#i have three fics to post HELP

[lehguru]

i just now realized tumblr didn't post anything i put in queue these past days ;~;

[yellowwwcrayon]

Gihun - me and the bad bitch I pulled by being so pathetic and incompetent that they had to take pity on me

(if I had a nickel for every time an intelligent ruthless character fell for this dumb/cute himbo man child (and sad sweaty meow meow), I'd have two nickels? Not a lot, but still weird that it happened twice in one show.)

[keferon]

Are you ok with people sending fics to you as anons? Asking because I'm cooking one right now and I want to know what you're the most comfortable about

I'm completely fine with any way you send your fic honestly. If you prefer to stay anon and post your fics kinda "through my inbox" it's 100% okay:) Just please keep in mind that I might accidentally miss it so please have a copy somewhere

[kestrel-of-herran]

my thoughts on peterrose in season two + predictions for season three

i want to preface this by saying that i ended up enjoying season two wayyy more than season one, and i think it came down to the bigger complexity of the storyline, the unpredictable alliance switches and twists, and the depth with which the afterglow of peter and rose's experiences and relationship in season one was handled. this season's focus on angst and exploration of the psychological impact of the work on both of them and what it means for their relationship really elevated the love story for me from a pretty clean-cut "us against the world" vibe to the messiness of both of them being used to blackmail the other and their relationship straining because of the secrecy around the missions and the contradictions of rose feeling safe with peter but being constantly endangered by his work and peter needing rose around for his peace of mind but rose suffering psychologically from her proximity to the morally grey aspects of his work. chef's fucking kiss where's the next course

peterrose things i loved in season two + development from season one

rose having the option to leave anytime

while in the first season both of them had little actual choice about whether to stick together or not, circumstances that created a kind of bubble around them and aided the romance, this time around rose could have backed out repeatedly, making every time she chose to stay a decision that had as much to do with peter as with the help she thought she could give to the investigation. not only was she there at the beginning to help him gain some trust in people back and make sure he didn't steer off the ethical path, but later she also discovered for herself that even in the thick of danger (the party, the air vents situation in the last ep) she prefers to try to help rather than back away. it's a mode of thinking that will definitely lead her to sharing some of the danger of the job longer-term if the show lets her explore it.

closeness without labels

this is one aspect that i thought was handled with so much care and delicacy in a way that felt very satisfying to watch. they haven't seen each other in ten months, but she still has scores of photos saved on her phone (the show could have easily gone with one selfie, the fact she was always showing a different photo really shows they dated for a while before his posting, and were happy enough during it to constantly take pics) and doesn't hesitate to ditch her job and track him into danger because she's worried sleepless about him. she doesn't hold not calling her back over him even though she's clearly hurt about it because she knows it's out of his control, but he still apologizes and makes it clear again and again how thankful he is that she's there and how she's helped him both emotionally and logistically, like with noticing an attacker or planning the party heist. even as he wants her to leave to be safe, he doesn't make her feel like she's intruded or endangered his mission, but follows her advice and always gives her credit when she contributes to the work. they're comfortable enough with each other to cuddle and hug and kiss spontaneously, but they never discuss exactly what kind of relationship they're in because it's obviously a closeness both of them enjoy and initiate and they care more about being together than giving their relationship a label or discussing a future together at a point when he's so involved with his work and she's still sorting out how she feels about it. she doesn't pressure him about quitting and he doesn't force her to stay, he notices whenever she's upset and talks things out with her, and gives her space to process her feelings even if it means she might realize she's better off out of his kind of life. they both try to give the other whatever they might need in terms of emotional support and space to change their mind, even if that contradicts what they each would prefer the other to do or want or if it would result in emotional pain for them personally.

domesticity

i was absolutely treated to this trope this season. sharing clothes, him casually bringing her drinks while she's working, buying her food and knowing her preferences by heart, all the little jokes and fights that just made them feel like a family throughout the season. it shows clearly that their dynamic goes beyond needing each other in dangerous situations, that they were having a swell time just teasing each other. it's a quieter dynamic than the previous season, because they're both more aware of the constant and repeatedly chosen danger of the situation that is now a way of life rather than a crazy few days before things would go back to normal, but it's also more profound in how it acknowledges the trauma while showing they're still really compatible in the little safe haven of their nights at home.

partnership

they really felt like an agent couple in this season, not only in the way their skills complement the other's, but also in how they're both on the same wavelength of thinking during high-stakes situations and are able to brainstorm through them together or understand each other without words. peter didn't hesitate to tell the guy blackmailing him with rose's life to fuck off because he has faith in her ability to evade the attacker if he warns her. rose's involvement saved several of the missions from going south, and as much as he's uncomfortable with her choosing danger over safety in the moment, he clearly admires the effectiveness of her contribution. moments like when she noticed the comms being overheard and when she ambushed markus and showed peter what she'd do just by counting with her hand really show how perfectly they work as a team, and how much smoother operations in the future would go if they're both there to have each other's backs and think through problems together.

your life for hers

fuck me uppppp i love this shit soooooo much. i think one of the main jobs a writer has when developing a plotline is to explore all likely scenarios emerging from the goals and feelings of the character until that point, and the emotional development when it comes to peter protecting rose here is spectacular. while in the first season he was focused on protecting her partly from a feeling of friendship and because he wanted to do right by her and felt responsible for her, in this season it's as clear as day that he's protecting her because he values her life more than his and he's completely aware that if something happens to her it'll wreck him completely. he spends the better part of the season processing the loss of a mission partner and blaming himself for it, and it only serves to bring into focus how much worse things will be for him if rose gets hurt. she's no longer someone he's protecting because it's the right thing to do but someone so precious to him he's fraying at the edges just imagining something happening to her. she's his priority to the point that he doesn't hesitate to throw the mission and put himself in the position of a traitor that he has so much trauma about because of his father, because her being alive and safe is worth every sacrifice to him. the look on his face every time he was blackmailed is 1000000/10.

separation parallels

i really felt the upgrade of the separation scene this season, from the neat wrap-up of the hero flying off into the sunset while his girl waits happily for his call to both characters showing their emotions with all their bitter aftertaste and just feeling through a situation they can't amend right now. i absolutely love how worried rose was whenever someone slipped that peter had done something he could be charged for and all through peter explaining his decision to her, because it's not just that he loves her but that she was used against him and as long as they love each other this can happen again. peter was just excellent here, from taking the time to tell her himself to checking his urge not to get to the bottom of his feelings and taking her hands as he told her the full truth of what he feels for her. rose just breaking down crying and him hugging her and that head kiss was just sooooooooooo perfect in capturing how much they care for each other. rose's expressions as she watches him leave in the taxi and her going towards it are particularly telling, as is her struggle to maintain her smile and carefree tone while talking to noor. her reaching out to noor in the first place speaks volumes to me already, because if she didn't want to be involved with peter's world anymore i doubt she'll want to meet with anyone from that stage in her life now that she's managed to break away from it. noor wasn't buying any of her statements, and from the scene when she sensed something was wrong with her family leaving iran from rose's facial expressions alone, i think she's pretty good at reading her, and the lingering shots on her face leave little doubt rose isn't as fine as she'd like her to think.

predictions for rose in season three and beyond

my thoughts on statements of the writers and actors

the two things that are on my mind when i'm reviewing all the interviews that have addressed rose potentially not continuing with the show are that (1) the showrunners have the right to change their mind about the focus of the show whenever and although it would be like shooting themselves in the foot if they drop her that's their (very unreasonable bc i love rose to pieces) call to make, and (2) no one involved with the show would reveal a major twist before the season has even finished shooting. let's look at some statements of the cast and crew in light of that.

"We don’t want to artificially create a situation where characters have to be part of a specific season on a regular basis. We want to tell the story that feels true in that moment. I am very aware that one of the big strengths of Season 1 — and what I think is a big strength in Season 2 — are Peter and Rose together. I think the relationship is really strong. [...] Their shared trauma from these first two seasons has built this incredible bond. But is it enough to overcome the difference in their lives and their lifestyles Is something that we spend a lot of time talking about. So, not trying to duck the question, but we’re still creatively looking into all that. This, hopefully, with the success, will be a long-running show, and the question you raise is something that we talk a lot about in the writers room." (source)

they're clearly still writing the season and figuring out where they want to place rose in the story without compromising her moral code, and i think they might have wanted to hear the audience's and critics' responses to this as well before they wrap up this season's plot. journalists keep bringing this up in interviews and i think that's very telling to how the public as a whole and not just the shipping fandom views the show as about the both of them, so i hope that interest makes a difference in how they perceive the future of the show as a successful one as well, since they do need people to stick around and characters are a huge draw (case in point i started this for the couple rather than the plot, and didn't even find the plot engaging until season two, but i'd never spend hours of my morning writing an analysis for their excellent handling of plot only). they're clearly aware of peter and rose as a huge boon to the show, but also want to make sure that either of the actors not being able to continue with the series isn't going to put the whole thing out of business. one way i see this playing out is with rose having reduced screen time in season three but coming in as a regular in season four for example, if another season of peter doing agent stuff while she develops something (a program, fighting skills) is what's required for her to fit smoothly in the events surrounding him. i can also see they're anxious not to repeat plot points and make copies of previously successful seasons, so i expect rose's future involvement in the plot to be more creative and not replicate her previous actions, e.g. her not seeking him out on her own in a similar way again, but likely coming in as a partner already in some official capacity.

"That will be a part of Season 3, him trying to emotionally and logistically deal with the unintended consequences of his actions in season 2. [...] The goal isn’t darkness but what I would say is — and I’m involved in a coalition that talks a lot about how mental health is portrayed on TV — one of the things that we wanted to do in Season 2 was model Rose’s behavior as being how you want to approach trauma and violence in your life. She’s seeking professional help, and she’s making progress. Peter, on the other hand, is approaching it in a very old fashioned, very masculine, frankly, way of burying it, ignoring it, and that doesn’t often work. I’m always adamant that I don’t want the show to become so dark and impenetrable, so I think you’re going to see a lot of sides of Peter in Season 3 in the same way that you did in Season 2. I hear your question, and no, the show isn’t about going to the abyss with Peter." (source)

kuddos to them for that honestly i absolutely loved the ptsd portrayal in season two, but the main thing i'm getting from this response is that it's very unlikely for rose to be killed off to remove her from the plot at this point, or to double down on peter's trauma, because that's how peter would define "going into the abyss" imho.

"I would say that that moment, that breakup scene, felt true to us, the writers, as we were crafting the second season. That they live in two very different worlds, that he wants to be in this world that's dangerous, that she doesn't particularly want to be in a world that's dangerous, and yet they have this incredibly strong connection forged over living through and helping each other through these traumatic events. So there's always going to be this incredible connection between the two. What that will mean for their onscreen pairing I think is something that we continue to talk about and will figure out. So, I don't know yet, because we haven't definitively decided what it means for the characters. I will just tell you that we love the character of Rose. We love the character of Peter. We love Luciane and Gabriel as actors. I think they're tremendous together. When we started to work on season 2, I came back to the writers with what I felt were strengths of the show from season 1, and the very first one I wrote down was Peter and Rose together. So we don't take that lightly. At the same time, we don't want to craft something that feels inauthentic just to be a fan service, to keep them together in ways that might feel unrealistic. So that will be the responsibility and the struggle of the writing staff and myself as we craft further seasons." (source)

i think bringing them on the same page about the work can be done with the kind of emotional development they pursued when they explored the impact of trauma and morally grey choices on both of them, so i see this mostly as a matter of narrative time and writing effort, providing they're willing to put those in, rather than the characters being naturally incompatible in terms of their life goals. case in point, rose's characterization in season one came down to happy to break the rules, threaten people with arms, steal things, and kill to protect others or to avenge her loved ones. it's only in season two that we see her struggle with threatening people and endangering lives, so that was a very conscious narrative choice and a huge pivot for her character arc from a tiny daredevil (aspects of her we still see in the party scene for example) to the voice of reason in ethically dubious situations. this kind of major change of heart can happen easily with sufficient screen time and the kind of plot points to inspire it, and is completely within the writers' abilities should they want it to take place.

"I have no idea [whether Rose will be back in season three], and I can’t spoil anything. I wish I could tell you, but Peter does say ‘No, don’t come looking for me,’ and I don’t think Rose takes well to direction; she does whatever she wants. So you never, never know." (source)

it's worth seeing the video of her answering this question, because honestly to me she seems happy to give a little hint of something bigger. it's either her character sixth sense talking (and she's right), or she already knows she'll be brought back to wrap-up the season. i think rose showing up unexpectedly, and prepared, when peter's been spending the season dealing with choosing her safety over remaining clean, is only going to contribute to that theme.

"You can have love for someone without physically expressing it. I think that’s, I don’t want to say trope, but a lazy way of showing that two people care about each other is having them hook up. Sacrificing your life for someone or putting your life at risk to save someone, I think, is a bigger testament of love than giving them a kiss or something like that. The relationship is important to both of them, and you see that through their commitment to one another and keeping one another alive, regardless if that means they’re going to be together, at least they’ll have done what they can to protect the other." (source)

turn this shit upppppppp i love this so much... but this brings me to the fact that as long as they're in love they will be used against each other, so it's time to develop some scenarios from there (and i don't mean them not being in love anymore bc that's just unrealistic at this point; it would require either of them making choices the other can't understand and the entire series becoming more dark, "you can't love anyone"-style, than the writers seem to want it to; giving peter another love interest instead also just seems like undoing a ton of hard work and audience interest just to pull a james bond, and i think they care about being original way more).

plot-realistic scenarios

i'm using this term (likely made-up by me, a writer finishing a book atm btw) here to indicate scenarios that need to be followed for the plot to feel satisfying, e.g. ignoring them would require some disbelief suspension and might make the audience doubt they're seeing the logical development of events and characters as they have been built up so far.

rose is going to continue being used to threaten peter

if part of his goal next season is to eventually turn against the guy holding rose's life over his head, peter needs to make sure she'll survive that plot point, either by protecting her again or warning her and making sure she's in a safe environment while he takes the guy down, for which we need at least a cameo, though that is the laziest way to wrap this up imho. i think the guy will absolutely keep tabs on her so he can use that if peter goes astray, so she'll be involved in this as long as peter's an agent even if she's living a normal life, and i doubt peter will be able to make anyone believe that he doesn't care about her since all it takes for the truth to come out is for someone to point a gun at her head.

rose would benefit from some combat training or security if she's going to make it through this show alive

at the very least, keeping rose out of the show without killing her means also providing her with the means to protect herself as long as peter is being blackmailed with her life, which is one of the few plot points that seems to be a given for the next season. a basic agent training course that would allow her to rebuff attackers, or security trailing her to make sure peter isn't compromised because of her, are the least catherine can do to make sure her plans for peter are successful.

catherine doesn't seem to be done trying to use rose

at multiple points throughout this season, catherine was impressed with rose's coding and recruited her help for a job, and i doubt she'll just let an asset go if she thinks she can be useful. she knows peter's a weak spot for rose that she can utilize to put pressure on her (like with the security cameras, the consequence of rose's choice not to join would have been peter being exposed to more danger, so she changed her mind), and since peter is pretty central to her plans for season three, it makes sense to keep rose closer rather than further. she knows rose can get through to peter when no one else can or take him out of the path she's set out for him, so risking her being too far out of sight to influence strikes me as unreasonable. and what better way to bring rose back into the action than with a bang, by placing her in the middle of a covert mission in later eps (preferably without warning peter to amplify the emotional climax of the reunion) with the kind of skills that would make her at least competent in avoiding capture when things go wrong.

the show has barely scratched the surface of rose as an agent

i mean this seriously, there's so much to work with when it comes to her becoming an agent or helping out with some of the jobs or even if she's joining the action as a voice on the comms while she's hacking some system. peter won't always be in the position to make sure she's safe, and she's been showing so much resilience, quick thinking, and willingness to pull a gun or stab someone during a fight. she's smart, a creative and smooth liar, and refuses to give up even when the odds of her making it are slim. she'll be an asset to any mission the show involves her in, and keeping her in a california office is a huge waste of potential.

rose's arc is far from wrapped up

the thing with rose as a character is that her arc could have been wrapped up in season one without bringing her into season two and the show would still have made sense despite the (disappointing for me the rose fan) shift in focus from romance to political intrigue. the showrunners seem keen to be making that shift anyway, but they decided to keep peter and rose's relationship as not only a subplot but the driving force behind peter's moral conflict and the starting point of him becoming a double agent in season three. rose received a great amount of screen time, agency, and emotional development, but it wasn't enough to feel that she exited the story cleanly and permanently. she clearly still has a lot of processing to do when it comes to both her feelings for peter and whether she wants to join the action and save lives (at multiple points in the show she turned back and rejoined dangerous situations not only out of love for him, but because i think she knows that without her input, chances of things fucking up increase exponentially) despite the danger to her safety, mental health, and moral integrity, and the way to conclude these plot points is to give her more screen time to get full closure or process her trauma and decide to become more involved with night action. even with new storylines and characters appearing, the show will only benefit from keeping rose and peter's relationship as a subplot and exploring the shift in their dynamic and feelings if she's cleared to join the missions on par with him or becomes an agent on other postings unbeknownst to him at first (night action picking up the phone when he has a crisis in season three or her appearing in a completely unrelated undercover mission happening in the same place he's working his target so both of them are thrown off-balance by the proximity). how will their romance develop if she's as competent a fighter as him, if she puts herself at risk as regularly, if their superiors try to use them against each other to manipulate both to their ends? now that's something i'd kill to watch.

[novantinuum]

Reformation ref sheet for an AU Steven (named "Astra") who's been invading my brain since like,, April. It's VERY wide, apologies. There's a lot going on here because this man is incredibly old and has poofed way too many times for varying reasons. (See This post for how I headcanon that Steven can poof and still be considered a hybrid being.)

While I will not talk in huge length about certain aspects of his AU on this blog due to some of it involving strong NSFW themes, there is a ridiculous amount of other lore I've developed over time for Astra, and I love him to death. He is my sad, lonely mans who I metaphorically hurl against the wall like a sticky hand when I need to feel something.

This version of Steven will likely never have any kind of full ass fic or comic made about him. Despite that, I do enjoy sharing some art and fun character lore for him from time to time. So, I might as well finally give followers like... literally ANY context for him. I've had this ref sheet for a while and just have never gotten around to throwing it on here, LOL.

Ridiculously long dump about my guy under the cut.

Subnote, this was supposed to be a quick post but I can't help myself and wrote you a fucking BOOK under the cut because I love my guy so much UWU

(Content warning I guess for like, extremely vague mentions of Steven/Steven later on.)

-

The huge tl;dr of Astra is as follows: he's a version of Steven who exists for SO long that he basically transforms into something of an ancient, lonely god.

He's outlived every single person he once knew as a child, and so as a result is starved for affection. At the same time, being vulnerable is the absolute scariest thing for him and he's really shit at navigating relationships, F.

The guy is THE most powerful living creature in his entire universe by the end, and yet remains a soft-spoken, (generally) benevolent soul. He dedicates himself to acting as caretaker for the vast, populous world he exists within, and to maintain the continuing legacy of Gemkind. A big discovery that occurs in this AU is that Gems are in fact susceptible to entropy over the span of millions of years and will eventually fall "inert," (but not him because of weird hybrid biology stuff he honestly sees as more of a curse than a blessing) so a huge plotline early on in Astra's lifespan is trying to either find a "cure" for this issue or to develop a means by which new generations of Gems can be created without the reinstatement of Kindergartens so Gemkind doesn't overtly go extinct.

-

But, to start... this Steven diverges off a point in canon- this is the timeline where he actually takes up the Diamonds on their offer of the throne in the movie, believing he may have a better chance of heralding true societal change working from the INSIDE rather than stepping away. Because he pours himself so thoroughly into his role on Homeworld and his mind is continuously occupied by this purpose, he never experiences the events SU: Future, nor does he develop his "pink mode" (yet...) or corrupt at all.

However, he's also so engrossed in his work that he's... kind of a shit boyfriend to Connie as years go on. (In that he's not terribly attentive... always super busy... their visits are often cut short, or few and far between.) Their relationship never really goes anywhere as a result, though Connie wants it to. To be fair so does Steven, but he's so scared that everything he's worked so hard to organize and set up in this new era will fall apart if he steps aside from his role for even a moment that he can't allow himself to follow that want.

At some point here he learns he can poof through a complete freak accident, and that's where things really begin to change in this timeline.

It takes a good few months for him to reform, but once he does he's back at it with all his work on Homeworld pretty quick.

The thing is... he doesn't have an innate physical need to eat or drink or sleep anymore, because he now consists of entirely hard light. It mimics human biology to an insane degree, so he COULD do all those things, but he doesn't need them to persist. So... he kinda takes this as an excuse to cut those activities out of his schedule entirely so he can spend more time focused on his duties as a diamond.

Connie is NOT a fan of this, and this leads to some debate and tension within their relationship. That being said, they remain an item...

Up until out of nowhere, Connie dies in an accident on Earth while Steven is off planet in a place where he doesn't have any contact with them for a few days. By the time the Gems are able to get in touch with him, it's far too late to resurrect her.

The kicker? In the autopsy it's discovered that she was a few weeks pregnant when she died.

Steven is emotionally gutted by this... and the thought of what could have been... and poofs.

The guy is understandably destroyed when he comes back in his next form, and his form reflects that- his gem flips as a sort of metaphorical severing from his own humanity.

He spends a long while in a deep depression at the loss of his childhood sweetheart... at the loss of any potential for (as far as he sees) a "normal" human life. There's a part of him that resents the choices he's made to end up in this present, but like, there's still work to be done.

And as the years move on, a LOT of that work is mitigating the growing relations (for better or for worse) between Gems and humans as humanity stretches their legs and reaches out into the stars. Humans kinda get... really aggressive in their expansion though, and quite territorial, and it leads towards some inevitable conflict between them and Gemkind. This time, with them more at fault. Things get so spicy that some groups of humans and Gems go to war.

Steven tries to mitigate one of these situations at the front lines- and gets poofed by a disgruntled Gem, speared straight through the back because she (kinda wrongly) assumed he would take the humans' side due to his ancestral ties to them.

When he reforms this time, he is glowing a perpetual pink. The Gems don't really know what to make of this, but he seems to be in perfectly fine health otherwise, so they assume it's just a normal aspect of this new neutral form.

And while this isn't something Steven has context to figure out until like... billions of years later, what's actually happened is that he's entered a permanent pink mode, pretty much. Guy's just got that much bottled up, unaddressed trauma.

He spends a long time in this form, and over all these thousands of years oversees the slow return to peace between Gems and humans... their marriage as a space age federation... and their deeper exploration of the galaxy. Beyond their home solar systems exist a bounty of alien species they've yet to meet... some friendly, some less so. There's definitely some conflict that crops up amidst the local galactic neighborhood when Gems and humans show up on the playing field here, lol.

But all-in-all, Steven develops a fairly peaceful and predictable routine during this reformation- living more like a Gem than ever before. He's still got the Crystal Gems at his side through all of this, and they are some of his greatest confidants.

And then... without any warning... Gems begin to go inert. Amethyst is among them.

Some of them simply stop reforming after they poof... especially those who were older Gems, or who have been cracked before. Steven and the other Diamonds using their powers together are able to "fix" this at first and "jumpstart" their reformation, but it's just a bandaid of a fix- these Gems will fall inert again pretty soon. And the longer they persist without poofing from alternate causes, the more unstable their form, power, and memory becomes. (Think of this as Gem dementia at its late stages,,, oof.)

The bottom line? Just like organics, Gems aren't immune to the forces of entropy. Sooner or later, their gemstones will decay from the inside out. Stubborn to find a way to save the ones he loves as he watches them slowly deteriorate all around him, Steven dedicates himself to trying to find a cure. But deep down, a part of him recognizes the futility of this. What he believes Gemkind actually needs to do is to develop a means of rebooting Gem incubation that doesn't destroy planets, so they can rebuild their quickly dwindling population and keep their legacy alive.

The big problem with this is that Gems take a SHIT load of energy and resources to properly incubate, so that puzzle will take a long ass time to sort out. There's kinda a lot of chaos that happens during this time. The reality of their own blunt mortality freaks out a bunch of Gems, and Steven has to do damage control with the heads of state for a lot of other alien species.

In the interim, all the Crystal Gems and some of the Diamonds (White is still in the picture, though) end up falling inert. Pearl is the last of the CGs to do so.

Steven is understandably SUPER gutted about this, and poofs yet again. (Lol notice a theme? Poor mans keeps poofing from friggin' anguish. Help him.)

After reforming with barely any changes, it's right back to work for this guy. He and the rest of his team of researchers are unable to find any cure for Gems decaying and falling inert, but they do end up making huge leaps and bounds in other kinds of tech. One of these advances allows Steven to finally deep-scan his own gemstone down to the atomic level to check for decay- this was previously a process that was very invasive, and came at the risk of irreparably damaging a Gem, but not anymore.

He expects to find evidence of the same micro decay that's been slowly eating away at the rest of Gemkind within his OWN diamond, but the thing is...

He just... ISN'T decaying at all? Even though the sheer age of this gemstone itself should suggest otherwise? As it turns out though, his existence as a hybridized being makes him kind of... an anomaly. When he first reformed all those thousands of years ago, all the data within his gem- data that would otherwise be susceptible to decay- was translated into genetic material. DNA that's woven entirely out of hard-light... but, DNA that has also been constantly regenerating itself thanks to a combination of all the intricate biochemistry surrounding the human telomere and his healing powers.

In other words, he is incapable of falling inert from natural causes, like micro decay. He's functionally immortal. Unless someone shatters him (or... heaven forbid... he shatters himself) he simply can't die.

Which, all of a sudden, makes his race to save Gemkind from their quickly approaching extinction all the more personal. Because if he FAILS- then he'll be the very last of Gemkind. There will be no one else left in this world who is even remotely like him. (Humanity has mixed and mingled with the galactic locals so much by now that they're very much unrecognizable from what they once were.)

His spirit is very nearly broken by this discovery, and he is severely tempted to throw all his own principles out the window and just sanction the construction of new Kindergartens again, if only to keep the dwindling Gem populations up and birth new generations. Perhaps surprisingly, it's White Diamond- the last Gem left who Steven actually knew since the very beginning- who urges him to reconsider. To not give up on his own morality, to not revert all the miraculous changes he's worked for these long few million years.

The big shift in the tides is when he discovers the means to jump to alternate timelines, and thus the existence of the greater multiverse. This allows him to gather intel and ideas from a far greater spectrum of sources.

And eventually... it's with the aid of many alt versions of himself from other lines across the multiverse that leads to him finding a suitable, eco-friendly solution to his Gem incubation problem. (This is the aspect of this AU I cannot discuss in length for discretion's sake. Use your imagination. Or don't, I don't care.)

The following two sections, I'll be talking more about the broad thematics than anything else. At this point, know that there are now new batches of Gems being created all the time. Gemkind is no longer at risk of any extinction, but now- like any stable organic species- new Gems are made at the same rate that they fall inert.

So, the BIGGEST thing here with this reformation is that this is overtly where this guy picks up the name "Astra." Why a name change? Well, after White finally went inert, leaving him the last Diamond in existence within this line, it basically just felt... upsetting to him, to continue to go by a name that every person he ever loved used for him. Thus, the new name is overtly a means to distance himself from that past, and from that pain. (It's also a name he chooses while thinking back to a meaningful conversation he had with White, back before she went inert, oOF. I'll probably yell about that at some point in another post.)

So, too, is the lack of any tangible facial features. He HAS a face, but others just can't see it. He subconsciously obscures it from almost everyone's sight as a means of avoiding vulnerability. One might also have noticed by now that this guy's proportions have gotten like, really strange and sorta "stretched out" over time the larger he becomes... and this is intentional, as it's yet another way he's just becoming more inhuman in form, yet another way he's internally separating himself from those humble human origins of his.

But here's the thing, though.

Deep, deep down, to be human and to live a simple human life is basically all he's ever craved. It's everything he feels he's lost forever, with the death of his Connie. And instead, he's kinda stuck in a hellish sunk cost fallacy of his own making, acting as eternal caretaker for this world that- no matter what he does to try and make it a better place- will never quite be PERFECT. Thus, in his mind, even though he's literally fixed Gemkind's BIGGEST problem, he can't Stop. He can't Rest. He simply can't allow himself himself to lay down and Sink Away into the unknown.

And even if he could allow himself to do so, he is so, so scared of walking that path alone.

If he's going to die... he wants that end to be at a lover's side.

How, though, is someone who's basically a god supposed to find anyone in this multiverse with experiences they can remotely relate to?

Well... ultimately, Astra finds that it's far, far easier to build up a close relationship with varying versions of himself than anyone else. He's... kinda trash at it, though. This guy has so much bottled up Gunk in his head and is so starved for any form of affection that he has a habit of throwing WAY too much of himself into the relationships he engages in, and expecting that same level of commitment in return. There's one relationship with an alt Steven he's in for a while that ends up pretty unhealthily co-dependent before it fizzles out, and then another where he assumes the individual is committing to this partnership for the long run, but then no... actually Astra was always pouring more into this dynamic than he was receiving in return.

This second relationship, when it ends, is pretty devastating to him- since it was one that lasted for like, a LONG ass time. Unimaginably long. We're talking billions of years, here.

Uh-oh! And now he's even more distanced from other people. Folks can't even parse his actual chosen name at this point- except he isn't really consciously aware of this for a while?? It's yet another silent cry for help, yet another internal defense mechanism specially intended to keep others from truly getting to know him. Because every time he does... stars. No matter what he does, he keeps getting hurt. Almost everyone he knows and loves is torn from his life eventually... if not by death, then by some form of tragedy... and he's just so, so tired.

He wants literally ANYTHING to change in his life. He craves some new form of purpose. He craves the attention of someone who might love him as passionately as he loves them.

For a while, he almost believes he's found that- in yet another close relationship he forges with an alt version of himself- but while this other Steven does care for him immensely, it's only as a friend. Which kinda kills Astra, because he's like, lost in the sauce levels of In Love with this guy. There's a LOOOOOOT of story I have here with this, oh my god. If I am thinking about this AU I am usually thinking about this Old Man Yaoi. The great bulk of it is very NSFW themed though, so y'all getting the cliff notes.

The MOST important thing to know though, is that Astra both makes intense leaps and strides in once again allowing himself to be vulnerable with this man, and ALSO kinda intensely fucks their whole mutually agreed situationship up. It's messy. I am crying and wailing at these two old dumbasses. Jesus fucking christ.

But then, it's in the aftermath of this whole deal that an individual named Orion comes into the picture.

Orion quite literally falls into Astra's world by complete accident, but it's a very lucky accident- because she is a diamond hybrid version of Connie from another universe who- beyond a few differences- has a strikingly similar history to his. The big difference, though? She never found a means to create new Gems without Kindergartens, so she was the last of just a few thousand Gems who existed in her entire line. Part of a deeply endangered species.

This version of Connie arrives in some very deep mental turmoil, and so Astra does his best to give them a stable home and a place to heal. And while a past version of him might've been tempted to throw way too much of himself into the slow building rapport they have, he's blessedly Learned a thing or two from the past few major relationship experiences he's had... and chooses to like, ease up. Just offer himself as a friend first and foremost, should they care for one. Man learns restraint, lol.

And it's a damn GOOD thing that he does, because out of the genuine friendship they foster, Orion is the one who ultimately falls in love with him first. The relationship that's established here is one that's balanced, a true partnership where they simply make each other better people. It's through Orion's encouragement that Astra eventually reconnects and makes up with that last person he had an intense relationship with, even.

In time, Astra truly grows to thrive with Orion in his life. He becomes a far more open, vulnerable person, someone who feels safe to truly exist as who he is, to bare every complicated, battered facet of his past to those he trusts. While he may have taken the LONG road to get here, he too heals. And as a result...

One day, Astra simply stops glowing entirely. Shrinks down to more reasonable proportions. He stops hovering around on automatic, stops subconsciously scrubbing the memory of his face or name from people's minds. He stops denying his truest, deepest self- the reality that he was born an organic being, and raised as a human.

The burred reality that all he's ever truly wanted since the day his first lover died is to be a parent.

To live a quiet, simple life with the people he loves.

For so long it was a mirage of a future he thought he'd never chase down, but for how much he made all the wrong choices the first time around, now he has a second chance.

And so in my brain, that's exactly what happens. Astra and Orion start a family together and continue to act as guardians over this universe for many years to come, until- after they are satisfied with the long life they've lived together, and their children have moved on to start forging their own paths- they eventually pass Beyond at their own will in each other's arms, ending their impossibly long godhood at peace.

I really don't know how to end this post lmafo, so I will simply say: if you somehow read all of this, holy shit you are so brave. Thank you for engaging with my insane ramblings. Have a nice day LOL FUIHSNUFSJG

This man haunts my brain so much I missed two off ramp turns on the highway the other day while thinking about him. Help me.

_

(EDIT: 6/10/25)

Oh and also by the end she's trans, that's also important to know. That's like, ENDGAME-endgame level stuff though, so lol. She's the one who bore the pregnancy for her and Orion's child and that experience kinda Fully Awakened some feelings that had been there for a long while but had never fully been Acknowledged and given a name until then, lol.

[inquisimer]

birthday fic recs

hi it's my birthday and I would love if people dropped some dragon age fic recs for me to wake up to (:

I am preferential in the Crow/Warden/Mage/Elf/Bisexual Disaster/Sibling Bias directions, but also—sell me on your favorite fic, regardless of topic! Self promotion and/or friend fic recs vehemently encouraged, strangers and people I've never interacted with before absolutely welcome 💜

bonus: I have been in an oc x oc mood lately so. if you have/would like to have any oc shipping hcs with my girls, I would also love these (:

[leejeann]

Hopeful Hesitance (12520 words) by RosileeJe

Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Buddy/Chase Hollow (Cinderella Boy) Characters: Buddy (Cinderella Boy), Chase Hollow (Cinderella Boy) Additional Tags: they're so in love help, inspired by a writing prompt, Getting Together, Fluff, very small bit of angst but it makes the fluff sweeter I promise, Idiots in Love, First Kiss

Summary: In which Chase and Deacon go into a book with some hesitance. The heroine has to drink a potion that makes her attack her true love: the prince. Chase isn't entirely worried though. After all, he doesn't love some storybook prince. (companion piece to my other fic Collateral Confession, but you don't have to have read one to enjoy the other)

Surprise! So remember that fic I posted last week called Collateral Confession from the "character drinks a potion that makes them attack people they love" writing prompt! Well, I had a thought about how different the boys would react if CHASE drank the potion instead! And I came up with a totally new plot for it!

(I'm really proud of both of the potion fics but I think I'm especially proud of this one)

[gingerpeachtea]

i feel like part of the issue with briggs and amber argument (and part of the reason i have So Much Briggs Dialogue but 3 gaps where i can't come up with what amber says) is that like. as people. briggs is all talk. amber is more of a watcher who chimes in when she has something to say; meanwhile, briggs always knows just what to say.

but when these two kinds of people are In A Heated Conversation, and what's driving the conversation forward is their responses to each other, and there's no third person to act as a buffer, then what the fuck happens

[littlebittyhollowbugs]

Trial by fire: Tale of the Mantis Lords

The newly appointed lords of the mantis tribe continue to honor their agreement with the kingdom of Hallownest, keeping the beasts of Deepnest at bay.

The task growing more difficult, as their enemies grow stronger,

And as the eldest and youngest's plans begin to clash.

Chapter one (5k words)

Read below the cut~

Oriana glides down the walls, with her bone crafted claws and two sinew baskets filled with goods from the hunting grounds strapped onto her back.

The second and third born children of the mantis tribe's ruler glide down behind their sister, each carrying a basket of her own.

"Ori look out! You'll land on a sporg!" Siara shouts.

"I'm not so easily fooled!" the eldest of the three laughs after hitting the bottom level of their fungal framed village.

She then takes off fast as a wind scythe in the midst of battle.

Determined to leave her sisters as far behind her as is necessary in order to be crowned victor of their homeward bound race.

"Ori your basket's slipping!" The second born shouts again, another attempt to slow her down or distract her.

The supplies she carries are strapped to fit.

She sprints onward.

"If you wish to best me, you'd have a better chance utilizing your feet rather than your mouth!"

She can hear her sister let out a winded scoff somewhere behind her.

She chuckles. Her sisters are determined but not so much as she.

She is still surprised with how quick her legs can carry her.

It wasn't long ago the wings that she relied on since birth had been ceremoniusly clipped.

The hind-wings that is, and now her indigo fore-wings wrap over her shoulders like a cloak billowing in the wind behind her.

"I was simply testing your wit sister." Siara's voice becomes clearer as she catches up, still breathing heavy and apparently more determined than Oriana had anticipated.

"Obviously I intend to win!"

Oriana picks up her pace just before Siara can pass her.

Bounding over shrooms and dodging pikes bearing the faces of their greatest foes.

These remnants of once mighty beasts directing her home to the champions court.

The lowest level of the mantis territory boardering the caverns of Deepnest had long been reserved for the strongest of warriors.

Oriana's lineage had proven to be the mightiest and thus had borne the responsibility of leadership these past four generations.

She and her sisters had recently completed the trials that would determine whether or not they are worthy of residing in the court themselves.

Having been trained since birth, and at last proving herself to her mother, her mentors, and the tribe, she is immeasurably proud to call the place her home.

And she's almost made it back.

Almost won the race.

"Wo- aah!"

Oriana halts upon hearing her youngest sister, Biana, cry out.

Then,

SNAP

WOOSH

The sound of a trap set into motion.

She spins on her heels, allowing Siara to catch up with her.

Far behind them Biana is pulled into the air, tangled in a rope net dangling from the shellwood gates of the cavern.

"Biana!" Siara gasps and follows after Oriana who is quick to put to rest their competition in favor of assisting their sister caught like a beetle in a web.

"Hold on Bia!" Oriana finds where the lever was set and carefully pulls down the heavy rope.

"Do you fare well? Is anything broken?" Siara asks.

"No no I'm only a bit tangled up."

Upon being assured that her sister is unharmed Siara nearly bursts into laughter.

"Oh you find this humorous do you?" The captured one grumbles.

She wriggles out of the hunting trap after having been settled on the ground.

Oriana helps to unravel the rope.

"What fool would place a trap along this passage?"

Siara's laughter dies down at that query, and both sisters turn to her adorning knowing glares.

Siara, the newly appointed captain of the hunting team, had a special knack for building and placing traps.

"Really Siara? Here of all places? That is especially reckless of you." The eldest chastises her.

"You told me they were to be placed along the northwestern boarder!" Biana speaks.

"They are well designed though." There is a hint of pride in her tone.

Biana often assists Siara in perfecting her traps.

Truly there is very little that the sisters do not participate in equal with one another.

"I heard rumors of dirt carvers breaking in from a tunnel below here.

Besides, you were running off of the path."

"Barely!"

Siara sighs. "Very well. It may have been bad placement."

"Young lords!"

Two messengers from the court ahead sprint toward the sisters and halt to bow.

The sisters are swift to lend them their attention.

"Welcome back." The first greets them. "Your mother has asked that you meet with her outside the training grounds without hesitation."

Oriana nods. "We will meet with her straightway."

Any demand of their mother's is to be followed by the same reverence that any humble basket craftsman or shroom gatherer might offer having being called upon by a queen, or lord in this instance.

Not even the daughter, and future successor of the tribe's renown leader is exempt from such formalities.

She gestures for her sisters to follow.

"Allow us to take care of the supplies." The second messenger speaks.

"Very well."

~~~

"An upper claw attack, might prove advantagous in an instance where you had not been held at lance point, young one."

Timono glances up at his mother from where she had only a moment ago cornered him in their practice duel.

She chuckles as she rubs her chin where he had landed the strike a bit harder than he had meant to.

Then she settles her lance-nail on the ground and takes his tiny and cracked claws into her hands.

"If I was a beast or weaver you would have made for quite the feast by now."

She lifts him up.

Not yet of age to spar without the aid of his wings, the Mantis Lord's youngest child and only son, flies back from corner to center of the sparring ground.

The standard setting consists of even ground, two walls to grip, one lined with claws, lances, and scythes, and a cage wall to prevent the dishonorable act of fleeing mid-challenge.

This most unique training center in the champions court had been equipped with several settings. with the pull of a bone-crafted lever the floor could open and reveal a pit of spikes below. Shell-wood walls of varying lengths, and adorned in spikes of their own could be added to the ring. Other obstacles included swinging blades, captured sporgs, and a blackout setting.

That last of these designed to prepare scouts and warriors when traversing their enemie's kingdom below.

Timono had been hoping to practice in a more advanced setting.

His mother had promised him that he would, soon enough.

He wonders how soon...

Had he disapointed her with that last-second attack?

She doesn't appear to be so disappointed...

"Maybe we would have gone down together." He suggests.

"If you had been a beast, better that we both go down."

She considers his suggestion.

"Better you never fight alone." She replies. "So that you may rely on your companions to aid you when forced to surrender.

Hold out as long as possible until then. Refrain from reckless strikes."

He flies just before her and bows his head.

"Yes mother..."

He peaks up at her.

"But mother I was fighting alone."

She pats his little head.

"On the battlefield you won't be.

And you'll be practicing alongside your sisters soon enough."

"My sisters?"

He flutters up in excitement.

His triplet sisters being a few years his superior, did not often practice alongside him, despite his many attempts at convincing them to do so.

He has been training day and night, wishing he had not a moment to spare, in order to catch up with them.

With his mother, the lord and champion of the tribe overseeing almost all of his training it is not a surprise he has already come so far.

"Do you believe I could best them?"

"Perhaps. In time." She tells him.

"You still have much to learn.

Besting them aside,

I'm quite positive you will soon be ready to aid them in their training."

She leads her son to the gates.

"Your sisters have learned to rely on each other completely, and you rely on them.

They now must learn to place that same confidence in you."

"They say I'm too young."

She halts before exiting the grounds and he stops beside her.

"You are a bit younger, and still not as strong.

But you contain the spirit of a fighter the likes of which I've never seen Timono."

He cannot deter a beam of pride, upon receiving the accolade.

"And after you've come of age to pass the trials, and have proven your might, nothing more will come between the four of you."

He's dreamed of that day since the day his sisters had begun dreaming of their own victory in passing the trials of pride.

Now all of their dreams have come true.

He is next.

He'll catch up with them soon.

~~~

Oriana waits beyond the training ground gates, both of her sisters at her side.

Guards placed along the nearest walls.

Their mother had been training with their youngest sibling once again.

Outside of her regular duties she seemed to dedicate all of her time to that cause.

She had instructed each of her children, all of their lives, and had gifted them with the greatest among the warriors ranks to mentor them when she could not.

Oriana, as the first of the triplets to hatch, was to be honed into the perfect example of a mantis warrior. This task fell upon her mother and mentors within the very moment of her birth.

It has long since been tradition for the rulers firstborn daughter to be given advanced training in order to keep her family line upon the throne.

But her mother had three daughters, and believed each deserved the greatest that she could possibly give.

She believed that her son deserved the same.

No sons of the tribe have ever been granted such advanced training.

No sons had ever been expected to fulfill roles only the strongest could bear.

Not that little Timono was expected to bear any immeasurable responsibility...

Still Oriana took notice to how much value their mother had placed in the act of instructing him.

He is younger.

Smaller.

Less graceful.

He needs her guidance more...

"My daughters."

Having sent Timono to rest for the time being their mother greets her three eldest with a nod of acknowledgement and respect, before beckoning them to follow her.

The Lord of the mantis village stands tall and lean, she wields her lance-nail, on which the proverbs of her people have long been engraved,

And settled over her antennae the symbol of her leadership, the traditional headpiece that allows her a powerful horned silhouette.

This headpiece and the title of mantis lord have always come hand in hand.

To this day, beetles from the pale being's kingdom or beyond it are occasionally surprised to discover the leader of their tribe is female, the title of lord belonging to the male gender among them.

Within the mantis species that misconception would be impossible to make, the lords have always been female, from the first to last.

As the women have always carried the advantage in terms of strength, the determining factor of leadership.

It was the beetles themselves who had given the first of the lords their title.

Hundreds of years ago, the mantis that had lead their people to this territory had adorned a pair of beetle horns cut from the head of her mightiest opponent, and this symbol of victory had confused the common bug.

She, was mistaken for a he, and was renknown for being the lord of the mantises.

The title stuck.

For generations all those who have been bestowed the title have worn it most honorably.

"I have been taking note of your progress since completing the trials." Their mother speaks and Oriana is focused on nothing short of every word.

"Each of you has proven to be remarkable not only in the area of your strength and agility.

You cotian focus, wisdom and accountability." She proclaims with a sincerity that will impress Oriana all her life.

She stands taller.

Her mother is truly proud...

"You are most honorable representatives of our people." She affirms as they traverse the champions court, prompting all whom they pass by to pause and bow.

"Oriana, my firstborn, I have trained specifically for the task of one day claiming my throne."

Oriana gives a gentle nod, as her mother continues.

"Though after pondering the future of our people, and having witnessed the inner strength that each of you possess." She stops before the entry of the throne room.

"I have come to the conclusion that a change should be made concerning the rule of our tribe."

"A change?" Oriana questions, still she remains composed.

Their mother turns to face them.

"The three of you were born together,

I wish for you to rule together,

And alongside myself."

"Together?" Siara is the first to respond. "All of us?" She cannot stifle the shock in her tone.

"That has never been done before..."

"I have proposed that a mantis lord council be established." Their mother explains.

"A Quadrumvirate."

She turns and lifts her arm, gesturing for her daughters to enter into the throne room before them.

Oriana is the first to follow the unspoken command.

The room representing their tribes vigil, built before the gates of Deepnest now holds within not one, but four towering thrones, the three most newly constructed stand not quite to the length of the original, but are otherwise identical.

Each of the sisters gasps upon taking in the sight.

Oriana's gaze is fixed upon the thrones and cannot easily be swayed.

This is no idea or suggestion.

Her mother is entirely intent upon there being a council of lords.

Upon her daughters ruling at her side.

After all of this time, she truly believes they are ready...

All of them.

She turns to her sisters. Siara had taken Biana's hand.

She herself can hardly still her racing heart.

How must they feel?

It is the greatest possible honor,

And none could be more deserving of such.

Her sisters.

Always at her side...

Their mother comes in from behind them.

"When I retire from my position Oriana will take my place as head of the council." She continues.

"Still each of you will oversee the tribe as one.

Relying on each other's strengths."

Oriana shifts to face her mother and bows before her on one knee, Siara and Biana join their sister in expressing their gratitude.

"Thank you mother." Is all they can manage to say, as they attempt their very best to remain collected while most certainly feeling overwhelmed.

"You have earned this responsibility.

Our people will grow ever stronger under your combined rule." She glows with pride.

"And when your brother is of age and has completed his trials I wish for him to join you on the council."

Oriana glances upward.

Timono a mantis lord?

She is not sure he will ever be strong enough to pass the trials...

Though he still has a few years...

And the guidance of their mother.

Her faith in him appears to be unshakable.

Will that be enough?

Has she not yet told their brother of this enormous expectation?

It seems almost absurd...

In time though,

She reminds herself.

Their little brother may indeed prove himself, in time.

At least for now, she can rest assured that she has more than proven herself to her mother and people.

For so long, from the day of her coming into this world until this very moment, she has been preparing for this,

In the training grounds, hunting grounds, battlefield, and every path she had ever taken, learning from her people, from their written history, from her mother,

memorizing every move her mother had ever made,

And throughout all of this her sisters have been at her side.

It is an unexpected yet immeasurable relief that is all at once overtaking her, knowing that it will always be that way.

A pressure she had not known until now she is finally forced to comprehend as it instantly becomes lighter.

A weight being lifted.

This is all quite the opposite of what she had anticipated she might feel upon at last being bestowed the sacred title of mantis lord.

They shall rule together.

A quadrumvirate.

The mantis lords...

~~~~~~~~~~

~ 3 years later ~

The talons of the monster dig into the earth below and pull its body upward, it bears eight claws on each side of it, sixteen in total, until the front two are speared clean off.

The sharp appendages litter the cavern ground and the garpede roars, then thrusts itself at its attackers.

The sisters disperse in different directions as to confuse the beast who's mandibles snatch nothing aside from the dust now far below Biana's feet.

She and Siara cling to opposite walls and thrust their wind scythes downward to strike the enemy.

Two hits to the backside shell. It's impenetrable.

The underside is incredibly difficult to strike.

If the beast cannot be pulled over,

It must be bound.

Siara unhooks the end of a rope ravelled beneath her wings.

She keeps a manageable collection of weapons on her person.

Hunting rope and a set of daggers carved from mawlek teeth.

The enormous creature tumbles through the dim passage heading for the gate.

The sisters dart ahead of it.

"Catch!" Siara instructs the other as she throws one side of the rope.

Biana takes hold and pulls the end.

After their enemy has made collision the two leap from their positions, pulling the rope around its thrashing form, and tying it down.

The two have practiced this hunting technique before and move quickly though with precision.

Wild Garpedes have neared their territory on occasion, but this marks the first trained attack.

The master of the beast had been targeted first.

A spider who's corpse now claims place atop a mountain of discarded dirt carver shells.

The rest of the spider warriors involved in this sudden attack, had been driven back into the shadows by the lords and champions of the mantis tribe.

Now their final, and greatest foe is caught and crashes onto the stoney ground.

Biana ties together the ends of the rope, while Siara hurries to gather their warriors.

With their assistance they can pull the beast to its backside.

This attempt to break through the barrier utilizing the strength of the giants native to their land,

Siara is almost surprised the spider clan has never attempted it before.

Though, training a garpede could not have made for light work...

~~~

Pebbles scatter beside Oriana's feet, she carries herself with her usual practiced grace and swift pace, ducking below the low and crumbling walls of a newly formed tunnel that becomes darker the deeper it twists.

Of course one doesn't lead a scouting expedition without the essential tools.

She carries a hand crafted lantern filled with bioluminescent fungus, as to help her see.

This particular fungus populates a good portion of the beasts land, and thus makes for a less noticeable visual aid, than the more commonly used luma-flies.

A dark scouting cloak is draped over her shoulders and her lance nail rests over her back.

She had borrowed a tablet from the teams appointed cartographer, with the intention to map out this new tunnel on her trip back to the fungal core.

She follows the sounds of a caught and released weavers crawl.

The tunnel winds deeper than she would have preferred but not more than she had expected.

She holds to that faint skittering sound ahead of her like a thread,

Pulling her closer to the heart of the land of beasts, and further from her scouts.

She had never before taken such an action.

Trekking into these lands, alone.

For weeks now they had been receiving reports from the shrumal tribe.

As a lord of the waste, she had learned to decipher their messages.

Strange activity in the pit of beasts beneath their domain.

Scouts had been sent after the first report,

And the two disappeared shortly after.

Another party was sent, and similarly never returned.

That's five of their best, presumably lost to the spider clan, who had found some way through the fungal wastes boarder.

Lord Oriana organized her own team, and here she is.

She could have taken the weaver back as a captive for questioning.

But she knows better by now.

Besides the fact that their strange magic makes them particularly difficult prisoners,

The weavers would sooner die than betray their own.

She has seen it happen before.

Her people would do the same...

They have died, and worse,

Several of her people have endured the most dishonorable acts of torture, at the hands of these creatures, in the name of loyalty.

She can only hope the scouts she had lost, did not have to suffer in a similar way.

It must come to an end.

She had let their enemy escape in order to follow it, and uncover their new base.

For this plan to work, she must not get caught.

As to not get caught, she must venture alone.

The noise ahead quiets and Oriana comes to a halt, more abrupt than she had meant.

The slightest hitch of breath nearly gives her position away.

She hears the weaver turn and finds the nearest nook in the cavern to back into as softly as possible.

Then stills.

The enemy draws a bit nearer.

If it sees her she is prepared to attack.

She only hopes the potential commotion doesn't invite the attention of other enemies, that may be lurking not far.

She is too far into the deep...

She remains, holding her breath until she hears the weaver turn back at last.

It continues on its path.

Only then does she allow herself a hint of relief.

She must be cautious.

An entire tribe depends on her successful return.

She carries on.

In moments such as these, when the possibility of defeat, however faint, looms overhead,

Oriana is especially grateful for the creation of the mantis lord council.

The tribe does not depend on her alone.

Her sisters are currently overseeing a threat to the gates.

She has full confidence in them.

For three years they've led alongside her with capability and grace.

Their mother would be proud.

And Timono...

He has not been a mantis lord long.

He tends to be overly excited, overzealous even,

He can be terribly naive...

Still,

She must retain their mother's faith in him.

He will grow,

He will be a great leader himself one day.

He is proving that possible now.

While she leads the scouting expedition and their sisters hold off an attack at the gates,

He maintains his position in the throneroom, watching over the village without their aid.

A task he has been bestowed for the very first time today.

She can't allow herself to be overly concerned.

She must have faith in him.

~~~

"To unleash our power through transedence,

Offer a gift in turn.

Fail and face the mystics vengeance.

Implement and earn."

The youngest lord reads over the words of an ancient tablet he carries, one last time as he glides carefully down the walls of a chasm tucked deep within the fungal forest.

Far away from war rooms and throne rooms. Far beyond the hunting grounds,

Hidden in the very outskirts of the tribes territory.

Hidden so well and for so long, only few know the place exists at all.

He leaps onto a floor flooded in bone.

The dim little mound illuminated only by the light that the mantis had let in, upon breaking open a long locked entry way high above him now.

"Kiorin was right about everything else.

He must be right about this too..."

Timono tucks the old shaman stone tablet away and trades it for another record.

He looks it over again.

One of the oldest records of their tribe, carved on well-worn shellwood.

It keeps some detail of their ancestors arrival in this valley, and most notably, is the only written recollection of the being whom the shrumal people had worshipped centuries ago.

A shrumal 'god'

Or being that claimed to be.

The manties did not honor any of their weak-minded neighbors chosen divinities, with such titles.

This being had been their leader once, whom they believed was also their creator and craftsman of the fungal waste.

It was slain by the first of the mantis tribe.

A supposed diety, who had met its demise at his ancestors claws,

A mighty tale, once renowned throughout the tribe,

And exists now only in the form of whispered legend.

This last record of it has been kept secret by the lords of the tribe since the pale being's arrival.

After learning of the record for the first time himself, Timono had thought to use it, to empower their people.

Remind them of their strength,

And the fragility of those who bear the title of God...

His sisters forbid this idea be put into action.

They insisted it stay hidden.

But what use is anything hidden away for eternity?

If his people can not benefit from the old recount, perhaps the owner of this similarly forgotten mound might...

And he will gain something for their people in exchange.

"Yes. This will make for a fair trade." He decides.

A mantis lord is honest within their dealings.

Their honor remains, even when dealing with cast off magicians...

Even when said magicians, also happen to be,

long dead.

Bone masks crack and shatter under the weight of the mantis lord, who approaches the shaman's tombstone lying in the center of the mound.

Having been seperated from her strange kin, The stone was placed by a mantis.

Kiorin.

Timono hadn't been told this directly, but it wasn't difficult to put the pieces together.

Her grave was instantly recognizable as crafted by one of his own.

And Kiorin, the tribes eldest healer, widely considered village eccentric,

And a friend, almost mentor, to the young lord, had informed him of this shaman, whose power still lingers, even after death.

He suspects that he knew her in life.

Though unable to utilize spell casting himself,

(A practice that would likely have had him banished from the tribe even if it were possible.)

The old mantis held much knowledge, that could only have been obtained through a creature like this.

Timono kneels before the mark of the old shaman's departure.

He places the gift, (the gift Kiorin judged would please the shaman) beside her staff leaning against the stone.

Then he waits.

...

Now what?

He is still a moment, though he rarely stills for long.

"I've brought you what you asked for."

He speaks, as he gets back on his feet.

He speaks to the dead...

How foolish must he look?

At least no one is around to bestow him the title of fool.

The way they have Kiorin.

An elder of the tribe who should be respected.

He has seen what that healer can do.

He is unorthodox certainly but he is no fool.

He trusts his old friend.

This will work.

"Is there something else I must-"

Before he can finish the splintered masks beneath his feet begin rumbling.

As the ground quakes he backs away from the planted offering and leaps to the wall, he steadies himself there and watches as a burst a soul erupts from the center of the mound.

A flash of white floods the chasm and dispels an instant after.

The surge nearly knocks him down, but he is able to more carefully land himself after the sudden intrusion.

He looks back at the grave.

The record he had placed is there no more.

The flood of white had claimed and replaced it.

Now flickering above the sight of the trade, is his promised power,

Taking a most peculiar form.

The form of a void-black flame...

The tablet within his travel bag begins to glow, and he is swift to pull it back into his claws.

The inscription has changed.

"For your gift, the shaman fire.

An undeaftable flame.

Your foes will face the ancient ire,

That only you can tame."

~~~

Oriana slows and finally reaches a halt where the tangled routes have conjoined in the deep.

The walls open before her and she waits until the weaver whom she follows is far ahead, before turning to peer through the silk-lined opening.

With the entry clear, she slips in and glides along a crawlspace between the wall and rock remnants of the spiders sucsesful expedition to hollow out this cavern and expand.

Once concealed, she lifts her scouting lantern, careful as a carver before springing from the earth.

The hollow appears unremarkable at first glance,

Then she hears the falling of broken stone and the skittering of spindly legs crawling up to the roof of the cavern,

And she lifts her gaze,

There is something up there...

Something unusual.

She steps forward, every step she takes as if the ground beneath her might give way at the slightest intrusion,

From this new angle, she can decipher the scene more accurately.

An outpost. The grandest web crafted structure she had ever seen.

Suspended far above her,

And weavers.

Deephunters and weavers, fulfilling their tasks to guard.

There are so many...

The cavern roof is adorned in enemies.

She steps back, as debris continues to fall from the workings of the outpost overhead,

And shifts her lantern to face the sound of something hitting the ground just before her,

It did not sound like stone.

It cracked as it hit the floor...

She nearly gasps upon finding it.

She remains composed,

And shrinks back into the darkest corners of the cavern, away from shattered remnants of a captured mantis scout.

[maelstromic]

Did i just post the third part of my percy x apollo series , where percy finally realises his feelings ? Yes yes i did ...

To Fall in Love with The Sun (746 words) by maelstromic Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Apollo/Percy Jackson Characters: Apollo (Percy Jackson), Percy Jackson Additional Tags: Perpollo, Pre-Relationship, Post-Tartarus (Percy Jackson), Percy realises he is madly in love, by madly i mean MADLY, obsessive percy jackson, Powerful Percy Jackson, Protective Apollo (Percy Jackson), possesive Apollo, POV: Percy jackson, hints of sub percy jackson if you squint, Skateboarder Percy Jackson, Apollo-centric (Percy Jackson), Worship, i do not know how to properly tag just read it lol, pre apollo/percy jackson - Freeform, no beta we die like my sanity, author was sleep deprived whilst writing this Series: Part 3 of The story of the Sun and the Sea Summary: Falling in love with Apollo was easy .   OR   In which Percy realises he is madly in love with the sun god .

[bleue-flora]

Hi! For the wip Game: Only The Best Dream’s Come True

Oooo I don’t know if I’ve talked about this fic much. Basically it’s part of the Sweet Dreams series and it’s a compilation of nightmares Dream sucks people into while in prison. So it starts with Sam and ends with Sapnap camping outside the prison waiting to kill Dream… I’d post some of it but unfortunately I don’t have the chapters that come first written and I think I should post is in order. Anyways, here’s some of Sapnap’s chapter.

He’s not sure how he ended up standing, he could have sworn he was laying down a minute ago. And yet here he is and he feels exhausted as an ache encumbers his body.

Every part of him hurts like he’s standing on hot coals and his brain is telling him to get off of them, but he doesn’t. He continues standing on his legs that feel on fire.

“Why did you get out?!” An angered voice startles him.

It’s his voice.

He looks up and sure enough two brown eyes meet his.

And he finds himself peering at his own face like a 3D mirror. Except it’s obviously not a mirror, more likely a dream but he’s never seen himself in a dream before.

He feels his lips move in response, “Oh, you want me to rot—I was getting tortured. You want me to rot in prison forever?!”

The incredulous sound isn’t his voice though, it’s Dream’s. The all too recognizable tone he wishes he could forget.

Nothing in the situation makes sense. It’s all so inverted almost like he’s not in his mind but an outsiders.

Why is he Dream?

Shouldn’t he be himself?

The only answer he receives is his own words delivered callously back to him, “You’ve been tortured?… Who is torturing you?… You were getting tortured?” Despite the question the tone doesn’t sound curious just skeptical, like a disinterested parent indulging their kid’s wild story.

He never thought his voice would sound so indifferent and hardened in his ears. But facing it now he feels numb.

Did he really sound like that?

The contents intensifying the senselessness of the tone, the heinous words like poison to his ears. The words making it obvious that it’s the memory after the prison break.

“Yeah, Quackity was torturing me.” His own mouth answers definitively and bitter, a shiver spreading through his body as the name leaves his lips.

And if he could laugh he would. He almost laughed back then too. He still can’t believe Dream tried to used his exfiancé as part of his manipulation. It’s actually so fucking ridiculous he wonders how Dream even came up with the idea. Prison must have made him insane because the idea that his cuddly warm fiancé tortured Dream and Sam allowed it is ludicrous.

Unsurprisingly, his reflection voices back the same disbelief, “Quackity was torturing you?… What do you mean he was torturing you? Like literally torturing you?”

“Yes!… He was trying to get the revival book and so he was torturing me.” His body huffs sounding furious as he crosses his arms across his chest.

Playing the other side of the memory feels odd in many ways. For one, his body seems to be playing the part so perfectly that actual desperation tightens his muscles in false affliction and betrayal. It’s like his body is in on the joke and Sapnap is the oblivious audience. But in reality the only hurt Dream felt then is that Sapnap didn’t fall for his lies.

They were lies right?

Right?

It was all a ruse. A play for pity to get his armor back so he could wreak havoc on the server. They were lies.

As if to counter his conviction entirely, he suddenly finds himself strapped to a chair. Where decorative stone was is now dripping obsidian. Where Sapnap was standing dressed in Nightmare, Quackity now stands with a hammer clutched tensely in his hand and blood stains soiling his typically pristine shirt.

“Give me the revival book Dream. Give me the fucking book or—or I swear I’m gonna break every tiny fucking bone in you hand one by one! Do you want me to do that Dream? Huh? You want me to do that? Then give me the goddamn revival book!” Quackity threatens and he feels his heart pound ecstatically in his ears.

An internal pain pulses in him, like every crevice of his body is soaked in liquid pain to the point of utter woeful weariness. Unimaginable suffering would be a tame description and yet apparently his brain has conjured the fantasy despite never having felt such agony in his life.

Through the torment taking the attention of his senses, he meets the scarred face of who’s most likely responsible given the context of his nightmare. At the sight, his mind goes wholly blank as he stares into the luscious chocolate eyes of his exfiancé and sees nothing but violent rage and malice. There’s no spec of love in them. No contagious joy. No life, just a soul eating darkness promising pain.

A strong desire curls in him, to hide. To yell. To crawl into a hole and cry. To clasp Quackity in a hug and fix what has been broken. Anything to avoid having to see those irises of oblivion again.

But he can’t move. He can’t do anything, all he can do is experience it with no control over anything, not even his own body. Well he supposes not his body anyways, but Dream’s body.

[crossbackpoke-check]

it’s all the rest of what i want with you

connor dewar/brandon duhaime :: 8k

Summary:

“Brandon,” Connor says with a sigh. “There’s no baby in there.”

“Not yet,” Brandon says. Connor feels his stomach twist, almost like what he would imagine a baby kicking to feel like.

in these trying times of dewvorce, may i offer you 8k of pwp inspired by @stillfertile’s wonderful art which i had. several breakdowns about 🫶 anyway please enjoy!!!

[hjemne]

Babygirl I have 38 thousand words of incomplete trigun fic spread across 8 wips and have no idea how to even start dealing with it

[foxytonic]

Y’all, I’ve fallen into a Ghosts writing hole lol

It started with creating a new OC (his name’s Jesse, he’s a rockstar who died in the 80’s, and he looks like this fucker)

And now it’s turned into me writing two out of three full episodes centered around him, fueled by Poison and a vicious need to escape from reality due to work stress. 😭

[silveredsticks]

x

[cupcakewebkinz]

That awkward moment when you have multiple drabbles done but you hate them but you don't want to delete them but you also don't want to post them so you just stare at them- fully edited- wondering why you worked on them for so long just to hate them

I blame the clones for this. (silly)

(I specifically blame the one clone I gave sentience to in the cs au because they're really fucking funny and chaotic but I have never explained who they are so the references to them make no sense yet the story explaining them isn't finished because I keep getting other drabble ideas and-

Chat I'm not okay)

I just realized y'all don't even know about the clones in Gardenview oh my god I NEED TO FINISH MY SHIT- 😭😭😭