#even if the process is so slow and i dont know when ill advance again

[end-orfino]

ahhhhhh i remember why i dont read comics & books and watch movies as much as I should. Because they make me lose it

[the-s1lly-corner]

Can we get silly fluff scenarios where the bishops partner or friend (whatever would spark more creativity for you) is a baker and test out new things they make with the bishops if it's successful or not

Bishops x baker!reader

bro i just had a burger and it was so good got me peeling my skin off frfr notes: reader is gn, can be read as romantic or platonic, reader is any creature, bishops are still bishops here cws: none

LESHY

putting size aside, hes going to eat anything you hang to him in one bite, just shoving the entire thing in his mouth.... though does it count as shoving if hes so large its all just.. naturally one bite?

does not take the time to take in the texture and flavors because of it so you may need to remind him to slow down

thanks to him having an advanced sense of smell he can pick up on a lot of the flavors more than others... beelines for you the second he gets a whiff of any of your ingredients

though not much of a sweets person himself, hes willing to try anything you bake! though be warned he may suggest you make foul combination to give to a poor unsuspecting follower

HEKET

i like to think that despite being the god of famine, shes bit of a foody.. kind of misses eating from before she ascended to godhood, you bring back those memories

sometimes brings you stuff she believes may help your hobby as well as introducing new flavors- whether its something she finds in anura or gets through trading with others

does not take her time with eating your baking though, much like her younger brother... though shes no where near as intense about it as leshy

focuses a lot on texture and let you know what works together and what doesnt

will get very possessive over any baked treat you make for her, assuming theres anyone who wants to attempt stealing from her

KALLAMAR

loves that hes your taste tester, youve come to him first for advice and opinions- it makes him feel important, even more so if baking is your job rather than a hobby

gets you the highest quality ingredients as well as stuff from all over- similar to heket, though hes more likely to get you things he deems "fancy", something pricey and rich in flavor

lets you know his honest opinion, at least most of the time.. you can tell when he thinks something doesnt exactly work... he just doesnt want to hurt your feelings is all- even if sometimes he just lets his words spill anyway

makes requests and will sometimes ask you to cater for cult wide events if he really feels like winning over his followers (to keep them in line, usually.. if the threat of illness doesnt work all that well)

SHAMURA

doesnt eat, like the other gods, and they dont miss eating all that much- that being said they do partake in your baking because its something youre interested in

headcanon that they keep a lot of books on hand, kind of just getting a little bit of everything- if they have a book with older recipes and any historical stuff theyre going to be sending it your way!

very honest but unlike kallamar they have the mind and skill to say something gentler if something isnt... the best.. will keep encouraging you to try again until you find something that works

very polite when eating what you make for them, they take their time... even if it means taking incredibly small bites to actually process and taste things

will always finish what you make regardless of if they like it or not

[mfingenius]

Hi there! I dont know if you are still taking request but if you still are, can you write spy Draco gets hurt badly during his mission and that suprises everyone in hogwarts because they dont know he is a spy? Thank you in advance, and I love you and your blog ❤️

Draco Malfoy doesn’t speak; it has been three days since he woke up in the infirmary, and nothing that has been done has been able to get a reaction out of him. 

When Malfoy hadn’t shown up to the first day of their sixth year, Harry had known it was something to do with Voldemort, but he’d assumed Malfoy had joined him and was now in a mission for the Dark Lord.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Malfoy had somehow appeared straight in Harry’s dorm room one afternoon - scaring the shit out of Ron and Hermione, the only people there - and said only one word - Horocruxes - before he’d passed out.

He’d been bloodied, and dirty, and bruised, and he’d looked like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Harry understood nothing except for the fact that Malfoy needed help, and so he’d sent Ron running to get Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall. Hermione had shoved Harry out of the way and began muttering healing spells in earnest, her face pale and her hands bloody.

Harry could only stare.

Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall had both worked in tandem, with a synchrony that only comes from years of working together. After they were sure Malfoy wasn’t going to die, they’d taken him to the infirmary, and Ron and Harry had turned all of their questions on Hermione, who’d been trembling since Ron had pulled her away from Malfoy, after Pomfrey and McGonagall arrived.

“He - He was spying for the order.” Hermione had whispered with shaking hands. “I was - not a lot of people knew, I - I don’t know how they - how they-”

She’d stopped talking then, and neither Ron nor Harry had pressed her for more.

Two days later, Malfoy had woken up. There had been questions, of course. A lot of them. Malfoy didn’t answer a single one, and though they tried again, it’s been three days of no answers.

“There’s nothing wrong with his vocal chords.” Pomfrey says, when Hermione has stopped by to check on him for the fifteenth time in five days; she’s been sleeping in the infirmary more often than in the Gryffindor Dorms lately. Ron and Harry are hovering uncomfortably by the door; though he believes everything Hermione had said - including that Malfoy changed - he doesn’t think he’s ever been close enough to Malfoy to be welcome in the room at the moment. “It’s trauma. Shock, too. We can’t rush the process.”

He’d arrived through a portkey Professor McGonagall had made for him, charmed to lead him straight to wherever Hermione was. The first few nights Harry tried to fool himself into thinking that Malfoy got away before hte worst happened; that as soon as he’d been found out he had managed to get out. He knows he’s wrong.

The scars are both old and new, some as old as four months, which means the beginning of July, or the last of June. Right when they went home for summer. He doesn’t want to think of anything that might’ve happened to Malfoy, becuase he doesn’t think he could stop thinking of what he could’ve done to stop it, and it is a line of thought he cannot indulge in right now. Instead, he focuses on helping Malfoy, as much as he can, which mostly comes through in helping Hermione.

He and Ron bring her food, and books from the library, and even things like a toothbrush or a change of clothes in the weekends, when she refuses to leave Malfoy’s side. She feels guilty, Harry knows; being one of the only two people who knew of Malfoy being a spy, she thinks it’s her fault, it must’ve done something she did.

And honestly, Harry doesn’t know if it was; maybe it was an ill-timed letter, or a floo call one of them made carelessly. He does know that Hermione wallowing in guilt and not taking care of herself does nothing to help Malfoy, and that even if it was something she did, she couldn’t have known.

“Please, Hermione.” He begs. “Please, just - it’s dinner. Go to the Great Hall. Eat there. Talk to people. Malfoy will still be here when you’re done.”

Hermione rubs at her eyes - darkened by lack of sleep - and shakes her head to wake herself up.

“I’m fine,” She says. She looks back towards Malfoy - sitting on the infirmary bed, hands on his lap, eerily quiet and still - and shakes her head. “I don’t want to - I don’t want to leave him alone. What if I - what if I leave, and something happens, and I’m not here? I - I knew what he wanted to do, I promised he’d be safer this way, and he’s - he’s-”

Her voice breaks, and her eyes begin filling with tears, and Ron and Harry look at each other helplessly.

“‘Mione, this is not your fault.” Ron says firmly. “You said Malfoy changed. If he did, he would’ve done this anyway, whether or not you promised safety. You’re wasting away, and that is not helping him. Do you want to end up in one of the infirmary beds with him? Do you think you’ll be any help to him, then?”

Hermione’s lower lip trembles, and she wipes at her eyes, shaking her head.

Harry is surprised by just how much Ron is like his mother.

“Good.” He continues. “So you’re going to come with us to the Great Hall, you’re going to eat something, and you’re going to sleep in a bed for once. You can be right back here tomorrow morning.”

Hermione still looks hesitant, and so Harry speaks.

“I’ll stay with him.” He says. Hermione looks at him, and he nods. “You didn’t want to leave him alone, so don’t. I’ll wait with him, until you’re back.”

“You’ll stay the night?” Hermione asks dubiously.

“Yes,” Harry says. “It’s alright. We can take turns.”

“Alright,” Hermione sniffles quietly. She stands and hovers for a little while on Malfoy’s bedside. “I’m going to the Great Hall, Draco. I can - I could bring food back for you, if you would like.”

There’s no reaction. Hermione sighs slightly, and then presses her knuckles softly to Malfoy’s. 

“I won’t be long,” She promises. “Harry will stay with you.”

Harry nods helpfully, and Ron and Hermione walk out of the infirmary. 

Harry stands awkwardly for a while, before sitting down on the chair Hermione had been using. Harry has never liked silence, but this one in particular is driving him insane.

“So, uh, how are you?” He asks. Malfoy doesn’t respond. “Not good, I imagine. I’m sorry I didn’t - I’m sorry I didn’t do anything. I know, I know, I didn’t know, how could I have - but I - I’m also sorry for that. Not knowing. I was - I thought you were a prick. You were a prick, but even when you weren’t I - I think I was already used to seeing you that way, so I never bothered to look at you any other way, and I didn’t notice - I - I’m sorry.”

There’s still no response, and Harry sighs and leans back. He leans forward again, and then shifts his weight. Leans back again. Forward. Back. He taps his foot. He’s moving so much he’s half expecting Malfoy to snap out of his trance and snap at him for being annoying.

He doesn’t.

Staying by Malfoy’s bedside is hell. Mostly because Harry can only sit there and wallow in his own guilt, his insecurities and uncertainties, and the only thing there is to do is watch Malfoy, which gives Harry a painfully clear view of everything that’s happened to him.

There are bruises on his face, and his arms, and a long cut across his nose. There are scars under the hospital gown, Harry knows even if he hasn’t seen them. His grey eyes - pale grey, much clearer than Harry had noticed - are still on the white wall, and he’s barely blinking.

It’s… creepy.

Still, he comes back the three nights later. And then another three. And another three. Him, Hermione, and even Ron take turns every night to stay by Malfoy’s bedside. Harry has taken to reading Muggle books out loud for Malfoy to hear. He gets through all of Disney’s fairytales, and then reads Mulan again because he thinks it’s Malfoy’s favorite, even if he has no way to know.

He’s reading The Little Mermaid when it happens.

“She’s dumb.” Malfoy whispers shakily.

It’s nearly three in the morning - Malfoy barely sleeps - and Harry has to blink various times to make sure he didn’t imagine it.

“What?” He asks.

“Ariel.” Malfoy says. His voice sounds odd; unfocused, distant, terrified. “She’s dumb. She gave away her voice for legs for someone who she didn’t even know because she thought she was in love with him.”

Harry’s jaw is slack. 

Malfoy doesn’t say anything for the rest of the night, no matter how many times Harry tries to question him.

Over the next few weeks, it happens again. They’re always tiny comments, and they’re only with Harry. Some of them are nonsensical, but most of them are pretty structured, if a little vague. Harry can mostly carry out a conversation with him, as long as no one else is around and Draco - because it’s Draco now - feels sufficiently comfortable.

The first time Harry tries to get him to speak in front of other people, Draco curls up in a ball and doesn’t speak for three days, not even to Harry, alone. The next time, it’s only one day, and the time after that, his fingers keep twitching nervously but he tries to get a few words out.

He doesn’t succeed, but Harry’s proud of him anyway.

The next few times, Harry holds his hand through it. He’s taken to doing that, holding Draco’s hand, whenever he gets nervous. Harry doesn’t know if Draco was always this anxious or if it is a new thing, but he is always anxious. Now that Harry can read him, he notices it all the time, in the set of his shoulders, the twitching of his fingers, the way he swallows.

Which means there’s a lot of hand-holding, which, surprisingly, Harry is entirely okay with. The first time Draco speaks with another person around - Hermione - it’s the words ‘It’s not your fault’ and Hermione and him both cry. Harry tries to let go of his hand to give them a moment of privacy, but Draco squeezes tighter and looks at him like he’s begging Harry not to leave.

It is a long, slow way. Draco develops a stutter for a while, and he doesn’t ever discuss what happened at the Manor, and Harry doesn’t press. They sleep in the same bed every night, and, with Draco in his arms, Harry’s arms wrapped around him, he realizes that, with his friends and his boyfriend on his side, they’ll win the war.

They have to. Because Harry isn’t going to allow anything else to harm Draco, or Ron, or Hermione, ever again. They don’t deserve it.

And he will do anything to ensure their safety.

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

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FFXV/ZESTIRIA AU, PART 2 OF PART ONE: THE LORE

its 4 am and i started doing this yesterday at 2 am and im tired and im sorry if some parts dont make sense i will fix them when i wake up later I PROMISE

continuation of this, and in part 2 is the stuff i forgot to mention in the first post: niflheim, armatization, royal arms, ring of the lucii, and a few notes about the seraphim in eos. id talk about the lord of calamity here, but 1) i cant write anymore, and 2) its pretty obvious that the lord of calamity is ardyn. do i even have to talk about him? this is a legit question. id like some answers so i’d know if i can finally move on to My Boys(tm)

if i forget something again, i swear to god ill just eat my foot

@chocobaes LOL I GUESS HAVE SOME MORE OF THIS

THE EMPIRE OF NIFLHEIM AND HELLIONS (AND MALEVOLENCE AGAIN)

- a country which seeks world domination, the empire of niflheim is a technologically advanced nation, using it as a means to conquer the world. not very long ago, though, theyve found a way to mix technology with hellions, creating monsters of their own. with magitek troopers, they seek to finally take over lucis once and for all

its like telling people something they already know (if i have to be honest, im amazed at how much of ffxv’s lore perfectly fits with zesty’s lore. theyre meant to be.)

hellions are the monsters born from malevolence. there are different kinds of hellions depending on what they originally were before malevolence tainted them. common and weak hellions are merely animals and inanimate objects. humans and seraphim hellions are definitely stronger and trickier to defeat, because usually, these types of hellions can think and sometimes are actually conscious of their surroundings.

seraphim hellions, though, are very dangerous. comparable to a caterpillar’s transition to a butterfly (although unfitting lol), a seraph turned hellion has stages of metamorphosis. stage one is being another common hellion. when left unpurified, they evolve to a dragon or lizard-like form. stage three is when it evolves to a drake, a miniature dragon. at this point, the hellion is now insanely powerful that while it still can be purified, it poses a considerable challenge to do so. once it gathers enough power, the drake makes its nest to become a full fledged dragon. once a seraph becomes a dragon, it cannot be purified, and the only way to truly defeat it is to kill it, which is practically impossible with its overwhelming power and malevolent domain.

however, a seraph’s transformation to a dragon isn’t only just in 4 slow stages. drown a seraph in so much malevolence, they can turn to a dragon on the spot. a seraph travelling alone and without a vessel is practically suicide.

seraphim hellions, specifically dragons, are very powerful but uncontrollable, so niflheim can only keep a few dragons in their arsenal. they mass produce human hellions to be processed as magitek troopers instead

(guess who’s still suffering from the same past that makes him so insecure about himself and his place in lucis and makes him really susceptible to malevolence and unfit as a squire to serve noctis but he really, really wants to prove his place and usefulness and right to be beside his prince and

crucibles are places so thick in malevolence. once used by the ancient civilisation of solheim, they’re a means to convert victims to hellions. crucibles work best with seraphim, but they can also be used with humans. crucibles are the best places to mass produce hellions, and it just so happens that most of these crucibles are scattered all throughout niflheim.

ARMATIZATION

- a shepherd’s true mark as king of lucis. wielding the astrals’ power as theirs, the shepherd themselves can reshape eos. those clouded by their lack of faith may view the power the shepherd holds as that of a monster, but the shepherd must remain steadfast in their duty and must not be swayed; their role as protector of eos goes beyond that of mortal understanding

in addition to being able to wield seraphic artes of a certain element, upon completing the astrals’ trials, the shepherd is also blessed with the ability to wield the astrals’ overwhelming power, literally reshaping the land with their mighty powers

unlike in zestiria, only the shepherd is capable of doing this, and this is practically the equivalent of summons in this au

although, instead of a purple glow in their eyes during a summon, for the whole duration the shepherd is using armatization, they take on a more ethereal form, their hair longer and a pale shade of blond, wearing clothes of white and gold. god-like, the faithful say. a monster, the nonbelievers say.

the first time noct uses it, raining down lightning on the entire imperial base they infiltrated, prompto cant look away and gladio practically has to wrench him away from the battlefield just so he wouldnt get fried while oggling his best friend

though there’s no limit to how many times the shepherd could use armatization, it takes a lot from them, so it’s not used as often

THE DIVINE ARTEFACTS, THE ROYAL ARMS OF LUCIS

- once wielded by past kings and queens of lucis and now hidden across the world, they are weapons of power that only the shepherd can wield. blessed with purifying powers, they are the proof of covenant between a shepherd and their seraphim.

the royal arms have two functions: serving as the physical contract that binds the prime lord and sub lords to their shepherd, and serving as weapons for the king of lucis to wield

unlike in the game, the royal arms dont drain the shepherd’s life force, and they are the shepherd’s main weapons

what’s unknown by most though is that anyone is actually capable of wielding the royal arms and the armiger---so long as theyre shepherds blessed by bahamut or his proxy (luna).

having been contracted to luna instead, noct’s first weapon in his armiger is the trident of the oracle. had he contracted with shiva, as it was really meant, it would’ve been the sword of the father.

THE RING OF THE LUCII

- a ring bestowed by the gods to kings of lucis, and since then, it has been passed down from king to king. though what it is for is unknown, the kings of lucis have guarded this ring for generations, waiting for the day the ring’s purpose is finally put to light

no one knows why bahamut gave this to them, but it’s important, like end game important

no spoilers :^)

SERAPHIM

- a race of divine beings meant to be protectors of eos, they have the ability to bend the elements to their will. they are spiritual beings unseen to those without resonance, and so, in old times, they are mostly regarded as mere legends. when lucis is founded by the first shepherd, the seraphim are beckoned to live with the humans, and so, from legends, they’ve become one with humans, living with them in harmony.

seraphim, by default, dont have physical bodies. humans with little to no resonance can pass through them, but someone who can perceive them with no problem can easily touch them as if they have a physical body

every seraph specialises in one element only, and instead of hair colour, one can tell the element a seraph wields by a unique colour that encircles their irises. for example: luna, a fire a seraph, has brilliant blue eyes ringed with a fiery red colour; shiva, an ice seraph, has golden eyes ringed with an electric blue colour (her default form in this au is her form as gentiana); so on and so forth

[oswednesday]

sablestine replied to your post “just drafts up an entire nadia route re-write hhjhghg”

i would love to hear

okay omg 

the upright would be all about keeping nadia grounded but connected to her feelings/intuition, where the reverse would be handling stuff isolated and unconnected to reality, with a balance of encouraging her to persue her own interests as well as maintaining your id

so it would be waay slower for one, but she’d start out like that iron tyrant you heard gossip about (like she had no power over anything but the palace was run so she takes that out on everyone around her and retires to her room frequently so for the first few chapters your interactions are seldom between like that actual investigation) you join her that first night and she lowkey threatens asra and you with jailing like vague i think magic should more regulated, maybe even outlawed, ect, should you not compile to the investigation, you work along side one of the courtiers depending on your actions at the salon (like,,,its literally valdemars job title but theyre like peace sign fades out about it) its easiest to get valerius

your early options with nadia is like when do i get paid/i dont need your money (and she’s all like i can do more than pay you and starts showering you with things and attention), i want to wear my own clothes thanks (or you can wear them), i dont need a title (she offers you like grand investigator or w/e and you can take it or not), your time will be split between nadia and the investigation like she’ll be like come bathe with me, come walk with me, come enjoy private time with me that’ll make you miss out on clues or getting to talk to witnesses or even bumping, (taking nadia’s invite also alerts valerius’ suspicions and will accuse her in julian’s stead) (see also: valerius feeling like nadia is even a threat to his power felt soo out of place and also like if she’s starting out Ungrown he wouldnt need to be like oh shes in our way)

the like romance rising action is where you dream of her coming to your shop, but you Feel different, wiser, stronger, more whole then the night asra left as she knocks on your door and you wake up , realizing its happening irl, she’s all like i had a nightmare and came to you : c idk why you dont even like me (i think there’d be a reverse version of that where she wakes you up to Test your loyalty to her, i think in a re-write it would be cool if it was like each card had the potiental to be upright or reverse!) and youre like,,,,i dont know you, youre just the countess,,,and then she starts sharing Emotions with you (in the test one you can go with it or protest when something goes too far, and thats probably like giving her everything asra has given you including the cards)

as she opens up to her you can either encourage her in an unproductive way like Wow! I Cant Believe They Did That! Comfort Her and like upright ones are like Wow! That’s Messed Up Have You Ever Spoken To Them About It? Why Do You Think They Did That? like i think its important to agree with someone emotionally? even if its irrational? but then like work through that, like what would you do about this if you could? what can you do right now? and nadia could be all like but thats how lucio was like Reaction to her Inaction, then the upright/reverse balance would be balancing that like nadia i cant tell you what to do, more than being like Punish Portia!

then depending on what you did early on and how much time you spent with valerius nadia gets arrested in julian’s stead, you learn about the hanged man thing and need to do a magic switcharoo (reverse ending paths)

upright is like nadia proceeds over the court and promises to put an end to unjust laws, sentencing julian to like live his life out under house arrest but julian requests himself to be hung and she respects his wishes as the countess of the city

then the reverse path has you and her doing astral realm things, basically everything that happens in the nadia upright canon one Except when people see her theyre like enraged by it! wasnt she hung! oh so shes royalty she can get out of that lmao! were we fooled ect, (your options are basically to avoid all of this but i think there’d be chances to talk everyone down and get back to upright outcomes maybe?) your confrontation with lucio happens in the collosium where vlastomil sentences him to death for being overdue on his debts and nadia can be all Wow About Time and vlastomil is like Hmm you Are in charge now arnt you? perhaps we can work out a deal, you can i and nadia is all like, ill Think about it, you and nadia get married in the heriophants realm after killing valerius so no like redemption there (also leaving vevsuiva with no clear and easy order of rule after the consol ((like its probably valdemar which LMAO) then you two bind the devil and ponder over all the work to do and its like, lets stay here awhile i dont want to face anyone, and you two like wonder the realms where your feelings take you with a cg of nadia’s like outstretched becoming owl-y hand in the light of a pink moon

 the end

and the upright path is like you and nadia spend no time together in the magical realm,instead its like listening to others as well as being punctual to meetings (like, i think we should meet with the court right away instead of playing mind games) and delegating, like between portia, her sisters, asra, you and eventually julian

you, asra and julian, while portia helps nadia with lucio and muriel stands guard other the others bodies, in the real world nadia confronts her family, they talk it out and hear each other and her sisters offer their help to nadia and accept being told what to do by her, with their help they calm down the courtiers and seek common ground (like doctor sister and nahara tell valdemar about diseases outside of vesusia they’ve been in their travels and they like are more interested in that then The Plan and joins them to talk about it, nasmira sister chills out with valdemar, navaha manages to tire vulgora out with like dance fighting, natiqa hangs out with volta whose on your side at this point but is like freaking out, your parents and oldest sister agree to find valerius)after all that nadia passes tf out and joins you all, you help volta in the temperance releam and then lucio confrontation happens in the colleseium where he still is like um? free me? make a deal? hello? i want to be good! and vlastomil proceeds over his trial, where he’s sentenced to death for failing to pay his debts, theres an option to attempt to stop it but even if you take it (there’s a strong leading to accepting due process) the world shifts to the heriphant realm and you deal with valerius then finally all four of you see the mysterious, hard to reach high priestess, instead of being like friendly out right she stands in the way, and some confessions have to be made to all four of you before seeing the realm and her clearly (asra hide your past from you because he didnt want to lose you as well as his past with julian and nadia and he doesnt understand why youre not WITH him, julians did want to just die or be whisked away and he doesnt even know why he bothered to come back, nadia knew her actions were self centered, you were uncomfortable by nadia’s initial advances and wanted to be yourself with her (see the keep my own clothes options before hand) and that you and here were going too fast) (the lazeret and the power happens here) once thats all clear and youre all trusting each others guts, the high priestess is there and offers you all guidance and advice and tea, you all head off to the devil and bind him together

afterwards, nadia has stepped down from her place and established a republic, the people vote julian as the senator, portia has been titled as the consul, nadia has "retired" to a public servant incharge of the board of education, she has a cute little cottage home in the country side where she comes into town on horseback, asra and muriel are away on a magical adventure to find his parents, they check in every now and again, in your dreams, they look happy, you close up shop to bring nadia a meal you packed for the two of you, you and she have been going steady since agreeing to take it slow, every day you learn more about her and about yourself, you open the door to the newly built library and an owl flights through it, out into the darkening sky, you see nadia and she's radiant as she stands up behind the desk and smiles at you

the end!!

[topicprinter]

good evening fellow redditers!​tks in advance for reading the following tale and for any advice you may have! buckle up, its a long one (although hopefully our collective wisdom can come up with a few lesson to help others).​---​So, 2.5years ago i joined a startup active in the autonomous robotics field, focused in increasing efficiency in renewable energy maintenance and ops. Clearly, a very specific niche, completely b2b and whose clients are ultimately rather large organizations - but in a very "exciting" and "upcoming" tech space blending hardware/software, iot, etc...​The company actually began 4 years ago by a friend of mine who was solo founder, but backed by a public-private investment firm that only funds renewable-related startups - (apparently this made valuation go from 0 to 1M kind of "magically", before any prototype or really, any actual product work was started. clap-clap?).​As the entrepeneur in this case had a science background (i myself am a business major and have worked in different countries, for organizations of different sizes, and had my own business in the past) we actually spoke at length during the process he went through setting up the business, getting his first coupe engineers, and actually having an MVP. When he needed to create a board of directors, he asked me to join, as his "delegated" director (4 members, founder has casting vote).​At that moment, the company started getting its first enquiries from potential clients, and since they could finally afford paying a salary, i was invited to "officially" join the pre-client, pre-revenue startup as their "COO" (LOL, i know! :D wtf does that mean anyway!?).​The actual job was to ensure all the daily operations of the business run smoothly. This meant creating and maintaining systems from acc/fin to HR admin/hiring to marketing to ops, and I even helped in the tech/IT admin side as I find that calming! :) I thought "hell, why not? these guys may actually be on to something but they clearly dont know a lot abt running a business, and i know i can help" - so i said yes, even though pay was shit (literally minimum wage!!!) and NO EQUITY WAS OFFERED AT THE TIME (the usual "lets talk about it latter" scenario... i think you may know where this is going now! :D)​After i joined the company (sept 2016), we won a few awards and grants, from applications/submissions i wrote (and stellar pitches given by the founder/ceo!!), got our first client (i went to a different continent to deliver the 20k usd kit to equip the client's robots and link up to our software, then did it again last xmas when his operation doubled in size) and hired a few more engineers. Tech wise, we're still using 2 year old version in "production" - suffice to say shit runs on ubuntu 14!!! theres only 3 engineers fulltime, all above average, but only 1 (!!!) is actually a computer scientist, the other are engineers who code... but the product does work, we've served over 1000 "units" of it, and feedback from industry has been pretty great (although its clearly still seen as a "nice to have" and not a "must have" kind of solution)​Fast forward to 2019 and the company is kind of stuttering even though we had our best year last year in revenue (100k,,, :/) and have actually signed up two new clients in Q1 - but the industry is moving fast, our CEO spent most of last year depressing about a failed fundraising round, then on a "startup accelerator" program abroad to "recover his mojo",,, and finally the competition has MUUUUCH deeper pockets (couple of companies,, have raised dozens of millions from vc and work with some of the same enterprise clients we have). Basically he spends most of his time selling, as he should, but unfortunately most of it is spent selling chunks of his company, rather than his companies products/services. In the meantime, I've actually been crazy busy building his business, haven't taken a proper holiday since I joined (literally, 4 days off in 2.5 years!!) and never felt this close to burnout (but im a horse,,, and can handle it "well"-ish. just gimme my caffeine!)​"Fortunately", there finally seems to be a new investor in the picture, and a binding TS has been signed for a 1M round at aprox 4M valuation. (YAY??). Now here's where the fun stars,, right? Well, in truth, the 4x members of the core team, myself included (but excluding the CEO and current 66% (!!) owner) have been feeling increasingly uneasy with the "overworked and underpaid, but too busy to talk about equity" routine and have started to care less and less - at least, i see clear signs of this in the team. I've brought it up with the CEO and he seems to think that its "my opinion" and that "the team is fine"... so, after much talking and little doing over the years (everyone is always "so busy",,,,) CEO finally found sometime to prepare a 7 slide presentation that concluded with a table that was borderline funny, if it wasn't so tragic!!​He listed our 4 names in the columns (myself, and the 3 engineers, which he now deems the "core employees", and the rows were: "percentage of my equity", "money value of that equity" and "cash bonus". The percentages was around 4% each,, then he had the nerve of multiplying that by the valuation of the upcoming round (!!!) and presenting us a dollar value in the hundreds of thousands... the cash bonus row on the other hand read "8 thousand". The "cherry" on the cake? 50% of the shares on offer were actual shares, from his stash... the other 50% were actually to come out from a "to-be-created-eventually" esop, WITH TWO YEAR VESTING!! :D:D:D:D:D:D​Naturally, I left that meeting and went on a two-week "vacation" immediately.​Which brings us to the present day. I came back from holidays, all is "business as usual" he keeps saying that "end of next month" the deal should close (and paperwork signed,, making us 4 "official shareholders", and "getting a Mill in the bank", while "maintaining control" (barely,, like 50.01% counting with us 4). We are about to start another season of field operations, meaning ill be out of the office most of the time actually "bringing home the bacon", while him and the engineers keep "daydreaming" next-version-features back in the office.​Ok, now, all bitterness aside (hard, yes, but i think I can do it), i actually think this is mostly just the work of an unseasoned and naive entrepreneur, who CLEARLY, has never done, nor thought abt any of this before (before going on holiday, i told him to read "hard thing about hard things", which he actually did for once - first business book he has completed in years!!! likes to say hes a "slow reader"!!!) - and NOT the work of some evil genius visionary. The team is almost as "oblivious", none of the engineers ever heard or really understood what an esop even is!! (ye, have i mentioned we're a loooooooooong way from silicon valley here?)​Which brings me to my options:​A) "fuckit!" you know how Jared from Silicon Valley always has his resignation letter ready to hand in!?! :D well, I've been carrying one in my pocket for the two weeks I've been back. Just need to date and sign it and done! but there goes the 1%, give or take, of common stock i'd end up owning after this round. Then go start/join new projects in completely different industries, etc.. (is the ICO craze still going on!?!?! :D)​B) "take a job with the competition" Im pretty sure I can walk into a job with one the leading competitors, at the middle-management level. funny thing is that job would pay me around 5x what i take home today as "COO" :D However, that would get me back to working for "the man", which is exactly what I thought I was "escaping" from when I joined this startup! :P​C) "show him how its done!" Not being one that likes to admit defeat, I thought if there are any "checkmate" moves available to me. Here's what I came up with.. (warning: the following is VERY Machiavellian! :D) Remember how I said the whole team is pretty inexperience? well, turns out neither the company name, nor the main brand that the company uses was ever registered neither in the US, nor in the EU, only in home country. I can incorporate a delaware company using the name of his company (but that name is then "taken" for business, as a japanese company owns that trademark), then register the trademark of his company's product name (which is available also for incorporation), then buy a bunch of related domains and URLs - perhaps even file a utility patent, just for that "patent pending" stamp :P. Then I could either turn around to his company's competition and offer this corporation (effectively blocking his entry into US market without a major rebranding/marketing/legal costs) or offer it back to his company - for the 10% total ownership he should have offered me in the first place!! (im cheap, i know! ;)​D) ... you tell me... how do i keep my dignity, not to mention my motivation, to stick with this prototype of a company when clearly, the owner is looking for employees and staff,,, not co-owners and partners?​et pour la piece du resistance*,*​the CEO and I are high school friends, have been in each others lives for decades, and very much enjoy each other's company outside the professional setting. I actually "miss" just hanging out, as you can imagine this whole mess has put quite the strain of the friendship. There's a saying in a funny language,, that translates to smtg like "you can lose the friend, but you can't miss the joke". Ideally, I'd like to keep the friend, but the joke DEFINITELY won't be on me...​ok,, you did it! thanks for reaching ::: THE END ::: go get a cookie before you get busy replying! you deserve it!! :DHave a great weekend!---TL,DR? hmmm founder of startup i helped build to 100k revenue over last 2.5 years offered me less than 1/5 of the amount ive put in sweat,, a.k.a abt 0.5% at NEXTs rounds valuation

[gulescamisade]

MN, Ground:  Day 27

DAVE: -Jesus Christ they're finally here. it's been a long time but motherfuckers he is coming HOME because of that cheesy bullshit that is home being where the people you care about are. He's slow to get his feet on the ground, taking in the scenery first, before following the others up to the house-

ARADIA: -they're here...-

DIRK: -everyone get the fuck out of the way. dirk is here to greet everyone, but especially family... which right now means dave so hello dave you're gonna get a brother hug... he doesn't really know the extend of the damage done to him so he doesn't know how to be MINDFUL OF IT...-

DAVE: -it's a relief seeing dirk alive and okay, but he doesn't have a lot of time to process it with the hug he's given and the way it gives him such a sharp pain. He grits his teeth, patting dirk on the back and wincing while in this brother hug- LOOSER NOT SO TIGHT

DIRK: Oh fuck-- Sorry. -LOOSENS HIS STRONG GRIP-

DAVE: -YA TOO STRONG YA ASSHOLE- its cool its like a love back break i get it we just gotta respect the property of my spine

DAVE: anyway sup

MITUNA: -Hops down as well, everyone is here wow look at this brotherly bonding. Gay-

MEULIN: -She ALMOST tackled Dave, but instead she's here to try to nuzzle between Strider tiddies.-

MEULIN: -Just. Right there in that hug.-

DIRK: You-- Oh. Hello there.

DAVE: -thank you Meulin for being thoughtful- also hey meu I dont think you can even see my lips moving right now but the sentiment is there

MEULIN: (^・ω・^ )

MITUNA: ehehehe

MEULIN: PRR PRR.

ARADIA: -watching from the roof-

RUFIOH: -also watching from the roof...-

MITUNA: -He's gonna inside. Pauses to wave at Aradia-

HESONY: =just hanging out with the dragonfly, dont mind him=

ERIDAN: -gazing from inside the ice cream truck in his stupid ice cream man geddup. The things he had to do to get everyone here on time... Horrendous. https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2014-12/2/15/enhanced/webdr07/enhanced-22416-1417551805-3.jpg -

DIRK: -nuzzles meulin's hair a little...- She's got cool shades that transcribe everything around her. I wonder who got her those.

ARADIA: -hops down to greet more properly. mituna first- hows your arm or lack thereof

MEULIN: (○｀ω´○)

DAVENFORTH: -Climbs out the back of the ice cream truck, bandaged and wearing his own shades again. Walks over to the nephew cat sandwich- Aint yall just adorable

DAVE: some anime asshole probably -fuck it's just nice to be with his brother again-

MITUNA: oh i75 how youd 7hink i7d go my balance i5 fucked

QIRIN: =just....eyeballing the Alaska group. What the shit happened to all of you?!=

KURLOZ: =Get over it, he's just going to get out and walk right into the cabin/house. He doesn't know you hos=

DAVE: -he can't help but smile a little at his uncle- yo uncle dave nice job wreckin the presidents -from this angle no one can see the scar on his neck and he is thankful for that-

MINDFANG: -What Didnt happen. Also shes standing near the dragonfly too, eyeing Hesony. Hes had it real good for a while.-

HESONY: =Hello Mindfang, he sees you looking, but the fight in him has pretty much died. They kept their promise.=

MINDFANG: -They sure did, and now there is no real reason to keep them around so she is just pondering that.-

ARADIA: yeah i figured ARADIA: -pauses and then just lightly and carefully hugs him- welcome back

KARKAT: =Is also out and about somewhere but he knows you hoes. At least everyone else didn't go through hell=

RILEY: -EVERYBODY MOVE THE FUCK OUTTA THE WAY-

DAVENFORTH: -It's okay, you can't see the scar on his eye. His face, his beautiful face.- Thanks but ro did the part that wasnt getting my ass kicked you should congratulate her

DAVENFORTH: You look like you went through some shit

DIRK: -lucky bastards, everyone can see HIS scar..-

DIRK: -smiles a little at brunc, but oh fuck here she comes... the mom-

ROXANNE: -Shes getting out of the truck after Derek and Riley, she wasnt going to be in the way of that, no sir.-

DEREK: -LEAPS AFTER RILEY-

DEREK: -JET NOISES-

DAVENFORTH: -Observes-

RILEY: -she's running at them and nearly collides into the boys and meulin consequently, wrapping her arms around their shoulders- OH THANK FUCK.

MITUNA: -A hug is probably the nicest thing he's had in a week. He loops his good arm around Aradia and squeezes and rests his chin on her head.- 7hank5 arayray

DIRK: -starting to get emotional... with his parents and his brother and his uncle and his cat all right here...-

DAVENFORTH: -Gets sad about his cat-

RILEY: -they're getting smooches on the head- my babies.

DAVE: -he winces a little at the first collision but he's okay and WOW WAY TO BE EMBARRASSING MOM- hey

ERIDAN: -disgusting... this clan of humans in their natural habitat... how do you tell them apart. Eridan fears for himself.-

ARADIA: you get to actually rest for a little while now

ROXANNE: -Eridan dont be a downer.-

MITUNA: yeah righ7 7he 5creamy a55hole5 ate back

ERIDAN: -He's always a downer. And eating a dreamsicle in the ice cream truck.-

ARADIA: who karkat

ARADIA: we have a lot of screamy assholes mituna

MITUNA: he ha5n7 been 7ha7 bad ac7ually i mean7 um i mean7 7he dead one5

ROXANNE: -WELL DONT BE.-

ROXANNE: -Also enough of watching the striders reunite, as cute as that is, shes going into the house on a quest to find her own daughter, where is rose where are you hiding her.-

DEREK: -places a hand on dave's shoulder during all this... that'll do pig-

ARADIA: oh that makes so much more sense

DAVE: -STOP IT BRO YOURE GONNA MAKE HIM CRY-

REDGLARE: -Oh, hey, hello. This. And everyone. And people. She's limping. She's tired. She's been keeping herself awake for the flight, and some of the pains have been keeping her from conking out anyways, but she's not quite ready to pass out on the floor. She hobbles over to the nearest thing she can sit on and sits.-

DAVENFORTH: !!!! -Walks over to Redglare and just kind of stands there, taking this all in. She looks so tired, and like she went through literally hell. His eyes linger on her a little too long- You mind if i sit here

REDGLARE: s1t. REDGLARE: 1 s4w your 1m4g3s.

DAVE: -SO SMOOTH BRUNCLE-

DAVENFORTH: -Groans a bit as he sits next to her.- I think they did too much justice

REDGLARE: ...

REDGLARE: Mph.

REDGLARE: You 4lso brought b4ck th3 s1lly... m4sk m4n 4ct.

REDGLARE: 4t l34st 1t s3rv3d 1ts purpos3.

DAVENFORTH: Got something against dave skellington movies

DAVENFORTH: Icon

REDGLARE: 1 th1nk 1 w4s cl34r 3nough.

REDGLARE: S1lly.

DAVENFORTH: Sex symbol

REDGLARE: uh-huh.

DAVENFORTH: -Sighs- Were gonna have a marathon when we get back im gonna get you an entire devils food cake and everything

REDGLARE: Th4t's...

REDGLARE: -snorts.-

REDGLARE: opt1m1st1c.

REDGLARE: You'll t3mpt th3 odds. Just c4ll 1t 4 sl1c3.

DAVENFORTH: Like youd just want a slice

REDGLARE: -PUNCHES HIS ARM-

DAVENFORTH: -Doof. He grins a little- So two slices huh

REDGLARE: M4yb3.

REDGLARE: On3 4nd 4 h4lf.

DAVENFORTH: One and three fourths

REDGLARE: You know wh4t.

REDGLARE: Sur3.

DAVENFORTH: -Puts an arm around her. He's just glad she's alive.- About time i win one

REDGLARE: Oh, shut up. You k1ll3d 4 world l34d3r.

DAVENFORTH: I had help

REDGLARE: Sudd3n bout of hum1l1ty?

DAVENFORTH: Sudden bout of getting crushed

DAVENFORTH: Probably would have a lot more worse for wear if it hadnt been for roxanne

REDGLARE: Oh.

REDGLARE: H4.

DAVENFORTH: I got sloppy and almost lost an eye or life for it you know whichever

DAVENFORTH: Not that ill get sympathy from you

REDGLARE: couldn't poss1bly 1m4g1n3 wh4t th4t's l1k3.

DAVENFORTH: Nope only me

REDGLARE: ...

REDGLARE: Won't b3 4bl3 to do much l1k3 th1s. Sp34k1ng of.

DAVENFORTH: Well get you back up and running

REDGLARE: 1'm not runn1ng 4nywh3r3. C4rry m3. 4ss.

DAVENFORTH: Like a bara princess

REDGLARE: Wh4t do3s th4t m34n.

DAVENFORTH: Ripped to shit

REDGLARE: Oh.

REDGLARE: Y3s.

JOHN: - I didn't get to rp it but you can bet your ass John vigorously rubbed himself on Dave, Aradia and Dirk. Because! He was worried! And he missed them! For Dave it's extra vigorous. -

DAVE: -JUST STEER CLEAR OF THE BACK and we will be good-

JOHN: - Hair gets floofed and refloofed-

JOHN: - Also you get more medical attention because he doesn't trust these non uu people to do it right. -

DAVE: -be my servant-

JOHN: -after all the emotional reunions and fussing over everyone as much as they'll allow him....john honestly feels kind of uneasy and restless. eventually he finds himself sitting on the ground with his knees crossed, dumping out every piece of medical equipment in his sylladex and carefully cataloguing it. it's probably not necessary but he just really needs something to do.-

DAVE: -plops next to John and sits- hey

KANKRI: -It sure was kind of crazy with all the reunions, and after he was settled he managed to find John....dumping stuff on the floor with Dave.-

KANKRI: -Awkwardly stays hidden at the doorway to the room to watch for now.-

JOHN: -taking down how much he has of everything on a little note pad. looks round at dave and only dave since kankri is being weird and evesdropping- hey, man.

DAVE: havent seen you in like a month

DAVE: crazy shit huh

JOHN: yeah. if i had to say the shit was anything, i might use the word crazy.

DAVE: what about ape shit

DAVE: we turning this all primate primape reverse darwins theory of evolution

DAVE: we start as fuckin advanced as hell creatures and then just go back to the monkeys

JOHN: is this your roundabout way of expressing that earth really blows because if so i grudgingly gotta agree..earth really blows.

JOHN: i mean i had expectations for how much it was going to blow but the batterwitch really hit it out of the park.

JOHN: which is impressive because the bitch banned base ball.

JOHN: how do you ban baseball.

JOHN: -SOUNDS REALLY BITTER AND HAUGHTY.-

DAVE: you cant ban baseball

DAVE: baseball lives on in our hearts or some shit

DAVE: you either hit a home run or strike out

DAVE: but seriously i forgot all about queen troll

DAVE: until like now

JOHN: i mean...i'll forgive you, seeing as you had a lot of shit on your plate.

JOHN; ...baseball puns.

JOHN: and i'm really glad you were able to make

JOHN: a home run.

DAVE: ... DAVE: terrible

JOHN: c:

DAVE: how would i have gone another day without your goofy ass

JOHN: -feels the urge to hug him again, but he just leans on him instead.-

JOHN: -what if he just kind of sits on all his friends and protects them.-

JOHN: -crushes them lovingly under his ass.-

JOHN: -would this protect them from the 10 billion things that want to kill, hurt and take them away from him.-

JOHN: -these are the questions.-

DAVE: -lets it happen. He can't get too mushy even if he wants to scoop his best friend up in a hug and just stay like that for ten hours. So that's the most he can do. Let him- who the fuck vacations in minnesota

JOHN: -it's okay dave. he understands strider psychology by now. he knows u love him.-

KANKRI: -Finally walking in after watching that whole exchange.- I think that at least s9me pe9ple must have, at the very least 6ef9re all 9f these redicul9us new take 9ver laws that have 6een implemented. Perhaps they name f9r the scenery.

JOHN: maybe they tried to get out of minnesota but they couldn't, so they made the best of it.

JOHN: -ends up talking at the same time as kankri ???-

KANKRI: -Its like they are linked. Except not.-

KANKRI: -Also he is just going to casually sit on the other side of John.-

KANKRI: What are the tw9 9f y9u up t9?

DAVE: its minnesota

JOHN: talking about minnesota and dancing around the fact that dave adores me.

JOHN: -just sitting there like :)-

KANKRI: Yes it is? And what a69ut it 6eing Minnes9ta makes it less desira6le then anywhere else?

JOHN: i'd say "it's an earthling" thing but

JOHN: i don't think that's a thing anymore.

KANKRI: I d9n't kn9w, I think that there still can 6e "earthling things." 

KANKRI: Whatever they c9nsist 9f anyways.

JOHN: then thinking minnesota is a snowy boring wastleland is probably one of them, to answer your question.

JOHN: although idk this place looks pretty nice.

KANKRI: It has 6een the nicest part 9f earth I have visited s9 far.

KANKRI: Then again I d9nt feel like I have adequate experiences t9 c9mpare it t9...

DAVE: -literally just watching them talk so easily with each other and kankri hasn't even gone on a rant yet-

KANKRI: -That's because he feels like he doesn't really need a lot of words for John to get him.-

DAVENFORTH: -In the cool of the morning he finds himself sitting lake side, holding a mirror up to his face and peeling at the bandages around his eye. Great, yeah that was definitely gonna scar. At least he could see, even if it was a bit blurry. His face was started to heal up too, the swelling starting to subside despite there still being bruising.-