#i got to thinking about using those astral projections and how that might work

[ganondoodle]

i might have talked about it before but i kinda wanna rant a lil how nonsensical both the "getting of the time reversal" and "giving zelda the mastersword" things are

bc ... to get the time reversal powers you touch a ... ghost of the enigma stone that used to be there .. and i GUESS it was the one zelda has now but used to be raurus and since its now linked to her we get .... link being astral projected into ghosty dimension similar to the other sages and we get zeldas sage power, but .. how does that even work, zelda, having supposedly long lost her soul to being a dragon is somehow still able to do the whole sage thing of taking you to fogland mclight dimension, just doesnt tell you the same stuff the other sages do word for word (thank GOD)

but how did that even manifest? even ignoring her soul being GONE how can she make that oath or whatever while shes not awake and just floating there, what business does the ghost engima stone have there and why dont the others have something similar to where they were once stored (in the forgotten temple backrooms tm bc we cant have the sonau NOT touch a thing in this world all of the sudden-)

is it bc they were like ... released of their holder from the old sages since they had long died and those go back to being big floaty stones (for whatever reason .. shouldnt have sonias stone done the same when gan took it then??)- also zeldas ability being put into the hand ability wheel while we gotta chase down the damn sages any time you want to use one of their abilities is so unfair .. you could have made the sages usable .. but no ..

its a relatively small complaint compared to the rest but it still bothers me bc it just ... feels so contrived, like it feels to be so clearly just some loose string to get you that power

the same with the weird ass time bubble to get the mastersword back in time to zelda just so she can have a flimsy reason to do what she does (we wouldnt want the character this series is named after be an actual CHARACTER instead of a pretty prize at the end now would we??) and its jsut so .......... why not have her grab the broken master sword as shes falling into the past (SOMEHOW) or it falling down with her bc really link shouldnt maybe not be able to hold it anymore- wait he reaches for her with that hurt hand .. so he did drop it .. and it somehow got back to him instead of being put into the past WITH zelda right then and there?? why??

(also ..rauru just teleporting him to the sky island ... wasnt that arm the last bits of raurus physical body? was his ghost just chilling up there the whole time- ... can ghosts in totk control and teleport their physical, dead limbs to whereever their ghost is? why can a ghost even be so far apart from the rest of his remains .... or was that spiraling energy stuff just him slowly turning into a ghost there ... but my point about ghosts controlling their dead limbs still stands- WAIT he ALSO has to be able to ... SEE somehow bc he grabbed link before he fell too .... the way he talks when you find him chilling on the island tho is like hes seeing it all for the first time too .. so .. he wasnt a ghost yet and still knew where to go .. even tho the place is somehwere totally different to where it used to be and if he became a ghost right there why couldnt you see him when he grabbed link... if the hand that grabbed link wasnt actual the one that fell off gan why does it look like it then? bc gan hand was long and thin with long ass class and raurus actual ghost hands are barely different from typical human ones- .. i think im having more thoughts about this point thant nintendo had over the entirety of making the game .... also fuck rauru for doing the fake out "oooh noooo im fading awayyy" thing just so he doesnt have to answer any of your thousand questions i guess, only to return at the end going, "actually, i want my arm back and yours was fine anyway lol, and here sonia is here too for some reason! also check this out! zelda is back and you didnt have to do shit, isnt that cool?")

the weird time bubble makes me so angry when i remmeber it exists bc it just .. makes NO sense?? what even is it?? if it was a foreshadowing to zelda learning to use her new time powers and you find more over time in the game where she manifests mroe and more until she manages to return on her own like it was kinda teased with sonia tellign her shell find a way to use her new powers to go back since she (SOMEHOW) also got herself here and that point going nowhere like so many other points (hows it going impah, foudn a way to get zelda back yet? dont bother, turns out the solution was 'beat the bad guy' and it all solved itself) OK fine, that works

BUT ITS NOT a foreshadowing of anything, the time bubble thing is just THERE and it drives me nuts, it really only adds to this whole game feeling so weirdly held together by loose strings and it just gets worse the more you think

[youremyheaven]

Omg rahu-ketu post😳

I was actually discussing my struggles around having prominent swati in my chart and staying grounded in my own reality on a forum fairly recently.

I have a very rich inner world which I essentially live in most of the time, and sometimes I feel like I miss out of my own life because I’m so detached. Limerence is also a big struggle for me, I find it much easier to centre myself in the energy of someone else than to be responsible for my own reality, which I guess comes from the things you talked about like rahu being a shadow planet and the mythology of rahu and obsession.

I also spend a large amount of time on social media and playing games 😶‍🌫️ I’ve tried to make uses of the positives by channeling my imagination into something tangible like art, but I have a hard time actually putting in the work to develop skills since I’m so distracted all the time. I think I’ve spent too much time in my head and now I’ve forgotten how to be in my body lol (my ADHD isn’t helping either💀)

Swati I think is especially a difficult nak because the libra/venus influence is only enabling rahu’s indulgence, unlike saturn or to a lesser extent mercury.

Aside from my personal whinings- the thing you said about occult/astro kind of intrigued me. All of my close family (incl. grandparents, uncles, etc) have atleast one rahu or ketu nak in their big 3, usually being ardra, mula or swati.

My mother’s side has lots of psychics and we have a dream interpretation system that gets passed down the family, whilst my father’s side has many tarot readers. My dad himself is an occultist who is interested in Thelema, astral projection, etc. There’s some interest in astrology on both sides but not particularly in depth and my parents usually end asking me about the transits. Oh yeah and I guess I had that one psychic dream last November that came true the morning after.

In general, my family has a history of very eccentric characters who occasionally got exiled or imprisoned or some crazy shit 😭 I feel like that’s just average Eastern European family lore though. Do you think such isolation is nodal? I think it is but there might be other planetary influence.

That’s enough yapping for today though. Interested to see your post on the positives❤️

Your observation about Swati is spot on

I do think Nodal influence+ well placed/strong Rahu & Ketu are necessary for learning and immersing yourself in the occult. Someone who cannot channel it well will remain ignorant of it no matter how much they read or study it. In some ways the Nodes can be understood as layers of the subconscious and the unconscious. The nodes represent karma (Ketu does) and our unconscious mind is our accumulated karma, if we remain ignorant of it, we will let it guide all our actions and lead us to self destruction. Therefore to have strong/well placed Nodes means you're aware of the different layers of your mind as a result of which you can understand the different layers of reality. Nodal influence creates a fog/veil that cannot be lifted until we gain true gnosis. This is why Nodal people get lost in addictive substances/pass times/people/ interests because their own reality feels foggy/veiled to them so they can only access it from other things. Obviously this is another form of Maya or illusion and that's why even these natives struggle with it. You hate the thing even as you indulge in it because on some level you realise that you're losing yourself to it.

Immersing yourself in the occult requires a certain discipline and consistency that can be hard for Nodal natives (malefic influenced, badly placed etc) to master unless it's well aspected but those who do master it are able to perceive reality and understand the esoteric realm in a truly sublime way. It's rare and magnetic.

I do think Nodal influence can contribute to being exiled/imprisoned/being isolated. There is a reason why 5/6 Nodal nakshatras all belong to the Shudra caste which is the lowest. These natives live lives that are "unusual" or different from the norm. They are "detached" because their life experiences already set them apart from others. They don't belong to the mainstream because they've been put in circumstances where they've been deprived of what is "normal".

Like I said in my post, what is "unusual" can vary a lot and can mean sooo many different things. Majority of the "child star gone wild" type celebrities have heavy Nodal influence. Why? because it's "unusual" for a child to be working or attaining fame and wealth or for their family to use them for the same. When you're deprived of anything ordinary or real, you depend on substances/unhealthy relationships/habits etc to feel centred. This is why after a point these stars "go rogue or wild". They amass a lot of wealth/fame but ultimately they're unable to benefit from it or enjoy it. This is also unusual as these are things typically understood as blessings. Being in a position where you can't connect to or relate to others is a very Nodal experience. That's why a lot of people with these placements are so introverted and withdrawn. If you're a famous child actor, you can't quite go to school and connect to the experiences of other people your age so you feel "isolated". Being imprisoned/exiled is another such experience. It permanently alters you and you don't know how to connect to others who haven't been through it.

I do think isolation is a big theme in the lives of Nodal people. It can be literal or emotional. But it's also obviously influenced by the rest of the chart. Heavy 12h placements also make a native experience the same themes to some extent.

[todayinmagicalgirlhistory]

Mini Introspection: Spirit Work Then and Now

I've been a spirit companion since about late 2017. 

That was also the same year I officially decided witchcraft was something I wanted to pursue. It runs on one side of the family, with one of my moms vodou and witchcraft is practiced commonly as well as the sight. Because of that, I’d always experienced paranormal things to a point it was pretty easy to forget since I was so used to it. My older brothers and I were used to ghosts, we were used to faerie pranks (I’m pretty sure my mom that’s a witch is a changeling lwk but that’s just a theory).

So when I finally got into witchcraft and went through the whole ‘well damn what sort of witch do I want to be’ phase, I eventually stumbled onto the term ‘spiritwork’ and what that meant back in the highlight of when spiritwork was practically a trend in the witchcraft community. Everyone wanted to work with spirits and everyone wanted to astral travel or project.

Now I could definitely talk about how my abilities have improved over time but I think like with any craft, that’s a given. As long as you put in the work, your skills will better and you will find your own way of doing things. You’ll find niches you’re best at. The same goes for spiritwork, my skills getting better and figuring out the sort of spirits I work with best with.

But as far as introspection goes as how I’ve changed as a person from then and now... I’ve always felt like I was pretty adaptable and open-minded but when you come across various types of beings with morals and cultures that can greatly vary from humans, you learn to be even more so. I might not be down with every culture I come across, but I still give those individuals and their culture my respect. Maybe if I’d been born into it, my opinions and who I am as a person would be completely different.

And as someone who has spirits I work rather closely with to the point of companionship, I like to think I’ve changed for the better. Spirit companionship is basically like any other friendship, give or take a few obvious differences. The people you associate with will definitely influence you in some way. I’m more determined about my goal of becoming a teacher, I go more out of my way to learn about things should I have any questions... I’m also definitely a lot more aware of my own shortcomings when I see the great people I’ve surrounded myself with. Rather than envy, it drives me to want to be better and be someone the people I care about rely on. Or rather, being the person they think I am.

Spirit work, while daunting at times, is definitely a fulfilling path. Just remember you don’t need to take the hedge witch route in order to improve and be a better person. I just think that as my main path as a witch, it’s definitely had an influence on me as a person.

[sublimeloverstrawberry]

Everything She does is for attention...

At 1040pm you liked a photo when I asked "would you buy what I sell?" From a professional page after I asked for a rejection.

I started getting more spiritual and made an Instagram about it, never tagging you in a post and you found it, and shared it. "A pink dress will be your sign" and then Mathilde came in and confronted me. I could tell when you were anxious and learned you watched my stories anonymously. I wanted to help your anxiety and depression in real time.

"butterflies will be your next sign" and I played a new game where your dash turns you into butterflies... You asked to talk to me after work.

Then all hell broke loose. You astral projected into a hospital room I wasn't supposed to be in. I fell through multiple realities and dimensions and looked crazy. The Mafia Members started reading more, smiling more, relaxing more, and I heard their influences when I meditated. Then I started to hear Her. For 1 month I accepted her as a spiritual friend. Then I got literally blocked on social media but you could still send me a message... Fucking toxic bullshit.

I took my distance and started to open up my creativity, blocked on all accounts which I understood but then I found her. Toxic bullshit.

I still check to see if you finally blocked me or if I am still your source of hope. I deserve better, but you are my twinflames and I refuse to leave you behind. I'm waiting for you to see your worth, and decide I'm worth getting to know as a friend.

I don't even fantasize at night about you. I objectified you for a full year, and I felt sick to my stomach when I realized. You might have heard me banging on the cafe counter explaining how your body felt against mine... I realized I was wrong to see you only as an object of lust.

Even though I imagine the sexual things I'd like to share with you, I don't use those fantasies for self pleasure. I never have used real people for that kind of thing because reality is always better than any fantasy.

But there were 3 times where I felt a pull, similar to knowing your anxiety but more lust than anxiety. And those 3 times I did arrive by myself thinking of you, but it was far more spiritual than general lust. One even charged a rose quartz.

But you're in a relationship. Model walked away from me. Mimics me. Puts active effort to avoid me.

If you and I were dating, and She was the one you worked your ass off to avoid, that would be a cause for a long intimate conversation.

What about her makes you feel so mentally aroused that you have to actively plan a way to avoid her?

Why do you put in so much energy towards her?

What am I doing that is encouraging this sort of focus on her?

Why don't you feel secure in talking to me about these emotions you feel?

How can I help support your wishes towards this person?

Is there an aspect of me I'm not dealing with that her existence is triggering in me I need to work on?

Do I make you feel safe?

Do I give you enough space for you to understand your emotions towards her?

Is it space you want or a conversation where you feel heard?

Is this a healthy hurdle or is this something we need to acknowledge?

If someone has so much of your attention why would I fight to keep yours?

What does her existence make me feel towards myself and my present situation?

What have I done in the past that brought us to this conflict?

How well do I hold myself accountable for my emotions towards this stranger?

How safe, secure, heard, wanted, and validated do I make you feel?

I'm only a threat because both of you have perceptions and projections you've placed on me. I'm a no one, except for the past I share with Him. Which is literally just an inability to express my emotions appropriately, and having microexpessions that scream "I love you".

So why is she following this blog, why do you avoid me, why do you check my social media? Why do your friends check my stories? Why does Mafia have opinions about me?

Why do I have such a large impact for a community I just started to integrate myself into?

[blue-mood-blue]

Minerva was retired.

“Not retired,” Duck would always say. “Just… starting a new career. Or, uh. Diversifying? Seems weird to call it retired when you’re still working.”

Maybe not retired, then. But certainly not working in the same capacity - less emergencies meant less lives at risk, and the kind of world-saving she did now didn’t usually carry the risk of bodily harm or a body count. A change of department, at least, if not a change of career entirely.

Just a change of department. And a good chance at that, because sometimes the old position still needed her.

The weather had taken an abrupt turn that evening - storms that had been predicted to miss them entirely for the past week were now looming in rolling, angry clouds overhead and creeping closer. Eventually, Juno made the call; they had a handful of campers in their section of the forest who might not know how severe the weather was going to be, so they were going to round them up and take them somewhere safer. "Service can be spotty," she explained. "Can't guarantee they've heard the change in the report, and better to get them out now than have to fish them out of danger later. I think we can handle it." And she divvied out the camping locations.

The storm held for most of the day, but by the time late afternoon arrived the wind was already whipping the trees around in a frenzy. Reaching the campsites became more complicated as debris was left over the paths and roads, and Minerva thought that Juno Divine made a wise call when she heard another large branch breaking in the distance. There would be plenty for them to do after the storm just to make the park accessible without the added worry of rescues.

A call came in over her radio. "Hey Minnie, there's only one campsite left on the list and no one else has gotten back from the last round yet, so I'm just gonna take it."

She looked up at the sky, eyeing it skeptically, before lifting the radio. Such old technology by her own planet's standards, but it worked well enough. "Are you sure, Duck Newton? The weather does not look promising, and it might be a good idea to have someone with you. I will not be much longer if you wish to wait for me."

"Nah, nah." If she concentrated, she could just make out the sound of footsteps and a snapping twig - already on his way, then. "Sooner I get there, sooner I get back, and then we can head home and watch movies until the power goes out."

Minerva grinned. "We are going to watch the one with the robots tonight, yes? You did promise me I could pick."

He laughed, and the sound was just as pleasant even with the fuzz of static. "Yeah, I promised. Hard to go wrong with Wall-E anyway. We'll pick up pizza on the way home, if you want."

"Sounds like a date." She glanced up at the sky one more time as she reached the main building, concern alleviated a little by their plans for a nice evening in. "Be careful, Duck, and I will see you soon."

"I’ll be back before you know it."

It was the last she heard from him for almost an hour.

The tension building in the air finally broke as the sky opened up and rain pummeled the roof of the main office. The wind only increased, whistling and shaking branches, and lightning showed the scene outside in bursts. Minerva stood by the window, radio in hand, and made unanswered calls as Juno began to pace.

"He should be back by now." Only static on the radio. "I saw the campsite he was headed to, it's not that far away." Juno glanced at the window Minerva stood by as though she might see Duck walking up the road, cool as a cucumber. It was all just sheets of rain and flashes of light illuminating the ways the trees seemed to writhe. No Duck, and nothing to reassure them that he would even be able to get back on his own.

"I should go and look for him. Something might have happened to his radio." Minerva didn't say what they were both thinking - something might have happened to him, and how would anyone know until the storm died down if they kept waiting - but the tension in her shoulders made her worry clear. It would have been obvious to Duck, and maybe it was noticeable to Juno, too, since Minerva was doing nothing to hide it - the amount of control it took for her to remain inside as long as she had.

"You should not go and look for him. What if we lose track of you, too?" The look Juno gave Minerva was uncertain, though, as if she wasn't sure of her own argument. Duck always said that Minerva could do whatever the fuck she wanted, and Duck... knew more about everything surrounding Minerva than anyone else. Maybe she could just walk out into a raging storm and bring her husband back. A thunderous rumble shook the building. Juno's voice sounded less sure, too, when she spoke again. "I'm sure he's fine. Duck's been doing this job a long time, he knows how to take care of himself. We'll hear something from him soon."

They waited and watched while the storm seemed to grow worse. Minerva stared at the window with single-minded determination, and Juno fumbled with her own radio as if willing it into activity. Just static, again, until it started to sound like the rain hitting the roof.

When they heard something, it didn’t come from the radio. A figure made of light stood in the room next to them suddenly, and just as suddenly it was on the floor, lying on its stomach and reaching out. "Mouse," said Duck's voice. "I... think I'm stuck."

"Where are you?" She walked closer while Juno stared, and Minerva had to ignore the alarms ringing in her head with his choice of her nickname, with the way the projection flickered between standing and crawling. She stopped just short of him, pulling back the hand that reached for him out of instinct - she couldn't touch him, not in this form. The worry was put into a box in the back of her mind for later; the sooner she was with him, the sooner she could help.

It seemed to take him a moment to gather himself enough so that the projection was on its feet again and he could point to a spot on the map hanging on the wall.

"Are you hurt?"

He laughed, a hoarse sound - a fearful sound. “I think so, honey. Fuck.” And with that the figure flickered out of existence.

There was a beat of silence as they both watched the spot where Duck’s astral projection used to be, waiting for something more. Anything. But it seemed that Duck had said all he had come to say.

“I am going to find him,” Minerva said, walking to the door.

“I’m going with you,” Juno replied, reaching for a set of keys.

In a moment of sorely-needed luck, Duck was not hard to find. He knew his part of the forest, knew it well enough to take Minerva wandering even before the end of the world had passed, when they needed somewhere quiet to be without expectations. Never once had he gotten them lost, not even when he took her hand and led them away from the path because there was a tree he wanted to show her, or a meadow he knew of. He was still aware enough to pinpoint his location on a map, and Minerva tried to take reassurance in that fact when she spotted him in the light from the headlights, lying in the road in front of a fallen tree.

Minerva could see immediately what he meant by “stuck” - in the harsh illumination, she could make out long drags in the mud left from Duck trying to pull himself free of the tree. He hadn’t made any progress; either the tree was too heavy or the ground was too soft, and he was lying there soaked by the downpour and smiling up at them though the pain clear on his face.

She jumped down before Juno had a chance to stop; the relief of seeing him and seeing that smile was a heady feeling, and she tried not to get lost in it. "The next time I offer to accompany you when the situation seems dangerous, I trust you'll take me up on my offer?" Her voice wasn't stern at all, teasing if anything, and she could see the effect that her words - and her presence - had on her husband. His smile looked a little easier, his fear a little farther away.

Duck chuckled. “You're right - you’re always right about stuff like this and I'm the idiot who keeps arguing with you, I know. I would've been back before the storm, though, just had the worst fucking luck - campsite was already abandoned, that wind started up, and I almost missed the tree.” He pulled himself forward a little, which was a mistake; the smile was gone and he barely managed to bite back a scream. His leg didn’t give at all.

“Do not do that again.” There was a time when she would've had more control over her emotions. She would have been able to lock her concern away in iron until she had time to deal with it, as her training demanded. But she wasn't exactly that person anymore, and this wasn't war - this was Duck, hurt, while she tried to decide what to do.

Minerva leaned closer to the spot where leg met wood. The trunk was heavy, not rotted at all, so there must have been some damage already that made the wind able to push it. That meant that the full weight of a healthy tree was on him, sunken into the mud. The luck that had gotten her and Juno to the spot so quickly seemed to have decided they'd been granted enough favors.

“Yeah, good call.” Duck's voice sounded strange, thin, and his face looked pale. “Don’t suppose… don’t suppose you could get that off of me? I’m not gonna lie to you, Minnie, it, it doesn’t feel great.”

She could, Minerva was sure of it. She didn't bother with false modesty when it came to her physical prowess, didn't see the point - it wouldn’t be easy, but she could remove the trunk with time and a good enough grip. But it wasn't lost on her that if she couldn't see Duck's leg, she also couldn't see the extent of the damage. She might make things worse by moving it, or by trying to and losing her grip.

Before she could answer, Juno was next to her. “Holy fucking shit, Duck. How the hell did you get wedged under there?”

“Just that talented. I’m sure you’re super jealous. Please get it off.” Being out in the storm was starting to take its toll on him; Duck looked tired and unfocused.

“I’m going back for… chainsaws, I guess. And backup. I’d say don’t go anywhere, but. Yeah.” She tossed a tarp at Minerva as she climbed back into the vehicle. “Ten minutes, tops.” And then she was gone, the headlights retreating back the way they came.

Minerva unfolded the tarp, spreading it over both of them as she sat down next to Duck. They were still wet, and they were still sitting in mud, but she felt better here than she had at the building; at least here, the uncertainty was gone.

"So I guess that's a 'no' to just lifting the thing and chucking it somewhere else."

"I would prefer to try the chainsaws first, yes," she said after a moment. "It is very likely I would hurt you, and if I could avoid that... that would be better."

"Oh." He nodded. “Yeah, I get that. Probably safer, anyway.”

They were quiet for a while. The sound of the rain on the tarp was different than the sound of it on the roof of the office, closer and more immediate. The cold was biting, sneaking in through the places the tarp didn't cover. There was no forgetting where they were.

"So much for date night."

The thought was unexpected enough to coax a laugh from Minerva. "I am sure I can find some way for you to make it up to me. When you are no longer trapped under a tree, perhaps."

Duck laughed, too. "Makes it a little hard to cuddle, yeah." He reached out for her hand. “Thanks for coming. This is probably the dumbest way I’ve ever gotten hurt, and you know there’s a list, but… means a lot.”

“I love you, Duck Newton, and I would rescue you from many trees.” He chuckled, and she smiled at him. “As I know you would for me.”

“Hell yeah I would.” And if his voice was a little quieter, a little more tired, it was no less sincere. “Would absolutely punch a tree for you. Let me at ‘em.”

Minerva tried not to let the silence last too long - she kept him talking, about his day, about that part of the forest, about the last time he’d seen a storm this bad - anything at all, as long as it meant he was present and alert. Ten minutes slid into fifteen before she heard anything on her radio - a string of expletives, because there was “another fucking tree down on the fucking road, get yourselves to some shelter while I call for help.”

Minerva brushed the hair from Duck’s forehead. The last time she’d seen him at this angle, they’d been lying together in bed and she wished them back there, in some safe moment. His eyes were tired, verging into glazed, but he smiled just a little at her touch. “This is going to hurt, Wayne Newton. This is going to hurt so much.”

He sighed, but he didn’t sound surprised or worried. “Figured. Do what you gotta do, Mouse. I trust you.”

She kissed his forehead. Back in the storm, she stood over the trunk, found her grip, and pulled.

Minerva had never heard Duck scream that way. She never wanted to hear it again. Mercifully, it didn’t last long - soon he was silent, passed out from the pain, and she let the heavy tree in her arms fall down at an angle that would leave him free to move.

It was bad. The damage was… bad, and that was as far as she allowed herself to think. Minerva thanked the little bit of luck that meant Duck wouldn’t have to feel the next part, as she wrapped his leg in the tarp and lifted him. She knew exactly where to take him; she knew this place almost as well as him, now.

The little outpost was a good choice - it was well stocked, with a bed and first aid supplies, and had reliably weathered storms in the past. Small, but Minerva would take anything more effective than the flimsy tarp. When they were dry she did what she could for his leg, drawing off of the experience of half-remembered war wounds and first aid training, and forced herself to be satisfied with what she’d managed.

“I am going to tell Leo Tarkesian that you lost a fight with a tree,” she told Duck. “He is going to laugh at you, and I will join him.”

Duck didn’t answer. Minerva didn’t expect him to.

A couple of hours later, while she was watching a window that usually showed a beautiful view of the forest and now only showed the growing darkness of night and the storm, she noticed Duck start to shiver. His skin was too warm - a fever was setting in, and she piled blankets on him and sat back down to do nothing but hope the night passed quickly.

It didn’t, of course; the hours dragged on while she watched. His sleep was restless, and she had to keep him from moving his leg. She tried the radio but there wasn’t even static, and her cell phone was similarly useless; her consolation was that the outpost was a holding of the park service, and should show up on the maps. All she could do was wait. The storm howled outside.

“I worried about things like this,” she confessed around midnight to her sleeping husband. “When I asked you fulfill your destiny, I worried about the day I would see you weakened, or bloody. Or the day you wouldn’t answer at all, because you couldn’t, and because my choosing you had cost you everything. And I, fool that I am, thought that the days I might see you hurt were over.” Minerva sighed. “Not even the abominations managed to do this much. There is a joke there somewhere, too; you will have to tell me what it is, when you wake up.”

Sometime before dawn - but only just - her husband answered, from behind her. The glowing figure was looking blindly for something, shaking and reaching out, and she realized he was dreaming.

“You can’t just be gone. That’s not fair, Minerva, you can’t just be gone.”

A fever dream. Fear from a long time ago, dredged back to the surface by confusion and pain. Minerva stared at the figure for a long moment; even without an expression it looked sad, lost and afraid. She remembered the feeling, the long silence and emptiness that she was left with when she was cut off from earth. And while it was tempting to cross the room to the figure, the one looking for her was right next to her.

The first time it happened that she knew of, she’d been in Duck’s living room. He was sitting next to the couch, holding her hand and humming some blues tune when she woke up. That was before either of them knew what it meant, that they were still together - that they just kept staying together - but in hindsight… maybe she did know, in that moment.

“You were having a bad dream,” he told her. “Bad enough that you astral projected into my room. Couldn’t just let you be alone out here after that.”

“I am ruining your sleep, Wayne Newton.” The protest was weakened a little by the smile on her face.

“Nah, I’d rather be here anyway.” And maybe he knew, too.

It wasn’t the last time. It was likely that there would always be nights like that, when the dreams felt too real and the only way they could reach out was along that reliable tether that used to be their only connection.

She turned around and rested her forehead against his, holding his hand. “Shhh, Wayne Newton. I am here. I have not left you. Try to rest.”

Minerva didn’t look to see if the projection was still there, but she didn’t hear anything else.

~~~

Daylight brought help - Duck was rushed to the hospital and Minerva was left in the waiting room until someone had news to give her. She was torn between the conviction that Duck needed her with him and the understanding that the doctors needed room to work, but all she had to do was summon the memory of her makeshift aid to convince herself it was better she stay away for now. So instead, she sat with a cup of terrible coffee in one hand, and her phone in the other.

There were an alarming number of messages waiting for her, she noted as she took a sip of the coffee. Something must have happened, and Minerva had a moment to hope no one else had been hurt in the storm before her phone started to buzz and the name “Leo Tarkesian” appeared on the screen.

“Thank fuck,” he said as soon as she answered. “I’ve been calling half the night! I was about to start over to you and Duck’s place, I’d be there already if not for that damn storm -”

“Leo Tarkesian, I do not know what you are talking about.” She had to speak loudly to be heard over him, which drew some glances from other people in the room.

“Uh, I’m talking about Duck? Talking all kinds of nonsense about looking for you last night? He sounded real spooked, I thought for sure some shit had gone down.”

So the projection had been lost. If he thought she was still planets away, there was little wonder that Duck overshot his target. “Something, yes. There was an accident in the park, but I doubt that that whatever he said had anything to do with it.”

A pause. “So, when he said he was looking for you…?”

“He was asleep by then, with a fever. He was projecting from his dreams.”

A longer, more significant pause. “...We can do that?”

Minerva didn’t answer. “Did he appear to anyone else?”

“Not that I know of, but I called Sarah. And Sheriff Owens, to see if anyone had called anything in.” Duck wouldn’t be happy to hear that the news had gotten that far, but in fairness, it would have spread anyway. “That fucking… I’m not gonna lie to you, Minerva, I haven’t forgotten that fucking vision, you know the one. Where Duck dies.”

“Yes, I remember.” Even with every possible attempt to forget.

“Really thought… really thought something big was going on. But you said there was an accident, is everything okay?”

Minerva braced herself for the fallout, and told Leo everything.

“Fuck it all, I fucking knew it! I’m calling Sarah back, we’ll be over soon - yeah I know, no news yet but we’re gonna be there, dammit - okay I gotta hang up so I can call her but I’ll call you back, yeah? We’ll be there soon!”

And then connection was quiet, and Minerva was left in a mostly-empty waiting room with a phone full of messages and the dawning realization of why there were so many.

Mama called next, before Minerva could find her number in her contacts. “No, I didn’t see him,” she explained. “That was Barclay, barged into my room and stood over me like some kind of serial killer. Scared me half to death. The storm had calmed a little by then so he went out looking to see if he could find, I don’t know, Duck’s wrecked car, maybe. Didn’t really sound like he had a plan beyond ‘do something.’”

“You can tell him that Duck Newton is in capable hands, and I will share any news as soon as I have it.”

“I can’t tell him anything because the fool hasn’t gotten back yet. I swear to god he and Stern are searching the whole town like bats outta hell. Not like Jake didn’t overhear him and get the Hornets in on it too - you’d think they’d have given up by now.”

She gave Mama the hospital information, interrupted once by a frantic Barclay getting back, and then again while Mama answered an incoming message from Thacker.

Sylvain, Duck? Minerva thought while chaos erupted from her phone. You must have missed me.

“Aubrey, too,” Mama relayed. “Real late last night, he says, and she got the whole court worked up with her fretting. You can tell Duck he should be expecting some visitors real soon; gonna be hard to keep that room from filling to the brim.”

Of course it would; he would pretend to hate it, and no one would be fooled, and the nurse would have to throw the rambunctious crowd out when visiting hours were done. It was always the same with their family. A wonderful kind of chaos.

Then the doctor was there, and Minerva’s thoughts focused on one person only.

As she expected, the injury was severe. The recovery would be long and frustrating - walking was a conversation for another day. And under everything the doctor said was the hesitant warning of this will be hard, do you understand that?

Minerva did understand. And she knew besides how worth the work good things were. It was a lesson she thought she knew, until Duck repeated it while showing her how to care for a sapling and she felt the words fully for the first time.

It was the heroism her current line of work called for. The quiet kind.

Duck smiled at her when she walked in the room, big and bright and still a little loopy from pain medication. “There you are. Been looking for you.”

“I hear you’ve looked for me in many places, Wayne Newton.” She sat down by the bed, and the tension finally fully eased from her shoulders as she held his hand. “Why did it take you so long to look next to you?”

“Guess I thought… guess I thought that’d be too good, you know, keeping a star all to myself.”

Minerva laughed, and the sound boomed out of her. “Oh, you are going to regret saying that tomorrow, I assure you.”

“Nah. Nah, never, ‘cause it’s true. You’re my hero, like one of those… one of those people. In the sky.”

“You are mixing your metaphors. Am I one star or a constellation?”

“All of ‘em.” He looked like he believed it, too. “Decided you were all of ‘em way back when I didn’t know where exactly you were up there. I used to look up and wonder which one had you.”

“This one,” Minerva said, and kissed him.

[inkdemonapologist]

for crashing (?) the Contest Of The Arts in the last cthulhu session we didn’t actually have to dress up too much, but, y’know, it IS a snazzy event and Sammy was planning to sign up as a contestant in order to get backstage, so he was a little fancier than usual. also suspenders jack is important to me....

Out of context quotes from our Slightly Eventful Contest Experience under the cut!

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[Sammy] I am sleepy today… so maybe I will be in character,,, [Jack] I am also sleepy. [Henry] … I actually just took a nap before game started. [Sammy] Ah. So Henry, as usual, is the only one that’s well-rested; yeah, that sounds correct.

*someone posts a gif of Beans the cat labelled “BEANS HEAVEN NOW”* [Jack] This is a tangent, but I’m imagining Jack doing the “We can’t keep doing this” but saying that to Beans, and it’s really cute, [Sammy] Except instead of yelling “shrimp heaven now” it’s just Beans going “MWOW! MWOWWW!” [Jack] OH NO, THATS REALLY CUTE….. [Joey] Sorry, I’m going to tangent back more: for some reason, forever entangled in my mind is “shrimp heaven now” and also the “chips” bit? So now I’m thinking of, [Joey] “Prophet keeps going into the cupboard, and eating handfuls of raw pasta, and calling them… chips?” [Sammy] “How do I make him STOP???” [Sammy] I can’t decide whether this is better if Joey is the one making this complaint, or Sammy [Sammy] *laughing* Sorry, I’m just thinking about Sammy like, waking up to find all his pasta with bites in it like “Not again,,,” [Joey] “We can’t keep doing this,”

[Sammy] Don’t teach Beans magic! Bad influence! [Henry] Beans already knows magic. [Sammy] *startled laughter* tHAT’S AN EXTREMELY CONFIDENT STATEMENT,

[Jack] Jack’s also going to be sleeping with the light on, so, Pete, I hope you don’t mind the light on! [GM] Well, that actually works out well for him, because then he can see all the papers he’s laid out around the place when he’s astral projecting! [Jack] PETE NO,,,, [Sammy] Well! It sounds like everyone’s really, definitely, using the evening time for sleep like they’re supposed to! [GM] You told Peter to make sure Jack didn’t wander off! [Sammy] YES…. WELL THAT’S IMPORTANT, [Jack] He can’t do that while sleeping! [GM] He can! He can. [Jack] He can’t do that while SLEEP-sleeping [GM] Okay, that’s true.

[Jack] All of Jack’s boyfriends are functional people. [Sammy] Jack is the only functional boyfriend. [Jack]......I’m not sure if that’s true anymore

[Jack] You’ve ruined a perfectly good lyricist is what you did, look at him, he’s got anxiety! [Sammy] Me @ The Masked Messenger

[Joey] And Joey might also make calls to Timothee and………..other guy,

[Joey] Hopefully he won’t make his intelligence check! [GM] How smart are you, Leon? You’re a doctor…. OH he might make this check, he has a very high intelligence [Sammy] Well good, we need at least somebody with a braincell, so that’s great actually.

[Joey] Does Joey have a good idea, based on what Sammy and Norman know from scoping out the hotel, about how they should maybe be dressing for this event? [Sammy] [Sammy] …you expected Sammy to be paying attention to that…? [Joey] I said Sammy and Norman,

[Joey] Joey knows who Bertrum is, because he’s just a fan of theme parks [Jack] He’s just a nerd [GM] Theme park nerd… [Joey] OH NO… Joey would be one of those youtubers who rides rides and then gives them critique… [GM] Luckily, he doesn’t have a platform to do that, so Bertrum hopefully doesn’t hate him! [Sammy] “LUCKILY, JOEY DOESN’T HAVE A YOUTUBE” applies to so many things [Joey] *laughs* [Joey] [Joey] Yeah,……………..

[Sammy] Are we just looking to grab them, and drag them off?! [Joey] dO YOU HAVE A BETTER PLAN,,,

[Joey] Do we actually have to get backstage, or can Norman just… shadow walk back there

[Joey] Sammy and Norman can sneak backstage, because Norman is good at sneaking, and Sammy is… good at doing things… without, others’ agreement,

[Sammy] If Wally’s here – Wally needs to not be here. I don’t want to think about Wally Franks while I’m here.

[Joey] If you throw that request on Joey last minute, he’s not going to take that well, he’s got so much on his mind right now – [Sammy] If Joey doesn’t want to get him ink, I can ask Bendy, like, that’s fine, whatever! [Joey] I mean, if you wait long enough, Bendy and Joey is the same person – you can’t go to the other parent!

[GM] Is Norman going have to borrow an instrument case to put this RIFLE in?

[Sammy] And y’know, if any of the Muses show up early, maaaaybe we cannnnn just– [Jack] –kidnap people, live, in front of a crowd! [Sammy] I MEAN, WE’RE DOING THAT EITHER WAY,

[GM] You guys get to the Ravenshall hotel, and ballroom adjoining, around 6pm! [Sammy] *nervously* Alright… here we are… [GM] *cheerfully* It’s close to the beach, there’s a pool outside-! [Sammy] We’re going to get arrested, [Henry] Or worse. [Jack]..... eXPELLED?

[Joey] If we are taking two cars, I think we should park Henry’s more hidden in the crowd, in case someone shows up who might recognise Henry’s car. [Joey] Though admittedly… cars are not really… recognisable,... in this time period, [Sammy] All EXACTLY THE SAME CAR, [Joey] YEAH, there’s exactly the same car, in many different colours. [Jack] It never got brought up, but Henry actually painted Cool Flames on the side of his car,

*after several minutes of retconning various preparations* [GM] Okay! You are at the front doors. [Sammy] Thren like YOU ARE HERE NOW. BE HERE. STOP GOING BACK.

[GM] Jack probably also recognises the band that’s hanging out to the side of the stage… or at least three of them! [Sammy] Is that… the musicians, from… [GM] The saxophonist is new! [Joey] *starts cackling*

[GM] You do see one of the lines on the sign-up list just says “Alice.” [Jack] I don’t know if that’s cute or concerning…

[Joey] If Norman and Peter, can sneak back right away? If Norman’s going to blend in with the other staff – [Sammy] What actually happens is, while Pete is showing his press pass, Norman just walks in. No one notices. I don’t know if he’s actually that stealthy, but that’s what’s in my heart. [GM] It might,,, be that way,,, because I’ve been rolling some dice, and what it looks like happened is that Norman tried to talk his way through and rolled a 90-something and did not know what instrument case he was carrying OR SOMETHING and did not get in, but then Peter did, and made a good persuade roll, and then Norman got a 15 on Stealth! So, that sounds correct. [Joey] Perfect! [Sammy] Norman just like, “I’m here to play sax,” and they’re like “That’s a violin case.” “Well, you know, I’ve always kept my saxophone in a violin case, I don’t know about you, that’s just what I’ve always done!”

[Sammy] Trenchcoat is not allowed to touch any of my banjos.

[Joey] They could also sign up under alternate names, [Jack] SAMMY FAIN AND JACK LAWRENCE…

[GM] Timothee does say he grabbed some stuff from his mom! And has a handful of charms. [Sammy] What do they do? [GM] One makes you better at getting out of the way of things, one that makes you sneakier, and there’s one that helps with guns, apparently. [Jack and Sammy] *giggling* [Joey] *also giggling* LOVE THAT GOOD OL’ ANCIENT GUN CHARM! Passed down for generations– [Jack] You say “gun charm” and I’m just imagining like… a phone charm, but for a gun.

[Joey] Henry’s going to get one of the “not get hurt as much” charms– [Henry] Okay! [Joey] –I don’t know if it’ll work if he hurts himself, but! We can hope. [Sammy] Henry tries to overexert and the charm just STOPS him and we’re like “*gasp* he needs to have this on all the time…”

[Sammy] Just passin’ out charms in the hotel lobby, it’s fine.

[Joey] Timothee and Henry are both the most well-armed, and seem to be the most ready to… [Sammy] Kill a man? [Joey] … plow into a situation and change it if need be. [Henry] AKA, kill a man.

[Joey] Jack is the extremely charming polite boy, who has attracted a lot of not-so-charming/polite boys… [Sammy] Yes. That’s true. [Joey] I guess Joey is the most charming polite boy, compared to Jack, out of all of them, and he’s… less polite, and more charming, [Sammy] Joey can be polite when he wants to be. Joey’s flaw is his personality. [Sammy] That’s also Sammy’s flaw; he just has several other ones as well.

[Sammy] Susie, like me, has distinctive hair, so you might be able to pick her out of a crowd-- [Joey] Joey will describe her – sorry, I’m retroactively adding this – back at the meeting, Joey will describe her in WAY too much detail, like she is a famous actress. [GM] …and then Norman will get a photograph. [Sammy] YEAH, THAT’S SMART, [Jack] Sorry, I’m – I– if Norman has a photograph of Susie, is, like… I’m just picturing it as a like, best friends selfie. [Joey] YEAH no I was immediately like, Norman & Susie Best Friends Selfie please! Even though I don’t know if you could actually do that at the time, but. It’s in my heart now. [Jack] If anyone would know how to, Norman would. [Joey] THIS IS TRUE…

[GM] He is at the buffet, eating sausage rolls on toothpicks! And talking, very loud, to people! [Sammy] Okay, so we IMMEDIATELY know where Bertrum is at ALL TIMES, got it

[Joey] Joey doesn’t have the thing that my D&D character has where I can just SENSE magical objects in the room… [Sammy] I can sense Exactly One magical object!

[GM, as Nichole] They can’t do anything to people in a public venue like this! They’re not going to be sacrificing people on stage! [Sammy] I’m not so sure about that– [GM] The weird thing is – OH wow, okay – yeah, the weird thing is, it is insanely convincing, what she’s saying. [Sammy] …………. o..kay!! um, alright – [Joey, who spent the entire game with an impossible-to-fail boosted fast talk skill] OH NO, is SHE the muse with Fast Talk?! [GM] YES!

[Sammy] Because this makes perfect sense! And Sammy has made a good judgement call!

[GM] Nichole’s not competing, so– [Joey] NICHOLE, IF YOU’RE NOT COMPETING, then what kind of a “go out with a bang” is this?!? THERE’S ONLY TWO OF YOU! [Jack] She’s gonna go out with a different bang, she’s gonna have a LOT of alchohol for this.

[Joey] *very seriously* As amazing as the work Bertrum has done for Coney Island is, he does not care about this. [Joey] He only cares about the teeny sausages.

[Sammy] This is fast talk, right? This is not an ACTUAL thing – [Joey] I do believe, that in Joey’s heart, he absolutely believes this, because he is assigning them all positions in this scene, and he has given himself a Willy Wonka position at this moment,

[GM] Bertrum lets everyone applaud a bunch, and thanks everyone for the energy, as if it is for him,

[GM, as Peter] Oh, this guy. I don’t even live here anymore and I’ve heard he’s a chore to interview… or, to stop interviewing. [Joey] Please imagine that Joey gets this information, and his eyes do the little anime SHING! thing

[Henry] Henry is probably fluent in Joey, he’ll know what to do.

[Henry] Henry is going to assume it’s Plan B time, and just pick up Susie, and run! [Jack] *nervous singsong* We’re gonna get arrested for kidnappinggggggg...! [Sammy] We are gonna get arrested, we knew that going into this. I thought it was gonna be me, but then I got talked down, [Sammy] We really just shoulda sent Prophet into this, honestly. He wouldn’t have put up with this foolishness.

[Sammy] And also, Sammy does vaguely know how to fight; Jack does not. So there’s that, as well. [Jack] He’s soft and warm, like mashed potatoes. [Sammy] Well, that’s why we gave him a charm, so he can be a speedy mashed potato. [GM] Fast potato……..

[Joey] I do need to share this thought first, of like, this gun has gone off and people are panicking, and Bertrum is STILL talking, but the moment Joey moves the spotlight off of him, he’s like, “WHAT is going on?!” [Joey] “WHO!!!! HOW VERY DARE YOU!!!” [Sammy] I feel like he MIGHT react to the shot gun– [GM] *laughs* I’m being told that he would yell “Bloody scamper!” and yell at everyone to run, which is helping with the panic! [Sammy] *cracking up* tHANKS GIANDARK!

[Sammy] No sanity damage for Sammy right now. [Jack] Samity damage. [Sammy] Hm. [Jack] Samity Samage.

[astradrifting]

how come dany and the starks are going to be enemies when there’s no mention of a wolf “ enemy “ in every dany’s dreams or quaithe’s prophecies 😂😂 it’s true when they say sansa fans don’t read the books

Oh my god.

I can't believe this.

My first anon hate!

Thank you, dearest. This is so exciting! I've finally made it as a Sansa fan! What was it that pushed you over the edge? Was it me saying that she's going to burn Winterfell? Or that Arya might be the one to kill her? Or that Jon will be her treason for love? There's quite a few, I wouldn't know which to pick! And many more to come, I promise that!

Now I've just gotta get hate about Jonsa. Got anything on that front for me? Come on, don't be shy!

Anyway, yeah, I guess you're right, there's no mention of wolves in her oh so important dreams. And like she screamed in s2 of GoT, in a way that did not at all make thousands of people instantly label her as insufferable, her dreams come true.

Look at her, sleeping so sweetly. I wonder what she's dreaming about?

And Quaithe's prophecies are obviously the only possible source regarding her enemies. That astral projection/hallucination in ADWD listed out every single source of conflict Dany will ever face in her life.

Yeah, Dany's going to just absolutely love the Starks.

The sack of King's Landing by the ones Viserys called the Usurper's dogs, the lords Lannister and Stark.

(AGOT, Daenerys I)

x

And with him stood the great lords her brother had named the Usurper's dogs, cold-eyed Eddard Stark with his frozen heart, and the golden Lannisters, father and son, so rich, so powerful, so treacherous.

(ACOK, Daenerys II)

x

"Ned Stark a traitor?" Ser Jorah snorted. "Not bloody likely. The Long Summer will come again before that one would besmirch his precious honor."

"What honor could he have?" Dany said. "He was a traitor to his true king, as were these Lannisters." It pleased her to hear that the Usurper's dogs were fighting amongst themselves, though she was unsurprised.

(ACOK, Daenerys II)

x

"Your Grace," said Jorah Mormont, "I saw King's Landing after the Sack. Babes were butchered that day as well, and old men, and children at play. More women were raped than you can count. There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs. The scent of blood is all it takes to wake him. Yet I have never heard of these Unsullied raping, nor putting a city to the sword, nor even plundering, save at the express command of those who lead them. Brick they may be, as you say, but if you buy them henceforth the only dogs they'll kill are those you want dead. And you do have some dogs you want dead, as I recall."

The Usurper's dogs. "Yes."

(ASOS, Daenerys II)

x

"A house of women now. Bitter old women with a taste for blood. Women do not forget. Women do not forgive."

No, Dany thought, and the Usurper's dogs will learn that, when I return to Westeros.

(ADWD, Daenerys I)

x

“Stark was a traitor who met a traitor’s end.”

“Your Grace,” said Selmy, “Eddard Stark played a part in your father’s fall, but he bore you no ill will. When the eunuch Varys told us that you were with child, Robert wanted you killed, but Lord Stark spoke against it. Rather than countenance the murder of children, he told Robert to find himself another Hand.”

“Have you forgotten Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon?”

“Never. That was Lannister work, Your Grace.”

"Lannister or Stark, what difference? Viserys used to call them the Usurper's dogs. If a child is set upon by a pack of hounds, does it matter which one tears out his throat? All the dogs are just as guilty..."

(ADWD, Daenerys II)

I’ve put these quotes here, in bold multicolour, for no reason.

Do you think Sansa will braid Dany's hair in a Northern style for her wedding to Jon? You know, as her handmaiden?

Alright, to stop being facetious for a moment (though it is so, so hard), I do wonder why people are so insistent that everybody in the series absolutely has to be friends and get along. There’s so many POVs, so many different characters with distinct personalities and experiences. How would it be more interesting for everyone to be instant friends than for people to clash, for their histories to have weight? The Starks and the Targaryens fought against each other not even two decades ago. All the original combatants are dead, but, as we can see in the many quotes above, their children grew up hearing stories of how they were wronged. Dany scorns the Starks as the Usurper’s dogs. The Starks have heard about how their grandfather and uncle were unjustly killed by the Mad King, how their aunt was stolen away by the Dragon Prince and died far from home. They’re already biased against each other.

And maybe this could be a story about moving past the sins of the father, except Dany is literally coming to Westeros to conquer. That’s never been in debate, she views herself in the same vein as Aegon the Conqueror. He wanted all Seven Kingdoms and so does she. The living Starks’ beloved brother just fought a war for independence from the Iron Throne, a war nearly all the Northern lords wanted. Northern independence wasn’t just a cute little side plot before Dany’s triumphant return to unite the Kingdoms, it’s going to be a major issue moving forward. Dany’s most likely going to arrive after the Starks have come back into power in the North, and no one is going to be happily handing over the kingdom they just bled for without a fight. I didn’t need Quaithe to tell me that.

[the-slasher-files]

Slashers React - S/O being a witch or wiccan

INCLUDES JASON, MICHAEL, BO, BILLY & STU and LOST BOYS

btw I am a wiccan myself so I hope you enjoy the hcs :)

JASON VOORHEES

Holy fucking shit, you guys are a POWER COUPLE, never in my life have a thought of a better couple

He may not understand at first but once you explain it to him he adores it. Abiding by the laws of nature is something he already does, so the fact that you do too and share a lot of the same opinions of nature, melts his heart

Clearing a little area in the forest making sure it is hidden away for your alter is a dream job for him

Nature walks all the time but it has more meaning now, knowing you’re a wiccan or witch

Herb, flower, mushroom or plant picking is something he will always do for you, leaving them at your alter

LOOK he found a cool rock or a weird piece of drift wood or animal skull, perfect for you :) 

Finds it very sexy when you are doing witchcraft, especially if it’s in the forest 

You would slow dance to the rain and light candles everywhere

Gardening would quickly turn into one of his favorite hobbies with you

Teaching him about the holidays you celebrate gives him reasons to spoil you on those days, he would bake with you, make potions with you, bring in your moon water in the early morning for you

Your crystals are his favorites, all the pretty colors and unique patterns, he might steal one and carry it around with him, rubbing it when he misses you

Anything you do to appreciate his land and the cabin you share makes his undead heart flutter

The absolute best partner for a witch or wiccan 

The crystal that suits him is an Amethyst - It is a grounding stone, bringing peace and calmness but is one of the best protection stones

MICHAEL MYERS

Major head tilt, squints  

Once you explain it him he still doesn’t get it, and he doesn’t care

He will just examine your stuff, poking it and moving it around pissing you off

oh great, more holidays to celebrate

Secretly thinks it is kind of cool, but he will never tell you

Maybe thinks you’re a little crazy because he heard some other person in the mental hospital going on and on like you do 

If you tell him he is blessed and has gifts he will have a hard time accepting that, but he would think about it forever because there had to be an explanation for how he could never die

He will bring you home something from a cemetery probably because he still doesn’t get it 

He will just stare from the shadows of a candle lit room watching you do spell work 

When he's pissed beyond reason, never sage him, never place crystals on him, never get him to drink tea, you might die

He will find a crystal in his coverall pockets for protection and he will never give it back to you, it’s his now and he will cherish it 

The crystal that suits him is Black Obsidian - It is a pure black stone that has a mysterious aura, heavily used for protection, it is also a very powerful stone, good for healing and truth seeking

BO SINCLAIR  

Again, another bad partner for this lol

You’re a what?? He has heard of witches before but never wiccans. Coming from Louisiana it has a very heavy history on witches and voodoo, good and bad. He honestly might be shitting his pants inside but keeps it cool, just please tell him you’re a good witch. His momma always told him to never ever mess with witches.

Thinks you’re crazy for believing in that stuff

If you feel the presence of his mom and dad, never bring it up to him, the only way you could do it is say “You’ve got some angels looking over you Bo” and leave it at that

You will make him learn to appreciate nature and taking him for walks is the best thing to do, it calms him and you can teach or tell him stories about what you believe in

He would tell Lester to grab some antlers or skulls for your “ummm idk what she does, she just needs them”

If you’re in some lingerie while doing witchy work, he will ease into it more

Bo would be the guy who yells about the sage smoke stinking up the house, while he is smoking a cigarette, b a s t a r d 

Jokes about his bad energy filling your alter will happen a lot

He honestly thinks its cool though, after a while, seeing a beautiful powerful soul doing something you love warms his heart

He’s going to try to understand but he will laugh and make fun

If there are people in town he’s going to hunt that night, he will have to deal with you placing some sort of protection rune, stone or necklace either in his pocket or around his neck, Bo won’t like it at first but showing you care so much for him melts his heart and he will protect it with his life 

His crystal is Smokey Quartz - It is used for strength and fortifies nerves, protection, a stone that represents Pride, but also brings calmness which we all know he needs!! The smokiness of it just reminds me of the colour of alcohol or his cigarette smoke   

BILLY & STU       

Both genuinely curious and love it

They don’t really understand it but they are willing and ready to try

Taking you on nature walks probably wont be as relaxing as they promised; Stu will climb a weird tree and end up hurting himself, then you will find some neat looking mushrooms and they dare each other to eat it

Find it hot but are a little spooked 

Billy would hate the smell of sage but Stu doesn’t mind it all 

They find it sweet when you try to put protection stones in their pockets when they go to kill

Stu will bring you an average rock from the sidewalk and say hey this is neat, here you go 

They are defiantly into trying witchcraft with you

Stu will love your home made teas 

Billy will never make a big deal about what you do, he just thinks it is neat and willing to go get whatever you need for your work, and ngl he is more interested in dark magic 

They will defiantly interrupt you will you are meditating or doing spell work so always try to do it when they aren’t home

Will ask if you could do tarot readings on them and if you use a crystal ball 

The crystal for them is Jade - a good protection and supportive stone, seeks love, passion and nourishment. It is also good for dreams and astral projection    

THE LOST BOYS

They are no strangers to the supernatural of course but they don’t know what a witch is beyond what they’ve seen in movies

I feel it would be very 50/50 on caring or not, this stuff isn’t even on their radars 

Dwayne, I think would handle it the best. (correct me if I am wrong) He is of Native American descent, so he has heard lots of stories about shamans and he is the most spiritual out of all the boys   

Once they see you doing spell work or setting up an alter they are much more interested 

If you are already turned, you are arguably one of the most powerful, David will not admit it but he knows it

Marco will 100% bring you random things he likes, not at all related to witchcraft but he thinks it could be, man doesn’t get it

David finds you extremely sexy, him and Dwayne will probably be the only ones that actually get it, and David loves the power

They pretty much just leave you to it 

A lot of moon and shadow work will be your main witchcraft with them

If you are cleansing the cave with sage Paul and Marco will make drug jokes and ask to smoke some  

ngl I think Paul might be the most scared of you, but he will never show it, He doesn’t understand it and thinks you going to spray him with holy water or make him have nightmares 

Dwayne will be the one to take you to the surrounding forests and go on some nature walks with you, collecting what you need

David - black tourmaline: a very powerful protection stone, pure black, great for purification and helping with anger. Star - rose quartz: the stone of love and purity, heals the heart, and dissolves worry and fear turning those feelings into love. Marco - Emerald: a crystal just as blue as his eyes. A stone of hope, encouragement and joy, turns negative energy into strength, love and compassion. Dwayne - fire agate: This stone has a very deep connection the earth radiating calm, stability and strength, also very good for power and protection. Paul - rutilated quartz: a crystal that seeks truth and authenticity, giving strength to the truest souls and uplifts and brings joy.       

[elizabethgoldlokidottir]

*****DOCTOR STRANGE SPOILERS AHEAD****

CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT HOW ANTI PAGAN THIS FUCKING MOVIE WAS?!

While I liked the fact that it did have LGBTQIA representation (for a single freaking second in the entire movie), everything else was awful, insulting, and yes I'm going to say it, DISCRIMINATORY TOWARDS WITCHES, WICCANS AND THE ENTIRE PAGAN COMMUNITY.

This film was absolutely disgusting. I am a real witch, an actual pagan witch who worships the old gods and uses Magick on a daily basis. And the way that marvel is giving into the hatred of my people is absolutely unforgivable.

First of all and most of all, referring to the word "witch" as another synonym for monster. SERIOUSLY?! This is not the sixteenth or seventeenth century, not Salem. That term should be banned by now as discrimination. Let me tell you something. I'm not a monster, and my religion is not an insult.

Or let's talk about the fact that they portrayed those who practiced witchcraft as being haunted and tormented by demons. THE FUCK. That's exactly something I would expect from some hot headed Catholic priest egging his congregation on, not MARVEL.

Or the fact that Wanda became a MURDERER because she practiced spells. That she was somehow tainted and lost her way.

Or the fact that Billy and Tommy screamed "it's a WITCH!" When she crossed into another universe.

Or the fact that "witchcraft" according to them is worse than Dr. Strange, who practiced Eastern witchcraft. All of it is Magick, Dr. Strange just got it from Sanskrit and Wanda got it from Nordic runes. ITS THE SAME. I practice dream walking or the actual term for it ASTRAL PROJECTION on a daily basis. I studied in both forms, and Magick methods around the world to become a healer. Tarot cards contain both "Dr Strange type" and "Wanda type" Magick.

Or the fact that they gave into the trope that witches kill children. They might as well have painted Wanda green and have her say "I'll get you my pretty!"

Or the fact that both Wanda and Loki have suffered tremendously for seemingly no particular reason, but they both have one thing in common...they're both witches. Loki is a witch as well, because he too specializes in Magick. Males can be termed as Witches and I have a number of good friends who are male witches. It makes me think that Marvel is giving a message that we deserve that kind of hell.

And furthermore, I would like to also point out that this will only put fuel on the fire for those who already hate us. I'll face discrimination because of this movie. I wear my pentacle everywhere. Coming out of it last night I was getting murderous looks and people were glaring and whispering among themselves, keeping their children away from me. I know I'm also going to face it at work now because everybody knows I'm a witch. Marvel, what have you done.

In conclusion, I think marvel is not only never going to give long term LGBTQIA screen time but they also based on their treatment of my kind they are anti pagan and might as well be puritans at Salem.

I AM NOT EVIL

I DON'T HURT CHILDREN

I DON'T HURT LIVING THINGS

I AM NOT A MONSTER

FUCK YOU MARVEL....FUCK YOU.

[youremyheaven]

What you said about punarvasu men is literally my dad💀

He’s a punarvasu moon (I thought he was an ardra moon bc he lacks self discipline with alcohol/spending/food but I think Jupiter suits him more), with revati venus sun and mercury conjunction all within one degree.

As for his ascendant, it can only be from purvaphalguni to anuradha. My main theories are actually those two naks themselves or just leo/scorpio rashi in general because I think he might have pp mars 1H or Jyestha ketu 1H. Also I think he might be UP asc.

He also is very similar in many ways to my brother, who is dhanishta moon, hasta sun, magha asc (my brother is an actual menace but based off his placements I doubt I need to elaborate much further as to why). Anyway lmk what you think👀

But yeah here are some things about my punarvasu dad:

-He does have himbo vibes sometimes and is quite confident in his femininity. For example, growing up he would wear pink sometimes and do sweet things for me, like give me food at school that he’d bought if he just happened to be in the area

-However do not be fooled guys, he is huge misogynist😬 he regularly makes degrading comments towards women who act a certain way (calling them “bimbos”/”barbie”), and whenever someone is driving badly on the road he automatically assumes they’re a woman.

-Literally so rude and disrespectful to everyone except his mother (passed for unknown reasons years ago) and this 90 yr old woman he knows😭 I imagine he’s not rude to his customers at work but that man always has something bad to say! He talks shit about people constantly.

-Has anyone else noticed that punarvasu moons have weird relationships with their mothers? They’re either obsessed or they hate them

- He’s a huge megalomaniac and needs to be in control of us at all times. He needs to have everything a certain way and gets very angry at you if you deviate from it. He often spoils my brother (who is still a child) with the intention of getting him to like him more than my mother. This includes buying him expensive gifts, and when my mother scolds my brother over his bad behaviour, he goes crying to my dad who proceeds to coddle him and act like she’s the bad guy.

My dad has encouraged my brother when he’s been physically abusive or degrading to my mother several times😬

He once told my brother at the airport “I don’t care if you don’t listen to your mother or any of your teachers at school, but you must listen to me. I’m the boss. Ok?” It sounded way more controlling irl but I’m just paraphrasing.

- He’s very into tarot, thelemism and astral projection and gets very preachy about it lol

- He is very disrespectful towards my mothers family (my mother is from an Eastern European 2nd world country) and degrades them for being stupid/unmarried/etc. He has this longstanding beef with my maternal grandma (UBP moon, mula sun, certified girlboss) for being eratic and controlling esp towards my mother growing up (he literally acts the exact same way)

- He is very erratic and gets angry very easily. He’s broken a several things in our house just from his temper tantrums

- Talking about erratic, he is so mean when he’s pissed off you. My brother got in trouble at school when he was ~10 yo once and my dad had a rant at him about how he’s going nowhere in life, he’s going to be a bum, he’s clumsy, etc. He once told me I was tearing the family apart bc I annoyed my brother at the dinner table💀 but we can’t criticise him for this bc it’s “his business”. It’s all just a huge power trip.

-After getting angry at you, he’ll do the whole I’m sorry🥺 act. GIRL GET OUT😂

-Very irresponsible, acts impulsively and expects everyone else to just work around his schedule

- He either has weaponised incompetence or has this one household chore that only he does bc he’s “better” at it than anyone else

Sorry about the trauma dump 🤪 but yeah Jupiter men slander!!! They’re always on this moral high horse until its them

im gonna make a separate post about Jupiter men (lots of slander included, sorry not sorry)

im sorry to hear about your brother's placements 💀🤐

BBG Revati Sun, Punarvasu Moon & either Purvaphalguni or Anuradha Rising??? 😭😭😭HOW DO U AND UR MOM COPEEEE

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences and highkey worried about your brother 😬

Mercurial men are sex addicts and often vvv misogynistic. We've already established how manipulative they can be so I won't repeat that but I wouldn't touch a Mercurial man (unless he was a Jyeshta billionaire 🤪🤭lmfao jk) Jupiter men have always been so unattractive to me, I hate their energy 🤮🤢🤮 even with all the sweet natured kind whatever behaviour, I'm always sus about them. My friend's abusive ex was a Punarvasu Moon and oh lordy lord??? she told him she needed a break from him and he went to her house with their horoscopes matched (kundli Milan tingz for my desis yk what's up) ???? and he asked her strict conservative parents who would never allow her to date, for her hand in marriage??? like that was some power move bc he knew going that route meant robbing her of any choice in the matter. Also fellas, if a girl dumps you NEVER go to her family to propose marriage to her wtf. This guy would often threaten to kill her if she left him as well btw 😬😬

Fortunately for my friend, her parents were like 🤨we need to consult with our family astrologer and their astro guy said that they were a terrible match for each other and that if they got married there is a high chance she would die???? (no shit sherlock) they turned him away but he was still persistent af so they performed some poojas/rituals to get rid of him 😶‍🌫️😌✨💀 and he's been gone since lolziez

Venusian men can be sexually predatory but they usually have low self esteem and based on what you said about his misogyny and thinking of himself as above others (also a result of Jupiter influence) I feel like he's more Saturnian? 🧐 (Anuradha over Purvaphalguni Rising that is)

There is another Vishaka Moon man ik who has very effeminate mannerisms. He's not "in touch with his feminine side" or whatever, he's just a regular Indian man (derogatory) but his body language and mannerisms be giving twink vibes (he's 6'1 atleast with a bulky build and the contrast between the two is amazing to watch) I'm not queershaming or being homophobic 😭😭😭 but many Indian men can be vvv feminine ish and it lowkey creeps me out 😐 sorry but they'll simultaneously hate women, not be woke or liberal in the slightest and act like every straight asshole but with a fruity ✨twist 💀

[elysiadjarin]

Sword and Shield 3

Summary: Bad Batch x reader (you), fem!coded, poly!relationship, multi-part series, nonhuman!reader, Echo later on

Chapter 2: https://elysiadjarin.tumblr.com/post/653202473626025984/sword-and-shield

Warning: Mentions of previous abuse/trauma, and an injury.

3: Integrate

Nervously, you bit your lip and tugged at your hair. You’d secured it so it would stay out of your face for the mission, and you’d already gone over the notes you’d taken the previous day as you’d gotten ready for the day. Dressed in your gear, you double-checked that you had everything.

The whole crew had gathered in the cockpit while approaching the mission site to receive orders from Hunter.

“Tech, tell them the layout and strategy.”

Tech adjusted his goggles and pulled up a holoscreen. “Our mission is to obtain some information that’s been stored in a vault underneath this Separatist bunker,” he said, pointing at the map. It zoomed in on the bunker’s location, revealing the armored doors.

“It’s only going to be there for one day before it’s supposed to be moved, so we have to move in on this intel as soon as possible,” Tech continued, laying out the stakes. “This might be our only chance to get our hands on his information, especially since this base is out in the middle of nowhere. It’s held in the base, but there’s not much of a guard around the bunker itself.”

“So how are we getting in?” Wrecker asked, clearly eager to get to the plan.

“The biggest problem is going to be getting in. Once we’re in, it’ll be a quick and easy trip to the vault. There’s a holopad right by the doorway. I need a running distraction to let me get close enough to hack it and get us in.” Tech adjusted his glasses.

“Cross will find a point to pick off whoever comes in and out of those doors,” Hunter spoke up, focused on piloting while he listened. “Wrecker, we’re going to need you to try to run as big of a distraction as possible and keep them occupied. Tech will get close to the door, and I’ll follow behind him as close as possible to watch his back while he’s hacking the keypad.”

Tech turned to you, observing you. “We don’t know much about your skills yet. Do you see a place that would best suit you?”

You thought for a moment, eyebrows furrowing as you ran though the plan in your mind. “I’ve studied the footage and information you gave me yesterday,” you said, slow but even. “Considering the way we’re approaching this, I think I should be most useful if the Sergeant uses me as a weapon. Since I’m versatile and can be changed depending on what the situation requires, the close combat might be best for me. Plus, once we’re in, I might be able to help clear a path.”

“Sounds like a solid plan,” Hunter said crisply. “Hold on, we’re entering the atmosphere.”

Everyone grabbed onto something or strapped in as the descent began, and you grabbed onto a hanging strap, bracing your feet. You caught sight of Wrecker turning to you, and you glanced up at him instinctively.

“Oh, hey, thanks for the food yesterday!” he called over the rattling, grinning so wide that you swore you could count his teeth. “It was really good!”

The comment took you off guard, and you had to grab onto another strap to keep yourself from sliding against the floor. “Y-you’re welcome,” you called back, feeling some heat creep up your neck and cheeks. You supposed that answered your question about whether they’d at least found the portions.

Hunter evened the ship out as you broke through the atmosphere, leveling out and beginning to more smoothly descent. Everyone relaxed again, checking gear and preparing for the landing itself.

You took in a deep breath, closing your eyes for a moment in order to mentally prepare yourself. You’d have to create a Transference Bond with the Sergeant, so it would take a moment. You only opened your eyes once you felt the landing gear hit the ground and the ship settle in landing.

Hunter stood once the process was complete, turning. “Let’s go.” Once at the ramp, he turned to the group. “Gear and Plan?” He checked. Running his eyes over everyone and getting their confirmation, he turned to you. “Commander Rex explained a little of the process of Transference Bonding to me to give me a basis of understanding. I suppose it wouldn’t be the best idea to do it all at once.”

You shook your head. “I could, but it’s easier to do it one by one to give me a distinction between each Bond,” you answered, knowing the importance of explaining how you worked.

He nodded. Taking a breath, he held out his hand to you. “I suppose it’s time. Everyone watch and listen closely for when you have to do it yourself,” he ordered.

You nodded back, straightening. “You have to offer your hand and say ‘Permission to Transfer.’ It begins the process for me to able to start Transference.”

Hunter stared at you, focused. “Permission to Transfer,” he repeated in a firm, even tone.

You let the sensation of the sucking whirlpool in your gut start to grow stronger, stirred by the initiating words. Deliberately, you reached out and grasped his hand. “Once I finish the initiating words, you’re going to feel a strange sensation like you’re absorbing something into your body. Don’t fight it, just let it happen so I can stabilize the connection,” you warned. “If you feel anything like a weird snap or push in the back of your head, that’s just the Bond solidifying.” You took in a deep breath. “The more open you let yourself be towards me, the stronger the connection.”

Hunter nodded in understanding.

You closed your eyes. “Transfer Granted,” you said, finishing the circuit. Again, you worked through the suctioning sensation, allowing your body to Shift into a basic form you knew very well. Opening your eyes once the sensations settled, you checked the Bond and stability of your connection.

Hunter had been surprisingly receptive compared to most first-time Handlers, and you found the Bond to be pretty sturdy all things considered. As soon as you feel comfortable, getting used to the new Handler, you let yourself materialize over his shoulder.

“I usually start out with a standard blaster,” you said, your voice a little wispier than normal as you pointed at the blaster in his hand.

He stared down at the weapon, turning it over in his hands. “I can hear you both out loud and like... like an echo in my head,” he remarked, voice a little terse.

You nodded. “It’s part of the Bonding. You can communicate with me out loud, but in cases when silence is required or for quick-time response, there’s a limited mental connection created. You can either speak in words or visualize, whichever comes more easily to you. That’s also how you can customize me as a weapon, by visualizing or describing to me the specific modifications that you want,” you explained, used to the process by now. “I don’t read your mind, you have to sort of... push them towards me, in a sense. It’s a limited connection,” you added, knowing the trepidation of the idea of someone possibly being able to read your mind.

He relaxed a little at that, and a blurred image started to bloom in the back of your mind. You tilted your head, and slowly the image started to crystallize as Hunter got used to the Bond and the communication. You picked up on the request, and between one breath and the next, you had Shifted into a modified blaster specifically balanced to his preference.

You took in a breath. “Please be patient with me,” you requested. “It takes me a little while to become completely accustomed to your particular fighting styles in order to best accommodate to your strengths. It may take me some time in the beginning.”

Wrecker bent forward, squinting at you. “Hey Shiv — I can call you that, right? — why do you look so... blurry?”

Tech adjusted his goggles. “It’s more like she’s a shadow, Wrecker,” he remarked clinically, observing you closely. “I think it’s the only way she can manifest herself since she’s technically the weapon itself.”

You nodded at him. “Tech is right. It’s kind of my astral form,” you confirmed.

“Cool!” Wrecker grinned at the general vicinity of your face.

“Alright, let’s go,” Hunter said, starting down the ramp and off towards the direction of the base.

You mentally picked apart the details of the modified weapon he’d shown you, making sure your copy of it was exact down to the weight and size. You tried your best to recall all the footage you’d analyzed the day before, specifically the patterns you’d noticed and highlighted about the Sergeant. You’d have to try to accommodate yourself to his movements and attempt to predict his preferences in weaponry and how he chose to utilize it. That way, you could start to make your performance seamless and save precious nanoseconds of response time that could mean the difference between life and death.

He glanced down at you, feeling the slight shift in the weight as you adjusted. A distant voice sounded in the back of your mind. If I wanted to change weapons, how would I ask?

You strained to hear. Project a little more towards the area you feel like the Bond is. You coached. You’re a bit faint.

He repeated the question, and it sounded much clearer and louder.

Thank you. I can hear better. The best way is to either mentally request it, or to visualize it again like you did to modify this blaster. Whichever is easier for you. You responded to his question.

I tend to visualize things when thinking. Hunter said. I think that’s how it’ll probably come across.

I understand, you acknowledged. After all, different people worked differently. Luckily, you’d worked with both visualizers as well as stream-of-consciousness, full word or sentence thinkers. I’m only limited by the amount of information you give me. I can Shift in nanoseconds, but if you don’t make sure to specify everything, it might be incomplete or a little different than what you wanted. You warned.

He nodded wordlessly, just as you came up to the clearing where the base was. The planet itself was rather forested, and the base had been set in the middle of a small clearing, half-hidden from above by the tree canopy. You briefly wondered how much intel had been needed in order to even find this place, much less know when and how long the intel would be shipped through this base anyway.

Two guards stood by the door, holding electro-spears with blasters at their sides. You didn’t doubt that there were probably more stationed within the base as well that would probably stream out like a disturbed ants nest once a confrontation began.

“Alright,” Hunter hissed lowly, gathering everyone’s attention. Cross, find a spot. You’ve got three minutes. Wrecker, get ready to run distraction. Yes, you can blow the ground sky-high for all I care, just make it big enough and keep their attention for as long as you can. Tech, get ready to slip around once Wrecker has them occupied.”

A sudden idea occurred to you. Cloaking shield. You whispered to Hunter, sending across a visualization of your possible contribution.

He instantly pounced on the idea. “Shiv is going to create a cloaking shield, get over here,” he hissed to Tech, who stepped closer to Hunter’s side. “We’ll use this to get as close as possible. If our cover’s blown, I’ll back you up.”

Tech nodded, pushing the visor of his helmet down in preparation. A minute later, Hunter nodded. “Let’s go.” He motioned to Wrecker.

With a booming laugh that you swore rattled through your currently nonexistent bones, Wrecker took a running leap into the clearing and slammed his fists into the ground. Chunks of earth went flying, and just as expected, the two armored guards started to run towards him. As soon as Hunter decided they were distracted enough, he motioned decisively.

You Shifted, creating the cloaking shield large enough for both him and Tech to fit under. Hunter started to move around the edge of the clearing, trying to stay a bit away from the flying rubble as Wrecker pulled out his grenades. You tried your best to keep monitoring, materializing over Hunter’s shoulder in order to keep eyes out for the flying rubble that might cause you to lose concentration if it hit the shield too hard or unexpectedly.

“How long can you hold it?” Hunter hissed, trying to stay quiet but let Tech in on the conversation.

“As long as nothing directly damages or hits me, as long as you need,” you whispered back. “But I expend more energy the larger of a weapon or shield that I am required to be.”

He nodded, helmet focused forward. You’d almost reached the doors, and the doors had cracked open to briefly allow backup to wriggle through.

“There’s going to be a risk,” you warned them as you reached the keypad. “I can’t hide the fact that the keypad is going to disappear from view or be tampered with. If anyone notices, the cover is blown.”

Hunter nodded. “Tech, you know how fast you can work. Concentrate, we’ll give you cover.”

Tech nodded, instantly pulling out some gear and hooking himself up to the keypad.

Hunter started filtering information to you about various weapons and their modifications he preferred to use, and you started instantly absorbing the information. To your surprise, you found that his visuals were extremely detailed, to the point that you almost started feeling them yourself. Everything in his head felt so much... crisper. So much more. You realized that it did make sense, considering his heightened senses. Everything would feel that much more to him, so it would naturally be transferred to you, especially considering your Bond.

Send me your Instincts, you whispered to him mentally.

What?

You let your astral form float a little in front of him, then pointed to his hands. Push across every instinct that you can towards the Bond. Channel them straight to me. Let your thoughts and instincts flow straight through the Bond, like a stream rushing by.

Hunter glanced at you, keeping an eye out for the distraction Wrecker was running. Crosshair had begun to snipe them down one by one, you vaguely noted. What does that do?

You started to feel him direct towards you, trying your best to accommodate and map out the way his instincts were honed. I am a living weapon, Sergeant, you reminded him. If a weapon could understand your instincts and become a part of your body, an extension of yourself, able to work with your thoughts in real time, what would you do with that? How would you shape that weapon and use it? I am a tool. I am a weapon, under your control. Please use me. This is my job.

Sometimes, the words felt like betrayal, coming from your own mind and mouth. Even though you knew you had worth, were more than just an object, you also knew that your part in this war and what you fundamentally were as a being was... a weapon. A weapon to be utilized to devastating effect. To kill, or to protect... to shield, or to destroy.

I am a weapon. You are a Handler. I will be used however you decide.

Hunter’s eyes hardened as he glanced at your form, and you felt his fingers tighten around the handle of the cloaking shield. But he said nothing and continued to funnel everything like a rushing stream into the Bond.

Tech hissed. “I’ve got it.”

The doors slid open, revealing an empty hallway.

Hunter stepped forward. “Get in, now, before anyone notices,” he barked.

Tech and Hunter quickly stepped in, heading down the corridor.

Blaster, Hunter requested.

You Shifted, allowing the cloaking shield to disappear. The three of you crept down the hallway, Tech leading the way as he glanced down at the map of the base he’d managed to strip. He fiddled with his controls as he led down the twisting hallways, opening doors as necessary.

“The intel holding should be just past this door,” Tech whispered tersely, holding his device up to the blast doors. The infrared picked up several life forms, and when he switched to x-ray, a couple of droids showed up on the screen.

“Those are assassin droids,” you whispered urgently, recognizing the shape and build.

Hunter nodded grimly. “Tech, once the doors are open, go for the others. We’ll handle the droids.”

You leaned toward Hunter’s ear. “Weaken the head plates and use a vibro-shiv to get to the cores,” you whispered, knowing how those droids worked. You’d lost Handlers before thanks to the stupid droids and their required close-combat.

Hunter nodded, and the doors started to open. As soon as they’d opened wide enough, Tech followed Hunter’s nod and slid around the corner. They both started to shoot at the same time. A few of the organic soldiers dropped thanks to getting caught in crossfire from the assassin droids, and Hunter started to target the head plates of the droids.

You quickly picked up on his flow of movement, correcting for precision aiming and knocking plates loose from the droids. Three of them started converging on you, and Hunter shouted at Tech.

“Get to cover!”

In a heartbeat, you’d Shifted into the vibro-shiv and he’d slashed at the wiring under one of the droid’s loose plates. It started to stagger, some of the support lost. Kicking out at the other, Hunter quickly managed to incapacitate the other two enough to slash at their wires as well. It didn’t take long for them to stagger about, losing some of their motor functions.

Tech found an opening and managed to nail one droid right in the exposed core, downing it in a shower of sparks. Hunter sank the shiv into another core, but you’d already caught sight of the last droid starting to point its blastered hand.

Hardly thinking, you bulked the weight of the vibro-shiv and made Hunter drop at the unexpected weight, barely missing the blast that went over his head. You returned it to normal a second later, and Hunter whirled on his heels close to the ground and threw.

You pointed the shiv with deadly accuracy, making it sink directly into the center of the exposed core. The droid froze, shuddering. For a moment the whole room seemed to freeze as Hunter and the droid faced off. Then the droid crumpled with a screech of metal, collapsing on the floor. The shiv shuddered.

Hold out your hand, you whispered to Hunter.

He held out his hand, and the shiv whipped back into his hand as you returned yourself to him. His hand closed over the hilt, and it shifted back into a blaster.

Tech had already scurried over the vault and was quickly working on it, fingers flying over his cracking device. Hunter turned toward the door, pointing the blaster and keeping an eye out.

“Thanks,” Hunter said gruffly. “Back there, with the third.”

The thanks caught you off guard. Why would he thank you? I... It’s my job, was all you could really think to say, thoroughly confused. You were a weapon. Why would he thank you for doing what you were literally born to do?

A flash of anger traveled through your Bond, and you instinctively shrank away though it passed just as quickly as it had appeared. Why would he be angry? Had you done something wrong? Had he not wanted you to correct it? Would it have been better if you’d done it differently?

You tried to refocus, knowing better than to get distracted now. The mission was still underway.

You heard the vault click behind you, then a quick rustle. Tech’s footsteps faltered, then squeaked against the floor.

“We need to go!” he shouted, beginning to sprint. “The vault was rigged! This place is going to blow in T-minus two minutes!”

Hunter had automatically followed Tech, but his pace quickened. “Tech, we’re not going to make it,” Hunter called grimly.

And he was right. It would take you longer to get out than that. There were so many twists and turns. You thinned your lips, materializing over his shoulder.

“Grab Tech,” you said, already Shifting. Hunter lunged forward towards Tech, grabbing him as he threw you down and jumped. You guided yourself to catch both him and Tech as a hoverdisc. A joystick grew from the base, and Tech unquestioningly grabbed it, beginning to guide you down paths so quickly that you barely had time to register any surroundings.

You rounded a corner, and Hunter shouted something. The doors had begun to close. But Tech just hunched over, and flicked a button you provided on the joystick.

“Hold on!” Tech yelled.

You Shifted, closing your eyes in order to concentrate, get it right, there wasn’t room for hesitation or error, you knew this, you could do this-

Heat seared your senses just as you managed to throw up both a shield and the proper mechanics that you’d studied so diligently and meticulously.

You screamed.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you knew that you were flying through the air, the Transference forcefully Dissolved. But all you could really pay attention to was the pain that burned through all of your nerves and senses. The moment you felt yourself hit the ground and roll, all breath was knocked out of your lungs.

Tears streamed down your cheeks as you wordlessly clutched at your arm, unable to make a single sound. You knew this had been a risk, the moment you’d done it. You’d only managed to put up the shield just in time to save Hunter and Tech from the blast approaching behind you, but it had been incomplete in your hurry to both throw it up and blow the doors open.

You’d been distracted. And now you were paying for your own mistake.

A half-strangled sob burst from your lips as you peeled your hand away from your arm, digging your hand into the soil underneath you and jacking yourself up. You’d taken damage from the blast, and just as you’d known would happen, it had Transferred to your physical body as well. After all... you were a weapon. And every weapon gets dents and scorch marks in battle. But you knew you were meant to take it. You’d always known you were meant to be the shield for your Handler.

Someone skidded to your side as you hunched over, trying to breathe through the pain. If you could just-

“Maker,” a voice snarled.

Vaguely, you half-registered the voice as Hunter’s. You scrabbled back, throwing out your good hand. “Don’t touch me!” you sobbed out, begging, praying that he wouldn’t touch you.

“Shiv, you need medical attention-“

“Please, don’t touch me, you don’t understand-“ you managed to sob out, shaking and hunching over.

“What happened?” Crosshair’s voice growled from nearby.

“Shiv-“ Hunter’s voice barked.

But you staggered to your feet, trying to just focus, you needed to focus- your ears rang. Gritting your teeth, you forced yourself to push. You were a weapon. You did not fail your Handler. You got back up. You took the consequences, you will take the pain, you will do your kriffing job-

A shuddering gasp tore from your throat as you felt yourself begin to work. You could feel the numbing ice of cold gunmetal creep up your mangled arm, could fairly smell your hissing flesh as you covered your arm slowly but ruthlessly.

Numbness. You barely felt anything, now, except for a vague pressure on your arm. Letting out a half-broken sob, shuddering, you reached up and smeared tears away from your face. Looking up, you caught sight of all four of the Bad Batch gazing at you with varying expressions of horror or concern.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, feeling dizziness start to descend. Everything started to spin. “I’m sorry, I’ll- I’ll fix it-“

As everything tilted, the last thing you saw was someone’s hand reaching for you.

Part 4: https://elysiadjarin.tumblr.com/post/654625612928008192/sword-and-shield-4

[cranetreegang]

Follow Me - Valerius x Court Magician/MC

A/N: part one of five of a little adventure with Valerius. I saw a picture of him disheveled with sticks and leaves in his hair and created this thing. Lemme know what ya think, or if you have any requests! As always, thanks for reading <3

Summary: On the way to the Shrieking Shrike, trouble intercepts the Consul and Magician. Will they be able to work together?

Warnings: Blood, Death

Word Count: ~3,300

Arcana Masterlist

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

The carriage rocked and rattled us, making Valerius nearly spill the dark red wine on himself.

“I swear, does he even know how to drive?” He scoffed with his nose scrunched.

“I believe the road is the problem. You may need to wait to drink until we get there.” I suggested, which earned me a harsh scowl.

“Gods, I’m already wishing to be back listening to Edernton drone on about nonsense.” He seethed. “How close are we anyways? Driver! How close are we?”

“Just over halfway. As was said twenty minutes ago when you asked.” I grinned when he rolled his pale golden eyes with a snarl. “You should try relaxing, Consul. I could assist you in astral projecting somewhere else, if you desired.”

He let out a long sigh, “I desire to be there. Soaking in a tub filled with lavender salts instead of smelling horse and mud.”

I looked outside the carriage window to the scenery crawling past us. The long days of travel to the Shrieking Shrike hadn’t been the most pleasant. The rolling hills and plateaus had lost their appeal after the first day and we had to endure through two days of it. Now, we were in the heart of the towering forests where the cool air brought the fresh smell of pine on occasion. These forests were known for their incredible trees, and was also where Vesuvia got almost all of its lumber.

Which was the whole point of our visit to the city; ensuring lumber productions were still being met while also reminding them who they served. With Valerius familiar with their customs and I an extension of Nadia, we were the obvious envoys to send. I had been fine with the arrangement. The same could not be said for Valerius, who had been motion sick for the better half of the last two days. I had to beg him to drink one of my tea blends to help him and now he was sulking across from me.

“We’ll be there soon, Consul. Try to enjoy the nice view. Not every day you can see beauty like this.” I said.

He glared at me before saying, “Oh! Would you look at that?” He pointed out the window, “A tree. And look there.” He pointed once more, “Another tree. Oh, you wouldn’t believe what else I see. A tree.” He mumbled more things under his breath as he sipped his drink and I bit my lip to keep my giggling at bay.

“Enjoying the little things in life isn’t so terrible. You might even like it.”

“I have plenty to enjoy. Back home.”

Our carriage began crossing over a bridge, rushing water from a river below made me peer out the window. I watched in fascination at the towering waterfalls to the right of us. I followed the river to the drop off which poured into the valley below. I had heard of the Falling Steps, but I never expected the cascading layers of waterfalls to be so breathtaking.

We came to a sudden halt, causing Valerius to spill his cup all over his lap.

“Oh, that’s it. I’ll have that driver’s head and all those damn smelly beasts on pikes as well.” He growled.

“Strange we’ve stopped.” I threw my magic out and sensed the driver speaking with someone. Valerius was already out of the carriage before I could stop him.

“Driver! Why have we stopped? We don’t have time to waste.”

I got out of the carriage to reign in Valerius, who looked ready to attack the man who stood in front of our carriage. The bald-headed man grinned, his sharp teeth showing through his thin lips, when his eyes landed on Valerius and I. The man’s body was adorned in various pieces of metal and leather, none of it matching, but all serving a purpose. I grabbed onto Valerius’ elbow to keep him close to me.

“You two ain’t from around here.” The man sauntered towards us. “There’s a toll to pay to use this here bridge.”

“A toll? You can’t be serious. Do you have any idea who we are?” Valerius snapped.

“How much? We would like to reach Yigrin before dark.” I spoke up before Valerius could say any more foolish things. The sword on the man’s hip did not go unnoticed as he put his hands on his hips with a smirk.

“A hundred gold.”

Valerius let out a mocking laugh, “You must be out of your mind to think we’ll pay such a price on a bridge that’s not even yours.”

I wish I knew a silencing spell to make him mute. Valerius, completely unaware, was taunting a bandit from one of the notorious tribes on this side of the land. Each piece of armor was pried from the bodies of those foolish enough to go against them. If there was one bandit here, then there were several more waiting close by.

“That’s fine. Right, Valerius?” I nudged him, but he ignored me.

“No, that’s not fine! That’s outrageous. He has no right to be here.”

The bandit was grinning even more from Valerius’ outburst, “Ya know what? The price just went to two hundred.” His eyes scanned over Valerius and he added, “Got some nice clothes. Wouldn’t mind having that myself.”

Valerius’ head rose even higher as he stared down the bandit with a snarl, “You miserable wretch. Extortion and robbery is punishable by death. Now, leave my sight before I have an entire battalion burning down your homes by the day’s end.”

“Valerius.” I squeezed his arm with a slight shake of my head.

“Suit yourself.” The bandit laughed and gave a quick motion in the air.

An arrow landed into the throat of the driver, his body slumped over until he fell in front of us. On reflex, I shot the bandit in front of us with a firebolt, then pulled Valerius closer to the carriage.

“Perhaps antagonizing the blood thirsty bandit wasn’t the most diplomatic choice.” I deflected an arrow heading towards us with a huff. “We need to get out of here.”

Bandits were rushing towards us from both sides of the bridge. I let a charge of electricity build up until I sent it arching towards a cluster of bandits. The lightning, sounding like a clap of thunder leaving my arm, connected between three of them, their bodies spasming until they fell to the ground.

The horses, startled from the noise, rushed forward, dragging the carriage with them. The bandits in front of us rolled out of the way before being stampeded, but our cover was gone. I sent a shockwave to knock back those still standing and to buy me some time to figure out what to do. More bandits were coming towards us and I wouldn’t be able to hold them back while also keeping Valerius safe. We needed to get off this bridge.

I grabbed Valerius’ hand and dragged him towards the edge of the bridge.

“What are you doing?” He exclaimed.

“Do you trust me?” I asked, deflecting the arrows being sent our way.

“No!”

“Well, try. We have to jump.” I kept a tight grip of his hand, despite him trying to wiggle away. “Please, Valerius. Trust me. We have to jump.”

A bowman had Valerius right in his sights and I blocked the arrow before it could reach him. A sharp pain hit my back shoulder and I let out a surprised gasp. The force from the shot made me fall forward over the railing towards the river below with Valerius being dragged down with me. The cold water shocked me out of the pain of being shot and I kicked my way to the surface. Valerius was bobbing in front of me, his limbs flailing about.

“Help! Help!” He screamed over the roaring water.

We were approaching the start of the next waterfall and the drop was sure to kill us. I swam as fast as I could over to him. The water would drag us both below the surface and I was relieved when I would see him pop back up again. He grabbed onto me just as we flew over the edge. I concentrated on slowing our fall into the valley below. Valerius clung onto me as his frantic breath hit my ear. I guided us to land on the shore, where we collapsed onto the muddy banks. He shoved himself away from me to choke out the water in his throat.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Valerius stumbled out of the banks. “This can’t be. Don’t they know who I am?”

I managed to drag myself to lay against a nearby boulder. I craned my head to find an arrow protruding out of my right shoulder. I could reach over and touch it, but I wouldn’t be able to remove it on my own. I looked over to Valerius, who was fuming while wringing out his clothes.

“Once I’ve returned, I’ll have their entire camp burned. Razed. Their entire families, executed.”

“Valerius.”

He was stomping back and forth as he ranted, “This is why I hate setting foot in this back-water place. Bandits. Barbarians. Ticks!”

“Valerius.”

“This would’ve never happened if Nadia would’ve taken my advice and annihilated these people, these animals, off the face of-”

“Valerius, please!” I shouted loud enough for him to stop mid stride. “I need your help.”

He let out a bitter laugh, “My help? Can’t your magic help you?”

“No. Not for this.” I rolled myself over and he flinched at the sight of the arrow sticking out of my shoulder. “I need you to push it through.”

He backed away from me while shaking his head, “No. I can’t do that. You’ll need to think of something else. Another way.”

“You’re the only one who can. Please.” I begged him.

His dark brows furrowed and he closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, “Fine.”

He stomped his way next to me and knelt behind me. He stared at the protruding arrow with an audible gulp.

“You’ll need to break off the end. Then you can push it through.” I explained when he made no move to do anything.

“Right. Of course.” He wrapped both his hands on the wooden arrow and broke it just at the start of the feathered end. A slight tremor of pain rippled through me and I knew I would be in for worse soon.

“By the Realms, I should’ve grabbed a bottle before flying over the cliff.” He said under his breath.

“You just have to shove it through. That’s it.” I braced myself against the rock and waited for him.

His hand gripped where my shoulder and neck met. He was taking deep breaths as if he was the one with an arrow through him.

“On three. One.” He pressed the arrow into me and I let out a strangled cry before silencing myself by biting my tongue. The pain burned like a thousand hot needles twisting into me. The arrow broke through the skin and he kept going. Once the arrow was half way through, he turned me over and ripped the rest out, making me scream for a moment. He tossed the bloody arrow away and held my head up to make me look at him.

“You’re okay. It’s done.” His eyes drifted over to his hands, “Gods. So much blood.”

He stumbled away from me, his complexion turning pale. I could hear him splashing in the river while I fought through the pain. The coppery taste of blood stained my tongue. I needed to seal the wound, but after the fight on the bridge and floating both of us I was drained. I ground my teeth. No, I had to close the cuts or they would get infected.

I pressed my palm on the wound and sealed the flesh together. My shoulder ached and I couldn’t move it, but at least it wouldn’t get infected. Valerius returned with a heavy sigh.

“Oh, thank the Realms you’ve stopped bleeding.” He grimaced.

“Thank you for doing that.” I said while forcing myself to stand. “We need to get moving. We can’t stay here.” I swayed in place, feeling like my head was swimming through thick tar.

“Are you sure you should be moving? So soon after that. You look horrible. More so than normal.”

I took a few steps into the forest, doing everything in my power to keep on my feet. “We have to. They’ll find us if we stay close by. And I can’t fight them off again.”

He hurried after me, his huffs of annoyance weren’t hard to miss as he shoved his way through branches and past thorn bushes. My feet felt like they were made of iron and my vision was speckled with black spots. I trudged through the strain of using too much magic with my main motivator being Valerius. He wouldn’t survive out here unless we got to safety. We didn’t make it more than two hours before he sat on a fallen log.

“We have to keep going.” I said.

Valerius shoved aside a strand of hair that had come loose from his braid with a glare, “This is ridiculous. Why can’t you just make a portal, or something? Astral project back to Vesuvia and tell them to come get us.”

“I cannot. I don’t have enough energy to do it.” I admitted.

“Not enough energy?” He questioned through clenched teeth and his eyes flaming with fury.

“I had to use most of my magic to get us out of there. I don’t have anything with me to help me replenish it.”

His eyes rolled with a scoff, “Of course not. Some Magician you are. Can’t even get us out of this mess.”

“We need to keep moving.” I started to walk away, but I didn’t hear him behind me. He was still on the log with his arms folded over his chest.

“I need to rest.”

“We can rest tonight. Right now, we have to keep going.” I said.

“Right now, I’m going to rest.” He huffed.

“Valerius, please. We don’t-,”

“Don’t have time. Yes, so you keep saying.” He snapped with narrowed eyes. “Tell me, do you have any idea where we’re going? We’ve been stomping around in this god-forsaken place for hours. Feels like we’ve been going in circles.”

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as I did so, to keep myself from lashing back at him. “I know this isn’t ideal-,”

“Isn’t ideal?” He exclaimed. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. We have no food. No water. You can’t do any magic. Those bandits are chugging away at my good bottle of merlot like tasteless swine. And you want me to keep following you around like you have any clue what to do.”

“Enough!” He flinched at my raised voice, his brows raised almost to his hairline. “You’re right. This is a horrible situation we’ve found ourselves in. I would love nothing more than to whisk us back to Vesuvia so you can drink yourself into a stupor. But I can’t. So, we have to keep going and work together. We need to get to a town, where I can rest and send word back to Nadia.”

Valerius shifted on his log with his lips pressed in a thin line. “And where exactly is the closest town?”

I let out a relieved breath at getting through to him and pointed east, “The nearest one is that way. From the bridge we crossed, and where we ended up, we should be within a two days' walk.”

“Two days!” His eyes were wide, filled with frustration. “We’re going to die out here.” He sighed into both his hands.

“We’re not going to die here. We will if we don’t keep moving though.” I went over to him and held out my hand for him to take.

He stared at my hand then down to his feet. I noticed he had on heeled boots which looked uncomfortable to be traversing through the woods with. I knelt down and grabbed his foot, breaking off the heel and doing the same to the other boot before he could stop me.

“These are my favorite pair and you’ve ruined them.” He seethed.

“I’ll get you another. Now, come on.” I helped him to his feet.

We hiked through dense brush and rocky terrain in tense silence until sunset. We had made decent ground and we found shelter under a rock shelf. We huddled underneath it as I got a fire going. We stared into the flames and I caught myself looking over at Valerius a few times. His robes were ripped around his arms and legs while his hair was falling into disarray. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so unkempt before and I was somewhat jarred by the sight.

“You can’t conjure up any food, can you?” He wondered, his eyes downcast.

“No. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sure it would’ve been lackluster anyways.”

The fire crackled and the inhabitants of the night were coming to life. Valerius kept looking around with unease, jumping a few times when a branch snapped or leaves rustled.

“You haven’t been out like this before, have you?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“What gave it away?” He sneered, bringing his legs up to his chest. “I’ve never found any appeal in ‘roughing it’. So primitive.”

“Even as a child? You never spent the night under the stars, or spent weekends in the wilderness with your friends? Taming beasts or slaying monsters.”

His features were different under the firelight, sharper. The shadows defined his cheekbones and the fire made his eyes seem like the sun. His gaze was far away as if reliving the past.

“No.” His dark brows pinched together and a frown played on his full lips. “I would’ve been too filthy if I stayed out all night. And friends, I didn’t have any of those. There was no point.”

“No point?”

His eyes landed on me with a grimace, “You and I come from different worlds. You, a fantasy. Where everyone is your friend. No one would ever use what you said against you, or cut you down once you’ve risen above them. I live in reality. Everyone always wants something. Friends especially. If you’re not useful in some way, then there’s no point in having you around. That’s how things are. You're either using someone, or being used.”

“You’re my friend. And I would never want to use you.”

He let out a bitter laugh and shook his head, “Then you’re naïve. You’ll want something. Maybe not now. But, eventually you will. They always do. And then, you won’t hesitate to make sure I’m not in your way.”

I went back to staring at the fire with a hint of pity for him. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I hope I’ll prove you wrong.”

We fell silent once more and I tried to bring my legs up to my chest in a similar way as him. My shoulder stabbed and twisted as if I stuck a hot knife through it. A whimper left me and I had to keep myself from further vocalizing my pain by biting my scarred tongue, reopening the bite marks in the process.

“Your shoulder. How is it?” He asked.

“Sore.” I whispered. “It’ll be better tomorrow. Get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

He looked at me with doubt, but didn’t press me. He laid on his side, curling up on himself in an effort to get comfortable. His breathing slowed until he was finally asleep. I let out a long sigh as I took account of our grim situation. I made a silent prayer we would get to the village tomorrow, or else Valerius would be right; these woods would be our grave.

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

Read Part 2 Here

A/N: can I get an RIP for the driver. LOL he died for the fic.

[holdmecloser-gandydancer]

Ugh, okay, so there's so many questions from the meta writers question thing that I want to ask, so you don't have to answer all of them lol but 1, 3, 4, 20, and/or 25?

I will say though, I'm very very interested in that band AU that I think you keep referencing working on, tbh idk what the acronym means, but I'm very excited about it 👀

writing asks!

1. Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

I have a few so let me just chat about them all! one is, ofc, something bigger than the sky that I'm working on with Hali (@phantasmagoric-acquaintance)

it's a collaborative work between the two of us that is the content of balance from her perspective in the umbra staff! it's progressing well, we're nearly done and i can't believe it! i just love getting to work with my best friend on something tbh :3

the next one is RHAPAW, my beloved band au. (it stands for rode hard and put away wet and i promise there's a reason for that lsdkfjsdlf). Progress is pretty good! I've got about 5k words of it right now, I know some of the most major plot points, and I have a pretty clear idea of how it's going to end!! Honestly i love Barry in this more than life itself (but I do just love the idea of Lup, Kravitz, and Johann all in a band together too so don't make me choose <3)

(also extra bonus, I am working on extending about three prompt fills I did a while ago so keep an eye out for those)

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

OKAY I GOT IT i have been thinking about this for like. months. Basically i do have this au idea wherein Taako dies in Wonderland. A version of Arms Outstretched still happens but basically Taako is dead and in the Astral Plane, Magnus is in the mannequin body still, and Merle is still Merle. Barry is there as the red robe, of course. Edward still gets eaten by staff and Merle goes to grab it and tries to cast something and it just Doesn't work. And at this point, Merle is just over it. like "You magic piece of shit, you couldn't save my friend, you won't let me cast, what the hell is the use?" and he just SNAPS it. and it's like a bomb goes off. And Merle's head feels like it's going to explode because there's another red robe? but he can't hear it or see its face and the original red robe is...crying? And Magnus is trying to hug it? and he keeps saying "Merle, holy shit it's [redacted] how could Lucretia just [redacted] like that?"

and it obviously continues but that is the barest bones shit of it.

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

this is so hard because i feel like my content is better than the actual writing itself!! but i guess if i have to pick one i do love the ridiculously unhinged monologue Taako goes on in like, chapter two of flours? (part of it below)

And then your wonderful twin sister might annoyingly keep changing her mind on what flowers she wants on her cake. Mind you, your twin sister might also specifically request that the flowers on the cake be fresh, not made of pulled sugar or gum paste or fondant or frosting, no they just have to be fresh because gods forbid I ever get to do sugar work. And not that there’s anything wrong with fresh flowers, mind you, but it might happen to be something that is just out of your comfort zone. And while you would normally go to Fantasy Costco, you can’t anymore because they hired a really weird cashier who keeps offering to make you deals even though it’s fucking Fantasy Costco and the prices are literally marked so you have to begin to wonder to yourself if that cashier even actually works there.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

i just really like exploring friendships between characters that either just Wouldn't/Didn't/Couldn't happen in the show (AM Radio, Flours, and like, a million prompt fills have been examples of this)

also. I know I referenced this in the tags BUT both vampire twins pieces and the werewolf magnus piece all take place in the same universe (the magnus piece takes place a year or two prior to the vampire twins pieces)

25. What part of writing is the most fun?

okay i already answered this one BUT another really fun part is just finding inspiration in the weirdest of places. like actually now that i think about it, like five of my fics/wips have been inspired by me innocuously listening to music lskdfjsld

[sometipsygnostalgic]

adventure time wizard city liveblog

 well here we go

my last adventure time liveblog, i havent actually done one of these in MANY years... probably not since 2014

this takes place at the same time as obsidian?

DID-- DID CHOOSE GOOSE JUST DIE

DID BUFO JUST KILL CHOOSE GOOSE

yeah i know that’s bufo, they only made it enormously obvious, tsk tsk

@spaceacepearl​ joked about us seeing choose goose get sent to hell but i diDNT EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN

This music is i assume by one of the many musical artists Adam Muto listed on twitter, it rocks. It’s not as hardcore as Obsidian’s intro, but it’s suitably chill for the scene. 

“get offa my bus kid”

Those wizards in the left and far right groups appear to be new! 

OH MY GOD--

HELP?????? NEW PROFILE PIC TIME

HAHAHAHAH

THE MUSICAL CON DID ME GOOD, I DID REALLY LOUD AUDIBLE LAUGHTER

i bet hanna and co had fun making these signs

my favourite is the cat with “FAMILIARS HAVE RIGHTS”

cadorka..... wow

We’re not even four minutes into the ep and peppermint butler has already killed someone in front of a large group of witnesses

“this smells of DARK MAGIC” “yall kids know thats illegal right” peps watches the other kids nod before later joining in, LOL

i cant believe pep started the great gum wars and got killed by golb

SOMEONE has been playing Overwatch... 

i-- i still cant believe choose goose is fucking dead

how long was he stuck in hell for, or was that recent to together again after new death showed up 

i have to admit im not a big fan of spader, too perfect, and not in that funny way either. i hope they give him some characteristics that make him stand out. 

im getting flashbacks to OK KO and Owl House here...

Cadebra using music is a reference to Abracadaniel’s love of interpretetive dance in Play Date. 

“they only laugh because youre different” “i know” “SO STOP BEING DIFFERENT” oh my god it’s like talking to my own parents cadebra is actually... a LOT like me, less in her hyperactivity but more in her nonchalant enthusiasm and almost acceptance of the inevitable bullying because it means more time in people’s consciousness

ahhh - it’s quietly revealed here that she is responsible and a skilled magician, she is just bored of magic! i like that she parents abracadaniel instead of being downtrodden by his ramblings. 

PEP NO--- oh i see the problem, he hasn’t got his Bug Milk... sorry Martin Olsen fans, no Hunson today. At least we get one more Phil Face for the road! 

candy people in their natural habitat

Ahhh that’s Doctor Calidoneus! The voice actor was at the recent Distant Lands panel alongside Pep and Blaine’s actors. 

“pretty sure hes just trashcandy” - i like you, sassy antler lady

the mystery of how he gets clothes

and once again spader is proving to be the most irritating distant lands character of the lot, there is no subversion here. where is the subversion?  

NANI

what is going on here? are pep and peppermint the same person or not? im sure they must be, but there is something going on here with peppermint butler’s soul being trapped in the body of his child self who hasn’t got the same memories. 

OH, HYNDEN WALCH DID A NEW LINE yes this is what im here for, special over 

peppermint butler cursed himself... of course he did - Shado was correct!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT THE FUCK

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

ROCK STUDENT, BLESSED ROCK STUDENT, WAS THAT POOR GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE A JAWBREAKER

love the reference to astral plane, of course pep cant astrally project because cursed pep is still inside of him 

wow, blaine, wow

they have a crush

LITTLE DUDE! COLE SANCHEZ!

i love the dynamic between cadebra and abracadaniel, imo so far it’s the heart of the special. im not really gripped by peppermint butler’s school troubles. i imagine someone else probably will be but i want to run past that shit as far as possible. 

TRDGFYGHJH

WE

WE MADE  A PREDICTION THAT WAS JUST LIKE THIS

PEPPERMINT BUTLER GETTING TURNED INTO THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF PEPPER MINT BUTT LURE WAS IN THE WIZARD CITY PREDICTIONS ART DRAW THAT HASNT BEEN POSTED YET

ILL SHOW YOU WHEN NICK POSTS THE VIDEO and then ill tell you who made the prediction because i... think it was nick himself, insanity 

who plagiarized finn’s signature???

turns out pep really DID take over wizard city!!!!

i love this band

i understand your pain peps

you probably have a bit too much in common with your mother, and i imagine it isn’t easy being turned into a kid and not being able to do stuff that came so easy. you’re disappointing yourself! (he’s literally disappointing himself)

I’m less than halfway through the special, what the fuck. I wasn’t wrong when I said Wizard City had a lot on its plate. It’s noit that I’ve been particularly gripped up to this point, though to be fair I didn’t pause at all during the other specials barring Obsidian. 

that... that poor kid is still a rock

and then the preview happened and bufo casually revealed to the audience that, yes, he killed choose goose

i dont know whats happening with pep but it seems he needs to be exorcised of... pep. which is a shame. i hope they learn to coexist. 

i have to say the background work in this special is really good! like, really damn good. 

WH

WHAT

DID SPADER JUST DIE

IS THIS WHY PEOPLE THINK PEPBUT KILLED HIM 

oh thats right - abracadaniel is cadebra’s uncle! this must be abracadniels sister. sorry, folks, he doesn’t fuck. 

Where are they? Is this anywhere near Wizard City? It’s an unpopulated prewar wasteland. 

THESE ARE JUST HUMANS

OF COURSE SHE WANTS TO PERFORM TO MILQUETOAST HUMANS

my child

is this an art style choice or did they get the people from that one studio to make this

HANNA FINALLY GETS TO FULFIL HER DREAM OF INSERTING KANEDA INTO ADVENTURE TIME

the red jacket he wears and his head pill shape is a big kaneda reference actually, which i suppose makes sense considering he’s a rival to our protagonist, but it’s a bit on the nose

bufo killed one of his own students? but why????

“MY UNCLE’S A COP”

“no one likes a rat”

i actually really like blaine, though im confused. did their VA change halfway through the special?

HOW NATURAL, NO WASTE, IT IS AN ENDLESS CHAIN

did doctor caledonius steal the trophy,,,? 

EVIL SNAIL EVIL SNAIL

MONMSTER HUNJTER DISCOVERY NOISE, this time it’s a tetsucabra

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I HAVE QUESTIONS

god i wish this is what this special was about, i miss adventure time

these remind me of the comics with their art style :) i wonder who designed them? the one on the right with pb and pep, in particular, very comics-y. 

fdgfhgf because he’s like 500

“pep can be kind of a jerk but he wouldn’t kill anyone”

sorry, cadebra, i have news for you

is doctor calednoius the true villain? if bufo’s out of the picture, she MUST be, 

ANTS

oh no, he might gbe stuck in wizard city :( 

HELP

the writing on the wall...

SPADER LITERALLY FUCKING DIED OH YM JESUS CHRIST

PEPPERMINT BUTLER’S OWN CULT????

THIS IS JUST OK KO NOW

okay im not surprised all the teachers at wizard city are cultists in worship of peps, maybe they killed spader and bufo because they bullied peps T_T

wait no, they thought spader had the potential, but sadly not

HE FUCKING KILLED HIMSELF

sorry, i was distracted by the pretty dope fight sequence and now the special is over????

fucking jesse, hes probably at least partly responsible for the cult nonsense

This credits art is by Maya Petersen!!!! Holy shit it’s adorable!

LRETGFDRGTFGMHGFHFG

LEAF MAN

DO YOU THINK THEY PUT HIM IN RETROSPECTIVELY

DO YOU THINK MAYA PETERSEN DREW THIS AND ADAM PUT IT IN THE EP RETROSPECTIVELY

HE LIVES

MAYBE THIS IS WHY CHOOSE GOOSE WENT TO HELL

okay, it’s over :) 

first thoughts out of the way: not a big fan of this special. it’s like watching a completely different show. it’s not got the PZSHAHH of the normal wizard city stuff and there weren’t a lot of funny jokes or even hearty moments in the thing. 

it suffers from a lack of invested character interactions, much like BMO did. there was not a single main cast member in the whole thing! and like i said before, much of peppermint butler’s character in the show is based on his very sweet relationship to his mother, princess bubblegum, so when they showed a single (hilarious) photo of them together it made me sad we didn’t get any scenes with them together. it would have STOLEN this episode. and they teased the hunson golf photo, and death!!! and jake appeared in a photo T_T last jake appearance. 

it also suffers because Peppermint Butler is clearly not himself, imo he was way more entertaining in the Together Again special, where we seem him back to his “normal” self. 

i dont think peps being a dark wizard was something to “kill off” exactly. i wonder what was going on there? was that actually peps, or was that a spirit he cursed himself with based on himself? we at least know in the future he does become a dark wizard again, and even princess :) this special didn’t answer those questions but lol. 

THE GOOD STUFF, because yes, there was a lot of good stuff! 

God, I’m with Aracle and Maya on this - I LOVE Cadebra and her relationship to Pep. I wish she was even in more of this - I would love to watch the adventures of Cadebra and Pepbut in their first year of school, like in the end credits.

That, imo, is where the heart of the special lay - Peppermint Butler’s attempts to impress himself, versus Cadebra’s self acceptance and desire to follow her dreams of being a goofy goober, no matter what other people thought of her. 

It turned out that Cadebra is a responsible student and family member. I really liked that. Her scenes with Abracadaniel were, somehow, my favourite in the entire special! 

I like that theres a lot of cool magic towards the end of this special, and a lot of HORRIFYING DEATH. It wouldn’t be adventure time if you didn’t randomly kill off child characters. Poor Spader, I hated you but damn, what a grim fate. 

I like that Bufo and Caledonius had this crush/hatred thing going on, but they were part of the same cult in the end. 

I didn’t like the giant peps scene at the end, the monster was extremely milquetoast compared to the madness we usually get in AT. Obsidian, for example, had the awesome Larvo design. Nemesis had some INSANE dark magic!!!!  I wish they drew more from that episode. 

Considering how much Steve Little appears in this special, I do feel bad for Mace (little Peps). He said he would have really benefitted from coaching, but recieved none. He had to re-record his lines 3 times! Judging from his description of events, Wizard City was a hard time for him. 

The wizard school did remind me, heavily, of both The Owl House and OK KO. Personally I was hoping AT would offer me something more insane, but I do love both of those shows, and I know Wizard City was on a really tight schedule. 

I think they should have spent less time on the school bullying plot, and skipped straight to MURDER. 

We did have a cold opening, not on par with Together Again’s at all, but damn!

I am wondering where I would put this in the watch list? I do think it should sit after Obsidian as the third special. The intro scene makes it clear this takes place at the same time as Obsidian!!!

Well, that was it, the last ep of AT for the next few years at least T_T

i think together again was the better finale, definitely. but wizard city feels pretty detached from AT for me, despite the familiar characters it tonally isn’t like the show other than the awesome brutal death scenes. I thought the last 11 minutes was easily the best in the special! Which, honestly, is how it should be, though I do wish it gripped me more. Maybe I’m just not the target audience for Wizard City? It feels like something I would find very compelling if I was a bit younger! 

[stanknotstark]

Astral Pt. 8 (Loki x Reader)

Ok guys they’re REUNITED! God i hope you all know that I wrote all 7 parts in one day because i was so obsessed with getting chapters out so i wouldn’t have to write them daily or lose my thoughts!! Ok well now i have some time to figure out where the story will go from here or if i end it here....

IM JUST JOKING it’s not over yet XDD it’s barely begun :p Feel free to send messages about what you think is gonna happen or who might make minor appearances, villain or hero, cuz i have some planned out! I’ve been doing research guys, i bought a marvel encyclopedia for the first time in years cuz i visited the store the other day and loaded up on comic books again it’s been awhile but my collection is growing again ^^

You’re standing next to Natasha when the brothers drop down from the sky in their rainbow elevator thing. Thor called it the bifrost? It wasn’t something Loki had talked about when you had been on speaking terms, he must have not found it important enough.

The brothers landed outside on Stark’s glorified patio, 91 floors up. You almost forget to breathe as you look at Loki. His hair is a little longer now, he’s definitely lost some weight, and the bags under his eyes tell you enough. His face is cold as he looks around and, angrily, lets Thor lead him inside where you all stand in various places waiting on them. You note that both the brothers are dressed casually but it’s still a bit much, Earth wise. 

You swallow as Loki first sees Tony and smirks at him, “Seems I won’t be missing that drink you promised?” 

Tony gave him a once over then shrugged. “I guess you deserve a small break. Thor filled me in on what’s been going on.” Tony said, you thought you could hear a hint of a threat lacing his words though. Loki huffed and rolled his eyes looking at the rest of the team before his eyes landed on you. 

You looked into his eyes for what felt like hours but must have only been seconds. The angry look he had been parading in dropped and you saw a flurry of reactions so quick everyone else would miss it but you knew Loki. You try your best to keep your face disinterested, not quite sure if you succeed. Still a bit hurt he told you to never come back coming to the front of your mind you look away and whisper to Nat, “I gotta go, fill me in on what happens.” Then you rush out.

You hear Tony saying, “You already scared off y/n..” as you left the room. 

You basically run to your room and slam the door shut. Your breathing had started becoming haggard on your way up and only intensified as you closed yourself in your room. Both your hands gripped at your hair and pull, your eyes squeezed shut, tight. You shouldn’t be reacting like this it was Loki, it was just Loki. He wouldn’t hurt you, physically. You had thought that you were over whatever heartbreak you had all those years before. How the fuck were you to function normally around him if just one look at him made you this panicky? Made your heart beat so hard you thought it might break out of your ribs. Made you want to cry deliriously happy and sad at the same time. 

You let go of your hair, let your tears fall, and punched the wall a few times, hoping the pain in your hands would ground you. Luckily, it did, but you’d probably have to come up with an excuse because your knuckles were blooming dark purple. You took in deep breaths, copying what Loki had taught you to do when you got to worked up, subconsciously, the thought of him causing you to freak a bit more but then you just focused on breathing. 

It’s a few hours later when Natasha comes to your room and tells you dinner is ready. You had settled and had a book open in your lap as you sat on your bed. You consider skipping dinner and you’re about to say it when you see the look Natasha is giving you. She had been the one to teach you to over come your fears, to face them head on. She probably thought you were scared of Loki because he had tried to take over the world. Oh, how wrong she was. You nodded and told her you were gonna wear something else. She left you in peace and you sighed, rubbing a hand over your face then putting on your brave face and getting dressed in something casual. A simple t-shirt and jeans would suffice. 

When you entered the dinning room, a floor below yours, everyone was seated. Natasha had left you a seat. Right next to Loki. You swallowed and studiously kept your eyes anywhere but on Loki when you sat down. You realized Loki was very tense when you sat next to him but said nothing on the matter. 

“Brother! This is dear Y/n I mentioned, she’s got a quick wit just like you, I’m sure you both will be the best of friends!” 

You smiled at Thor but it probably came off as more of a grimace because Thor gave you a frown. Loki said nothing and focused on eating his food. The whole table got silent realizing something was up between you and Loki. You cleared your throat and tried to sooth things over by looking at Loki. His eyes caught yours and for a second you got lost in them, again. God, get ahold of yourself!

Mentally shaking your head you plastered a smile on and said, “Nice to meet you, Loki, I can’t wait to get to know you.” You finish lamely then quickly look at your food and begin stuffing your face so you wouldn’t have to speak anymore. 

“Riiiiiight.” Tony said eyeing you and Loki suspiciously. Steve sat next to him frowning at your attitude. You missed the silent conversation Natasha and Clint had. 

“You’re going to choke if you continue to eat like a bilge snipe that hasn’t seen food in weeks.” Loki said in a casual voice.

You choke. You swallow what is in your mouth, Natasha hitting your back a few times, and then you laugh. 

God you missed Loki. 

“Remember when you swallowed that moon berr-” Stopping yourself short you swallowed and closed your eyes, last seeing Loki’s happy look turn into a neutral face as he glances around at the team. Damn. 

“Remember? You two know each other?” Natasha asked, nudging you with her elbow. Thankfully you see she reserves her judgement on the situation. 

Sighing you look at the team and set your utensils down. 

“Loki is...” You shot Loki a confused look as if to ask if you still were but shook your head and continued on looking at Nat primarily, “We’re soulmates. I first met Loki when I was 13 years old.” 

“In person?” Steve asked.

“No, I can astral project my spirit but because I’m his soulmate it wasn’t hard it just kind of happened when I needed him most.” 

You picked up your glass of water, noticing you are shaking a bit. You especially tried not to jump when you felt Loki set a comforting hand on your thigh under the table. Taking a drink you looked at the table, took a deep breath, then let your eyes come back up to the confused team. 

“When you needed him most?” Tony asked after a few minutes of silence. 

Looking at Tony you bit your lip. Should you....

“My grandfather killed my grandmother in front of me when I was 13, I hid in my closet and closed my eyes, when I opened them I was in a room in Asgard.” 

“She was in one of my mental rooms that I use to astral project. A fabricated room I made when I was younger.” Loki said, his eyes only on you. 

“He was always there when something bad happened and we became best friends. I was 17 when I realized I had magic, his magic.” You said looking at Nat who looked confused. “Because we’re connected through our mind and soul, I draw my power from him. The powers I have are Loki’s in a sense but at the same time my own, I can do some things he can’t and vice versa.” 

“So if Loki just like, hypothetically, died,” Tony rolled his eyes when Loki glared at him, “Hypothetically! Would you lose your powers?” 

You swallowed as a knot formed in your throat and looked at Loki with sad eyes, willing him to answer because you surely didn’t have an answer for that. 

“Possibly.” Loki clipped out, sending a glare at Tony, as if damning him for making you think of that preposterous idea. 

Tony hummed in thought. 

“If you’re soulmates, why did she react the way she did when she first saw you?” Thor asked, mostly aiming the question to Loki. Loki looked at Thor, angry, then let out a breath and held his chin high. 

“We had a falling out three years ago.” 

“No doubt your fault?” Thor said causing Loki to nod once with a roll of his eyes. 

“No!” You yelled looking at Loki with exasperation. “I’m the one that chose to leave!” 

“I’m the one that gave you an ultimatum.” Loki ground out, frowning at you. 

“You were trying to keep me safe.” You said causing Loki to scoff. 

“Ok, wait, what happened so we can all choose our sides respectfully here?” Clint asked. 

“Shield found out about my powers when I was 17, said once I turn 18 they can give me an offer I can’t refuse. I could work for them. Loki said not to do it because it sounded like they were gonna use me as a weapon, that we knew nothing about Shield and what it stood for,” You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose with closed eyes, “I told him I was gonna take up their offer considering I had a bad home life, he argued Shield could be more dangerous and I told him I was still gonna take the offer anyways so he offered an ultimatum.” Letting your hand fall down to your lap and over Loki’s, still resting on your lap. You softly caressed his knuckles under the table. When you had closed your eyes, to pinch your bridge, you missed the concerned look Loki gave as he saw the violet bruises on your knuckles. 

“He said if I leave to never come back because he wouldn’t be able to watch me get hurt.” 

Tony breathed through his teeth, a hiss, but otherwise everyone stayed silent. 

“I left.” You finished lamely.

The table stayed silent for awhile, everyone gathering their thoughts and questions, until Steve spoke up. 

“After she left, what did you do Loki?” 

“I had Heimdal watch over her-”

“He is all seeing.” Thor said quickly to help out.

“-and I told him that if she were to find any trouble she could not handle to send me to her.” 

You looked up at Loki, shocked, who zealously kept his eyes on Steve. You offered what comfort you could by grasping his hand and squeezing. You smiled inwardly as Loki’s tense form softened slightly. 

“I’m taking it she never ran into trouble she couldn’t handle.” Steve said, more as a statement than a question.

“From what Heimdal has told me, joining Shield is the best thing to happen to her and I almost stopped that.” 

“You couldn’t have known.” You said quietly, frowning in thought, Loki finally looked down at you and your heart almost broke in half at the hurt in his eyes. 

“All you wanted was the best for me and I’m sorry I left,” You looked down and squeezing his hand before looking back up at his eyes, “I’m sorry I left and never tried to reach you again but I’m not sorry about the decision I made.” 

Loki looked at you for a bit then nodded, satisfied with something he found on your face or possibly in your eyes. “I’m sorry I never tried to reach out to you too.” Loki admitted.

You glanced at Thor who sat next to Loki, looking a little put out he never knew about the both of you. 

“Sorry we didn’t tell you Thor I kind of wanted to keep it a secret because I was going through a lot and wasn’t very trusting of strangers at the time.” You said to placate Thor, making the blame fall on you instead of Loki since their relationship was already rocky to begin with. A minor way you could apologize to Loki about not contacting him. 

Thor smiled, genuinely, then said “I’m just happy to make your acquaintance now, y/n.” 

Everyone went back to eating their almost cold meal now. Natasha and Clint the only ones that noted that you and Loki ate with one hand the entire time.

Conversations flowed between the team smoothly like you all were meant to be there, together. No one made any comments on the fact that you and Loki couldn’t keep your eyes off each other the entire time either.

Pt. 7/Pt. 8/?

Tag list: @justfangirlthingies @emelieh99  @high-functioning-lokipath​ 

[inkdemonapologist]

Been a lot of emotions in recent BatIM Call of Cthulhu events!!

Prophet Sammy slipped and sank into the mud in the swamp and immediately went into DROWNING FLASHBACKS from his inky death back in the Star Pools. Stunningly, panicking and thrashing around did not help and in fact only got him more stuck.

Henry was the one to pull Sammy out, which is a bit weird, because the Prophet didn’t actually... expect them to... want to help him??? Henry was also leaking gold blood out of his face from doing some intense magic (???), it’s fine, don’t worry about it.

Prophet Sammy ran out of ink, which he has to drink periodically to keep himself from changing back into normal Sammy, and JOEY... GAVE HIM SOME OF HIS OWN INK SO HE COULD HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME???? Both me and the Prophet were absolutely flabbergasted.

We rescued Jack’s old boyfriend Peter, that newspaper editor guy from before! He was trapped in another world and Jack managed to guide him back to this one and we all pulled his reflection out of the Lake and fought off the eldritch horror that tried to follow him out to our world! THERES A LOT HAPPENING IN THIS GAME

As always Boo has the summary posts for a more detailed description of events, but if you’re here for out-of-context quotes IVE GOT YOU COVERED, here’s some quotes from Session 7:

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[Henry] *rolling dice* Some nice dice clacking for the auditory experience, [Sammy] Call of Cthulhu ASMR [Joey] Some clacking dice, some screaming,

[GM] But you are on the shallower end of it, so you're not sinking. You are SUPER muddy. [Joey] That's fine-- [Jack] Noooo!! Jack's sweater!!!!!

[GM] Jack's turn! Make a luck roll, Jack! [Jack] *rolls terribly* ...hrrMMM... [GM] Okay. We'll just. We'll just keep that. For later. :)

[Sammy] Sammy is scrambling and panicking and yelling! [GM] Make a strength check! [Sammy] Cool, I'm good at those. *rolls* Success! [GM] You strongly thrash yourself about waist-deep in the mud. [Sammy] [Sammy] OKAY, um, [Sammy] That is. Uh. Worse. Than it was previously, yes? [GM] Yeah. :) [Sammy] OKAY, COOL,,, JUST CHECKING,

[Sammy] I don't think it's good when the GM says "Fun!" I think that's bad.

[GM] *flipping through notes* Where are your stats. Where are your stats, sir. [Sammy] "Young man, where are your stats?" [Jack] If he didn't do his homework, then all his stats are zero.

[Henry] Nope. I'm gonna accept my fate. Henry's goin' to space. [GM] The angel doesn't try to claw Henry, but it does pick him up! He's in the air. [Henry] Bye guys!

[GM] A gunshot does come from the brush also, and it hits the angel next to the one that's got Henry. [Henry] (Thanks, Norman!) [Jack] Does Norman have a gun??? [GM] Norman's not going to go into a cult swamp without a gun! What kind of crazy person would do that?!

[Sammy] I'm sorry if we lose your hat, Jack. [Jack] D: Nooo it's not his hat! [Sammy] Yeah I know, well I'm sorry if we lose it. [Joey] Yeah, sorry. [Jack] Noooo he needs to give that back! [Joey] well then he should wAKE UP!!! [Sammy] Love the idea that Peter later comes through here and finds his own hat discarded on the ground and is like, OH NO, JACK! [GM] Make another luck roll, maybe it's still on. [Jack] Okay dice! This is the ONLY thing I need you t-*sound of dice bouncing off the desk* whoOPS--

[Henry] *still held aloft by eldritch horrors* I'm guessing I don't hear anything either [GM] No, you're just having a nice little roller coaster ride.

[Joey] Ohhh... I guess we wouldn't need to breathe in space, huh. [Joey] ...AM I BREATHING???

[Joey] What time is it... are we at like, 8:30, 9ish? [GM] Well that's highly specific! What happens at 8:39?!

[Joey] Joey's still not willing to let random cultists carry Jack, unless they can do something to convince him??? [Sammy] I feel like the main convincing tool at this point is GUNS? Pointed at us. I think that's the main thing.

[Jack] I guess Jack is the imposter, since he's not doing human things like "breathing"

[GM] And shove all of you into a hut! With Norman-- no, that's right, he didn't get caught, I keep forgetting, his Hide skill is higher than I thought it was. Norman's still at large! [Jack] NORMAN, IS LOOSE, IN THE SWAMP [Joey] What crimes will he commit!

[Jack] This is why you don't smear your weird glowing blood on symbols that are known to watch!!!

[GM] They probably did take away a lot of your cooler stuff. [Sammy] I didn't have any cool stuff. I just had a coat. [Joey] You had ink. [Sammy] *muttering* I wasn't going to mention that that was in my coat.

[Joey] Joey is going to grab Sammy's face... and give him some of his ink. [Sammy] *stunned* Oh...! [Joey] We don't need a passed out Sammy!! [Jack] Only ONE unconscious man in this party!

[Jack] How has Cthulhu AU made "Joey feeds Sammy ink" wHOLESOME in some way?!?

[GM] They've got him in a robe now, and they've painted that yellow sign on it -- possibly in Henry's blood, because why not! [Joey] Excuse me, you did not get license to use that; I'm going to sue you in court now, [Jack] Unethically sourced! [GM] ...Did you just call Henry's blood your IP?

[GM] *startled laugh* my husband just said "Intravenous Property,"

[GM] The other prophet guy seems to be having a grand old time. It is even-odds whether he might just look over to see if Sammy's looking, just to smirk at him. [Sammy] oHHHHHH BOY. I hate this guy! I hate him. [Jack] Okay, well, I wanna-- [Sammy] *still going* I know who I'M sacrificing. [Jack] --Sammy, no. [Joey] You want to make a GOOD sacrifice, not give him trash. [Sammy] ...*sighs* Yeah, yeah, you're right... [Jack] You don't want to give the Masked Messenger a McDonald's burger.

[GM] It's Pete! [Sammy] Oh! Sammy vaguely knows who this is. [Henry] I'm gonna make a check to see if Henry recognises this guy, in the heat of the moment. [Jack] In the Pete of the moment. >:3c [Sammy] *groans* Why would you do this. Everyone was being so well-behaved.

[Sammy] I'm gonna... I'm gonna wait. Gonna be actually, a little bit smart. Trying out this new thing.

[GM] One of the angels is definitely heading your way. [Jack] Oops. [Sammy] ...what if we just... close the door.

[GM] And a sanity roll from Joey and anyone else that is watching this. [Sammy] *sarcastic deadpan* Oh No. I'd Better Look Away. *scoffs* Why would I NOT want to watch my lord work?

[GM] It does a d8 + damage bonus, which, I don't think Joey has one. But it does a d8. [Joey] Does Bendy have one? [GM] No! Bendy's damage bonus is NEGATIVE TWO because he's a tiny cartoon character! You don't want his damage bonus. [Jack] You attack and there's a squeaky hammer noise,

[GM] Peter doesn't seem to have a reflection. [Sammy] ...Do we? [GM] Yeah [Sammy] Okay. That's cool, that's nice, luv 2 reflect. [Jack] *whispering* Peter vampire???

[GM] Sammy thinks this is a spawn of the Yellow King, something that happens to people who dabble too much in his worship. [Sammy] Again, MORE reason why this guy is an idiot and trusting the wrong god! [Sammy] ...Sammy knows all this stuff and is still like "yeah, but the Masked Messenger is cool! I'll definitely be rewarded for my service!"

[Jack] Jack didn't learn how to ASTRAL PROJECT for Pete to get eaten by something!!

[Sammy] Did they steal our ink??? [GM] Looks like they poured it out. [Jack] Pour one out for their FAKE LORD,

[Jack] Rescued. From a cult. By a second, different cult! [Joey] Our cult is COOL, though. [Henry] the coolt