad, my dad definitely not an athlete, also wearing wet, muddy, water shoes, he's slipping in the gravel, I see him snap, heard the jaws snap, sounded crazy, looked worse than I ever imagined, this thing was bad ass!

As he snapped, he pivoted his body, towards dads trailing foot, almost made contact with his ankle. I knew in moment they were half way to car, dad's instinct is to open car door to take refuge and see if this living dinosaur could tear through dark brown painted sheet metal and tear apart a car.

I also knew dad would slow down to open door and didn't want to see chunk of lower leg ripped off, so I ran straight as this damn thing and pressed between it and dad, and purposely tapped his shell with my foot as I got to the right of it. The contact made it stop, turn towards me, I see cold eyes and open jaws as it lunges my direction, I turn around run up the road towards swamp, it followed, I turn, shoot across road to logging field, run around the few trees, loop back to car, get back to road, angry little dude was where I entered the field, looking for me.

I sat next to my dad in the car, sweat pouring down my face, watching the beauty of this creature as it sat in the middle of the road chilling.

We even got out and stayed back. Just watching, was a beautiful turtle, we didn't have cell phones, not like we carry cameras, so we just watch and drink warm, jug water.

I had asked my dad was that necessary to try to die when we know mom would be upset at that, he said he was looking to see if he saw water large enough to fish in, and didn't see it buried in the mud and when he accidentally stepped on its tail, it scared the shit out of each of them.

Eventually the thing slowly disappeared back into it's habitat, dad told mom we saw a small turtle, she said cute did you pick It up, I just laugh.

Those are moments in time that after years of going through every situation in life with my dad, that I learn to slide the bad/unhappy memories away to the back of my storage locker and think about the moments in our life instead that were definitely worth remembering.

[theoddcatlady]

Daddy's Little Girl

The thing is, it doesn’t matter how much you know your daughter is a competent young lady who can take care of herself. You’re always going to be nervous for that very first date.

“And you do know you’re gonna have to be back by nine, right? If you’re late, I’m going to probably call Rick at the police department and have him start searching the ponds for a body.”

“Dad! Dad, chill!”

Diana rolled her eyes as she came down the stairs. She seemed just like her mom did so many years ago. It tugged my heartstrings that she wasn’t here to see her girl right now. She spun around, showing off her dark blue dress. “How do I look?”

I developed a mocking expression, judging her. “Well, it’s a little short-” I gacked as she slapped my arm, “Because it’s winter and you’re going to be cold!”

“Well, then Marcus can loan me his jacket,” Diana grinned mischievously.

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think a jacket will keep your legs warm, but you look great. I bet you’re not done getting ready though?”

“Gimme five more minutes!”

Five minutes turned to ten and I heard a knock at the door. Preparing for whatever Marcus would be, I opened the door.

Well, I certainly didn’t expect this shrimp of a kid. He was probably shorter than my daughter by a good three inches and looked even smaller in that jacket that was at least two sizes too big, with tousled red hair and thick rimmed glasses. He swallowed nervously before extending his free hand, the other holding a rose. “H… hello, Mr. McDowell! Is Diana ready?”

“It’ll be a few more minutes,” I grinned as I gestured him inside, “Come on in, you look cold.”

Marcus hurried inside and took a seat on the couch. “So, um, Diana said you worked at Anderson Equipment?” He said, swallowing nervously.

I nodded. “Yup. Enjoy it, but I’ll probably have to switch to a sales position soon. Getting too old for all that heavy lifting,” I jokingly flexed, “But I can still handle any punk who comes for my daughter’s hand.”

Marcus nearly pissed himself in fear judging by his expression. I couldn’t hold back my laughter, clapping the kid on the shoulder. “I’m kidding! Diana told me you share a math class and you sound like a great guy. I’m not the one you should be afraid of if you screw with her, anyway.” I paused as I heard heels clack down the stairs. “There comes Diana.”

Marcus scrambled to his feet, presenting the rose to Diana as she came around the corner. “Uh, hey Diana! Your dad’s been uh… keeping me company,” He laughed nervously, “You ready to go?”

Diana took the rose and smiled. “This is so sweet, Marcus, you didn’t have to go all out for our first date. Come on, let’s go get some dinner,” She looped his arm in with hers and practically bounced to the door. She turned and mouthed, ‘see you at nine’ before the door closed behind them.

With the house to myself, I just turned on the TV and settled down to watch some crime shows while waiting for my precious daughter to return.

I must’ve dozed off because I jolted awake to the door slamming and someone hurrying up the stairs. I grabbed my phone and my heart sank as I realized it was now 12:31 AM.

I dropped my phone and bolted up the stairs. I pounded on her door, trying not to knock off any of the cutesy drawings she’d hung on there over the years. It looked more like an art board than a door. I could hear the sink running and a quiet sobbing.

“Diana? Diana, please, open the door.”

The tap turned to quiet the stream of water.

“… It’s not locked…”

I turned the knob and walked in. Her bathroom door was open and I stopped dead in my tracks.

My daughter was soaked head to toe in blood. Her once dark blue dress looked black and was ripped down the sides. I saw that her right eye was swollen, blacked out. My worst fears were confirmed.

“You showed him, didn’t you?”

She sniffled before she nodded. Her appearance flickered before she showed her true form. Three sets of arms were wrapped around herself, I could see the eyes on her palms were leaking tears. Her bottom lip quivered, her right tusk chipped as she wiped blood off her pale blue cheeks.

“I thought… I thought he’d understand.”

I sighed and walked inside. “Get the dress off so I can burn it. Where’s Marcus?”

“In the trunk of his car. Most of him, anyway… I couldn’t scrape all of him off the seats.” She couldn’t look me in the face as she handed me her keys. “I’m so sorry daddy.”

“I can wait for the story until I get this mess cleaned up,” I leaned forward and kissed her forehead, careful to avoid the spikes protruding from her hairline, “Don’t worry. I’m not mad. Get cleaned up and into some pajamas, okay?”

It was a long drive out to the forest. Thankfully the streets were dead, giving me plenty of time to think about my daughter… and my wife.

I stopped at the treeline and there she was. I don’t think you’d see what I saw in her, you’d see this hulking creature with three pairs of arms and blue crystalline skin and you’d freak out. To be fair, I did too when we first met. Ciern is different.

But I wasn’t exactly normal when we met either.

“I felt you approach,” Ciern said, her layered voice echoing in my ears. I nodded and gestured her to the trunk.

I grimaced when I saw the scene in the trunk. That scrawny teenager I’d just seen hours ago was in pieces, his decapitated head twisted in an expression of pure horror. “Oh boy. She went full crazy on this poor guy.”

“She showed him?”

I nodded.

“Then it’s best that he’s dead. Those who don’t understand pose a risk. You understand.”

“I know.” I started throwing body parts on the ground. “Can you please help me hide the body? I’d have Diana do what you do, but uh…

Ciern hummed as she gathered up the parts. “Best hose it off tonight, when there’s few witnesses. I’ll make sure the body’s never found,” She said. The arm she held slowly frosted over, turning into crystal before she crushed it, the pieces shattering and melting on the ground.

I sighed and leaned against the car. “She’s not gonna have it easy, dating like she is.”

“I found you though, didn’t I?”

“I’m not exactly your only husband.”

“You are right now. And you’re my favorite.”

I sighed as I felt Ciern’s arms wrap around me. “You’re too good for me,” I said as she gave me a tight squeeze.

“I know. Now go home and talk with our daughter.”

I got home when it was closing in on dawn. I had to leave the car behind and ended up walking until I could get an Uber.

Diana was wearing her favorite pink bunny pajamas, but it was clear she hadn’t slept all night. She looked up at me, sniffling. “… He said he loved me and wanted to show it… so I wanted to show how much I loved him by showing him what I’m really like. Then he punched me and started screaming. I didn’t really mean to blow him up,” She said.

I shushed her and sat next to her. “There will be other guys, I promise,” I said.

“Thanks, daddy.”

[ninemelodies]

Speaking of ideas. There's one thing I still don't get about that explanation from a BTS for that scene from Wild Blue Yonder. Because inactual future timelines can actually affect the past, even in such a way as to prevent themselves, right? There's canon precedent — Seasons of Fear (Big Finish audio thing), Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, even the Valeyard depending on your theory. I'll accept everyone's memory retroactively changing, since the Web of Time is self-healing, and one time almost self-healed Evelyn Smythe out of existence, so that's not a problem — and people sometimes being able to remember inactual timelines also has (inconsistent) precedent, as per Name of the Doctor/JttCotT again, Amy Pond's whole thing, and the story The End with Valarie Lockwood. The question is — where did the Doctor and Donna from the actual 'mavity' timeline go? So far I've only found two explanations that I'm satisfied with. One is that they created and retroactively merged into the 'gravity' timeline — symmetrically to the pair we followed throughout the episode. Or it was a similar, but longer and more complicated loop The other option is that the 'mavity' timeline is stable — that Donna jokes about 'the mavity of the situation' and Newton just remembers her correctly — in that case there's already a whole timeline merge happening in that scene. The minor problem of the TARDIS not insulating the travellers from the timeline change as it usually does (Out of Time - The Gates of Hell, probably a bunch of other stories which I can't remember right now where characters return to find a wrong future/present and retroactively fix it) I'll just chalk up to the malfunction. That's fine, it does that :)

i try not to think too hard about time travel loops bc it starts to make my head hurt bc a lot of it boils down to a bootstrap paradox and that’s an argument that will never really be solved re: egg or chicken.

in this scenario tho i imagine it’s such a small change that the timelines just kinda merged at parallel like you mentioned. the doctor seems to remember it being gravity before so he is aware of the two timelines (he’s a time lord, i would hope he is).

idk overall time travel IS weird

as for the tardis not protecting donna from the timeline change like that…well. she was kinda on fire so i’ll forgive her.