#fold it in an origami and stab myself in the eyes

[meandmyechoes]

oh the gratification it is when someone tag your gifs with nothing but

[00stupid]

Thank you to those of you who joined in the HoloLive session, even though I cried a lot it meant so much to me that all of you showed up and shared that experience with me!! Big shoutout to like apparently MY ENTIRE EXTENDED FAMILY FOLLOWING THIS BLOG LOL it was so so good to meet you guys and have your support!! We have so much to talk about, and thank you Dad and Pops for inviting them to the stream!

Okay. For those of you who couldn't hop live or get on the holo groupcall later after everything was said and done.....I got my approval for LL2. I met her. It happened. My whole crew ended up in the hanger to come meet her and support me, it was so nice of them and meant the world to me. I streamed the whole thing on a 360HD Eye floater, (the link is at the top of my HoloLive pins) but I forgot about it like as soon as the glass went clear on her crate. I used the key and all the smoky blackness faded from in panels in front of her frame, and there she was.

She....she's so beautiful, guys. Khutulan is an ancient Atlas, one of the originals from the first generation of Sparri homeworlders. Her helm is topped with a trophy tail and she's got the coolest scarf, I wonder which pilot grabbed it for her? She's got all the oldschool classic contours and paneling, but she shines like the day she was born. I've never seen any kind of machine maintained like this before, you can tell it's like all by hand? I don't even think drones could get in that deep to the pitting of the mechanical locklanes. Not back then, at least. I knew right then that every pilot she chose treasured her trust, and made sure to take perfect care of her. I get to do the same thing, and I'm ready.

Uh it did take me a minute to figure out how to get in though. Since she's only like two feet taller than I am it's not like there was a cockpit and I may have panicked a little lol. Shinsei finally helped me out, we had to hand Khutulan the key and her hand moved to take it from me. When she had it, her panel locks dropped and she folded apart at fifty different invisible seams. It was like watching origami in reverse, and all of a sudden there was a me-shaped space to step into so she could wrap back over me.

A lot of you are gearheads like me, so I guess you guys know what came next. For the rest of you, CW: needles.

So the really special thing about this moment for me, personally, was becoming a part of Khutulan for real. Atlas AIs are different, they're memories and parts and pieces of all the the previous pilots that have ever partnered with her. I knew that when I stepped in, I was about to get stabbed with hundreds of microneedles all over me, and I was a little scared. But it's how she gets to know you, and how I was going to be able to join the rest of the pilots in her memories. Plus I have done dumber stuff that hurt more haha so I did it anyways. She closed up and there was a weird electric pinch all over the needle sites, and for a second it felt like...I don't really know. I felt like a huge crowd of people were all looking out of my eyes at the same time. I can't describe it. It wasn't bad, but it happens every time she goes online now and it's a lot.

I felt her form wrap and slack with mine, and she was a perfect fit in less than a second. My display came up, and instead of feeling like I was looking through a screen, I felt like it was my eyes but better. The HUD kicked in and layered out, I felt the rig power up, and then I heard her voice for the first time. She called me by name and told me I was her 348th pilot.

It felt really weird to cry in a helm, but I just couldn't help it. She was everything I had ever dreamed of, I felt her with me in ways I have never experienced before. Like we were both walking in eachother's bodies, and the AI was AMAZING <3 If I had a single thought about doing something with her, all of a sudden I was flooded with rapidfire memories of how the other pilots did it so they could help me out. It was SO WEIRD but also really sick, it's going to take a while to get used to.

A lot of you dm'd to ask what I did after I turned off the Eye, I just....like. Wanted a moment with her alone. I wanted to share her with EVERYONE and make sure everyone appreciated her and was as happy as I was, but I just needed a moment with her to myself. Idk. It was really special. She's perfect. I'm so happy. I know I told you guys a lot of this during our group call later on, but I'm still happy. I don't think I'll ever feel unhappy again tbh?? HOW COULD I? SHE'S HERE, SHE CHOSE ME. SHE PICKED ME, I AM KHUTULAN'S 348TH PILOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ddaehyeon]

-- ☆ collapsing cosmos; jung subin

the night sky was visible in their eyes and... it was collapsing. 《 star tears! au 》

pairing: jung subin + female! reader

word count: 1.3k words

genre: angst

a/n: i told myself that i'm gonna write something for subin's birthday. i ended up writing an angst. anyway, i enjoyed writing this one, so i really hope you'll enjoy reading this one too!

go and request for a one-shot/drabble here if you want! ♡

lowercase intended.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ☆

her eyes held a collapsing cosmos while her heart was turning into a black hole.

right after his classes, subin found himself pacing towards the dormitory of his best friend. on his hand was a carton holder that kept two cups of iced coffee, her favorite drink.

the cool air brought by spring was already over, replaced by the blazing heat summer could offer. gazing at the clear blue sky for a moment, subin thought that the night sky would be spectacular tonight. the celestial bodies that would paint the evening will probably shine on its full potential. a sight that would leave someone in awe.

he wished that the stars just remained in their home, in the night sky. not in someone else’s eyes.

upon reaching your unit, subin pressed the doorbell. no response was needed. it didn’t even surprise him that the door was left unlocked. he entered the room with a greeting laced with feigned merry.

you have no classes for that day which explained why you kept yourself confined inside your small room. besides, you were focused on folding paper stars. a belief that it can help you. that it can be your salvation.

“hey,” subin said, sweeping the paper stars off the low coffee table to place the drinks there. it made the tiny stars shower the ground like a stellar show on rare nights.

you let out of a breath, before allowing yourself to fall unceremoniously on the empty spot. paper stars of different hues surrounded your figure. it was like laying down on a flower bed, the only difference was instead of flowers, it was stars.

a deafening silence came across. it clutched subin’s heart with a firm grasp, making his stomach flip in a horrible manner. a chill ran through his spine. seemed like his body had its own way of countering the heat.

he was fidgeting. anxious. unsure of how to break the stillness. it was like if he utters something, the tensed serenity of the place would break just like how a mirror would do. and its shattered pieces would pierce the skin and stab the heart.

but it was suffocating. it was a choice between getting throttled by the awkwardness or getting wounded by words.

your vulnerable state scared subin to no end. you had been friends since middle school. had shared numerous adventures together, ate meals, saw movies, bought clothes, hanged out—watched the night sky. waited for a shooting star to wish for the same thing.

to fall in love with someone who can reciprocate the feeling.

how many times had you wished to have your love reciprocated anyway?

ten? hundreds? thousands?

even when you had muttered the same wish over and over again for countless times already, why is it that your love still ended up unrequited?

“you think folding thousand paper stars would really help?” he asked, picking up one of the hundred folded stars lined up on the table. few would occasionally be landing on the floor with grace.

you read this one time on a blog and hugged the resolution so quickly. given that there was no cure found to end star tears disease yet, it wouldn’t be too bad of a choice to give it a shot. to fold thousand paper stars just so you’ll be able to stop the stars from descending.

aside from crying star tears, there were other things that came along the disease. as days passed by, if a person remains locked in the cage of unreciprocated love, their vision would suffer. the world will soon lose its color. it was as if the stars can absorb the tint of the world whenever they come out. some even ended up being blind.

funny thing, blindly loving someone who cannot return your feelings can also lead to actual blindness.

the colors that surrounded you were vibrant, yet due to the severity of your disease, you had already failed to identify the color. will the world soon become monochrome to your eyes? or will you lose your vision completely?

“i don’t know,” you finally answered with a shrug. you had been creating a galaxy through various shades of origami paper, hoping that the stars would stop from escaping your eyes. yet every night, a mini-meteor shower would occur in your room. the bright lights cascading down your cheeks would be accompanied by the jingling sound, bringing a horribly marvelous show.

“but you know. i’d rather have my room drowning in handmade stars than have it drowning in actual ones,” you added. the familiar sensation came to embrace your heart, prickling the outside. like thorns piercing a soft and delicate flesh, it bled.

you were aware of the strong tug, but somewhat you got used to it. already accustomed to it as if that ache was a home.

you felt nothing, but numbness.

and it was sickening.

to reach for the stars was such a childhood dream. who would have known it would be possible to touch one?

to touch hundreds of it every single night?

a light chuckle was heard from you. it hinted no joy. bare. a sound pulled out to fill the silence. “whenever i cry, the jingling sounds would comfort me. the floor would be decorated in such a glittering beauty. it’s oddly satisfying. but the pleasure that beauty brings… feels disgustingly empty.”

with that, the magical sound began.

it wasn’t evening yet.

but there were stars.

subin let go of the stars, looking at you with deep concern carved in his brown orbitals. there was an urge to move towards you, to hug you, try to comfort you.

but will it actually change anything?

will it stop your galaxy from further destruction?

so he stayed in his place, frozen. heartstring tugged.

it was unstoppable. you sit up then stood right after. you deliberately tried to catch each falling stars. some had already mingled with the folded one. whenever it pricks the edges of your eyes it is in a full luminescence, but as it touches the ground, the color fades. you rushed towards the bathroom, unable to stomach the thought of being watched while the agonizing show was taking place.

you didn’t need the pity. you needed your love to be reciprocated.

but it was never pity that he gave. it was a genuine worry.

there was love laced on it.

but his love wasn’t the love you were looking for.

subin watched your figure disappear to the hallway towards the bathroom. a sigh emitted out of his lips. there was nothing he can do anyway. he wasn’t the one she was showering with such height of fondness. so even if he pulls a full storm and pours her affection, nothing will happen. all he can do was fold stars with her. clinging into the same hope that one day the destruction of her cosmos would come to an end.

“i used to admire the galaxy found in your eyes, but now… i just want to stop seeing it. to stop watching that galaxy crumble as stars fall off your eyes.”

a star slipped off his eyes.

just like her,

his eyes held a collapsing cosmos while his heart was turning into a black hole.

[hopeaterart]

The shittiest family reunion in the history of ever: chapter 6

This was supposed to be the chapter where Holly kicks Polnareff’s ass, but I changed plans at the last second. I also sprinkled in some soft Jotaro/Kakyoin content because this fic is nothing if not self-indulgent. And including Bandanaboi’s ‘Jotaro is accidentally a banchou’ idea.

Jotaro quickly made his way out of the classroom, making his way through the sea of students with Kakyoin not far behind him, holding hands and making sure that he wouldn’t lose the redhead. Kakyoin simply followed him, visibly uncomfortable with all the attention he had gained as ‘the new transfer student with red hair’.

Jotaro slowed down as they came outside, slowing down so Kakyoin could stand next to him and getting his phone out. The redhead stood close, reading the text messages between the taller boy and his mother. “What’s Kitahara?” He asked, turning his head toward Jotaro.

He shrugged, putting his phone back in his back pocket. “She’s talking about a family sushi restaurant. It’s not right next to our street, but you can easily walk there. And beside their sushi, they also make ramen, kaisendon, udon, and kare raisu. I don’t eat the kare raisu I think it tastes like shit, but the sushis are good, the rest is okay, and apparently I have a ‘difficult palate’.” He then did air quotes to emphasize his point, and Kakyoin snorted.

“Oi, Kujo!” The two boys turned toward the voice, seeing a bunch of other students come toward them, all looking like delinquents.

Jotaro groaned, and Kakyoin turned toward him. “You know them?”

“Yeah. They’re a bunch of punks I helped win a fight once, and now they won’t leave me alone. Come on, let’s go-” Jotaro had the time to grab Kakyoin’s hand and turn away, the redhead in tow, before a guy with way two many ear piercings was next to Kakyoin with a hand on Jotaro’s shoulder.

“How ya doin’, Kujo?” He asked. Kakyoin heard Jotaro take a deep breath, his shoulders rising with it, followed by a hiss of ‘five-foot rule, Sugawara’, and the boy’s hand shot off his shoulder, taking a few steps back as Jotaro turned his head toward the group.

“What.” He finally said, and a small girl with bleach blond walked up. The face-mask covering the lower part of her face, the dark eyeshadow around her eyes and the very long-skirt reminded Kakyoin of old-style sukebans. “The punks from Karasuno are starting to act up again. What do we do?”

Jotaro narrowed his eyes. “Are they harassing anyone from school? And is Noguchi back on his bullshit?”

“No, and no.” The small girl answered.

“Then don’t do anything. If they come anywhere near the school, you guys can handle it. If Noguchi comes back with re-enforcement, don’t try anything and come get me as fast as possible. Got it, Sakurai?”

The girl groaned. “It’d be easier to ‘get you’ if you actually gave one of us your phone number!”

“Fuck off!”

“Hum, excuse me?” Kakyoin suddenly said, gaining the attention of the small group. “I’m currently living with Jotaro-san. If you have a message you want to relay to him, I could probably help.” He then got out his own phone, pointing at it as if to emphasize his point.

The group looked at him as if he had grown a second head. “And who are you supposed to be?” A guy with a pompadour and bandage over one of his eyes asked, and Kakyoin nearly dropped his phone in surprise.

It was the guy he had puppeted the nurse to stab in the eye on his first day, back when he was being mind-controlled.

“... Kakyoin Noriaki. I’m new.” He finally answered in a small voice, looking to the ground as he felt shame well up. He looked up at Jotaro as he felt the taller boy squeeze his hand.

“If any of you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave Kakyoin-kun out of this shit.” He hissed, looming over the group of teenagers. The only one who didn’t back down was the diminutive blond (Sakurai, her name was Sakurai), who simply nodded and got her notebook out, turning toward the redhead.

“Alright, but I still need to be able to contact you fast. Kakyoin?” The redhead raised his head, and after exchanging numbers with Sakurai, the two boys parted way with the group of thugs.

Jotaro pulled his hat over his face. “Yare yare daze...” 

Kakyoin looked up at him, lifting an eyebrow. “Didn’t know you were in a gang.”

“I’m not.”

“They seemed pretty convinced you were in charge.”

“If I don’t help them beat up the delinquents from the other schools, they always end up coming after me. If I help them, they both leave me alone, and I get to punch out assholes.” Jotaro explained, Kakyoin nodding slowly.

“What’s the deal with this Noguchi person?” He asked, tilting his head. Jotaro groaned.

“My bully until I snapped in 2nd grade and started beating up people. We regularly had fist fights until 9th grade, and then he asked his parents to put him in a different school because I ended up putting a teacher in the hospital for being a creep. He still tries to harass me sometimes, and ” Kakyoin blinked in surprise.

“You put a teacher in the hospital?”

“I put several teachers in the hospital. Some of them are still recovering.” Jotaro told him, shrugging nonchalantly. “I hate people who try to use the weak for their own gain. My dad made sure to teach me that.”

-

“Alright, so we’ll have the usual family-size plate of sushi, with a bowl of ramen on the side for my brother.” Holly told the waitress, who nodded before walking off. Holly turned toward Jotaro. “Maybe you could-”

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me finish!”

“I’m not going to pay for that one time I ordered kare raisu. It tasted like shit anyway.”

“It’s basic decency and not going against the law!”

“It was bad and they should feel bad for serving it!”

“So... uh... Kujo-san.” Kakyoin started, turning toward Sadao and trying to avoid the argument. “You’re a musician?”

Sadao blinked. “Uh... yeah. Pianist and song writer, but I can also play the guitar and drums.”

“Are you a solo artist?”

“No, me and my group have been together for... over twenty years, now that I think about it.”

“Uh.” Joey noted, joining the conversation. “You’ve been with your group for longer than you’ve been married to my sister.”

“Your group has also stayed together for longer than the Beatles.” Kakyoin noted, and Sadao laughed nervously.

“Yes, well... we’re practically partners in crime at this point. And we take breaks when we need to.” He noted. “We... used to be pretty infamous in our first few years. Shoko’s change from teen idol to jazz singer did ripples, and Yuichi and Kaede did not know how to stay out of trouble. Add to that our difficulties with agents...”

“What difficulties with agents?” Jotaro asked his father, turning toward him with a confused expression. “They all- all three of them- you guys always end up with cocaine addicts for agents, somehow!”

“Jotaro, being addicted to drugs isn’t a moral failing on their part.” Holly told her son, and Sadao nodded in agreement.

“No, but treating us like producing music is the only thing we’re good at is.” Sadao hissed. “Personally, I couldn’t be happier to never see these fuckers ever again.”

“You’re... surprisingly amoral.” Kakyoin noted, and the shorter man shrugged.

“I’ve been told that.” The discussion ended as their sushi and ramen was brought to the table, everyone thanking the waiter (Joey slightly behind the other four) before they started digging in.

“Anyway, Jotaro.” Holly piped up, turning toward her son. “Anything new happening at school?” The teenager shook his head between stuffing two sushis in his mouth.

“Any girlfriend?” Joey asked teasingly. Jotaro rolled his eyes. “A boyfriend, then?”

Jotaro shook his head, swallowing his bite. “I don’t. I’m not...”

“Jotaro, I’m sure we told you before, but your father and I don’t care whether or not you like boys instead of girls-”

“It’s not that.” The teen cut his mother off, shaking his head. “Can we talk about it at home? When we’re not in public?”

“Of course.” Holly reassured him, and the group resumed with eating their food, this time in silence.

About half-way through the dinner, a man with tall with hair and blue eyes approached them. “Excusez-moi,” He started, “j’ai besoin d’aide avec le menu, et je me demandais si vous pouviez m’aider?” Everyone looked at each other with confusion in their eyes, trying to decipher what the strange man had just said.

Holly finally took the reins. “Sorry, I didn’t understand... do you speak English?”

“Right! My apologies, mademoiselle, I didn’t realize.” The man excused himself with a smile that was just forced enough to put Kakyoin on edge. “I was asking if you could help me with the menu?”

“Literally the only good thing this restaurant serves is sushi, how difficult can it be read the menu- what?” Jotaro turned toward Kakyoin, who had put a hand on his shoulder. The redhead shook his head, a frown on his face.

“I have a bad feeling about this guy, like I saw him back when I... wasn’t myself. Just stay back, and be ready to call out your Stand.” The redhead muttered to him. Jotaro’s eyes widened, before nodding gravely as his mother invented the stranger to sit down at their table.

“My my, what a lovely little group we have here!” The man started. “Family, I suppose?”

“Why, yes! Well, beside Kakyoin-kun, he’s my son’s friend.” Holly declared cheerfully as said friend grabbed a napkin, cutting a strip of it with a knife he got out from his pocket. She blinked. “Kakyoin-kun, what are you doing?”

The redhead blinked, before smiling awkwardly. “Don’t worry, Ho- Seiko-san,” he remembered in the nick of time she liked to be called a different name in public. “Just making some origami.”

“Alright! Tell me when you’re finished, please?” Holly asked, and Kakyoin nodded. He quickly folded the paper, the discussions between the rst of the table’s occupants fading to background noises. If this guy really is on Dio’s side, then he won’t resist...

“Aaaaand ta-da~” Kakyoin exclaimed, showing off the small origami star to everyone at the table. Impressed sounds came up for everyone, Holly taking the star and passing it around.

“You did this with a napkin?” Sadao asked as the star ended up in his hand, an inquisitive expression on his face. Kakyoin nodded, and the older man flashed him a surprisingly cute smile. “You’ve got some talent, then.” The teenager blushed at the praise, but quickly snapped out of it as the paper was passed to the stranger. Moment of truth.

“Indeed, this is impressive!” He started, slowly lifting the little paper star to his neck. “You know... I know someone with a mark shaped just like that on the back of his neck...”

Called it. 

“STAND BACK, HE’S AN ENEMY STAND USER!” Kakyoin yelled, summoning Hierophant in a shower of watery green sparkles. Jotaro and Joey followed suit, the purple warrior appearing in a burst of stardust and a being with multiple fanged mouth in what looked like a sound’s wavelength.

At the same time, a strange knight-like being shimmered into existence next to the stranger, who clapped as if he was congratulating Kakyoin. “Bravo! How did you guess I was after them?”

The redhead’s mouth turned into a snarl, a watery hiss coming from Hierophant. “With DIO parading around naked every chances he gets, it’s kind of hard not to notice the literal tattoo on his ne-”

“Birth mark.” Joey suddenly said, his head turned toward Kakyoin with his eyes round like saucers. “It’s a birthmark, it’s not his, and we’re gonna have to talk about that later.”

“Oh? Awfully bold of you to assume there’s gonna be a later, Monsieur Joestar.” The stranger mocked Joey. A growl built up in the taller man’s throat, echoed and amplified by his Stand’s.

“Alright, alright, everyone calm down.” Holly called out, getting up and gesturing with her hands. “Let’s not fight inside of the restaurant. Causing a scene is the last thing we want. Kakyoin-kun?” She turned toward the redhead with an unusual harsh expression. When she saw the redhead flinch back in surprise, it softened. “We’ll talk about this... Dio person later, alright?”

“... Alright.”

“As for you,” the only woman in their group turned backtoward the stranger, glaring.”What is your name?”

“Why, it’s Jean-Pierre Polnareff!” He answered. 

Holly nodded, a forced smile appearing on her face as she folded her hands, slowly making her way to Polnareff. “Well then, Polnareff-san, I am Holly Kujo. And I-” She suddenly cracked her knuckles, yellow light and darks vines wrapping around her hands and forearms. “Will be your opponent.”

[hazuuren]

The Stray

I was sitting on the most comfortable couch in the living room with her. My mom. I was scrolling the screen of my phone, reading cheesy posts of clingy couples on social media while propping my left foot on the table. Until I finally find it boring. I always find it boring; reading happily-ever-after stories and whatnot. I enjoy reading tragic stories because they always cheer me up, which others may think it's weird. I placed my phone on the table and stirred my head right, facing my mom. Her eyes were closed; probably sleeping. So, I grabbed my book and flipped the pages to thirty. I was in the midst of the most intense part of the chapter when a loud thud coming from the door. The door was already opened which is weird because I remembered that I locked it; impossible for anyone to open. I turned my head into the intruder who came. He was holding a somewhat glowing sword of neon yellow and then in a flash; he stabbed my mom right into the place where her heart lies. I was shocked; can't move. Then turned my face to him again until I realized who he was. He was the stray that we saw yesterday in front of the grocery store. He saw me fought my mom, yelling at her as if she’s not even related to me. He mouthed 'she's dead' and turned his back to me, heading to the door. And, he was gone. I cried. A lot. Begging my mom to wake up; to open her eyes. Until I myself, opened my eyes. My cheeks were all wet. I traced were it came from with the use of my index finger and the wet track led my finger to my eyes. I was in a different place now. Not in the living room and; I am not sitting on the couch anymore which is curious, honestly speaking. Instead, I am lying on the bed that I am so familiar of. My eyes stared at the ceiling that looked like the sky because of its shade of blue. There were familiar folded papers that form figures, origami, beside the books on the shelves of the left wall; Ginormous glass windows to the right wall; Small closet upfront; it's my room. I heard a knock from the door and it opened. I was worried that the intruder that I saw earlier will walk right in and kill me but a different person was shown. It's my mom.

[nurturingflame]

Week in Review - 63

The sass and side eyes are pretty thick this week. Good news. It’s only going to get worse. ^_~*

In other news, we are very excited to share new art done by the amazing @shellsweet. Definitely recommend her as an artist. Very nice and wonderful to work with! As for the end product, well you can judge for yourself. 

Eliza and Gwyn both came out absolutely amazing!! Momma ferret cuddles!!!

Not for personal use. Commissioned by @lydjachan, co-mod of @nurturingflame

To Prune & Grow 5-8

Though Eliza was ashamed to admit that Splinter was on the top of her ‘cravings’ list, she was immediately relieved of the guilt by Phoenix’s typical acceptance of her ferrety tendencies.

“I guess having a girl’s night with Medusa is a much better option than the alternative.” Eliza chuckled lightly at her own poor humor. “In fact some girl time sounds like a good idea all around. What do you think?”

“What do I think about what?” Phoenix questioned, sounding slightly suspicious.

“About Gwyn and I spending some time at the warehouse?” The ferret said brightly before switching her tone to pleading, gripping both of the healer's hands between her own. “Pleeease?? Donnie is suppose to work on a new room for us and I know that Gwyn is going to get underfoot and we both could use some time in the sun.” Eliza looked her friend in the eye, practically begging. “Being here is driving me crazy. I need a break.”

Phoenix pursed her lips, the ferret’s eyes large, her hands warm over her own.  “Splinter won’t like that…” she said slowly, and her heart immediately sank when Eliza’s look did.

Phoenix had such a difficult time reading the rat master.  Most of the time she got the impression he was not happy with her at all, or that he outright disliked her.  Then, other times, he was friendly, or what she surmised was friendly for him.  And then there was the night of their dancing in the dojo, when he’d seemed...happy.  She liked that Splinter, but doubted she’d have the privilege of seeing that one again.  Not after how it ended.

“Ok,” she said, feeling slightly guilty for agreeing and slightly relieved when Eliza perked up.  “I don’t mind having you over for as long as you want to stay.”  She glanced toward the door.  “But you have to help me with Mr. We-Don’t-Need-To-Go-Anywhere-Where-Someone-Might-See-Us.”

“Ya know, from someone who’s children get in trouble all the time I'm kinda sick of that argument.” Eliza huffed though she was elated with the Phoenix’s permission to stay with her. “Of course I'm going to back you up on this one. We've been ‘good girls’ and following his rules for weeks now. It's time to test just how much leeway we've earned.”

“You make it sound like you're asking for early parole.” Phoenix snickered.

“Hey, it's not that far from the truth!” Eliza stood and paced the room a few times while the healer started to pack her bag. “We could just tell him what we intend to do and hash it out like reasonable adults. Oorrrrr…”

“Or?”

“Or we could unleash our secret weapon on him.”

“And that would be?”

Eliza’s smile was almost predatory. “Gwyn, of course.”

Phoenix raised her eyebrows, as if she’d heard the ferret mutant incorrectly.  “Your daughter is our secret weapon?”  It was usually she who was saying such things, and sicking Medusa on someone was not something she would do lightly.  But then again, Phoenix’s daughter could eat people.  Gwyn had no chance of doing that.

Eliza stooped and slung her arm over the shorter woman, ignoring the twinge of discomfort as the new position allowed to one of the twins to kick her in the kidney. “My dear sweet Phoenix, you have no idea just how much that girl has our venerable ninja master wrapped around her little finger. Hold on, let me show you.” Eliza pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly swiped through her pictures till she found the one she wanted. “Look at that and tell me that she couldn’t get away with murder.”

Gwyn was sitting next to Splinter at a low table observing intently as the rat was in the process of folding paper. Perched precariously on his head was a completed paper crane while Gwyn had an origami flower tucked behind her ear. It was the epitome of a candid moment where the subjects were unaware they were being observed, just enjoying the activity they were absorbed in. The smile curling Splinter’s muzzle however, was unmistakable.

Eliza felt some of her annoyance drain. “If Gwyn wants to go on a sleepover, I very much doubt that Yoshi would be able to put up too much resistance. But, maybe we should keep it as our ace in the hole.” The ferret stood straighter as Phoenix looked at the picture, rubbing her belly in an attempt to settle the babies before they became too active.

“Come on, Splinter should be making himself some tea right about now. Why don’t we see if we can catch him in the kitchen. Who knows, maybe he’ll be reasonable for once.” Eliza said optimistically as she headed for the door.

Seeing the picture on the phone, Phoenix felt a stab of jealousy.  She wasn’t exactly sure what caused it.  Was it that her own children were no longer that age, where they delighted in such little things as papermaking?  Was it that they were now too old to be absorbed in her in such a fundamental way as Gwyn seemed to be with Splinter in the photo?  Was it the fact that the photo existed, an item she had precious few of, and none of them candid shots such as this?  Or was it the fact that a father figure was involved with a child, something her children never had?  She shook her head, dispelling the feeling with a sigh and smiling up at her friend as she left the room.

Eliza was correct, Splinter was in the kitchen, preparing himself some tea.  He raised his eyebrows as they entered, as if their appearance truly surprised him, before lowering his head in a small greeting.  “Ladies,” he said smoothly.  “Would you care to join me?”

“Yes, please!” Phoenix said brightly, skipping forward.  She had no idea where the man got his tea, or what made his preparing it so good, but it was the best stuff she’d tasted in a long, long time.  If they could a sweetener down in the sewers, it would be perfect…

Though it was not unusual to see the two women around the lair, it was a surprise for them to join him, usually preferring to keep their own company during The Phoenix's visits.

He smiled and motioned to the little healer to take a seat, his heart wavered just a bit to feel the exuberance she seemed to exude with her girlish skip. He turned to retrieve a second mug from the cabinet only to bump in Eliza who was already there. “Pardon me.”

“No problem, I was just getting myself a glass too.” She smiled cordially, before holding out the very vessel he was planning to retrieve, “You two enjoy your tea, I have some sweet herbal brewed in the fridge already.”

“Thank you.” Splinter replied rotely, inwardly he was put off balance. This was the most interaction she’d had with him nearly all week. Eliza didn't leave the room either, but started to flit here and there, as she often did when in the kitchen, but still managing to stay engaged in the light small talk as Splinter prepared tea for himself and The Phoenix.

“Is there anything you require?” he asked, placing the steaming cup in front of the small woman. At the same time, as if by magic a small plate of cookies and peanut butter crackers, one of his favorite non cheese snacks, appeared on the counter.

He could already hear Eliza chewing on something crunchy and when he looked up her eyes held a smile as she finished her mouthful and then sipped on her tall glass of herbal sweet tea. He blinked, something in the air was off, but the pleasant scene was too nice to allow ill thoughts to taint the mood. He returned his attention to the Phoenix, picking up his dropped thought. “I believe we may still have some milk.”

She raised her brows, smiling again.  He remembered she liked milk with her tea!  “Really?” she breathed, as if he’d just offered her a diamond.  Her family never had milk unless Chategris provided it for them, and she knew very well that when the cat mutant had it,  it was stolen.  It occurred to her that Splinter and his boys probably didn’t have any either, before Eliza’s arrival into their home.  While dumpster diving only provided sour milk, the grocery store had plenty of fresh.  Money and a human daughter provided a great deal for people who could not allow themselves to be seen in public.

Then she remembered why they were there.  As he stood up and turned to fridge, she turned to Eliza, her smile fading.

She liked Splinter when he was like this, not just because he was accommodating, but that certainly helped.  But he was sweet, in his own gruff way, like how he remembered she liked milk with her tea.  He had no reason to remember that, he didn’t take milk in his tea.  In fact, he had a very ritualistic way in which he drank it, she realized with a start.  “Oh,” she moaned, guilt eating at her shoulders as they dropped.

Splinter turned with a speed that surprised her, one moment he was facing the fridge, and in a blink, he was facing her and Eliza, the milk jug in his hand, the liquid inside barely sloshing.  His eyebrows were raised in concern, his golden eyes wide, but then his brows dropped in confusion.  “What is the matter?” he asked slowly.

Phoenix bit her lip, glancing at Eliza again.

Splinter turned to the ferret mutant, his brows up once again, the soft expression on his face slowly disappearing.

“Eliza was thinking,” Phoenix said yammered, gripping her cup of tea so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, “that she could be out of you and your boys’ hair while you guys were fixing up her and Gwyn’s space.”

“Was she?” he asked smoothly, eyes still on the ferret.  

Eliza gave her friend a sour look though she didn't see it, focused as she was on her mug. Splinter placed the milk before the Phoenix calmly before taking his customary seat. He gave no further comment, instead waiting for one of the women to elaborate.

Eliza rolled her eyes from the Phoenix as she poured the milk into her tea, back to him, affecting a casual smile in the process. “Yes, yes I was actually,” she said, her voice slightly pinched. “I just thought that construction might go faster if Gwyn wasn't asking Donnie questions every five minutes, annoying Leo, making Raph mad, or distracting Mikey.”

Splinter took a sip of his tea, trying to remain calm, though he was incensed. How dare she try to manipulate him, did he not have four teenage boys? Did she truly think he would not see through such a ruse. Well, two could play at this game.

“How considerate of you, Mrs. VonHertz. And exactly who’s hair would you be in while you are not in ours?” He put his cup down and gestured to the only human in the room. “Surely you would not impose on the Phoenix and her family. Especially since her home is on the surface,” His voice went from silky to firm. “And it is my understanding that we have an agreement on this matter.”

[trolloled]

Nobody asked for it but I’m giving it to you anyway:

The inspiration-behind-the-trolls master post:

Damath: I saw a lot of haughty seadwellers super proud of their status and thought ‘what if there was a seadweller who lost at being a seadweller’ and damath was hatched. I basically wanted an asshole desperately clinging to his old status, and he hasn’t changed too drastically since then.

Haydel: I listened to Barrett’s Privateers and became inspired to write my own ‘pirate’ troll. She was fairly flat when I first wrote her. She didn’t even have a proper profile until recently despite being first designed several years ago. Originally she was just a drunkard pirate with bad aim, but now she’s a drunkard dancing pirate with middlin’ aim and a strong desire to kidnap trolls to be her lackeys so she can prove herself the toughest of all seadwellers.

Vollia: I dunno, I think someone literally just suggested ‘what if there was a troll based off one of those repo-men shows’ on MSPAF at one point and Vollia was hatched. She’s changed drastically since then. Original incarnation was still a drinker, but only to deal with the stupidity she dealt with on a regular basis. She was also fairly bloodthirsty and absolutely loathed subjugglators for ‘ruining’ the good name of indigos

Deviex: I was fresh off playing Bioshock and I wanted a lunatic doctor of my own. He was never a direct Bioshock rip-off, but I slipped in a few steinman jokes here and there and unfortunately that got him l labelled as such. He originally had a yellowblooded moirail that kept his homicidal medical intentions in check, but since her RPer turned into a huge prat stopped roleplaying, that is long gone and Deviex has since had no one to stop him from flying into a rage when told someone won’t submit for medical testing.

Remiva: ‘what if there was a highblood who made it his job to deal with these nice highbloods?’ I think I originally just designed him as an example profile for a fantroll help blog I used to run (boy that was a dumpster fire). Since I liked the concept of someone being a deliberate asshole to lowbloods for the sake of status while stabbing other people in the back to prove some philosophical point, I fleshed out his profile completely.

Charsa: Originally designed for a dieselpunk SGRUB rp that never took off, she used to be a very energetic and excitable inventor who routinely broke everything she made out of excitement. In the translation between that and here, she lost her excitable nature and become more tired than anything, partially as a result of how her AB turned out. Which is all well and good, I prefer the lazy/tired inventor archetype to the excited one. Plus she kept all the eccentric nature of what she builds with a mildly amused, nearly asleep-college-student attitude.

Kormut: He was my first fantroll. I just wanted a highblood that couldn’t be considered overpowered since I was super worried about accidentally being some sort of newbie rper who busted in with overpowered trolls that everyone auto-loved. So I gave him inexplicable bad luck. Some people guessed that his bad luck was entirely in his head, but it really wasn’t. He’s stayed pretty much the same since his inception, though his lusus turned from a Dune-esque sandworm into a slightly mutated lusus cougar instead.

Sapant: Hatched from the idea of ‘take an obscure character from a popular work and make them into a fantroll.’ He’s Owl Eyes from The Great Gatsby, albeit with his niceness significantly toned down to fit in with troll attitudes. He’s too new to have changed at all!

Newsen: One of the first new trolls I made following my impromptu hiatus. I saw a pair of torn jeans and a wicked hairstyle on a sprite sheet while listening to Dirty Laundry, so I figured a reporter intentionally sabotaging everyone else’s success for his own gain would be pretty amusing, especially if he was pretty disgusting himself.

Yegeri: He’s somewhat inspired by the Pinkerton Detective Agency (His name is formed from two different prominent Pinkerton detectives). You know, before they became some weird private security group. When they busted rum runners and such. He doesn’t get much any use because I’m not a big fan of the sprite I made for him, but I still like his personality.

Hovend: I wanted Yegeri to have a distaff counterpart that was absolutely not suited for police work whatsoever. What would happen if the worst person possible was thrust into a position where he had to do what he hated most? The answer is apparently regress into anime and origami folding.

Xrumon: Not gonna lie, I made him because I was annoyed with a certain someone’s representation of a troll brought back from near-death in robot form. Not to worry dear weird person reading this, it’s nobody that follows me. Their representation had the troll...blandly accept being saved, and they weren’t at all concerned with the ramifications of their new body. So I said ‘I can do it better’ and wrote up the mean spirited son of a bitch we all don’t know and certainly don’t love today. Turns out being trapped in a robot shell sucks.

Portec: There’s an episode of American Dad where Stan really, really, really wanted to get a helicopter or some shit. I saw that and decided I wanted a helicopter troll because it’d be funny (That’s a common theme). So Portec became reality, formed with a strong desire for coffee and a reckless attitude, he...really hasn’t changed all that much.

Deveii: He was originally a self-insert! Oh no! He had my worst personality traits of course, namely being my absolutely awful temper at the time along with cowardice. Thankfully he quickly grew way the hell away from being a self-insert through the power of Zagaya (his first moirail) taking him under his wing. He always retained his bad temper, however, and accidentally gained an affinity for dating highbloods.

Evelsi: I think rai dared me to make a troll that only spoke in like 50′s slang or some shit like that. For a while, that was basically his quirk! I had a whole page written up of various slang terms to use, while Evelsi was basically ‘hey remember the American 50′s? Weren’t those times wild?’ the troll. From that I gradually added onto him so that he became more of a rock n’ roll troll with a penchant for helping others gain friends/quadrants, and pretty much entirely dropped the 50′s schtick.

Remune: “I want a bartender that nearly kills people with what he makes.” That’s pretty much it. His sprite is one I’m really proud of, even if I used a base. His hair was a total bitch but I love how it turned out. He hasn’t changed much, though he originally had telekinesis as a power. I changed that to seismic sense so that I could play it into his alcoholism (Booze deadens the constant noise other trolls generate for him).

Gaveyo: I kinda just wanted an explorer type troll? I listened to the Legionnaire’s Lament by the decemberists and wanted a troll that evoked that song. A lot of my trolls are inspired by music. At first he was just gonna be a lil grumpy and v. tired and v. world weary, but he somehow turned into fat dickhead who ruins people’s nights for laughs. At least he kept his trait of collecting trinkets and mementos. Fun fact, his last name is a rearrangement of the word cloyed, which iirc means something that is really sweet or overly sappy. I have actual reasons for keeping it that way.

Chamlo: I wrote him for a special RP where mutants/undesirable would get to duke it out on an island. The last one standing would be allowed to rejoin the troll empire at large, having been granted the gift of life! And every other troll in the empire got to watch a sick, extreme version of survivor! Unfortunately the RP didn’t get enough applicants and then the MSPAF got nuked so oh well.

Adabon: I listened to Delta (C2C) and suddenly got inspired to make a troll who was a fan of bombs. But since that felt a little cliche, I wondered what else could one do w/ bombs. And then I remembered seeing a cartoon where some fool used an explosives challenge to paint a shitload of stuff at once and figured that’d be pretty fun! It worked out pretty well overall, I’d say.

Yarrex: Second fantroll ever. Most of his characterization came from when I first used him on MSPAF. I can’t remember if the cafe interactions or his profile came first. Either way he soon turned into a troll obsessed with balance. Then I did the stupidest thing ever and wrote myself into an Edgy Fanfic Corner(tm) by burning his hive down and killing his lusus because itsbadwriting.gif. Fortunately, people still liked him for whatever reason. I’ve retconned all of that so his lusus is quite alive and his hive is still standing, but I still have him reference his hive at least getting singed sometimes as a nod. 

Argumi: “Boy, reading everyone’s thoughts would actually be a pretty horrible power. I know! I’ll make it so that you can’t turn it off! And you’re an empath!” And so began Argumi’s suffering. Most of my trolls are ‘inspired’ by sudden thoughts, really. First he was just an empath, then he turned into a mind reader, and now he’s an empath AND a mind reader. His life just gets worse every rewrite. But at least he’s more functional now than he used to be.

Famynn: Was written originally to be the Totally Awesome Doctor(tm) in a pirate RP. He would have performed surgery listening to stirring operas and complained about everyone else being little kids. Basically an incredibly old fashioned, anachronistic, asshole. But then the owner of said rp who shall remain nameless repeatedly made me lower his caste so their friends could get in instead. So he became brown and hopelessly incompetent as a doctor. Then the RP ended because oops the earlier mentioned prat was in it and the owner was no better. Later I used him in a better RP called Hunters (of the lost planet) where he was still the ship’s doctor. That’s where he got his jealous nature towards highbloods from! He’s been pretty much the same since, although his Alternian form has no doctor incliniations.

Marnin: I listened to Convoy or something one too many times and wanted a badass trucker troll. He was Not Great(tm). Really flat for my tastes and I’m a little embarrassed at how one-note he was. I was recently convinced to revive him by someone who actually liked him. I used it as a chance to completely revamp his personality (i.e. actually give him one) and change what he did completely. He’s not the same troll he used to be.

Abnage: I just wanted a con artist, really. His sprites belonged to a failed troll concept I tried out for a while, involving a hobo that flagrantly violated society’s norms to make some dumbass moral point. Unfortunately, that would mean being nice on purpose, and since everyone else’s trolls were nice at the time, the point was lost in translation. 

Gerrel: Third fantroll ever! I wanted the ‘ideal’ lowblood, in a similar vein to how Kormut was a purposefully underpowered blueblood. I didn’t want people calling me mean names if I made an upstart lowblood, so I went in the opposite direction. Just about the only personality trait he retains from his original incarnation is his workaholic-please-everyone attitude. He used to be somewhat suave (at least, what, 15 year old me thought so?) and utterly confident in himself. He bored me to tears, honestly, since I wasn’t a very good writer and couldn’t work with him very well. He’s gone through the most rewrites out of all my troll’s until we got to his ULTIMATE FORM (the one he’s in now). Unfortunately this came at the cost of (oopsie) alienating the fire nation his matesprit, since I never RP’d him much and also randomly went on hiatus.

Platar: I wanted a gas mask troll who burned things. I think the original ORIGINAL idea I had was just ‘world war 1 troll.’ He always carried deadly clouds of poison around with him in sealed containers to show off to other trolls. He was also hideously scarred under his mask thanks to accidentally exposing himself to a large batch of mustard gas, a secret no one ever actually found out. He’s changed entirely up to this point, since he’s now an extremely loyal member of the empire hellbent on proving the worth of his supposed ancestor and burning out all traces of heresy and criminality from the glorious Empire.