#comparison here being that no matter how violent he got

[sketching-shark]

What do you think of Lego monkey kid so far?

Also I really love how, in season 1-3, they built up lady bone demon as the final villain/antagonist and conveyed her motives as the mastermind and manipulator of the series, especially her power hungry nature and obsession for a perfect world, she kinda reminds me of white diamond and especially the kind controlling/possssion part of her character. I also loved the final fight between her and wukong and when she made him get possessed by evil spirits from the mayor, gave me legit chills.

SIDE RANT: I also hate how they butchered wukong especially since he’s my favourite character even in journey to the west, besides xiaojiao/Mei and lady bone demon. They kinda made him a colossal incompetent goofy idiot instead of adding any complexity to him and how the plot makes him look bad and most of the characters blame him for everything happening in lmk, especially macaque and azure.

I also despise what happened with macaque’s character since in season 1 as he’s shown to be a complete psychopath since he manipulated xiaotian/mk in order to steel wukongs power. Then we get a glimpse of his backstory in the shadow play of the hero and the warrior. It goes like this:

“The Hero and the Warrior were like Sun and Moon. Their light, a protective glow, shining upon the world. Together, there was nothing that could stop the two of them. Either in the Celestial Realms or on Earth. As time went on, the Hero attained power beyond comprehension. As the Hero’s light grew, so too did his shadow. And soon, the Warrior was cast in that shadow. In the darkness, the Warrior was forgotten by the Hero.”

The whole play shows that the two monkeys had history together as they were once been on good terms so they may have like brothers, as they were both inseparable by the celestial realms or earth. But however, “As time went on, the Hero attained power beyond comprehension.

As the Hero’s light grew, so too did his shadow”, so as time went wukong become stronger than macaque as he learnt the 72 transformations and became a much skilled fighter, so macaque’s jealousy grew as he was already weaker than him as the two were like “sun and moon”.

“And soon, the Warrior was cast in that shadow. In the darkness, the Warrior was forgotten by the Hero.” Something made the two monkeys get into a brutal clash as the show hints that one of macaques eyes are damaged by wukong from said clash.

The problem is that the show doesn’t further elaborate on what made the two monkeys hate each other. It would have been nice if there were more flashbacks about their relationship before they became enemies, instead of just trying to make wukong look bad and try to make macaque look as pitiful and pathetic as possible for the sake of blaming wukong for everything like most of the characters do.

It would have been nice if the creators made their relationship similar to vi and powder from arcane it probably would make sense and showed a flashback of the war between heaven and wukong and the other monkeys, including the burning of huaguoshan by erlang, it would give a much better reason of the conflict/resentment between wukong and macaque.

But I’m not where they are trying to get at here. But I’ve kinda given up on the series as the plot is kinda all over the place with the latest season with azure, the other sworn brothers of wukong, including the ink demons.

Yeaugh this pretty much covers a lot of my own thoughts about Monkie Kid. It had a really fun & silly & goofy beginning but definitely has shifted in a lot of ways to being the "and here's yet another way in which MK gets horrifically traumatized specifically because of his relation to Sun Wukong & in which Sun Wukong himself continues to run for the worst friend, leader, and teacher of the ever award" lol. But yeah looking across all the iterations of the Monkey King it is kind of morbidly funny just how awful lego show Sun Wukong has become. Like you KNOW you've beefed it when you're making og classic "was a literal warlord & feels no remorse over smashing people into meat patties" Sun Wukong look pretty good by comparison lmao.

[solid-white]

Canon vs Fanon [TF2 edition]

Okay so I finally got to reading the tf2 comics after being gone for 7 years and never having read the comics, so here's a comparison between Fanon and Canon:

Fanon: The mercs all care for each other and are like a family (but who doesn't love some found family?)

Canon: They could give two shits about if they die or not. The only ones that actually "care" for the team is arguably Ms. Pauling and/or Scout. Even then they have their separate reasons for why they're sticking around around. They refer to and think of each other as coworkers. Though they're friendly with each other and do think of each other as work friends (helping each other out, making jokes with one another)

Fanon Demoman: a drunkard who's excessively flashy and eccentric. Ruins a lot of stuff by being drunk and shares the same braincells as canon Soldier.

Canon Demoman: A pretty chill guy when he isn't in battle. He's also pretty serious when it involves matters he needs to be serious about (ex. Having to go undercover in the lead paint town). Overall? 8/10 character. Currently my favourite besides Pyro.

Fanon Pyro: (will refer to Pyro as him) Sometimes his childish trait overlaps with his violent nature, the opposite spectrum happening as well. He's also sometimes depicted as being unaware that he's killer. Loves the team and sees all of them as family. Non-intellegent.

Canon Pyro: He's very much aware that he's a freak of nature. He's a gentle mix of childish and pyromaniac. Is actually pretty intelligent, having gotten a company rich in a matter of 6 months. Won't hurt people just cuz, only does so when it's a job or they dislike fires, and when he does, makes sure the person suffers because it's fun. Extremely chaotic. Barely interacts with the team (besides Engie) outside of jobs.

Fanon Scout: Childish, yaps, reckless, dies a lot because he's the runt, narcissistic, and doesn't know how to do anything (idiotic). "Erpy derp, me twink scout. Will not hurt you because bad." (Depicted as non violent). Comic relief. Doesn't get along with any of the mercs due to his childish nature, particularly Sniper and Heavy.

Canon Scout: Likes to yap a lot, has a brash attitude, and is self-centered/egotistical. He's also in deep denial that Spy is his father. He isn't book smart, but he's smart enough to know how to play his cards right (persuasive when it comes to things he wants). Knows how to drive. "And brother, I hurt people!" (Enjoys hurting others). Pretty close to Sniper (Hangs out with him outside of work/buddy-buddy with him. Ex. The fist bump, Sniper jokingly smiling at Scouts joke during expiration date, etc) he's arguably the only one who's truly buddy-buddy with the entire team.

Fanon Heavy: Big beefy guy who doesn't have a single brain (that assumption has corrected itself over time). He's also obsessed with sandviches, will pummel Scout if they're even in the same vicinity, and gay for Medic and will go out of his way to be close to Medic.

Canon Heavy: Intelligent (Russian literature PHD), doesn't speak much unless spoken to, serious and has a 24/7 stone wall expression. Only gets annoyed with Scout because of his constant speaking, willing to die for Medic and sees him as a close friend (now I understand where all the ship art came from). And loves sandviches.

This is getting long and I'm tired. Will continue analysis soon.

[kooldewd123]

so there's a big element of the david trilogy that felt really apparent to me as i was reading it that i haven't seen anyone else discuss before. these books, especially 22, really feel like a critique of censorship in children's media. i mean, it's a common joke how network censors give us stuff like the shadow world in yu-gi-oh, where it's apparently more humane to trap people in a dimension of eternal torment rather than just allowing people to die on a kid's show. animorphs takes that concept and runs with it. david gets sent to the shadow realm instead of being killed, and those two hours of screams are just as much torture for rachel as they are for david. when he eventually comes back, he's begging for death because at least the comfort of an end would be more merciful than a life of constant agony.

and the idea that it's better for our protagonists not to become killers falls apart instantly when you take a step back. just look at how everyone acts throughout this arc. this is rachel at her most violent, jake at his most utilitarian, cassie at her most calculating, and marco at his most paranoid (ax and tobias get off a bit lighter, largely due to not getting their own narration). it's hard to argue that the choice not to kill david makes them look good when the three books preceding the decision have them all at their worst. in fact, it's especially bad seeing it play out through rachel's eyes. the entire book, she's been both raring to kill david while also afraid of being seen as a killer. it's clear that sending david to the shadow realm does not actually resolve this. she's just repressing it, bottling it all up for later so that she can take that pent-up anger at david and direct it at some poor yeerk instead. and let's dive into that for a second...

sure, it's fine to have our characters mow down alien monsters, but a human is where they draw the line, right? because even though the aliens are also portrayed as having their own thoughts and desires, and many of them are just innocent bystanders caught up in all this, they're not people, and so it's fine to kill them, as far as the censors as concerned (to be clear here, i'm not saying animorphs was necessarily censored in particular. i'm saying this as a critique of the censors around children's media as a whole). but then when you look at david's killing spree in comparison, it ends up becoming both a dark reflection of the animorphs and and a weird stand-in for the censors. he'd never kill another human, but he has no qualms about taking out a hawk or a tiger (never mind the fact that they're still human inside). it's all about appearances, not the truth of the matter.

appearances are all that the censors really care about. sure, you can try to discuss serious topics, but it needs to be hidden behind metaphor and euphemism. there's one line in particular that really stood out to me and got me down this whole line of thinking. after david "kills" tobias and nearly kills jake, rachel says this:

I was going to hunt him down and destroy him. No, not destroy. That was a weasel world. Vague, meaningless. I was going to kill him.

i don't know how to read this line other than as a specific callout of every censor that won't let creatives use the word "kill." every '90s superhero cartoon insisted their heroes were going to "destroy" their villains, but rachel animorphs is going to kill david.

[galactic-rhea]

I am totally here for Cars worldbuilding ramblings

THANK YOU, USER FAN OF THE SOAP

I'm glad I'm not scaring all of my audience lmao.

Now, let me talk to you about how nightmarish ableist is Cars 2.

You see, I was subjected to a very special kind of torture called "I have two nephews who were obssesed with Cars 2, not 1 or 3 or Planes, but Cars 2. And they would watch it for three times, every day, for about two months. And I had to be with them".

Which I'm sure did something bad to my brain, my standards of what's annoying in a movie are wrecked and I can still hear dialogue per dialogue on my mind.

Cars 2 got away with a special kind of ableism that I want to believe any other movie wouldn't have been able to get away with on our current era, all because is Cars.

But there's also A LOT OF violence in that movie, we see on screen characters violently exploding, being subjected to torture and also the equivalent of open-heart surgery, black market of organs, and a literal bomb being put into an individual. Because is Cars it just could do so.

The thing about Cars 2 is that all the villains are disabled cars. They're unable to function properly and constantly will be unable to turn on their engines, are called slurs and, in the case of the rich-mafia adjacent ones, literally have hired medical assistance (a tow truck). And all of this because we're told that their parts have been descontinued, which technically gives us the grim implication that they're basically left to die slowly as they can't keep changing their parts. There aren't humans, and this isn't a human-post apocalyptic universe (no matter how much people Insist, i refuse to accept that theory). Which means that the fabrication of these parts and thus, the ones in charge of the literal poblation's development, must be other vehicles, most probably Cars.

Very powerful and rich Cars like it goes beyond a comparison in real world, they aren't the ones in charge of meds or health care, they're literally in charge of the whole production/birth of Cars, and by deciding what parts to make and what parts to descontinue they're slso deciding who gets to live and who gets to die.

And this isn't possibly a "new" problem, is probably something rooted in the Cars' universe culture for thousands of years. If let's say the Wright brothers were, idk, bikes. They created the first plane (which then died in seconds), so they're basically Victors Frankesteins and this is legal, this is absolutely completely normal in this universe because otherwise there's no way for new models to exist.

So every generation of vehicles have this deep, ingrained thought of " we're building the generation that reemplaces us, in every way they're better and as soon as there's a better version, we will cease to exist and cease to be produced".

I remain of the theory that parents in Cars basically buy parts and assembly their own child and then as time passes, they change parts until we get the general "adult" model. But this also means some parents might be unable to buy parts and what not, does this stunt the child development? Probably.

In Cars 3, Lightning McQueen is unable to keep compiting because the new gen is of much better tech, so I assume it's already happening to him what I just explained: At some point, the production of their parts/ maintenance becomes obsolete. So Lightning can keep on living, for a long while, but no matter the reparations or even the modifications, apparently you can't completely modify a car otherwise you would have a Thesseus ship predicament.

In Planes, Dusty is capable to get several modifications, but they aren't extreme. However we see a little car that's able to change into a plane, and we see he apparently has a split personality , which makes me a bit icky because -gestures-, Hollywood also loves to make awful reps about DID. But, this seems to support the idea that extreme changes= basically a different person in the Cars universe. And an awful idea is to face the familiars of a vehicle that got into an accident "we can save them by almost completely rebuilding them, but might as well be a different person".

So back to Cars 2, all these villain Cars are disabled and suffering because someone, literally decided that isn't worth it, these models can't continue their existence when our engineers/doctors already created a new version.

And they must go along with it! They must accept it, because their society has been accepting it for hundreds of years by now! And so the movie decided to make them the literal mafia and a violent murderous group of terrorist and spies, what a move.

The movie tries to make Mater to be some sort of disabled character as well, he keeps being called dumb, ugly and whatever for the whole movie, he's all covered in rust and shamed for an oil leak. And nothing of this is resolved or really addressed, because not only his problems aren't even comparable to those of the villains (is implied he's rusty and all covered in bumbs just because he choses to), his character arc is basically that he's capable of solving a mystery not even the spies figured out at the time, the classic "actually i can be useful" that Hollywood loves.

And we learn the motives for the villains, and like, yeah, that's awful! All those murders and a political fraud to try to get rich by owning oil, but no one gives an ounce of sympathy for a group of characters that literally need medical assistance almost 24/7. The mafia guys can afford to hire tow truck and the big multi-millionarie villain can afford his constant surgeries, to the point of being able to disguise himself and look "normal"

And it drives me crazy that no one mentions this, but I can't blame people, most people weren't subjected to this movie three times per day for 60~ days.

If anyone read this far, you should thank to @soapysudz for fueling me (GET IT?!! FUEL?! -recorded laughs-)

[cosmiado]

thinking about the Oak-Garcias again. was trying to think of plausible reasons why Henry is harsher on Sparrow than on Lark (a lot of people are joking that he just likes Sparrow less but i simply do not believe it. he loves his beautiful boys so so much) and i think ive landed on a reason i like. slightly long post please bear with me

from what we've seen, prior to the events of s1, Lark and Sparrow are very similar kids. they haven't fully developed an identity outside of themselves yet, aside from being rowdy little energetic chaos entities. then, Henry has a breakthrough with Sparrow, who starts to learn more about empathy and nonviolent (well, less-violent) conflict resolution, and Lark decidedly Does Not. here, Sparrow succeeds where Lark fails.

then, again, with the Rogue card, the divide between Sparrow and Lark grows ever wider. Sparrow is still a kid, of course, but he's reasonable, rational, the peacekeeper. Lark is furious and sometimes quite cruel. Henry gives his energy and attention to Lark, becuase Sparrow's fine! he's a good kid! hes got it all figured out!

how early do you think it was solidified in Henry's mind (and probably everyone else's, for that matter) that Sparrow was the good kid and Lark was the fuck-up. if it happened before Lark released the Doodler, then that incident just solidified it as truth in everyone's minds. how often do you think Henry and Mercedes gave love and attention to their beautiful fucked-up self-hating violent son, instead of their Good Kid. the graph of Sparrow's and Lark's respective trustworthiness (from their parents POV) is a complete inverse. Lark's rash decisions made Sparrow's levelheaded ones look even better in comparison.

Sparrow was not allowed to fuck up. Sparrow was the Good Kid. the twins are a team, the same man twice. one of them has to hold things together, and if it wasn't going to be Lark, then there was no choice but for it to be Sparrow.

even Code Purple was done carefully and intentionally. he had a plan. he thought it out. he executed it. it wasn't even a fuck-up, it was just a choice his parents disagreed with, but even that was so much more than he'd ever done before. they expected this behavior from Lark, but Sparrow?? hes the good kid!

in their attempts to not be too harsh on Lark, Henry and Mercedes accidentally doomed themselves into being too harsh on Sparrow. oughhgugghhgggg someone set me on fire

[oneflydude]

old musings about jack harkness and affection! unfinished unfortunately (should be my new motto)

Anyone he ends up being around inevitably becomes a part of his affections. This has been a unquestionable law of humanity; the sky is blue, love will always exist, and Jack Harkness cannot keep his hands off people. But there is something to say about it, the simple act of touching, the simple joy of becoming tethered to the fabric of reality with someone else. Wrapping yourself up in the old jumper of a person who has stated through holding your hand, that you are both here. You are alive.

It comes as no suprise then, that Jack would be classified as overtly affectionate to some. The 51st century was a changed era, and the people of this century in comparison are a muddle of repression wrapped in an off-putting bow. Make no mistake however, this does not put him off in the slightest.

Once he learned of this "appalling" situation, in his own terms, he was equally as determined to fix this as someone solving world hunger (Apparently solved by a distant relative in the 30th century. It lasted around a month.)

First come, first serve; Toshiko Sato, newest recruit at 'Torchwood Cardiff'.

She was brilliant in everyway that mattered, and Jack understood this perfectly. Except, her years at UNIT had threatened her vital spirit and all of his touches felt like wildfire. She distrusted the multitude of ways he would sidle up to her during work, and rest a hand on her shoulder or simply exist in her presence. It was unnerving, how he seemed to thrive off this, to a woman who had lived in solitary confinement.

You don't understand true fear, until you start to lose your senses. Not even the food they would send helped her sense of taste during the end. At first, you think you're going to be fine. You have your voice, and four walls to stare at, and guards to march down the halls and violently bash against the steel doors of your confinement. You have lifesigns outside the faint push of the same recycled air you've had since you first got there.

So when a charming smile offers you a warm drink (not cooled, or stale or burning) and your vocal chords can't fathom uttering the words 'thank you' without sounding like sandpaper, you look into affectionate eyes like glisten even in the low pressure light. You say yes.

During her first years at Torchwood, she had seemed more akin to a skittish kitten than an actual human. Jack had taken to lightly approaching her, and never shook the habit, silently and carefully until Toshiko

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 2 - Drag Me To Hell

The night was peaceful and warm, dimly lit from all the candles. For a split second, he wandered how many they were, but each time he bothered trying to count, he got distracted by the calming breathing of the girl, so petite in comparison to him, cuddled up like a kitten to his chest.

She was sleeping peacefully. 

He knew that holding her and playing with her hair always did the trick in helping her through all the nightmares and insomnia she battled with all the time.

Tonight, however, things seemed to be slightly different, as somewhere in the middle of the night, as his thoughts were far away, thinking of how to better perfect his plans, he felt her shifting in his arms.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Until her breathing become ragged, and she was whimpering, weeping...

She was having a nightmare. And it must be a rather terrible one, if she could react so violently in her sleep, when, usually, she doesn't move an inch.

"Katrina. Katrina, wake up, you're having a nightmare. Come on, wake up, darling." Michael got into a sitting position, shaking her by the shoulders, until she jolted awake with a shriek.

She was clearly desperate, tears were rapidly falling down her face and she was struggling to breathe. Michael thought this was what he once heard was called a 'Panic Attack', but he wasn't sure if he was correct or not. What mattered, however, was to make sure she snapped out of her freaked out state and calmed down.

"Kat, darling, you're okay. You're with me. Nothing is going to hurt you. I vow that to you." his voice was tender, filled with so much warmth and reassurance, as he tried to touch her bare shoulder, his large shirt having slid off in her wild trashing...But she jerked away from him with yet another shriek, dragging herself to the edge of the bed, almost falling off in her plight. "Katrina...Look at me, please. It's me, Michael. Please don't be scared by me. I'm here to protect you. You're safe here, with me. There is no harm that will ever come your way with me around, I promise. Now, please, look at me, and try to breathe." he got on his knees, approaching her as if approaching a frightened bunny, and slowly, he extended his hand towards her. And she took it. "I-I-I'm scared...Mickey...I'm scared..." she stuttered through her sobs, gingerly putting his hand to her cheek, trying to feel her warmth, to feel that he was alive, and she was awake, no longer plagued by those night terrors.

He couldn't stop himself, seeing her so frail and vulnerable, right in front of his, in his grasp, so he pulled her into a powerful kiss, forcing her to focus on the shock of being kissed, and loving it so much, and not on her fears and terrors.  But he wanted more. He wanted so much more.  He was a fool if he thought that he could resist her, because he will never be that powerful. Her lips were so sweet, as if they were laced with Heavenly nectar, and it was intoxicating for him. With much effort, however, he managed to very slowly lean away from her, going back to talk her back to this world.

"You used to do that to me whenever I was freaking out or crying, to get my attention to something other than my pain.  he asked, caressing her wet cheeks, and yet, she wasn't able to fully calming down. "Look at me, Kat. Try to mimic my breathing. Inhale...And now exhale. One more time now. Yes, like that, you're doing perfect, my dear. Better?" he asked, smiling softly seeing her nodding weakly. "C-Can you...Please...Hold me? I'm afraid...I'm afraid to go back there..." he noticed her trembling again, so he quickly put her on his lap, wrapping his arms around her small form, her face nuzzled in his shoulder, her hands desperately clinging on his shirt. "Go where, my dear Kitten? What did you dream of?" he kept holding her close to his chest, while his other hand was stroking her hair soothingly. "I... I... I was in Hell... I don't want to go back there, Mickey... Please don't let me get back there... It was horrible. It was gruesome. So much blood... So much death... So much destruction... Th-Those poor animals... Th-They were getting so cruelly tortured... A-A-And they were crying... I can still hear their whine of agony so loudly in my head... Please don't let them take me back there... I don't want to go there again... To see and hear everything again... I'm going insane..." her pitiful wheezing, her crying, her whining, barely above a whisper, made Michael grin wider than he has in a long time.

She dreamt of hell, and rightfully so. Someone so pure and innocent, like her, who spent so long there, all because of those wretched witches bitches... Thank goodness he eliminated all of them. They ALL deserved the death that befell them by his hands.

First, they took her away, the only light he ever saw in this life, and then they had the audacity to force her to prove her powers and go to hell, then return on her own.

It was all the fault of that Supreme Bitch Cordelia, with those monster claws of hers - She hurt his beloved angel, causing her such terror and distress... And to top it all, she tempered with her mind, her memories, and now she couldn't even remember him!

The death of all witches was surely satisfying.

Everyone shall sing now only for him.

Ave Satanas. Ave Satanas.

That is the future of HIS world. A world with no more hypocrisy, no more witches...A world with his Angel by his side.

Ave Angelus - He would be the only one to sing her a sweet hymn, as he was the only one who will ever be allowed to be on the receiving end of her love - Ave Angelus.

Angelus Eius.

HIS Angel.

"My beautiful girl had such a terrible nightmare... But it's over now. I promise you will never go back there. I promise. I will watch over you and make sure you are safe at all times." he spoke, feeling his heart, warm, beating faster, realising that she was finally beginning to remember bits and bits of her life. "But, Michael... I've been having this exact nightmare every night, ever since I got here. That's 18 months. 540 days. Every day and every night, living in agony. I counted every nightmare I had, and there was no night without it. I-I feel like I'm going crazy... And I'm beginning to be confused... I don't know what's real and what's not... I can't discern this apocalyptic reality from the abyss of my dreams... I-I feel like my mind, my soul and my heart are completely shattered..." she cried, so beautifully she weeped, and he kept thinking...Was it worth this Armageddon, considering all the pain she had to endure? All this agony that is completely tearing and eating her away, with each minute, and each second, tainting her with hopelessness? "That's because, my darling, you did go to hell. Long ago, when you were training your powers as a witch. They wanted to find a new leader for their stupid sorority, and made you perform the 7 Wonders...One of them being going to hell and returning, with your own powers. That Wonder, you failed, for your beautiful, kind, sweet heart couldn't handle seeing the creatures you love so much, and spent your whole life trying to protect, being so ruthlessly killed." he explained to her what happened, hoping she would remember, but it only made her gasp and lean back to look at him. "I... I actually... Went to hell...For something like this...? But... But I'm not a leader... I never was... Why...? Why would I even accept something like that..." she started mumbling, her green eyes wide and frightened, but also very confused, trying to grasp the reality she was living in. "They were so cruel to you...You told them you didn't want to be a leader, but they forced you. That's how this sorority works. When one weakens, another one arises. They couldn't skip any one of you. So you had to do it. You and all of your...Sisters. Two of you didn't return. The others did...But they all failed other Wonders." he continued, knowing very well the question that will automatically be asked, after he so perfectly played his sympathetic words, painting the witches in a terribly antagonistic light. "But... If I was in Hell... How did I come back...? I-I'm not still in Hell, am I?!" she asked, clearly afraid of the answer. "Oh, no, darling, no. When I got strong enough, they called me, thinking that I would be their leader. For the first time in history, a man, the leader of witches. I proved myself by going to Hell and bringing you back. I cannot forget you back then...You were so scared, so broken...Even more than now. You were clinging to my side, and you were crying so much. You don't know how much it hurts me seeing you like this, when all I want is for you to be happy and smile for me." he put his forehead to hers, and for the first time that night, it seemed like she was finally calming down. "You always seem to save me...I don't know how, or why, but you're always here for me. I feel like I'm alive whenever you're around me. Thank you...I don't deserve your kindness...But thank you. It's like you're my Guardian Angel in this God Forsaken place." hearing her speak those words, almost as if specifically chosen, he barely managed to stop himself from laughing. "No, darling, I'm no Angel. You are. You are my Angel, and you will always be, no matter what. Now, you should try to sleep again, you're exhausted and it shows. Come here, I will hold you...I can continue the story, if it will help you relax." he asked, seeing her nod and get comfortable in his arms, yet this time, with less reservations. "Yes, please. I loved the beginning." she gave him a soft smile, before cuddling even closer to him.

Ever since that faithful day, the angel and the demon promised each other to meet at the same place, at the same time, so they would share stories of their oh so very different worlds they were living in.

He was ugly, he was a demon, a being forsaken from ever experiencing happiness and bliss, as he was hated even by the guardians and those who were supposed to take care of him and make sure he grows into a great one.

Her, on the other hand, was the fairest Seraph that Heaven had, she was, as most would say, Heaven's Jewel. Her beauty was incomparable, only beaten by her golden heart, kindness and need to help everyone, even that ugly little devil that kept clinging to her light, desperate to smile, even though it was purging him.

In his heart, he knew all his life that he had an unexplainable amount of darkness and evil, and just like Icarus, striving so hard to achieve happiness by trying to reach the Sun, so was he, trying to achieve her light, her warmth, her beauty and her loveliness.

It didn't matter how much it hurt and burned to get closer and closer to the Sun herself, and it didn't matter that his wings were rapidly getting melted. All that mattered was that she was there with him, every day, with that precious smile of hers that could heal any wound, of the flesh or of the heart.

"Angel... You are amazing. You have beautiful powers... And you can even heal wounds! You're perfect! I wish I had powers too, just like you." the poor little demon sighed, leaning his head on her shoulder. "But you DO have powers! Trust me, I can sense it, and I can assure you, when you finally manage to unlock yours, they are going to be tenfold compared to mine. You are no ordinary demon, I promise you that. You have the potential to be one of THE most powerful ones, without a doubt. You must only believe in yourself. I know I do." she grinned at him with a playful wink, but he could only frown.

He has potential? He has powers too? And she believes in him? Then, he can't possibly disappoint her, right?

Getting up, he looked down at the girl, concentrating very hard...

And he did it.

He managed to create a gentle breeze, while accelerating the Cherry Blossom tree's flower blooming, making the petals fall and dance graciously around the girl, who, in her mesmerised state, jumped to her feet and twirled around, letting his magic caress her.

She was giggling so cutely that the demon's focus broke as he could only stare at her with a blush.

He made her smile! He FINALLY did it! After so long, it wasn't her making him happy, but the other way around! It felt so good!

But time wasn't on their side, and nor were their guardians, as while yes, the demon's guardians were treating him terribly, he never expected the angel's tutors to be so negligent and awful with someone as kind as her, surely one of God's most beloved lambs, so from then on, whenever something bad happened to one of them, the other one would comfort the other with hugs, hair strokes, cute little kisses and of course, magic.

That is, until one day, for the first time in the many years together, that seemed like a blissful eternity, the girl came crying to their meeting point, alarming the demon who immediately put her close to his chest, his arms holding her tightly, protectively, afraid of somehow seeing her disappear from her grief...

She never wept before, not even an upset or angry frown...She always had a serene and passive, almost aloof smile on her face... But now, she was crying. And he could do nothing to pacify her. No kiss, no sweet words he learnt from her, and no amount of cute magic tricks he learnt, not even snow slowly falling down, creating a snowflake crown for her.

"Do you promise to never hate me? Please, promise me that. I beg of you." she sobbed in his chest pitifully, making him frown in confusion. "I could never hate you, no matter how many aeons pass. I vow to you that I will never, in this world or another, hate you. I love you, Angel, and that will never change." he held her even tighter, kissing the top of her hair, only for her to sob harder. "I love you too, my darling demon. So much. Forever. Eternally... I promise, I really do love you... But they're taking me away." her voice was so ragged and broken that it was killing him from the inside out...

And yet, the fact that she was being taken away completely shattered him.

"They are taking me away to some Angel house so I could properly control my powers and learn about them... I told them about you, said you were incredibly powerful, even more so than me, but... But they said there is no place for demons... And that there are special places for demons with magical powers... I'm so sorry, I have no choice. I refused, but even my tutors said they will kick me out of God's graces if I don't go... I'm hopeless..." she cried and cried and couldn't stop herself...But what was he supposed to do, except weep with her as his heart was mourning its own suicide. "I vow that I will find you. I cannot imagine living life without you... So no matter how long it will take, I will destroy everything in my path just to find you and have you in my arms once again. Will you be okay with that? Having a demon with no redeeming qualities and only darkness engulfing his already damaged heart? Someone with no bit of humanity in his soul?" he cupped her face, making her look at him with hopeful, glistering eyes. "What are you talking about...? You are the most innocent and gorgeous being I've ever met in my life, believe me. Your heart, like everyone's, is grey - It has both light and darkness, and trust me when I say this, there is so much more humanity then so many of the humans and angels I've met so far. Please, never look down at yourself, ever, okay? Can you promise me that, no matter what anyone says, you will keep your head held high and love yourself the way I love you?" she pulled him down into a sweet kiss, making his heart skip so quickly that he thought it was going to burst out of his chest. "...I... I... I will try. For you, I will do anything, but I will try. Can you promise me you won't forget me, Angel? It would ruin me completely. Please, when I find you, kiss me as sweetly as you did right now. You breathe life into me." he whispered painfully, his eyes pink and puffy from all the crying. "I would do anything for you, my darling. Anything to have you with me again." and with that, she flew away from his life for a very long time.

"That angel was a real jerk..." Katrina muttered, hiding her face in Michael's shoulder. "Why would you say that, dear?" he asked, his eyebrows raising in confusion. "She loved the demon so much... She should have fought harder to stay with him. She should have overthrown Heaven to stay with him...What a stupid, powerless angel." she sighed, as she felt his hand starting to stroke her hair. "She did. She did everything she could, and fought a lot, but they dragged her there. They dragged her there, then shackled her for an eternity of torture in Tartarus. But the demon got stronger, and found his way to the Angels' training house. To prove that he can be their ruler, he had to show off his amazing powers, so as he had already been informed that his angel was being held captive inside Tartarus, he went straight there to rescue her, along with two other unfortunate ones who ended up the same as her. And so, the Demon became the leader of those arrogant angels AND had his beloved by his side once again." he chuckled softly, as he saw her rise slowly, prompting herself on her shoulder and looking at him with a slight frown. "Your story sounds good so far... It can't be that easy, can it? It sounds like some Greek Tragedy, and I'm afraid to hear the true end of it." she muttered, only for Michael to pull her back to his chest, kissing her lightly. "Don't worry. I love that angel too much to make the story end tragically." 

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

So many more other people to interview, all of them throwing each other to the lions, while he was the Caesar to watch the entertainment unfold. They were all vipers, biting each other, without any hint of hesitation. And now, he had to babysit the three stooges who couldn't take care of themselves, how pitiful is that? But there was something off about this missy...This monotonous Grey with the stupidest hairstyle in the world... There was a certain aura of darkness around her...Something suffocating...That made even the flames of Hell rage, fighting with the darth he tried to keep inside him, to keep appearances.

It was a witch.

A witch that, just like his beloved angel, had no idea who she truly was, and yet, her powers were acting up, amplified by her rampaging emotions and fears.

But...

How....How could it happen...?! How could one rat escape his wrath?! It was that damned Cordelia once again. What did she plan? His demise? What a joke. She's dead now, what CAN she do, anyway?!

But what should he do? Yes, of course, a talk with his Father should work...

A pentagram drawn in blood on the ground, candles put at even distances in the circle, all clothes off...For a split second he smirked, his mind wandering to that little lamb and what would happen if she would somehow enter this room and see him like this - Cutting his arm so deep, soaked in blood and smearing it all over his body, and speaking the voice of his Father and the demons hailing. 

May you rise from the void, Father. May your darkness guide me. Power in Satan to overcome my weaknesses. Power in your name to be strong within.

Ave Satanas. Ave Satanas.

He felt empowered, enlightened, like the demonic energy was surging through his veins, igniting his darkness even more. The pleasure from touching himself was amplified, it was hot. If only she was there to touch him and smear the blood all over him. To kiss and lick the metallic liquid from his lips. To let him touch her every inch of her pure, virgin skin.

His beloved little lamb.

His little lamb, however, was listening in a corner to Venable's speech about the Masquerade Ball for Halloween. Oh, he knew, obviously. HE was the true mastermind behind this plan of mass-poisoning everyone.

"These past several months have been difficult for all of us. And perhaps, in my efforts to keep us safe, punitive measures have been taken too far. I believe now what we need is a moment of celebration, camaraderie. Which is why this weekend, as a gesture of goodwill, we will have a Halloween soiree...In the style of a Victorian masquerade ball.  We've all lost track of time a bit. And this festive occasion is the perfect opportunity to remedy this. And I encourage you all to use your imaginations, to create what I am sure will be exquisite costumes. Attendance is mandatory."

'Mandatory' ? the girl thought to herself, frowning in confusion. No...That can't be true. There is something rotten in the middle. She was sure of it. There was no way Venable was preparing a Ball out of the kindness of her heart.  Kat knew that she was being mean for thinking that, but sometimes, you must look past your hope of believing in the goodness of others' heart and notice the obvious darkness.

She HAD to tell Michael.

As soon as Venable was done talking, with her head still down, as to not attract unneeded attention, she tried to hurry to his room, only to hear her name being harshly spoken, which made the girl stop dead in her tracks, as if electrocuted and stunned.

"What do you think you're doing, Katrina?" she asked, making the red head gulp.  "I was going to my room to prepare for the Masquerade Ball, Ms. Venable." she answered in a soft voice, biting her lip. "I don't care about that. I was asking WHY is your hair visible? I believe I specified VERY clearly that ONLY two options that you have. Should I bring the scissors and solve this issue?" Venable's voice was low and dark. So intimidating and scary that she was afraid she might get strangled or set on fire for some unknown reason. "I-I'm sorry... Mr. Langdon told me never to hide my hair and snatched the rag away. I will go find another one and hide." her hands were clasped together very tightly, hoping to escape unscathed. "Let's make on thing clear, Grey. Langdon is NOT the rule here, understood? I AM. Now go to your room and don't leave unless every strand of your hair is hidden...Otherwise there WILL be consequences." and with those words, her cane was heard resounding with each step, leaving to wherever she wanted, and Katrina could finally let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

One breath, Two breaths, Three breaths. 

Okay, calm down. And run to Michael. He has to know. As fast as possible.

But he wasn't in his room...?  He let his laptop there, opened, on the desk...And the door was unlocked. Not good. Better put down the lid and continue searching for him, while also not forgetting to hide her hair properly, in case she ran into Venable again.

One room, empty. Second, just as empty...Third, fourth, fifth...

Fifth...

Fifth...?

Fifth..........!

"MICHAEL?!" she gasped loudly, without thinking, as she saw the man full of blood from head to toe. "Michael, goodness, what happened?! Are you alright?! No, I'm stupid, of course you're not...! No, no, no, no, no...! There's no First Aid kit around...We have to keep pressure of the wounds!" the poor girl kept rambling to herself as fell on her knees in front of him, snatching away the rag from her hair to push on his wounds, then ripped material from her dress to continue. "Katrina, darling I'm fine. Don't worry, I will heal soon." he tried to calm her down, but she was too much in her own world of panic.

He watched her carefully wrapping up his arms, smirking at her forming tears, but he couldn't help himself but feel his heart warmer at her worry. She may not remember him, but she still cared for him endlessly. He was so enamoured by her that he couldn't help himself and cupped her face, passionately kissing her with so much fire, caressing her cheeks, blood smearing on her as well.  He wanted her so much.  The more kindness she showed him, the more she touched him, the less resistance he had. She is his one and only weakness and so it shall be forever.

"Take a look again, sweetling. You already healed me, without realising. You are much more powerful than you realise, and yet, you're still trapped inside your own mind." he spoke so close to her face that she could feel his breath on her skin, their noses almost touching. "Wh-What do you mean...?" she frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side. "Take a look, then." with a smug side-smile, he took off the bandages, showing that there were no more wounds on him - As if there never were there, to begin with. "B-But...?! H-How...?! The cuts were so deep, that's impossible...!"  she took his arm in her hands, wiping the blood with the rags and tracing the line where the cut used to be. "Not even a scar... How is this possible...?!" she muttered, in complete disbelief. "That's how amazing your power is, my darling. You have unimaginable power. But don't fret. I will make sure you get your memories back." he brushed his hand through her gorgeous long hair, crimson, like the colour of the blood flowing through her veins, and he put her closer to him, flushed against his chest, stroking her hair as if she was a doll in his hands. "Now, will you tell me why did you have that rag hiding your lovely hair again?" his voice was low again, gazing into her eyes, almost as if he was trying to hypnotise her. "...W-Well... Venable scolded me, even though I told her that it was your order... And... She said she will punish me if she catches me with my hair out... She... She said she is the rule here, not you..." the red haired girl muttered, the corners of her lips going down in worry. "Heh...Hehe...Clearly, that won't be the case very soon. If I weren't the rule here, then perhaps she would be the one to get everyone to the Sanctuary...Which is not true. Her whole existence hangs by an already cut thread. Is that why you were seeking me? You were afraid of her?" how dare that broken woman with no power and no dignity cross his beloved Kitten? Threaten her? That's unspeakable! "I'm sorry, Michael... Did I upset you...? I was looking for you to tell you that Venable is planning a Masquerade for Halloween and she said presence is mandatory...It made me suspect she is up to something. Her voice got very dark... A-And... I don't think she'd do something nice for us, all of a sudden..." she bit her lip hard, looking away to hide her unsure visage. "Aww, how adorable. The mouse thinks it can outwit and outrun a lion. Thank you for warning me, my darling, but I can assure you, there is nothing that goes past my knowledge. Venable is going to be in for a grand surprise." he smirked triumphantly, helping her get up, the height difference being more noticeable. The dominant aura he was passively emanating was amplified tenfold, not only by that, but by the piercing blue eyes with which he was looking at her.

The final countdown finally began until the end of this tom-foolery - Just one week, and the end of these tainted, wretched, disgusting mortals shall arrive.

It will be only him and her, for the rest of their lives.

In absolute bliss and happiness, for the rest of their lives.

The Angel and The Demon.

Together.

Forever.

< Previous Chapter

Next Chapter >

[black-quadrant]

Hallefuckinglujah // AO3

wing kink & top!vash

“Ah--”

Vash. Beautiful, idiotic, enigmatic creature. Human in design, but not human at all.

Oh no. He’s far better.

He’s angelic--or at least, that’s the closest comparison you’ve got.

“Wolfwood...”

But goddamn does he sound like an angel when he’s singing for you. And these ridiculous wings aren’t doing anything to convince you otherwise.  

If he were really an angel you would be feeling downright despicable for what you’re doing to him.

"Aw fuck, Tongari--”

Or maybe it’s what he’s doing to you.

This isn’t exactly how you pictured your first time with him, but Vash is nothing if not a bombshell of caprice. He’s just one surprise after another, a living contradiction that always keeps you guessing.

Like how he's moaning like he’s the one getting fucked even though his cock is lodged up your ass. You’re wedged between him and the wall--completely naked save for your half-unbuttoned shirt whereas he is completely clothed save for his pants twisted down somewhere around his knees. For all of Vash’s intensity, all of his dominance over this situation, he still acts like he’s small, vulnerable, unassuming. Hell, his wings are flared out and arched and by all rights you should be saying your prayers, but Vash is the most humble alien-god-thing you’ve never met.

He could conceivably pound you into oblivion, but he’s being so gentle, so aggravatingly delicate. You’re not breakable, and it’s an insult to your pride to be treated like spun glass.

“Harder, you shit--fuck me hard--” Like I deserve.

And Vash--God help you--kisses your scowling lips all mitigating, slides his arms snugly around your squirming body, and slowly--all too slowly--drags you down the wall, impaling you inch by inch on him. The forced discipline is having an ardent affect on his cock which is swollen, stiff and throbbing with prolonged need, stretching you wider the deeper he sinks into you.  

Christ on a cracker, how can he be maintain his composure??

Vash, seemingly (eerily) tuned in to your internal dialogue, chuckles against your neck.

“Aren’t priests supposed to be patient? Isn’t that a virtue, Wolfwood?”

“I’m off the clock. Now move, goddamn you--”

Vash has the gall to smile at you like you’re the most endearing brand of impertinence, but before you can cuff him upside the head he finally obliges, propelling his hips in brisk upward thrusts that make quick work of your resolve. He’s striking that sweet spot of yours with the ease of someone packing experience, but you both know it’s beginner’s luck.

Vash is a natural, and it’s no shock that he loves to please, shifting his hips to amplify sensation. He listens intently to your noises, fine-tuning his movements around them until he’s found the perfect angle to ruthlessly hammer your prostate. You break out in an instant sweat, hands desperately grabbing the curves of his wings to sync with his rhythm.

“Oh God--sweet Mother of--yes, Tongariii--” You didn’t know you could sound so wanton, but here you are moaning like a whore while grinding your neglected cock against the worn leather of his coat. You don’t care. You can’t even begin to care about caring. Self-consciousness is a pointless reservation for mortals, and right now you feel like you’ve transcended your corporeal form. Nothing else matters but the pulsing of Vash inside you, the hot mouth around your jugular, the big, beautiful appendages that flex and flutter in accordance with his own emotions.

And when Vash comes, they shoot back in a dramatic arc, scattering feathers around the dingy hotel room. He mewls your name--your actual first name--into your ear, digs his fingers into your back and shudders violently as he slams home one last time. Your muscles clamp down all at once, temporary paralysis locking you down beneath the riptide of your orgasm. Your ass is essentially strangling his cock, milking him to the last drop, and somewhere along the way one of each of your hands made it onto your own--his at the base and yours at the head--pumping the last of your sin out over his precious jacket.

The air is suddenly too humid, but it doesn’t bother you; you’re already drowning. His face eventually swims into your foggy vision, mint-green eyes and a stupid, adorable beauty mark you can’t help but kiss. You probably won’t be able to walk straight tomorrow, not when you’ve been well, for all intents and purposes, stampeded.

“... ya know, you could start a religion around that cock.”

“Jeez, so sacrilegious.  I should tell God on you.”

“Hallefuckinglujah.”

[reallifetangent]

Hey, it's me, with another Ominis and Sebastian mini fic/headcanon.

This time i got a bit more violent and decided to plasm my perception of the MC (here named Mikka Callyps) and the Sebastian Storyline through Ominis.

Warnings? Mentions of death of characters and spoilers of Sebastian's Storyline.

---

Ominis had a rough relationship with Mikka. Alright, they still were close even after the years at Hogwarts came to an end, but Sebastian's absence was making Ominis' heart getting smaller. His head losing track of spaces, his body feeling unwelcomed without his friend around. And even if Mikka was there to help him with the pain or whatever, he would never forgive them.

Ominis didn't need functional eyes to see how unfair was everything. And how normal it was for others. Mikka asked Sebastian to learn the Cruciatus Curse and casted it on him. Sebastian taught them how to cast Imperio, and nonetheless they casted it over Ominis in order to protect Sebastian. He also heard the hordes and groups of ashwinders or bandits slowly disappearing, not because they willingly left the towns around Hogwarts, but someone with great powers make them, even using recourses as violent attacks ending heavily injured or even dead, some using the Killing Curse. Sebastian knew how to cast Avada Kedavra. No one in their senses could teach it at Hogwarts, unless you were that insane.

Mikka, in Ominis'perception, were in love at first sight with Sebastian. And their actions proved that they would even kill for him. They supported the twisted ideas of Sebastian to get a cure for his sister just for the sake of Sebastian liking them back. Mikka got in so much troubles just to side with Sebastian, push him further in the madness and Dark Arts 'till the No Return point. And Sebastian liked having that kind of ally after Ominis didn't agree with it.

And he wouldn't have a problem with it if it wasn't of his best friend rotting in a reformatory or Azkaban, expelled of his life, while Mikka was walking like nothing mattered. Hypocrisy at its finest.

War Hero? History won't remember their name.

He was aware of someone he knew they did worse things and in bigger amount than his friend, who might secretly hid his will to kill his own uncle. He was having around a killer, someone who didn't need the Killing Curse to get rid of people dangerous for commoners. Mikka was walking free, with way more blood on their hands than all the students together. And his best friend was paying for a small mistake in comparison. Maybe he was biased to Sebastian? Probably.

The butterfly effect of Mikka getting into their lives made him lose his best friend, maybe forever. The domino effect of Mikka being so people pleaser that even himself fell for their charms and opened the chamber and way to Sebastian's insanity. He would never forgive the person he knew they were pushing so far their luck. It didn't matter they saved Hogwarts from Ranrok and something about a magic source so powerful... He would never perceive them as a saint, as someone who saved us all, someone who didn't do anything bad. Dare to lie to his face. Mikka was no saint. No matter what the world tried to show him.

[elibean]

Hi....If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

no need to apologize! this is a great question, thank you for asking! i think i'll go with anime just 'cause it's easiest (i have a MAL and rank every series i watch from 1-10). i originally had movies in here but i think i'm gonna cut them out and just keep it to series and ovas. and "why do you love them" is an AWESOME question I never get! i don't know if i'll be able to explain myself well, but I'll try!

fullmetal alchemist ('03). why? this was pretty much my gateway anime. it's been over 10 years I believe since I've last seen any of it, so it's entirely possible that my opinion has since changed. but i definitely have nostalgia goggles on for it, and i know it is actually good, too haha

2. natsume yuujinchou (specifically seasons 6, 5, 4, and 3). why? some seasons of natsume i have rated higher than others, apparently. natsume is a special show. due to the nature of how long it is, there is the drawback that sometimes it feels like it repeats itself and tells similar stories. but even then it is just such a good story of found family and finding love after a life of strife, and it's just. very good. (i do think it should end soon though before it feels like it's just recycling old stories)

3. made in abyss. why? season 1 still stands out to me above the movie and 2. it was such a special experience. the art, the animation, the background art, the music, it all comes together to create such a fascinating world. the weak point would definitely be its characters, but even then everything else comes together so well that it doesn't really matter. it has one of the best first episodes of any anime (when the sun came up over orth and the music cued in I knew I was hooked) and I also adore season 1's ending; if the show never got a continuation, it could have ended right there and I would have been content (not a lot of other anime can say the same about their endings!).

4. steins; gate. why? it's also been a very long time since i've seen this one, so possible my opinion has changed. still, I remember being super interested after the first episode, and the following 12 that people tend to critique as being "slow" or a "slog" never really felt that way for me. there was always something fun and interesting going on. i compare this one with link click a lot, just because people tend to go the magica route and i firmly believe steins;gate is the better time travel show (though lc isn't over yet so maybe an unfair comparison. still it'd take a LOT for lc to reach anywhere near the heights of steins;gate to me). when okabe goes back over and over to try and save mayuri, i just remember being absolutely floored. really good stuff.

5. vinald saga. why? it's just such a well constructed story. and the author's comments about not wanting a world with war is so interesting, given how violent the first season is. it's really interesting to watch thorfinn grow and change (and i never understood the hate that he was too violent or annoying or a brat? he's just a kid who's lost everything, cut him some slack jeez). i love the last shot of season 1, corny as it is-- all the memories reflected on the dropping knife was great. and askeladd was one of the best villains i've ever seen. he's not even ~morally grey~ or anything; he's pretty strongly in the wrong, but his thinking and motivations and everything are so interesting and compelling. i don't think it's perfect; there are flaws for sure (i wasn't the biggest fan of how in s2 canute just. decides to turn his ships back after a small conversation with thorfinn lol) but it is very good.

6. this boy cuaght a merman. why? ok this one objectively does not deserve a 10. it's a 30minute ova about a boy falling in love with a merman. that's it. it's not incredible or amazing or ground breaking. buuuuuut it's my favorite soubi yamamoto ova and i adore soubi yamamoto and so she's getting a place on this list. she is responsible for animating, storyboarding, backgrounds, directing, etc etc everything in here, it's incredible (and she was only like 25, or something when she did it. fucking bananas). i love her please go check out her works (besides crystallization)

7. noragami. why? ok again probably not objectively THAT good, but this is one of the first anime that got me to read the manga, and here I am some 10 years later (ok a little less than 10 years because I didn't start reading the manga the year it started publishing, I think). noragami's MANGA is incredible and amazing and wonderful. but I do believe (much against the popular opinion amongst noragami manga readers) that the anime is also amazing, and YES that includes season 1. the crew behind it really loved the manga I feel (at least the director did, and there's proof for that) and adapted it faithfully and well. noragami is a story of found family and of turning your life and fate around, and it's very good.

8. she and her cat: everything flows. why? this one is only 4 episodes, 8 minutes each. it tells a story of a 20-something (actually she's still in college iirc) who lives on her own with her cat, and is trying to be an adult. but it's told from the cat's perspective. it's so sweet; the cat comments on how she "grooms herself" (brushes her hair, puts on her interview clothes) and "looks pretty" and things and it is just so great. i love the line (not a direct quote) "she opens that heavy door again today and heads out. on the other side of that door is a somewhat unforgiving, somewhat cruel world. but she's doing her best to learn to love that world. and i love her for that." just....so good (also the show made me cry)

9. yuru camp. why? second iyashikei on this list! SOL/iyashikei is actually my favorite genre of anime, generally speaking, but it can be hard to do it well. yuru camp ABSOLUTELY does it well. i read a commentary once ages ago, about how one of the great things about yuru camp is that the girls are allowed to just... be girls, and it always stuck with me. there's no fanservice, and these girls really feel like real characters who exist. there was another commentary (maybe same one?) about how rin is this introverted, more lonesome character, but she enjoys the solitude. but what's cool about yuru camp is she is never forced to change or become more extroverted; her friends accept her for who she is, nadeshiko will invite her out but not push her, and then sometimes she does go out! and she changes and becomes a bit more social, but never gives up solo camping. AND the more extroverted, outgoing character INSTEAD comes to embrace solo camping! what a cool idea, executed amazingly! so the characters are a strong point here, but the banter and camping is a lot of fun too. i still haven't watched the movie, but i'll get there eventually!

10. odd taxi. why? this one is 100% on the writing. it is so clever and quick-witted, it's a ton of fun to watch. i've never watched any other anime like it. the mystery/thriller aspects are a lot of fun too, and i remember reading reddit threads and theories on this one as it was airing. what was so cool is that they plant subtle hints that you can ABSOLUTELY catch if you have sharp eyes (i likely wouldn't have if it weren't for reading others' theories) and you can know things before characters do. lot of fun.

--

wow this was so much fun to write up! thank you so much for the question!

[four-loose-screws]

FE7 Novelization Translation - Chapter 11 Section 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

Chapter 11: Four-Fanged Offense (Section 2)

The town's atmosphere, previously joyous as the people prepared for the upcoming ceremony, had changed to one of complete chaos.

All manner of weapons were being used, from sword and axe to magic and bows, and the battlefield had expanded to the edges of town. Any attempts now to tell either army not to cause any chaos would be in vain.

As Eliwood fought the Black Fang while being very careful to avoid hurting the townspeople, he noticed something strange.

'...They're trying not to get the townspeople involved either?!'

Those clad in black were refraining from attacking any of the locals, as regular citizens would not be associated with Eliwood. They also avoided casting any spells or shooting any arrows that had a chance at catching one of them in the crossfire; and even when slashing away with their weapons, they made sure none of the people were in range before acting.

Their way of fighting was so fair and just that it was unthinkable they could be Nergal's underlings, and it shocked Eliwood.

"Hey! Are you Eliwood?" 

A man's voice rang loud and clear in his ears. 

He laughed fearlessly and glared at Eliwood. 

From both his bold demeanor and appearance, Eliwood knew very well that he was no ordinary man. "...Are you this group's commander?"

"The name's Linus. Not that my name is something you'll need to remember when you'll be dead soon!"

"...In that case, there's something I want to ask you. I've been told the Black Fang is a group with strong convictions. …So why are you siding with a man like Nergal?”

Linus looked like he was thinking about Eliwood’s words, but only for a moment. He quickly drew his silver blade, shining in the sunlight. "...Nergal? That creepy guy Sonia introduced to our Father? I've got nothin' to do with him! I just carry out my orders!"

"And you haven't doubted whether those orders are right, even once?"

"Doubted? What is there to doubt? My father and brother's decisions could never be wrong!!"

"That's exactly why I…"

"Quit messin' with me!" Linus shouted to stop Eliwood from continuing the conversation any further. "I don't need Brother's help for this. In the name of the Fang, I will execute judgment!" That was the last thing he said before ferociously lunging at Eliwood. 

Eliwood himself also decided that there was no more room for conversation, and immediately fought back.

"Take this!" Linus put all of his strength into a single swing of his blade. 

In comparison to a standard, lighter sword made out of steel, his silver blade was much heavier, but he swung it with ease, fighting as if he was mad. Even Eliwood, who did not know his title, got the impression that he fought like a mad dog.

But Eliwood was not the kind of person to be put under pressure by such a fighting style.

“Haa!”

With a battle cry, in the blink of an eye, he brandished his rapier and cut a shallow wound into Linus' nondominant arm. 

Linus licked it and flashed a violent smile across his face. "Not bad. You're the second person to ever hurt me head on!"

The first was of course Lloyd.

"But I won't let you do it ever again!!"

He started his ferocious assault once again, forcing Eliwood to go on the defensive. 

Linus swung his blade down, thrust it in front of him, and ran forward to stab Eliwood with it. Eliwood either dodged or blocked each and every attack. To an observer, it looked like he was struggling, but the reality was quite the opposite.

"Dammit… Stop messin’ around with me!” Linus yelled in frustration as he continued his onslaught. He was actually becoming very angry. It irritated him that no matter how many times he attacked, he could not land a decent hit.

That was what Eliwood was waiting for.

The frustration built up inside of him would create an opening. When that happened, Eliwood would have his opportunity to claim victory.

"Eat this!" Linus raised his sword over his head and put all of his strength into swinging it down on Eliwood’s head. 

But instead his attack only sliced through thin air, and became lodged in the cobblestone laid out through the street.

"I-I failed?!"

As Linus shouted, Eliwood did not let the opening go to waste, thrusting his rapier in a blow intended to stab its sharp tip through Linus' throat.

However…

"Grrraaaaah!!"

Linus poured every ounce of strength in his body into pulling his sword out of the cobblestone. The force sent chunks of stone and dirt flying into the air, blinding Eliwood, and making him hesitate for a moment in his attack. For Linus, just that one moment was plenty.

He jumped back to put some distance between them, taking a moment to catch his breath and fix his stance.

"That was close. You're makin' this pretty fun!" He said with a fearless smile on his face. 

However, to Eliwood, this was not a time to be smiling.

After being on the offensive for so long and failing to take advantage of the opening his enemy created when impatient, he could not use that same tactic again. And Linus was a dangerous foe for him to fight head on. Both his strength and stamina were far superior to Eliwood's. With the opportunity he'd waited for gone to waste, now Eliwood was the one getting frustrated. 

Meanwhile, Linus, on the other hand, was enjoying their fight so much he could hardly contain himself. "It's been a while since I've found prey with this much fight in them! I'll be the one to take you down myself!"

“You won't have the chance!"

“Huh?”

Eliwood whirled around towards the source of the voice that had suddenly cut in between their fight from behind, and there saw the blade of an axe swinging down towards Linus' face. 

Linus swiftly blocked that attack with his blade, but the man - Hector - stood up and followed up with a second and third attack.

“I won't let you kill him!" Hector swung Wolf Beil and shouted.

“Alright, if you wanna die, then I’ll take you out first!” Linus raised his blade and roared.

They matched each other in both stamina and strength. Their head-on fight could only be described with one word: ferocious. 

Axe and blade clashed viciously, and their overflowing energy sent sparks flying. At its start, their grand battle overwhelmed all who saw it, but over time, it was Hector who became overwhelmed.

When two opponents are matched in strength, stamina, and skill, then superiority is determined by the difference in their weapons. In comparison to swords, axes have a shorter reach and smaller turn radius. Of course, victory against Hector would not be determined simply by what his foe was holding, but if his foe was just as strong as him or stronger, then that was a different story. The more equal they were in strength, the slighter the margin in the outcome would be.

“Hiiii-yaaaaaah!” With a thunderous battle cry, Linus unleashed a powerful attack.

Hector tried to block it with his axe, but in the end was pushed back. With the dry sound of scraping metal echoing into the air, Hector lost his grip on Wolf Beil, and it rotated through the air before finally lodging into the cobblestone.

“That was fun. But this is the end for you!” Linus shouted and swung his blade into the air.

But oddly, Hector, though he had lost his weapon, was smiling calmly. By the time Linus realized how strange it was, it was too late. At some point, Eliwood had gotten behind him, and was aiming the tip of his sword at Linus' back.

"Dammit, were you two plannin' this from the beginnin'?!" Linus said in regret as he threw his weapon on the ground. 

One foe was closing in on him from the front, and the other was taking him from behind. Linus thought that they had him completely trapped, but that wasn't really their intention. Hector had seen his best friend in trouble and saved him, and Eliwood had searched for an opportunity to help Hector once he was cornered again. They were in true harmony with each other.

From the very beginning, this fight had never been a one-on-one duel, but one where they risked their lives together. Linus did not think of Eliwood as a cheat, but was ashamed of himself for focusing so much on the enemy in front of him that he neglected to watch his back.

“L-Linus!”

“Don't come over here!" Linus barked at one of his men, who was coming his way to help him. "They're my prey! All of you get out of here! Now!"

"But…!"

"Shut up! Have you forgotten the laws of the Fang?!" 

Though it was obvious by the expressions on their faces that his words pained them, they slowly retreated.

To maintain their structure as an organization, the Black Fang had several rules. One that Linus’ followers could not betray was “Your superiors’ orders are absolute.”

After seeing that every last one of his followers were gone, Linus turned his head to look at Eliwood, who had the tip of his rapier positioned right up against his back.

“...I’ve lost. Brother was right. You guys are strong…” He said, expressing how deeply impressed he was, then took both of his hands off his blade, still lodged in the ground.

With that act, they could no longer sense any will to fight from him, and Eliwood relaxed.

He was too soft.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna die like this, without anything to show for it!!” The moment Eliwood let his guard down, Linus moved with unbelievable speed for someone so giant. 

He swiftly pulled away from Eliwood’s rapier, then immediately whirled around and wrapped his thick arms around Eliwood’s neck. “I’m takin’ you with me!!”

Crushing his enemy’s neck bones was nothing for Linus.

Like a large snake strangling its prey, Linus’ arms slowly began to move.

Though Eliwood knew that he was staring death in the face, his expression did not change.

“...Do as you wish.”

“...I’m sorry, what?!" At Eliwood’s unexpected response, Linus’ arms stopped moving.

“...I noticed something while we were fighting. All of you… were careful not to get the townspeople involved.”

“Of course! Our target was always just you!” Linus said with pride. 

Eliwood looked at him and continued,

"We don't think the Black Fang is an evil group. …Why do we have to fight?"

"That's because you're the bad guys… Dammit!" Linus clicked his tongue, loosened his grip on Eliwood, and let him go. 

"I don't get it either! Sonia told Father you're evil, and he trusts her, so he gave us this order!" Linus shouted, getting everything that had built up inside him off his chest. His expression was a complex combination of both and pain and confusion.

He was visibly wavering and questioning everything he had trusted.

"Sonia? She's…"

"...I'm gonna leave for now. Once I get the details straight about you, I'll be back." Linus did not answer the question Eliwood began to ask, instead leaving the conversation at that before walking off.

ー

[arc-77]

Some Early-Empire Headcanon

//   So S2E3 of The Bad Batch was a good episode, it hit a lot of notes I’ve been waiting for Star Wars to hit and really dig into, revolving around the “changing of the guard” from Clones Troopers to conscripts, and that’s got me thinking about how Fordo fits into this transitional period and how he managed to persist.

As always, it’s important to note that as an Alpha-Class ARC, Fordo is naturally more independent and perhaps proud in comparison to the rank-and-file. To this end, I doubt he would have lasted long in the former Republic Center for Military Operations as we see it — he would surely have butt heads with the likes of Vice Admiral Rampart over being further dehumanized, and the consequences would have been violent.

Fortunately for Fordo, given he was a member of the Special Operations Brigade (SO BDE), I find it more likely he and other remaining Special Forces would maintain that separation from the standard troopers and their leadership. As the organization begins to morph into the burgeoning Imperial Intelligence community, Fordo would seek to establish himself as a reliable and effective agent, and ingratiate himself with more agreeable members of the leadership. In an attempt to avoid the prejudice he’s likely to face, he would also quickly adopt newer models of armor and remain helmeted as much as he can to distance himself from his status as a Clone Trooper.

While he’s cognizant that the Empire is hurtling down a dark path, he never truly fell for the Republic’s own bright-eyed propaganda and savior rhetoric, so the Empire’s more blatantly unjust orders do not come as a shock like it would to other named clones who worked with famous Jedi. Special Operations can be dirty work no matter what banner you’re flying under. He bites his tongue and fires his gun.

As far as a timeline goes, that I am continuously unsure of. It’s probably no more than two or three years post-Order 66 that Fordo ends up getting his Dark Trooper Augmentations, perhaps around 17BBY. One of my thoughts is that he becomes heavily involved in Tarkin’s campaigns to conquer the Outer Rim, the Salient System, Separatist Holdouts and the like. Possibly he becomes injured in one of these battles and is sequestered away to undergo the augmentations as a life-saving measure, as he’s proven to be loyal and effective.

Fordo would find his most important ally in then-Colonel Rom Mohc, the mastermind behind the clone trooper augmentation program of which Fordo proves to be the most successful and least traumatized recipient. The timeline from here is again murky to me. Over the next few years Fordo would gradually swap out cybernetics and test different synthflesh coverings until he’s able to appear unarmored without drawing unwanted attention. 

Now seeking legitimacy most of all, Fordo would ask for now-General Mohc’s sponsorship to enter the Imperial Academy and achieve full-status as a human Imperial officer. Though not without some setbacks along the way, he would graduate top of his class. If we put this at 15 or 14 BBY, that gives Fordo and Mohc enough time to start the Death Trooper Program before their first appearance in Rogue One’s prologue in 13BBY. Fordo is promoted to Commodore for its success, and from there it’s smooth sailing.

[goodlucktai]

For the dialogue prompts to break a reader's heart, might I request 6,7, and 8 (either combined or not- with your writing, it'll be good no matter what) for Natsuyuu (bonus points for NishiNatsu and/or Natori being best bro)?

If you're up for it, of course- if not, that's cool too.👌

HEARTBREAKING PROMPTS

6. "Am I going to die?"

ao3 // ko-fi

x

Shuuichi is on set when the news breaks. 

A panicked college-aged intern is turning the volume up on the TV in the lounge, and Shuuichi looks up from his lines in time to watch a local station air some amateur drone footage of what looks like the apocalypse. 

It’s a busy intersection downtown, which at this time of morning should be in full swing as people commute to work or classes. Instead, traffic has ground to a standstill, vehicles left abandoned as hundreds of people run from a frenzied mob. 

The room is quiet, everyone slow to react to what they’re seeing. It’s like something from a horror film—found-footage is trendy, when it’s produced well, so for a moment Shuuichi thinks he’s looking at an upcoming Netflix original. He finds himself thinking the Foley effects could use some work. 

Then it cuts back to two pale, shaken newscasters sitting stiffly behind their desk. The anchorwoman is turned in her chair, a hand covering the mic clipped to her shirt as she speaks rapidly to someone off-screen. The anchorman’s eyes dart as he reads silently from the teleprompter, and then he clears his throat. 

“We’ve received word from our correspondents in Tokyo that the recent widespread reports of violent and erratic behavior are not a local event. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases has not yet confirmed if this is the work of a virus, but eye-witnesses on social media have made the comparison to—to rabies. Again, there is no official statement yet, but it is strongly recommended that you stay in your homes, and avoid all contact with individuals showing any of the following symptoms—” 

“What the fuck,” Hana blurts. She’s still sitting at the table across from Shuuichi, where she’d been running lines with him, but her script lay abandoned now. “Is this a joke?”

“I’m checking Yahoo,” the intern says. Her nose is already buried in her phone. “I don’t understand, the streets were clear when we got here.”

“The streets were empty when we got here, because it was like three o’clock in the morning,” someone from the AD department retorts. “What I want to know is how something like this could have happened in a matter of hours.”

There’s a bit of a flurry then, of people checking their phones and computers, or getting up to stand closer to the television.  Two men leave the room at a brisk clip to collect the cast and crew still milling about the set, and a woman Shuuichi vaguely recognizes as Hana’s agent uses the landline to call the security office in the front of the building. 

Shuuichi’s heart is racing. He’s staring at the news broadcast, at the worried reporter standing outside a hospital, where flashing ambulances are lined up and paramedics are rushing up to the building pushing gurneys. 

A digital banner stretches across the bottom of the screen, the scrolling text reading China has declared a state of emergency. All inbound flights have been diverted. The United States has declared a state of emergency. All inbound flights have been diverted. Great Britain has declared a state of emergency. All inbound flights have been… 

“Urihime,” he says under his breath, “check in with Hiiragi now.”

Hana gives him an odd look but Urihime nods and disappears without a word. Sasago, hovering faithfully at his opposite shoulder, drifts closer to make up for her absence. Shuuichi forces his eyes away from the TV and digs his phone from his pocket. 

There are thirty-some email notifications, a handful of texts—but most concerningly, a missed call.

Shoving away from the table, Shuuichi taps to redial, and holds the phone to his ear. He paces to the far side of the room, and can’t force himself to breathe until the moment the line finally connects and Natsume’s quiet voice says, “Natori-san?” 

Oh my god, Shuuichi thinks, pressing his forehead against the wall, oh, thank god. 

“Are you alright?” he demands. “Is everyone there alright?”

“We’re fine,” Natsume says quickly. “Um, everyone’s still asleep but me and Kitamoto. There’s been a lot of noises in the hallway, but Hii—I mean. I figured I shouldn’t open the door.” Shuuichi makes a mental note to kiss Hiiragi right on the face for strong-arming the most stubborn teenager alive into staying in the relative safety of the hotel room. “I, um, I tried to call you—”

“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t see it,” Shuuichi says. He rubs a hand over his face, struggling between the crippling relief that the kids are safe, and the visceral, terrifying reality that something could potentially still happen to them. “I’m on my way back now, okay? Stay put. Listen to Hiiragi. Don’t let the chaos twins do anything stupid.”

He means Taki and Nishimura, and he knows Natsume knows exactly who he means. He hears the kid murmur something, ostensibly to Kitamoto, and then the sound of movement, and then a door closing softly.

“I’m in the bathroom now. Natori-san, are you sure?” He sounds frightened. His voice is still quiet, but his words are coming faster now, all but running together as his anxiety rears its head. “I mean—we looked out the window a few minutes ago, and it’s—”

“Hey,” Shuuichi says firmly. “I know what it looks like outside. I don’t care. Keep away from the windows, and keep quiet, and wait for me. Tell your monster he has my full permission to sit on you if that’s what it takes.”

Natsume laughs a little. “He’s listening. He says he doesn’t need your permission.”

“For once, cat, I almost respect you,” Natori says with a light-heartedness he doesn’t feel. “Alright, Natsume. Wake your friends up, eat something. I’ll see you soon.”

He hangs up, digs the heel of his hand into his eyes, and allows himself five seconds of silent panic.  Then he turns around and strides for the door. 

“Um, Natori-san, I don’t think you should leave,” Hana says, alarmed, as he grabs his coat from the hook and pats the pockets to find his keys. “The governor said—and the police—Natori-san, we’re supposed to stay inside!”

That gets some attention. There’s a sudden swell of well-meaning colleagues rounding on him, urging him to stay calm, sit back down, let Ha-ri make you some tea. Ordinarily, Shuuichi might have been touched by their concern, but now he just doesn’t have time for it. He glances at Sasago and then looks pointedly at the door. She inclines her head and sweeps out in front of him, causing the people in his way to stumble aside and neatly clearing his path. 

Everyone is staring at him, staggered. Even the ones who weren’t pushed by an invisible force seem staggered. Natori spares a moment to bow his head and says, “Thank you for taking care of me. Good luck.”

He pushes out the door into the empty hallway. His steps on the polished tile floor echo, and another pair of footsteps follows him out. 

It’s the intern, Ha-ri. She lifts her chin and says, “My little brother’s cat-sitting at my apartment. He’s only in Osaka in the first place because of me.”

“I’m headed for Tennoji ward. If you’re going in the same direction, you’re welcome to tag along,” Shuuichi replies, and holds the door to the parking garage open for her. 

As soon as they’re outside, it’s clear they’ve left safety behind. There’s an overturned car on the street, burning steadily, and another parked on the sidewalk with a shattered windshield. It’s ominously still—the busy morning foot-traffic is conspicuously absent.

Sasago leaps to the roof of the garage and casts her blindfolded eyes up and down the street. Urihime joins her there, glancing down at Shuuichi. 

“The kids are safe,” she says shortly. “Let me guide you, Natori-dono. The streets are a mess, but I remember which ones are mostly deserted. Sasago and I will clear the way. Count on us.”

They move quickly. Ha-ri keeps close and says nothing, hands white-knuckled on the strap of her crossbody bag, canvas sneakers treading silently on the asphalt. If she thinks it odd that Shuuichi turns down streets and alleyways seemingly at random with total confidence, she keeps it to herself. 

The set in Chuo is only a few miles away from the hotel the kids picked in Tennoji. They were so looking forward to this trip, a whole week in the city with a movie-star chauffeur at their beck and call. Shuuichi left them to sleep in this morning, with plans to get some work done at the studio and be back in time to bring them lunch, but he wishes he hadn’t. He shouldn’t have left. 

Sasago throws herself bodily in front of him before he can round the next corner, and Ha-ri stumbles into his back at his sudden stop. Urihime hisses through her teeth for them to get down! Shuuichi grabs Ha-ri by the strap of her bag and drags her down with him, their backs pressed against the side of a large vending machine.

Something shambles by. 

Ha-ri gasps, and then muffles herself with both hands before she can give them away, her knees tucked in tight against her chest. Urihime and Sasago are crouched warily in front of them, a guard that only Shuuichi is aware of. And on the street, moving in odd, awkward clusters, there are…

People. 

People with torn clothes and tossed hair, looking as though they just tumbled out of a car accident. A lot of them have blood on their necks, or their hands, or their mouths. All of them have milky-white eyes and a vacant expression, as though they’re sleepwalking through this nightmare. 

The last thing Shuuichi expects is for the nearest one to turn its face toward the shiki. Shuuichi’s heart shoots up into his throat as the—the sleepwalker teeters drunkenly, staring straight at Urihime, who is visibly bracing herself for a fight. Thankfully, though, it seems like the sleepwalker is aware of yokai in the same way that animals are—a passing interest only, the spheres of their existence just overlapping in the fringes. 

Shuuichi and Ha-ri stay absolutely still until the street has emptied. Even when Sasago quietly gives the all-clear. They just sit there, not speaking, breathing like they’ve run a marathon.

Then Ha-ri says, “Rabies.”

“What?” Shuuichi asks stupidly. 

“The man on the news said it,” the girl replies. Her voice is wooden and grim. “He said that it was like rabies. And they—some of them looked like they’d been—”

She doesn’t say it. She doesn’t have to. Shuuichi closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against the machine behind him. Acclimating to this brand new genre of shit-show he has no choice but to deal with. 

“Natori-dono,” Sasago says with some urgency. 

“Right,” he mutters, and pushes himself to his feet. He stretches a hand down to Ha-ri, pulls her up beside him, and they go. 

They bump into a few other people, panic-stricken and running for whatever safe place is waiting for them. None of them linger long enough to exchange words. Most stores and kiosks they pass are closed and locked tight, security shutters lowered. Outside a little fast food restaurant is a row of delivery scooters parked on a rack; one of the scooters is missing, and there’s a broken lock lying on the ground next to an abandoned sledgehammer. Without pause, Ha-ri stoops and picks up the hammer. 

The shiki save them two more times within fifteen minutes; the third time, Shuuichi doesn’t need the warning, and neither does his young companion. They fling themselves silently into a sidestreet, and Shuuichi shoves Ha-ri back even farther, into the shadow of a stoop, just in time to miss a handful of the sleepwalkers who seem to be chasing the taillights of a passing car. 

“I think it’s safe now,” Shuuichi says, and starts to step back onto the sidewalk, but Ha-ri grips his sleeve. 

“I have to go the other way,” she tells him, barely more than a whisper. Her eyes are wide, and with the huge glasses and full bangs she looks absurdly young. She’s only a few years older than the kids Shuuichi is responsible for. But there’s iron in her spine, and she lifts her chin the way she did back at the studio when she refused to stay behind. She ducks forward in a bow, and says, “Thank you for taking care of me until now.”

Fuck, Shuuichi thinks. Out loud he says, “Give me your phone.”

Bewildered, Ha-ri tucks the hammer under her arm to slide her iPhone out of her back pocket. 

Shuuichi opens the messages app and texts himself. Handing the phone back, he grits out, “I know that kids seem to have a medical condition that makes them choose to be stupidly self-reliant at the absolute worst of times, but you have my number. Contact me if you need help. For your brother and your cat, if not for yourself.”

Ha-ri blinks rapidly a few times, taken-aback. Then she smiles for the first time all morning. She slips her phone back into her pocket, bows again, and says, “Be careful, Natori-senpai. Don’t let them bite you.”

Then she spins around and runs the opposite way down the winding alley toward the chained fence blocking the next street. She tosses her bag and the hammer over first, then plants one sneaker on the fence, heaves herself to the top, and disappears on the other side without a sound. 

She’ll probably be fine. 

“Urihime,” Shuuichi orders quietly. 

With a displeased sigh, the shiki takes off after her. Sasago tilts her head toward the street, and Shuuichi follows. 

He’s running on nothing but anxiety and adrenaline by the time he reaches the hotel. It’s tucked away at the end of a busy street, near a huge train station, because of course it is. There are dozens of sleepwalkers in the way, and Shuuichi’s stomach sinks like a stone. 

But Hiiragi appears in front of the building, and points with her sword toward the small service road that leads around to the back, presumably for the unloading of delivery trucks. Then she disappears again, and Shuuichi realizes why a moment later. The window of a restaurant a few blocks away explodes into a loud shower of glass, and all the shambling bodies on the street react like wild animals, clawing over one another to rush toward the sound. 

It’s potentially the most horrifying thing Shuuichi has ever seen. He very carefully compartmentalizes his reaction, because frankly there’s no time for it right now. 

Once they’re in the building, weaving through eerie stockrooms and a gleaming, completely abandoned commercial kitchen, Sasago leads him past the elevator to the stairwell, and then herds him up four flights of stairs, glaring coldly when he dares gasp for air too loudly. 

“Well, excuse me,” Shuuichi wheezes. “Not all of us can float.” 

There are some alarming sounds on the second floor, and absolute silence on the third and fourth. Shuuichi doesn’t trust it for a second, but he shoves open the stairwell door when Sasago gives him the go-ahead, and beelines straight for his suite. 

Ridiculously, he starts searching his pockets for his keycard. The door is ripped open a second later, and Hiiragi says, with just barely passable deference, “Natori-dono. Get inside now.”

The moment he does, he feels himself cross a barrier. It’s like stepping into a physical net of safety. It feels as though whatever is happening outside can’t reach him here, even though he knows that can’t really be true. He can hear quiet chatter from the next room, all those dear voices present and correct and secure. 

He leans against the wall and closes his eyes. He just needs a minute. 

When he opens them, he has company. On the step above the neat row of shoes lined up in the entryway, Madara is tucked into a fat little loaf, unnatural green eyes glinting. The symbol on his forehead is glowing faintly. Shuuichi doesn’t think he’s ever seen it sustained for longer than a few seconds at a time. 

“Is this your work, cat?” Shuuichi asks, waving a hand to indicate that barrier he’s only peripherally aware of. His voice is hoarse and exhausted. The cat deigns not to comment on the state of him, which is a kindness he didn’t expect. 

“If you don’t like it, you can leave,” Madara says plainly.

“I paid for this room, freeloader,” Shuuichi mutters, and braces a hand against the wall as he follows the quiet sound of conversation into the sitting room of the extravagant suite. It’s dimly lit even at half past ten in the morning, with the heavy curtains pulled across the windows, and the TV is on so low he can barely hear it over the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears. 

He barely catches a glimpse of Natsume’s wide-eyed expression before the boy is crossing the room at a run and colliding with him hard enough to knock the breath out of his lungs. 

It’s the absolute last thing on the list of things Shuuichi has to complain about. It doesn’t even make the list. He plants his chin on the top of Natsume’s head, wraps an arm around his shoulders, and takes a full breath for the first time since he saw that news broadcast. 

Natsume is joined in short order by a tearful Taki, then Nishimura, then Ogata. Kitamoto slumps where he’s sitting, like whatever has been propping him up this whole time just collapsed underneath him. Shibata glares at Shuuichi with vitriol, because he tends to get his feelings mixed up when he’s thrown into high-pressure situations, but he buries his face in Tanuma’s shoulder before his mouth can run away from him. Tanuma, for his part, looks like he’s just barely keeping a panic attack at bay by nothing but sheer willpower and the need to be present for his friends. He pats Shibata on the back gently. 

They’re all ruffled and pale, still in their pajamas, wrapped in the extra throw blankets from the closet and the duvets from the beds. It’s like a slumber party gone catastrophically wrong. 

“It’s okay,” Shuuichi tells the room at large. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“What’s happening outside?” Ogata asks, voice warbling. “I called my friend Junko, but she lost signal. She told me that a bunch of people broke into her dad’s store. She said they were acting really strange.”

“We found a bunch of different news stations on TV,” Tanuma whispers. “It’s happening all over the country.”

“I can’t get ahold of my parents,” Kitamoto blurts. “Or my sister. Or Tsuji or Sasada. Or anyone from Hitoyoshi.”

“Are you okay?” Natsume says, pulling out of Shuuichi’s arms just enough to look up at him with stricken brown eyes. His voice cuts through the room easily, because no one is willing to talk over him. “Did you run the whole way here? Come sit down. Shibata, move. Satchan, can you get him something to drink?”

Shuuichi smiles as they scurry like little worker ants, and gratefully accepts the expensive bottled water from the minibar that Nishimura presses into his hands. He can see the kids visibly sitting on their questions, trying to be respectful, and he thinks they’re so good. They’re much better than he was when he was their age. 

They don’t deserve whatever fresh hell is happening outside. 

“Here’s what I know,” Shuuichi says, and lays everything out. 

“You don’t know much,” Shibata says judgmentally. Nishimura digs an elbow into his stomach. 

“What are we going to do?” Taki asks. "Are we going to die?"

"No, Tooru," Shuuichi says sternly, shutting that down as fast as he can. "None of you are going to die."

She’s frightened and clearly trying to be brave. She has a marker clenched in her fist, and it reminds Shuuichi of the way Ha-ri had hefted that sledgehammer. 

All of their worried faces are turned up toward his. He’s the oldest person in the room, ancient at almost twenty-four years old. He’s responsible for them, agreed to be when their parents gave permission for this big trip to the city. It’s his job to make things right. Somehow, he has to make this right. 

His phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out and opens the new texts, with an audience of at least four teenagers peering over his shoulders. 

They’re both from Ha-ri. The first one is a selfie. She’s sitting on the carpeted floor of what looks like a bedroom, with her arm around the shoulders of a boy who looks exactly like her. There’s a huge orange cat draped across their laps and the twins are grinning wearily at the camera. 

Made it, the text beneath it reads. And you?

Shuuichi finds himself smiling. He glances around the room and says, “If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”

The kids seem thrown off by the question, but only for a moment. They trade glances, communicating in that silent language that people only develop after spending way too much time together, and then Shibata speaks up.

“My parents are overseas.”

“So are mine,” Taki says. 

“My mom is a doctor,” Kitamoto pipes up. He’s near tears, frightened that he hasn’t heard from his family yet. “She’ll be able to help.” 

Nishimura slips away to shove himself into the armchair with Kitamoto, which is probably equal parts annoying and comforting. He takes Kitamoto’s hand and squeezes hard, and that tips the scales in favor of comfort, after all. Kitamoto leans against him and looks a little less frantic.

“My brother’s pre-med,” Nishimura adds. “And supposedly he’s back from university for the weekend. He wouldn’t be completely useless to have around, I guess.”

“Junko’s on our way,” Ogata says quickly. “She could meet us and come along.”

“There’s room at the temple for everyone,” Tanuma offers in his careful, thoughtful way. He sounds like he's half-afraid his friends might shoot him down, even now, in this worst-case scenario. He's ridiculous and Shuuichi would do anything to protect him.

Natsume lifts his ugly cat into his arms and hugs it tightly. His eyes are moonlike, round and hopeful. It’s obvious who he’s thinking of—Touko and Shigeru and their big, welcoming smiles, and their big, welcoming house, and how they always leave a light on for him.

No one has outright said it yet; none of them are eager to sound childish in the face of what is shaping up to be a global disaster. They’re trying to be very grown-up about it. 

But the wanting is plain on their faces. It’s clear where they would all feel safest.

Shuuichi is thinking about Madara’s barrier, and the deft way the shiki handled the sleepwalkers every step of the way between Chuo ward and Tennoji. He’s thinking about all of Natsume’s questionable friends among the ghosts of Yatsuhara, and their unwavering loyalty to him, and how eager they are to prove their worth. He thinks that Hitoyoshi might just be the best place to go, if only they can make it there. 

“Okay,” Shuuichi says. “Let’s go home.”

[beels-burger-babe]

With You Always

***So I really really really love this idea, but I'm going to tweak it just a little bit so rather than only seeing them in mirrors, MC can just always see them when the brothers aren't around. This one is going to take place after they return to the human realm. I'm also going to be using he/him pronouns for the crush that'll be mentioned. I figured since all the dateables in the game identify as male, it'd be a safe bet. Thank you so so much for this creative request @gender-less-lemon (also I freaking love your profile picture. Monster Camp/Prom is hilarious)***

Summary: An average day of high school with MC...and the seven pact manifestations that haunt their vision.

TW: Bullying You were awoken not by an alarm, or your guardian, or even some random noise from outside, but rather a phantom gnawing on your arm. With a groan, you blinked open your eyes and saw just your regular old room, with one minor difference; a spectral red bear was happily teething on your elbow. You chuckled and pet the manifestation, noting the brightly glowing symbol of gluttony resting in its stomach. "Okay, Beel," you mumbled to yourself as you dragged yourself out of bed, pushing the purple translucent calf sleeping on your stomach, in the process. "I hear you." Ever since you had returned to the human realm, you had been followed around by spectral manifestations of the seven pacts that you owned. By the looks of things, no one else could see them, and they only appeared when the connected sin was active or needed, but it helped you feel less alone. You missed the brothers more than you had anticipated. It was more than a little bit of a culture shock to go from being loved and spoiled every day to being the misfit in your high school. Speaking of which, you needed to get going if you weren't going to be late. As you rushed around our room frantically grabbing the things you needed to get ready, the calf-like manifestation of sloth sat on your bed mooing in complaint. You sent a glare over to it as you finished collecting your belongings. "Trust me, I rather stay home and sleep too, buddy. But I have to go." Grabbing some fruit on your way out the door, you just managed to make it to school on time. Now it was simply a matter of surviving the day.

In all honesty, you preferred RAD to high school. In RAD, the subjects were interesting and grasped your attention without any problems at all. You had friends, even outside of the brothers. Sure there were always demons that would talk down about the kid human that clung to the demon lords, but you had the brothers to protect you. It was nice.

Now that you were back in the human world, you had none of that. In fact, you were even more of a misfit than when you were before. The teenager that vanished for a year and came back weirder than before; that was you. At first, you couldn't get people to leave you alone, but once they realized you weren't going to give them answers they backed off. You would occasionally laugh or whisper to the manifestations, which would earn you some more than weird looks, but you didn't care. These weird little ghost-like creatures were one of the only things you had connecting you to the Devildom. They meant more to you than anything else. As you entered your classroom, you had to bite back a laugh at the sight of one of your classmates looking around in confusion as, unknown to them, a golden yellow crow flapped around their head and pecked at the shiny earrings they were wearing. You took your seat in the back of the classroom and watch in amusement as the crow continued pecking at the various belongings of students, causing subtle chaos and confusion. Leave it to Mammon to make your day even when he wasn't actually there. Your teacher walked in and sat down in his chair. "Alright, class. Today we're going to continue with our history presentations. Remember these were subjects of your choice, so I do hope that you can at least pretend to be interested," he sighed and pulled out a clipboard. "Looks like the next person presenting is...MC." You winced and looked down at your notes. The topic was definitely one you were confident in, but to present it in front of your class. What if no one liked it? What if people laughed? What if- You felt a nudge on your arm. You glanced over to see a dazzling blue peacock, straightening its long neck out high as it puffed out its chest. The pride manifestation gestured forward with its head and almost seemed to smile at you. You smiled gently as you felt warmth grow from his pact mark on your inner wrist and stood up beside the peacock. It cawed and began to strut forward, leading the way to the front of the class. The mental image of Lucifer doing the same almost caused you to burst out laughing. You finally turned to the class and held your head up proudly as you began to speak. "My presentation today will be on biblical demonology and the way it has evolved throughout the eons of its existence." It was the best presentation you had ever given in your life. Riding off of the high from history class, the day seemed to fly by. Before you knew it was time for lunch. The bear was back, this time just softly moaning it continued butting your back with its head in an attempt to get you to go to the cafeteria faster. With one particularly heard shove, you were sent stumbling forward, directly into the chest of someone. "I'm so sorry! I'm a total clutz. I just tripped, I hadn't meant to-" you cut yourself off as you looked up and noticed you were looking at your crush. Your jaw snapped shut as you felt your face suddenly become uncomfortably hot. He smiled and waved off the apology. "It's alright. Just an accident right?" Your face became even hotter as you noticed a bright pink rabbit jumping up and down happily behind him. "I- Uh...Ehm...Y-Yeah! Yeah, t-totally an accident. I'm seat so I should go find my hungry. I-I mean!" He chuckled and nodded. "No worries, I get what you're trying to say. Enjoy your seat, MC," he gave you a wink, causing you to squeak as he walked off. You glared down at the rabbit running happy circles around your feet and the red bear that was sulking guiltily in a corner. "I blame you two for this." With an embarrassed huff, you entered the cafeteria and found yourself instantly wanting to walk back out. Everyone was laughing and talking with one another in their friend groups at their tables. Some gossiped eagerly over a magazine. Others sat silently with one another while they gamed or read books. There was even a table where a group of theatre kids were drumming out a soundtrack beat on the table while singing their favourite

songs. You ducked your head down and grabbed a tray of food before moving to the lonely table in the back, doing your best to ignore the giant orange snake that slithered between the tables, occasionally hissing and tripping students. You tried not to think of how you could be just like those groups of laughing friends, if only you were still at RAD. Your heart ached as you thought about the brothers. Maybe you could call them tonight. You let out a heavy sigh as you stood up and went to leave. You had almost made it to the door when a familiar face stopped you. Standing just a couple inches taller than you, surrounded by their groupies, was your tormentor, Taylor. You weren't entirely sure why they hated you so much. You just knew that they did, and that it got even worse when you came back from the Devildom. Taylor smirked with their arms crossed over their chest. "Where do you think your going? You haven't come to say hello yet." You scoffed and tried to walk past them. "Leave me alone, Taylor. I'm not in the mood for this today," before you could get very far, you were harshly onto the floor, stealing the breath from your lungs. You gasped and glared up at them. "What the fuck?!" The bully just sneered down at you. "You may not be in the mood for this, but I am. You know I heard about your weirdo presentation. Demons? Really? What are you, a satanist?" Their word choice was really ironic, for at that moment you noticed the large, white unicorn with flaming green hair and eyes appear behind them. The beast stomped its hooves and whinnied dangerously. You gulped nervously and looked up at Taylor. "Even if I was, it's not your business. I just find the topic interesting is all." You went to stand up, and therefore force the angry horse with a horn away from Taylor, but were stopped as they placed their foot on top of your chest. "I bet that's why you have all those weird tattoos, huh? What did you run away and join a cult for a year? Freak!" You could feel Satan's pact mark on the back of your neck grow hotter and hotter to the point that you were concerned the manifestation may be trying to summon him. Your eyes widen as you noticed it back up a few steps and point its horn at Taylor. You knew that the creatures normally could do small interactions with others, such as tripping or pushing, but you had never seen them attempt anything so violent. You couldn't just let it kill someone. "STOP!" The cafeteria fell quiet, but you weren't looking at them or even Taylor, you were looking at the unicorn. The manifestation neighed in frustration and jumped around, but obeyed your command. You slumped in relief. Looking back over to Taylor, you found them glaring down at you like you were nothing but a bug. They opened their mouth to degrade you even further when a teacher finally stepped forward. "What is happening here?" You walked over to the unicorn while Taylor fed the teacher a handful of lies. You leaned over to the manifestation and whispered under your breath. "Thank you for trying to protect me, but you can't hurt people. Just leave it be." The creature snorted and nuzzled your shoulder. In comparison to the hectic lunch hour, the rest of the day passed by with ease. In no time at all, you were back home in your room. You had just plopped onto your bed, when you heard a familiar ringtone. You smiled brightly and quickly grabbed your D.D.D. before immediately answering the phone. "Hello?" "Oh, you answered that quite quickly," you grinned at the surprise in Satan's tone. "I was just calling to-" "IS THAT MC?! GIMME!!!" You laughed as the sounds of Satan yelling and running from Mammon came through the other end. There was a yelp, a bang, and a victorious whoop before you could hear the device get picked up by someone. "'Hey MC! How was your day? I hope you didn't miss the great Mammon too badly. N-Not that I've missed you or anything just wanted to know how you're doin' is all." Belphie's purple calf climbed its way into your lap once more as you gently patted its head.

"I miss you too, Mammon. And today wasn't bad. I'd say it was pretty average overall." You could hear Satan growl in the background before there was a loud thud followed by a scream from Mammon. Satan took the phone back. "Just average you say? Nothing special?" You frowned and narrowed your eyebrows in confusion. "No, why?" To your right, the unicorn neighed softly and plopped down beside your bed. "Well, I could've sworn I felt our pact become triggered at some point today and...Well in all honesty I was concerned. We worry about you getting hurt without us there with you, MC." You couldn't help but smile softly as one by one each of the manifestations of your pacts made their way to your bed and laid down. "I know," you replied affectionately. "Though I'm never completely alone. So long as I have my pacts, you guys will always be with me." ***This was such an interesting concept to toy around with. I hope this wasn't too confusing and actually makes sense 😅😅 Thanks again for the amazing request @gender-less-lemon!***

Taglist @thegrimgrinningghost

@henry-and-the-seven-lords

@satans-beloved-riv

@cosmixbun

@sufzku

[dramioneasks]

HP FESTS: HP Call Me Daddy Fest

HP Call Me Daddy Fest 2022:

one, two, three, four by trix_of_bella - E, one-shot - It turns out Hermione Granger enjoys playing games, and Draco Malfoy is more than willing to play along with her. Especially when she keeps him on his toes with surprises he never saw coming—the fun will never end.

Cherry Wine by Pia_Bartolini - E, one-shot - Power, control, and death. Teetering in a permanent sway for dominance in their lives. Hermione's tenderness was solace they couldn’t afford. Such feelings had no place here. He couldn’t fully relax, not yet. The day’s performance wasn’t through. - - - - Stuck in hell, the only things to cling to are one another and hope for the future. The secret that will save their souls if it doesn’t kill them, first. Danger, devotion, and the softest ever Voldie-wins.

A Hell of Our Own Making by Anastraa - E, 5 chapters - Hermione finds herself planted against the wall with Malfoy kissing a trail of fire down her skin. “We could have that,” he croaks. Hermione shakes her head vehemently. “They love each other. We despise each other.” He pulls back and Hermione flinches at the expression he’s wearing. He looks like someone who has seen something terrible — eyes unfocused and face taking on a sort of stricken expression. “We don’t need to love each other,” he says in a strangled whisper that holds the weight of words unspoken. And then in a sort of desperate plea, “We don’t even need to like each other…we just need to…conceive.”

Bound by thelashjedi - E, WIP - Draco looked at her before answering. “I have displeased the Dark Lord. So he ordered Greyback to bite me last full moon. Tonight, when the moon rises, I will transform into a werewolf for the first time.” His voice trembled and his jaw visibly clenched as he fixed his gaze on her. “Oh, Draco. I’m so sorry.” Hermione blushed as she realised she had blurted out his first name. Malfoy glared at her. “You’re sorry? I’m going to transform and kill you sometime in the next twelve hours, Granger. And I won’t be able to stop. Do not waste your time feeling sorry for me.” He sounded disgusted. Hermione blinked. She sighed as she sat on the floor of the cell with her back against the wall. “Well, we’ve got a few hours until that happens. What shall we do in the interim?” It was Draco’s turn to blink uncomprehendingly. “I just told you that I’m going to transform into a bloody werewolf and kill you. This is your reaction?” Hermione shrugged. “Well, I’ve assumed that I was about to die —horribly, I might add — every moment since I got captured. That’s exhausting, Malfoy. The – I don’t know – certainty about this actually feels nice in comparison.” ** Wartime werewolf fuck or die. Enjoy! **

Till We Were In The Dark by megsivy - E, 7 chapters - “It’s the only way to keep the Alpha at bay. At night, it roars and thrashes deep inside of him. Shrieking, pleading, raving that Draco has made a terrible mistake. It burns through each and every one of his muscles; crowds his mind with thoughts of bloodshed, and tempts his hands into violent twitches.” If there is one thing in his life that he will control, it is this: the Malfoy line will end the moment he takes his final breath. Draco Malfoy will be the single last living heir to his family, no matter how much the Alpha rages against it.

262 Days by RoseDeVents - E, 7 chapters - Draco becomes captivated by Hermione. Hermione becomes Draco’s captive. It takes them 262 days to snap.

Sept Façons de te Faire L'amour by Megan_P_Cook - E, one-shot - Draco Malfoy prided himself on being someone who always got what he wanted. Even since he was a child. From the last chocolate lava cake at family gatherings, to the latest rugby gear during his athletic days, to the brightest and most beautiful woman to attend The University of Oxford. He got what he wanted. Every single time. Since they’d gotten married, Draco has compiled a very particular to-do list. Well, rather, a very particular to-do-his-wife list.

Of Silver Linings by cyggiez - E, one-shot - “If my life were different… If I were different…” His eyes lower to her lips. “I’d empty all of my vaults for a chance at being your Alpha.”

Two Wizards and a Sleeping Witch by Ada_Lovelaced, LumosLyra - E, 2 chapters - Harry shows Draco what fun can be had with one Hermione granger and one dose of dreamless sleep.

Sweeter than Revenge by thatblondebitvh - E, one-shot - "I need your help." A smirk, "I gathered that much. What exactly do you want from me?" "To make my boy—ex-boyfriend jealous." "The youngest Weasel, right?" The hostility in his tone was more than obvious. She knew the two families hated each other, which was another reason why she chose to come to Draco, out of all people. Not the only reason though. It would drive Ronald insane, yes. But she had hoped he would drive her insane, too.

Petulance and Procreation by LilithShade - E, one-shot - "What's going on here?" Harry enquired, his tone jovial as he brushed soot from his Auror robes. "Granger is being a petulant brat." She spun on her heel to face Draco – where he had paused his pursuit at the top of the stairs – and poked out her tongue. The blond wizard's lips pulled up into a smirk, yet his eyes remained fixed on her as if she were prey. It was clear he was not done with her yet. "And that's cause to call me home early?" Harry asked, drawing her attention back to him. "No," Draco announced before lunging forward unexpectedly and wrapping one hand around Hermione's waist. She released a small yelp of surprise as he spun her, pulling her back against his front and holding her firmly in place. His hand shifted, fingers splayed out across her abdomen as he turned his gaze back to Harry. "Our wife is fertile."

Getting the Job Done by TheVulgarBookworm - E, one-shot - Two years post-war, Hermione finds herself married to one Malfoy and denying her attraction to the other. The Ministry's terms have not be fulfilled yet, and time is running out. If she doesn't conceive soon, then her magic will be stripped from her anyway and following through with the marriage would have been pointless. Whatever is she to do?

between two lungs by peachykeenjellybean - E, one-shot - At the end of their Eighth Year, the Ministry announces a Marriage Law where they have one year to increase the magical population. Nine months into their marriage, Hermione and Draco are running out of time.

The Devil She Knows by bellla_writes - E, one-shot - It started with humiliation, and ended in a betrayal. Hermione Granger-Weasley had been unhappy in her marriage to Ron for a very long time, but the final straw was broken the night that her husband chose his best friend over his wife. And so Hermione felt no shame when she took the opportunity to indulge in one of her fantasies–a fantasy she wasn’t willing to lose anytime soon.

All of it for you by Oyehoyejessv - E, one-shot - He did this for her. All for her.

you're not gold to me by succulent_nurturer - E, one-shot - "I think you ought to start running, Golden Girl, you'll not like what I do if I catch you." or a little bit of shameless CNC in the Malfoy maze during a party thrown by Draco and Hermione

A Complete Fool's Guide to Ending the Sacred 28 by Ceilidhchaos - E, one-shot - "Granger is going to a muggle sperm bank." Theo told Draco at lunch in the Ministry Cafe one fateful Thursday morning. "And what is that exactly, Theodore?" Draco asked. After that, everything is pretty much a crazy plan to have Hermione have Draco's babies. Theo is very pleased with how it's working out. His husband thinks Draco and Theo have lost their minds.

The Breeding Pit by Ada_P_Rix, Nadiapolyakova (Rijaya83) - E, 3 chapters - “You opened your eyes.” Was all he said as he stared down at her, keeping his own trained on her face. There was nothing that she could say to that. There was nothing that she could throw out there to make this any better. But oddly, she did not feel embarrassed by the fact that he had caught her. Instead, she wanted to know what his next course of action would be if she decided to be open and honest with him. “I-“ She could feel her tongue tripping over her words. “I wasn’t expecting to feel –“ Oh, how did she answer him without blushing? “-So much of you...like that.” He looked down between them, his gaze focusing on the gap between her clothed thighs where his hips met hers intimately. “Could you take a little more?” He whispered back, eyes transfixed to the spot, like he was expecting something to happen.

Potions, Rings & Baby Things by Ceilidhchaos - E, one-shot - Hermione Granger-Weasley and Draco Malfoy had worked together for over ten years now, co-running the Being Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for the last 5. The enmity of the first couple years gave way to friendly sparky banter and an enjoyment of each other's company that made them excellent colleagues. In the last couple of years, Draco had even begun to think of her as a friend. In the last few months, he had come to realize that he desperately wanted to snog her senseless and make love to her on top of her desk or on the green couch where he often worked. The primary impediment of course being that she was married to the Weasel. Granger had been amazingly helpful when Tori died the year before last. It had been the catalyst that changed everything. Helping feed Scorpius with a little muggle spoon shaped like an airplane was what had set off Hermione's baby fever. She had said so many times. What will DILF Draco do when a child of her own craving Hermione files for divorce?

Anniversaries & Desserts by its_banannaz - E, one-shot - “I meant…when I said that I wanted a creampie for our anniversary, I didn’t mean a cream pie ,” she said, with clear distinction between the two words. “Cream pie, creampie, I don’t think it matters much whether it’s one or two words,” he said with a playful roll of his eyes. ~ When Hermione made a special request for her and Draco's two-year wedding anniversary, well...maybe she should've been clear that she wasn't asking for baked goods.

Legilimency and Promises by Dramione818 - E, one-shot - Hermione tried to make Draco jealous but ends up entering into a game she knew she couldn’t win.

This fest is ongoing.

[mwolf0epsilon]

The itsy bitsy spider was not a spider at all

Summary: Cody isn't familiar with Tatooine's local fauna, but he soon discovers that the critter crawling around on his arm is relatively harmless. And very chatty.

[The missing scene in The Big Friendly Clone in between Luke managing to overcome the obstacle keeping him from his goal, and Obi-wan returning to his hut after a successful search for appropriately sized shelter.]

[THIS STORY IS NOW ON AO3]

---

There's something crawling on his arm.

Cody is laying outside right next to Obi-wan's little sandstone hut. He is once again stuck at an outrageous height, due to having suffered a particularly difficult night, where his constant nightmares that have plague him since his escape, have left him unable to manage his (not quite so) little problem.

He had been asleep for at least an hour. Napping the morning away since his humble host had left in pursuit of somewhere that could house his now oftentimes gigantic frame. Soaking up the forenoon rays like some kind of oversized tooka, now that he could peacefully catch up on some much deserved rest without Silas nipping at his ears in an attempt to get him to leave.

And then his eyes snapped open at the feeling of something crawling on his arm, like an inquisitive ant or (heavens above please don't be it) a particularly bold spider.

Now Cody knows one thing (he knows many actually but none apply here), and it is that he's currently the size of a building. Relative to his current stature the unknown critter is pretty small. But, were he his regular height, logic dictates that this thing would be karking massive in comparison. Or at the very least reach his midrift.

Seeing as Cody doesn't know enough about Tatooine's local fauna to determine if whatever it is, is venomous or not, the obvious conclusion is that startling it with any sudden movements is very much out of the question.

It's not that he's afraid. No man that stands at a whopping 50 feet of height (and weighted in at Force only knew how many tons) shouldn't be scared of a massiff sized critter that probably couldn't even pierce his thick skin.

It's just that the mere idea of a spider (not that he knows if it actually is a spider) being anywhere on his person, makes him want to shudder violently with disgust. So if he holds his breath and very slowly lifts his other arm to uncover his face, he should actually be commended on his exemplary display of self-control.

Good thing too, because the thing on his arm is not a bug to be swatted at, but a child that's currently trying to break into Obi-wan's hut. Which in of itself is a very odd occurrence anyway...

Head tilted slightly forward so that he can observe the kid (pretty small boy, likely no older than 9 standard years old, unusually pale for someone living out in a desert planet, striking mop of blond hair, rather modest but well kept clothing), Cody can't help but to slightly quirk an eyebrow until it's arched upwards in quite noticeable fashion.

He's always had a good sabbacc face (or so Bly had told him many times during their cadet years), but sometimes the absurdity that life threw his way got him emoting more openly than one of Wolffe's silly holodramas. This was one of those times and he was sure the confusion was written all over his face as plain as the sandy planes of Tatooine itself.

Not that the little varmint had noticed. If anything Cody was impressed that such a small boy could be so bold as to approach a giant, without keeping a close eye on any possible indication that his presence might have been noticed. The kid was either very brave or had a bit of a death wish...

Whatever the case, Cody wasn't about to stand by and watch someone committing a felony. No matter how adorable the assailant. He is ready for the shrill shriek of terror when he reaches over and the boy finally realizes his mistake.

"EASY KID..." The clone commander tries not to wince when the frightened child only screams louder, squirming in his grasp while desperately trying to curl in on himself.

Cody can honestly understand the reaction, especially coming from such a small fry. Obi-wan had told him time and time again that his voice wasn't... Particularly nice to listen to when he was stuck in this gigantic size. Unnaturally deep, reverberating and capable of causing damage. More like the thunderous roar of a starship than a source of comfort.

He could try to speak as softly as possible and it still caused others a lot of discomfort. There was really nothing to be done about it, other than try to control his volume to the best of his abilities, and hope that it was enough.

"I'M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU..." Starting out with something reassuring might hopefully help diffuse the situation. He'd been around cadets before. He was somewhat confident that this tactic would work just as well on a natborn youngling as it did on the bright-eyed kih'vode.

"I don't wanna die!!!" Or not. The kid was giving it his all, wriggling around in Cody's hand like a caterpillar desperate to escape the deathly grasp of a bird that had caught it for breakfast.

Wrinkling his nose, the abnormally large clone hummed in thought. Of course that was what was on the little intruder's mind...

"WHERE DO PEOPLE KEEP GETTING THE IDEA THAT I'M OUT HERE HURTING OTHERS FOR THE HELL OF IT?" Rolling his eyes, Cody couldn't help but feel a little exasperated at the erroneous postulation. "SORRY KID, BUT I'D RATHER NOT BECOME SOME WANNABE LOW BUDGET SCI-FI HOLOFILM GRADE TYPE CHARACTER... OR ANY OTHER FORM OF KAIJU RELATED STEREOTYPE, ACTUALLY. I'VE GOT ENOUGH ON MY PLATE AS IT IS..."

Whether or not this child had actually ever seen any holofilms of the sort, Cody doesn't really know or care to find out. He's mostly banking on the boy noticing he's not, in fact, meeting his end anytime soon. He's also hopeful that if he keeps talking it'll become blatantly apparent that he isn't some kind of mindless monster eager to rampage to its heart's delight.

Not that he didn't at times envy the actual mindless creatures that roamed the Dune Sea. He doubted they had to put up with any of the kark he had to deal with.

Fortunately, lady luck seemed to be on his side today.

The boy's squirming lessens ever so slightly as he peers up at the giant with (still obviously fearful) curious eyes. It might be a little hard to properly discern the youngling's features, being so big that one of his own dark eye alone was larger than the boy's face, but the brightness of the blue of the kid's eyes is strikingly familiar somehow.

How they are familiar, he's not 100% sure (and it bothers him a little actually), but Cody doesn't dare near the skittish lad to his face in case the boy mistakes his inquisitiveness for something less savory.

"ARE YOU FINISHED TRYING TO SNAKE OUT OF MY HAND?" As acquainted as he was with being around cadets, Cody realizes he's still quite lacking in the proper etiquette of dealing with natborn children. He doubts the flat tone is the least bit flattering.

For what it's worth, the kid reacts not with fear but with some daring defiance. The narrowing of his teeny tiny eyes is the only warning the once proud clone commander gets, before the little ankle biter turns into a finger biter.

It doesn't hurt but the sudden pinch surprises him. It startles a chuckle out of him even.

"WELL AREN'T YOU SOMETHING?" The kid squints and turns his face away, the gust of hot morning breath sent his way likely unpleasant to his senses. "IT'S NOT EVERY DAY THAT A LITTLE WOMP RAT LIKE YOU, TRIES TO CLIMB OVER A SLEEPING GIANT TO ROB SOMEONE'S HOUSE..."

"I'm not a womp rat!" The kid barks back, clearly offended. "And I wasn't robbing Old Ben's house!"

"REALLY?" So this kid knew Obi-wan. That explained some things. Not a lot, but some things nonetheless. "THEN WHAT WERE YOU DOING TRYING TO GET INTO HIS HUT THROUGH A WINDOW?"

"Your big fat smelly butt was in the way, that's what!" The boy bared his teeth as he spat out the insult. He seemed just as caught aback by his own sharp tongue as Cody was to being insulted by a little kid.

Tatooine sure knew how to churn out the meanest sons of bitches, and this boy was no different. He went in straight for the kill on instinct alone. He might even be a little impressed actually.

".... OUCH." He tried not to think about the heat he could feel coloring his face and ears. It had to be the twin suns making him feel warm and not the embarrassment.

".... U-uh.... Sorry...?" At least the kid offered him a sheepish apology for his transgression. "What I meant was, you were kind of... Blocking the door and... Uuuuh... Uh.... Did you e-eat Old Ben and his eopie...?"

"DID I--" Cody made a disgusted face. "HELL NO, I DID NOT EAT KENOBI AND HIS VINDICTIVE DEMON CAMEL. HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHERE THEY'VE BEEN? I'D GET SICKER THAN A HUTT LOOKS!"

"You already smell like one..." The kid remarked dryly.

"YOU TRY SHOWERING WHEN YOU'RE AS BIG AS ME." The large clone grumbled, shifting positions so that instead of sitting in the lotus position he was relaxing with his knees up so that he could rest the arm currently holding the little blighter in his grasp. "TATOOINE ISN'T EXACTLY RICH IN EITHER WATER OR PUBLIC SONICS."

"Hey no I get it, not everyone gets to clean up every day..." The kid was definitely sassing him. From frightened fathier in the headlights to snippy kowakian monkey lizard. "Aunt Beru says I shouldn't judge."

"REMIND ME AGAIN WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE, BESIDES INSULTING MY PRESENCE AND BREAKING AND ENTERING?" This time he didn't shy away from leaning forward so he could get a better look at the kid. Now that he wasn't screaming his little head off at the sight of him that is...

"Well, why should I tell you?! For all I know you're lying and you did eat Old Ben and Silas!" The boy threw his arms up as he called out his absurd little theory "Like you did all those imperial jerkfaces at the outpost!"

"...." cody's frown deepened. "YOU THINK I ATE THOSE PEOPLE?"

"Well duh... That's what everyone in town was saying! That some big gray monster wrecked the outpost out in Tusken, and that it then ate up anyone that tried to run away!"

"I DON'T..." The exasperated giant pinched between his furrowed brows with his free hand. He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. "THAT ISN'T TRUE IN THE SLIGHTEST KID... I DON'T EAT PEOPLE. AND I DEFINITELY DIDN'T EAT THE NUTJOBS AT THE OUTPOST..."

"Then how come no one got out alive?" The boy crossed his arms, looking at him as if ready to catch Cody in a lie.

"THAT'S BECAUSE MY BIG FAT BUTT, AS YOU PUT IT OH SO COLORFULLY, KIND OF... WELL... CRUSHED THEM..." Maybe that wasn't information he should give to this kid as a means to appease his curiosity and fear, but that was (in his opinion) better than the alternative. He wouldn't let the barbaric accusation slide any longer.

The youngling's wide eyes and sudden pallor made him second-guess the decision.

"IN MY DEFENSE, THAT WASN'T EVER MY INTENTION... EVEN IF THEY DESERVED IT." Cody quickly tried to rectify his mistake. "I WASN'T ALWAYS THIS BIG, AND THOSE PEOPLE WERE PLAYING WITH SOME... PRETTY DANGEROUS IDEAS. LONG STORY SHORT, THEY DIDN'T CONSIDER THE FACT TRYING TO MAKE A GIANT WOULD ACTUALLY RESULT IN A GIANT OUTGROWING THEIR LAB... AND ENTIRE FACILITY."

He wasn't sure why he was being this openly honest. Maybe it was the odd sense of familiarity, or maybe he just really didn't like to entertain the notion of being considered some kind of monster. Whatever the case he just wanted this kid to tell him why he was here, and being truthful felt like the better path to take.

It helped that the kid apparently knew Obi-wan, so maybe this could all be resolved peacefully.

"......I was right!!!" All of a sudden the boy's demeanor took a 180º turn that left Cody staring at him like he'd suddenly grown a second head.

"WHAT...?"

"I knew those creeps were trying to make a monster!" The kid's wide grin and twinkling eyes were almost as unbelievable as this entire situation. "Everyone else thought they just made something from scratch, but I knew none of those eggheads could have been that smart if karma came to beat them over the head with a stick!"

".... YOU'VE LOST ME KID..." the clone decided he might as well uncurl his fingers and let the boy sit on his palm. He didn't think the little blighter would try to jump off.

"You just won me a bet against Biggs." the kid did, in fact, sit on his open palm much to Cody's relief. "Everyone's going to be so jealous when I finish my errand and come back alive and right as rain!"

"THAT'S NOT HOW THAT PHRASE IS MEANT TO BE USED..." This was the issue now. "ALSO HATE TO BREAK IT TO YOU, BUT YOU CAN'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT ME."

Both he and Obi-wan had done their best to keep Cody's presence and situation a secret from the rest of Tatooine's inhabitants. They couldn't go back and force anyone to forget the brief sighting of his fleeing form or the chaos and destruction he left behind, but they could very well pretend that the unknown grey beast that had been briefly seen, had perished under the hostile conditions of the rather unwelcoming planet.

If this apparently easily exited youngling went back to town proclaiming he'd met the beast, Cody didn't doubt an angry mob would come to try to dispatch him. No amount of Force Osik courtesy of Kenobi could possibly dispel a terrified group of somewhat organized assailants. Nor would Cody want his friend to go to such lengths for his sake. He'd already been a big enough burden as it was.

The boy frowned as he looked up at him.

"Why not?"

"IT WOULDN'T END WELL." He responded without hesitation. "HOW DID YOU REACT WHEN YOU FIRST SAW ME, OR WHEN I WOKE UP?"

"Uh..."

"NOW IMAGINE THAT, BUT AN ENTIRE TOWN OF PEOPLE ARMED WITH BLASTERS."

"Well... When you put it like that..." He was catching on quickly. Good, the kid was sharper than he seemed. "But... But you didn't eat or try to hurt me. Just called me a womp rat and a thief. I'm not either of those things, but also I'm not dead and I'm ok, so I could tell people you're nice?"

"SORRY KID, BUT THE WORLD DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT..." He shook his head slowly, so as to not jostle the boy. "OTHERWISE OB-- BEN WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO HELP ME HIDE...."

"Oh! I nearly forgot!" The kid startled. "I came all the way to return something of Old Ben's... And if you're his friend and didn't hurt him, then maybe you could give it back for me?"

The little sassy blond pulled the little satchel he was wearing (that Cody hadn't actually noticed before) and pulled something out of it. It was a wrapped parcel that he could barely see, but the shape of it...

Cody squinted, pulling his hand closer to his face so that he could figure out if his mind wasn't playing some kind of a trick on him. It turned out it wasn't.

"YOU'RE JOKING... THAT'S WHY YOU WERE USING MY ARM TO GET IN THROUGH THE WINDOW...?"

"Uh-uh! Aunt Beru said he forgot this thing at our home when Old Ben came around for tea yesterday." The boy explained, not at all aware of what he was actually holding. "He doesn't stick around for long because uncle Owen doesn't like him too much, so I guess he forgot it when he ran off..."

"TYPICAL KENOBI... IF HE DIDN'T HAVE HIS HEAD SCREWED ON TIGHT HE'D LOSE IT..."

"That's what aunt Beru said!"

"YOUR AUNT IS A SMART LADY." Cody chuckled. "TELL YOU WHAT, WHY DON'T WE BOTH WAIT FOR HIM AND THEN YOU CAN GIVE THAT SILLY OLD THING BACK TO THE RIGHTFUL SILLY OWNER."

"Hmm.... Ok! My name's Luke by the way!" The boy introduced himself as he hopped back onto his feet and began to carefully traverse the expanses of Cody's palm, towards his wrist and then following the length of his arm. The giant made sure to use his free hand as a makeshift safety net in case the kid lost his balance and fell.

"A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU LUKE... MY NAME IS CODY."

Once Obi-wan got back from his excursion, he'd be giving him an earful about losing his damn saber again. Until then he might as well entertain Luke until he finally got to finish his errand.

Not a particularly difficult task, considering the boy was a ball of energy and not at all afraid to run around all over his arm like the itsy bitsy spider Cody had initially mistaken him for.