#but like i wanna write dangit

[siixkiing]

🌈 from tang to monkey king!!

☯ → BE MY VALENTINE! — 🌈 for our muses to dance together ☯

"Hee, I'm a little rusty at this."

It had been ages since he had last danced with anyone, especially someone who held such a special place in his heart. Sappy as that sounded to him BUT it was true. Even after everything — having expected the scholar to hate him like so many others and YET by some miracle that didn't seem to be the case. Not entirely at least.

Maybe, just maybe there was something here. He could only foolishly hope.

Keeping a hold on Tang's waist as they glided along to the rhythm of the music playing — picking out something special for the evening. Hoping the selection was to the other's liking. Soft melody drifting through the air as he danced along with him.

By Buddha, he hoped he wasn't absolutely terrible at this. Amber hues momentarily looking down towards their feet, was he doing this right? He hadn't stepped on the other's toes yet, so he must be ok? Right? Slowly lifting his gaze back up to the lock with his companion's, heart fluttering at the cheerful expression that greeted him. Feeling his cheeks heat up in the moment, pink dusting them lightly.

Okay, maybe he wasn't that bad. A soft and warm smile plastering itself across the Sage's face as he listened to the laughter bubbling from Tang's lips, adoring the sound. It was so enchanting and lovely. A symphony like no other. Pulling him closer as they danced away to their heart's content. Not caring anymore how bad he might be at this now — his focus now on the joy that it was bringing the man in his arms.

[kyuani]

Guess who just found out that the drafts for chapter 2 and 3 for (Un)known Emotion have both been deleted w/ no trace of it anywhere - today?

Guess who just got a comment on the 1st chapter - which was was only ever supposed be be a one-shot to begin with - hoping that the story isn't officially dead.... today?

Guess who just gained energy to rewatch all of Sonic Boom for inspo to make sure this story gets finished soon?

[trans-luis-serra-navarro]

!!!Trigger warning for discussions of pretty gnarly surgical procedures!!!

A post made by the lovely @mr-kennedys-elf got me thinking about HOW exactly Luis removed the Plagas from himself and I NEED to share my brainworms or else I’ll EXPLODE

Like my biggest question is, did he use the same machine that Leon and Ashley used, just an earlier prototype?? Or did he physically c a r v e it out of himself with a scalpel or a knife???????

Cuz on one hand, we know for certain that the machine at one point was N O T safe in the SLIGHTEST and took the lives of MULTIPLE scientists, would might explain why Luis has such a gnarly scar, but on a similar other hand that scar looks WAY too raggedy and rushed for it NOT to have been done by hand

But if he DID carve it out by hand, how on earth would he have even managed that without passing out??????? Cuz the Plagas probably sits somewhere in the sternum or by the lungs since it causes people to cough up blood, so how damn deep did he have to dig?? Cuz I SO doubt that the scar would be that healed if this was the case (or, if it IS the case, how long ago did he remove the Plagas??? Did he have to do it early on?????)

BUT, IF HE REMOVED IT WITH THE MACHINE, can you imagine how damn scary that’d be?????? You’ve just spent god knows how long watching every other researcher that has tried to test it on themselves die horrifically, and now you’re the last one, and all you can do is just sit here and PRAY that you don’t end up with the same fate as them. There’s nothing you can do except take whatever the machine gives you. That’s TERRIFYING man

It is TERRIBLY late at night as I’m writing this so apologies if this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense BDNSJDNSJ !! These are all mostly rhetorical questions but I WANNA KNOW WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THING DANGIT

[britishassistant]

I have literally just spent the last few days going through all of the twst supervillain au posts. ALL OF THEM.

It’s not 3 am here for like the third night in a row what are you talking about

I have so many thoughts and could ask so many questions but I am limiting myself for now because spamming is bad! No spamming, me! 😂

SO we got the event of Azul and the twins finding out that Yuu is the child of Crowley. And we got that little snippet saying Yuu wanted Azul to help them tell the other villains so they could just get it out of the way because they were tired of having it hang over their head.

BUT WE NEVER ACTUALLY GOT THOSE SCENES/THAT SCENE!

I wanna know how that wentttttt!!!! What happened?!?! How did it go??? Did Yuu tell them one on one? Or did they sit them all down together? How did each of them react to the news? I feel like it would have to be one on one because telling them altogether would be a recipe for a LOT of emotions all mixed together to create a volatile bomb.

Pleaseeeeee I wanna knowwwwwww!!! Please gift me us with your words of wonder oh supervillain AU writing deity!!!!!!

(Also I just wanted to say back when you were giving out names to everyone my first thought for a name for Kalim was just ‘Minion’ because you compared Jamil and Kalim to Megamind and Minion and I was like “that would be a total Jamil thing to do - just call Kalim ‘Minion’ because he was tired of Kalim getting all the attention in their civilian lives and this was supposed to be about JAMIL DANGIT so even though Kalim invited himself along he doesn’t get a cool name he just gets ‘Minion’ and Kalim would unironically love it. But then you named him Water Boy and that has the same energy lmao 😂)

Thank you so much for enjoying the supervillain AU so far!!

(Make sure you get some sleep though!! It’s important to try and maintain a regular sleep schedule!!)

And basically the answer to your question is that Yuu called a quasi-truce of sorts to sit down all the supervillains to deliver the news. Both because it was the easiest way to avoid the accusations of favoritism that would arise if the reporter went around one at a time, and ensured they’d only need to go through the whole thing once.

Of course, the other six supervillains are only willing to humor this because it’s Yuu that called it. They may have all brought their most trusted aides along with certain, ah, “safety measures” just in case anyone else tries anything, but even these are pretty tame compared to their usual fare. It’s a silent agreement that everyone is on their best behavior in front of their host.

Even if they’re a bit disgruntled by the fact that this meeting is being held in the second Monstro Lounge location, and Leviathan and the Leech twins are flitting around Yuu like a particularly jealous school of fish.

Worse, the reporter isn’t even telling them to stop.

And then Yuu finally comes out with what they want to say and—

Oh.

Oh, now the other supervillains can understand Azul’s protective impulses.

Vil and Idia are having the hardest time processing it and have the most questions, all told. Their mental image of Crowley and their mental image of Yuu are so different after all, it’s a struggle not to ask, “but has there actually been a paternity test and are we sure this isn’t just one of the world’s most depraved lies?”

In fairness, Crowley has done nothing to disabuse them of the notion that this isn’t the exact kind of behavior he would sink to if mildly inconvenienced.

Of all of them, Malleus and Riddle are probably taking it the best. After all, they both know what it’s like being the prized heirs of people who cannot afford to let them shirk their duties. Either because the well being of others’ depends on them taking up that mantle, or their parent’s pride.

Either way, they’ll support Yuu’s search for freedom from their villainous father’s legacy, by taking up the mantle of head of Night Raven themselves if need be.

Please give Leona and Jamil two to five minutes to reboot. Both have partially blue-screened at the motifs of being cast aside and the inesacabilty of family bloodline inherent in Yuu’s backstory. Once they’re back to normal, they’ll be some of Yuu’s staunchest defenders, but give them forty eight hours to process first.

Maybe eighty two.

After Yuu’s answered almost all the questions, Ace butts in, “So, you kept sticking your nose in ‘cause you wanted to get kidnapped?”

Yuu shrugs, “Not, not wanted? But it was a bit less nerve wracking if I knew I’d done something to merit being there, so to speak. Made it less likely that it was because you’d worked out my heritage.”

The other villains and minions nod, satisfied.

But Deuce pipes up with a worried frown curving his brow.

“So, does this mean you won’t be investigating our schemes anymore?”

A hush spreads through the room. All eyes are fixed on the reporter, waiting for their response with bated breath.

Yuu grins, a gloriously competitive spark in their eyes. “Oh, you wish.”

[nichoskittycorner]

The Game (Fuma smut)

  >> You knew your boyfriend was a gamer long before you got together. You knew he easily would get lost in playing and get distracted sometimes. It shouldn't surprise you that he was distracted when you came over while he was still mid-game. Well, you started to get needy and he was right there so- why not?

>> Oral sex, cock warming, fingering, pussy slapping, dom!Fuma, brat!reader, kinda mushy but also penetrative sex

Word count: 2.1k

A/N: Dangit I wanna write smut for Fuma too and this is me trying after so many dead ends- 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    You always considered Fuma a great boyfriend. Sweet, loving, patient- everything you could've ever wanted. He treated you like a princess and loved you without bounds. 

  Despite how amazingly perfect he was, Fuma did have a bit of a flaw- when it came to his video games, he was easily distracted. 

  You could be walking down the street together, holding hands, cuddled up to each other, and engrossed in a deep conversation. But the minute he caught sight of some video game gameplay in a store window or something- he was staring. Having almost entirely forgotten about whatever you two were speaking about before. 

  Usually, it would take a kiss or two to bring him back to reality. His face burned red as he apologized and hugged you tightly. 

  Well usually just wasn't tonight. You had come over for a surprise visit to Fuma's apartment. Having planned an exciting and sexy night with him. You were already wet thinking about it when you arrived. 

  But now, two hours of waiting later, you were lounging out on his bed, groaning as you scrolled through various apps as he was fully immersed in a game. You tried touching him and getting his attention but all efforts failed. 

  You were starting to feel like the money you spent on the new lingerie was wasted. Calling out to him got no response besides a low grunt. He really wasn't listening! 

  "Fuma… Fumaaaa come on!" You whined, rolling all over the sheets and kicking your feet in a tantrum. If he wanted to ignore you, he shouldn't care if you started being a brat… or taking matters into your own hands. 

  A smirk grew on your face as you crawled under his desk and in between his legs. It wasn't until your hands rested on his thighs and pulled his pants down did he register you were there. 

  He jumped slightly but kept his focus on the game. Your hand rested on his cock and squeezed slightly, stroking him through the thin layer of clothing. Maybe getting him hard would make him divert his attention to you.

  Alas, all you did was make him hard and turn yourself on more, but he was still in another dimension. 

  A huff of annoyance puffed out of you, begrudgingly pouting and pulling his underwear off so his cock sprang out. Taking him into your mouth and sucking him off with more passion and volume than normal. 

  Moaning, slurping, and gagging on him, looking up at him with your classic doe eyes. Which quickly turned to frustration as he barely flinched. Temporarily taking his hand off the keyboard and petting your hair. Not even a little good girl like usual.

  By this point, you were ready to both cry and explode in frustration. Why was he ignoring you? Did you do something wrong? As far as you were aware, no, and he wasn't verbalizing if you did. 

  Maybe he was just being stubborn to test you. Hmph! Well, two could play at that game- 

  Trailing your hands slowly up his body, you gradually wiggled your way into his lap. Resting your head on his shoulder and placing kisses on his neck, nibbling on his ear, and playing with his hair. This was sure to get him this time! 

  Grinding your hips down on his cock, the lace fabric added a bit of friction which made you moan in his ear. "Fuma, I need you baby, please." 

  Pushing your panties to the side, you used a free hand to play with your wet folds, putting a finger inside your pussy and stroking slowly. 

  Maybe your moans were a bit exaggerated, your fingers were never that great compared to his- but you knew he wouldn't like that you were touching yourself in his presence and he wasn't. 

   And for once, you noticed a change in him! It was his body only heating up drastically but it was something. Clearly, he was paying attention but acting like he wasn't. 

  A smirk grew on your lips as you removed your fingers, gripping his still-hard cock and stroking it a few times. Lining him up with your entrance before sinking down slowly. 

  He always felt so good inside of you, stretching your hole and making your eyes nearly roll to the back of your head. Your hips started to move on their own as he filled you out. 

  But just as quickly as you started to move, you were halted by a large hand digging into your hip and holding you down. "Don't move." 

  Those were his only words before he let you go and continued his game. Who did he think he was right now?! How dare he deny you attention for this long and then try to command you to do anything? 

  His order was quickly forgotten as you started to move once again. Not even subtle grinding but full-on bouncing on his cock to feel him. 

  You couldn't even enjoy the pleasure for a second before he held you down once again, his grip a lot tighter, so expect bruises in the morning. "What did I just say, angel? Don't move." 

  Oh, a warning? You weren't unfamiliar with those but the question was how much further you could push. Putting on your best vocal pout, you had to respond. "S-sorry Daddy, you just feel too good inside of me." Add in a 'pathetic' hip roll and seal the deal. 

  Except he didn't let you get away with it. No, as soon as you tried that, he pulled you off of him and carried you to the bed. Haphazardly tossing you down before pulling a rope out from the nightstand. 

  It was almost like a flash- one moment you're on his lap and now you're hands are tied up and you're stripped naked. At least he was now giving you attention. 

  "You wanted my attention, well now you've got it." He growled before forcing your legs open. Putting your dripping cunt on display. 

  He wasted no time shoving two fingers into your hole. Filling you out and stroking quickly. His thick fingers curled every once in a while but he was clearly putting power behind his strokes. 

  His thumb rubbing and pinching on your clit without mercy. A string of moans and whimpers fell from your body. Your hips lifted to feel even more of him as he drew an orgasm out of you with ease. 

   Shaking violently as you coated his fingers in even more of your arousal. You didn't even have a chance to catch your breath as his fingers continued to drill into you. 

  It was also now you realized what was going on- he was punishing you. Usually, he would eat you out or kiss you or something after that but he barely reacted. 

  "H-hey, Fu- say something-" But he didn't. Instead, he pulled out his soaked hand and slapped your pussy before going back to fucking you with his fingers. The slap, whether intentional or not, made your back arch. 

  Without warning you came again, and again, and again as time passed. By now you were a whimpering, crying mess. Barely able to think as your legs trembled with every thrust of his fingers. 

  The sheets are covered in your sweat, and juices. Your body was loving it but you begged Fuma to stop. But it only had the opposite result. His strokes would speed up or slow down to a painful crawl but were strong and harsh. Landing the occasional slap on your clit to give you the push to make an even bigger mess. 

  Your wrists ached just like the rest of your body by the time he stopped after drawing out a final orgasm. Once he pulled his fingers out (painfully slow) of your gaping hole, he placed his fingers into your mouth. 

   "Do you know why I did that angel?" All you could do was shake your head no as your tongue finished cleaning his fingers. He sighed and freed your wrists from their prison and pulled you into his lap. Stroking your back slowly. 

  "Because bad girls get punished, that's why. Now are you a good girl or a bad girl?" 

  "Good… I'm a good girl." He smiled softly and finally kissed your lips like you were the most delicate thing in the world. 

  "Do you still want me or-" You nodded and quickly went to straddle his lap. His sweet chuckle rang out as he helped you onto him this time, finally having a reaction and throwing his head back as you took him in. 

  Hands holding your hips steady and wasted no time in riding him. Pulling him into a kiss as you bounced on his thick cock. 

  "Look at you, so eager for me always huh?" You moaned in response as he started to suck on your nipple. Soft lips taking the bud and playing with it gently before adding his tongue. 

  As desperate as you were, you didn't mind the sweet and loving pace you had now. Savoring every stroke, every touch he gave. Pouring his love out in each movement despite his earlier demeanor. 

  Switching your positions, you were now on your back with Fuma kissing you slowly as he slipped into your sloppy hole. Setting a moderate pace with his hips. 

  Somehow this was driving you even crazier than before, panting in between heated kisses. His thumb rested on your clit, much more gentle this time. A sly smile spread onto his lips when you shivered at the contact and wiggled your hips to feel him more. 

  This time he obliged, playing with the little nub sweetly as he sped up his thrusts. Bringing your mind back to its previously mushy state as he fucked your common sense away. 

  Whimpering and drooling and twitching underneath him, wrapping your arms around his neck as he brought you closer to the edge. 

  "Mh, Fu… Daddy please-" A low rumbling vibrated through his chest as he kissed you a bit harder now, increasing his speed. 

  Even your fucked out brain remembered the magic word to get him to fuck you into oblivion. Your legs wrapped around his hips as his dick twitched inside your beaten walls and his pace stuttered. 

  With a final deep kiss, Fuma dug his cock in as deep as he could, bringing your orgasm forth. Clenching onto his dick and making his cum paint your walls. 

   The world went blank and all you could feel was Fuma, deep within you, cum spilling out from your hole, his moans, and chants of your name. 

  His body melted into yours as he peppered kisses along your burning skin. "Good girl, that's my angel, I love you so much." 

  You couldn't help but smile as he picked you up, leading you to the bathroom to get cleaned up. This was the sweet loving Fuma you adored. The one who would fuck you stupid before telling you how much he worshipped you and your body. 

  The one who washed you up and played with your hair and dressed in his clothes to sleep after a good fuck like that. 

  After getting comfortable in bed, snuggling up to his chest as his arms wrapped around you protective, your mind cleared up enough to speak. 

  "Fu, why did you ignore me so hard earlier? It's very unlike you." 

  To which he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You…asked me to?" 

  Oh… 

  Your face burned with realization as you remembered what you said earlier- 

  "So just ignore me, seriously, don't mind me being here no matter what! I can wait for you to finish." You chipped out nonchalantly after kissing Fuma and heading straight to his room, flopping onto the sheets and pulling your phone out to occupy yourself.

  "Well I… I didn't mean ignore me that hard! I was clearly setting up a scene-" You grumbled in embarrassment and buried your burning face in his chest. 

  "... Then why didn't you use the safeword to end it?" There he goes again, proving to just be perfect… too perfect. 

  The embarrassment was too much, hiding your face in his chest and pretending to sleep. 

  "Haha, okay goodnight angel. Let's try again tomorrow you sweet brat-" 

  "Hey! I'm not a brat-" 

  "Gotcha." Fuma laughed and squeezed you snugly, kissing your forehead before you fell asleep in his arms. 

[suzukiblu]

I am loving billy adopting Conner !! 💖 ty for feeding us always with your DC content!! it's always unique and I very much appreciate the fact you love so many blorbo's (especially my batgirls who never get any screentime or rights within fics coughhh)

Thank you! I try to at least name-drop characters who are important to the specific blorbos I'm writing about/obsessing on, especially when they'd logically be relevant, even if I'm not majorly including them in the fic du jour. I feel like it rounds out the world and characters more and also it's just like . . . there was this thing where, for example, I used to read a lot of Steve/Tony fics back in the day and SO many people just NEVER mentoned Rhodey EVER, and it made me LEGIT INSANE, lol. So like, I try not to do that to people myself? It's just weird and jarring and ANNOYING, dangit!

Like I understand wanting to tell a ship-focused story, for example, but when you're 50k deep in a plot-heavy Stony fic and nobody's even throwaway-line MENTIONED Rhodey . . . . . . like COME ON, PEOPLE. And like, I feel similarly about for example Timkon that forgets Steph or Tana or other relationships ever happened even when it's clearly taking place AFTER those relationships had happened.

Also I still really wanna write some Cass/Kon sooooo . . . 👀

[citruscitrushope]

Dangit now I wanna write Lalaloopsy stuff again, maybe sort of based on the pre-nick jr continuity? I know it's probably the most basic and had the least depth of all of the versions of it, but there's so much from it that wasn't explored that's fully unique to it. Mittens' snow magic? Jewel liking dancing? Nonverbal Specs? Actually leaning more into the fact that they're dolls by showing them using the playsets and stuff? Yeah the Nick Jr. era is more fleshed out, and We're Lalaloopsy is actually enjoyable for people older than seven, but I have a really weird soft spot for the 2009-2012 Lalaloopsy stuff

[undertalethingems]

💞 - Who's your comfort character

[ Mine would be Asriel ]

i mean, it should come as no surprise that it's sans lol

he's just a tired sad dude trying to get by, and it honestly always weirds me out a bit when people make him a super-powerful godlike being, or say he deserves bad things happening to him, or like, make him an insane murderer or something extreme like that. he's just some guy who was handed an existential crisis and is just trying to cope

it doesn't stop me from writing him facing hardships or angst, but i wanna see him get better or be comforted and supported by his friends as well. he deserves nice things too, dangit!

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

cries softly I'M JUST READY TO OPEN THE ASKBOX DANGIT

not that I don't enjoy/not looking forward to what I have left... but I wish it was already done so I have new things to write!! or at least imagine writing lol

sometimes I have things sitting on my list for so long that the more I look at it, I'm imagining it more, and then it gets. idk. kinda like the equivalent of my brain chewing a piece of gum for a long time till it can't taste flavor anymore??

my brain is like "well I've already thought about it for a while, now you wanna actually write it down??? lol no" BRAIN WHY

like

does that make sense or am I just nuts XD

[teen-cups-au]

Teen Cups - Plot Notes Part 19

Beginning of the comic | Previous | Next

As Chalice keeps reading Cuphead's diary, flashbacks of Cuphead crying while writing are seen.

Diary: February 1st… This date is cursed to me. It’s the first anniversary of your disappearance. I’m denying it so much. It can’t be. I couldn’t leave my room today. I spent the whole time crying in bed. Dark thoughts swirling in my head non stop. Thinking of the many ways you could have died. Imagining scenarios of you being fine and coming back. Looking at photos and videos of you, hearing your voice. Staring at your smile. Thinking that I’ll never see it again... That I won’t be able to do things with you that I always dreamed of…. That’s what hurts the most.

There’s something that I wanted to tell you, but never had the courage to. Fearing to lose you if you didn’t return the feelings. It’s my deepest regret. I could have enjoyed us being even closer, before you not being here anymore. I feel stupid for letting you know this only now. It’s too late. But I NEED to take it out of my chest : I love you. There. Am I a necrophiliac now… ? What am I saying… You’re not dead to me anyway. Sometimes I imagine your corpse, rotting wherever. Not sure why I do th Ahem, please forget this, oh gosh, I’m so creepy, I’m sorry.

I know I should remember the good times we had. But it’s so frustrating. These moments are over. We won’t grow up together. Someday, I’ll be in my 50’s, and you’ll always be a teen in my mind while we should always be 2 years old apart. That’s so wrong. Unnatural. Anyway, I don’t wanna end up this speech negatively, not cool after opening my heart to you ^^’ So yeah, I… I love you so much. I feel like my heart has been torn out and thrown in acid. It feels really close to when Mugman had his first asthma attack and almost died when we were little Dangit Cup, STOP ! I love you.

Chalice stares at the book with wide eyes.

Chalice: *thinking* He loves me… ?

She places the book on her chest, looking at the sky.

Chalice: *thinking* He loves me.

There’s then a zoom on her face.

Chalice: *thinking* But it was more than a year ago… Is it still current ?

Zoom on her eyes.

Chalice: *thinking* And yes, Cup. Your thoughts were creepy. But you were mourning, so… I guess ? ...What ?

[candycryptids]

Since the ask got eaten @hinganskies asked about accents TTATT from the ask game. Gosh Dangit. From the top a third time fjfjfjdjvkd

Tuesday has a Texan Drawl by default, picked for him by Chuu because she found it charming. His accent tends to drift to match the region he’s spent time in recently, though, to stand out less. He can speak the common Eorzean, Garlean, and Hingan. He can also read Chuu’s invented written-language and common. Reading other languages takes him a little longer but it’s…. Doable.

Chuu has a light Garlean accent and rolls the r’s on certain words like it was how she heard them when she was a child and so it’s how she says them even now. Things like Growl, travel, father, terror. Speaks Garlean and common Eorzean. Cannot read either language; refuses to learn as a VERY stubborn choice. Has created her own written language instead. Only two other people are known to be able to read it. Learning Hingan, but doesn’t seem too bothered to continue now that she has Tuesday built. His continued adventures with the WoL and Crew might drive her to pick it back hp, though.

Tangy has a thick Essex accent and only speaks/writes common. Is leaning Sign, though she feels like her hands don’t always cooperate with the motions. She’s getting the hang of it.

Ishi’li has an Ala Mhigan accent that naturally drifts to match whoever he’s speaking with over time. It’s the Adhd. Speaks Japanese (modern) and stumbles his way through Hingan (it’s like. If a guy were speaking to someone from the 1800’s; the language is different but not impossible) also knows Sign! Interprets for Kizuna.

Levraut has a posh Ishgardian accent he actively suppresses and tries to distance himself from with a Limsan one instead. You can tell he’s flustered, or thinking very hard about what he’s saying rather than how he’s saying it, because the pompous ass accent creeps back in.

Colette has a v slight Spanish accent when she’s not working- she lays on a heavy Customer Service sort of voice when on the job that’s more neutral if a little inviting. (She is, however, trash talking you to her coworkers in the break room. Sorry. She did see you staring.)

I have been wrestling Mochiie’s accent for a while but I wanna dedicate a little more time to it /)////(\ so I don’t have an answer for him this has been fun to answer tho ;w;! [Solkmyna and Swydghem btw, have Scottish accents. I don’t know where they got it either, but it is as it is?]

[moltengoldveins]

me: i… I think I might have to kill my main character. I. It’s really looking like this might be a very similar narrative to the gospels… I… i really don’t want to kill this character but it’s not looking good… like the Whole World is broken and needs reparations type not looking good…. But I don’t Wanna kill her, I love her and I wanna keep her. I want a happy ending. Dangit. I hate writing tragedies.

me, moments later, sitting bolt upright in bed: JESUS CAME BACK YOU KRIFFING IDIOT-

[hurricanek8art]

I'm really excited for Ahsoka Ep5 tonight, but my brain keeps drifting back to those ruins from the premiere and I gotta get it out in a post before the new episode probably takes over my every thought.

I love the ancient tech in this show. I mean, yes, the map is like straight out of Treasure Planet so I will always love it for that, but the tech just looks so Zeffo! I wonder if it was intentional. Like I think a lot of the design for Force-related stuff we see now is influenced by Rebels and TCW and stuff like the compass from The Last Jedi (which Filoni designed, so it basically all goes back to him) but the potential in-universe explanation for why this ancient Dathomirian site and technology seems so reminiscent of the Zeffo (to me at least) fascinates me.

We know there's a Zeffo sage tomb on Dathomir, so the cultures had contact at one point. Did Dathomir intentionally take design influence from Zeffo culture, like how ancient Roman architecture took heavy design inspiration from Greek architecture for their building facades and then it evolved into its own thing? Or was there like a whole cultural exchange there? Were there Dathomirians that studied the Life Wind and Zeffo that dabbled with magick?! I feel like Eno Cordova. I WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ZEFFO DANGIT. WERE THEY LIKE RAKATA/KWA CONTEMPORARIES OR DID THEY COME BEFORE? AFTER? DID ONE'S STUDY OF THE FORCE INFLUENCE THE OTHER? I WANNA KNOOOOOOOW.

(I could write an entirely different essay post about how much I love Fallen Order/Survivor, but the hyperfixation gremlin is focusing on Ahsoka right now so I can't articulate at this moment beyond I LOVE JEDI FALLEN ORDER/JEDI SURVIVOR)

[princessfaeron]

got into a conversation with my brother about the amount of ben 10/mha "Deku gets the omnitrix" fusion fics there are, and specifically how it feels like a lot of them don't live up to their potential...

and also how I've not seen a single one that does it the way I would write it, which is a bit surprising

like, has not even one person done "All Might gives Izuku the Omnitrix instead of One for All"? really?

you get to keep the mentor/mentee relationship between the two while still swapping out OFA with the watch, and introduce a whole other host of potential plot threads!

like, was All Might the previous user of the omnitrix? in which case they now need to hide the fact that All Might can no longer shapeshift without drawing attention to the fact that Izuku now can!

or, maybe All Might never used the omnitrix, but he had it anyway. where did he get it? why does he not have OFA to give to Izuku here, does he have his own quirk or is he using some other alien tech to mimic one?

Where do All for One and Vilgax fit into either of these situations?

there's a lot of potential in this concept and yet I constantly see Izuku just getting it the same way Ben does, which is just not as interesting to me.

(let's not adress the glaring lack of non-fusion crossovers... there's 70 fics tagged with both fandoms (and no other fandom) but only 20 of those have the 'ben tennyson' character tag, a lot of which are still 'deku gets the omnitrix' fics just with ben as a supporting character rather than a nonentity... where's the dimension hopping? I wanna see the characters from both worlds interacting without making them be from the same world, dangit)

[silverryu25]

🌈 and 🎀! :)

This is for this ask game!

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

It took me a bit to think about this and tbh most of the fics are easy once I have a scene I wanna write (like the focal point of a one-shot) but one fic I had trouble on was my only Alphys/Undyne fic (Dorks give the best anniversary gifts) cause I had a hard time keeping them in character (not sure if I even managed >.>).

Besides that any fic that isn't a one-shot is torture for my poor writing brain and idk why XD

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

Dfgjldfjgldkjfl! This one is no fair! >//////////<

But I'll be good and do it........ I write good tooth-rooting fluff.

There! And I'm only saying this cause I had to re-read one of my old fics (so I could properly rely to a comment on it) and I cuted myself out... dangit >:/

Hope that one couts! XD

Thank you for the ask!! (≧◡≦)❤

[spidermilkshake]

Dangan Island: White Rabbits, Black Rabbits (Chapter 1)

Dong Romper... Dangit Grandpa... Dongusrongus... whatever joke nickname you wanna give it, Danganronpa took m' brain and inspired me to write a bit of fun Island Mode-like AU for my favored game in the series.

Starring Not-kuya Twogami/the Ultimate Imposter as the principle POV, since I love them and they are such a drastically underrated character. Also I think my writing, uh, improves on some of the iffy things that appear in Dangan stuffs, or at least steers them and represents them in a more appropriate way. Of course teens are awkward horny weirdos sometimes--maybe doesn't excuse fanservice and going waaaay too far with the stereotyping. Ain't no saints--but don't condone their bullshit, and be sure to show their development and their good side!

Content Warnings: Bickering and Cursing on par with what appears in the game!

Word count: ~5000

Chapter 1

Jabberwock Islands

(Super-Early Morning, Summer 2012)

------------

It had been a bizarre week already, stranded on this archipelago of eternal summertime, but when nothing more bizarre than the appearance of the creature half-Magical Girl and half-rabbit as the full situation came to pass most of the class were able to drop their tensions. Going about the business of living in the confines of this “vacation” was really all each of them could do, and all most of them wanted to do now that their suspicions were reduced and tucked towards the backs of their minds.

The heavyset person bearing the appearance and dignified airs of Byakuya Togami, however, was still skeptical—and restless. Thick arms crossed over his puffed-up chest, half-supported by prickly-tense shoulders and the other half by propping atop the sizable stomach; sheathed in the sparkling white and smooth-ivory suit and slacks, it was a wonder he didn’t roast in such an outfit inappropriate for this climate. And yet he seemed stoic and unfazed as he paced along the pathway alongside the beachfront. His destination lay ahead, beyond a stand of tropical broadleaf shrubs towards the flat, elevated rocky end of the coast. It was a place where none of the others had cause to go—explicitly the reason for his coming here just as the fingers of reddish dawn were creeping in from the east. It would no do for Byakuya Togami to be seen behaving as he was about to—both because the Byakuya Togami did not apparently perform any such regular exercises, and if he somehow did he would not be caught dead doing so by “mere commoners”.

Satisfied he had no witnesses, his stony expression dropped and his shoulders loosened—the change in attitude seeming to almost carve a few inches from his height. Loosening up further, he took a deep breath and began to stretch; arms over, arms across, arms down until his fingers were planted flat against the ground. Shifting position with great ease and poise for his size, all his weight gathered over one side and balanced there as his other leg floated up to point out in a perfect perpendicular angle. Held—then gently planted down again—then switching sides—repeating the motions dozens of times until satisfactorily warmed up. For those first few days, he’d opted not to undergo this practice, loathe to exert any energy in the event things turned dire and he might have to use the gargantuan strength (and sheer momentum) he’d cultivated. By now, though, it would be far worse to put this off and risk falling out of practice. A few more basic strengthening motions should be enough to build up an appetite for breakfast…

It was either the zen-like focus of his exercises or the intrusive fantasizing about the Hanamura-made breakfast waiting in the near future, but either way as he braced his heels far apart and began to ease down into the more difficult stretches he missed the dull rustling of the shrubs and ferns. A horned, maned, electrically-hued head popped around the bend in the footpath and gasped aloud at the sight:

“Whoooa, Booyakasha?” Ibuki shrieked in both surprise and joy, “I had no idea you could do a split!”

The sudden voice and intrusion sent a jolt through him, and in an instinctual jerk of the neck to face the one barging in on his privacy he mistakenly dropped down the remaining few inches into the split—what would have been a perfect split, but by the sharp stings shooting through his hamstrings he knew right away only looked perfect.

“Nngn..!”

“Oof, aww, shit!” the Ultimate Musician put her hands up to her mouth before scuttling towards him, “You okay? I’m so so sorry—I didn’t mean to freak you out!” She sucked some air through her teeth on glancing down, “Shit, that’s like… rock you’re on…”

“Yes,” he grunted, supporting himself with his hands to try and stymie the pain in his legs, “I am very aware of that…” He struggled a moment longer to get his feet back under him, failed, and cast a long-suffering glare over to Ibuki. This would break character a bit, but he didn’t see any less embarrassing choices, “…Ahem, um… could you give me a hand?”

She lent him two, grabbing onto one be-suited forearm and heaving gamely. Her help was marginal despite its eager spirit, but it still did the trick and the Ultimate Imposter brought their mountainous bulk back up to a proud stance. Ibuki had yanked with so much of her strength she almost pitched backward once he was upright—stopped by her own scrambling reflexes and his hand clasping an elbow before she could fall.

“Hmph…” Crossing his arms once more, he tried to avoid looking too naturally embarrassed and instead donned the emotional mask of the Ultimate Affluent Progeny—stiff, as if trying to ignore that he was ever affected in the first place, “So, you’ve taken to snooping around in the early morning now, have you?”

“Ah! I don’t snoop, big guy!” She clicked her tongue, “And this is a path! I’m walking on it! I have every right to see you out here if you’re just, like, out here.”

“At 6:45 a.m.?” he huffed, quirking up an eyebrow.

“I was bored!” She twirled in place, seeming soothed by the waves of motion through her hair, “Hardly anyone else is up this early!”

“And you are?” The eyebrow ticked up higher, “Do you ever sleep?”

“Of course I sleep!” She snorted, “… sometimes.”

“…You couldn’t sleep, could you?”

“Well! Well! No.” She gave a defeated groan, “I get all caught up in what I’m doin’ and lose track of time…”

The Imposter eyed her throughout as she fidgeted, fighting to keep his expression from turning too worried. “Have you considered seeing Mikan about that?”

“Aww, but it’s not serious!”

“You need sleep, Mioda,” he retorted sternly, “Not sleeping is about as bad as not eating. Just consider getting her opinion on this, won’t you?”

“Sure, sure—I can’t say no to you!” She relented and then threw herself into an enthusiastic hug upon the bulwark of the Imposter’s flank, who tried not to react much aside from a disgruntled “tsk!” in Togami’s voice. “And speaking of eating—I thought I sneefed up some of Teruteru’s cooking on the way out here—we gotta get back there before everyone grabs up all the best stuff!”

“I agree…” he smirked, “Come on, let go of me. Come on, try to keep up!”

֍

As expected, aside from Teruteru himself, they were still among the few already awake at this hour to roll into Hotel Mirai’s second floor restaurant. There was a wafting, pleasant odor flowing all throughout, forming a trail back towards the open kitchen doors where the plump little Ultimate Chef was practicing his art—half-humming and half-crooning along to something which the lyrics were fortunately indiscernible from a small radio. Nekomaru sat quietly at the larger table that most of the class tended to share, steepling his fingers as if praying for favor from the G.I. Gods through the steam of a mug of green tea. Similarly oriented to morning hours was Mahiru, sitting close by and alternately sipping a tall, creamy espresso-containing beverage and picking like a bird at one half of a toasted roll spread with something deep brown and smooth. The other half lay ignored amongst a rolled omelet and pair of nori sheafs also on her plate. Her general aversion to “overeating” was observable on her petite frame as well—even down to her birdleg-skinny fingers and wrists which she fiddled with the setting dials on the DSLR camera she kept secured to a strap about her neck. That she’d chosen any protein at all was probably only due to joining the Ultimate Team Manager so early; while he was busy psyching himself up for an attempt at something as simple as rice. It was really a wonder someone as huge and muscular as he was could stay such a shape with insides so prone to revolt, but he somehow did it and then bore it with the expected bundle of (shameless) grace.

With little fuss and no further observations, the Ultimate Imposter took the place across from the larger teenager and focused on the tabletop’s occupants. Ibuki, of course, stuck to his side like an electrifying tick and began chattering animatedly with Koizumi.

“G’ morning my big dapper daddy, an’ my beautisimous Anarchy Queen!” Teruteru’s exaggeratedly suave greeting piped over the conversation, dancing over to the table to unload two freshly-finished platters stacked with many single serving bowls as well as a multi-liter serving pot filled with steaming rice and savory miso, respectively. “More of th’ basics for y’all—the fancier stuff’ll be done in a minute!”

“I would prefer you not call me that,” the Imposter grumbled, his reprimand half-hearted at the appearance of hot starch within his reach. Ibuki clicked her chopsticks together rhythmically and grinned.

“I think it’s cute!”

“… The heir to the Togami family fortune is not… ‘cute’.”

“Alrighty, alrighty, be modest,” she giggled, then shot a dirty look over to Mahiru, and especially to her odd grimacing expression upon hearing the Musician’s praise. Of course the subject of the less-than-flattering reaction paid no mind to it, favoring an attack on the supply of calories in front of him. Shortly afterwards, the chef sauntered back in to deliver two more platters—one of strips of bonito grilled to perfection, and the other of onigiri with a stack of additional nori sheets in case anyone wanted more. As if awakened by the scent of more complex dishes, a notably bleary-looking Kazuichi stumbled in, followed by a far more collected Chiaki and Hiyoko (who seemed alert but still radiating an aura of salt—perhaps due to being too short of continue watching over the Ultimate Gamer’s shoulder on the way to breakfast).

“Hey,” Chiaki mumbled over the jingle of her game saving its progress, barely giving any of the others time to respond to her presence before she was scooping up a pair of onigiri and wolfing them down. Hiyoko’s nose crinkled up at the sight of seaweed and plucked up bonito and rice instead.

“Ack… where the hell’s the caffeine..?” Souda gestured vaguely towards Nekomaru, who grunted.

“Wouldn’t know. Tea’s over there, though.”

“Tea’s… caffeine, right?”

Nekomaru’s eyebrows twitched, “… is it?”

“Black tea, for sure—” Teruteru popped up again, flashing a fan of tea packets as if they were cash, “Pick one of these—they’re th’ quality stuff.”

“No coffee?” the Ultimate Mechanic whined, and the plump little chef suddenly seemed to go rigid with indignation.

“From that supermarket? That coffee?! The instant coffee?!” His slim arms wheeled as if smacking down the demons of low-effort cheapness, “I ain’t servin’ that dirt-flavored swill from my kitchen, in my dinin’ room, nowhere to do with me! You want one o’ those cups o’ mud, you get it yourself!”

“Ugh, man…”

“You could always try a very strongly brewed English Breakfast tea and then add some cinnamon to it,” a pleasant and poised voice enunciated from behind him, causing a cascade of instant changes to Souda’s posture and awakeness, “It is almost coffee-like, and will indeed wake you up.”

“Oh!” Kazuichi flashed an awkward grin, “I should try that, Miss Sonia! You’re so smart!”

“Hurry up and get a seat,” Hiyoko nudged the Princess, “Before Akane gets up and pigs up everything.”

“Oh, but I doubt Hanamura would ever let us starve.” Sonia said with a sweet, innocent-seeming smile as she perched beside the tiny dancer. Teruteru produced his comb from somewhere and began to preen himself, narrow chest puffing up. Souda growled under his breath, steeping his tea much more aggressively.

By the time the later-risers all trickled in—the dozy but ravening Akane coming in dead-last—the Ultimate Imposter placed down their newly emptied 7th bowl of rice and sighed. Thankfully, Mioda had not felt at all compelled to spill about the secret activities she’d witnessed, and was instead embroiled in a multi-party argument about what to do about the four islands they’d left unexplored—fearing what might be waiting there would be a lot less hospitable than on this initial “home base”.

“Couldn’t your ham—er, devas go and check that next island out and report back?” Hajime made the suggestion as mildly as he could to Gundham Tanaka, who sat broodily on the edge of the group, appearing to have all his attention taken up by feeding strips of nori and small pieces of celery to the tame rodents in question. The impression of aloofness was false; shooting the far plainer boy an indirect look, Tanaka lifted up Maga-Z in a scooped palmful.

“Indeed, they could. But reconnaissance as simple as this would be wasted on creatures of such power…”

“Um…” Mahiru gave the little hamster, sitting upright on Gundham’s hand and cleaning his whiskers, a mind-boggled stare, “Power… right…”

“They’re hamsters,” Hiyoko frowned, exasperated, “How would they be smart enough to even tell what they’d found if it wasn’t seeds of some other shitty rat-food?”

Gundham’s usual glare deepened: “Be thankful that my devas have already received their morning offerings!” He smirked, patting Jum-P on the head gently, “Mortals have become cursed for less…”

“They’re so well-trained, Hiyoko,” Sonia murmured to her, “Have you not seen them? Yesterday Gundham showed me how he could command them to get our frisbee back down from the roof! Do you remember it?”

“Yes…” Hiyoko pouted. She had a difficult time punching down when Sonia was around, since the Ultimate Princess never seemed fazed or to even remark upon the spite dripping from the dancer’s quips—always ready with a poised deflection that stopped the snide comments from pumping up her tiny ego as hoped.

“Hmph… On the bright side if the hamsters don’t come back we’ll know there’s something dangerous over there…” Souda muttered, “… or a hawk.”

“Shame on you!” Ibuki scolded, slapping the top of his hand with a half-eaten nori slip, “Have faith in our Ham-stars! We all know you’re jealous because she loves them cute little animals.”

“I am not jealous of rodents!”

“We know.” The Imposter said dryly. “We all know who you’re actually jealous of. For everyone’s benefit though, try not to wish harm on him either.”

“Erk…”

“Why don’cha just let me run over there and scope it out?” Akane interrupted while cracking her knuckles. “If I run into trouble I’ll just deck it.”

“No,” the Imposter shot the idea down right away, even faster than Nekomaru could make his objection, “No one should go anywhere unexplored alone… No, with no fewer than a group of three to be safe.” He set down his empty tea mug, “If any of us do end up going to the second island, I will insist on being part of that group.”

“Okay, but if there’s a fight waiting I wanna come too—” Akane retorted, “I can still deck it!”

“If anyone or anything needs their ass kicked, we gotta be there too,” the Ultimate Yakuza, taking up two chairs by propping up his crossed legs, volunteered along with Pekoyama’s confident nod. One glance at the most well-armed among them was enough to dissipate all potential argument.

“And that should only be necessary if Gundham doesn’t get anything conclusive, right?” Chiaki asked, a flicker of uncharacteristic concern flashing through her normally cool, unbothered eyes. Something about it seemed… suddenly too aware to him, and the Imposter watched her face as he gave a nod of confirmation.

“If Tanaka is willing to try,” he glanced towards the Ultimate Animal Breeder, careful to keep his eye contact on the hamsters instead of the human he addressed, “Are you up for sending them over the bridge?”

Gundham made a sharp series of clicks with his tongue and lowered one arm into a ramp up to his shoulders—the four creatures scampered up with military formation and adroitness, up into their concealed spaces: “They shall heed my orders posthaste! Each shall return from the forbidden lands with a portent of what lies there—good, or evil.”

“Amazing…” The Imposter almost jumped at the dull, spacey voice. He had almost forgotten Nagito was present. Hajime certainly had, as the most off-putting boy had decided to silently take up the seat right next to him without his knowledge. The amnesiac scooted strongly away, almost bracing himself against Fuyuhiko’s second chair as Komaeda let out a low chuckle.

“And Komaeda—I have something that you need to do as well.” The Imposter leaned in, snapping back into a more Byakuya-esque, demanding tone.

“Really?” His eyes sparkled, in the way that errant, housefire-inspiring sparks from a faulty radiator might, “Our leader has a task for the likes of me?”

“Yes. You’re going to stay a long way from anyone having anything to do with the exploration.”

“…Ah.”

“You know it’s safer that way.”

“Of course!” And Nagito recovered with a smile, “Well, I can just stick with Hajime. Heh, maybe we’ll get lucky and discover something we missed on this island.”

The Imposter was relieved. Nagito always seemed like there was a bit of a restless, almost mischievous nature buried under the lax, self-deprecating mannerisms; at the very least this way he had agreed to listen and would be chaperoned by a more trustworthy classmate. Though… glancing past Nagito and catching the exasperated flinch that briefly crossed poor Hajime’s face, he did feel briefly guilty for saddling the poor kid with this duty. Still—one of them being uncomfortable for a few hours was better than risking the Rube Goldberg’s Machine type of bodily harm to their whole group that was exponentially more likely the closer the Ultimate Luck approached…

֍

The sun was cresting the top of the distant air control tower when the gathering of interested parties commenced. The soft, grassy areas on the side of the cracked, rutted paths of the Central Island leading up to the bridge was ideal to shelter from the approaching noon sun under palms and thick, flowering tropical shrubs. Teruteru had taken it upon himself to lug along a cooler full of fruit flavor popsicles and chilled canned drinks while enlisting the Imposter to carry his larger cooler of sandwiches he’d prepared (in case anyone got peckish while waiting).

The bridge loomed. While a cordoned-off area, the rope barring entry was such that, except at its low center, Hiyoko could have lightly ducked under it with no problem. Facing it now, the Imposter wondered if that perplexing rabbit character (robot?) that periodically barged in on them would really block off something truly dangerous with such a weak measure—either out of malice or plain incompetence. Those who’d opted to take this risk had all gathered: Himself, Fuyuhiko, Peko, Akane, and Mikan in the event injuries were sustained. They’d all clustered behind where Gundham was at work preparing his larger-than-life rodent companions for their recon mission. Sonia crouched close by, cooing her best wishes to the hamsters and unaware of how incredibly bashful it was making their keeper. Nekomaru and Mahiru sat in the shade not far from where Teruteru was fussing over his accommodations, ready to be back-up help should their classmates end up needing help.

“Wish the damn park had a bathroom…” the huge man grumbled, his tension not lost on the Ultimate Photographer even though his voice was casual. Mahiru cleared her throat a bit.

“Yeah… it’s a very bad public facilities policy.” She pushed a small baggie of toilet paper and sealable plastic bags from behind her, “I put this together in case of emergency. Honestly, if whoever owns or maintains this place didn’t want poop in the bushes, then they should’ve put in a little restroom building like most parks…”

“Whoa!” Nekomaru relaxed, “Geez, thanks for thinking ahead! It’s been a while since someone did somethin’ like that.”

“No problem,” Mahiru sat up, properly folding her hands over her bent knees, “There’s no excuse for no public restroom. Someone has to plan for this kind of thing… and honestly, f… fuck ‘em for not planning well.”

As Nekomaru’s jovial cackles faded into echoes, Gundham whispered a few final commands down to his Four Dark Devas of Destruction’s ears—each now equipped with a tiny bandolier of sunflower seeds, small nails and a hairpin like teeny pitons and lockpicking devices. The lineup of attentive hamsters broke their formation and took to the bridge, hopping easily over to gaps in the wood and metal beams. The Ultimate Breeder stood and faced the waiting group:

“My Devas shall return on the next hour—earlier if they encounter a truly terrible opponent.”

It was really only a matter of time: Sonia and Gundham waited right by the end of the bridge for signs of the clever hamsters’ return, occasionally chatting back and forth but both remaining quite serious. As the sun inched higher, Mikan with a flustered authority ordered a set of the popsicles be passed around—each according to their preferred flavor—to keep hydrated and cool. Despite some backchat from Fuyuhiko before he ultimately settled for the sourest flavor, everyone had a pleasant moment to blow off the heat and stress while seated in the palm shade.

It was when Gundham jolted into a ramrod-straight posture that anyone knew his dutiful scouts had completed their mission; San-D, thirsty from the long run back, had grabbed at his half-finished lemon popsicle and began licking at it with great ferocity. At the round rodent’s feet was a grubby receipt, crumpled and punctured in a few places by hamster fangs.

“Aha!” Gundham scooped up the hamster, popsicle and all, into both hands, “Supernova Silver Fox San-D! You have returned with nary a scratch! I implore you—show us your spoils!”

San-D finished melting a few more licks of the sugary treat first, but did indeed follow the command given. The little hamster grabbed up the old receipt and with both paws stretched it out so that much of it could be read easily by “mortal eyes”.

“I’m not sure… I can fully read the runes here,” Sonia said awkwardly. Peko leaned over, instantly groaning at the tremendous mundanity of the paper’s contents.

“It’s a receipt from a diner, I think,” she said with two fingers over the bridge of her nose, “Not mainstream, more likely a family restaurant or something.”

“San-D must’ve been hungry!” Sonia cooed, petting the smooth fur while the hamster posed in pride, “Now at least we know there’s a source of food over there!”

“I think I see another,” the Imposter said mid-squint, and the tan-and-white form hopping over the bridge’s gaps grew larger. Maga-Z, followed a minute later by Jum-P, came up to Gundham with pieces of paperwork clenched in their teeth, only slightly punctured.

“What’s it say?” Fuyuhiko poked over the Ultimate Breeder’s shoulder, who shushed and thrust out an arm for space. After a few moments of anticipation, Gundham turned to the group and held out the two raggedy papers as if antique curse scrolls.

“Maga-Z has recovered this from the far southern point of that island,” he explained, “And Jum-P has traveled from the northern-central area to bring us this—if I may say so immediately, it is clearly a script given along with a prescription medicine.”

“There must be a pharmaceutical facility over there to have that,” Mikan wavered. “P-probably a more populated island?”

“Maybe not so populated now…” Akane growled, “With the state of the hotel and especially the airport. And with that farm and market on our island, what’re the odds no one in the past week wanted fresh eggs or gummy candy at least? What that stupid rabbit thing said is just getting creepier and creepier…”

“If it turns out there is anyone else on these islands, I highly doubt any would be too bothered by these… barriers,” the Imposter frowned, “especially on such small islands. It could be the only market like ours is here, and the only pharmacy on this second island. I think it’s now safe to assume that this Usami character is right. We are the only people here, for better or worse.”

Gundham plucked up the other paper from the hamster’s little paws, though it was really more of a piece of cardstock. He looked confused, and passed it to Sonia, who gasped.

“Oh, it is, ah… not a ‘library card’, but, um…” She peered back over to Mahiru and Mikan who were studying it over her shoulders, “…what are these things called? The cards you get in the books at libraries?”

“U-uh…” Mikan thought about it, blanking hard on any sort of consistent name for the things.

“I’m not sure they have a name,” Koizumi frowned, “but we know what you’re talking about. Does it have a date stamp on it?”

“No, it is blank,” Sonia looked down. “But Maga-Z must have found a library! Where else would he get an unused card like this?”

“A pharmacy, a restaurant, and a library…” Pekoyama mused, “It almost seems as if each new island is outfitted with a few different facilities. I’m not sure I like how empty is all is in light of that.”

“Well—yeah, that makes it all even more weird as fuck,” Fuyuhiko crossed his arms, “Either these ain’t the real Jabberwock Islands and fake setups with nobody ever being here before us… Or somethin’ happened to the population to make it zero.”

“Indeed…” Gundham narrowed his eyes, “That rabbit… such creatures’ capacity for violence and aggression is commonly underestimated. The Bunny is, in reality, one of Nature’s most vicious beasts…”

“U-um… speaking of things that aren’t here…” Mikan peeped through the others’ speculations with her fingers linking and fidgeting together, “Don’t you have a f-fourth hamster..?”

“Ah,” Gundham stared long and hard back across the bridge, towards the large outline of an imposing building which stood tall enough to form part of the island’s horizon, “Invading Black Dragon Cham-P I sent specifically to seek out that foreboding fortress visible even from here. His divine intellect is most suited to that task…” He tweaked his scarf slightly, menacing aura faltering a bit, “… though he, um, is not a creature to be hurried.”

This was no understatement. Minutes rolled on, with Tanaka anxiously cradling the other three devas in the folds of his scarf, until Akane gave a shout that she could see a chubby, round, golden-brown ball ambling towards them. When the hamster finally made it to his master, everyone noticed right away that Cham-P lacked any kind of paper scraps or other recovered objects. As the critter entered the circle of confused observers, he went rigid and stood up on his hind legs, as if waiting for attention.

“What’s it… doing?” Mahiru said. The Imposter, however, was not perplexed for long as the small animal began to scratch and scrape at the sandy ground—watching as defined markings began to appear. Cham-P finally scuttled back from his work with a few proud wiggles of his fat cheeks.

“It says ‘mirai’,” Togami’s voice declared, earning a surprised gasp from Mikan and a few hums of understanding from the others gathered around, “just like the name of the hotel.”

“…Does that mean there’s another hotel over there?” Nekomaru wondered, but the Imposter shook his head.

“I doubt it. It’s more likely that the Future theme is a name in common across multiple institutions on these islands…” Even as they heard the words leave their mouth something about it gave him a shudder; he shelved the thought for when he was not surrounded by the others.

“Oh… like how things keep gettin’ called ‘Jabberwock’ here!” Akane pieced together, prompting Fuyuhiko to give the ground an annoyed scuff.

“Island’s called that,” he groused, “fuckin’ idiot…”

“It does not appear Cham-P was able to enter that ominous building,” Sonia said while tickling his cheeks, “But also, none of them ran into any trouble. Perhaps the next island is truly empty except for buildings.”

“It should be safe to explore in our group then,” Peko nodded, “so long as we take it slowly and look out for each other.”

“Try to keep out of the way of that rabbit thing as well. I wouldn’t doubt she may try to hold us up if she has different ideas for our time here…” The Imposter added, straightening up and squaring his stance. “Tanaka, Nevermind—let the others know what we’ve found out. And let everyone know we’re on our way to the second island.”

Understanding the commands, the hamsters took off towards the hotel first after giving a series of tiny salutes. Surprised for a second, Gundham fell into stride behind them, with Sonia joyfully following in the part hominid, part rodent parade. He adjusted Byakuya’s glasses on his nose, giving himself a moment to comprehend that the Ultimate Breeder’s pets themselves comprehended human language (much less would opt to obey an order from someone who wasn’t Tanaka). Snapping out of it, he strode to lead the group towards the bridge and gripped the loose cord barring passage—

“Here, let me—”

SNAP!

“—get that… off there… for you…?” Akane trailed off into bewildered silence, ogling the chunky fist clenched around the snapped-off bracket.

“That won’t be necessary,” he brushed her off, tossing aside the coil of rope along with the busted metal ring which had secured it in place against the bridge’s railing. “Let’s go—follow me.”