#but i guess i'm in love and love is blind

[fraugwinska]

Hi! Okay, damn, sorry, i tried to chill out and not request again so quickly 😅 but I've been constantly thinking about your writing, and I've read all your Alastor one shots like 10 times each...

I'm especially hung up on the ending of More than Words, I did not expect you to end it in such a sweet way and honestly I'd love to see a follow up to that, basically a part two :)

Plot wise I was thinking:

It's been a few weeks since the two of you fell asleep on the couch and Charlie is getting impatient since nothing else happened between Alastor and reader but she can see the way the two looks at each other when they think no one is watching. So, Charlie being Charlie, makes up a plan to set you two up. She also involves everyone at the hotel and some people outside (Rosie) - she makes it so whenever there's some activity, you two are always paired up, or Rosie invites you both for dinner but five minutes into it she leaves saying she forget about something important. And you notice what she's trying to do and while you do appreciate it, you also see that Alastor feels anxious and pressured (you see that but not the fact he's growing feeling for you), so you decide to talk with her. And Alastor hears everything? And we get another amazing sweet emotional ending? 👀🥰

Last thing last - please do not feel pressured to write it or anything, i just wanted to share this with you cause it's been on my mind 😅❤️

You ask - the fluff fairy delivers! 🧚✨ I loved More than words, so I was super happy and excited to write a continuation - and it's as fluffy and wholesome as can be! :> Thank you, Anon, for the suggestion and your beautiful, kind words!!!

❤️🦌❤️🦌❤️🦌❤️🦌❤️🦌❤️🦌❤️🦌❤️🦌❤️🦌❤️🦌❤️

Louder than Words

"...and with Niffty choosing Husk, that leaves you two."

Charlie clapped her hands together with a gleeful smile, eyes darting between an annoyed looking Alastor and an annoyed looking you.

"Yes. That leaves us.", you sigh.

"Again.", Alastor adds, the smile on his lips twitching.

"Oh come on, guys, don't be such spoilsports. Look at how much fun this is!" she gestured to a blindfolded and beaten up Vaggie, cursing at Angel in Spanish who howled with laughter as he pushed her through Charlies makeshift obstacle course with much too much carelessness.

"Well I'll be damned. Ange actually managed to get her to to run into the same desk twice without gettin' punched.", Husk said in amused bewilderment, just as a loud "OUCH, ey, stop it Vagina!" was heard. Niffty giggled, blindfolding herself and taking Husks paw. The cat groaned but started to lead her - or more she dragged him - through the course, constantly (almost purposely) hitting something in her way.

You and Alastor looked at each other.

"Well, I guess you don't feel like going through a minefield of office furniture.", you shrugged, and took the last blindfold from Charlies hands, ignoring her excited squeal as you put it on. "Don't let me run into the coffee table, my shins still hurt from last weeks bonding exercise..."

Alastor let out an exasperated sigh. "Very well, then."

This was getting out of hand. As you felt Alastor's hand on your back, pushing you into the blindness forward, you thought about the last few bonding and trust exercises and how blatantly obvious Charlie was in her determination to get you and Alastor together.

At first you didn't mind, since she didn't make you do anything that wasn't bearable. On one activity, you had to tell your partner what you appreciated about them, that had been easy. Before Alastor could turn to Niffty, who stood next to him, she had almost hauled herself away, insisting on Angel as her partner, and Angel - next to you - nodded with unfitting eagerness. Alastor told you about how good you were at listening and giving good advice, and you had told him you loved the way he spoke - the accent, his way of choosing words and the melodic voice he had, and that you liked his laugh. Easy.

On another activity, Charlie made everyone pair up (of course, you were Alastor's partner, and this time you were sure the sticks you drew were marked by Charlie and Husk by the way they had shared mischievous looks) and hug their partner for five minutes. That had been less fun. You were much too aware how averse Alastor was to physical touch, and although he could've had it worse with Angel or Vaggie, you still felt bad when you saw the look on his face as Charlie set the timer. "We don't have to, Al. I can just sit this one out.", you had told him, but with a pained smile, he wrapped his arms around you stiffly, holding you in an awkward embrace. "It's alright dear, just... stay still, would you?" It had been a weird, uncomfortable silence, those five minutes. You avoided any touch yourself and did not dare to look him in the eyes, so to not make it any more weird for him.

It had taken you a long time to understand that the radio demon was, in it's essence, just another former human being turned sinner. A man with a lot of traumas and issues, who had died and gone to hell. Not a good person by heavenly standards... by most standards really, being an overlord and cannibal and all, but in hell that didn't really mean anything, you were all there for a reason. It certainly meant nothing to you. With a lot of work from your end, he had learned to trust you, and in return he let you get to know him, step by step.

But all these efforts could go down the drain at this infuriating persistence of everyone around you to force something that shouldn't be forced. Alastor was already uncomfortable at being touched, already hesitant to share things from his past, or his feelings, already on the fence of showing genuine kindness and trust. The last thing you wanted was to lose all the progress you've made with him.

The feeling of his arms around you had burned itself into your memory, and the scent of him had stuck to your skin for a long time. You weren't stupid, it had been a long time coming, this goddamn crush on him, this fluttering feeling one gets when getting too close to another. You had fallen for him a long time ago, and you could argue with reason all you wanted - it didn't change the fact you liked Alastor more than just a friend. BUT - and this but was important - he never had shown any interest in relationships, romance, love or anything. And that was fine. You were content to have him in your life, and if that was as 'just' trusted friends, you would still take it in a heartbeat.

"Watch out, darling, armchair to your left." Alastor's voice, right next to your ear, made you flinch. "Careful now, the carpet is starting to change into hardwood.", he warned and you nodded, taking careful steps. You had no idea where you were in the foyer, or if you were nearing the door or the stairs. "Are we anywhere close to the finish line?", you asked him and you heard his quiet chuckle.

"Oh no, we still have quite a way to go. Don't worry, my dear, I'll make sure you're not going to run into the remains of the cupboard Niffty just destroyed." His hand on your waist, guiding you, made you swallow nervously.

That gesture reminded you of another instance of your friends overreaching insistence - your visit at Rosie's last week. Rosie, your long-time friend, had invited you and Alastor for a dinner party. She had sent a message through Charlie (which should have been your first clue that something was not right), but both of you had decided to go, because who were you to deny her hospitality? You had been surprised to find her emporium so... empty, when you entered. No servants, no other guests, no one. Only you, Alastor and Rosie, sitting in her lounge chatting about the newest gossip of hellish politics before she served a whole feast of venison, various vegetables and side dishes, all of which had looked exquisite and overly fancy.

She had left almost as soon as you and Alastor sat down, saying she forgot to pick up something important from across the colony, and to not wait on her while she rushed out of the room with a glistening smile. You had watched her suspiciously, knowing she was up to something. It didn't take a genius to realize she was trying to set you two up, and Alastor seemed to have understood the same, because of the way he pinched the bridge of his nose, visibly uncomfortable and tense the whole evening. It had been a somewhat awkward affair, the two of you eating and desperately chatting, unwilling to waste the food. But you couldn't even get a proper bite down your throat with how much your stomach was twisting.

When Rosie returned, she found you sitting on the sofa, drinking tea, while Alastor was absent.

"Did something happen?", she had asked you with a pinch of impish curiosity, and you had replied "No. Nothing." in a dry tone. She had sat down next to you, asking how dinner had been, and if the two of you enjoyed yourselves. "Oh yes, it was lovely, although your seat empty surely was a little damper on the fun." you had answered, giving her a fake smile. You never saw her that abashed before. When Alastor returned to bring you back to the hotel, the walk had been... silent. Awkward, as you hung on his arm he had presented you, with him unable to look you in the eyes and you not wanting to press him into more talking. When you had arrived home, he guided you through the double doors, his hand on your waist, before quickly saying good night and melting into his shadows to rush away into his room, leaving you alone in the dark foyer.

It was like you were standing on glass, always having an eye out to make sure others wouldn't push too hard and break the thin ice you walked on, with a dangerous fondness deep beneath the surface, too fragile to poke.

"...listening, Darling?"

"Huh? What?"

You felt the blindfold being removed from your eyes, the sudden light blinding you.

"You look a little flushed my dear." you blinked your eyes, only to see Alastor stand directly in front of you, just barely out of arms reach, staring you in the face with a scrutinizing expression. "The exercise is over, we made it through the course without a scratch, I hope I didn't cause you any discomfort."

It took a moment for you to realize that you stood at the edge of the maze of furniture, but what really knocked you off your balance was the way Alastor's head was tilted slightly to one side, his crimson eyes almost boring through you, staring deep into your soul, as if he was looking for you, truly seeing you, and how he reached out a sharp tipped hand towards you with the look of worry on his face. You took a step back, laughing nervously and raking a hand through your hair.

"All good, Al. I'm just glad there's no imprint of my face on any of the cupboards." You saw him jerk his hand back with a pained smile. "Splendid.", he laughed, the edges of it trembling. He looked everywhere but at you, "Shall we join the others, then?"

You followed him to one of the sofas and let yourself fall on the plush cushions next to him. You watched his ears twitch as Angel hollered a jubilant cheer of Vaggie's name, who finally reached the end of the course, the blood on her shins almost dried. Husk patted a panting Niffty on the back with a fond look, while Charlie cheered as Angel bowed for her with a big grin.

"Told 'ya the spicy taco and I could make it out alive and in one piece, Charls!"

Vaggie gave Angel a deathly glance, then sighed. "It's high time for lunch, hon. All the blood loss made me hungry..."

The group collectively agreed and headed towards the kitchen, talking and laughing loudly with each other. You couldn't help but give Alastor, who kept his gaze anywhere else than to you, a look, furrowing your brow. This had to stop, now.

"Charlie, do.... do you have a minute?"

The princess stopped to look at you, her smile disappearing and her eyes widening as she saw the stern expression on your face.

"Uh- Yeah, sure.", she shot Vaggie a look, as if begging for her help, but you just grabbed her hand and pulled her away into a nearby corridor while the others snickered and headed off, telling them to take their time. Charlie gave you a nervous glance, and the pitiful face of guilt only worsened your mood.

"Charlie, I know you mean well, but you have to stop."

"Listen, I didn't mean any harm..." Her face was full of pitiful remorse. You pinched the bridge of your nose and sighed.

"I'm aware of that, Charlie, but you are making Al uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry, really, that's not my intention! I just Thought you two need a little push in the right..."

"This whole... THIS might end our friendship all together and I don't want to take that risk! You're even getting the others involved. For fuck's sake, even Rosie is in on it. Al doesn't want this - us, relationship-thing, WHATEVER, and it is not okay for you to press us!"

Her eyebrows shot up. "But you want it."

"What?", you said, irritated.

"You're only talking about him, and his feelings. But what I'm hearing is, that you... you like him, right? You'd say yes to..."

Tears of frustration shot into your eyes. Why didn't Charlie get it? "That doesn't matter. It's not something only one can decide, you should know that. He doesn't feel the same, and that's fine. He doesn't want to be with me, and that's fine. I can accept that. What I can't accept is the way you're hellbent on forcing a relationship on us. He is happy the way we are, and I don't want you and the others to mess that up."

You turn away from her, angry and hurt. "I just... want him to be happy. To have his boundaries respected."

"I... I'm sorry...", Charlie started, but you already walked off.

You were angry. Angry at Charlie, angry at everyone, angry at yourself. Almost at your doorstep, a hand on your shoulder stopped you.

"Dearest? I'd like to talk, if that's alright with you."

It was Alastor. Of course it was Alastor.

Your heart was pounding in your chest, a feeling of dread and guilt washing over you, as if he had overheard the entire conversation, and you slowly turned around, swallowing. He didn't seem upset, but his face was calm and serious, not the usual cheerful smile on his lips.

"Of course."

He held the door to your own room open for you, closing it behind him after you entered.

"Take a seat, Darling, if you would."

You sat down, hands in your lap, avoiding his gaze, looking at your carpet with feigned interest. Your heart was hammering against your ribs, a painful stinging sensation in your stomach.

"Darling, would you look at me, please."

With a heavy sigh, you obliged, looking up.

"Al, listen, I'm sorry...", you started, but were interrupted by the radio demon's hand, raising up.

"Please. Let me talk, would you, my dear."

You closed your mouth, and he nodded, a gentle smile on his lips.

"I know I'm a... difficult man. And I am not exactly the best in understanding the feelings of others. I also know that the princess and - under her meticulous orchestration - our fellow residents, are quite adamant in their endeavor to try and push us together."

You swallowed, hard. The way he looked at you made your stomach drop.

"Al, listen, it's alright, I've talked to Charlie and I'll tell the others to stop..."

"Darling, would you PLEASE shut up for a minute?"

The room was suddenly silent. He rarely talked like that to you.

"As I was saying..." He sighed, and you couldn't help but think he was utterly frustrated. You felt horrible. "I don't appreciate it when people assume what I want or don't want."

"Neither do I.", you mumbled, and he let out a laugh.

"That is precisely my point, Darling." Alastor took a few steps towards you, his cane twirling in his hands before he poofed it out of existence. "And as such, I've been pondering for a while how to proceed. The way the others keep pestering us, I thought it's better to clear things up between us."

Your heart sank. So he did overhear your conversation with Charlie, after all. You couldn't blame him. You would've done the same.

"Alastor, I understand..."

"Do you now?", he asked, tilting his head to one side, an incredulous smirk playing on his lips. Lips that were suddenly awfully close to your own. When did he get so close? Why did he get so close?!

Everything slowed down - his arm snaked around your waist, his hand came up to your neck, a thumb caressing the little dip of the bottom of your jaw. Your trembling hands came to rest on his chest, and you felt his heartbeat hammering underneath the fabric of his jacket. His eyes, those beautiful crimson eyes, were fixed on yours, and your breath came out in a shaky sigh before his lips closed over yours, kissing you so softly and sweetly you could barely comprehend what was happening. Your fingers gripped the lapels of his jacket, holding on for dear life, and as he deepened the kiss, you gasped, your whole body tensing, melting, yearning.

It felt like a dream, an out of body experience, and for a short, panicked moment, you felt the cold, hard grip of fear around your heart. What if it was just a dream, and when you wake up, everything is back to the way it was before? What if he would pull away any moment, and apologize, saying he made a mistake?

But the fear disappeared almost immediately, when Alastor hummed contently, and pulled you even closer to him.

You could feel the warmth of his body, the way his hand on your neck got tangled in your hair, how his breath was mingling with yours, and the scent of him filled your nose. The faint smell of spices, old books, wood and something like burnt amber, a scent you would never get enough of.

"Now tell me, dearest, if you understood.", he murmured against your lips, the grin audible in his voice.

"I... might need a little more explanation."

You could almost hear him roll his eyes as he leaned in to kiss you again, and his laughter against your lips made your heart skip more than just one beat. The sound of wood cracking and a loud rumble snapped both of your heads towards your door.

In a pile of heads and limbs, five bodies fell through the splintered wood of your door frame, groaning in pain, the remains of the door still swinging in its hinges.

Alastor looked at the pile of eavesdroppers, a wide, dangerous grin on his face.

"Dear me, what an entrance. I wonder, did the door offend you, or was that the result of a lack of proper manners?"

Angel, being the first to poke his head out of the groaning mess of sinners, pointed at you with one of his arms, the others fisted the air in victory.

"A-HA! WE FUCKING DID IT, fuck yeah!"

Niffty, the next one to crawl out of the pile, nodded eagerly.

"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!", she chanted, jumping up and down excitedly on a groaning Husk's back.

Charlie's face came into view, a guilty look on her face as she untangled the others in a hurry, shoving them out of the door.

"Uh, so, sorry, the door was kinda in the way. Didn't want to interrupt anything, sooo, We're just gonna... get back to cooking."

With her tail between her legs, the flustered princess and her entourage vanished faster than the speed of light, leaving you and Alastor alone with your heart pounding fast, your hands still clutching the front of the overlords jacket, and his arms around your waist in a protective embrace, your breaths mingling.

"Would it bother you terribly if I killed them?", Alastor growled low in his throat, his smile widening.

You just couldn't stop grinning. "As tempting as that is... I rather you don't. For now, that is. Ask me again when they are finished cooking."

He returned your smile. "Fair enough, dear."

He closed the gap between you and his lips meet yours halfway in a soft, and most certainly not-enough-to-last-a-lifetime kind of kiss. You thought you could get used to this.

"I'm sure they can handle lunch by themselves, don't you think?", he hummed into your ear. You didn't trust your voice to reply, and simply nodded.

"Wonderful."

Tagging all commenters on 'More than words', because LOVE @mysterypotatoink @ladyzaunis @penelope-potter @lustylita @saints-wrapped-in-plastic @katgirl05 @deadt3tinside and @minkdelovely (for the daily dose of fluff)

[magua-vida]

SLAY THE QUEEN THORN

I was inspired by Abby's sketch of a hypothetical Queen version of the Princess, so I tried my hand at it with a few vessels, including this one. I... ended up drawing something akin to a fashion design concept art rather than a practical design that won't be tiring to draw over and over after a handful of sprites later. I also had to use a bit more artistic license growing unnatural poppies on the dress and the thick twirly prickly noodles.

some explanations behind the process

For the "mended" Thorn, I pretty much just removed the foreground thorns and added the dirt.

rambling/fangirling/screenshots below:

The Thorn is one of my favorites. If I had to choose only five vessels to offer to Shifty and there's no replayable feature, she'll definitely be one of them. I'm one of those suckers who's into Hurt/Comfort stories. Almost like a masochist for those fics, you could say. If the climax to an Action-heavy story is the defeat of one party, then the catharsis of Hurt/Comfort is when the two characters... well, comfort each other- either due to hurt from each other or someone else. In The Thorn's case, she started off rather innocently, Damsel-like, but not quite. She still had caution. It was until she was literally stabbed in the back that she learned that it was a mistake. And when Long Quiet offered sincere regret and admission of fault, she stabbed him... but she didn't feel the relief she thought she'd get from it. I think many relate to having been betrayed and/or betraying someone they trusted, and the scratches are felt by many players.

The thorns curve inward, as if it's more painful to leave her than it is to approach her.

Poppies grow around along the bramble. Many mistook them for roses because they're red and there are brambles (tbh, I actually dunno if they're brambles or briars, I looked them up and I got confused, forgive me, plant enthusiasts ;.;) that grow around the patches of those poppies. Death and romance~

This brings back to Chapter 1 where Hero was kinda-sorta-maybe-definitely crushing on the Princess and wants to give her the benefit of the doubt, not only because of feelings, but for a reasonable cause of wanting to rescue someone who possibly may actually be a victim of circumstance.

Look, I have reasons why Thorn route is one of my favorites and it definitely doesn't have anything to do with both characters having massive trust issues and the capability to change themselves for better or worse and the emotional moments hitting me like a lovely diamond-dusted dagger. Both of them are rather cat-like with pointy ears too.

I appreciate that you're still given the options to leave or stab Thorn, as if the situation isn't pitiable enough. Even her tiara looks like a crown of thorns. It's as if she views the thorns as both a form of penance and a defence mechanism to protect herself from being hurt again, even though she's hurt by her own making this time.

I chose for the Long Quiet to save her and leave the cabin together.

This part stabbed me the most. Even when shown genuine help, she shrinks back.

This part burns a bit of the jadedness away. Trust is a scary thing, so is love. How can you be so sure that you won't be hurt by the one you love again? But just like what The Prisoner says, it's about trust- blind trust. Thorn looks more human than her previous self- less animalistic, softer. A part of The Damsel returns, even in the music.

I recall weighing on whether I prefer the version with the Voice of the Cheated or Voice of the Smitten. I vaguely remember wondering if there was an option to ask her if it's okay to kiss her. I guess the ideal would be is to have that choice, but I suppose the climactic moment calls for it and she doesn't mind it, at least. It's like the option to hug Astarion from BG3, but you're not sure whether he'd be comfy with it after being hurt so much. He gave approval for it too~

As much as Thorn is one of my favorites, I'm not attracted to her and any of the vessels. Instead, I ship her with the Long Quiet- the character himself. I don't really see myself AS the Long Quiet, more like choosing what actions on what he does and I separate myself from him a lot for many reasons. It's a bit like the Harry situation from Disco Elysium in terms of seemingly blank-slate protagonists.

Instead, I kinda put myself into her situation to feel how she felt in this route. The poppies not only felt symbolic of her nature as part of the Shifting Mound, but also specifically the end of the mutual treachery you've inflicted on each other, potentially beginning anew on a path of healing.

==============ramble-bramble over===================

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Double-Mutated Mikey

Chapter 5: Species, Genus, Family...

Continued from the short story written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

Prev || Next

Leo had called the rest of the family into the room once he found Mikey.

The others creep in one by one, Casey and Splinter coming closest to get a good look at Michelangelo. As they get closer, Mikey hunches up under the blankets, a low rumbling noise coming from his throat as he tries to determine whether or not they are enemies.

"Orange?" Splinter whispers. "My son... do you not recognize me?"

Mikey pauses, his eyes wide and softly glowing. He pushes his nose forwards, sniffing. Splinter reaches his hands out for him to get a scent from. After a moment, Mikey chirps. Splinter passed the test.

Mikey glances over at Casey, still unsure how to feel. Casey reaches forwards, trying to let him sniff his hands as well. But Mikey squeaks nervously and retracts his head back into the blankets.

"He doesn't like me," Casey whimpers. "What did I do? Do I scare him?"

"I don't know, dude," Leo sighs. "But don't feel bad. You know Mikey, he'll love you again soon!"

Casey nods as he steps away. As he does, Mikey extends his head out again, looking around the room at the people watching him.

"Why doesn't he seem to recognize us?" Splinter asks.

"I'm not exactly sure," Raph answers. "I think he does recognize us, somehow. He knew me!"

"And he seemed to recognize me and Donnie well enough," Leo chimes in.

"It could be that he couldn't see us clearly."

"Huh?" Leo asks, turning to his twin. "What do you mean? He's blind?"

"No, not blind," Donnie corrects. His shell extends a hand with a flashlight in it, shining it at Mikey's face.

Mikey hisses at the light, squinting slightly and blinking hard. But Donnie's point is made when the group sees Michelangelo's eyes reflect and refract the light.

"Tapetum lucidum," Donnie explains. "It's a layer on the eyes beneath the retina that many animals have. It reflects light. And, as you probably (or at least, hopefully) know, we do not have reflective eyes. Mikey did not have reflective eyes before..."

The room goes silent. Raph begins to fidget.

"So... his vision is weird now?" Leo asks.

"In the most simplistic reply I can offer, yes, Nardo. His vision is weird. But I'd need to see what else this double-mutation has done to him to be positive."

"To the lab, then?" Casey asks.

"To the lab," Donnie nods, taking the blanket off Mikey and flinging it across the room.

Mikey yipes at the loss of warmth and hisses angrily at Dee, who jumps away in fright.

"Come on, Miguel," Leo offers, holding his arms out. "I'll carry you there, if you want."

Mikey glances up and down, then slowly creeps onto his arms. Leo expected him to climb in and let himself be carried bridal style, his legs dangling in his hold and Leo's arms supporting his back. Instead, Leo finds that Mikey wants to perch on his forearm, his tail wrapping around and clinging tightly to him. He places one of his feet on Leo's hand, all the weight gathering there. Leo stumbles for a moment, surprised by the strange positioning, but after a while becomes accustomed to it.

"Ah, okee then, I guess we're good to go?" Leo chuckles dryly, starting to walk out. "You guys coming, or what?"

Leo awkwardly carries his mutated brother out of the room. The others follow suit.

Mikey can't seem to stay still, making it hard for Leo to stay upright and balanced. He walks all along his arms, wriggling across Leo's shoulders and pouncing onto the next available limb as though Leo were a living, breathing jungle-gym.

Raph chuckles and extends his arm out, letting Mikey hop over and crawl all across him. Raphael's center of gravity is more defined, and because he's bigger he can manage Mikey's weight shifting all over him. Leo sighs with relief, though he does seem disappointed that Mikey gave him up for a more advanced jungle-gym...

Once they get to the labs, Mikey seems to go pale. He sees the large computers, all the strange machines and devices. It is dark in here. Very dark. Kind of cold, too.

He chirps, high-pitched squeaks, as he slides down the back of Raph's shell and tries to slink away.

"Now now, Michael, we need to do some examinations," Donnie says, pressing a button on his wrist pad and closing the door.

Mikey yipes nervously, then cowers at the door, whining and scratching to be let out.

Donnie's expression softens and he steps over to him.

"Mikey, I promise that I won't do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?"

He extends a hand to his little brother.

Mikey sniffs it. He tries to smile, a small sheepish grin that wobbles weakly on his face. He whimpers, nuzzling his forehead against Dee's fingers. He tries not to cry.

Donnie reaches forward and pulls him into a hug, lifting him up and carrying him to the table in the center of the room.

Mikey can't stop fidgeting and moving around. He whines and chirps at everything and everyone.

Donnie reaches onto a shelf and pulls out a pair of headphones. He offers them to Mikey, who sniffs them with curiosity. He mews in confusion at them. He probably can't tell what they are if he cannot see them properly...

Donnie places the headphones over Mikey's tympanum. His eyes go wide for a moment, unsure of what is about to happen. Donnie picks his lo-fi playlist for whenever he feels overstimulated. Mikey's eyes go even wider. His face makes the surprised Pikachu expression before he starts to smile, his purrs trying to match the pitch and tone as he hums along, his claws tapping to the beat and rhythm.

"He is successfully distracted," Donnie announces. "I can begin now."

"You scanned him in the tank," Leo reminds him. "What did those say?"

"To be honest, I could only really scan him for a few things, like mystic energy, technologies, structural facts, some odds and ins. These goggles aren't made to find specific medical changes, but they do notice interesting changes."

"Such as?"

"Such as Mikey's mystic powers seem diminished. His bone structure has changed significantly. Oh, and Mikey has added DNA now."

Donatello takes the silence as a sign to go on.

"Again, the goggles couldn't discern much, but from a quick glance, I'd say he was given feline, mammalian, and reptilian DNA. Cat, monkey, and lizard, I'm betting. Among others. I'm scanning him for more intimate details concerning the specific species and genus now."

Leo swallows.

"That's not going to... like, wreck his body, is it?"

Donnie stares at him.

"More than it already has?"

Raphael scowls at Donnie for his poor choice of words.

"I meant like, this mutation won't be a hazard to his health? With so many differing genetics mixed together... isn't that dangerous?"

Donnie's expression falters as he tries to keep his composure.

"I would hope the scientists who did this to him would have enough common sense to make that a priority."

"They wouldn't want their test subjects to not survive, that would be a failed experiment," Casey translates.

"They wouldn't want THIS experiment failing," he says, gesturing to Mikey, who is still obliviously listening to his music. "...If they knew what would happen to them afterwards."

"Meaning, Bootyyyshaker9000 is going to do some light arson later, hmm?" Leo smirks.

"After what they did to Michael? I'd probably take Draxum up on his offer to eradicate a few humans..." Donnie looks up drearily at Casey. "Oh, no offense."

Casey shrugs.

"It's okay. You made a lot of those kinds of jokes in the future..."

"Right... 'jokes'..."

"Can we get back to Mikey, please?" Raph asks. "Is the mutation serious?"

"It's complex, I'll say that much," Donnie says, creating a 3D hologram of Mikey's genetic code. "This is what Mikey's DNA looked like before..."

He grabs the hologram and shows it to everyone. Mikey becomes fascinated by the tangible light in the room, and reaches out to touch it in awe. As he does, Donatello pulls up a separate hologram of his genetic code. It is different in a hundred ways, with extra bits and pieces, the new DNA colour-coded to better show off the ways it does not belong.

"...And this is what it looks like now..."

The group watch in fearful astonishment as Donnie begins to explain...

"See here, the scans show that Mikey has jaguar markers, now," he says, noting the dark blue marks on his DNA. "So there's the feline in him..."

"That explains the speed," Casey notes.

Splinter huffs as he stretches to crack his back.

"And the eyes too, I'll bet," Raph adds.

"See, there --" Donnie points to a series of yellow, red, and orange markers on the hologram, "-- That's baboon, mandrill, and proboscis monkey DNA. Baboons are aggressive animals, though mandrills are considered dangerous primarily due to their sharp canine teeth, which -- fun fact -- are bigger than a lion's!"

"That explains the teeth," Leo notes.

"And the aggression during the fight," Raph adds.

"But I find the addition of the proboscis fascinating!" Donnie interjects. "You see, they are a peaceful species! A tribal species of monkey, that do not attack unless provoked. My theory is that whoever did this to Mikey might have put that in to ensure Mikey's cooperation, or to balance out the predatorial animal tendencies, or maybe --"

"Can we move on?" Raph asks, getting uncomfortable with the subject of Mikey's mutation choices and why certain criteria were chosen.

"Oh. Sure. Fine. Well, this green bit here --" Donnie says, pointing to the next part, "this is boa constrictor Dna. And the teal marker next to it is plumed basilisk."

"Isn't that Jesus lizard?" Leo asks.

"I'm honestly surprised you retained that information, Leon," Donnie scoffs. "But yes. The Jesus lizard. Well done."

"What's that pink one?" Raph asks, pointing.

The five (minus Mikey of course) lean in closer to look at the markers. They are the most prominent, the most noticeable, the most numerous.

"That one stumps me," Donnie admits. "Oddly enough, it seems to act as a catalyst to the double-mutation, keeping the mixed genes from collapsing or overriding one another. It almost acts like a genetic glue to hold it all together... though, it does have genetic coding of its own, which means it isn't a formula that they made, but the DNA of some unknown species. The computer saw it and knew to mark it as a foreign DNA, and even to mark it as a dangerous one, but it couldn't identify what species it was."

"Wait a sec, what's that mean?" Raph peers closer. "The computer don't know what it is?"

"But then how did it know to identify it as dangerous?" Leo questions.

"That's what is so intriguing to me," Donnie notes, as he jumps into a rolling chair and wheels over to a computer on the other side of the room. "I must have made an identification of the DNA markers once before, but failed to properly note what it belonged to."

"Why not?"

"I was probably busy," he sighed. "Or just forgot."

"That doesn't sound like you," Splinter says as he walks over to his purple-clad son to watch him as he types.

"No, Papa, it does not. So I'm checking to see when I input that identification into the system, it will give me a clearer understanding of what it belongs to, and what dear Michael has been turned into..."

As Donnie types, Casey glances back at the foreign DNA sequence, studying the genetic codex and symbols. His jaw drops, his eyes abruptly go wide.

"Oh no..."

"What?" Raph whimpers. "What is it?"

"I know that look," Leo groans. "You know what he's been mutated with."

"I think so."

"...Wait, so if Casey recognizes that DNA, then...?" Donnie swallows hard.

"Yup," Leo says, his expression shifting uncomfortably. "It's exactly what we think."

"How can you be sure?"

"Remember on the comms, I mentioned that I found something in the basement of that lab?" Leo sighs. "Well, I found a sublevel that had immense amounts of security, but nothing that prohibited mystic portals. So I went in, and the deeper I went, the spookier it got. They had tubes full of weird ooze and odd glowing gunk, and in the very center of it all, I found... her."

Leo shivers at the mention. Raph looks like he's about to burst into tears. Donnie looks like he might throw up.

"They had her prisoner there. But I'm not sure you could call her a prisoner, maybe more like a corpse at this point. I'm pretty sure they were harvesting her for parts, stripping her of everything and using them in... their... experiments..."

All eyes go wide. All faces turn ashen. All heads turn to Mikey.

"It was the krang sister. Mikey's been mutated with krang DNA."

Prev || Next

[chereptyl]

best case scenario for me is:

(post canon, i guess)

1. Marcille offers a lesbianship to Falin, Falin says she will think about it, but manages to say no after all. You're my dear friend, Marcille, but I don't think this would be fair to you... to both of us. Because, it's not what I'm looking for, and if I can't be sincere about this, I'm just going to make you double guess this relationship and make you sad... make both of us sad... I don't want you to be sad... Because I wuv you:(

Marcille is like 😭😭😭😭😭😭okay😊 Yuore so nice..............😭😭

;

2. Laios confesses he's been in love with Marcille and offers a relationship to her. At first Marcille is like, are you an idiot? You can't just neglect your duties like that, and you'll need to make an heir eventually- Then she sees Laios is serious about this and gives him a hard No. Rejection doesn't hurt his feelings, but he makes sure Marcille understands he's not just being naive or emotionally blind. Like, Marcille, I don't just say that because you're a woman. I don't just see any woman and think I'm in love with her. Like, you're important to me, Marcille 😤 You're smart and pretty and kind. And I respect your grind so much.

I respect your grind too, Laios. But no romance.

They shake hands on it.

;

3. After fumbling Falin and rejecting Laios, Marcille goes back to reading her favourite novel series, The D'Arcian Clan, and headcanoning all her blorbos as half-elf.

[mylittlevsoldier]

betty (byler's version)

"Okay, okay, everyone settle down!" Mike laughed into his mic as everyone was still cheering at the last song they played. "We have a new one for you and guess what?" Mike asked as he quietly strummed his guitar. "It's a new one!" Mike dragged out the last "e" in his sing-songy voice.

As everyone cheered, he looked over to very far left of the stage to see his boyfriend, Will, in the very front row, as close as he could get to the stage. Just like he promised he would be.

Mike waved and looked back to the center of the crowd where a bright stage light was waiting to blind him.

"This one is called betty." Mike smiled and looked back to Will who smiled up at his boyfriend and started cheering again.

Mike looked behind him to make sure everyone was ready to play before he started singing.

"Honey, I won't make assumptions about why you switched your homeroom. But I think it's 'cause of me." Mike began then stepped away from for the mic to shoot another glace at Will, who was already staring at Mike in awe. He smiled and stepped back up to the mic, singing.

"Honey, one time I was riding on my skateboard when I passed your old house. It's like I couldn't breathe." Mike looked back, this time holding his eyes on Will like he was the only one there.

"You heard the rumors for El and you can't believe a word she says most time, but this time it was true." El? Will thought.

"The worst thing that I ever said, was what I said to you." As soon as Will heard this line sung in Mike's sweet voice, he somehow was back in Mike's driveway and somehow, it's summer of '85 and it's pouring down raining and Mike just said, "it's not my fault you don't like girls" right to Will's face. But wait, this song is about him.

"But if I just showed up at your party, would you have me? Would you want me? Would you tell me to go fuck myself? Or lead me to the garden?" Mike sang looking back to the center of the crowd, deciding that he was staring at Will for too long.

"in the garden, would you trust me if I told you, it was just a summer thing? I'm only seventeen. I don't know anything, but I know I miss you."

Oh, Mike and Will's first fight as an actual couple. It was a "real" fight. they weren't mad at each other it was just a lot of miscommunication and angst. There might've been some yelling but there were definitely a lot of tears. Mike didn't know what to do he threw himself on his bed and Will's following him.

"I feel like I don't know anything anymore." Mike cries as he can feel Will's weight sink in the bed next to him. "We're only fifteen, we both don't know anything." Will says sweetly as he reaches out to touch Mike. "I know that I love you." Mike whispers, quiet and crushing. "I love you too. And that's all we need to know right now." Will scoops up Mike as he starts to cry into Will's chest.

Will was so deep into that though he feels like he gets thrown back to the pace he been in all along as Mike sings. "Honey, I know where it all went wrong, your favorite song was playing from the far side of the gym." Mike looks back at Will and jokingly rolls his eyes.

Will knows why. He laughs because he knows how insufferable he was when they were both little, listening to "Should I Stay, or Should I go? By The Clash on repeat until he couldn't anymore.

"I was nowhere to be found, you hate the crowds, you know that, plus I saw you dance with him." Will laughed again, remembering all those times Lucas would pull him off the couch at the parties he would throw after winning his basketball game. "Wow, Lucas, lookin' good." Mike said in his sarcastic tone and acts like his jealous.

Mike sang the chorus again, sounding sweeter and sweeter to Will the more he sung. but everything in the room went quiet as Mike began the bridge and the music started to get faster.

"I was walking home on broken cobblestones, just thinking of you when she pulled up like a figment of my worst intentions. She said "James, get it in. Let's drive." Those days turned into night. Sat and talked to her but, I dreamt of you all summer long."

Will knew he was talking about everyone's favorite, Max. never calling Mike by his middle name because "James just fits him better" as she put it.

Mike ripped the mic off his stand and walked downstage to the very front of the stage all the way to the right.

He sings as he looks down at the people that were in the very front row, almost pushed up against the stage. "Baby, I'm here on your doorstep and I planned it out for weeks now but, it's finally sinking in."

He slowly makes his way back to the right center of the stage. Will's laughs because he walks around the stage singing like he's performing standup comedy.

"Baby, right now is the last time I can dream about what happens when you see my face again." Mike sings and looks up again, locking eyes with Will and inching closer to stage left.

Mike keeps his eyes on Will, not caring that anyone else in the room with them. "The only thing I wanna do is make it up to you."

"So, I showed up at your party." Mike stopped as he reached stage left, stopping in front of Will. She sat down on the end of the stage, right in front of Will.

"Yeah, I showed up at your party." Mike reached a hand out and took Will's. He looked away from Will and back to the crowd.

Mike gave Will a look that basically said, "can I pull you on stage?" Will nodded aggressively, excited.

As the tempo of the song changed again, Mike dragged Will up on stage and started singing again and both of them reached center stage, right where Mike left his mic stand.

"Yeah, I showed up at your party, will you have me? will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch, in front of all out stupid friends?" Mike laughed as Will smiled at him, beaming.

"If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it? Will it patch your broken wings? I'm only seventeen, I don't know anything, but I know I miss you." Mike continued dragging Will around, This time, down center stage.

“Standin’ in your cardigan. Kissin’ in my car again.” Mike continued as he sat in the middle of center stage, pulling Will down with him.

Will sat down next to Mike, he decided to lay in Will’s lap. “Stopped at a street light, you know I missed you.” Mike finally finished.

Only looking at Will, who smiled down at Mike as he heard everyone cheer for his boyfriend.

“Well, everyone, this is my boyfriend, Will.” Mike said, holding the mic up to Will’s mouth. “Hi!” He spoke into it. 

DAY ONE OF 100 FOLLOWER SPEICAL!!

tags!

@hollarious2

@artsyna

@wallywise

@lebylershipper

@ash-the-wise

@tender-emotional-music

@willbyerswatch

@hearteyes-wheeler

@paloma-ascends-into-hellfire

@willbyerslove

@drowninginideas

@sunflowerbyler

[sysig]

Blind side (Patreon)

[ridl]

keqing thursday

[shadowfloofster]

Watching Bad's vod where q!Foolish, q!Cellbit and q!Baghera are trying to set up q!Bad with q!Forever, now with CC!Bad's comment about his character being oblivious in an aromatic way is great

The others talking about who to ship q!Bad with while he sits in his chair, the aromantic and skephalo flag slowly fading into the background because this man will not be with ANYONE unless it's Skeppy

And I love that about him. They're currently talking in metaphors and q!Bad is just "????? I don't understand" and I love him for it.

Foolish: we're talking about the emotions in your heart right now!

Bad: Diamonds are forever!

Either he did that on purpose or that's the best coincidence to ever happen

[theflyingfeeling]

hi it's time for some BC + chart meme again 😌🖤

[fiona-fififi]

...

[outlying-hyppocrate]

i'm on vacation in italy and. i was essentially walking around in the sun for about? three hours? fuck. sorry to make a luke black reference but. i just want to sleep forever

[coredrill]

EVERY PROMARE SCENE

48/? ▸ Straightbaiting

[cosmicdreamgrl]

something i thought about after giffing the my time performance yesterday? the way everyone treats it like a thirst trap (ya'll think i don't see your tags when you reblog the set but i do) plays into the exact commentary it's trying to convey, and that's really sad tbh

[mare-sanguis]

idk about any of you but i love sunghoon. genuinely dont understand why people hate him /so much/- shows how they dont understand mysterious/dark characters. yes he might be cold towards sungjoon but do we know the reason? is it to shield SJ? does SH really hates him? so far, we know nothing what's going on in the mans head and its about time we find out. despite all the coldness he's shown, he cried at the end of ep. 7- an indicator he does care, or at least is capable of emotions other than cold harsh facts and rudeness. i could probably write so much more about him but who would even read it.

pls if anyone is interested in me dissecting him for what ever reasons say something

[tracle0]

hi hi Trade, I am here because I simply Must know more about Elan immediately please and thank you (also do you have any tunes for him? just by the look of him n his vibe I feel like he'd have some bangers) mwah ok bye

:D HELLO

I'm tagging @khufiya-khaufnak-antariksh here as well cause you both asked about Elan and I figured I'd just babble a lil about them to both of you here, hello, thank you for your interest!!!

Okay okay okay Elan issssss yeah! A fucking mess, basically! They, they, they. Hmm. HMMM!

They're basically the result of a fun kidnapping and testing that was executed on a wide number of colour mages. Elan semi-volunteered for it, with zero intention of actually taking part, and then took part anyway. Sucks to be them.

I don't know an awful lot about the actual process, but the general aim of it was to see how much colour could be taken from a mage before they. Yknow. Fucking died. Which for most people was alarmingly far! Strip magic away and see how deep this colourlessness can go.

Alas, most of the people fucking died before anything truly interesting could happen. But but but! Elan did! Not! For various reasons I'm keeping disclosed, they were full of spite and rage and Vengence and decided actually, you know, I'm not gonna die, I'm gonna take this white you're pumping me full of and just. Harness that, thank you very much. Reject the magic you were born with and embrace this synthetic model instead.

Basically, edge 14-year-old brain went 'teehee evil science experiment character :)))?' and I went oh HELL yeah!

Elan is the kinda guy who likes gardening :)! Lil gardener fella! They've got a section of BigBad's base wardened off for Just Them, where they have a little living area and a big garden, where they spend most of their time, chilling out, feeling At Peace, crushing any sliver of green that starts to edge into any stalks or leaves. It is a petrified garden. It could not survive without them. They love it dearly. Sometimes, when they get overwhelmed or frustrated, they smash it and sob in its remains until it's replaced and they start the cycle over again.

They also stand as one of the first characters of mine where I looked at them and decided they wanted to be in a lil relationship, which is nice and good for them! Less good for them that it's, uh, with the. BigBad. The woman who funded and dictated the research that made them Like This.

The relationship is very much a. Toxic one. Power struggles between the two, knowing full well they've hurt each other badly and still coming back for more. By the end of the first book, they quite literally stab her in the back and ease her into her death, all romantic style.

Mmmm despite how things have been phrased, I think Elan does quite like being a White. They want more people to be White so they can understand how things are, how they should be. Very obsessed with perfection and cleanliness and purity. Bleached as many pigments out of themselves as they possibly could, and still finds the red of their blood to be grating.

I have exactly one (2) songs that vibes for them at the moment which I think you know both of, Monday? Tis 'The Quittin' Kind' by Eleisha Eagle and 'Pretty Little Head' by Eliza Rickman. Both vibe with the more toxic part of their relationship with the BigBad. Who has no name. Pretend she does.

Okay that's it! Bye! Thank you!

[sysig]

I think the world is so wonderful... (Patreon)