#i realize that its sorta expected to put information about yourself in your about me like personality and characteristic wise

[sstarlostt]

･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ starlost ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

main groups: seventeen, stray kids, day6

biases: wen junhui, kim seungmin, kim wonpil

bias wreckers: jeon wonwoo, hwang hyunjin, all of them

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

i really like rhythm games; Khddrhfkuruk on SSJYP, Rhythm Hive, and SSATEEZ

☆♬○♩●♪✧♩✧♩✧♪●♩○♬☆♬○♩●♪✧♩✧♩

really nothing else to say,, i just think these guys are not only neat but also make some banger tunes! im cringe but i am free

/`–｡–マ

[dakotacrisis]

Deal’s End (8)

I'll always love you and make you happy If you will only say the same But if you leave me and love another You'll regret it all some day

-You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis

(Read on AO3)

---

Marinette didn’t see Felix again before she went to bed. Her confusing thoughts from earlier only grew with his absence. Before when the thought of him leaving had felt bittersweet the idea that she wouldn’t be able to talk to him again hurt deep in her chest now. She liked Felix. She liked being around him and having fun with him. She liked talking with him and walking home with him.

Perhaps this was a form of Stockholm Syndrome. Wanting your demonic roommate to stay with you because you now see them as a friend. She doubted that anyone else could relate to her though. And she couldn’t talk to anyone about this since no one knew of Felix’s true nature. She was stuck alone in a dark room with her racing thoughts and heavy heart.

Maybe...maybe he could visit after he left. She hadn’t heard Felix mention that he was confined to Hell unless he was summoned. Maybe he would be able to pop up once in a while to say hi. They could grab lunch...play a game of Mecha Strike.

“UGH!” She buried her face in her pillow. Why was she getting so worked up about this now? Yeah she kinda saw Felix as her friend but there was no use worrying about life after he was gone when he was still very much in her life.

But for how much longer though? Once she was Adrien’s girlfriend Felix would be gone.

She forced the thoughts out of her head. This was not the night to worry about this. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

The next day was a lazy day spent inside. The weather had taken a bad turn and a torrential downpour soaked the city. Marinette spent it in her room catching up on work and reorganizing. Pretty much anything to keep her mind busy and off of the looming worries for the future. Felix had reappeared in the morning though he was far quieter than usual. He mainly kept off to the side scribbling stuff down in his notebook. Randomly he would tear a page out and burn the paper instantaneously in his hand before starting again.

Marinette had asked what he was doing to which he gave a vague answer of ‘stuff.’ She tried to peek over his shoulder but he hid the page from view. “Nosy girl.”

“Why won’t you let me see what you’re doing?” Marinette asked.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Will you show me if I get you eclairs?” she smiled as the bribe hit its mark.

He looked up at her, his eyes widened at the promise of chocolatey foods. “How many eclairs?”

“As many as it takes for you to show me what’s on that paper.”

“I want ten eclairs and one of those red velvet cupcakes from the bakery.”

“Okay.” Marinette started heading downstairs. “It better not be something stupid!”

She grabbed the snacks from the bakery and went back up for the trade. She held out the box to Felix who reluctantly swapped it with his notebook. On the page was the start of a rough sketch hunched over a table. “You draw?” Marinette smiled as she took in the new information. “I didn’t know that about you.”

“It helps pass the time.” He shrugged as he downed another eclair.

She looked closer at the figure trying to figure out what he was going for from the rough outline. Then she saw the pigtails to the back of the hunched figure’s head. The box on top of the table...it was a sewing machine. Felix had been drawing her work.

She wanted desperately to ask why but figured it was for the best she not let on she knew it was her he was drawing and handed the notebook back. “It’s very good.”

“I’ve barely started.”

“Yeah but I can tell.” She plucked the half eaten eclair out of his hand. “That being said try not to get crumbs all over my chaise.”

“That was mine!” He made a pathetic grab for the bite of eclair she held.

“Not anymore.” She popped it into her mouth. “That was a nice break but I need to get back to work.” She sat down at her machine and picked up where she had left off. She wanted to talk to him about what happened last night but thought it better for another day. Or maybe she was too scared of what answer he would give to ask.

The rest of the day passed by without incident and with it their weekend off came to a close. Monday was upon them and so was Felix’s vigor to throw Marinette head first into situations with Adrien. She had gotten better at handling the sudden interactions. Maybe spending more time together had finally neutralized her utter terror of being alone with him cause now she could talk to him almost normally. Heck, she was even cracking jokes!

“So did you want to hang out after school?” Marinette asked Adrien.

“I’d like to but I got a photoshoot today.” Adrien sighed, “Maybe next time.”

“Oh okay.” Marinette smiled despite her disappointment. She went to Felix with a small shake of her head. “He said he has a photoshoot and can’t hang out. His dad must have penned it in last minute because I had no idea.”

“That sucks.” Felix paced the back of the classroom. “But you look really good today and you have confidence in talking to him. I don’t want to waste either of those.”

“But he’s going to be working and there’s no way his dad is going to let him out of it. Let’s just go home and try again tomorrow.” Marinette stared down at her toes. “This is kinda fortuitous cause I wanted to talk to you about the other night--”

“Wait! I got it!” Felix grabbed her and pulled her out into the hall. Everyone was filtering out of the school building including Adrien. “Do you know where the photoshoot is?”

“Uh, the weather is nice and summer is on the way so they’re probably doing a summer shoot in the park. Why?”

“Cause we can still work with this. Follow me!” Felix dashed out of the school with Marinette shortly behind. Sure enough they got to the park and the shoot was being set up.

“Okay, we’re here.” Marinette panted as she caught her breath. “What now? You’re just going to walk onto the set?”

“That was the plan.” Felix started walking towards the workers. Adrien’s security guard stopped them from getting closer to the set.

“Excuse me sir,” Felix said, “Could you move aside? We’re here for the photoshoot.”

The bodyguard remained in place. “You see, I am one of the models working today so I kinda need in.”

The bodyguard nodded and moved out of the way. Felix pulled Marinette through. “Felix, you’re not a model.” She whispered.

“Harsh, I think I’m pretty good looking.”

“That’s not what I meant. You are literally not a model employed by Gabriel Agreste. How long do you expect that excuse to work?”

“As long as possible. Demon powers, remember?”

“Right!” Marinette had almost forgotten. “So we’re okay?”

“We are golden.” They celebrated their little infiltration before Adrien noticed they were there.

“Hey guys,” He greeted them, “What are you two doing here?”

“I got called in last minute to fill in for a sick model.” Felix lied smoothly.

“Oh, I had no idea you were a model too.” Adrien breamed instantly taken in by the lie.

“Minor. It helps pay the bills.” Felix shrugged. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought Marinette. Seeing as how she loves fashion so much.”

“Not at all.” Adrien waved to her, “Guess we get to hang out after all.”

“You two have fun I need to find wardrobe.” Felix wandered off. Wait, was he actually going to do the shoot?

“Did you know Felix was a model?” Adrien asked Marinette.

“I didn’t have a clue until he dragged me over here.” She said. She looked over Adrien’s outfit. White tee shirt with blue pants and tan shoes. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that this is part of the ready made summer collection you’re dad’s putting out this summer?”

“That it is. What do you think?”

“I would kill to be able to work with grade A material like this all the time.” Marinette sighed as she felt the cottony texture of his sleeve. “I just blew all my money buying organza for a dress I’m making.”

“Oh really? Were you commissioned or is it just for yourself?”

“For myself. It’s a sheer overlay that is supposed to sorta party wear with a low-key formal vibe.”

“How far have you gotten?”

“Pretty far actually. I started pinning it together on my dress form not too long ago. I’m using strips of silver ribbon to sew onto the hem and make a little criss cross pattern across the bust. The most nerve wracking part was that I decided to make it a high-low silhouette and I knew I only had one shot to cut it correctly so I am so relieved it’s turned out okay.”

“I hope to see it one day.”

“Hello, I am back,” Felix joined the once more. “Now, I know I look amazing but neither of you swoon in my presence.”

“Oh yeah, you look so good.” Marinette rolled her eyes before she finally actually looked at him. The sarcastic remark turning bitter as she realized that he did in fact look pretty darn good in the outfit they had put him in. It wasn’t anything special, a blue button up shirt with white pants and brown shoes. What struck Marinette was that the whole time she’d known Felix all she had ever seen him wear was primarily reds and blacks. This was the first time she had seen him in something so light.

“Something on your mind, love?” Felix smirked at her when he caught her staring.

“Shut it.” she tweaked his nose. “But I will say you do look...what’s the word I’m looking for?”

“Devilishly handsome?” Felix suggested.

“I was gonna say, angelic.” Marinette smirked right back at him.

“Oh really?” Felix gaped at her with an open smile, “Alright, if that’s how you want to play this.”

“Is this an inside joke I’m not understanding?” Adrien asked clearly confused as to why Marinette’s compliment had been met with such good natured disdain.

“Yeah.” Marinette laughed. “I won’t bother trying to explain. It’s a long story and you’d really have to be there to understand it.”

One of the assistants ran past the three teenagers and pulled the photographer away. That was weird. A minute later the photographer came back with a pained expression. “Something wrong, Giuseppe?” Adrien asked.

“The female model for the shoot is sick and can’t make it. We will have to reschedule the entire shoot if we cannot find another model to take her place.” The photographer rubbed his temples.

“I have a suggestion,” Felix spoke up. He cast a wicked sideways glance towards Marinette. Oh he had better not! “Our friend Marinette here isn’t half bad looking. Could she fill in?”

“Felix!” She warned, “I’m not a model. I couldn’t possibly--”

“Oh please, mademoiselle,” The photographer begged. “It is a small shoot after all. Could you fill in just this once?”

“I don’t--”

“You should do it.” Adrien encouraged. “I think you’d make a great model.”

“Well…” She looked back at the manic photographer and sighed. “Okay.”

“Perfecto! Ladies!” He shouted for the stylists. “Get this girl through make up and wardrobe now!”

Marinette was carted off and put into a small tent area to change. She sat in a chair as the stylists quickly but masterfully did her hair and make up before kicking her out onto the set. Unlike the boys were sporting white and blue, Marinette was dressed in a soft yellow sundress that floated around her gently in the breeze.

“There she is!” The photographer pushed her out to where the two boys were already staged. “Now, the look for this shoot is that you two boys are the sky and clouds and our pretty girl here is the bright sun between you. Dewy smiles, relaxed positions, I want you three to move around naturally so we can get some natural shots.”

The boys seemed to understand immediately what they were supposed to do but Marinette stood in the middle stiff as a board. Why had she let them talk her into this? It was probably Felix influencing them with his powers to let them agree to this.

“Darling,” The photographer locked eyes with her, “Can you please move around and give us a smile, hm?”

“Oh right,” She put on a smile and tried to copy what the boys were doing but she just felt ridiculous. The boys noticed her struggling and suddenly she was being spun around really fast by Felix.

“Whoa!” She almost stumbled but was caught by Adrien. “Sorry!”

“It’s okay. Loosen up,” Adrien gave her a slower spin, “This is supposed to be fun.”

“Fun.” Marinette took a deep breath, “I can do that.”

After that things went smoother. It didn’t feel so much like posing but messing around with two friends. At one point both of the boys picked her up so she was sitting in the air with arms around either of them. The photographer really liked that shot.

“Alright,” The photographer set the camera down, “Signore Adrien, you are done for the day.”

“This was a lot of fun.” Adrien turned to Marinette and Felix. “These shoots can be pretty boring but having you guys here was so much better. Hopefully I’ll get to work with you again sometime.”

“It was fun after I got used to it.” Marinette said, “But I gotta say I think I prefer making clothes instead of modeling them.”

“Darling, Signore,” The photographer waved to the teenagers, “If you two could come back to set. I wanted to get some shots of just the two of you.”

“Who? Us?” Marinette pointed to her and Felix.

“Yes, it is time for Signore Adrien to head home but you two have such good chemistry. That is if you do not have anywhere to be.” The photographer said.

Good chemistry…

“I don’t have anywhere else to be.” Felix looped an arm around Marinette, “And I know you don’t. How about it?”

“Uh sure.” Marinette said bye to Adrien before joining Felix back on the set.

“The model lie work a little too well?” Marinette asked under her breath so only Felix could hear.

“I can’t help it that we look good.” Felix responded. “Also, you’re now going to grace magazines and media dressed like a ray of sunshine and sandwiched between two extremely attractive fellas. Do you have any idea how envious people are gonna be of you?”

“I don’t want people to envy me. I just wanted to have a fun time with my friends.” Marinette sighed. “But a little exposure in any way can help down the line.”

“Friends?” Felix paused his posing for a second to stare at her.

“Yeah.” Marinette grabbed his hand and stretched to twirl him. “We are friends...aren’t we?”

Felix smiled once more and picked Marinette up and spun her around. A surprised laugh leapt out of her throat as she spun the air in his arms. “Felix!”

“And to think you wanted to get rid of me!” He laughed too. “No take backs either, love.”

“Put me down!” Marinette playfully swatted him on top of his head. He set her back on her feet as she tried to slow the spinning of her head. “You are so dramatic.”

“Well I’m sorry. You don’t get a whole lot of friends where I’m from.” He held Marinette straight so she didn’t sway. “I got a little excited.”

“Obviously.” She ruffled his hair. “Which means you’ll need to come visit after you leave.”

“Leave?” Felix looked confused for a moment before the understanding parted the clouds in his mind. “Oh yes, of course.”

“You will be able to come back and visit, won’t you?” Marinette pressed. Felix gave her a sad look.

“Marinette…”

“I think we have it!” The photographer stepped forth waving his camera excitedly. “Your pictures were perfection, darlings! The expressions so sincere! The poses and body language between you so natural! These will grace magazines and billboards all across Paris!”

“Oh great,” Felix nodded. “Does that mean we are free to go now?”

“Yes,” The photographer stepped aside to let them go get changed. “And if either of you want to make a career out of modelling I know a wonderful agency that would take the both of you in a heartbeat.”

“Thank you, sir.” Marinette stayed to look at a couple of the photos he had taken before going to change.

She was in the middle of pulling her pants back on when Felix popped his head in. “Hey are you--” he noticed her stooped over with her pants around her ankles and snorted. “Are those dumplings on your underwear?”

“GET OUT!” Marinette hiked her pants up and chased him out of the dressing room forgetting her shoes and bag behind her. She chased Felix around the park in her bare feet. “You are so dead!”

“This isn’t very friendly behaviour!” he shrieked as he ran from her.

“Neither is what’s gonna happen when I catch you!” Marinette let out a hysterical laugh as they played their game. Questions she had and answers she feared still sat in her mind but she let them alone for now. She didn’t know how much longer she was gonna have this with Felix and she wanted to make it last while it did.

---

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (9)

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(tagged)

@sannsibarr @miss-mysterys-blog @maribug-adrienoir @mermaidreject @corabeth11 @goblinwhoships @symwinter  @yourgeekysister

[mymoodwriting]

Kindness Goes A Long Way

F!Reader x Sicheng

Genre: Post Apocalypse AU

Warning: Drugs, Cuts, Tension, Fights, Pain, Murder

Words: 2.5K

Chapters:

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Epilogue

Prompt: The end of the world is hard to accept as it is, but it’s even harder to be alone. It seems fate had brought you to Sicheng, someone who can definitely survive in the abandoned waste land that had become of Earth. You then find yourself with a group of others, and you might just have a chance at survival. The only problem is there’s something off about the group, something they’re not telling you, and it might mean the difference between life and death.

    You sat quietly in a bed, whimpering when you felt a sting from your leg. Sicheng had told you to sit still while he got that tracker out of you. He was careful and precise like a surgeon, being quick about it and wrapping up the wound.

“See, all done. Wish it hadn’t hurt you but it served its purpose. It helped bring you back to me.”

    He kissed your head, disposing of the tracker. Your eyes wandered over to the door, hearing voices down the hall, hearings Jungwoo’s. He was on the radio, giving the all clear to the rest of his group. It would have taken Lucas a while to learn about the radio thing, but since Sicheng had less to go through in your memories, he was quick to bring it up and make sure the others weren’t worried or suspicious about you two.

    It hurt to walk a bit but Sicheng helped you, taking you into this big living room. Everyone was gathered there, going over their gear. Lucas was sitting on the couch, looking through Jungwoo’s memory files, the boy sitting next to him, staring at the floor. Sicheng sat you down, telling you to wait while he got you something to eat.

“Found it!” Lucas mumbled. “They have a whole safe haven. Big place, lots of people, it was built in the second year of the war.”

“See, and with Jungwoo, we have a way in.” YangYang said. “See how beneficial things can be when you don’t just kill people. Right Sicheng?”

“We wouldn’t even have him if not for y/n, so you’re welcome.”

“Ya, you can’t take the credit here!”

“Whatever. Either way, it’s not going to be easy to get in. They have a pretty sophisticated security system.”

“On top of that, the rest of the group knows our faces.” Ten added. “We can’t let them live, not if they’re of no use to us.”

“Then let us go to the rendez-vous point.” Kun said. “From there we can make a plan. After all, they’ll be coming to us.”

“No-”

    Everyone’s eyes were suddenly on Jungwoo as he had fallen to his knees, grabbing his head. Lucas was amazed, seeing the boy try to fight him, he laughed.

“Does y/n ever do this?”

“She knows better than to try that.”

“Lucas ease up before he hurts himself.” Kun said. “Now.”

“Alright!”

    Lucas lowered his hold on the other, Jungwoo taking a moment before getting his senses back. He looked around the room, and immediately wanted to punch Lucas. Of course he couldn’t, all he could do was hold his fist up, making Lucas laugh.

“You think I’d just let you have full control of yourself, you humans are strange.”

    He groans and steps away, and then he sees you. His eyes go wide and he approaches you. At that time Sicheng came back in with something for you to eat, although he was quickly glaring at Jungwoo, knowing he was mostly himself again and going towards you.

“Back off!”

“Oh come on he’s not gonna do anything to your girlfriend.” Hendery said. “Leave him alone.”

“She’s not-”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“Whatever.”

    Sicheng set the food down on the coffee table, going over to look through his supplies. Jungwoo hugged you, but you didn’t react, merely staring blankly ahead. He stayed close, looking at you, your empty stare hurting him.

“I’m sorry… this is my fault… I couldn’t…”

    Junwoo noticed that no one was really paying the two of you attention, so he slowly reached up his hand, planning to get that chip off. You quickly grabbed his hand, and he could see it in your eyes that you weren’t there, probably following some precaution Sicheng had put in place. Despite it all his actions still alerted the others. Sicheng ran over and shoved Jungwoo away.

“Think you’re so smart? That would only-”

“I was just trying to check her fever!” Jungwoo quickly spat back. “You must be some paranoid machine to make her react to anyone getting close to that chip! Like chipping your dog so you don’t lose it again.”

“Shut up! You’re just another weak human.”

“Then so is she! At least I would know how to take care of her! What would you know about human health! She’s not some mindless toy for you to use!”

“I’ve been looking after her since before you came into her life!”

“Before I rescued her from you! Fuck, you don’t even have the deceny to let her be herself! Don’t want anyone talking to her? Scared or something! Let me talk to her!”

“You humans are all the same. Pathetic creatures that-”

“Enough!” Kun yelled. “Enough, both of you. You look stupid arguing. Lucas, keep him in line, and Sicheng, let him talk to y/n.”

“No.”

“Sicheng.”

“Fine.”

    Sicheng kissed your head and you slowly returned to yourself, blinking a few times as your vision cleared up. The first thing you saw was Sicheng smile, but you knew everything, so you had to admit you thought it was weird to be waking up, especially when you realized you were still in that house. When he stepped away you saw Jungwoo and he rushed over to hug you.

    You were surprised, and confused over everything. He was apologizing for something but you weren’t really listening, just trying to figure what was going on. Then you noticed the chip on his head and you started feeling guilty, tears stinging your eyes.  He noticed, trying to calm you down, telling you there was no reason for you to cry.

“This… this is my fault.” You sniffled. “I shouldn’t have stayed with you… after everything I remembered you should… I should have left you… for your own sake.”

“What did you do!”

    Your sobs couldn’t really be hidden from them, no matter how soft and quiet they were. Sicheng was pulling Jungwoo away from you, and you snapped back to yourself. You ran over and grabbed Jungwoo, holding him tight.

“Nothing! He didn’t do anything! Sicheng-” You grabbed your head, feeling him trying to push you under. “Ah! Wait…”

“Y/n. Don’t.”

“Stop!” Jungwoo pushed Sicheng back, squaring up. “You’re hurting her!”

“Back off!”

“I’ll be good!” You fell to your knees. “Please…”

“Sicheng stop it!” Xiaojun ran over, separating the two. “You’re gonna break something if you keep pushing her like this!”

    It was stupid to fight, you knew you weren’t going to win, but the thought scared you, even though you knew you’d be stupid happy in your own head. The only reason you were like this now was because of Jungwoo, you didn’t want to leave him alone, and maybe if you stayed in your own mind, Woo would too.

“Fine.”

    You took in a deep breath, panting, wearily looking up at Sicheng. He helped you get back on your feet, but you winced from the pain.

“It was stupid of you to run on that leg.”

“Sorry…”

“Come on. You need to eat, and then we can get moving.”

    You glanced at Jungwoo but sat back down. Sicheng sat by your side, making sure you had every bite, checking your vitals, and then helping you pack your things. Despite everything he made sure you and Woo didn’t carry any food or water so you didn’t get any ideas of running, not that it would even work out if you did try. 

“Just one more thing.”

    Sicheng grabbed a syringe from his bag, the contents having a faint blue glow. You couldn’t help but shy away when he approached you with that.

“Easy. It’s nothing bad.”

“What… what is that?”

“Um… well it’s kinda like medicine for you really. It’ll help your leg heal faster and work as a painkiller so you don’t hurt yourself while we’re out there.”

“Okay…”

    You expected him to grab your arm but he went for your neck instead. It stung like all needles did, and you had to admit you felt a bit floaty afterwards, but it didn’t last long. With that done and everyone else packed, you headed out.

“I don’t want you to kill my friends.” Jungwoo said. “There has to be another way.”

“What!”

    That was the first time you had heard something like that, and you wanted to ask questions, not liking any idea that came to mind. Sicheng pulled you close to him though, catching you off guard, which worked in his favor, making it much easier to push you into the fog.

“Nothing.”

♥♥♥♥♥

    Jungwoo watched as your eyes glazed over, wanting to say something but he could already feel Lucas in his head, ready to put him under if he tried anything. So he didn’t, just followed them all out.

“You shouldn’t worry about your friends.” Ten said. “In this world, it’s really all about looking out for yourself. And there’s always a chance some of them are like you.”

“Although very unlikely.” YangYang added. “You’re safe though.”

“Thanks… I guess.”

    For the most part Woo watched you, sorta swaying about in your steps, giggling and smiling whenever Sicheng looked at you. He understood why he was being dragged along, he had information, he was their ticket inside, he was the one who was putting the rest of the people he knew in danger, and yet you were there too. Sicheng so protective and firm about having you, it made him question everything, but most of all wonder, wonder if maybe these machines had emotions or whatever the equivalent was in binary.

♥♥♥♥♥

    You slowly returned to your senses while you were walking, out in the open, next to Sicheng. He smiled at you, but you didn’t say anything. You looked over to see Jungwoo, he gave you a small smile, which was all you needed to know that it was him. Still, you stuck with Sicheng, not remembering leaving the house or much after eating, but knowing something bad had happened.

    You eventually noticed a sort of tingle in your head. Kinda like a small headache, with no pain at all. You knew it was Sicheng, for the first time being able to feel him in your mind, not trying to make you forget, or push you into the fog, just there, probably looking through your memories. It was quiet all around, but Sicheng eventually chuckled, which is something you thought he couldn’t do.

“What?” You asked shyly. “Did one of my memories make you laugh?”

“Yeah. What this guy told you about us. A good deduction, I’ll admit that, but still wrong.”

“How?”

“Another time.”

    You glanced at Woo again, wondering what that meant, but there was no point wondering anymore. It sucked to walk in silence, and Sicheng eventually noticed, doing what he did when he first had you. Just pulling up some old memories for you, make you happy and keep you distracted. Although you got scared when a drone suddenly dropped down from the sky in front of you. For some reason you hid behind Sicheng, looking over.

“Easy. You’re not going to get hurt.”

    Kun walked over to the drone, apparently it had a name, Mason, that was bringing a report from home. They should have been back but were way off course and needed to report why. Mason didn’t stick around much, getting what it needed fairly quickly and going back up again. It wasn’t long after that before you reached the rendevu point.

    The place was bigger than you thought, and well stocked, kinda like a bunker. Some of them went off to scout the place, make sure it was empty, and safe, you really hoped it was empty. Sicheng picked out a room for you to have as your own, since now it was a waiting game. You sat down in bed when you suddenly felt him in your head again.

“What are you doing?”

“Just checking your vitals. You seem to be back to normal, but I want to make sure you don’t get sick again.”

    Eventually the boys all went off to have a private little meeting, no humans allowed, and you found Jungwoo in a little living room type area, taking a seat next to him.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I promised I’d get you here… just you and me.”

“That’s not your fault, it-”

“Don’t say it’s yours. I’ll never believe you.”

“Fine… so what happens next?”

“They wait for the rest of the group to get here… take them out, if they’re not compatible.”

“What! They can’t!”

“They already talked about this… Sicheng made you forget.”

“Of course he did… I honestly wonder how much of my life is missing these days…”

“I’m sorry. I should have done better.”

“You forget we were up against machines. They took out so many of us within the first 24 hours of their attack. I’m always on the positive side… but I’ve always known we were never gonna beat them. At this point I just want to know why.”

“Why what?”

“Why are they doing this? This planet… why do they want it? And also why they aren’t… committing genocide anymore. Surely they could have released some bioweapon to kill us all by now, but they haven’t. They’re personally hunting us down, seeing who’s compatible, but for what? What happens when they take us home?”

“No idea…”

“There you are.” Lucas came into the room. “Let’s get you up to speed with the plan.”

“Plan? What do-”

    Lucas’s eyes glowed and Woo quickly fell silent. They always had the advantage when you were distracted, and this time around you saw Woo’s eyes glaze over. You wanted to say something but then Sicheng came in and grabbed your arm, taking you back to your room.

“You should get some sleep.”

“What are we to you? Some pawns? Expendable?”

“Worthy.”

    You saw his eyes glow before he kissed your head, laying you down to sleep. You didn’t know the plan, you didn’t know what was going to happen with Woo and the others, but all you did know was that things were going to be different when you woke up, and you were right.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Hi there.”

    You opened your eyes to see Sicheng petting your head. He always gave you that sincere smile, and sometimes you forgot he wasn’t human. You sat up, feeling well rested, having had a good nights sleep, which you always did when you were with him.

“Come on. Let’s get you some breakfast before we go.”

“Go? Where are we going?”

“To that safe haven.”

“You’re… you’re coming with?”

“Of course. Can’t let you go in alone now can we, I need to keep you safe.”

“You’re going into the safe haven… where there’s hundreds of humans… you’re going to go in there… and pretend to be… one of us?”

“I’ve always been one of you, just better.”

[the-is13]

A Pinch of Salt

Description:  You didn’t expect to be working tonight. It was a regular Friday night, or so you thought. Two beautiful men happen to come into the small pizza joint, one with particularly captivating hazel eyes.

Characters: Jared, Jensen, Reader, OFC’s OMC’s

Relationship: Jared x Reader

Warnings:  None really, cursing? A bit of fluff

Word Count: 4046, wow that surprised me

A/N: So this is my first fic, I read a lot but have never wrote anything. This stemmed from a dream I had. For the purpose of this fic its set in early stages of the boys filming Supernatural. Jared is a bit younger, late twenties. Him and Gen are friends but nothing more. This purely fiction! I mean no harm to J2 or their families, I love them all the to moon and back. Any hate will not be tolerated. Please be kind and let me know if you liked it! 

Beta: A GIANT shoutout to @team-free-will-you-idjits-67 for being a beta and pretty much helping me get this right, haha pun intended. You rock chick. 

Oversized t-shirt, fuzzy socks, warm cup of tea, and netflix. That’s how you typically spend your Friday nights since you aren’t one to go out or party. You like your space.You’re content with the quietness of just sitting and reading a good book or just watching netflix by yourself.

That’s how you’d like to be spending this friday night, but alas, Susan called in to work.Again. Apparently her little boy is sick, for the third time this month. You’re pretty sure he’s fine and that she just has a date. It wouldn’t bother you if she would just ask and tell you the truth, but of course, she lies. Well, at least you think she’s lying.

Oh well, more tips for you.

So here you are, at Pete’s Pizza on a Friday night. It's not too busy, but its not slow either. Pete’s is a pretty good place to eat, lots of beer and, of course, plenty of variety on pizza. The owner, and head pizza master, Jimmy, is an amazing cook and is always trying new things to put on pizzas. It's a popular spot. If you didn’t work there, you would probably eat there too.

You’re busy turning in another order for this weekends special; spicy taco pizza with extra jalapenos, when your coworker Nancy bumps you roughly.

“Sorry, y/n!” She went to turn away from you and tend to her own tables when she exclaimed, “Oh! A few guys just sat in your area.” She placed her hand beside her face like she was trying to cover a secret she was about to tell you, but you knew whatever she had to say wouldn’t be quiet. “They seem like a rowdy bunch too.”

You sigh, “Great. First the Johnson’s, now these guys.”

Everyone knew the Johnson’s, they were regulars, the kind of customers you hate: rude, always blaming you for everything, and nitpicking every single thing. od forbid there be an onion out of place on their pizza. They had five kids. Seriously, five, and they were ALWAYS misbehaving. But of course, it was never their fault, according to their parents. You thought differently, they all needed a good whoopin’. On top of it all, they never, ever, tipped. No matter how hard ANYONE tried. It was very taxing to say the least.

Grabbing your pen and paper you waltzed off to table 8 and tried to put on your best smile. You really wanted to make some money tonight, afterall you needed to pay the bills.

“Welcome to Pete’s! What can I..” Looking up from your pad you started to stutter as you noticed who was in front of you. This couldn’t be. You had to be dreaming, it wasn't real. You stared into his hazel eyes, the captivating blues, greens, and speckles of brown. He smiled, oh lord, his smile, so bright and white.

“Wh-what can I start you off with tonight?” You stuttered. Wow, you made a sentence. You were pretty sure you were going to faint.

“I think I’ll have a beer, what ‘bout you Jay?” Oh god, his booming voice, if he spoke another word you might turn into a puddle right then and there.

“Yeah, beer sounds great right now.” said his friend, his best friend. Of course you knew him, well, knew of him.

“I think we’ll just take two beers for now” He smiled politely brushing some hair from his face.

“I-I, I’ll.. be, right.. B-back with those” You smiled back, trying not to sound so foolish, but damn, how could you not? Jared fucking Padalecki and Jensen fucking Ackles just walked into Pete’s, and sat in your area!

You let Nate, the bartender that night, know you needed two beers asap. Then you whipped out your phone to text your best friend, Hannah. You two had been through hell and back, knowing each other practically since birth or before since your moms attended lamaz together. She shared your healthy obsession with Supernatural and all things cooperating. She had to know what was happening. Now!  

Y/n:OMG!! HANNAH YOURE NEVER GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!!!

She quickly wrote you back, knowing you had to work this evening

H: What’s up? You get a $100 tip or something, ‘cause that WOULD be unbelievable!

y/n: Wow bitch, thanks. NO this is MUCH MORE EXCITING!!

H: Well.. go on with it…

y/n: JARED AND JENSEN ARE HERE

H: …

You’re joking right?

y/n: OMG NO! WHY WOULD I JOKE ABOUT THIS!? I KID YOU NOT, THEY ARE BOTH HERE SITTING IN MY AREA!!!!!! IM GOING TO DIE!!!

H: BREATHE! You need to be cool, or at least as cool as you can be. Hehehe

y/n: Shut the fuck up, im cool.

H: uhhhhuh you keep telling yourself that.. ;)

You waited for her to be serious, since she probably thought you were joking. The realization of your truth hadn’t hit her yet or else she’d be freaking out as much as you were. You waited, watching her little dots letting you know she was indeed typing back to you. You didn’t get a chance to read it as you were snapped out of your world with your best friend by Nate.

“Eh hemm, y/n, you busy over there, or you wanna take these beers?” You nearly jumped out of your skin. He had been staring at you, watching you frantically typing away on your phone. “OH! Yes, thanks Nate,” you said with a wink. Nate and you flirted all the time but you never really meant anything by it. You were pretty sure he had a crush on you though. You could feel him staring at your ass as you walked away.

Approaching their table you made sure to take some deep breaths. In and out Y/n, in and out, you reminded yourself. With a polite smile you were able to speak, “Here’s your beers, gentlemen.” You didn’t want to seem like the fangirl you were, knowing their names, so you stuck to the informalities. “Are y’all ready to order?” As you smiled once again, trying to keep your excitement under control.

Jensen spoke first this time “Yeah, I think so. That speciality pizza sounds pretty good darlin’. I think we’ll have two with a side of cheesy sticks,” he said before sending a quick wink your way. You gulped, knowing that he definitely noticed you staring at them. Who would blame you though? They were such fine men, and they knew it.

Scribbling down their orders legibly as possible, all while trying not to fling your pen out of your hand like an idiot you chirped, “I’ll put that right in, be out soon”.

You went to grab their menus, meeting Jared’s eyes once more and drowning in the sea of colors, causing you to accidentally knock the salt over on the table. You watched in horror as the top flung off and covered Jared’s lap with salt.

“Oh! My gosh! I’m, so, so sorry! Let me get a towel, I’ll clean this up, sorry.” You rambled. You thought you were playing it cool, but obviously not. You scolded yourself for being so clumsy before you ran off to the kitchen. Handing Jimmy their order quickly, you went around the door of the kitchen to the closet to grab a rag.

Jensen nudged Jared as they watched you run away “Dude, I think she knows who we are. he seemed a little flustered, doncha think?” He hit Jared in the shoulder, noting how he wasn’t phased that his lap was saltier than the ocean.

Jared winced as he rubbed at his arm,”Ow! What?”

Jensen stared at Jared with a ‘are you serious?’ look. “Didn’t you hear me? I think she recognized us.” Jared’s attention had returned to the direction you disappeared in. SNAP SNAP SNAP  “Dude, what is your deal?!” Jensen spoke with a little more irritation as he waved his hands in front of Jared’s face.

Jared finally turned to him and stuttered a little “Uhh, yeah, whadya say Jay?”

Smacking his forehead a little dramatically Jensen exclaimed, “Have you heard a word I said? Like, at all?!” He talked louder than he had wanted, drawing more attention to them than he planned.

“Do you really need to shout?” Jared questioned. “I Just wanted to go out and relax tonight and you’re trying to make a scene!” He snapped.

Finally looking down at his lap he tried to gather as much of the salt he could and dump in onto the table. Scooting back in his chair, he stood up to shake some salt off but heard a soft ompf as he stood. He bumped into you, nearly knocking you down.

Now it was his turn to apologize.

Spinning around quickly he grabbed your wrist before you could tumble all the way down, yanking you a little hard as you ended up with a face full of his chest. You couldn’t complain though, he smelled delightful.

You crained your head upwards to look at him, seeing his mouth moving but the words not registering in your head. You probably looked like a fish out of water, jaw slack, eyes wide.

“You okay?” He repeated. Finally, you snapped out of it. Blinking rapidly you managed one word “Yeah..” Jared smiled softly, “You sure? You’re sorta staring at me like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Retreating from his hold, you internally scolded yourself for the third time of the night. This was Jared Padalecki. You couldn’t be looking at him like a damn knight in shining armor. This was not a fairytale. This was real life, or so you hoped. You straightened yourself out a bit “Uhm, yeah, I’m good, so sorry again. Let me clean your table,” you clipped out.

“It’s okay, no big deal really. It’s not like you a-salt-ed me, or anything,” he said giggling, trying to lighten the mood. But failing to contain his laughter from his own joke. Jensen smacked his forehead once again and thoroughly rolled his eyes.

You lifted your head and just stared at him, was he kidding? You couldn’t tell, all you heard was assault. Immediately you assumed the worst, he was going to press charges because you spilled salt. My god how stupid were you! So fucking stupid, you should’ve just stayed home!

“I’m so sorry Mr. Padalecki, please don’t sue me,” you squeaked out. Your voice barely above a whisper, afraid you’d burst into tears on the spot.

Realizing you didn’t take his joke well, he started to back track. Holding his hands up almost defensively. “What? No! I was joking! It was a joke! I’m not going to..” then it clicked, you called him ‘Padalecki’.

“Wait, you know me?” He said with a raised, questioning brow.

“Uhh.. hmm.” Stuttering slightly, your brain went into overdrive to try and explain yourself. But it was working too fast trying to form the correct words. You cleared your throat trying to remain calm and collect yourself. “I guess you could say that, I mean I do watch ‘Supernatural’..” you looked towards Jensen “So yeah, I guess I do know who you are, both of you.”

Jensen’s face lit up “I told you dude! I can always tell when they know!” he exclaimed.

You could feel heat creeping into your cheeks, embarrassed because you thought you were playing it cool. Maybe Hannah was right. You were just a waitress at a pizza joint, and this was Jared fucking Padalecki we were talking about here.

Without saying a word, you began to turn away and head back to the kitchen or to check on your other tables. Hell, almost literally, anywhere but right here.

“Hey…” Jared had snached your wrist once again, “Don’t worry about it, its okay.. D-do you want to take a picture.. Being a fan of the show and all..” he trailed off motioning to Jensen.

“Uh, yeah.. Sure, as long as y’all don't mind.”

They both chuckled lightly, wishing you could hear that sound forever. It was such a beautiful sound, much different in person. “Nah, it's no problem, afterall we try to maintain a good relationship with our fans,” Jensen drawled with a wiggle of his brows. You weren't sure if he was just being friendly, or if he was displaying some of Dean’s flirtiness.

You were still slightly embarrassed as you pulled out your phone quickly, closing your recent conversation with Hannah. You tried to angle your phone to get a good selfie, but you couldn't really capture the behemoth of men behind you. Jared lightly and plucked your phone from your grasp, knowing you were struggling to get a good picture. “Here, let me..”

Click click click

He took a few pictures to make sure you got a good one. You had the the attention of almost the entire restaurant now, since you spilled the salt all over Jared and were now snapping pictures with the two of them.

“There ya go, I’m sure you got a good one.” Jared said handing your phone back to you.

“Thanks..” You trailed off, looking down to try and hide the blush creeping onto your cheeks as your fingers brushed his in the exchange.

“Y/N!! Y/N!!” Mrs. Johnson yelled from across the room waving her hand like the lunatic she is. “Y/N!! Come here!”

Huffing a bit, you quickly said additional ‘sorry’s’ to Jared for making a mess and ‘thanks’ to them both for the pictures. Taking a deep breath, before dealing with the table from hell, you turned on your heel making your way to their table.

Meanwhile, that was the first time Jared had heard your name, y/n. You were too caught up in who you were looking at to introduce yourself upon taking their order. ‘Y/n’ he thought it was a beautiful name.

“Yes, Mrs. Johnson, how can I help you?” You said as you plastered on a fake smile.

“We need more napkins, what do you keep stocked in these things? Two napkins?” she said in a snarky tone while tapping the napkin dispenser. Trying to refrain from commenting on how her children used half the restaurants napkins because they were either such a mess or building a damn castle in the bathroom with them, you made your smile even wider.

“I’ll run and get more right now Mrs. Johnson.”

Turning away from their table you were halted by her grabbing your elbow and not so whispering in your ear. “That performance was horrendous, spilling salt all over that poor boy, just for him to take a picture with you. Pathetic.”

You ripped your arm from her grasp and gave a tight lipped smile, “I’ll go get those napkins now, be right back.” Heading towards the backroom once more, you heard her muttering to her husband how ‘sad and pathetic’ your life was. Like she should give a damn about your life.

Sometimes you wished people would just mind their own damn business and keep their mouths shut. Afterall, that's what you did. You were never one for confrontation. Even as a child, you hated arguing with your older brother or your parents, you just kept to yourself. You never really stood up for yourself. You took the blame for so much, even if it wasn’t your fault or you didn't do it, you took it. You didn't want to upset anyone.

You dropped a huge pile of napkins off with the Johnson’s after taking Jared and Jensen their pizza’s. All while Mrs. Johnson kept nonchalantly whispering about you, either to herself, Mr. Johnson, or ‘non-directly’ at you. It was really tiring.

You tried to keep a smile on while checking on your other customers and, of course, Jared and Jensen. You really wanted to talk to them about the show, their lives, or anything else for that matter. It was still hard for you to believe this was real.

Between the Johnson’s, their herd of children that you constantly cleaned up after, the other customers, and Jared and Jensen, you were feeling a little worn out. Nate could tell, he kept asking if you were okay, to which you always replied with a kind smile, and ‘yup i’m good’. It was nice for him to be concerned about you. He was always a nice guy. He never pushed too far with the harmless flirting, never talked behind your back, and he always made sure you got your tips. It was refreshing after being walked on most of your life.

Jared and Jensen ate their pizza slowly and drank their beer a little faster than they ate their pizza. You kept bringing them refills and could tell they were getting a little loose. Not that you were to judge, it must be hard being famous and all. Plus, you pretty much ruined their evening. They kept smiling at you though, letting you know everything was fine, and damn, were they.

After the Johnson’s finally left and things calmed down a little, you stood behind the bar with Nate making idle chit chat.

“Do you know them?” He asked, pointing to where Jensen was currently laughing at Jared for some joke he made. “I saw you taking pictures with them..”

You were currently making heart eyes at the pair, after all, who wouldn't? They had some damn good genes. You realized Nate was talking to you and not a customer. “Oh, what? Know them? Do you not?”

He just shook his head ‘no’ looking at you like you had two heads. “Am I supposed to?” he questioned.

“NATE!” You said just a bit too loud, causing Jared and Jensen to look your way. You just smiled and turned toward Nate, blocking yourself from their view. “Do you really not know who they are?” He shook his head again peeking around your shoulder to look at them.

You tugged his shoulder and scolded him for staring. Now you were pot calling the kettle black. “They’re famous Nate, that’s Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. They star on the show ‘Supernatural’, it's like the best sci-fi, drama, family show, ever!” He was still looking at you like you were crazy. “Nate c’mon, you've never watched it?”

You could tell he was wracking his brain by the look on his face.

After about a minute, or what felt like it, he finally spoke up. “Hmmm, Jensen… Ackles… I think he was on Smallville right?” You’re face lit up with excitement but you tried to contain yourself. “YES! Yes, he was! He played Jason!”

“Soo, you took a picture with them?” He pondered. You looked a little dumbfounded, would he not have? I mean, what if he was to meet someone famous? Just pass them by? Nate could tell by the way your face was twisting up in that sour look he thought was so cute, you were not pleased with his answer. “I mean that's pretty cool right? You can tell your grandkids you met ‘the stars of supernatural’,” he said a little too sarcastically as he waved his hands in the air like he could see the headlines of it.

You were still a little offended he was making fun of you but laughed it off and lightly pushed his shoulder. “Oh stop it Nate! You’re just jealous.” He smiled a little but then noticed the guys you had been making heart eyes at were getting ready to leave. “Hey..” he pointed in their direction, “I think your friends are leaving.”

Turning around quickly and nearly tripping over your own feet again, you noticed they were started to fight over the check. You could barely hear them arguing about who paid last time and who drank more. Mustering up all the courage you could, you put one foot in front of the other and marched towards their table. They both looked up at you curiously. “Beer’s on me guys, afterall you put up with the disaster I made earlier and were kind enough to take a picture with me”

They smiled widely, both slightly tipsy, you could tell their emotions were genuine, which made your heart flutter.

Jensen spoke first, running his tongue out across his lip, “That’s mighty kind of you darlin’,” he drawled, his southern accent peeking out more from the alcohol.

“Jay stop flirting, you’re probably scaring her! Then she won’t pay for anything!” Jared said with a wink and grin that made your knees weak.

You took in their drunken state light heartedly. They were much more kind than the other guys who would come in, get drunk and try to cop a feel. Not that you would mind if it was them though.  You’d let Jared or Jensen feel you up all day or night.

You waved Jensen off, “Its fine, not like I’ll ever see y’all again..” you trailed off, the thought making you a little sad. You had enjoyed watching them interact, even if it wasn’t with you.

Jensen piped up with a smile that would shatter the moon, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, sweetheart”, he winked and was out the door in a flash. That left just you and Jared, standing there like awkward teens at the school dance.

Jared nervously ran his hand through his hair and scratched the back of his neck. You were in awe. He looked so beautiful, even with the nervous behavior he was displaying.

“W-would you mind if I asked you for your number?” He stammered

You blinked, what was happening, was Jared fucking Padalecki asking you for your number? You pinched yourself and jumped, he was still there, awaiting your answer.

Noticing your apprehension he began to turn away “It’s fine if you don’t wanna give it to me, I know we just met and all..”

“YES” you replied a bit too eagerly. “I mean, yeah, you can have my number,” you spoke as you grabbed your notepad and quickly wrote it down, handing it to him.

He looked at you shyly, “Thank you, y/n for everything.” He flashed that bright smile and waved before turning to leave.

You stood there for a moment longer, shocked that what just happened, had indeed happened. You gave Jared PADALECKI your number.

Maybe he wouldn’t even contact you, maybe he was just trying to be nice. That was it, he was just being nice, I mean, from what you had seen about them in the media, they were generally nice guys.

You finally moved from your place, noticing that you got off in 10 minutes. You decided to just go ahead and start your cleaning duties and head home. You were wiping down Jared and Jensen’s table picking up a few napkins noticing something written on one. Flipping it over you had to slap your hand over your mouth to stifle the gasp that left your lips.

“Y/n, you are too beautiful and kind to be working here, and you are not pathetic. I did kinda like the a-salt though ;)”

Was delicately written and tucked inside was a crisp $100 bill, by far the best tip you’d ever received. Hannah would be eating her words and you couldn’t wait to tell her.

You did the rest of the cleaning and closing with Nate rather quickly. Anxious to get out of there and phone your best friend.

Biding goodnight to Nate and Jimmy, you rushed to your car, about to grab your phone to call Hannah when a little ding let you know you had a text. Figuring it was her, you click the screen to light it up. Of course you had 12 texts from her wondering what was happening and how she needed the ‘dirty details’. Rolling your eyes you scrolled down noticing you had a text from a number you didn’t recognize. Opening it, you could have burst into tears from the fire in your heart.

I loved the pizza, beer and taking a picture with a beautiful girl, hope to see you soon. :)  -Jare

Clutching your phone to your chest tightly you sighed and pinched your leg.

Ow, nope not dreaming, you thought to yourself. Now you really couldn’t wait to get home and tell Hannah.

[kendrixtermina]

Further Unique engage quotes compiled by the heroic souls at one of the wikis

For those of us too busy actually trying to win to try out all matchups that might result in dialogue. 

The friend pairs

For example here’s what happens if you make Caspar and Linny fight:

Caspar: Looks like we ended up on opposing sides, Linhardt! Linhardt: Certainly seems that way. I could almost weep over how things turned out. Do you realize, Caspar, that this is the first time we've ever fought? Caspar: Yeah, I think you're right. The first and probably the last!

Not one fight ever? What a pure friendship. Apparently most the preexiting friend groups that you can split up through recruitment get unique dialogues.

Ignatz and Rafael:

Raphael: Outta my way, Ignatz! I don't wanna have to fight you! Ignatz: Stop deluding yourself. You joined the Empire. Didn't you consider the consequences? I don't want to fight you either, Raphael! But this is war. Raphael: Ignatz...

Marianne and Hilda:

Marianne: I-I'm so sorry, Hilda. I... Hilda: It's OK, Marianne. These things happen in war

Anette and Mercie:

Annette: Mercie... Mercedes: Now, now, Annie. There's no need for that. This is a battlefield, after all. Annette: I'm so sorry... You know that, don't you? And also know that you don't have to forgive me... Mercedes: I was going to say the same thing. I'm so sorry if I cause you any pain.” — Mercedes as an enemy when fighting Annette in Crimson Flower Chapter 17, or as an ally when fighting Annette in Crimson Flower Chapter 18.

Single Tear Emoji.

Always make sure to recruit them in pairs, I suppose.

Edelgard vs. TSWITD

Also finally a sourced transcript of the ‘Edelgard almost blows her cover to get Byleth revenge for Jeralt‘ exchanges.

Death Knight: What are you trying to do here? Edelgard: You're the one who should be answering that question. Stay out of my way! Edelgard: Tomas! No... Solon. I will stop you. Solon: What?! If you insist on turning your blade against me, then expect no mercy.” — Edelgard, fighting Solon in Chapter 8. “Kronya: Huh? What are you- Are you here to kill me? Edelgard: I am. Prepare yourself for death while you still can.” — Edelgard fighting Kronya in Chapter 10. “Solon: So, this is how it is... I cannot let you live! Edelgard: You stole the words from my mouth. You lost the moment you failed to kill the professor.

One of the salient details here is that judging by the exchange with the death knight she most certainly didn’t know or have control over what they were doing/planning which is what I’ve been saying since day 1 but it’s nice to see that im not just imagining it

This is also interesting from an ‘identity porn’ sorta vantage point, because on the one hand she’s acting (about not knowing these people), but on the other she’s very much not (about being repulsed by them and wanting to kill them)

There was definitely a conscious decision on her side to dispose of Solon and Kronya not even just for noble reasons but purely pragmatic ones: it was apparent that she couldn’t control them, that they would just go on to murder and butcher all around, besides, Kronya was ridiculously bad at being undercover and had already compromised their stealth, it’s a recurring theme that the Agarthans don’t take surface humans very seriously. 

For all that personal sympathy for Byleth certainly played a role here and that she took a risk for their sake, Edelgard was also definitely looking to get rid of an inconvenience/ mighty enemy who had outlived their usefulness, and to use Byleth and the class to accomplish that aim but still maintain plausible deniability, she could tell Thales that she had no choice but to fight Solon and Kronya since the rest of her class was there to witness. 

Re: Solon, I also recently read this interesting essay on essay pointing out that just from what we see of their conversations among themselves TWSITD didn’t grasp Byleth’s identity until halfway through (for one thing Arundel thought Rhea had simply hidden the crest stone somewhere else for the same reasns that you don’t keep the keys to a safe on top of them) and that once they did they would not have wanted for Byleth and Edelgard to cooperate.

They wanna kill Byleth due to their connection to Sothis just like the remaining Nabateans (whereas to Edelgard Byleth’s power is as good as anyone elses as long as they’re on her side, and she wholly intends to put TWSITD on its receiving end), and they want to keep Edelgard under control - given that she hates em and has her own agenda, that is only possible for as long as she needs them as much as they need her. If she’s their gun and Byleth’s their target she should be pointed at them, not protecting them. 

I mean come on who’d believe that it’s an actual coincidence that they went for remire of all places, or that “Thomas” “there must be a mastermind” comments were actually supposed to be helpful. 

Especially since Solon has been explicitly shown do be doing some machinations to the effect or turning their potential enemies against each other in the Verdant wind routes (sneaking Claude information since he showed interest in opposing the Church) - Markedly once Claude, who has zero background here, finds out that Solon is Thomas he puts his plans on hold until he knows why they want him to fight the Church.

“Thomas” dialogue is the same in BL as in the BE version of part one because as Cornelia and Thales themselves point out, having Edelgard and Dimitri fight is quite convenient for them, gets rid of both of them and leaves a nice power vacuum for them to swoop in (what actually happens is that Claude swoops in first but they’re not really aware of him as a threat at this point he’s just a bratty half pint with a precarious position at this point)

More Precious Babies fighting

Dorothea: Oh, Ferdie. You opposed Edie for so long... I had real hopes for you, you know? Now you're following her. Is that your duty as a noble? Follow your master when they say to heel? Ferdinand: I will not try to explain my duty or hers. You would not understand. I wish you could. Anyway, no time for idle chitchat!

This one’s really sad, they misunderstood each other early on and since they spent those last 5 years on opposite sides they never get to rectify that. 

Shamir: I cannot bring myself to kill you... You're a princess of Brigid. A hostage of the Empire. Petra: That was the truth in the past, but it is a different truth now, Shamir... I am...the will of the emperor! Shamir: In that case, I won't hold back.

Nice touch to have those two have an unique dialogue. Shamir hardly ever gets behind any cause so she’d sympathize with someone she thinks is forced to be there. 

That Petra had become a true believer at some point is apparent from the fact that she shows up in Enbarr when Edelgard’s already losing and there’s not that much to be gained from siding with her (after Edelgard explicitly told her to get out and return to lead Bridgid at Gronder) 

It’s sorta like how Felix shows up in Arianrhod next to his father if you don’t recruit him. 

Hubert: So, Princess of Brigid. Now we see where your loyalties truly lie. This, after we spared your life in return for naught but your fealty. How ungrateful. Petra: Ten years have been passed. The Empire has been changed, just as Brigid has!

Not cool Hubie, it’s not exactly mercy if she’s super young and it’s a war in which her parents got killed, even if it was the Dagdan leadership who started it, whether she wants to stay part of the empire or not is rly her decision. 

That said he just isn’t too compromising when it comes to his enemies especially when it comes to real or perceived treason. It’s probably because they were sorta friends once that he’s so trenchant. 

Ironic too given that if not recruited she because they’re different from the past leadership that ‘napped her. 

Ingrid: Sylvain. This isn't funny. What are you doing? Sylvain: I'm sorry, Ingrid. I believe in what the professor is trying to do more than I do in my own country. Ingrid: Perhaps my blade will cut away the scales from your eyes!

Look at Sylvain the old cynic actually saying he believes in something. Though I suppose when it comes down to he does consistently try doing the right thing even if he doesn’t expect much out of it. 

Also its highly ironic how most of these conversations have 2 versions depending on whom you recruited like it could soooo easily have been the other way around, because butterfly effect. 

Tailtean Plains

Rhea: An ancestor of the Hresvelgs, who became Adrestia's first emperor... He saved me. Supported me. Gave his all to the cause of defeating Nemesis. That I should find myself here at Tailtean, striking down his scion... Edelgard: I don't advise presumptions, Rhea. I will not die by your hand.

This one’s really interesting because its the one time Rhea expresses something other than complete crushkilldestroy vindictiveness and also gives some characterization to Wilhelm of Adrestia. 

Like without this you could easily get the impression that he just sold out humanity for power especially if he was a former ally of Nemesis, maybe he was passed over when the dragon bones were handed out and Seiros came and offered him some superpowers in exchange for his service. That’s surely what Edelgard believes she wants to but right what he done fucked. 

But Rhea has absolutely no reason to lie here - This here makes it sound like Wilhelm was a True Believer. Like Catherine or Cyril, or Jeralt in the past. Like he followed Rhea because he actually liked her... or perhaps he was just truly against Nemesis and turned against him for moral reasons. Perhaps he wasn’t down with razing Zanado and protected Seiros because he felt responsible. 

That sounds not only like he was good or at least ambiguous, but like he must’ve been really something, because here’s Seiros saying she actually liked a human - So much she remembers him years later, though she met him when the wound from the “humans killed my family” thing were still fresh. It’s wholly possible of course that one of them was using the other, or both. It’s almost making me consider if maybe the legends about him and Seiros having descendants together aren’t wholly fake. 

This also makes me realize a recurring motif with Rhea/Seiros. Both Jeralt and Catherine are said to have protected her (as reckless young warriors) and got healed after that. In her supports Rhea mentions it as a big reason for why she is or was fond of Jeralt at some point.  

I mean it’s still her same old selfish, emotionally shallow thinking, she only cares because they saved her, she cares only about wether you’re for her or against her and most of the humans she remotely trusts were modified by her at some point (see also how she makes the church staff drink her blood) but if you’re not against but for her, there’s an actual degree of  (albeit shalllow) actual care/dedication to be had. At least she’s not ungrateful for or dismissive of good things done to her. 

I mean some part of her is stuck as a little girl who wants her mommy. She’s very afraid, indeed she wants to control humans because she’s scared of their treason which took away her family. Of course she likes to be protected/ longs for protection, you get quite a bunch of support points by acting protective IIRC

Miscellaneous Claude Banter

Claude: We haven't seen each other since Garreg Mach. You've grown lovelier than ever, Edelgard. Edelgard: You're not so unfortunate yourself. And you have the aid of the professor. Frankly, I'm jealous. Now's the chance for you and the professor to leave. Claude: I'm afraid I must decline. Even if we left, we'd just have to come right back.

You know these two have pretty great banter/ are able to have some because they both keep their head against the mayhem, for all that the differing amount of edge still makes for a serious clash here and there. Dimitri got stilted politeness, crushkilldestroy, and no in-between. He either hates his enemies enough to be dead serious, or doesn’t hate them enough to say mean things to them. 

kudos to El for giving them the chance to run tho. 

Claude: Hey... Can you speak? Riegan: ... Claude: Just puppets controlled by Nemesis... Well, they're the strongest puppets I've ever known.

I wondered what would happen if you made one of them engage their own ancestor. 

Claude: Here she is—Her Majesty—looking pleased as a dog with a stick. What exactly happened to make you this way? Edelgard: I'm simply seeing through a promise I made to myself a long time ago. Claude: Isn't this much force excessive? Thanks to you, my own long-held ambitions are nearly destroyed. Edelgard: If you don't want them to be destroyed completely, I suggest you turn tail and flee.

I wish I had the voice clip because the degree of actual personal dislike toward Team Empire that is or isn’t implied here would depend on how he says it.

Claude grew a lot less gremlin-like over the timeskip. Or I was surprised by how much on one he was in his route after not getting to see that much pf him in the other routes apart from how heroic and badass he is afterward.  

Also doesnt this kinda foreshadow how things go post timeskip in her route? Though he markedly doesnt bail in his own. 

also lots of people have probably called Claude a coward in Fodlan without knowing why hed actually be touchy about that and it breaks my heart a lil bit

Flayn: Edelgard! Please! Release Rhea... Release Fódlan! Edelgard: If you strike me down, they will return. I cannot permit what you desire. You are a child of the goddess. You must not be allowed power over the people!

Im glad I found this one in context since it’s often cited to claim that Edelgard’s a facist or something. It doesn’t actually pop when you fight Flayn in CF but in the Church route when you’re about to finish Edelgard in her own house. (the dialogue with Seteth is the same except there’s no ‘please’.)  ″I want this specific small family group, as far as I know have terribly mismanaged the land, to be out of politics” =/= “must exterminate them all just because they’re different” She’s perfectly fine with letting them all go if they surrender/ flee. 

“I cannot permit what you desire” sure doesn’t sound like she’s gleeful about killing them. Though of course the truth is that Flayn and Seteth don’t desire anything other than peace and quiet. 

From her POV it’s like holding animosity against the trumps, if they aint complaining about the shit their father/husband does how good can they be? 

It’s tragic that she doesn’t know Flayn and Seteth are innocent, they know they’re innocent but not what they’re innocent of (Can’t say they had nothing to do with Rheas bullshit if they do not know she did bullshit, and without that knowledge its the most natural thing in the world to oppose someone who wants to fight your sister/aunt especially if all your other relatives were brutally murdered)

One interesting bit of info here is that she knows they’re Nabateans, though she repeatedly mentions that she knows there are others (”the imaculate one and her family”)

It’s weird to think that she knew all along while she and Flayn were briefly in one class together. 

But onto the quote itself as it actually is. 

Kudos to Flayn for trying to talk to her/ showing that she actually means her pacifism talk tho. 

I’m a bit thrown off by the “they” tho. Context would suggest that she’s talking about Rhea’s return and the continued dominance of her and her associates.  Is this a wonky translation? 

Could it possibly the liberation army? She and Hubert sure know that TWSITD are “planning something terrible” and taking them out sorta unleashes the storm that they’d been holding back, but then again Edelgard doesn’t know that Nemesis and the Elites were evil indeed her impression was that nemesis was good, so it makes no sense for her to mean them. 

Hubert’s last stand

Everyone’s seen the “I shoulve killed you when I had the chance!” exchange that you get if you fight him with Byleth (still kinda my favorite cause he must really regret it), but apparently everyone’s favorite dark mage has an unique dialogue if engaged with

Alliance route: 

Claude: It's over, lapdog. Your military rule is at its end. Hubert: For every step you take along that path, our thorns will cut into your heels. Claude: Ooh, that sounds painful. I'll have to wear thicker soles for the march. Hubert: If your boots are too heavy, you won't be able to lift your feet. But enough prattle.

Vintage. Claude’s irreverrent as ever, Hubert has one of his goth moments. Ironic how Claude seems to despise him a fair bit given how his opinion of Hubert is about to 180 once he gets the letter. Then again Claude’s in public here.  

Kingdom route: 

Dimitri: Hubert. I would tell you to get out of my way, but I highly doubt you would abide. Hubert: Heh. Your silver tongue will do you no good here. This is not your path to tread. Dimitri: That is not your decision to make, nor is it mine. All I can do is blaze ahead!

Ah! They interacted!  Don’t think they really do anywhere else but it seems a given that they would hate each other given that each is sorta exactly the kind of person that the other tends to dislike.

I suppose there’s  also the introductory line for this battle where he’s like “Ah here comes the so called savior king with his hands stained red” He clearly sees Dimitri as a hypocrite (”So because you don’t like us stopping the church by fighting them, you will stop us... by fighting us?”)  but at the same time this implies that he seems to have the same misunderstanding that Felix had pre timeskip, that since he got that grizzled vindictive side to him, Dimitri’s only pretending to be civilized and noble (hence “silver tongue” and the general mocking tone), and its not really like that/ more like 2 sides of the same coin, Dedue probably explained it best. Though I doubt that he’d have much respect for Dimitri either way, they just very different peeps. 

My headcanon is that Dimitri hated him at first glance, but, being Dimitri, still felt compelled to greet him in a polite and friendly manner, at some point he mentioned that he “knew Edelgard while she was staying in the kingdom” that Hubert was like “staying there is an interesting way to put it” and hated him ever since. 

There might also have been some lowkey jealousy going on, or, like in Byleth’s case, Hubert simply being aware that being attached to someone who might well become their enemy is just gonna be painful for edelgard in the long run, though, I mean, he was also the one who couldn’t be arsed to say “I’m sorry for your loss” after Jeralt died. I love Hubert but he’s not particularly nice or considerate. 

Church route: 

Hubert: Running into you in the capital like this—I have to say, it's almost sentimental. Ferdinand: Hubert. She must leave. Hubert: You really think you can make her? Ferdinand: It does not matter what I think. Those are my orders.

This ones sad and like... wow? Was Ferdinand basically offering to let them both escape if they flee? :dddd my feelings

Edelgard would of course never do that and Hubert knows. He doesn’t think he can make her. That last bit tho seems very un-ferdie like and ironic... or does he mean that it’s his order to Hubert? Like pulling rank because he’s a Duke and Hubert’s a count? 

Bonus: 

Apparently Flayn’s solo ending is slightly different if Seteth dies:

Flayn, Slumbering Princess Flayn disappeared soon after the war, and after a time, proof of her very existence faded from memory. Many years later, a young woman appeared at the monastery, which had been restored to its former glory. Speaking to no one in particular, it is said that she gazed at the entrance and reverently whispered, "I am home."

Sad :(

Makes me wonder if there’s any other unique content triggered by permadeaths,

[moseswilhelm]

Now that you’re all gone, I’ve got a few squishy bits to air out. I don’t feel normal. Whether that means quirky or broken or eccentric depends on the day or hour or seconds between the particular anxiety of waiting on someone to respond to a long string of text. Internally, I’ve cycled between deciding if I am alien, demon, mutated evolution, a plaything of God, a challenge, or just plain old mentally ill. We can guess the healthier option, but there isn’t much use or fun using that.

Knowing you’ve lacked socialization in your youth doesn’t really mean much in trying to solve that problem in the same way that knowing you were just shot won’t help close the wound. What I am trying to say is I wasn’t socialized when I was young and that consistent distant feeling from your peers comes from that.  Hearing that you think differently, or have an interesting brain is a nice little compliment albeit a little condescending. Unfortunately, you can’t really monetize excellent explanatory metaphors without the true meat and potatoes of capitalist society: focus. Arguably, effort and hard work and all that, but the measurement of how much you’ve put into something gets a bit blurred when you’ve somehow acquired detail knowledge of the economic turmoil that initiated the Pontic Wars. Someone please give me money for that. Easily an entire week got a bit lost in trying to understand centralized economies in the classical era and not one person paid me. Outrageous. I think writing was my way of trying to accomplish that level of usefulness that we are all trying to achieve. I knew that whatever I went through as a kid helped me develop an approach to understanding things in a unique way, but this is arguably not even useful to myself let alone the world as a whole. Unfortunately this hobby/career is top tier ADD nightmares and require a level of focus and drive comparable to Stephen King just ripped on coke. I neither have the proclivity for weird child orgies and dog monsters or coke.  Well thats a lie, coke suits me just fine but my scantron has enough bubbles filled out and I’m already late turning in my “how much of a trainwreck are you” buzzfeed quiz.  I see you, red squiggly telling me that “thats” needs an apostrophe. Fuck off, this is art and I refuse to change. Hey, what do you think happens when you’re told that confidence has to come before... y’know... actually being proud of yourself? Arrogance and self-absorption, obviously. You learn very quick that empty confidence is just as meaningless as no confidence, so to kind of fake it you have to really inflate things you have no right inflating and they are inflated on a scale comparable to those around you. Which is arrogant! Its awful! People can do different things at different levels and still be valid! Confidence is valued at an extremely high level to the point where the confidence to present yourself is a bit more important than the character you are supposedly proud of... evidenced plenty by the folks in the public eye known specifically for their charisma and yet somehow failing to actually be a person worth being around. That said, it can get tangled up in actually being proud of yourself. Shocking, I know, but you can’t really lump people who have characters worth being proud of to those just decent at faking it.  Faking it. I know imposter syndrome is a thing. I am certainly not really alone in the concept of “oh god I’m faking it” so I won’t really pretend I have some magic insight on the concept (I’m lying I’m absolutely going to present myself as someone with Answers welcome to the fucking show) but when does “holding it together” and “how you present yourself” become imposter syndrome.  “Hi this is me who has to be this way in order to balance between seeming different enough to stand out but not so different that you feel disgusted at the concept of change, nice to meet you” I mean what the fuck is a person anyways. Thats not a question. Not even a rhetorical one so if you answered aloud in your head I’m sorry but my psyche is not emotionally prepared for audience participation right now so clam up. Finding yourself is always a precarious as hell phrase because that often means one of two things: 1. Learning not to care about how others feel about who you are, despite all evidence of existence point out that this is the absolute most important aspect of your life 2. Presenting the parts that you were afraid to present to people.  Look, I get it, you can’t please everyone and I’m not really here to talk about how to please anyone. In fact, I’m not even here. This is a lucid dream you’re having in your chair and shortly you’ll wake up and not remember if you were sleeping at all. Its fine, you’re fine.  You have to please someone though. I think we underestimate the value of the tutorial level of life regarding this. You are given a set amount of people who are, usually, just going to be pleased by your existence. This always sets up your expectations of how that looks, how it feels, and how important it is. I mean imagine if right now I decided to criticize the immense value society puts on children. You’d hate my fucking guts! “Look at this asshole, kids deserve to be cared for” To be clear I don’t disagree with that. I think a lot of the current “you are valid” rhetoric is based on the concept that adults deserve to be cared for as well. This sorta rounds off my point that attention and reassurance is an important part of being cared for. In my opinion, this gets overlooked very often in favor cheap performative actions like hitting a heart button and oh my god I’m like a baby boomer writing for the new york times okay hold on I promise this isn’t a cynical criticism of millennials.  People want to be heard. Importantly, people want to be understood. Spicy hot fucking take. Its a bit more than “this person knows who I am” although thats precisely how its framed. People want to be cared for, and this means knowing the... other person knows who they are caring for. Ah holy shit this is why I use metaphors.  You have a snickers bar and you are hungry. Congration, you done it. Its the middle of the day and you never had any breakfast and frankly your bank account could use a break from pleasuring Starbuck’s atm reader so you somehow found the last snickers bar in a box you bought off of impulse bought off of Amazon and immediately regretted because it was gone two days later. Or so you thought. As you threw away the cardboard you hear the tell-tale tumble of a forgotten rod of peanuts and caramel that must have gotten jammed in the back of this thing. It was, however, 7am and you had to get to work and maybe having bubbleguts while dealing with people is not your recipe for a good day so you throw it into your purse or bag or whatever the fuck and move on.  “Lunchtime” rolls around and as you do the mental gymnastics required to find the conclusion that food=energy in between bouts of fury over why your workday insists on starting at 8am and how you can’t seem to cope with falling asleep early enough for that not to matter, you remember your snickers bar. Reaching into whatever bag you put it and coming to the horrifying dread of realization that you left this bag in your car in fucking July, you find the sweet sugared respite in a corner. Squeezing it a bit just to test, you are surprised to not find it in the horrible (and yet delicious) state of melted confectionary. Your stomach grumbles a bit as you fidget with the perforated candy wrapper, vaguely thinking to yourself that it might be interesting to read the ingredients as you eat this thing like that isn’t going to fill you with inexplicable Eldritch dread. Nobody needs to know they are ingesting something that might have been made in a facility that also processes every other nut you can think of, delightfully shortened into “tree nuts”. I wonder if anyone has cross referenced all the allergen warnings to deduce which candies are made in the same factory, or if that information is just freely available. What if we kissed in the snickers production facility??? haha jk but...? Anyways, as your mind cycles through a list of stale memes you manage to unsheath this uncut chocolate delight from its wax(???) plastic prison and proceed to take your first, and arguably best, bite into this lunch.  Your teeth sink softly into it, as you would expect. In fact, expectations haven’t really filtered into your skull soup you call a brain, so all manner of things can just slip through your recognition. Not this, however. Instead, fireworks of electric signals screaming “BITTER POISON” shock your brain from its previous state of vaguely functioning. Now you truly see the color of light, feel the air cocooning your skin, the squirm of your organs in your belly. Full panic ensues. You are not human, you are animal, and you have taken in a poison thing.  You spit it out right there on your lap.  You stare at the sad and ruined chocolate mutant nestled grossly in between your legs as your brain high fives itself for saving your life before frantically scouring your subconscious for whatever Vine gives it enough dopamine to not just fucking kill yourself right here. What happened? The fugue of panic washes your perceptions with a mixture of justifications for this travesty. It probably just went bad, but that didn’t taste spoiled (you consider yourself a mild expert having scraped clean many an old collection of halloween candy collections in August the year after the fact) so maybe it melted and rehardened? Baking stuff is weird so maybe that broke down some of its components. You pick it up (holy shit that is slimy. Of course its slimy, just touch it) and its insides look fine. I mean, how often do you examine the insides of a partially chewed bite of snickers? No weird colors. The remaining chocolate lasagna brick also looks exactly what you’d thought it be.  You jokingly think to yourself that maybe you had a stroke but despite the apparent hilarity of that possibility you do the smile thing in the selfie camera of your phone. Everything seems fine, but now you’re getting mad that some turn of events has just ruined your perfectly good slab of sugar and fat that surely would have made the rest of the day bearable (and full of indigestion) Now that is a metaphor. 

[tarysande]

Lucifer & Eve & Cain (no spoilers; just personal speculation based on mythology)

Like I said, I’m avoiding spoilers as much as I can, but I’ve been thinking a lot about Eve (mostly because I’ve had to think a bit about Cain for this post 3x24 fic I’m working on) and something occurred to me that just really pleases me about the idea of her as a character on the show. Because there’s some mild speculation (nothing fueled by spoilers because I’m not looking at them!), I’m going to throw the whole thing under a cut, though. 

Okay, so, in the show’s universe, we know Lilith exists(ed?) because Maze is Mazikeen of the Lilim. That means that the show is probably working from the Lilith-was-Adam’s-first-wife mythology. In that mythology, God created Adam and Lilith at the same time, from the same “stuff of the earth,” making them equal. When Lilith was then expected to be subservient to Adam as his wife, she was like “NOPE,” grew some wings, and went off to have demon babies of her own. When some angels were sent to her to make her go back to Adam, she was like “Oh hell no, literally,” and even though they said, “Look, if you don’t go back, a hundred of your demon babies will die every day,” she said, “That’s still better than being with Adam. Lilith out.”

Meanwhile, Adam’s all, “Ugh, I’m bored and lonely,” so God says, “Fine, fine. Go to sleep, when you wake up things’ll be better.” So, Adam goes for a nap, and God yanks out a rib and makes Adam a wife, Eve. He figures that, by making Eve literally out of a piece of Adam, she’ll be down with the subservience thing. “Helpmate” is the positive PR spin put on this. (PS: YUCK.)

Which brings us to the show and its recurring and super important focus on CHOICE. The importance of choice, the horror of choice being removed or manipulated, free will as choice, even choosing your own hell based on your own guilt. Choice choice choice, right?

It’s implied that Lucifer rebelled because he resented not having a choice about things, and because he resented that angels were created to serve certain purposes according to the gifts God had given them (and possibly because he was irritated that Adam, built in God’s image and all that, got to have choices). Enter Eve, right? Again and again, Lucifer tells us he’s misrepresented---his story is part of history told by the victors. We’ve got Man’s (assumed also to be God’s) version of events and Lucifer’s version. The truth is probably somewhere in the nebulous grey area between these. Nonetheless, I think we can probably expect that the show’s truth is not the standard, “Lucifer manipulates Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.” My guess is it’s more, “Lucifer gives Eve some important information that’s been kept from her, like, ‘Hey, did you know my Dad literally made you out of a piece of your husband so that you’d never make a decision for yourself and so you’d constantly put Adam’s needs before your own? (Sidebar: has Eve ever had an orgasm? Was this reason #1 that Lilith flipped a table on her way out the door? Just saying.) Did you know Adam had a wife before you who noped out of this place because she wasn’t keen on a role as helper instead of star of her own life? I’m not telling you what to do, but if you eat this apple, maybe you’ll have the knowledge you need to be your own person. (Also, I can probably help you with the orgasm thing.)’”

Because if we’ve learned anything about Lucifer over three seasons, it’s that the right to be one’s own person is sacrosanct. 

By the fact that humanity exists, we sorta have to believe that Eve took this knowledge and still decided to stay with Adam. Maybe he didn’t know Eve was essentially coerced by the method of her creation to be with him; maybe eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge was illuminating to him, too, and showed him she deserved better, and that he actually wanted a true partnership, which hadn’t been possible up to that point. Maybe he saw what an entitled little shit he’d been. Partnership is another of the show’s major themes, after all.

But if this is true, what if Eve isn’t actually back to jump Lucifer’s bones or tempt him or anything similar? What if she’s there to return the favor---helping Lucifer to see how he’s continually refusing to act on his own choices out of fear, the way he once helped her to see a truth she wasn’t aware had been hidden from her? What if she’s there to help him because she feels that he deserves some damn happiness and he’s still the biggest obstacle standing in the way of his own happiness? Now, she might do this in any number of ways, and one of those ways might be “temptation” in an attempt to stop lying to himself and see what he really wants. That’s what Lucifer understands; sex, pleasure, etc. It could be she shows up as if that’s what she wants only to say, “No, you dummy, you deserve better than this, wise up!”

Basically, I want Eve to be friends with Chloe. (I would also straight-up love it if she and Adam are actually really happy together, but she didn’t realize what she had until she tried something else and ate the fruit that let her decide for herself.)

Obviously, Cain has to be part of the whole equation. You can’t introduce the mother of a person Lucifer killed and condemned (essentially) to Hell without that character being relevant and important. In the some of the same mythology mentioned above (as I posted about a while ago), Cain is Lucifer & Eve’s son; I don’t know if the show’s going to use that bit of mythology. It certainly would put a spin on things, especially vis a vis Lucifer’s obsession with truth (and yet choosing to hide truths from Chloe, which has meant he’s been living his own brand of lie of omission and living counter to his own true nature, in which truth, fairness, and justice are his dominant character traits); Lucifer’s own issues with his absentee father and messed up family life; Lucifer’s fears about being lied to or manipulated; and the distinct parallels drawn between Lucifer and Cain/Pierce in S3. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Like I said, they may not go this route at all, but if they do? An absolute ton of the groundwork has already been laid in the story they’ve told thus far. (Or they could just do an entirely different twist; parallels were drawn between Lucifer and Abel, too, after all.)

Anyway, the tl;dr of this whole thing is that I think Eve’s characterization will revolve as much around truth and knowledge and choice as things that are withheld or manipulated by others as Lucifer’s does, and I am excited to see what they do with that.

[basilandthym]

 Captain Rosemary blinked in disbelief.  She knew every face on every journey she took, but the small inventor before her was entirely unfamiliar.  A stowaway, surely, on her own ship.

 Thym seemed to be trying to shrink in on themself. Some part of Basil noticed their fear. He reached out to put a comforting hand on their shoulder, but they pulled away from his side, suddenly terrified of being confined.  

 “It’s alright.” Basil said, addressing both Thym and Rosemary.  

 Rosemary tilted her head, confusion shifting towards awe.  

 Basil continued in a definitive tone, “Rosemary, this is Thym.  They will be coming with us on this voyage.”

 Ignoring Basil’s complete disregard for her authority, Rosemary instead cast another glance at Thym, who was now beginning to relax and had pulled themself back to their full height. Rosemary nodded.

“I suppose they will.”

 Rosemary found she couldn’t disagree when Basil was here vouching for a stranger. It went against everything she understood about the detached scientist. No, she had to know more about this kid, and besides, she couldn’t just kick them off the ship.

 The captain extended her hand.

 “I’m Captain Rosemary, it’s nice to meet you Thym.”

 With a small smile, Thym accepted the handshake.  

 “Nice to meet you, Captain.”

 Introductions out of the way, Rosemary gestured for the duo to follow her.

 “Come along, let’s warm up a little.”

 Basil nodded and made to follow, and Thym apprehensively took up the rear.  Basil felt the need to keep looking back at them, lest they vanish once again.

 In the warmth of the decks below, Rosemary led the way to the galley.  The smell of a delicious dinner cooked only a few hours ago still lingered in the dining area, and Thym’s stomach reacted loudly.

 “Here, sit and tell me about yourself.” the captain prompted as she started on a meal for their new guest.  The kid looked starved.  The small stowaway could’ve easily taken more for themself from their stores...

 “Uh, I uh, I’m just trying to get out of New London for a bit.” Thym responded, unsure what information the captain was looking for “This ship is bound for Ireland, yes?”

 Rosemary shot a glance at Basil, but he was focused on his new acquaintance, listening intently.

 “It is.” Basil answered “Arcturus has a botany keep there.”

 “Sounds nice.” Thym smiled, imagining the warmth and beauty of a greenhouse.

 “It’s lovely.” Rosemary agreed while setting the stove to a simmer.  She came and sat at the table with Basil and Thym.

 “Tell me, Thym, why an Arcturus ship?”

 Thym averted their gaze.  This was technically an inquiry into their crime of sneaking aboard.  

 “It felt safe.” They said, softly.

 Rosemary nodded, accepting their answer, then lightened the tension with a small chuckle.  “Then I guess I’m doing my job alright.”

 Standing again, the young captain went to stir the meal she was preparing.  Thym watched her, mystified and intrigued at her kindness.  She wasn’t what the stowaway had to come to expect from someone with her title.  She was only in her early thirties, with a gentle face and lovely black curls cascading over her shoulders.  In the lantern-light, her dark chestnut eyes glimmered with thoughtful consideration.  But she had the hands of a captain.  The warm copper skin of her palms was crossed with scabs and scars, a history of hard work written in red letters.

 Basil interrupted their train of thought. “Thym, you have some very creative insights on engineering.  Do you have any experience in that area?”

 Rosemary’s interest was piqued immediately by Basil’s focused query.

 Thym lit up. “Yes, I was an engineer for a smaller ship once.”

 “Really?  That’s wonderfully impressive, especially for your age!” Rosemary exclaimed “Tell me, have you ever considered expanding your knowledge of the subject?”

 The redhead gave a sad smile.  “Yeah but uh, sometimes things go a little off-plan.”

 “You know,” Rosemary pointed out “Basil has some experience in that area.  He works in neurorobotics.”

 Thym grinned at the scientist.  “Yeah, I gathered.  He has some opinions on the subject.”

 Basil only gave an aloof nod as Rosemary cast an inquisitive glance between the two.

 “Well.  Food’s done.”

 Rosemary set a double serving of stir fry in front of Thym.  The simple but hearty dish of potatoes, vegetables, and bits of salted beef looked better than anything they’d eaten in months.  Conversation died immediately as they hungrily dug in.  

If Thym weren't so understandably focused on the meal, they may have picked up on a subtle tension between Basil and Rosemary while seated in their company. A bead of sweat rolled down the skinny scientists brow to which he immediately reacted, first removing his gloves, then unbuttoning clasps down the coat sleeve before slipping out of the garment fully.  He set it all, neatly folded, on the bench beside him, and stared off into the middle-distance.

After a few mouthfuls, Thym found themself intrigued by Basil’s now uncovered right arm.  They tried not to be obvious in their observation, but curiosity was getting the better of them. They hadn't really gotten a chance until now at an up-close look at Basil and the golden mechanical limb had piqued their interest at every prior sight of it. It looked to be in immaculate condition, well polished metal panels met at clean angles, mostly hiding the internal workings. Small red tubes could be seen, fed through the length of the arm. Affixed at the wrist was an oddity, Basil's fully flesh hand, only slightly scarred at the connection point. Thym wondered just how far up the construction of the metal arm reached and what the story behind it was.

 Basil felt Thym’s gaze intensify, honed onto his right side. Despite being used to others staring, the awkwardness grew with every second and in an attempt to dispel it he cleared his throat.   

 “Sorry.” Thym muttered, re-directing their attention to their half-finished food “It’s just some beautiful work.  Your own?”

“Collaborative effort initially, but it has seen a lot of personal upgrades since then.”

Basil leaned forward, deciding to extend the arm to Thym for closer inspection. They had an engineer’s mind … he could trust them to appreciate and respect the complex work that made him whole.

 Thym examined it with open wonder.  They noted its neat build and simple practical style, and tried to understand how it functioned with the minimal information available to their eyes.  Gently but shamelessly, they placed a hand along one of the smooth plates, prompting Basil to tilt his arm a bit.  They stood at their seat to lean in for an even better look. The tubes seemed to function like veins.  Thym noted the slight shade difference in reds and realized the arm was hosting a proper circulatory system.

 “That's incredible!” they exclaimed, curiosity momentarily quelled.  They sat again, smiling with admiration at Basil.  

 “And hey, pretty stylish, too.” the redhead said playfully.

 Basil smirked and pulled his arm back.

 Rosemary sat contently, having watched the shared interaction with heavy interest. “Basil's got more style than he lets on,” she said.

 Basil sighed and stood, somehow appearing more stiff than when he’d stood in the biting cold winds above deck.

“I think I'll make a pot of tea, got a bit more work I'd planned to finish before reaching Virgo.”  He looked to Thym, “Care for some?”

 “Yes!”

 “None for me, thanks.” Rosemary called as Basil left to prepare it.

 Rosemary turned her attention back to Thym, a look of concern marginally detectable. “So just how long have you been… catching a ride aboard Arcturus vessels?”

 Thym tensed.  

 “I’m...not quite sure.” they lied “Time sorta blurs together when you’re not doing much.  But it’s been...a few trips.”

 Rosemary simply nodded and a silence permeated the air for a few moments.

 “I suppose we should find you some official quarters for the duration of the trip.”

 “Oh, er,” Thym shrugged nonchalantly “I'm fine.”

 “No, I insist.” The Captain demanded.

 Basil returned holding a cup of steaming tea in each hand. As he set one down for Thym, Rosemary turned to him. “There's still space in your quarters for another person right Basil?”

 Basil frowned “Yes, but, wh-”

 Rosemary gestured to Thym in earnest  “As you already seem to know each other, it makes more sense to place them with you, rather than them being stationed with someone else. At least for the time being.”

  Basil tried not to look openly troubled about the intrusion of his privacy. He didn’t intend to drive their guest away. Not tonight at the very least. He’d enjoyed their secretive consultation and it was true he had been wanting a chance at something a little more direct. He sipped his tea, silently relenting to the Captain’s order.

 Thym flailed their hands. “You really don’t have to worry about me.”

 Rosemary looked at a loss and Basil found himself urged to speak out in agreement with her.  It was only sensible Thym was given a place to stay other than the cargo hold.

 “Thym, I may have lost that last note.” He said, trying to keep the particulars of their previous engagement somewhat vague. “If we’re indeed to share a space, I had some more thoughts on the subject we’d discussed, but to your credit, having your work to reference as I prepared a response was something I was looking forward to…”

 “Oh?” Thym lowered their hands, then smiled down at them “Okay, I’ll re-make it!” they laughed softly “H-how did you lose that already?”

“I ah... wind.”  Hoping to immediately dismiss his awkward response, Basil looked to Rosemary “Was there anything else you wanted to ask them tonight, Captain?”

 Rosemary considered all the many, many things she wanted to ask, but they could wait.  It was late, and she could sense that she was getting in the way of something that felt quite exceptional.  For when was the last time Basil had taken an interest in anyone?

 “No.” The Captain decided. “We should all get some rest.”

 “Great” Basil stood with purpose and gathered his coat, gloves, and tea. “You can follow me, Thym.”

Rosemary watched as they left without another word to her.

Once out of earshot of the Captain, Basil raised a questioning brow at the stowaway and added “Though… You may already know the way?”  

 “I mean I know where rooms are.” Thym responded, sarcasm practically pouring from their voice “I don’t know where your room is.”

[jasenet]

200714 | #backyard

( image cover. ) — location: seraph house.

CH: he quickly lost track of how long he'd been working on setting the tent up, willing to settle for making it through the rest of the night. sunset had passed him by, wiping the sweat on his brow with a small wash towel, wrapping it around his neck as he let out a huff. it was standing. that's an impressive feat in and of itself considering he just figured out not too long ago how to get the stakes in the ground. hoping no one would be upset with him for leaving holes behind in the grass, he takes a glance around. scant outdoor lighting and the moonlight his only sources of light, he grins at how much easier it is to see the stars here than in town or the city. when he moved in, it was what made the nights easier. blankets inside the tent and one beside it, he lays down, holding his phone up and luckily not dropping it on his face within seconds, he looks to the snacks he'd brought outside with him, glad it was nothing that needed to be kept chilled and clicked on his messages. 

 (   ˟  𝙊𝙐𝙏𝙂𝙊𝙄𝙉𝙂 » julian *rainbow emoji* )  ☇  could you meet me in the backyard?

JN: With his infrequent use of the device, it only shocks him more when it goes off. He thinks setting it on silent would keep him from an emergency so he doesn't. The smile on his lips is automatic. Chase, with a yellow heart beside his name, already gets him up and out of his bedroom all on their own. It's only when he's on the first floor that he can properly decipher the text. 'Okay! I'm coming' is all he sends despite only being a room away from the backyard. Though he comes with no expectations, wishes or otherwise, the surprise in his eyes and genuine pause keep him from speaking right away. The words bubble in his throat. Is this a tent? Did Chase build this? All alone? He could've helped, too, insisted even. "Hi," is all he can muster now as he gets closer; curious with Chase's work. It's not exactly like the pictures, but neither are any of his own creations. Bending over and looking inwards, he's struck with the question of what this is all for. He looks back at Chase, trying not to touch the tent in case it somehow gets ruined. "Is it your birthday?"

CH: waiting makes him restless, always has, and so he's easily rolling around, arms extended when he's on his back once more. groaning as he stretches them higher, higher yet, until he can't without lifting his shoulders, and he laughs at the slight ache from earlier, thinking he really ought to work out more now. asking cam, even ilya or yeon would make sense right? sweet almond and cassis wraps around him like a gentle breeze, luring him upright with a smile on his lips. "julian!" bending one of his legs at the knee, pulling it closer to the other, he gestures for the lota to join him, patting the area next to him, his gesture coming to a slow stop at the question. "my birthday? that's not for a few months." at least, it's the birthday he thinks he has. "oh...  i don't think i know yours. when is it?" though he didn't have an occasion in mind, he wishes he had made a cake, the craving coming to him now that it's in mind. but that would've been more fun to make together too. another time. "you cloudgazed with me before, i thought we could stargaze together too. is that okay?" 

JN: julian falls to his knees when he gets called. it's better and more comfortable to be at a similar eye-level while talking. then, as if it's all the permission he needs, he crawls the rest of the way to where chase allows him. it's certainly a different perspective, particularly at night. but it's one he's grown to like with good, comfortable company. settling for having his legs crossed, sitting to chase's right, he remains seated with his back upright—pulling at the ends of his sleeves as he watches the other. "october twenty second. i made it up since i don't know my real birthday." though it comes out with eyes down-turned and his voice just as soft as ever, he offers a small, reassuring smile. "when is yours?" now, if all of this isn't for a birthday celebration, then what could it be for? julian looks up at the sky, littered with stars, but not as close as he'd likely see them in pictures. constellations are hard to find like this, even as he's on the search for the classic ursa major and minor, if possible. "i'm happy you invited me. the tent looks great." placing an open palm on his left knee, he offers chase the chance to take it—unsure of how in favor he would be to touch. "how'd you come up with the idea?" 

CH: now that he knows why julian wears long layers, even in the heat of summer, there's a certain warmth that comes to him to as well— one he realizes he can tie directly to julian the more he sees him. there's no denying it, that when he sees the lota these days, a smile is automatic and everything seems brighter. how can it not when julian's smiles seem more important now, more precious, considering what he's been through? "oh, me neither!" brows furrowing, he dials back the excitement, acknowledging it's not exactly a happy commonality to have. "i think it's in november . . . so i go with that. november 22nd. one one two two, isn't it nice?" when julian thanks him, he hums softly, not realizing it's one of the songs julian showed him that rainy night they were in his room, thinking he might not have asked anyone else. he only thought of asking julian. "you don't have to lie to me," he laughs, looking at the tent and tentatively reaching out. "i'm worried it'll fall down if i go inside so i waited out here." he's sorta joking. looking back to julian, gaze falling to catch the open hand, chase doesn't wait for confirmation that it's an invitation and takes it anyway, squeezing julian's palm like a heartbeat. ba dum. ba dum. "the sky looked so pretty earlier. there wasn't enough time to catch the sunset but . . . there was for the stars." 

JN: At the exclamation, he turns to look at the other with some sense of anticipation. But as his brows knit, he thinks they're having the same thought. It's bittersweet not to know the very day you're born on. The day one would otherwise be celebrated on, and he would absolutely love to celebrate Chase. Humming along to that exact information, there's a bit of comfort in how they're a month apart. "We picked the same number. Twenty-two. That's something to be happy about." Though he doesn't have the same bout of excitement as Chase had just previously, he holds onto the wolf's hand a bit tighter at it. He proceeds to soothe his thumb over fingers that have known so much more than he can remember, and he'll be more than honored to hold them for longer. "I think it's great, you even made it yourself." He pushes himself backwards to get into the vicinity of the tent for emphasis. Sure, he's scared it'll fall apart, but he'll be the first to help Chase put it back together and make it more structurally sound. Like the words of Athena, maybe its foundation is stronger in some places. "I don't lie. You can count on me not to lie." He says with a grin as he pulls Chase along with him. "We'll watch the stars. Then tomorrow, we can watch the sunrise together. In here." He delves further into the comforts of the tent, adorned with all the necessities already, it seems. "You're so prepared." 

CH: his expression dimming for only a few seconds, his smile regains strength and grows again, nurtured by julian's words, by his presence too. "it's because you and i, we match well, don't we? oh— there's a song like that too, right? with twenty-two?" brows furrowing slightly, he laughs when the lyrics come to mind, scratching the back of his head as he tilts his head, tongue poking the corner of his mouth. "ah, that's about feeling twenty-two. wait, right now, we both are!" another reason to be happy is easily found and he sings, squeezing julian's hand. 

i don't know about you but i'm feeling twenty-two  everything will be alright, if you keep me next to you 

 "if i played it right now, would you dance around with me?" chase chuckles, inhaling deeply at how gentle julian's touch is. on second thought— he'd much rather lay around and talk, revel in how holding julian's hand is an honor not many get. his brows shoot up when julian starts to move towards the tent and he's reaching out with his other hand, lips parted to tell him to wait but everything seems alright. the song's more relevant than he could expect. following julian's lead, he falls forward once in the tent, holding himself up with one hand above the lota and smiling, eyes searching julian's with a grin. "the sunrise? sounds beautiful. you have a lot of faith in my tent-building skills to stay in here, that makes me really happy." rolling onto his back, he reaches over for one of the snacks, glad it's a bag of gummy bears. not the healthiest but still a classic. "i was hoping you'd stay." 

JN: Following a conversation is one thing, but following a train of thought is quite another. He thinks he'd get a better grasp of it if he just stays quiet and listens, process it on his own time. Fortunately, Chase ends up singing what he's thinking about and like a puzzle, the thought pieces fall into place. An automatic smile, something that happens more often than not whenever he looks at Chase, plays on his lips. Then, before he can even make a comment on the song itself, completely unknown to him, amidst his giggling, asking for a dance is certainly a surprise. Though his brows raise, he happily nods in agreement. "Yeah. Do you really have the song on your phone?" 

Lying next to the omega is nothing short of a pleasure. He'll sleep alone every night without much of an issue, but it's rather warm and nice to have the company of another—particularly one he's grown so fond of. "Then we have all night together. Are we sharing a blanket?" He continues to hold Chase's hand while his other rests aimlessly on his stomach. His eyes light up at the sight of gummy bars, hurried to make grabby hands at it. Julian would argue that he would favor any sort of sweet, and maybe a few savory ones, but there's no denying that he loves this the most. "I'll stay wherever you are. I want to." 

CH: "we can if you don't mind but i brought a few blankets," he grins, turning on his side and looking to julian, wondering when even the smallest of things started to give rise to butterflies in his stomach, encouraging them to flutter around as he stares. fingers squeezing julian's, he laughs as he hands over the bag of gummies, leaning closer to rest his chin against julian's chest, his own leaning against the lota's arm as chase half-lays on them. "i'll stay wherever you are too," he grins, warmth spreading from his cheeks down the nape of his neck, taking hold in his chest. "especially if you feed me gummies." he lets go of julian's hand to settle more comfortably in place, scooting closer despite the summer heat still lingering from the day. "if we stay in here, i might fall asleep on you again," chase grins, thinking back to that night in his room. it'd be harder to see the stars like this too, from inside the tent, no matter how comfortable he is already. "but that's not bad either..." blinking languidly, his smile grows as a song comes to mind, an artist that julian said he likes and he shifts again, leaning up and in til his forehead rests against theirs, forgetting his request as he sings, "i wanna sleep next to you, but that's all i wanna do right now." 

JN: Popping the bag open, the gummies stay where they are. They're all stuck together inside anyway. If he presses them together, he knows it'll end up becoming a big ball of it that's sort of hard to bite on in his experience. Nevertheless, he's quick to pry a few off and feed himself. Then he goes in for another just to feed Chase. He's rarely this close with anybody, and likely never with someone resting on him, but he thinks Chase has earned that ability not too long ago. He'll never forget it either. An afternoon that started off sleepy and aimless progressed into something fun and colorful, and then something anxiety-inducing but comfortable the more he was assured. To have that sort of trust with someone if quite another feeling. So when he feeds Chase gummies, barely registering that he was told that, too, his cheeks flush and he has to stare at the roof of the tent as he checks himself, breathes himself back into sanity. "Then I'd like to stay in here with you." He's quick to reply, and even quicker to hold onto Chase with more fervor. It's emphasis, he thinks, that touch is okay and even encouraged. At least with Chase. Julian blinks back his surprise when he's abruptly met with pretty eyes and a pretty voice. The song is instantly recognized and, though he knows he doesn't sound nearly as good as Chase ever, the following lyrics come out of him. "So come over now and talk me down." As soon as it does, he beats the embarrassment that Chase would have sung it with him down, that their close proximity to one another was on purpose. And that purpose lies in the kiss he manages, without thought and without filter, as his lips press against Chase's with more eagerness than he himself knew to have. 

CH: there's a lingering temptation to do more. always to do more. when julian is this close, when his hand is practically in front of chase's mouth, when they're not even a foot apart, mere inches of distance that don't have to exist when it comes down to it. barriers tested and crossed, he leans more into julian, almost light-headed when julian says he wants to stay. it's his secret mantra when he wants to hold onto someone. he wants to stay, wants to find someone who will stay with him. a home. one with real love, not a fetish or some experimentation because of the supposed thrill gossiped about within social circles. it's how they find him. well, how they used to find him but he doesn't want that anymore. he doesn't want to be found by anyone else in this moment. no, that's it it either. he's already been found. 

is he wrong to think that? to believe that? but julian sings before he can, words mouthed along to and he would continue the song, knows julian compliments his singing, loves the praise when it comes and the way he's looked at, but warmth finds his lips first, filling him with more than he can handle. surprise, hope, a greed to hold on and one that he swears is matched in the way julian kisses him. why didn't he do this sooner? but it's so rewarding to have it done first, to find consent in that way. a gasp is forgotten as he gives into a small moan, the hand above julian's shoulder holding him up losing strength the more he deepens the kiss. 

JN: Though his eyes remain closed, and he thinks it makes sense to do that, he still wants to see this for himself. He wants to somehow capture however they look like in this moment, within this kiss, into a drawing or better yet, a painting. It's okay, though, he reassures himself when Chase deepens the kiss, because he could still paint the way Chase looked just before. Julian's fingers intertwine in both Chase's own and his shirt. Having never done this before, yet being so eager to do it with Chase doesn't slip his consciousness, wanting to keep the wolf there with him for longer. However, he doesn't know how long these are supposed to last either. What's appropriate? Does a kiss include tongue, too? Isn't that something else? It's when he's in need of air that he pulls away, scrunching his eyes together as he gasps for breath. "We might need to... Practice that more." He quirks his lips into a smile, quickly pecking those very lips. "You taste sweet." He's a little lightheaded, but he feels evermore willing to hold the wolf close, even closer. Wrapping his arms around Chase's middle, it's certainly a different way to hug someone. Is this also considered cuddling? 

CH: when julian's fingers lace with his, the melody of the song floods his mind and he finds traces of julian between each note. how to hear a song like this and not think of right now, of this very moment? if you don't mind, i'll walk that line. just when he thought it couldn't be any sweeter, julian says something so endearing that chase feels his heart skipping rather than racing, finally finding its pace to the rhythm of the song in his mind as it becomes steady, comfortable, tamed by how cute julian is, by how his compliment makes his cheeks burn red. i wanna come home to you. is that what this feeling is too? eyes still widened by the peck to his lips, he relaxes even more once julian holds him closer, tighter. fingers that laced with his now pulling at his heartstrings instead, a song only heard between them in this tent as he settles in, settles down, rests his weight against julian's, leg slipping between theirs. "is it just practice?" or is it for real, he doesn't ask right away, only staring at julian with a smile, shifting atop of him more to gently knock his forehead against theirs and he finally says it, "what if i want to do it for real? can i kiss you anytime?"

[magic5ball]

Nature Trail to Hell Arc III: The Blood Curse of Tako Shak (7)

Chapter 7: Tako Shak Part III: The Shak is Whack

           It was a Sunday when it happened. At least, I think it was a Sunday. Tako Shak, at least the back part, seemed to exist in its’ own little time bubble apart from the rest of the universe. Even Father Time has to wait in line for his extra churro sauce, it seemed. Say what you will about the Shak, it is a jerk to everyone and everything equally and indiscriminately. But really, we all know you’d come back for that five takos for $5 deal. Everyone does.

           ANYWAY as my soul was being grinded away by monotiny I started dreaming my fairy Godmother would come, turn a Tako into a carriage, and take me away from the stupid place forever. ‘Course, with the Blood Curse and all, I couldn’t step ten feet out of the restaurant without getting the sensation of ten thousand cattle prods burning into my skin. So steel wool in hand, I scrubbed that stupid floor until I could see my reflection it, took customer orders so fast I gave out change for guys who wouldn’t be arriving until next week, washed the dishes so spotless I could have sold them as diamonds, and several other things that by all means should have killed me from exhaustion. But I could not die, because I was still bound to the stupid Blood Curse. All the while, I found myself singing the old camp songs, having finally found something that made them look darn near like heaven by comparison. Also took my mind off my Mom, who would probably be none too pleased her firstborn ran off to join the fryboy life. Better than being a gangster, I guess, but still, I wished SOMETHING would happen. And you know what they say about being careful what you wish for…

I was mopping the back, on account of a fry spill while Howard handled the front. Knowing he liked to slack off, I peeked through the door splitting the front of the store from the back, just in time to see an all too familiar face cross those automatic sliding doors.

“Bienvenido from Tako Shak, Senor!” Howard greeted with a voice so deadpan it practically lurched out of his mouth. “What can I get for you today, Mr…”

“Silverstein. My name is Shel. Shel Motherf*cking Silverstein.”

Then Howard did the worst thing of all: He breached company protocol and started chatting with the customer! With fifty people behind him in line!

“Oh! Famous guy! So, Mr. Silverstein, what brings you to our humble little tako town?”

From behind the door, I saw the bald man glower, eyes dark as coals in his face.

“Demotion, that’s what! There’s this dumb kid I sent to the Underworld, but NOW, he’s escaped.”

“So what’s the big dealio? Guys escape Hell all the time.”

“Because that’s my job as a seraph: leading souls to the afterlife. But now that I BOTCHED that, the Angelic Council has decided it’s my responsibility to track him down since I sent him there!”

Despite it being over a hundred degrees in the back, a slight shiver ran down my spine.

“And until I do, I’ve been demoted from Seraph to Magical Girl! MAGICAL GIRL!” He turned his head skyward “Do you forks not know who I am?! I’m Shel Motherf*cking’ Silverstein, and I will reclaim my rightful place as a seraph!”

As if my day couldn’t get any worse, Howard just had to drop this line:

“So who is this fugitive, anyway? I’m all ears.”

“Some punk kid named Wuterdon or Watson or something. ‘Bout this high.” He held his palm flat beside his body, he around exactly what my height.

My mind began racing with a single thought: Please don’t tell please don’t tell please don’t tell…

“As a matter of fact, I think I do know a kid like that.”

F**k you, Howard. 

For a moment I considering throwing myself in the deep fryer. Might be less painful than being dragged back to the Underworld.

“-But that costs 50 cents extra. Would you still like to add that information to your order, sir?”

Silverstein wasted no time slamming two shiny silver quarters on the counter.

“Okay. He has black hair.”

The great poet stared, realizing just what a bad purchase he made.

“What?! But I thought-“

“Listen Mr. If you want to get good info, you have to pay for good info.”

Silverstein slid a $500 dollar Canadian Nickel down the counter.

Howard lifted a hand to his chin, grinning all smug-like. “I dunno… If you want the real good stuff…”

It was then I caught on the Howard’s game. There was a rumor among us Tako boys that if you managed to make an order of over $10,000 and became employee of the month, you would get you freedom. And dour as Howard was, it looked as if he was holding onto a glimmer of that hope after all. At the moment though, as a shouting bargaining broke out between Howard and the customer, I didn’t know if whether to call him a low lying snitch or my savior. Either way, I snuck back to do dishes, so full of despair I’d started singing camp sham  songs. Forking Camp Sham songs!

At least, until someone nabbed my shoulder.

“Hey, nice singing. Did you attend Camp Sham, by any chance?” Whoever was holding me, they had a smug, cheeky tone that could only be the Manager’s.

Steadily, I looked behind me, expecting to face my doom. What I saw instead was a familiar face. Sure, he was now wearing a blonde wig and three piece suit with a tag labeled ‘Manager’, but his face was unmistakable.

“Freddie the Ferret?!” I said.

“Watterson?” He answered back.

“HOLY CRAP!” We cried together, followed by “How’ve you been?!”

           We struck up conversation real quick after that, me having to take the occasional break to make sure the dishes in the sink got cleaned. (We might have been old acquaintances, but he was my boss, after all.) Basically, I told him everything I’ve written until now between him giving me bits of survival advice (“Don’t just throw knifes in the sink, kid, you’ll scratch your hand and it will hurt, really, really bad. Most painful thing in America.”) By the time I’d finished, Howard was still trying to squeeze more money out of Silverstein.

           As for old Freds, it turned out he really DID flee to the butterfly farm and didn’t, y’know, die. And while he was there…

“I struck this oil deposit. A big one. We’re talking YUGE! I had the whole place paved over and employed all the butterflies. Made the most profitable oil rig in the state. We made so much money and created so many jobs. It was great, you should have seen it. Truly, amazing.”

He sold the rig for a tidy trillion dollar profit and from there, it was just a hop, skip, and jump to becoming the district manager of Tako Shak. Of course, being manager wasn’t all perks. For some reason, he now had a weird obsession with firing people and wearing crappy blonde wigs.

“So, have you been to camp recently?” I asked.

“Yeah. Hilda turned it into a Siberian Gulag.”

Around me, time seemed to freeze as I processed what Freddie had just said.

“What?”

“Hilda turned the camp into a SIBERIAN GULAG. I don’t know what’s so hard to understand. I said it smartly, like a smart ferret. Which I am. Smartest Ferret in America.”

“She WHAT?!”

Once I’d taken a good half hour to cool my jets, Freddie explained in more detail.

“Alright kid, this is gonna sound crazy, but you know all that stuff Hilds said about freeing the camp? That was what the people in my business call a fact: something that’s only half true. See, she wanted to free the camp… but only so she could take it over and rule it with an iron fist! Really powerful, dignified stuff. That involved her Dad or something. Very interesting. . .You should ask her yourself sometime.”

“Show me.” I demanded. Something had stabbed me in the heart, but not the killer death sort. No, this stab had sent a life, a burning passion inta me I hadn’t felt since getting to the final boss in Super Luigi Bros. II.

The ferret shrugged. “Watt, I’m contractually obligated to only tell you half-truths at most, but if you insist….”

He pulled out his wallet. Opening it, a ladder of pictures tumbled out, depicting such scenes of inhuman horror that it had not been for my rigorous training at Tako Shak, most likely would have driven me mad. Also made me throw up a bit in my mouth.

Freddie looked at the photos “Well shoot! Those aren’t photos of csmp! Those are of my Aunt Carol’s 4th of July party! Word to the wise kid: never put more than four ferrets in the same place or things go downhill real fast. Terrible, not good, very bad things happen then.” He fished out more photos from the wallet (which I was starting to suspect he didn’t actually keep money in). “Here’s the Camp photos.”

Even though the photos showed scenes of gaunt, hollow eyed kids laboring away at some sort of quarry while soot covered their backs, even though these kids were shown so beaten down they no longer had tears to cry over their sawdust-loaf breakfasts, I’d been so broken down by the things I saw at the Shak the most emotion I could muster was a single, passive

“Huh.”

            Because as far as I was concerned, camp really wasn’t much worse than when I left. But beneath the dark, grey canyons of despair, beneath the cabins, completely gutted to create firewood to burn those who misbehaved, there was a picture of me, or to be more specific, my sleeping body, stuck in a case like Snow White waiting for her prince. Despite there being a guardrail, Freddie was leading his shoulder on the case, mugging the camera so hard I wouldn’t have been surprised if it gave him all its money.

“But wha-? How?! I’m right here!” I cried, too shocked to form proper sentences.

Freddie waggled a finger at me. “Correction: That’s your body. Right now, you’re not really in Pennsylvania. At least, not totally. See, this right here is limbo, where all the ghosts and elves and stuff live. The fact you can see me in my true form is proof of that you are at least as dead as my rap career. Which, by the way, was a great rap career. Really fantastic!”

“And why am I in Limbo?”

“Because you died, you moron!”

I thought back to that time I ate the millipede in the woods. Yeah, that made sense.  Sorta. 

“So, what exactly is Hilda doing with my body?” For some reason, I did not like having someone else having control over my body like that.

“Oh, you’re just the founder of Communism.”

Communism. That word echoed around my head like a stone falling into a well.

Communism.

See, it might not seem it, but my Mom had raised me well. And the most important thing she ever taught me was

“Sweetie, no matter what you do, I will always love you. Unless you turn out to be a commie, then we are no longer related.” It was a lesson that stuck with me to this day. And with that, the latent passion within me erupted into a furious desire to get my body back.

“I need to get fired.”

The ferret looked at me all funny like for a second before realizing what I was saying.

“Look kid, if you’re thinking of escaping, its’ NEVER going to happen. You’re a valuable employee. And by that I mean I’ve seen seagull poop worth more than you, but that just means we can pay you whatever we want! It’s a great, wonderful, absolutely terrific deal that works out for everyone!”

“You can do that?”

“Of course, you moron! The Blood Curse exempts you from every child labor law in this universe and the next five dimensions!” He pulled my contract from his furry little pocket, pointing to a sentence written in text so small you’d need a military-grade microscope to see it.

At the counter, I could hear, Howard get Silverstein up to $9,500, and I wasn’t exactly eager to find out what that old poet was going to do once he got his hands on me. Still, there was one last, desperate gambit I could make, one that, if I was lucky, would save my skin. I breathed in slow, like the school guidance counselor taught me. If there was ever a time where I could sink or swim, this was it.

“But Freddie. You have to fire me! For YOUR sake!”

The ferret’s ears perked up at this. Looked serious. “Explain.”

I pointed to the front. “See that guy in front of all those angry customers? That’s Shel Silverstein-“

“Well, of course it’s Shel Silverstein! I can see that with my two, good, very good eyes. Absolutely incredible. What they are seeing. Right now.”

“Not the point! The point is, I’ve escaped from Hell, he’s looking for me, and if I’m found out, he’ll put you in deep, deep, trouble!”

Freddie smiled (more like a ‘u’ shaped slit in his face, really). “But why don’t I just hand you in, then? I could get famous for turning in a criminal. The publicity would be good. Very good.”

His smug grin made me nervous, yet my mind was now racing at a million miles per hour. It was to late to stop now. “And the publicity would be good HOW?! Think about it, dinkleburg! If he finds me, it’ll be proof Tako Shak was keeping a refugee. And if THAT happens, you’ll be fired by you bosses for making a scandal!”

The U on Freddie’s face flipped right upside down. “Y-you’re bluffing! They can’t fire me! I’m a very, very, valuable manager!”

The tables were turning. Now it was my turn to grin. “Face it, Fred! Everyone here is a cog in the Great Tako Masheen! There’s probably a billion ferrets who were possessed by demons out there who could do your job just as good, if not better!”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh yes I would! And if I get caught, I’ll even tell the news you were employing ACTUAL MEXICANS!”

The little fuzzball finally kneeled in defeat. “I’ll never be able to go home to my mansion if that happens! Okay! You win! JUST! LEAVE!”

“But I can’t! I still have the Blood Curse keeping me here.”

Trembling, Freddie took the contract and ripped it into a million pieces. I don’t know what my blood experienced in that paper, but whatever it was made it jump right back through my finger into my vein.

Freddie pointed his index finger at me, all dramatic-like.

“Watterson Tostig, YOU. ARE. FIRRREEEDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!” right as Howard had gotten old Shel up to a $9,999 dollars.

With one powerful kick (ferrets can kick pretty darn hard!) he punted me like Charlie Brown would have punted that football, right through the ceiling on that fastfood hellhole and into the wild blue skies of the PA countryside. I shot up like a rocket, at least half a million mosquitoes smearing themselves against my face before I reached the peak of my flight. For a few tranquil seconds I floated in the air so high I saw the peak of Mount Davis, the highest mountain in the state. As far as I could see in every direction, there was nothing but forests, while a red-tailed hawk soared below. It was the most peaceful thing I’d ever experienced.

At least until I realized that cheapskate Freddie had forgotten to give me my last check! The dirty rotten cheapskate!

And, you know, freefalling from thousands of feet in the air. That tends to put a damper on your day.

                     Part III: The Blood Curse of Tako Shak: End

[mllemusketeer]

The Paper That Made Everyone Hate Me

Hey you guys asked me for this backstory for the self-insert verse, so here it is. I am going to HAVE to post this on Ao3. It’s getting too giant to do otherwise. 

Okay. So I’ve had a bunch of curious requests about what the hell I wrote in a paper that pissed both Megatron and Ratchet off. The short of it is that it’s a long story. The long of it is this:

In grad school (at least in the sciences), you don’t pay the school. Often, the school should pay you. Now, with the economy fucked up, often it doesn’t quite work this way, but for PhD students like me, it usually still works like this. Mind you, your actual wages put you well below the poverty line, but usually you can sorta make it work.

The standard arrangement for this is that you work for the school on a part-time appointment either in research or teaching. The school passes itself a check for your tuition and health insurance and assorted lovelies, and then passes you a considerably smaller check with which you are supposed to somehow make rent and feed yourself. Research happens every so often; far more common is getting a position as a teaching assistant, or TA, for a class. Being a TA often sucks; you do all the shit the professor doesn’t want to do, which is largely being the intermediary in the merry war the professor and the students perpetually wage over what should constitute sufficient effort to earn a passing grade. You have (often, though I’ve worked with far better profs who do involve their TAs in class design/decision making) limited ability to affect policy, but if anything goes really wrong with your class, it’s your fault. Also, they will jack your teaching load up as far as they possibly can between semesters, and god help you if you attend an institution at which the TAs aren’t unionized. You will be screwed.

But it pays tuition.

An extra god help you if you get the morning labs.

Which I do.

7:30 am, to be exact. Three of ‘em.

GAH.

Anyway, so it was the fall semester before the Paper That Made Everyone Hate Me. I was teaching a lab class. It was August. It was fucking hot, interspersed with thunderstorms, and for the gritty icing on the shit cake, dust storms too, which are like thunderstorms if you replace the entire rain thing with horrible blowing dust. The light outside can go from sunny midday to I-think-I-saw-this-in-Interstellar brown in about 5 minutes, which is as much time as you have to dive undercover after you get the weather service alert to when the storm hits. They’re gross. But I digress. The point is, August around here is the armpit of the year.

There had been some confusion with the rosters of my three classes. This one student had apparently been repeatedly misplaced. They didn’t wind up in my lab, but had been listed there for a few hours while this was awkwardly sorted out. I went ‘meh’, because it wasn’t my fault, and I couldn’t do anything about it, and I didn’t particularly care whether or not the dude was in my lab, not if I didn’t know anything about them. Turns out I should have paid attention.

Motto of my life, really.

Anyway, there was this field trip. It was on a weekend. It involved the TAs driving those godawful 15-seat vans that handle like bricks as we took the kids to the botanical gardens (yes, if you are in college, chances are your TAs call you ‘the kids’ behind your backs. They learn it from the professors. Besides, it reassures that one TA you’re inevitably older than. Yes, you’re probably older than at least one of your TAs. Secret lives and all that, right?) and prayed not to die in the like, five mile trip, because have I mentioned those things drive like bricks?

So there I was, driving a white van with the University’s logo stamped all over it, glad at least the damn thing had government plates so I couldn’t be pulled over for rank incompetence, while also praying that said rank incompetence wouldn’t kill everyone in the van, when a giant robot swept down out of a clear blue sky and kidnapped the entire van.

It’s a good thing I’m a real asshole about making everyone buckle up.

There were screams. I just sort of clutched the wheel, yelled at everyone to stay calm and in their seats. AS IF. I felt like an idiot even as I said it; this was not a situation it was easy to stay calm in—but there’d be fewer broken bones from being flung around if seatbelts were in play, and the ground was already far enough away that jumping had become a very terminal option.

I had just finished signing all the forms, waivers, ect to conduct research at NEST. This included a will. I’d fucking laughed at the thing when I’d turned it in. I was a bioethicist! Bioethics wasn’t exactly risky. Definition of ivory tower, really, and this according to academic researchers. I mean, really. But I signed all the forms, all the waivers, and even drew up the will with a certain amount of amusement. After all, one could always get hit by a bus while crossing the street. A will wasn’t the worst thing to have on hand to fairly distribute my pitiful savings. I didn’t even have a dog at that point.

Now, that will was suddenly very relevant.

Because, if my memory served, the purple and black robot carrying us was probably a member of the Decepticon command trine and we were—

VWOP

—boned. A note for the unexperienced; Skywarp’s teleport ability sucks when you’re a passenger.

We were so fucked. We were so so so fucked. I spent a moment in an agony of guilt over the fact my research project had doomed my students to an early grave. For fuck’s sake, I’d only just had the protocols approved! I didn’t know interviewing Autobots about similarities and differences in patient autonomy would be dangerous! I’d thought my worst problem would be Ratchet, who abruptly seemed like the sweetest, fuzziest person ever, and I’d never even met him. I was interviewing his staff, after all, not him, because he was too damn busy.

I should mention here again that I was very small fry indeed at NEST at that point.

I really, really hoped I’d be seeing Optimus Prime somewhere. Any minute now.

About then, Skywarp dropped us, none too gently. Thank god the van stayed upright, but there was some serious screaming and this time I joined in. If I survived, I thought, clinging to the wheel like it was my best friend, I would have to be surgically removed from this steering wheel, because I was never letting go.

Which was when I realized we were on the ground again, and had a functional van. I slammed the accelerator—

—and a claw came down and punched through the engine like it was a slice of bread. Not Skywarp’s. So much for that. Before I could decide what to do next, the roof of the van rolled up like the lid of a tin of sardines with a horrible noise of splintering plastic and screeching metal and I was looking up at Megatron.

There were many more intelligent things I could have said.

There were even more profane things I could have said.

What I actually said was a very small, “Oh dear.”

Megatron stared at us for several long seconds.

Then, “Skywarp! The boy is not here!”

And fixed a glare on me.

What I should have said was, “Due to FERPA, I cannot disclose the presence or absence of any student in this class.”

What I actually said was, “Um. There was a problem with the rosters, I guess?” because I was not about to die for the fucking Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Whoever the hell Megatron was after was probably well away by now, protected by Autobots. I wasn’t putting them at risk, probably. It wasn’t like any other vans had been nabbed. My immediate problem was not dying and keeping my students alive, and I was hoping those goals would be achieved at the same time.

Look, if I were a really good TA, I’d be able to tell you what my students were doing—if there was any terrified crying or whimpering or if some dude in the back was making paper airplanes to bounce off Megatron’s nose but to be entirely honest, I had no idea. Because I was occupied with one thought, and that thought was that I had to keep Megatron talking. Talking meant no mashing into a paste, right?

“Humans,” said Megatron, absolutely disgusted.

“Yeah the computer system is terrible,” I said, which made him give me a very surprised look indeed. I think he may have expected me to sit there and wait for death, but like my grandmother before me, I am incapable of keeping my mouth shut. “No one knows how to use it.”

He stared at me, then at Skywarp. “Get him,” he snarled, and Skywarp took off, leaving me with about a dozen Decepticons and a very grumpy looking Megatron and a bunch of terrified students.

Hold up, you may be saying. Hold the fuck up right there, Mlle, I do not for a minute believe the universe is so fundamentally careless that you of all people would get kidnapped by Decepticons, why on Earth would they go for your van, and really the best I can offer as a response is Jazz’s after-action reconstruction of events. Which runs so:

There was an epic roster fuckup, and a certain college-age associate of the Autobots  was placed in my section for about six hours. This happened to be a period within which Soundwave hacked the university’s database to see if they could kidnap said associate. Therefore, my name and roster photo were associated with that person, and the general conclusion was that if they nabbed my class, they’d nab the person they were looking for. They got into the syllabus too (making Soundwave officially better informed about the course than many of its participants) and saw there was a scheduled field trip. So Skywarp was instructed to nab the van I was driving.

Leading to what was Officially The Worst Lab I Had Ever Taught.

Megatron was still eyeballing me.

Which gave me the opportunity to do something truly outrageous.

“So,” I said, and unbuckled my seatbelt, then stood on the seat to try and feel a little less short, “It’s a delight to meet you.”

These were words that Megatron in all probability had never heard from a human before. He smirked. That kind of bearings on a human, Jazz later told me, was something Megatron would at least pause for. He was damn well aware of what he seemed like, damn well aware any sensible human would be utterly terrified, and fully aware that the various beings he’d killed over his long, long lifetime were more than capable of this kind of courage. He’d killed them anyway, in service of his Cause.

When Jazz told me that later on, I all but crapped myself all over again, because at the time I read that smirk as a sign that me being stupid ballsy had bounced the van from the category of things that were going to get smashed and killed into one that involved maybe not getting smashed and killed. Maybe earning the respect of the bad guys so they’d let us go. It was a long shot. The long and short of it was that it encouraged me and I grinned back at him and said, “I’m a grad student studying bioethics. I’m fascinated by Decepticon philosophy. Would you be willing to expound on that? I have forms here detailing exactly how I’d use any information you give me, so you are fully informed of the implications, and I’d be delighted with any information you’d care to share!”

You know, even with all the oh shit surrounding the whole ‘kidnapped by Decepticons’ thing, I still think my best achievement of that day wasn’t surviving, but the fact that I actually did talk Megatron into signing the consent forms for my interviews. He read them all, too. I was really glad I’d spent hours refining them. Really, really glad. He asked more questions than the lawyer on my committee did.

But he agreed.

And it turns out, once you get Megatron monologuing? You’re all set. I set up the recorder, pulled out a notebook, and glanced over my shoulder at the students. They all had brought lunches for the botanical garden tour, so we were probably good for about six hours. Bathroom breaks, though… I hoped we wouldn’t have to deal with that.

I didn’t dare do much more than glance at them. If Megatron thought I wasn’t listening—well, I didn’t want to find out. So I sat there and took notes and recorded and asked questions. Megatron monologued. I got a lot of useless military philosophy, but I did get him onto bioethical topics eventually.

The most important of which was patient autonomy.

Which he was surprisingly vehement about. Apparently, a wounded Decepticon has every right to refuse treatment. The philosophy seemed to be if they’re idiots and die, so be it. It’s their right and means one less idiot taking up resources. (Decepticon bioethics, however, seem to place allowing oneself to be subject to experimentation in a different category, as a duty. Decepticon bioethics are weird, but I found this out much, much later.) It was unclear whether this was the result of resource scarcity or was a true philosophy not dictated by necessity, but I wrote it all down anyway.

So I wrote and listened and recorded and shook out my cramping hands and made all the right noises, particularly when Megatron got onto the subject of memory surgery (about which he was oddly vehement) and in short got a spectacular interview right up until Optimus Prime FINALLY fucking showed up and punched my interview subject in the face.

At which I grabbed notebook, recorder, and instructed my students to evacuate the van and fucking hide.

We got carried out of there in the hands of several Autobots, including Ironhide and Bumblebee and Ratchet, and my students were surprisingly happy with me, given that I’d spent the last several hours interviewing the guy who’d taken us hostage, and ignoring them completely. I had a short period sort of in the limelight, but not very long because it didn’t make an amazing story, really, and then a lot of therapy. Rollercoasters are right out for me, forever. A little too Skywarp-esque.

Anyway, after a while I went back and conducted my interviews with the Autobot medical staff and found some very interesting things, namely that Autobots do not actually place strong emphasis on patient autonomy when it comes to refusing necessary medical treatment. Ratchet will hunt you down. This was surprisingly consistent.

So I sat down with this information and the human bioethical literature regarding these things and wrote a paper in which I made three points that made everyone hate me:

1.) Human concepts of autonomy in patient choice to seek treatment and Decepticon concepts are fairly similar, with Decepticon concepts being somewhat more liberal.

2.) Autobot autonomy in patient choice to seek treatment is significantly reduced when compared to human and Decepticon standards.

3.) While Autobot and human ethical standards surrounding consent to experimentation are very similar, and Decepticon standards lag far behind, the attitudes behind whether a patient is obliged to seek treatment influence a far more frequent occurrence at this stage in the war, and are an interesting indication of convergent values in two opposed factions (humans and Decepticons). This is influenced by Cybertronian history as briefly outlined in the introduction.

Literally no one liked this.

Ratchet hated it because it compared Autobot ethical mores to Decepticon, and the Autobots came out as less respectful of personal autonomy, which was probably his fault as CMO.

Humans hated it because apparently “with Decepticon concepts being somewhat more liberal” constituted an insult. How dare I compare them unfavorably to aliens. How dare.

And Megatron?

Megatron hated the implication that humans and Decepticons were in any way morally similar.

It was a tiny paper. Teensy tiny. Ringed round with disclaimers that this was comparing one eensy bit of human bioethics and Decepticon cultural expectations, that in no way was I expanding the observations to other parts of Decepticon activity (I did get KIDNAPPED while researching this guys, I do not have warm fuzzys for the cons, thanks) but everyone skipped right over that and flipped their shit.

Got me grant funding though.