#or technically two true stories smushed into one

[aluminumneedles]

I'm knitting in the corner at a party

and guys my age stop by to tell me I remind them of their aunt, of their grandmother. This is a compliment and I take it as such. They confess to having tried crochet once, and I smile. They get back in line for the bathroom.

I'm knitting in the corner at a party and a queer woman sits on the floor next to me, arranges her skirt, and smiles up at me. (I try not to blush.) She asks me all the questions on her mind about my craft and I answer them, hands still moving. We swap yarn sources. She doesn't stay, but she knows where to find me.

I'm knitting in the corner at a party and everyone knows where to find me when they need a minute, when socializing is too much and the music is too loud and they need to catch their breath. They pretend to be checking in on me, which is sweet, but I can see the relief in their eyes the moment they stop performing for a house full of people. They sit down and tell me things and all the while they never take their eyes off my hands.

The party has wound down and I'm still knitting and the hosts, two guys in their twenties, thank me for "helping to curate the vibe." I had no idea that's what I was doing. I leave the party having forgotten to drink anything and without that woman's number but with many rows added to my top-down raglan sweater. I call it a night, and a good one.

[fawnandshadows]

i miss you, i’m sorry

word count: 23k

rating: m

AO3

warnings: language, sexual content

[a small warning before you read, the i’m sorry duology follows the story of two heartbroken, imperfect lovers and contains sensitive topics such as infidelity and mental health. The following story explores the questions “How long are we supposed to wait for someone who can’t love themselves?” and “How much damage are we supposed to absorb on behalf of those we love?”]

… Do you remember happy together? I do, don’t you? 

Then all of a sudden, you’re sick to your stomach. Is that still true?

The blaring, crashing sound of the city was happening all around her, pure background noise as her heart crumbled to dust in her chest. Feyre, to her credit, had no idea what she was doing as she showed Elain pictures of Azriel’s fiance. A lovely redhead. Who probably had a lovely personality to match her lovely face, and she probably hasn’t smashed Azriel’s lovely heart. 

They were supposed to be catching up over coffee – that was the plan. And yes, technically that was exactly what they were doing, but Elain didn’t think the two pictures of Nyx that Feyre had showed her were good enough compensation for the debilitating heartbreak her sister had unknowingly dealt out. Elain thought they’d just be catching up on gossip, but she didn’t anticipate being crushed to smithereens. 

A siren flew down the street and honk after honk after honk wasn’t enough to drown out the details Feyre was sharing with her. If anything she heard them with burning clarity. 

“Her name is Gwyn,” Feyre said, swiping to show yet another picture of Azriel wrapped around a petite redhead. It looked like they were standing on the beach and flaming hair was whipping in the wind against crystal blue skies. She was petite, not even reaching his chin, and she was standing on Azriel’s bare, sandy feet while his arms were wrapped around her from behind. His large hands flat against her stomach, and her tiny lily-white hand rested on his. Their smiles were wide and made Elain physically nauseous as she looked at it. “They met when she brought her car into Azriel’s shop, but she’s actually been friends with Nesta for like almost five years.”

 Feyre swiped again showing a group picture and twisting the knife in Elain’s heart even more. She recognized the location as Feyre and Rhysand’s back patio, a place she had made so many memories, and saw … everyone sitting around the table with drowsy, drunk smiles in the glow of a fire. They sat at one of those tables with a propane tank that allowed for an easy fire to start at the flick of a switch (Elain was with Rhysand when he bought it) and it was obvious Feyre had been the one to take the picture — her face was always front a center because she stood a little too close to the camera, Rhysand was right behind her, one hand placed on her shoulder and the other propping up his head as he smiled lazily at the camera. On the right side of the table were Nesta and Cassian, she was sitting on his lap wearing his sweatshirt, their eyes half closed. Even though most of the empty wine bottles were in front of them, Cassian had enough sense to put two bunny ears behind Nesta’s head. 

And right smack in the middle were Azriel and Gwyn. She was sitting in the same spot Elain used to sit in once upon a time — she wished she’d lost track of the years, but the last time Elain was sitting at the table with everyone was six years ago, just a few days before her high school graduation. Their sides were smushed together, Azriel had his arm around Gwyn’s slim shoulders as he smiled at the camera (not enough to show off his dimples), but if Elain had to guess he surprised her right before the flash went off. Instead of looking at the camera, Gwyn’s blue eyes were wide open and gazing up at Azriel, her mouth opened in a small ‘oh’. God – he was holding her so tightly. 

It felt like someone was squeezing her heart until it slipped out of a bloody hand and out of her body.

“She’s cute.” Elain forced out, taking a sip of her coffee. It had been delicious two minutes ago, but all of the flavor had been leached out of it. 

“And so nice,” Feyre gushed, swiping yet again and Elain wondered if it was possible for someone to get a finger sprain this way. “Look at what she did for Nyx’s birthday.” 

As if it couldn’t get any worse, even her nephew had betrayed her. Not that the child was aware of it, of course. But the picture on the screen hurt just as much as the others. It was obviously taken at Nyx’s last birthday, Elain could see her present (unopened) on the counter in the background, but Nyx and Gwyn were smiling at the camera proudly, showing off the lego dinosaur set that was definitely the present Gwyn had gotten him. 

“It took those two almost all day to put it together,” Feyre said, her tone was sweet but felt like acid on Elain’s skin, she swiped once again and Elain saw almost the exact same picture, but this time Azriel was standing behind them. His hands placed on the chair they were sitting in as he bent and smiled shyly at the camera. “Her and Azriel got Nyx like five lego sets. They’re still getting together to work on them.” 

Elain forced herself to take another swallow of coffee. Now tepid and somehow worse than before. 

Her bones felt brittle. 

“They look so happy.” 

Feyre nodded, thankfully putting her phone down, but not before jumping to pick it right back up again. 

“I almost forgot,” Feyre said, pulling up yet another picture that made Elain want to die. “The ring.” 

It was a stunningly beautiful ring, truly. A clear solitaire diamond, probably just around two carats. It was probably just as dazzling in real life as it was on Gwyn’s slender finger, the image grainy on the screen. It was on a band of gold (nothing like a ring he would have given Elain, knowing her preference for white gold) on Gwyn’s pale hand. A hand that was pressed firmly against Azriel’s chest, right above his heart. 

“It’s gorgeous,” Elain said, taking the phone from Feyre’s hand and zooming in because that’s what normal, un-heartbroken people did when seeing an engagement ring for the first time. “So elegant. Classic.” 

“Rhysand went shopping with Az to pick it out.” Yet another crack in her heart. 

Elain smiled at Feyre and said, “Rhysand always did have immaculate taste.” 

Feyre blushed and nodded her head, taking her phone back from her sister. 

“Anyway, nothing else that exciting has happened.” Feyre said, waving a hand in the air before taking a sip of her latte. 

“How long have they been together?” Elain asked, her voice unnaturally steady. 

A small wrinkle formed in Feyre’s nose as she thought. 

“Just under two years, I think,” Feyre said distantly, taking another sip of her latte. “They’re hoping to have the wedding in a year, you’ll be getting a save the date any day now. They’ve already started planning. But,” Feyre placed her phone face down and gave Elain a kind smile. “Talk to me about the restaurant! And living in the city! I’m so excited for dinner tonight.” 

Elain told her everything she wanted to hear. That working as a chef in New York City was everything she dreamed of. That the connections she made at culinary school were worth the debt it put her in because otherwise she never would have gotten her job at Petite Bonheur. That she loved working with Nuala and Cerridwen and how they were great roommates, just not as good as Feyre and Nesta. That she absolutely did not feel the teensy, tiniest bit alone in a big city.

… You said, "Forever, " in the end I fought it. Please be honest, are we better for it? 

Thought you'd hate me, but instead you called and said, "I miss you", I caught it …

The sound of students rushing in the hallways became background noise to Elain. The sound of lockers slamming and books banging around were nothing but static as she looked up at Azriel. They had their first date the night before, like officially. To anyone else it looked like they were studying in the library, and they were studying in the library, but nobody knew the way he had pressed his thigh into hers underneath the table or the way his pinky snuck around hers in between their textbooks. 

Her bare arm pressed into the cold metal of the lockers. She felt warm, overheated. And she was pretty sure it was because of the boy standing in front of her. He was busy playing jenga with the books in his locker and displaying his otherworldly, beautiful profile to her. A strong, sharp jaw. Messy dark hair that brushed over his eyes (Azriel was always running his fingers through it and tugging it in every direction). A straight nose that covered a small freckle directly to the left of his cupid's bow. Sharp, defined cheekbones that Elain wanted to kiss. Plush, full lips that Elain always found herself distracted by. 

“Hey.” Elain said softly, nudging his converse with her ballet flat. 

He turned his head to look down at her, a small smile turning up at his lips as he said, “Hey,” which caused her heart to skyrocket into her throat.  

“Thanks for driving me home last night.” Elain said, her fingers nervously tightening around her biology textbook, which she held across her chest like a shield. 

“I had fun.” 

He had stolen a kiss in the car. Her first kiss.

 They were parked outside of her house and Elain was rambling, unsure of what she was even saying, but not wanting their night to end. Azriel had kissed her right before she started her in-depth analysis of cake flour versus all purpose — one rough hand reached out and grasped her jaw before clumsily pulling her lips against his. 

It was awkward. Both of them leaning over the center console. Her seat belt digging into her tummy like it had a score to settle with her liver. But it was her first kiss, and it was with Azriel, so it was perfect. 

His lips were soft, so soft that she didn’t think a boy's lips would ever feel that way. 

She wasn’t sure what to do with her hands. They were still held awkwardly in the air, cupping nothing, from when she was talking, so she slowly brought one to Azriel’s firm chest and stuck the other straight down to prop herself up. 

His heart was beating frantically underneath her touch. The warmth of his body was radiating out from under his worn t-shirt. Her fingers ran delicately along the line of his collarbone, brushing against the little inch of skin that was exposed by the collar of his shirt which sent a small shiver racketing through him. Her hand traveled back to his chest, to where his heart was pounding violently in his chest. Because of her. Cool, calm Azriel. The fact that she affected him like this made her dizzy. 

Azriel pulled back slightly, the light from the dashboard illuminating his beautiful face in a blue light and showing off the thin trail of spit that connected their mouths. He swallowed and ran his tongue across his lips and took a heavy breath. His face was cast in high relief from the darkness in the car and Elain found herself stunned by his beauty. 

“You can,” Azriel said in a gruff voice, swallowing yet again. “You can kiss me back.” His cheeks were flushed pink.

A needle scratched on her heart. Thin and faint and piercing.

“I…I was kissing you back?” Elain said, her warm bubble bursting and leaving her slightly chilled. The magical moment between her and Azriel was suddenly swarmed with insecurity and doubt. Did she kiss him wrongly? She had been embracing and basking in the loveliness of the kiss and he had been critiquing her technique? 

The tip of his thumb moved across the bottom line of her lip. His dark hazel eyes looked at her mouth with intense interest and hunger. 

“Just move your lips with mine,” Azriel muttered, his thumb now dancing along the pad of her bottom lip, his fingernail against the seam of her mouth – and Elain didn’t think, she just parted her lips for him and his thumb fell through the keyhole in her mouth. Her tongue and teeth accidentally teasing his finger. “Fuck.” Azriel said before pulling his thumb out and smashing their lips together again. 

It wasn’t gentle or soft. She could feel the outline of his teeth in the kiss, gnashing against her lips. Elain followed the rhythm of his mouth, trying her best to match it, and when she felt confident enough she poked her tongue out to slide through his lips and against the ridges of his teeth. 

Out of breath, Azriel pulled back. His chest heaving as he collected himself. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to find words, but unable to speak. 

“I’d invite you inside for a coffee or something,” Elain said, her eyes flittering up to the porch light of her old Victorian house. “But you know how my parents are. They’d grill you and tonight has been perfect. I don’t want to ruin it.” Her parents had a strict no-kissing, no-dating, no-boys policy. Nesta had been flouting the rule since she learned how to walk — she even got sent home with a note in kindergarten because she had planted a kiss on Cassian instead of learning the alphabet. Feyre had a thing with an upperclassman, Rhysand, that her parents didn’t know about. This was the first time that Elain had ever dared to go outside of her parents' rules. 

The shrill sound of the school’s bell rang out through the hallway, forcing Elain to let go of memories of her first kiss. They were in the same algebra class, though Azriel was infinitely better with numbers than she was, so when she asked him to tutor her it didn’t exactly draw suspicion. Nesta looked at them curiously, but didn’t say anything. 

“Maybe this weekend,” Elain said, they both walked down the hallway smushed together in the crowd of students. “You could come over and help me study? That way maybe if my parents see you and get used to you, they’ll be ok with the idea of us? Eventually?” It was hopeful of her, but it was hope all the same. It electrified her.“If there is an us.” A paralyzing fear gripped her spine icily. 

Azriel looked down at her, his eyebrows raised up his forehead as he bent his head down so that his hair fell forward and said quietly, the crush of noise almost hiding his voice, “I think there’s an us.”

Read the full story on AO3.

~~~~

Due the length of the story, I am doing something I absolutely hate and only placing the full story on AO3. I debated posting IMYIS and ILYIS in multiple parts, but that was not how I intended the story to be read.

The I'm Sorry Duology has a very special place in my heart -- it was the product of an unyielding onset of inspiration. It's a story brimming with emotions that some might find hard to digest. However, it is the most fulfilled I have felt with a story, and I hope that a few readers will take its meaning to heart.

[paperpennies]

Please tell me about your AU idea where Sasha and Milla meet in Brazil as teenagers and basically end up long-distance dating before either of them become Psychonauts ^_^

Oh hey look at that, totally out of nowhere, not prompted by me at all! (@2somethingelseyoumightknow2 and @strawberry-et also asked me about it but it seems redundant to answer three separate asks. I didn’t think three people would actually do it lol. Also sorry for taking 8 years to answer.) This idea came out of just smushing two thoughts together. Then I got weirdly attached. Buckle in; it’s gonna be pretty long.  Under a cut to avoid annoying feed scrolling.

So, AU is: Sasha mom lives, meaning he turns out a lot better emotionally adjusted since he grows up with at least one attentive parent. His dad is better too- still pretty emotionally constipated but not, like, broken the way he is in canon. The family also has 4-5 more kids after Sasha. This does mean they’re pretty poor but they do okay. 

His mother is a schoolteacher, who is somewhat unusual in the time period for working and being a mom of a big family at the same time. She and Sasha are quite close; he gets a lot of his intellectual and curious side from her. In his eyes, he’s much more like her than like his dad (although people who know them both would say he’s a lot more like his father than he thinks). His mother also knows about his psychic powers, having noticed them as soon as they started showing up, but his dad and siblings (probably) don’t. 

The story starts when Sasha is 14-15 years old. He’s getting increasingly bored living in a small rural town with few opportunities related to his interests, and his developing psychic powers (and probable undiagnosed autism) make things even more complicated and difficult for him. His mother gets an opportunity, probably with some kind of charity organization, to go teach German/English and maybe other stuff in Brazil for a while. She decides to take it, and take Sasha with her so he can have some different life experiences. She also takes his youngest sister along, since she’s still very little and dad’s already going to be left alone with three other kids. 

(Also, my assumed age for Sasha and Milla in the games is like mid-30s, which, if the games take place in mid/late 80s, would mean they were born in the mid-50s. That means they would be 14-15 in the late 60s. So that’s the timeline I’m going with here.) 

So they go to Brazil. The school Sasha’s mom is working at is either at or associated with an orphanage- maybe a church that has a school and an orphanage. Of course, Milla is there. I don’t have a lot of the details locked in here. It’s hard because we know nothing about Milla’s family or life before she was working at the orphanage, so I’m really just pulling this out of nowhere to fit in with this AU. For the purposes of this, she has no family and is living at the orphanage and going to the school there (even though that’s sad and I kinda don’t like it. May change it. Hm.)

Anyway, Sasha’s mom is teaching at the school; Sasha is doing basically independent study. I also haven’t decided if Milla is in his mom’s classes, because I haven’t decided what age group(s) she’s teaching. Either Milla’s in her classes or gets employed (or volunteers) to babysit Sasha’s little sister and that’s how she comes to be around. Oh, and also for the purposes of this, Sasha’s mom already spoke Portuguese before this, and Sasha’s been learning it prior to arriving there, so he’s like conversational at least. 

Either way, Sasha and Milla meet. Despite having some initial personality conflict, they find they have a weird connection to each other. Milla is curious about this feeling and interprets it as maybe being a crush, although it feels a little bit different. She decides to try and befriend him to understand it better, and also because that’s just what Milla does. She’s the sort of person who makes people her friends half-against-their-will just by being friendly and caring consistently until they can’t deny that they’re friends.

Sasha, meanwhile, is wary of her and her enthusiasm because he’s not great with the social stuff, especially with the culture and language gaps at play. He’s also wary of the feeling because it seems psychic-related, but he doesn’t know what that means. Plus Milla is like super pretty and nice and he gets tongue-tied and red-faced whenever she talks to him, but he definitely doesn’t like her shut up Mom.

Over time, Milla’s determination prevails, and they become genuine friends. He hides the fact that he’s psychic at first, but eventually does tell her. He asks her if she’s sure she’s not psychic, because she really seems psychic somehow. She doesn’t think she is, but he theorizes she’s probably not quite normal, at least, and that’s where the connection they’ve felt from the beginning comes from.

Since they’re actually perfect for each other, their friendship grows deeper over the months they spend hanging out. By the time Sasha has to leave, they’ve developed real romantic (in a 14-15 year old way) feelings for each other. They don’t ever really talk about it, but promise to write.

And they do. Sasha’s siblings start referring to the girl he writes to as his girlfriend to tease/annoy him, but eventually it sticks. He stops protesting, although he never confirms whether or not it’s true, and it starts being matter-of-fact to them instead of a joke. On Milla’s side, she still talks about him to her friends like he’s still there, and she gets the penpal-boyfriend teasing, too. It doesn’t really bug her, though. They save up money over a few years to go and visit each other, and talk about their relationship enough to be sort of “official”. It’s rough since they rarely get to see each other in person or even talk on the phone, but they keep going. 

Years pass, and some things change and others don’t. Sasha mother dies when he’s in his late teens, and he and his dad start having bigger and bigger issues between them in the wake of greiving. He leaves home as soon as he’s sure his younger siblings will be fine without him around. Out and about in the world, he gets recruited into the Psychonauts within the next few years (the specifics of this don’t matter too much for this AU). Milla goes on to work in her orphanage, the thing she’s most passionate about. They still keep close in touch, and get to see each other a more often now that they’re grown up and Sasha has better access to international travel. They finally decide “okay yes, we really are actually dating” even though it’s still long distance. Sasha’s colleagues 100% do not believe his story about having a beautiful long-distance girlfriend in Brazil, because that would sound fake af even if wasn’t coming from the very serious, not-romantic-at-all Sasha. Even his picture of them together does not convince them.

Then, the thing happens. Milla’s orphanage burns down, and her psychic powers finally fully awaken. Because of her knowledge of psychics, she realizes what’s happening, but it’s still a horrifically traumatic event. Sasha takes a leave period to come and help her, finds that it’s even more serious than he’d expected, and puts her in touch with the Psychonauts directly for some better assistance. He’s too close to her to do more than an initial check-up himself. 

They find Milla has a lot of potential and extend an offer to join the intern program (which at that time spans a larger age range than later on). She rejects the offer at first, tries to go back to her life, but later decides she needs to make a complete change and accepts. Sasha’s colleagues are shocked to find out she is indeed real. She graduates first out of her class, as one of the best levitators the organization has ever seen. Technically, she and Sasha aren’t supposed to be romantically involved as agents, but the Psychonauts have always been pretty loosey-goosey about that rule (given the history of its founders). 

So that was a novel in length. It’s not necessarily that interesting in this form, but there’s the AU. I think the interest would be the specifics of how their relationship would play out as a story, if they met young enough and under the right circumstances to not to get stuck in the hang-ups their relationship has in canon. If you read this far, tell me what you think! Thoughts, feelings, emotional outbursts?

[ginazmemeoir]

Gib storey

To you, i bestow the legend of the foundation of Lanka, one of my fav myths ever.

So there are actually two versions to this story, here you go with, uh, both of them

1)Now this first one is what i had learned initially. And it starts with a snub.

Goddess Parvati had once gone to meet her sister-in-law Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity. And Lakshmi's home, was quite literally, the abode of wealth (imagine like the biggest, richest home you can find, only infinity times bigger and better). Parvati was awestruck but obviously couldn't show it, but she lost it when Lakshmi said, quite smugly, "Oh I bet you haven't seen anything like it. Like no offense boo, but, um just look at you."

Parvati, fuming, went over to her husband Lord Shiva, demanding a palace, to which Shiva replies, "Y tho? Like we live in a cave, so there's plenty greenery and stuff. Plus i always break out that leaf mattress when we wanna smush so what's the problem?" Parvati, exasperated, said "She insulted me, she insulted you, and i'll see to it that i teach that bish a lesson. You better find me someone who can make a bigger, better palace, or i'm going back to my parents."

Shiva, thus, approached his greatest devotee Ravana. Now this dude, he would literally cut off his own head if Shiva told him to, that's how big of a suck up he was. When Ravana heard Shiva's proposal to construct a new palace for him, he was overjoyed (imagine if holt asked amy to do his errands for the day).

And look at what he built. An entire island city. Fully furbished, plated in gold, protected from any calamity you can imagine. Parvati immediately threw a housewarming party during her gruhpravesh (it's a hindu custom where the house and the land and are worshipped for good luck and stuff. idk why they did it they are literally the strongest gods). Now, once all th customs were done, Shiva asked Ravana for his fees. And Ravana demanded, hold for it, the palace he had built. Lanka he demanded Lanka. His logic was that Shiva and Parvati also live in it, they would also come along with him and stay with him forever and he would devote his entire life to serving them (told you the dude had issues). But since they hadn't entered Lanka as of yet, they technically didn't live in it, so all Ravana got was a city of gold.

Parvati. straight up lost it. First, she shouted at Shiva for being the naive fool he was and losing their home. Then, she cursed Ravana and his city (imma gonna write this epic dialogue now bear with me) - "O Dashanana! Scion of Pulastya! I curse you, and your audacious city - may you never find peace! May your city never experience true happiness! I curse you, that just the way you stole my home uner my nose, some day, your city too will be destroyed in front of your eyes, as you stand helpess! I curse you O Lankapati, and I curse those fated to occupy your city!"

2) This one, involves bloodshed.

So once upon a time there was this trio of Asura brothers - Mali, Sumali and Malyavan, who lorded over the prosperous empire of Lanka. The gods, jealous of their success, approached Lord Vishnu, who defeated them, killing Mali in the process, and gave their empire to Kubera, the Lord of Yakshas and the god of wealth (the guy had a jewel spitting mongoose).

Sumali thirsted for his revenge, and so did his daughter Kaikesi. In a clever plan, thus, Kaikesi married the strongest rishi of her time, Vishravas. Kubera was actually Vishravas' own son, through his first marriage to Ilavida, daughter of Rishi Bharadwaj. Kaikesi had four kids with him, who were called Brahmarakshasas - Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibheeshana and Shurpanakhaa.

Kaikesi narrated the tale of her entire people to her children, who then also longed for what was rightfully theirs. The strongest, Ravana, got a boon from his great-grandfather Brahma (the god of all creation, Allfather) to be invincible in any battle, except against humans. Thus, he waged a terrible war against his stepbrother and ousted him and his brethren from Lanka (it is said they fled north and founded their city Alanka or Alaka, meaning "not Lanka"), taking it back for the Asuras and Rakshasas.

both of these are buhdass and i absolutely love them.

[d4rk-x-w0lf-17]

You've been posting about your OTPs and I was wondering, would you make a top 10 list of your all time favorite ships? Not ones from fandoms you're currently in, but ones that have stuck with you ever since you first shipped them?

Oh this is an....interesting question. I’ve love to do a top 10 list though. Hmmm....let’s see....of ships that have stuck with me....I’ll go with ones that I easily get emotional over just thinking about them. Ones that make me all warm and fuzzy, but also make me sad whenever something happens to them.

10) KilluGon - Hunter x Hunter

These two have such a cute relationship. They’re honestly so pure, I love their dynamic so much. Killua absolutely adores Gon and would do anything for him. Gon treasures Killua dearly as well. After all they’ve went through, I hope they’re happy and I anticipate the day that they’re able to reunite.

9) SorMik - Tales of Zestiria

It’s been a while since I went through this series, but I really loved their relationship. I love how they’re technically canon since Sorey knowing Mikleo’s true name has romantic connotation. Plus who doesn’t a good Friends to Lovers? These two care deeply for each other and it’s honestly adorable seeing them interact.

8) AshEiji - Banana Fish

I went into Banana Fish completely blind and didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t expect to find a beautiful love story between these two. They genuinely care for each other. Ash is able to be open without fear of being take advantage of or expecting to give or take anything. Eiji is just so patient and gentle with Ash, it’s beautiful yet heartbreaking.

Also, can we pretend that Ash went with Eiji to Japan? Yeah? Yeah.

7) NorEmma - The Promised Neverland

I’ll never get over these two. Norman’s love for Emma is both sweet and heartbreaking. We don’t know if Emma actually returns his feelings, but if she does...Let’s hope Norman will be able to survive Emma smushing his face with kisses.

6) GerIta - Hetalia

I wanted to put HRE/Chibitalia, but this is basically the same thing, right? I firmly believe the HRE = Germany theory, which is really depressing if you think about it. This would make Germany Italy’s first love, but he never remembered him. But it doesn’t matter, because he falls back in love with Italy anyway. Italy definitely never forgot Holy Rome, he definitely still thinks about him from time to time. I can only imagine how Italy would feel if he fell for Germany. He would probably feels like he’s betraying Holy Rome. But can you imagine Italy if he found out if Germany really was Holy Rome? Lots of hugs, crying and kissing, that’s for sure.

5) Usagi/Misaki - Junjou Romantica

I rewatched this series a year ago and I fell back in love with these two very quickly. Usagi treasures and adores Misaki so much and despite Misaki’s insistence, he loves him too. As someone who has a very hard time admitting my feelings, I feel Misaki’s pain in not being able to yell out his love for Usagi. He wants to, but he can’t.

4) NaLu - Fairy Tail

I really loved these two when I first watched Fairy Tail. I loved their dynamic and how fiercely protective Natsu got over Lucy. I truly fell for this ship when Lucy first got kidnapped and the Guild went to save her, but it was Natsu who was the most aggressive when it came to looking for her. I would watch episode 22 over and over again, just watching Lucy putting her absolute trust in Natsu in him catching her. These two share a bond that I love.

3) TodoDeku/BakuDeku - My Hero Academia

Y’all expected me to choose just ONE from MHA? Literally impossible. I remember not knowing who to ship when I first ventured into this series, but when I saw people talking about TodoDeku (I first joined the fandom when the manga was around the....Stain Arc I believe) and I got curious. I looked it up and it was too cute to pass up. I remember feeling apprehensive when wanting to ship BakuDeku, but I fell in love with it. Bakugou is slowly redeeming himself in my eyes and he’s starting to open up to Izuku, which I greatly appreciate.

2) Soul x Maka - Soul Eater

These two....I love them dearly. I treasure their bond. They bicker and fight, but they still care so much for each other. I remember going absolutely nuts when Soul threw himself in front of Maka to protect her from Crona when they first met. He dedicated his life to her, swearing to always protect her and I just....found that so endearing.

1) HanaNene - Toilet Bound Hanako-kun

I don’t care that I recently got into this fandom. These two cause me so many emotions after I read the manga. You can’t tell me that they’re not deeply in love with each other. The Little Mermaid Arc and the Picture Perfect Arc are perfect examples of why these two are meant for each other. Hanako quickly fell for her when he met her at that festival all those years ago and never forgot her, even until his death. Yashiro slowly fell for him over time, seeing Hanako for who he really is and how deeply he cares for her.

[bluebandana]

The LP Show Act 2: Summary

helloooooo we started off with some technical difficulties and got pushed back like an hour and a half (yes we are tired)

mae started off singing a few songs!!!

two minute waiting period!!!

a little intro video!!!

liam looks super cute!!!!! he has crowd sounds playing and the comment section up again!!!!

song 1: first time

he did a really cute giggle in between songs which i feel like really needed to be mentioned

song 2: slow

“i keep forgetting the fan sounds” 🥺🥺🥺

song 3: midnight

*forgets the sounds again*

“the reaction to the first show was amazing and this one seems even better. AND IT’S MY BIRTHDAY. i keep forgetting it’s my birthday”

showed merch and shouted out some fans

question: when are you coming to australia?

answer: he doesn’t know when he’s going back but he loves it!!! australia was the first place they went to after the uk (when 1d first started) and they loved the reaction to the band and “niall gave a helicopter the bird”

question: how does it feel to be performing by himself?

answer: talked about 10th anniversary!!! and how long it’s been and how amazing everything has been 

“i’ve got a mustache now” (when talking about the changes in the past ten years)

song 4: night changes “i’m gonna need you guys to help me sing since i’m alone now” 🥺🥺🥺

“that felt good” (after the song ended)

“some of my favorite 1d songs are in this set”

song 5: what a feeling “we’ve never really sang this song” 

“i’m sorry i put off the end of that song but it’s my birthday”

talked about how many people are at the show!!!!!

question: what’s your favorite memory from 1d?

answer: THE BREAD VAN

question: 1d performance he remembers the best

answer: Wembley stadium when the place was dark and the only light was his light up shoes lmao

question: wish for his birthday

answer: “not telling you because then it won’t come true”

looked at all of the countries people are watching from!!!

look at throwback 1d pictures!!!!

first picture

1d in the onesies that they always used to wear and said that they “got told off for wearing them by someone in xfactor:

second picture

them from when they went go carting with nintendo “mario cart style” lmao and said that “i won.....no one else is here to tell me otherwise so”

third picture

them in ghana!!!!!! he talked about how much he loved going there and said that it was “at the perfect time” and mentioned the music video they filmed there!!!!

fourth picture

him in his “favorite picture of me in a vest ever” from a 1d concert with the crowd and a “little H 🥺” in the background!! he said he didn’t remember where the show was but to “circle if you can find yourself in a crowd”

showed us unseen footage of himself recording remember!!!!

the lyric “how can i forget someone who gave me so much to remember?” came straight from pinterest and they based the whole song on it dsfghjkhgfd

at one point he was in the recording booth without a shirt on edsfghjhgfds 

back to the show

the next few songs were “new remixes just for tonight”

song 5: for you live remix

song 6: get low live remix

song 7: stack it up live remix

question: new genre to bring to music?

answer: he’s gonna keep doing dance music!!!

questions about djing and such!!!!

answer: basically he talked about working with all of the djs he’s done stuff with but it was really fast and i couldn’t write it down :(

showed pics of previous birthdays!!!!

talked about the bday pic where the story of not having friends come celebrate again came from and how it’s a lie

“i’ve had a lot of extravagant bday cakes......i hope you guys got me one this year” and they said they didn’t get him one :(

all of the songs from 8-12 were all partial songs and smushed together which was a little sad :((( but he still sounded so good!!

song 8: familiar

song 9: drag me down 

he said “that was a surprise” when the song switched (later during the after party they were talking about how he had never heard the mixes before so either it was about not knowing when the songs switched over or about the remixes from earlier)

they played the studio version in the background and i gasped at the sounds of the other 1d boys’ voices

song 10: polaroid

song 11: bedroom floor

song 12: strip that down

song 13: best song ever!!! 

it was on the set list he gave to us after what a feeling and he skipped it but he brought it back here as a bonus!!!! and he sang the full thing!!!!

he ended the song with “it was the best birthday party after party ever....coming up right after this”

intermission before after party!!

after party!!!!

we came back to him wearing a full blue suit!!!

“this is me in my birthday suit”  sdfghjhgfd

thanked us for coming!!! talked about enjoying singing 1d songs!!! especially what a feeling!!!! gave a hand for mae!!!!!

read the itinerary for the after party like a cute host

fan vs. fan on zoom!!!

presents!!!!!

live on tiktok after

birthday messages!!!

we were trending worldwide!!!!!

question: favorite dance

answer: the wap dance jfkdksal

zoom game!!!!

threw a dart with a number!!! number is the number of the zoom fan!!!! another fan asks a question!!!! if zoom fan gets it right, they win a prize. if they get it wrong, the question fan gets a prize!!!

it wasn’t not working too well and he said “it’s my birthday so that’s my excuse” and “i’m gonna stand here very awkwardly and make funny faces” then “now i’m staring at myself which is even worse”

fan question: what is liam’s middle name?

liam said “they better get it right” or something like that implying it was easy dfghjkjh

then they didn’t get it :(((

prize!!!!: liam’s burberry shirt that he was papped in a few years ago!!!

back to liam

question: most emotional thing about going solo

answer: “finding out that someone didn’t know my middle name.....nights like tonight when i perform these songs by myself......night changes is a tear jerker for me”

fan said they would donate $500 if he writes her name on his hand “how do you spell the name...i did go to school it’s just polite to ask”

presents!!!!!

first present is from his parents

something popped out and he got scared!!!!! but he loved it!!!!

birthday messages

zedd

alesso

did a tshirt cannon but social distanced style and gave them away to people in comments

he shot a little cannon every time!!!!

back to zoom game

the person who asked the question wasn’t there so liam had to read it and he said “i hope i know the answer” before reading it

fan question: (the number was 18 and he sang a bit of the song) at what age did i take up boxing? 

the fan didn’t know so he gave them the answer so they would win

answer: 13

gift was one of his gucci shirts

another present

it’s a HORSE COSTUME.....one of those ones where he’s riding a horse

birthday message

from dj khaled 

he called him “lima” LMAOOO

“i shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as i am” about wearing the costume

#1 trending in australia!!

“you took a long look at my crotch area there and i hope it was because of the horse”

“i’m getting used to it now....it becomes quite fulfilling after a while”

zoom game #3

fan question: name 5 artists that liam collabed with so far

they got it!!!!

another shirt that he got papped in once!!!

did another tshirt cannon!!

birthday messages 

rita ora 

NIALL FUCKING HORAN

moved to tiktok

made a tiktok with the reactions of when you like your birthday present vs. when you don’t like your birthday present but you’re pretending

his family got him a birthday cake in the shape of a giant cookie!!!! and they played the cookie song for him!!!!! he talked about that trend about how everything is cake!!!! 

[thiswasinevitableid]

Hi there! If you're feeling it for mermay, I would like to request #9: folklore with OT4? No preference on rating: go with whatever feels best! Thank you so much and I hope you have a nice day!

Here you go! I went SFW on this one.

“You did what??” Dani stares at Barclay, shocked.

“I offered him a job. He needed work while he was here in town for his research, and he seemed nice, and, uh, and-”

“And attractive.” Indrid adds, turning to a new page in his sketchbook.

“Branchin out a little from your usual type, sugar.” Duck kisses his cheek.

“Barclay, he’s a folklorist. A folklorist who specifically studies selkies.”

“Yeah he, uh, he said so. I figured if he’s working for me, or even if he wants me to show him around, I can steer him away from all the selkies.”

“Except for the one showing him around.” Dani gives him a look only an older sister could give.

“It’s not like he’s gonna see me transform.” Barclay mutters.

The meeting ends much as it began; with everyone agreeing that the new guy in town was a potential threat and should be given absolutely no information whatsoever. It’s not that Barclay doesn’t see the man, who introduced himself as Joseph Stern, as someone after Keplers secrets. It’s more that the guy uprooted his entire life to come to an obscure, Alaskan bay in hopes of finding the thing he wants most in the world. Barclay sympathizes. 

Kepler is notorious among selkies; a safe haven, a place where there are humans who will protect them, help them, even love them. More than one enterprising selkie, trapped in a loveless marriage or unending servitude, has tricked the human who betrayed them into going north. It’s rare that a human who committed such a breach of trust remains there long; and they always give the pelt back, usually while packing their things in a desperate rush.

It’s a pity, then, that Barclay never got the man who tricked him up here.

He finishes the dinner rush at Amnesty Lodge, located on the edge of the bay and a welcome stop for travelers from land and water alike. As he usually does this time of night, he heads to a dock, far from the lights of town or the ships out at sea, and sits with his feet in the water, solitary and solemn. Tonight, he’s not alone for long. 

Silvery hair emerges from the water as Indrid, now sporting a lovely grey tail, swims over to him. They met when Barclay first came here, Indrid more than a little odd but appreciative of Barclays skill in the kitchen and bedroom in ways he’d been without for years. The gift of future vision meant Indrid was nomadic, in that he was determined to use his powers to prevent tragedy whenever he could, and so one day he swam away from Kepler.

Barclay didn’t see him for years. No one did. Until a ranger by the name of Duck Newton was helping tag seals that kept swimming too far up the salmon runs and got the shock of his life when the one he caught turned into a man as he was holding him. Indrid pointed out that his ear was already pierced and if they needed him to hunt somewhere else they could just ask. Duck who, in spite of living in Kepler for years, did not believe in the supernatural until he was holding it, offered the first apology that came to mind, which included inviting Indrid to dinner.

They’ve been dating for two years now.

Indrid rises from the water enough to rest his head in Barclay’s lap, “Come stay with us tonight.”

“I...do you really want me to?”

“If you do not, you spend all night brooding and unable to sleep, thus making for a miserable morning. Too, I am rather fond of your company.” Indrid tilts his chin up with a grin and Barclay leans down to kiss him, “and before you ask, yes, Duck remains fine with this. He says, and I quote ‘Barclay’s my friend and also if you’re hugging him I can escape bed long enough to get ready for work.”

He chuckles, “Okay, I’ll be over soon. I, uh, is there any chance-”

“No” Indrid shakes his head with a sigh, rubs his cheek against Barclays leg, “there are still no futures where we find your coat. Wherever that bastard sent it, he hid it well.”

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

Barclay’is in trouble; not only is Joseph a good cook, he’s good company too. He finishes his shifts sweaty and exhausted, same as Barclay, and the selkie wonders what it would be like to see him breathless and red faced in other contexts. He suspects he’s not the only one.

Joseph’s research regularly takes him into the national forest or the adjoining state park on the beach, meaning he’s routinely running into Duck. The ranger initially worried his inability to lie convincingly would be a problem. But after some cursory questions that Indrid saw coming and coached him through technically true responses to, he and Joseph have struck up a passing friendship. 

“Joseph is also very interested in his love life” Indrid reveals while swimming circles around Barclay as he stands in the cold water, “not that I blame him. He has excellent taste in men. Present company included.”

“He’s just being nice to me. And I’m practically his boss.”

Indrid pauses his swimming to stare at him, “Dearest, when he’s not working, what does he do?”

“Uh, crosswords? Or he reads, and he likes trying new restaurants and going to movies.”

“And you know all this how?”

“Because he does it near me or asks me to go with him. Oh, uh, huh. Maybe he does have a thing for me.”

Indrid floats into his arms, kisses him, “invite him to dinner. The others at the Lodge are, understandably, still wary of him and don’t want him around. But there’s no harm in him having over for a meal.”

Barclay pulls Indrid closer, tickles his cheek with his beard as he teases, “Seems like I’m not the only one with a crush on him.”

“Not in the slightest.” Indrid grins, “Our lives have not been easy. I don’t know about you, but I intend to embrace affection and love whenever the opportunity presents itself. “

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

There’s no way Joseph is passing up this opportunity. 

He’d been refilling his travel mug at the complementary coffee kiosk in the Lodge and asked if anyone happened to know which rivers had the most reported selkie sightings. After each blurting out a different answer, his fellow guests (tenants, really) decided on the Bluff Creek river as the best option.

He wonders if they know just how obvious it is that they’re hiding something. 

Joseph is well aware that folklorists are seen as credulous and gullible. He uses that to his advantage. There’s no reason for anyone to know about his seven years in the FBI prior to this. No reason for them to know he knows that Dani will propose to Aubrey soon, that Jake is sneaking out every night, that Barclay is searching for something as intensely as Joseph is. 

Most nights, he falls asleep under a burnt orange bedspread dreaming that he’s what the cook is looking for. 

Barclays feelings for him are one of the few things at Amnesty he can’t decipher. He offers him a job, takes a personal interest in his welfare, and makes him coffee just how he likes it. Every single morning. But he gets jittery when Joseph asks him about himself, and some days he outright hides from him until they’re in the kitchen. 

The dinners with Indrid and Duck aren’t helping his confusion. Barclay practically holds his hand during them, but turns pink whenever Indrid winks at him. And Duck…well, Joseph knows he’s good looking, and he’s never had a hard time hooking up while traveling. The rangers attention just makes him so hot under the collar he wants to strip down at the table. Which is why he can’t decide if Duck agreeing to be his guide on the river is a stroke of luck or a brilliant plan to keep him from noticing things they don’t want him to see. 

When Duck meets him at the dock, his casual outdoor clothes unfairly flattering (Indrid likes the uniform better, but Joseph finds it hides too much of Duck’s arms and chest), he decides there’s no point in looking a gift hunk in the mouth. 

They paddle upriver, trading bad, pun-based jokes until the wind picks up and drowns their voices out. It’s slow going, and there’s no sign of a selkie, but Duck remains excellent company. They make camp an hour before sunset, in a two man tent that leaves them smushed shoulder to shoulder. 

As they’re comparing notes on growing up trans in a small town, Joseph shares the story of the time he nearly broke his tailbone after slipping on a packer he left on the floor. Duck guffaws, shaking the tent as he does, and ends up giggling into Joseph’s shoulder as they both wipe tears from their eyes.

“You have a great laugh, you know that?”

“Sound like a bird of paradise gettin hit by an accordion.” Duck isn’t moving his head.

“That’s a remarkably accurate description, but my point stands.”

He feels Duck turn his head, “Joe? Would, uh, would it be okay if I kissed you? You can say no, swear I won’t abandon you or leave you for the bears so some shit. Just, uh, been thinkin about it all day and figured I’d ask.”

“It won’t upset Indrid?” He slides his hand from his sleeping bag to hold Duck’s own. 

“Nah. He and I talked about it. And, uh, his uh, his social circles ain’t super invested in monogamy.”

“Oh. Um” He wants to roll over, wants to pin Duck and kiss him until dawn. But if he does, it might mean he never gets a chance to do the same to a certain someone else, someone who he wishes would just tell him how he felt-

“If it, uh, helps any, happen to know Barclay sees things the same way ‘Drid does.” 

“In that case…” he crawls from the sleeping bag, Duck unzipping his own and kicking it open so there’s nothing to stop Joseph’s hands as they stroke and grope their way across his body, “I have a proposal for you.”

Unsurprisingly, they get a late start the next day. As Joseph is paddling, he spots a tail flipping out of the water, far too large to be an otter. Before he can say anything, the roar of the river changes, turning rougher and deeper.

“Fuck, the snowmelt must’ve started earlier than usual, these rapids normally ain’t this big.”

“Should we try to reverse?”

“Maybe we can, nope, fuck, okay we’re goin through whether we like it or not, try’n stay low and hold on.”

Duck’s excellent advice goes out the window at the same instant Joseph goes out of the boat, a swell catching him off guard. He hits a rock at just the wrong angle, pain shooting up his wrist as he releases his paddle. He’s not panicking, but the more he fights to keep his head up, the closer he gets. 

Then an arm is around his waist, pulling him to shore. He has just enough time to see his rescuer has a grey tail before they disappear under the water. There’s no sign of the boat or of Duck. A tremendous splash resolves one of those problems. 

“Duck!” He hurries to where the ranger coughs water onto the pebbles, “thank the lord.”

“Nah” he coughs again, “thank him.” He gestures weakly to the familiar face and torso now attached to a tail coated in silver-grey fur. 

“You’re a selkie.” Joseph scoots across the rocky ground. 

“Indeed.” Indrid taps his fingers together, “I, ah, I am sorry my love. I know we agreed he could not know, but when the timelines showed the rapids most of them involved you both going into the river and in, in many of them one or both of you was knocked unconscious on the stones and did not resurface. I could not let that happen to you. Either of you.”

Joseph reaches out reverently with his uninjured hand, and Indrid guides his tail to meet him. It’s exquisite to touch, and as he smooths his fingers along it, Indrid purrs and rolls onto his back. 

“Mmmm, already you are proving why it was worth it to save you.” Indrid grins, wiggling closer. 

“You, uh, you ain’t angry at us for hidin it from you?” Duck guides Indrid’s head into his lap, petting his hair, looking warily at Joseph.

“Duck, I’ve known you and the rest of the people at the Lodge were hiding things from me, and that given the towns reputation those things were probably related to selkies. It’s not like there aren’t dangers to people learning about selkies and where they live, and I never made it clear whether my research would lead to that. It hurts not to be trusted but, well, I’m used to it.” He looks down at where Indrid is nuzzling Duck’s belly, “I promise, I won’t put you or any of the others in danger.”

“Mmmm” Indrid’s tail relaxes under his hands, “apologies, I am listening, but it took a great deal of energy to reach you in time and pull you from the water. I think I shall nap until our ride comes.”

“Uh, think you’re gonna nap in the car.” Duck tilts his head towards the treeline, where the rumble of an engine rattles up the abandoned logging road. A minute later, a door slams and Barclay appears from the trees. 

“Fuck, he wasn’t kidding that you had rough time.” Barclay helps Joseph into the back seat while Indrid, now sporting legs, climbs into the front, “Duck, med kit is behind the drivers seat.”

“Great. Joe, c’mere, I can secure your wrist and get you some painkillers.”

“Right. Thanks.” He turns back to Barclay, eyebrow raised.

“Guess, uh, guess we have a lot to talk about later. I, uh, I should probably just tell you the big thing now. I’m uh, I’m like Indrid.”

Joseph smiles, “I guessed as much the moment Indrid revealed himself.”

“Oh.”

“Is there, um, anything else you want to tell me sooner rather than later?”

Barclay’s honey-rich baritone comes out as shy as a first kiss, “If you said you’d go out with me, it’d make my whole fucking year.”

Joseph murmurs in his ear, “The instant I’m out of the hospital, you’re taking me to dinner.”

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

There’s a sturdy hammock at the edge of Duck’s yard, overlooking the river. Joseph had no interest in it until he discovered it was the perfect size to have Barclay lay in so he could then lay on his chest. They’re in that configuration when he asks the question he’s been putting off for fear of upsetting his boyfriend. 

“How did you end up in Kepler? Were you born here?”

“No.” Barclay’s hands settle on his back, “I grew up off the coast of California. There was a guy, a human, we’d been friends since we were teenagers. As we got older he got, uh, he got it into his head that we could go on the road as like a, uh, a sideshow act. That people would pay big money to see a real selkie. I hated the fucking idea, told him to drop it, and he did, went back to being the considerate, cool guy he’d been when we met. He made a big dinner for my birthday, invited me over and…” his fists tighten in Joseph’s shirt, “and when I was there, he stole my coat.”

“Oh, Barclay” Joseph pets his chest, “I’m so sorry.”

“I agreed to work with him because I didn’t have a choice. I hated every goddamn minute of planning, of knowing he saw me as a fucking meal ticket. One night I snapped, told him to give me back my coat and let me go or I’d make him regret it. He locked me in the fucking basement, and when I got out, he told me he’d shipped my coat far, far away, and if I ever wanted to find it, I’d better stay with him. Asshole didn’t realize getting rid of the coat meant he didn’t have a hold on me anymore. I left, looked for it for years, then basically gave up and moved to Kepler because I knew there were other selkies here. Indrid’s convinced the pelt is here somewhere, keeps saying our finding it is just on the edges of his visions. But I dunno. I think it’s gone for good.”

Fear clings to his heart, “Will you get sick if you never find it? Are, are you sick now, or in pain?”

“No. Selkies don’t die or get sick without their pelts. It’s more like...like a part of you is missing, with this ache where it’s supposed to be. Mine’s been gone so long I barely notice it anymore.”

Joseph sits up, frowning, “You’re lying.”

“...Yeah. Yeah I am. But what else can I do?”

“Let me help. I’m an investigative professional, I have been for years, and I can’t think of a better use for those skills than finding your coat. Than, than making you happy and whole.”

Barclay studies him a moment, then yanks him down into a kiss, whimpering when Joseph nips his lips and licks between them. 

“Now, big guy,” he brushes their noses together, “what does it look like?”

“It’s the same color as my hair, with a crescent scar at the base of the tail from where a shark bit me. God, Joseph, I hope you see it some day, if you think Indrid’s tail is beautiful, and it is, mine is fucking gorgeous…”

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

“Joseph! How is my favorite connoisseur of cryptozoology today?”

“ I’m fine, Ned. And since I can see the dollar signs in your eyes from here yes, if you have new merchandise I would like to see it.”

Stationed on the highway at the edge of Kepler, the Cryptonomica is the kind of tourist trap Joseph can’t help but love. Even if the informational plaques contain miles of misinformation, it’s nice to be somewhere that doesn’t scoff at the supernatural or strange. 

As Ned rummages in the back, Joseph circles the room to arrive at his favorite display; Bigfoot, complete with a supposed “stuffed bigfoot” whose fur is so many different colors it looks like a patchwork quilt his grandmother kept on the couch. Not for the first time, he amuses himself with the observation that the back portion resembles Barclay’s hair. 

“Wait.” He says, loud enough that Ned’s assistant, Kirby, looks up from his desk.

“Something you need, Mr. Stern?” 

He kneels down, pulling his penlight from his jacket and peering at the creatures lower back.

“Yes. I need a knife, and I need it now.”

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

“Goodness!” Indrid yelps a moment before Joseph bursts through the door. 

“Barclay, Barclay look!” The researcher spins in a circle, searching for the cook.

“What is it, is everything okay?” He hurries out of the kitchen, then drops to his knees in shock, “it, it can’t be.”

“It is. Or, um, there’s a very strong chance it is. Look” He holds out the chestnut cloak, “the scar matches.”

“I, I, I-” Barclay grabs the pelt, holding it to his chest, “I must be dreaming.”

“There’s only one way to find out” Indrid grins as he pulls Duck up along with him, then tugs Barclay to his feet, “to the water!”

They’re moving so fast that Barclay only has a moment to swing the coat over his shoulders as he dives into the water, Joseph calling out to be careful. 

And then is heart thrums, whole for the first time in decades, as warm fur envelopes him. His second skin sings into his nerves, reunited with it’s home, and he let’s the transformation take it’s full form. When he leaps for joy out of the water, there’s not a human feature to be seen. 

Joseph cries out in triumph, Duck whooping out cheers along with him. There’s no sign of Indrid until he returns to the waves, at which point the most stunning silver seal twirls around him. The next time he rises from the water, he reverts to his half-form, savoring the sensation of moving it through the depths as Joseph and Duck wade in to join them. 

He pulls Joseph into a kiss, dipping him so his black hair fans out in the water, “You did it, babe.”

“I, I may as well quit all my other jobs, nothing else I accomplish in my life will compare to the look on your face right now.”

“Oh pet” Indrid smiles, “you’ve not seen anything yet. Did I say that right?”

“Close enough, sugar.”

“Come, dearest, I’ve been waiting for years to see if you can out-swim me.”

“You’re fucking on” Barclay kisses Joseph once more for good measure, “be right back.”

As he speeds through the water, Indrid keeping pace with him, he just makes out the conversation behind them. 

“You, uh, you know givin a selkie their pelt back is a marriage proposal, right?”

“Yes. But we can talk about that later, all four of us.”

[comingtothetree23]

Protecting The Heart (Peter Parker x reader)

Three things 1: This is a really dumb idea but I wanted to do it, so I'm doing it. 2: This is a new story. It's not apart of Homecoming and a Film By Peter Parker. 3: This is my first time writing Peter on my own without help from Homecoming! I really don’t like this but I’m trying. I got the idea from Monster high.

Rewritten

You sat next to Peter as you and the Avengers waited for the meeting to start. You let out some giggles after Peter told you his story about being trapped in the vultures lair. 

"Oh! I'm gonna be meeting up with an old friend." You smiled as you told Peter. You were supposed to meet up with him later today, "I haven't seen him since I was like ten!"

"You seem excited," Peter noted as he looked at you bouncing a little in your seat. 

"Of course I am! He was my best friend before I became an avenger!" You smiled as you wave your arms around you two. 

"Oh 'Best Friend' Sorry Pete you've been replaced," Tony stated as he entered the room, also entering the conversation. everyone turned to look at you and Peter.

"Those two are inseparable! literally." Nat rolled her eyes as she looked at you two of you, Peter gave her a confused look while you just nodded your head in agreement.

"If anything Peter replaced him." You nudged Peter's shoulder while he just rolled his eyes, "Are you made? if so, don't be me and you are way closer than me and Arther ever been." Once you said that you noticed Peter looked over at you with his small adorable smile.

"Hopefully the guys not mad might get revenge on Parker." You scoffed at that. Arther was the nicest guy ever...Even if he never tried to reach out to you until you became an official Avenger.

"Arther not like that,"

"You don't know, You haven't seen since you were ten? Six years can change someone." Sam said making you roll your eyes and pout a little.

"Isn't the meeting supposed to start?" you mumbled out while pouting making Peter chuckle and ruffle your hair, making you pout even more.

"Oh yes! Yes yes of course! F.R.I.D.A.Y, tell them about what's going on." 

"Yes, Boss."

You listened to the A.L with a bored expression, it's the same thing. You started paying more attention when something new came up. 

"14 Teenage girls were found dead in their homes." Everyone stared at the screen where they showed some of the crime scenes, "The bodies are only missing one thing, their hearts." your eyes widen even more at that, "All the bodies were found in their own houses, no sign of struggle or breaking and entering." The next thing F.R.I.D.A.Y says makes your heart race, "All the girls are in the age range 15-18." You didn't fail to notice everyone's eyes move over to you.

"...Do they have any leads?" You spoke up quietly, you wanted nothing more than send that bastard into prison. those poor bastards.

"There are no leads." 

"No leads, no evidence?" You mumbled before looking over at Peter, who was looking down in thought.

"That's impossible. There's no way you can't leave evidence at a crime scene." Peter spoke up before leaning his head on his hand, "This makes no sense,"

 "I'm pretty sure people have left crime scenes without making evidence." You leaned back in your seats while in deep thought. 

"Technically, no. You can't have a crime scene without evidence. Practically, yes. You can have a crime scene without evidence." Tony explained to you all

"That's important to know for later but for now, what do we do?" Steve spoke up, looking around at everyone. Everyone was in deep thought of what to do.

" Me, Steve, and Tony will go to some of the crime scenes." Nat started, looking around at everyone, "Sam and Bucky you go talk to the girl's parents..." You stopped listening to her as you thought of the girls, having their hearts ripped out sounded extremely painful. You hated that you couldn't have helped them in time.

"...(Y/n) and Peter, you two will contiue to do your patrols but keep an eye out for anything suspicious."  You and Peter both nodded at her. 

"Alright team, let's go." You all nodded and stood up to leave

"Who made her in charge?"

~~

"C'mon Pete, I'll be fine. I can handle myself." You let out a small laugh as you took your hand out of Peter's grip. 

"(Y/n) it's dangerous out there! You could be hurt." Peter argued as you ducked under him to get out of the door, "You can't use your portals out in public!"

"Why!? People already know my identity, That's how Arther knew how to reach out to me. If anyone tries to kidnap me or something I'll just teleport away." you saw Peter open up his mouth, you hold a finger up, "And if they follow me I'll defend myself. I know how to." you look behind you to see Peter just standing there, looking really upset.

"Aw Pete, please don't be upset." You started to move closer to him without thinking. You regretted it when Peter webbed your hand and pulled you toward him, "Peter!" You struggled as Peter held you tight.

Your face was smushed against his chest while Peter held your arms down in the hug. He had his chin on the top of your head. If you weren't supposed to leave you would have melted into the hug Peter's hugs are just the best and you love them so much! Their so soft and makes you feel safe, which you kinda needed right now, but you also needed to leave.

"I just want you to be safe, (Y/n)," he mumbled into your hair. You suddenly felt guilty, Peter was really worried about you he has been since that report about the girls. It worried you two but you knew you could handle it.

"Aw, Pete. You're too cute," you mumbled into his chest as you hugged him tight cuddling into his chest. Peter looked down at you and smiled as his cheeks turned pink, "...Are you really that worried." you look up at Peter with a small frown.

"Of course I am! I don't want anything bad to happen to you." He held you tighter as he mumbled out, "...I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." That made your eyes widen as you blushed at his words.

"If it makes you feel better...You can come with me." 

"What?"

"You can come with me to meet Arther. I'm sure he won't mind." You shrugged as you looked back up at Peter, who was thinking about it.

"...Are you okay with it?" Peter asked in a small voice.

"Of course! I love hanging out with you." You got out of the hug and took his hands, "I don't want you to worry all day...For no reason."

"there is a reason!"

"So, yea! You can come with!" You ended with a small smile and a jump, "Then my two best friends can become friends!" you looked at peter with a sheepish smile, "If you guys get along."

"That sounds alright." Peter gave you a small smile. 

"What are we waiting for!? Let's go!" You took his hand and left the tower. Sam and Bucky watched as you two left the tower.

"There's gonna be a fight."

~~

"(Y/n)!" You looked over at a teenage boy waving over at you, you looked at the boy confused. The boy has short dyed black hair, green pricing eyes and he is wearing a fancy shirt for being in a small town cafe. 

"Do you know him?" Peter asks as he takes your hand and told it tight.

"I dunno, he doesn't look familiar." You answered as you tighten your grip on Peter's hand. 

"(Y/n), it's me Arther!" Your eyes met his and you immdently recognized him. You smile and wave at him, You drag Peter over at the table as you both sat down

"Hey, Arther! How you doing man?" You smile as you held out a fistbump he stared at your fist for a moment before fist-bumping it.

"I'm good. Who's your friend?" He motions toward Peter. 

"This is Peter Parker, he's my really good friend. He's one of Tony Starks interns. That's how we met." That's kinda how you met.

"Tony Stark, That's mighty impressive." he looks over at Peter with a smile as he asks, "What do you do there, Peter?" Peter frowns and tries to reach for your hand as his Peter tingle screeched 'Danger' at him

"Oh, you know..." He laughs nervously, "Bring him his coffee, helps him with his inventions sometimes...The normal intern stuff." He finishes looking over at you with panicked eyes.

"Ain't that interesting," Arther smirked at Peter before looking over at you. 

'Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger!'      

"So Arther, How are you? Are you doing anything?" You asked him, you did notice how panicked Peter looked and decided not to talk about his 'internship'. 

"I'm doing just fine, darling." He smiled and planted a small kiss on your knuckle, "I've been moving School to School recently."

"Really? Why?"

"None of the places really captivated me." You and Peter share a confused glance before looking back at Arther, "But this place is just lovely."

"It's New York,"  Peter spoke up looking around the small cafe you three were in.

"And I've always wanted to live in New York." Arther says quickly, glaring at Peter before looking over at you, "and then I discovered that you lived here, darling." Arther took a hold of your hand, making Peter's tingle scream louder, "And I was over the moon!" 

"Oh, I'm not that great." You laugh gently and took your hand away from Arther's, "I bore people really easily." 

"That's not true, (Y/n)." Peter spoke up, making both you and Arther look at him, "You are amazing to be around! Your fun, smart and weirdly obsessed about TikTok." 

"Their funny and you know it!"

"Don't forget that you are beautiful, darling. Oh, I have something for you." He handed you a bunch of flowers.

"Oh, Thank you, Arther." You give him a fake smile as you place it gently behind you, "They beautiful." 

"Like you." You give him another fake smile. You didn't really think about when Arther puts on sunglasses and frown deeply at you. 

You jumped when both yours and Peter's phone goes off at the same time. You both look at it seeing it's from the Avengers. You groan as you look over at Arther

"Hey, Sorry Arther." You pointed behind you, "We both got to go, See you later?" 

"Of course, Darling. I'll see you soon." He smirked that made you shiver as he gently took your hand and put a kiss on it. 

"Bye Arther." You stood up, took Peter's hand, and left the cafe.

~~

"You don't like him, Do you?" You ask as you and Peter sat on a roof, looking for any crime. You wore your super-suit while Peter was in his Spider-suit. You kick your feet out as you waited for his answer

"...Did he seem weird to you?" He avoided the question, you noticed he didn't want to answer your question, which answered your question.

"Well, He's always been... a little weird." You sighed as you kick your foot a little more, "but..." You quickly shook your head and layed down to look at the stars.

"But?" 

"But... He kinda made me uncomfortable," you confessed as you avoided Peter's eyes to look at the stars. What made you uncomfortable was it seemed like he wanted one thing from you.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Peter asks in a soft voice, making you look over at him. You let out a sigh as he layed down next to you and you both stared at the sky.

"It's just... he never reached out to me before I became an Avenger and I didn't really mind. It's just when he started giving me flowers acting all romantic toward me. I just don't like him like that and we literally just got back in touch." You knew Peter was looking at you through his mask but you contiued, "Like I said earlier, We were never really that close."

"Why don't you tell him to stop?" Peter asks you making you let out a long sigh

"I will don't worry. I'm just in a mood. I'm just worried about teenage girls." Peter gave you a nod as you continues, "Having their hearts ripped out, must be so painful I can't even imagine." You felt tears sting your eyes. You held a hand touch your shoulder and you look over at Peter.

"Hey, Don't worry. We'll find the person who did this." Peter gently pulled off his mask to show you his face, he knows how much just seeing his face calms you down, "You'll be fine."

"I'm not worried about me! I'm worried for other girls out there." you looked over at Peter and gave him a look, "I just want people to be safe. Like how I was." You avoided Peters's gaze as you turned your head away from him. You suddenly felt a gloved hand on your chin and Peter moved your head to face him as he gave you an adorable smile

"Don't worry you will, (Y/n)." He gave you another smile hat made you smile. You look away for a moment before leaning in and giving him a peck on the lips before quickly pulling away.

Peter cupped your cheeks before giving you a soft gentle kiss on the lips. You smile into the kiss as you kiss him back, the kiss was gentle and full of love. Love that made you so happy you met Peter Parker. You two pulled away but kept your foreheads touching.

"How was that?" Peter shyly asks, trying to catch his breath. You let out a soft laugh as you gently pinch one of his rosy cheeks

"Perfect." 

"Peter, there's a bank robbery far east from here," Karen explains to him, not realized shes kinda ruining a moment.

"Duty calls." You giggle before placing a kiss on his nose. You stand up and jumps off the building to make a portal to the crime scene.

Leaving Peter watching you with a daze smiley look before shaking his head and putting his mask off and chases after you.

~~

"You learn anything new from the case?" You ask as you enter the kitchen with Peter, his arm is around your waist. Ever since last night, you weren't willing to let out of each other.

"No, there's nothing at the crime scene. No fingerprints, no bloostains-" Steve started, looking over at Nat as he explains

"Surprising." 

"- No nothing! We found nothing!"

"How... How are the bodies?" Peter spoke up quietly, not wanting anyone to be upset but also it's important to know.

"The only thing found was a hole in their chest, where the heart was." Nat explains with a sigh not looking at any of you, "Sam and Bucky are starting to interview the parents. Hopefully, they'll find something."

"They will don't worry." You detached yourself from Peter and walked over to Nat, putting a hand on her shoulder, "We'll find them. We always do." You finished with a smile making Nat gave you a small smile. 

"So, You and Parker?" She asks with a smirk. You blush as you smile giddily at her with a quick nod of your head, "Guess that old friend of yours wasn't that fun, huh?"

"He was... Eh." 

"Eh, That bad huh?" Nat took a sip of her drink with a raised brow. 

"He wasn't bad it's just he was being all romantic like he were in a novel." You then say dramatically, "Two lovers torn apart but they find a way to each other and live happily ever after blah blah blah." 

"You know what he wants right?" Nat asks you as you look up at her

"Yeah, Yeah, I do." you look down sadly, "I really wanted to be his friend again but I guess that's not what he wants from me." 

"Who cares? You're a badass Avenger who can handle herself. You should be proud and happy, Your finally with Peter. Everyone knows you two wanted that for a while now." You let out a laugh at that

"Yea, I really did." You look over at Peter as he was suddenly on the ceiling because of a candy can, "I'm really lucky." You gave him a soft smile which Peter noticed and gave one back.

~~

"Hey Arther, Can we talk?" You ask as you walk up to Arther at a park. It was a nice small place, not many kids are here right now.

"Of course, Darling. I got you something," he smirked as he pulled out a necklace that looked pretty but it wasn't a thing you would wear. He tried putting it on you but you held up a hand to stop him.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Arther." You started, you close your eyes with a sigh before looking at him explaining, "Look this is great and all, All the gifts, you being strangely romantic toward me but I kinda like someone else." You fiddled with your hands, not wanting to see his reaction, "We can still hang out! I just want you to know." You wave your hands in the air, not trying to be mean.

"Is it Parker?" he growled out, making you look at him shocked

"What?"

"Is. It. Parker?" He asks, walking closer to you. You take steps back until you back meet a tree, "Is the guy you like Parker? Petro Parker or whatever his name is?" Arther rolled his eyes.

"It's not really your business to know, to be honest." You put a hand on his chest and push him away gently, "And I don't need to tell you if I don't want to tell you."  

"But it is my business." He states as he roughly grabbed your chin to make you look at him, "Your love-life is my business. Which is why I know it's Parker." You glare at him and take his hand off your chin

"What are you talking about!" You look at him with a glare before rolling your eyes, "Let me guess you want one thing from me. I wonder if I can guess what it is." you made a motion with your hands before crossing your arms.

"I do want something from you but it's not what your thinking." He pins you to the tree again as he takes his sunglasses off showing his piercing green eyes, "I want your heart." Your blood ran cold as he chuckles, "But I kinda like your suggestion. I think I just might do that too." 

"I-It's you! You're the heart-stealing Killer! Get off of me!" You growl as you were able to kick him off of you. He stumbled back a little before standing up stright.

"Killer? Now I'm offended, I don't kill them." He starts to walk over to you but you hold up your fist ready to fight, "No need for a fight. I'm not going to heart you."

"Yeah right!" You rolled your eyes before you lunge at him, he was able to move away. You quickly turn around ran toward him.

You slip under him and kick his legs under him. You grab his arms and pins them onto his back, "Oh, you got me, darling. what are you going to do with me?" He gave you a look which made you scoff.

"I'm bringing you to Avengers tower to bring you in. SO, you won't hurt any other poor girl, You heartless-fuck!" You yelled at him before raising your hand and making a portal to your room. 

"Wait!" He yelled making you lower your hand slightly, "Can you do one last thing for me, darling?" 

"What is it?" You rolled your eyes not bearing to look at the bastard. you look back to see him looking at you but something's..... different. 

His eyes are glowing pink? You slowly move side to side as you couldn't look away from his eyes. Your heart starts to beat faster as you contiue to stare. You were looking at him in a daze. 

"I will have your heart, darling. It's too special not to." That was the last thing you heard before everything turned black and you feel yourself falling.

~~ "(Y/n), (Y/n), Where are you!? (Y/N)!" Peter yelled as he walked the streets of New York, people gave him weird looks but he didn't care. ever since you left that morning his Peter Tingle has been going crazy. He knew it had something to do with you. 

'Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger!' 

He sighed before he saw a glance of your (H/c) entering an ice cream shop. He ran inside the shop and looks around for you. It was until he saw you and Arther sitting down on a booth. Something was wrong, You were sitting on Arthurs's lap your hands were on his chest as your head was on his shoulder.

'Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger!' 

"(Y/n), where have you been!? I've been looking all over for you?" Peter walks over to you, ignoring the anger he felt toward Arther and felt oddly protective toward you. He looks over at you confused as you didn't turn around to look at him, "(Y/n)?"

You finally look up at Peter, confused as why he was talking to you. Peter looked into your eyes to see that they were blank. you were also wearing a necklace he never seen before.

"Can I Help you, sir?" Arther asks as he looks at Peter. Peter notices that Arther was wearing sunglasses, inside a building. 

"I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to (Y/n)!" Peter snapped before taking a hold of your shoulder and shakes you a little, "(Y/n) I've been looking everywhere for you. You have to text me and the avengers where you are." You tilt your head in confusion at him.

"I'm sorry, I've just been having the time of my life with Arther." your voice sounded a little dull as You layed your head back on Arthur's shoulder as your hands ran over his chest, "I just lost track of time." You giggled at Arther as he Smirked at Peter

"(Y/n)'s what's up with you?" Peter asks, hurt clear on his face. He had a crush on you for ages and when you two kissed last night he was sure that you two were finally together, "This isn't like you."

"I don't know what you mean," You giggled as you didn't even look at Peter. 

"You just don't kiss people for fun! You don't kiss someone just to throw them away the next day and run away with someone you didn't talk to in 6 years." Peter snapped as he stared at you.

"I was just not thinking at the time, Peter." Was all that you said. Peter's heart broke even more, you only called Peter 'Pete' never Peter.

"Your not making any sense!" 

"Run along, Can't you see she made her choice." Arther waved him off with a smirk as he puts his hand on your waist. You giggled as you cuddled closer to him.

Peter frowned as he walks away, he stared one last glance at You. He looked into your strangely blank eyes and he swore he saw that they were pink instead of (E/c).  

~~

"One of the parents said that Harley kept running away late at night. They said they think she was meeting up with a boy because they didn't want her to date." Sam explains to the group as Peter entered the tower, pouting the whole way, "They said they saw a guy in her room but all they saw was his hair and eyes."

"But she was found in her room?" Steve asks not noticing Peter walking in. They only glanced at him when he sat on the couching pouting and trying not to break.

"Yea, It was strange. Maybe she let the guy in and then it happened. Hear this, The last girl Sophie didn't want to date anyone but then she got a boyfriend." Bucky explains looking at their notes.

"That's not that weird." Peter spoke up, "Maybe she just wanted to try it. Maybe she actually liked him. who knows." He says darkly as he shrugs.

"Yea, but He was apparently visiting when she was home alone. He left 'early' and that's when the girl died." Sam did air quotes around early.

"Did they interview the boyfriend?" Nat asks as she looked over at peter wondering where you are and why he's so pouty.

"Yes, His name is Arther Valentine." Peter sat up once he heard the name, They ruled him out because he lived far away at the time or something like that."

"what does that have to do with it?" Peter asks as he looked at Sam and Bucky. 

"Don't know, they never really explained." 

"Can I see the papers?" Peter asks quickly as he was handed the papers. As he read he got more panicked, all the girls lived in different areas and there was always one guy in the story. The guy seems to have the same description. One that matched Arther.

"What happens if this guy was in every case," Peter asks as he looks up them.

"What do you mean, Queens?" Steves asks as they all stared at Peter, interested in what he meant.

"I mean, In all the cases there's one guy whether it's the best friend, neighbor, lover, secret lover whatever. All of these say the guy looks about the same." Peter explains looking up at the four before looking back down at the papers.

"The guy has dyed-black hair, bright green eyes, tall. That seems too weird." Peter finished looking at them. They all looked at him before each grabbing for a paper. 

"And we've only got one name." 

"Arther." Peter growled before his eyes widen, "Oh my god, (Y/n)!" Peter sat up in a panic and went running before Steve grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Маленький паук, what do you mean? Wheres (Y/n)?" Nat asks as she walks closer to Peter not trying to freak him out.

"H-her old friend! His name was Arther! He matches the description! (Y/n)'s with him right now!" Peter says in a panic as everyone's eyes widen.

"Does that mean?" Sam starts not wanting to finish the sentence.

"She's next." Steve finishes, not making eye contact with anyone.

"Let's go get that fucker." Nat growls darkly as she stood up and went toward the elevator, ready to beat Arther's ass.

"Wait, Nat!" Peter yelled out, raising his hand, making her stop, "(Y/n)'s under some kind of spell or something." 

"Spell?" 

"Yea, She was acting weird" Sam went to open his mouth, "Weirder than normal!" He closed his mouth, "She wouldn't talk to me until I had to literally make her look at me and her voice was dull and-and her eyes were pink and bland! and now she can't keep her hands off of him." 

"Sounds like a power to me." A new voice spoke up, everyone looked over to see Tony Stark enter the room. He grabbed another cup of coffee as he leaned against the counter, "Let me guess, The sick fuck is after (Y/n)?" 

"Yep." tony cursed to himself under his breath.

"Is there a way to stop him?" Peter asks his mentor. Tony thinks for a moment as he takes a sip of his coffee before placing it down.

"I don't know, Wanda might." 

"Wanda?"

"Yea, she can read minds. She can probably figure out a way to stop him by going into his freaky mind." Tony explained to the group.

"That actually....might work." 

"but Mr. Stark how are we supposed to invite him here without being suspicious?" Peter looks at tony before sheepishly saying, "I think he's always suspicious of me."

"Why because you freaked out on him?"

"How do you know that!?" Peter asks quickly, earning a look from everyone in the room.

"Cause we all know you two got together and now she's with Arther." Nat explained with an eyebrow.

"Shes not with she's under a spell." Peter pointed a finger at the spy, earning another round of looks.

"We're going to have a Gala." Tony stood up before clapping his hands together, "Everyone gets your dresses and suits on." 

~~

"Arther, You look amazing!" You yell as you run over to Arther and you wrap your arm around him and tackle home into a hug, "So handsome." You smile into his chest. His hugs were cold and tense but you still loved them.

"You look beautiful, Darling." He smirked as he hugged you back. He gave you a small kiss in your hair, your cheeks turned bright red as you felt it. He had his sunglasses on and smirked at you.

You thought you felt eyes on the back on your head, You looked behind you to see Peter. You haven't really been talking to him lately, he was by Tony Stark. You two made eye contact but you felt Arther roughly grab your chin and turn your face toward his.

"Don't mind him, Darling. He's just jealous because you are the most amazing woman here." He smirked as your heart starts to race as you blush.

"Arther, stop it." You smile as try to push his hands away but he wouldn't let it. 

"No, You are too beautiful for this world. I'm gonna keep you safe and sound nothing is ever going to hurt you." He hugged you again and you couldn't help but melt into the hug.

"Promise?"

"I promise, darling," he smirked as your heart was almost his. Just a couple more minutes, it'll it worth it. 

~~

Peter grip tightened as he watched You and Arther hug, He wanted to move you away from the guy and protect you. You'll be safe soon, he'll make sure of it.

"I'm here. What do you need me to do again?" Wanda asks as she walks over to the group.

"We need you to look I not Arthers mind to find out how to break whatever he did to (Y/n) and get her away from him." tony explained to her.

"We need to do it fast," Peter spoke up quickly but quietly making sure you or Arther heard you, "Please, we don't know how long she has."

"I'll do what I can," Wanda says before raising her arm and it glowed red along with her eyes. Peter stood there freaking out, he wouldn't know what he would do if Arther won. If he won your heart and did whatever he did with them, "His power is strong and it is greatly affecting her." Wanda turns to face the group.

"She doesn't remember being creeped out by him. She doesn't really remember him attacking her."

"He attacked her!?" "Yes, that's how he got her under his spell. If we don't do anything now then he'll have her heart and he'll break it and make it a trophy." Wanda explains looking around.

"He breaks girls' hearts and makes then trophy?" Peter nearly shouts as his eyes widen as he looked over at you. You and Arther were by some food and Arther gave you some candy.

"That's not possible."

"He finds a way." Wanda suddenly looks over at Peter as she explains, "The only way to get the spell off of her is something she loves more than Arther." 

"We all know who that is," Nat spoke up smirking as she looks over at Peter. Peter looks around as he realized everyone was looking at him.

"Me?"

"Of course. Did you see how excited she was when you two got together?" Nat asks, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"Or how she was always cuddly toward you literally anywhere and everywhere?"

"Peter, your the one who can save her." Wanda pressure, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder. 

"B-but how do I-" Peter started, not really trusting himself to save you.

"I think you know how." Peter smiles as he nods and walks toward you and Arther.

~~ "I have an idea. How about we go to your room?" Arther smirks and he looks at you. Your eyes widen as you didn't think he said that. He held out his hand for you, You smile at his hand before grabbing it. Arther smirks, "Let's go, darling."

"Okay." You squeaked out, blushy and flustered as you almost left the ballroom. 

"(Y/n)!" You turn around to look at Peter who was walking toward you.

"Oh, Hello Peter. How are you?" You ask as Peter continues to walk toward you. You tilt your head as he took your hands and move you away from Arther, "What are you doing?" You reach toward Arther who was glaring at Peter.

"(Y/n), He's dangerous. He's the one killing girls and stealing hearts." Peter says making your eyes widen. You shook your head as you reach for Arther.

"What!? Why would you say that? PEter, Arther would never do anything like that." When Peter didn't let out of you, you summoned a portal under you and next to Arther. You held onto Arthurs's arm and cuddled his side.  

"Darling are you alright?" Arther asks, putting a soft hand on your arm. You didn't answer you just cuddled closer to him, "Did he do anything to you?" You shook your head.

"(Y/n), We gotta go." Peter went to grab you but Arther and you backed up and you huddled closer to him, "(Y/n) you gotta believe me, Your in danger."

"Because of you maybe?" Arther spoke up, making Peter glared at him. You suddenly felt something on your arm and you were dragged toward Peter. 

You were met with Peter's chest when you realized you started to struggle against Peter, "L-Let me go!" you tried to beat at his chest but Peter grabbed both of your hands. 

"What are you doing!?" Arther asks as he walks closer to you two. 

"I'm sorry," Peter mumbled before he cups one of your cheeks and he gives you a soft kiss on your lips. Your eyes widen before you felt your cheeks heat up and your heart race. 

The pink leaves your eyes and they became (E/c) again as memories appeared. Peter pulled away from you before you grab both of his cheeks and pulled him into a more needy kiss. You forgot how much you loved Peter. When you both pulled away you put your forehead on his.

"I love you." You mumbled breathlessly. Peter gave you his adorable smile that you loved so much. 

"I love you so much." 

"What just happened?" a voice spoke up, you and Peter both turn to look at Arther. You looked at Arther with a growl

"Something you wouldn't know 'true love'." You detached yourself from Peter and walked toward Arther, looking like he was ready to kill, "Don't think I forgot about what you did. Not just to me but to those innocent girls!" 

"Oh, Whatever! I needed them for my collection." he raised a hand to your cheek saying, "Too bad I couldn't have yours. You truly have a special heart. Oh well, I gotta go, Darling." Arther smirks as he goes to leave

"What makes you think your going Scott-free?"  You ask while putting your hand on your hips. Peter walks over and puts a hand on your waist. 

"We all know who you are, you got nowhere to run, Arther." Peter glares at him. 

"Have fun at prison!" You fake a smile as you make a portal to the prison cell, "would you have the honor?" 

"It would be my honor." Peter bows before webbing him to the prison. You smirk and close the portal.

"You saved me." You look over at Peter with a teary-eyed smile. 

"Of course I did, (Y/n)." Peter pulled you into a hug while you melted into, "Don't worry I'll always protect you." 

[perspicacious-dragon-of-welkin]

How did you know which major to choose in college?

TL;DR

Basically my advice is this:

Follow your gut. Find what feels right.

Keep your options as open as possible, but don't be afraid to dive deep into something.

Changing your mind is 100% OKAY. So many people take time off from school to figure themselves out. And maybe technical school is a better fit for you if working with your hands is your thing?? Or do a year of something and switch programs! Your courses might just count as electives in another degree.

You will be scared. Life is like that. But never make a decision out of fear. Never choose not to do something because of how you fear it may turn out. Decide based on what good could happen from each of your options.

Work hard, play hard. Join clubs, join groups, meet people. Your classes are only half of school. What you learn out of fun will stick with you way longer and be so much more helpful.

Finally, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. You can't pour from an empty cup. After you graduate no one will care about your grades. A degree is a degree. And you can't work if you are drained. Your mind and body is a machine. It needs fuel, it need maintenance, and it needs appropriate rest. Keep yourself running well, and your life will become so much easier.

Haaaaaa...

Honestly? I didn't. Still don't really. But that’s okay.

See, the way it went was in Grade 11 (Where I live, high-school ends after Grade 12), so in grade 11 I started going to info fairs and stuff and hearing people's sales pitches for their programs, and universities and colleges. My grades were always best in Maths and Science courses, and I enjoyed those the most so I knew I was gonna go for something in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics). I'd had a few people say I'd be good at Engineering, and I'd taken like 30 online quizzes to find out what career would be best for me. I got things like "Custom Boat Builder" (What?? I mean, cool! But what?? Dude, I live in the prairies. Not many boats around here.), and "School Counsellor" (I felt my INFJ coming out in that one), and "Tour Guide", but Engineering of some type was usually somewhere on most of those lists, and it seemed most reasonable and attainable for me. My social skills aren't the best, and while I don't suck at talking to people it drains me a lot, so I really wasn't sure I wanted to make a career out of anything like that. Engineering held esteem, and good prospects for yearly salary, the stereotype around here is that Engineers can't communicate (mostly true) so expectations wouldn't be high for that... It was a good, safe choice, and presented a challenge for me. Everyone told me it would be hard. The hardest thing I'd ever done. I wanted to prove I could do it. So I did. Grade 12 I went to four or five engineering info sessions for local colleges and universities, and I researched any place I could possibly afford to go to in Canada. The list wasn't big.

Many universities were much more competitive than the one I chose, but mine was known for a very.. intimate? Student population? Small, but not too small, and students were known to join up and work together to get through things while some Universities had stories of students sabotaging other's work to gain a higher standing in their classes. The University was one of the cheapest ones (I really didn't have much money saved up. Student loans are definitely a thing), but it wasn't the cheapest on the list. It was one I felt would be of good quality. It wasn't too far from home, that I couldn't travel back in a day, but it was far enough it felt like I was starting something new on my own. I applied within the first four months of grade 12, about 8 months before the time I'd start classes there. I got accepted, found a place to live and completed my first year of General Engineering. After the first year in Uni we were able to request our discipline (what type of Engineering, e.g. Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, etc.) And we had had some opportunities through the year to hear what each discipline was about. I thought I would be going into Chem Eng when I started first year, but decided that was definitely not for me after I took my first university chemistry class, and heard what most chemical engineers did. I decided instead on Engineering Physics despite not really enjoying physics as much as the other sciences in High-school. There was just so many cool things to learn!! And they also told me Eng Phys was "the hardest discipline". It included an extra calculus course above the other disciplines and many other physics courses generally considered very difficult. Again, I wanted to prove I could do it. I went HARD. Studied hard. Took two classes per term above what the university recommended because that was the program. Honestly I think I burnt out. I worked too hard for too many years without taking proper care of myself. Averaging 4-6hrs of sleep a night and eating about 1 meal a day for two years.

***Seriously, take my advice: school is great and important, but TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. Go out and make friends. Don't neglect your work to party, but don't neglect your social life to study. AND PLEASE eat and sleep at least close to the recommended amounts***

Anyway, I did some planning and altered my course load, changed some habits, started going to the gym regularly, and I'm doing better now. But you want to hear about major's right?

Basically I didn't choose. In my second year, I took my first ever coding course. I spent the least amount of time on that course and received my highest grade ever in university (still nowhere as high as my high-school grades, but it's uni.) Many of my classmates registered in a program that offered a computer science bachelor's degree alongside your engineering degree for 12 additional courses, which for engineering is about 1 year - 2 terms. I signed up immediately. Those classes have been a great confidence boost, average boost, brain break, and bonding experience with classmates also in the program.

So to tally this up, I'm then registered in

- BEng in Eng Phys, and

- BSc in Comp Sci.

Then, third year. We took the mandatory communications class (remember everyone says engineers can't communicate). I loved it. Decent grades. Not as great as my Comp Sci, but better than my Physics. The classes are in rhetorical theory and persuasion because when you do the math and actually know how something works, it's important you be able to tell people what you know and have them believe you. My professor was the incoming dean for a 'school of professional development' that had recently opened in the college. They were offering a certificate (6 courses, a.k.a. 1 term, half a year) in rhetorical theory and professional communication. Guess who also signed up for that?

So if you've been keeping track, that's a 4yr BEng, 3yr BSc (done in one yr due to double counting courses) and a 0.5yr certificate. That's 5.5yrs of undergrad I've suddenly racked up. And remember how I burnt out just a while back because my BEng program wants be to take 7 courses a term instead of 5? Well I made it 6yrs and smushed some courses over to fill that last year so I don't have toooo many more mental breakdowns or go completely insane.

And I mean hey, what's an education if you can't use it right? So I've been looking for summer student jobs to I can learn about the industry. Last summer I got one of those jobs. Hated it. Worst job of my life. I'm still hoping that experience wasn't representative of the entire industry, but we'll see. So I'm 4yrs done my 6yrs of undergrad, I've racked up an almost unimaginable amount of student debt, and I'm sitting in my bed wrapped in a blanket thinking I should have gone into psychology. I wanna help people. Everything I do is so cold. So calculated. I wanna exist where feelings are more than something to be smothered and exterminated. But hey. I can't stop now. So I'm gonna finish it all off. The great thing about EP is that the variation of jobs for this degree could be anything from Pixar animation studios to a technician at Nasa or JPL or SpaceX to Uranium mining. So my options are still open, I just gotta carve myself out a path. Nowhere to go but forward, right? And I have a full 180 degrees of forward to choose from! :)

So that's my story. Sorry for the length, but hey, you asked. Basically my advice is this:

Follow your gut. Find what feels right.

Keep your options as open as possible, but don't be afraid to dive deep into something.

Changing your mind is 100% OKAY. So many people take time off from school to figure themselves out. And maybe technical school is a better fit for you if working with your hands is your thing??

You will be scared. Life is like that. But never make a decision out of fear. Never choose not to do something because of how you fear it may turn out. Decide based on what good could happen from each of your options.

Work hard, play hard. Join clubs, join groups, meet people. Your classes are only half of school. What you learn out of fun will stick with you way longer and be so much more helpful.

Finally, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. You can't pour from an empty cup. After you graduate no one will care about your grades. A degree is a degree. And you can't work if you are drained. Your mind and body is a machine. It needs fuel, it need maintenance, and it needs appropriate rest. Keep yourself running well, and your life will become so much easier.

[bigskydreaming]

Young Justice Season Three spoilers

YJ Producers: We have a Muslim superhero this season, look how great she is and how progressive we are!

Actual YJ episodes: Okay so Muslim superhero might be a bit of a stretch since well, if you wanna get technical, she’s actually a sentient piece of alien technology whose soul went into the body of a dead Muslim girl when her original alien tech got smushed. But even though she continually insists that she is not Gabrielle Daou, the Muslim girl whose body this was originally, and that’s the entire reason she chose a new name for herself, she is a completely different person aka a non Muslim, not even human person - she still wears a hijab! Totally counts!

YJ Producers: We always wanted to portray LGBTQ+ superheroes, we’ve actually had one the whole time and you just didn’t know it because mean old Cartoon Network wouldn’t let us show it, now that we’re on our own we can and will be showing LGBTQ+ characters this season!

Actual YJ episodes thirteen episodes into the season: Error 404 Content Not Found

YJ Producers: We’re finally gonna include Cyborg! Victor Stone is in the house, we love and appreciate that character so much, we really wanted to wait until we could do his story justice!

Actual YJ episodes: So see, after getting gruesomely almost-deaded after a huge blowout fight in which we showed Vic has a lot of rage cuz Black Teenage Boys Are Just Like That, that was all aimed at his dad for not showing any interest in his life and for never showing his son he cared until now cuz Black Dads Are Just Like That, well okay, yeah that sucks, but what happened NEXT is really cool - so his dad saved his life, right? Even if it was by using alien tech that every single person he came in contact with kept telling him wasn’t like normal tech, it was sentient and thus yes COULD be bad, which was further demonstrated through the fact that said life-saving tech kept like...hijacking Vic’s own body and turning him into a rage-monster that we could totally show being a Stereotype of Black Teenage Boy Aggression as he remorselessly hunted a terrified Violet but it wasn’t his fault, he was totally powerless to control his own actions cuz of the Evil Alien Tech in his body and like wait, whats bad about that, I forget the question??? Oh right! But stop WORRYING, its all good, see, as long as he stayed around Violet and never went too far from her ever, the woman of color had magic rage-pacifying skills that existed solely to calm down the Stereotypical Angry Black Teen when he couldn’t control himself because Reasons. LOL WHY ARE YOU UPSET, WHAT’S WRONG WITH THAT, THIS IS A GOOD VICTOR STORY, ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???

YJ Producers: We love and value our characters of color and would never hurt them, we’ve actually taken steps to make sure of that!

Actual YJ Episodes: Violet and Vic are both practically unkillable, see? As proof, watch us violently murder Violet in every single episode in new and creatively gruesome ways, with bonus Vic near-death experiences that allow us to show him just utterly wrecked in ways we’ve never shown a single white character, even in this season when we’re all about showing off how much creative freedom we have now without CENSORSHIP! 

YJ Producers: This season is also going to focus on the stress and mental health issues that go along with life as a superhero, and who better to demonstrate this by suffering from superhero-related PTSD than Jefferson Pierce? The guy whose divorce already showed the stress and relationship issues that go along with life as a superhero (since all our white heroes in relationships are still going strong)!

Actual YJ Episodes: Oh, nothing say about this one huh, PUNK? That’s right, we actually did exactly what we said we’d do, see? Just look at how much time we spend talking about how traumatized Jefferson is and how miserable he is after killing a kid, and that’s nothing we’ve ever done (or would ever do - SHH THEY DONT NEED TO KNOW THAT) to a white hero! PLUS, like, he’s definitely getting better though, thanks to the support of the much younger character he’s surrounded by, instead of y’know, turning to his established friends and colleagues his own age for support! AND AND AND don’t forget about his growing relationship with the white doctor lady who is definitely NOT super creepy and NOT likely to betray him and break his heart and/or force him to make painful decisions when choosing between her and the kids he’s vowed to protect at some climactic point later in the season that all of that is super clearly not building towards!

YJ Producers: And don’t forget about Jaime Reyes and Virgil Hawkins and Mal Duncan and Raquel and Karen! They’re all still here too!

Actual YJ Episodes: We’ve definitely forgotten that Jaime Reyes and Virgil Hawkins and Mal Duncan and Raquel and Karen are all still here too.

YJ Producers: Major life events have happened to these heroes offscreen in the time we’ve been away from them, stuff that’s really shaped who they are and who they’ve become by now. All this stuff really matters, its how we’re different from other shows, we don’t pretend these characters stop existing the second they’re off your screens! Looks, Barbara Gordon is in a wheelchair! She’s Oracle now!

Actual YJ Episodes: Why would we bother to explain when or how this happened with even a single line of dialogue when The Killing Joke exists and is available on our streaming service? You sound dumb.

YJ Producers: Kaldur is our proof of how important our characters are to our over-all universe, look how far he’s come! He’s not Aqualad anymore, he’s AquaMAN, he’s one of the co-chairs of the Justice League, right up there with Wonder Woman who he definitely doesn’t need to turn to for approval or oversight of his actual decisions!

Actual YJ Episodes: We’re pretty sure we covered all this in the two minutes of screen time Kaldur’s had all season!

YJ Producers: Look, bottom line, this season, being away from Cartoon Network really allowed us to stretch our wings and flex creatively, we’re doing a lot of stuff with this story that just wouldn’t have been possible before, when we were on a network like CN and had overseers restricting our every move! This season gets a lot darker, a lot more mature, a lot more everything cuz freedom of speech baby! That’s what its all about!

Actual YJ Episodes: In support of our thesis, watch us up the graphically violent content of every single episode and kill lots of people instead of just cartoonishly knocking them out and carting them away to jail! That’s it, that’s everything we wanted to do that CN wouldn’t let us, that now we have total freedom to prove in a myriad of ways! What do you mean, what about *looks at smudged writing on hand* LGB - look we can’t be expected to read what that says when we have graphic violence to depict, fuck yeah!

YJ Producers: Besides, in happier news, its not all doom and gloom this season! Connor and M’Gann got engaged! Now that we’ve completely moved past all the stuff M’Gann did in S2 and don’t consider it worth mentioning, Superboy and Miss Martian are back together, and SB is totally gonna marry the woman who betrayed him in the one highly specific way that goes back to the very source of every trust issue he has and reason he has so many walls pushing people away!

Actual YJ Episodes: Yeah this is definitely happening. Suck my dick, Connor fans and fans who relate to and identify with SB and his story and think its maybe just not the healthiest to wave a wand and go “Happily ever after!” With, y’know, the guy whose greatest canon fear and paranoia is the sanctity of his mind being violated and being unable to trust that his own thoughts are really his and not just being spoon fed to him in a pod at Project Cadmus or by his telepathic girlfriend when she doesn’t like his opinion or his criticism of her actions and just doesn’t want to fight about it anymore. Look, she said she was sorry, get over it. What more do you want? For Connor to move on and have a healthy romantic relationship with someone who he doesn’t ever have to wonder if his trust in her and second chance is real and valid and not just her making him say and do what she wanted, like the way she definitely has before? For him and M’Gann to rebuild their trust over time, gradually, as friends, with the understanding they can be close again but romantic intimacy between them specifically probably isn’t in the best interests of the guy who will always have to wonder now if his thoughts are really his, no matter whether or not that’s true? Yeah, no, that sounds like a lot of work tbh, and really, we just like Miss Martian and Superboy together, they’re just cute, you know? Sides, we killed Wally and we don’t actually wanna talk about why Barbara’s paralyzed now and like, focus on her as a character, so what other longterm pairings do we really have? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THESE ARE ALL OUR OWN CHOICES AND IF WE WANT BETTER FOUNDATIONS FOR OUR CHARACTER DYNAMICS WE SHOULD MAKE BETTER CHOICES? UGH GET OFF MY BALLS, MAN.

YJ Producers: We’ve got Terra this season, and we’re doing some really cool, brand new things there.

Actual YJ Episodes: Slade’s Apprentice arc from Teen Titans the show and The Judas Contract in the comics, but really aren’t they the same thing? If you think about it, is it even possible to do that in a new way? Look, its not like we could do anything MORE original than that, like what, did you want us to have Tara genuinely be the good and loving sister she was when she reunited with her brother and expressed how traumatized she was by the things she did when she was supposedly being mind-controlled, actually invested in saving other trafficked meta-kids from being used and hurt the way she had been? Like, the way it seemed she was being written before we revealed it was a fake-out and she was actually working for Slade exactly like those other times we swore we were gonna be more original than that? Ugh why are you so unrealistic, dude, you have such weird expectations.

Me: Like dear YJ, you’ve still got me watching, because like a) I’m weak and I need this, b) nostalgia, c) Dick, Artemis, Connor, Jefferson and the chance of Jason and also Violet, Brion and Vic are all still enjoyable as characters even though your treatment of them and your narrative choices are all extremely suspect and also craptastic and also I really wanna punch you for a lot of this.

But goddamn, this was NOT your best work, and after years of waiting only to get this? Like.....so not crash, dudes. Not even a little bit.

[jojotier]

The Next ONE Manga

“Our top story- children all over the region are coming down with a strange epidemic of tummy aches.” The perky news anchor on screen said, gesturing vaguely to a screen where a cartoonish diagram depicting a lot of frowny faces over a map of Sado Island. “The outbreak began just last night…”

Tsukishima rubbed his head, feeling around the counter for wherever the hell that pill bottle had rolled off to. He should also find the remote, while he was at it… The volume on the tv was too damn loud for this time in the afternoon. And too damn loud for the pounding between his ears.

He managed to reach the aspirin and water, downing two pills and slightly metallic water. It tasted pretty bad, admittedly, but he didn’t really have the energy to dig anything out of the fridge. Besides, he had coffee brewing- or really, his hangover cure for the day. Jesus, why the hell did he let Koito talk him into…

His attention drifted back to the news, passively taking it in until one phrase struck him. “... and it appears that mysterious sightings of cupcakes all over the area are to blame.” Cupcakes… Why did that sound… a little familiar.

“Last night, hundreds of colorfully frosted cupcakes appeared all over town, Easter themed. Many of the afflicted children described eating at least one before, hours later, coming down with their unfortunate present illness. Local hospitals say that nothing was inherently wrong with the confections- only that they’d been baked with wildly inconsistent measures of sugar and butter, overloading many sweet tooths in the area.

“Local parents and grandparents, however, are outraged. Many are calling this a deliberate poisoning, while others are coming forward with accounts of other food-related acts of villainy.”

The camera panned to one woman, identified by the text at the bottom as Ienaga Kano. In one hand, she held a very familiarly frosted cupcake with a crooked rabbit ear with disdain. “I was babysitting my little nephew earlier when I found him nibbling on this- atrocity! These gaudy things were just left every which way around the park, on benches… it’s inescapable. It’s the demands of the PTA of greater Sado that these menaces be brought to justice-”

And then it clicked.

Tsukishima cursed as he fumbled with the glass momentarily, setting it down at the counter and quickly walking around the little wall divider between the kitchen and living room. On the couch in front of the television, one Koito Otonoshin lay sprawled out every which way, one leg dangling off the side of the couch while the other was hooked on the back of it. His face was smushed into his sleeve and the couch cushion. There was an almost inconceivable amount of drool.

“Koito- dammit, Koito,” Tsukishima hissed out through his clenched teeth, shaking Koito’s shoulder.

“Huhhhuabbitiba…” Koito mumbled, burying his face slightly more into the small drool puddle. All of that was, of course, utter fucking nonsense. Normally Tsukishima would take that as his cue to leave Koito be and maybe grab a blanket, but it was kind of urgent,

He shook him harder, hissing out, “ KOITO.” He managed to duck out the way of a swinging arm as Koito gave a screech, cracking with the disuse of a voice that had been resting, and shot up like a bullet.

“Tsukishimaaaaaaaaa,” Koito whined, glaring daggers at him. “What the HELLooowwwwwww owowowow ow ow,” He clutched his aching head, eyes screwing shut against the light. Tsukishima would have chalked it up to karma, if not for the fact that they had way too many empty alcohol bottles in the kitchen to ignore another, far more plausible possibility.

“Shut up for five seconds and look at the damn news,” Tsukishima mumbled, head turning back to the screen. It looks like it’d conveniently gone to commercial while Tsukishima was dealing with Koito, but now, it was coming back on.

“... and there were no survivors.”

Tsukishima’s heart stopped. It was deathly silent for a moment as the newscaster stared back from the screen as if taunting them. Even Koito had gone still, shocked.

“... And that’s the tragic end to No Survivors, the new horror comedy collaboration between Junji *** and *iro**k* Arak*.”

Tsukishima blew out a relieved breath all at once, hand instinctively pushing against his heart. Christ… It was going to be bad enough on his conscience that his own drunken actions had apparently led to a bunch of kids getting sick. If any of them had actually died… Koito slumped down, a shaky laugh coming from him as he asked, “What- was that all-?”

And then as if to taunt them further, the reporter said, “And now back to the cupcake story- we have several eyewitness accounts stating that they saw a tall, spindly man placing the cupcakes all over the city, speaking in tongues…”

Tsukishima slowly turned to Koito, staring. Koito stared back, face slowly losing color faster than an inconsistent mangaka could lighten dark skin over 150 chapters in. “I thought,” Tsukishima said calmly, knowing full well that he was still processing everything because otherwise- if he weren’t- he’d likely be far angrier, “you agreed you were going to throw those cupcakes away.”

“I-!” Koito choked on a breath and some satsumaben before coughing, managing to get out through gritted teeth, “I know- I thought maybe you meant that you just needed to be rid of them?! Recycling technically counts-”

“No. No, it does not.” Tsukishima flatly said, eye twitching gently. “I said throw them away- there were too many. And what in the hell did you do?”

“Don’t blame this all on me!!” Koito nearly hollered, fingers twisting into the couch cushions. He pointed at Tsukishima accusatorily, “Besides, YOU’RE the one who made all those cupcakes in the first place!! Why the hell weren’t you paying attention to what you were putting in them, huh?! What if you accidentally replaced the salt with sugar or something?! I’M NOT the only one-”

“I know damn well you aren’t accusing me when I was drunk,” Tsukishima ran a long-suffering hand down his face. “Because of, might I remind you, your goddamn insistence that we drink some chardonnay. I don’t even like wine!”

“Well YOUR shit taste isn’t MY problem, now IS it!” Koito shouted back, sitting up straighter so that he could channel his energy into aggressively gesturing with his hands. “Besides!! That didn’t stop you from drinking it all last night!! That was my last goddamn bottle- do you have any idea how hard it is to get when I’m not with my father?! Ridiculously hard!”

“You INSISTED on a drinking contest to see which of us would buy a new bottle,” Tsukishima pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing that this bickering wasn’t going anywhere and wasn’t really addressing the topic at hand. “Look- that’s not the point. Last night happened, and we may have made several mutual mistakes that just so happened to escalate into a long series of regrettable choices. Happens to every college student, probably. We just need to calm down and think through this-”

“YOU’RE NOT EVEN IN COLLEGE ANYMORE- that’s the POINT.” Koito groaned loudly as he flopped backward, banging his head against the arm of the couch and hissing out a pained breath because of it.

Tsukishima’s lips pressed into a thin line as he said, “Alright. Noted. Just make sure they didn’t catch any video of you on the news.” He turned to go back to the kitchen. “I’m making coffee. Do you want-”

Just as Koito seemed to want to interrupt, there was an insistent buzz at the door. They both glanced at the door as the buzzing overlapped as the doorbell to their shitty little apartment was pressed again. Koito eventually said, “Well? You’re already up- you may as well see who the hell is bothering us.”

“If it’s the police, I’m not hiding you.” Tsukishima deadpanned as he walked to the door, peering out of the peephole. “... Huh.”

“Huh what?” Koito lazily asked, pouting like a fucking infant on their couch.

“It’s Enonoka.” Tsukishima said, somewhat bewildered.

Koito sat up again, turning his body towards the door. “Huh. That is odd… She’s still on break, so she shouldn’t be here for tutoring… and I didn’t think her English teacher gave homework…”

“Yeah.” Tsukishima’s eyebrows furrowed as he stepped back and opened the door. “Hello, Eno…” He trailed off as his eyes landed on the spot where Enonoka had just been standing a few seconds ago. When he pulled the door open, she wasn’t there anymore. He blinked and poked his head, looking down either side of the hallways to see if he could catch a glimpse of her running away. Odd…

He glanced over his shoulder, saying, “She’s not there- I guess she ran…” Then, Tsukishima noticed Koito turned towards the back of the couch, rigidly sitting with wide eyes raised towards the kitchen. “Hey? What are you-”

“H,” Koito wheezed out, mouthing something before just giving up and pointing frantically in the direction that he was looking. Tsukishima raised his eyes, and his gaze met Enonoka’s.

She was already inside the apartment, sitting on the divider between the living room and kitchen.

“...” Tsukishima quickly turned back to the front door and opened it, peering out. Then he turned his attention back inside. Enonoka waved from the counter. Well, that was weird. But nothing was really setting off any true alarm bells- after all, she was just a child. It’d be dumb to be intimidated by her. “Hello, Enonoka. … How’d you get into our house?”

“Oh, you know,” Enonoka said, failing to elaborate on what they knew. Tsukishima closed the door. She swung her legs a bit, pointing at the news. “I guess you know the rumors, huh?”

“Rumors?” Tsukishima asked with some disdain. God, it couldn’t have been more than twelve hours… how were there already rumors? Surely they couldn’t be about them- it didn’t seem like anyone had caught a good look at Koito, barring their little next door neighbor, perhaps- which meant she might have seen Koito. Oh, dammit.

“They say there’s a supervillain around town- fun, right?” Enonoka said. Tsukishima sighed, leaning against the door. “They say he’s made of a bundle of living noodles in the shape of a man and uses his sweet sauce tentacles to mind control kids into eating his sweets.”

Well, Tsukishima couldn’t fault whoever started the rumors on their apparent imagination. “Sounds a bit farfetched… don’t you think?”

“Of course it’s farfetched.” Enonoka assured. “I’m not an idiot. I know what’s going on.”

Tsukishima sighed. So she likely had seen… “Listen… it really isn’t all that you think it is. Koito didn’t-”

“Oh, I know it wasn’t Mr. Koito,” Enonoka said confidently. “Are you kidding me? He’s not made of noodles or anything.” Koito wasn’t looking any less tense though, gesturing at Enonoka as he tried to mouth something at Tsukishima. Tsukishima couldn’t read lips very well, but maybe he was saying something like… powder? Did they leave the powdered sugar out? Crap, the kitchen was still a mess… Koito was probably reminding him that she was sitting on a very dirty counter. God… how embarrassing. Tsukishima hadn’t even had the time to clean…

Then, Enonoka pointed at Tsukishima. “You’re the mastermind.”

“Ah…” The misunderstanding just seemed to deepen. “I guess in a sense, but it really isn’t-”

“I knew it! And you know too, right?” Enonoka said, eyes gleaming with some excitement. “Which is why you’re denying it. Don’t worry, Mr. Tsukishima- people will be sure to believe you.”

“I should hope so- I’m trying to tell you the truth,” Tsukishima tried to continue.

“It’s okay- I already know!! That’s why I’m here.” Enonoka said, practically vibrating in her spot. She was mature for her age and intelligent… but Tsukishima guessed that this was still just a kid thing, whatever game was being played. “Don’t you get it, Mr. Tsukishima?”

“Get what?” Tsukishima asked, taking a step closer as he decided to humor the child a bit. Koito finally seemed to shake himself from his flabbergasted state, trying to tell Tsukishima to wait- but Enonoka was already knocking two of the empty bottles off of the counter. Shit- if those hit the ground, it’d be a damn minefield if Enonoka tried to jump down! What the hell, kid?

Lunging forward, Tsukishima tried to catch onto the falling bottles when suddenly, they weren’t falling at all. He paused, watching them freeze mid air… and then reverse their trajectory back upwards, onto the counter where they had been sitting untouched moments before.

“... Huh.” was all Tsukishima could get out, uncomprehending.

“That’s my power, Mr. Tsukishima- I think it could really help you,” Enonoka said, eyes twinkling. Tsukishima slowly straightened up, looking to the child as in the blink of an eye, she was standing on the floor in front of him, looking up in determination. Enonoka pointed at Tsukishima, eyes blazing with intensity.

“You need to teach me how to be a villain!”

(Sometimes........... things are better................................ without context)

[what-is-sibling-test]

from 'RittenhouseTL' for all things Timeless https://ift.tt/2Orb6gk via Istudy world

Parallel Lines - Chapter 5

Summary:

Amy Preston’s sister went missing in 2016. Two years later, down on her luck and having a miserable day, she meets a handsome stranger who proves to be a lifesaver in more ways than one, who tells her an impossible story - and offers her a choice that changes her whole life.

Jiya Marri has never fully understood her visions, and when given the chance to save the life of the man she loves, she failed. So when visitors from another timeline show up, battered journal in hand, and tell her there’s a way she (and only she) can still save Rufus…well, what has she got to lose?

Lucy Preston has lost everything. When she’s finally given back one of the most important things in her life, she’s determined to keep that safe. But this new journal is recounting events that never happened, things not yet come to pass, and as keepers of the journal, she and Flynn know something is very, very wrong…they just aren’t sure what.

A story of past and present intertwined, of infinite universes, of choices to go left instead of right and all the consequences that go along with that choice.

Fandom: Timeless

Pairing(s):  Garcia Flynn/Lucy Preston, Wyatt Logan/Jessica Logan, Rufus Carlin/Jiya Marri

Read from the start here

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Rufus waits impatiently as the orderly squeezes his bag of donuts far tighter than he really needs to if he’s looking for sharp objects.  It’s not like this is a prison (well, not technically), and Rufus highly doubted Stanley Fisher would be hopping out of bed anytime soon to make his jailbreak.  Hell, the man couldn’t even walk anymore, his leg muscles had atrophied so severely. This fact never seemed to bother Stanley, in the rare moments of lucidity he had now and then.  He always seemed impatient having to actually speak with someone in the ‘real world’, as if he was hurrying through the conversation so he could quickly get back to his visions.

Part of Rufus envies him.

The orderly finally hands the bag back to Rufus and gets to his feet, nodding for him to follow.  Reaching the door, the orderly pulls a keycard on a retractable cord from his belt and presses it to an access panel next to a patient room.  The door locks disengage loudly, and the orderly tugs the door open, again nodding for Rufus to go in.

Rufus steps into the room, his crumpled bag of donuts clasped in one hand.  No luck - Stanley was having a bad day (though Stanley would argue it’s a good day), his head laying slack against the mattress as his eyes stay permanently rolled back in his head.  It had been disturbing the first few times Rufus had visited, watching his eyes twitch all over while his mouth lolled open, but before long he’d adjusted to it enough that he no longer noticed it.  Hell, he’d even cleaned up the man’s drool once or twice without his one-sided conversation breaking stride.

“Hey Stanley!” he says with false enthusiasm, and as expected gets no response.  A pretty deep one today, then. Oh well, press on. “Looking good buddy. Doing something new with your hair?”

He flops into the seat next to Stanley’s hospital bed.  He’s not sure why he’s still making these weekly visits.  Attempting to keep his sanity, he supposes, seeing as Stanley is officially the only person left with whom he can discuss his life.  He’d considered a therapist briefly, then realized that would be utterly pointless - he’d be admitted to the room next to Stanley immediately.  Thanks a lot, time travel.

“It hasn’t been the most productive week for me so far,” he begins, reaching into the bag to retrieve a smushed donut and taking a bite.  He holds the bag out toward Stanley, offering a donut. He knows he’ll get no response, but it gives him the illusion he’s having an actual conversation and not just talking into the void.  “No? Suit yourself.” He plops the bag down on the table next to the hospital bed, then leans back in his chair. “I’ve managed to collect a bit more information about some of the main Rittenhouse safehouses, not that it does me much good without a government agency behind me, but at least it’s some sort of progress.”

He’s not even sure why he’s continuing to try.  It would be easy to simply collect his family and disappear, let someone else lead the fight against Rittenhouse - what could one man do against them, anyway?  But that idea only ever lasts a few seconds before he imagines a world shaped by Rittenhouse, things changing around him without his even realizing, and knows there’s every chance running away would do nothing, and his life would just get exponentially worse the more Rittenhouse meddled unimpeded.  They could even take a trip back to erase him, and he’d never be aware of it.  He has literally only one option left - fighting back.  

(True, he technically has two options, but the other one - to give up and die - isn’t a real solution so much as his easy way out)

“I’ve still had no luck with my theoretical physics research.  Trying to figure out the science of all this without Connor or-”  He swallows. He hasn’t been able to say her name in months. Each time he thinks about her, he feels like he’s on the edge of a total breakdown, and he just…can’t do that right now.  Not yet. There would be time to mourn her, to mourn them all, later. “Well, anyway. Anthony was better at all this than me. Nothing like learning on the job, huh?”

No response.

“Yeah, you get it.  Anyway, I’ve been trying to figure out how to reproduce the conditions of that Lifeboat trip, the one we did with four people to three seats.  Figured it might be handy to have some visions to give me a vague idea of where to go with everything. Not that we ever proved the visions were tied to something that actually happened during that trip, but I’m desperate if that isn’t obvious.  No luck so far. I’m tempted just to try taking the Lifeboat out and then unstrap from my seat, but that’s probably the dumbest idea I’ve come up with yet and a recipe for a concussion. Running out of them, though, so eventually it’ll come down to what have I got to lose?”

Rufus reaches for his bag of donuts and retrieves another mashed up ring.  “It’ll either work or kill me,” he adds, “and at this point, either one of those options would be good.”

God, she’d hit him so hard upside the head if she were here.   How dare you, Rufus Carlin.  You are not a quitter and you never have been.  And Connor would probably stand just behind her, nodding his assent and giving him a pointed fatherly I’m not mad, just disappointed look.  Not that they could possibly understand his situation.  They’d never had to live in a world without him in it.

“You know, Stanley, you’ve been vision-ing the last three weeks that I’ve come by.  Starting to feel like it’s pointless to visit.” He looks over his shoulder, toward the window currently filled with sunlight.  It’s a beautiful day outside. Why was he even bothering with this, when he could be out there, getting some air before heading back to his makeshift bunker (actually a vacant, run-down warehouse that he’d bought with some cash he had set aside, no questions asked from the seller who obviously wasn’t above board himself).  What he really wished he could go do is visit his mother and Kevin, even just for an hour…but if it wasn’t safe for them before, it was definitely unsafe for them now.

A noise from the bed catches his attention and he turns back to face Stanley.  To his complete and utter shock, Stanley has come to, and is currently blinking as he squints up at the ceiling, his eyes not yet adjusted to the harsh change in lighting.

“Hey Stanley,” Rufus says, grinning.  “Welcome back to the land of the living, bud.”

Stanley turns his head and only then seems to notice Rufus, and his face brightens in response.  He reaches a hand for the bed controls to lift himself into a sitting position (he could, obviously, just sit up, but Rufus is certain his back muscles are starting to atrophy along with the rest of his body and he probably doesn’t have the strength anymore).  Once he’s comfortably able to look at Rufus face to face, he returns the grin. “Rufus. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Oh?  Why’s that?”  He holds out the bag of donuts again, and this time Stanley takes one.  Rufus is fully aware Stanley has a g-tube trailing from his abdomen where his body gets its nutrition, but he still seems to enjoy the treats that Rufus brings all the same.  Which makes sense; he may be unconscious 95% of the time, but he’s still human, and Rufus suspects the routine reminds Stanley of his life before all of…this. The good old days when Rufus would adjust the coding on the fly while Stanley was in the simulator giving him feedback on how it handled, and afterward they’d always make a coffee run for the team, taking turns buying.  If he’s being honest, Rufus enjoys the reminder of a happier time as well. A time when they were all excited about their mind-blowing innovation, excited about changing the future for the better.

Stanley savors his donut, taking only small bites so as to avoid upsetting his stomach.  “I heard whispers of you.”

Ah, so it starts.  Usually he could get a minute or two of real conversation out of Stanley before everything he said switched to ‘batshit insane’ mode.  Still, at least he’d gotten him conscious for once, after three weeks of talking to the wall.

“Who was whispering?”

“Me.”  Stanley grins widely.  “Haunting me through the past, trying to catch my attention, but no, no, it isn’t smart to let down your guard when traveling.  But I caught me.”

This is a new one.  He’d heard Stanley talk about wisdom he’d gleaned from historical figures, heard him rave enthusiastically about ‘forbidden colors’, but he’d never mentioned conversations with himself before.  Maybe his brain was finally starting to break down, and this was the unfortunate first sign of the end.

Still, may as well indulge him.  “And what did you tell yourself, Stanley?”

“We compared notes first.”  Another couple of bites; Rufus waits in pained silence, trying to be patient with his sick friend.  “Such interesting differences.”

“Differences?” he repeats, eyebrow raised.  “Sorry buddy, you lost me.”

“Oh, of course, you don’t have the gift.  It’s a tangled web, Rufus, each of us coming so close to each other but never touching.  But those with the gift transcend, not tethered to any single path-”

Rufus raises a hand.  “Hang on bud, before we get into…that stuff, what did you tell yourself about me?”

Stanley pauses, thrown off by the interruption, then perks again.  “Oh, yes! It was about her.”

“Her?”

Stanley’s grin widens.  “She’s looking for you.”

Read the rest at AO3

[shinkei-shinto]

Season Two.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] I mean they can still Live over There

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] i just also wanna do Magic rn

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] the problem was

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] I was actually going to ask 'how do i completely tear apart and rework my established species into something i'm happy with now?'

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Taza] That's a pretty heavy question. What are you unhappy with about it currently?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] I feel trapped, and 2-dimensional

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] like I've backed myself into a kind of corner where I can't actually insert anything new and good and Fun to play with

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] like it's a very small, limited time-space thing, where there isn't room to figure out overarching themes or time-based things like overthrowing a reigme (not what I want to do but An Example)

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Taza] And if you were going to just edit out those parts you dislike currently it wouldn't be the same anymore so it's easier to just rebuild it from the ground up?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] I feel like I have a finished product, almost, like I'm holding something beautiful and complete and pretty in my hands

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] and to just jam, say, magic in, would ruin the entire structure I've built -

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] I don't feel like I can tear out just what I like about my own story, without disrespecting the things I already have that - once - I cared about and loved

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Taza] So rather than rework, you kind of want to immortalize the current species as is and make a new one?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] like I need an AU where some of it is the same, but I haven't just torn out this whole structure that I already had

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] It's like -

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] Like I tried. and I got somewhere, I built my thing, it stands on its own, it's pretty good.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] But I know I could have done better /with them/

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Taza] But you can't do that as it is now because the details are already all there?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] yeah, there's no room for the cool shit I wanna put in, because I built things too watertight, too little loopholes

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Taza] Then wouldn't the easiest way be just to make an alternate timeline? With the same origin, but perhaps certain key events unfolded differently so that you now have the room to add in the things you want. It doesn't invalidate what's already there, and it seems the perfect setup for being able to keep what you do like

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] yeah? probably?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] all the answers I've gotten so far have been like, "why don't you just redo it entirely" "why don't you just cut out what is dissatisfying you"

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] and that, feels like it's Wrong

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Taza] Because it would sully the original?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] it's dishonest to the work I've done

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] the same reason I have left my dA gallery alone for nearly 8 years now

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] sure, it wasn't Great, there are lots of concepts I made happen Better, I redid and did nice and stuff,

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] there's things I will never touch again and am very embarrased by

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] but I Let It Stay

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Taza] If any kind of rework of the original would be a disservice, then it sounds like the only real solution is to make something new entirely, that has no bearing or relation to your old work

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] the alternate timeline thing sounds like the best option I've been given so far, because it lets me respect the fact that I did work, old work, good work, it can Stay There

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] without making me backed into a corner on my own designs

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Taza] Since they're separate timelines, they'd never need to interact, or technically have any relation to each other aside from the similar origins

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] because like

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] I have ideas, things, solid things that have basis in the structure I have already built - things like species limits, or their lack of ability to have sparks/fire on their planet -

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:40] [Forwarded from Shin 🐐] but don't fit in with the social and lack-of-magic structure that was there, before

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:41] so, I don't want to destroy/remove s1

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:41] but s2 is where I wanna Work bc s1 feels Done

Gray, [07.05.17 21:14] so u get ur loyal warriors with the knowledge one day they're prob going to try 2 best you? (but like u'll know its coming)

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:14] mhmm, exactly

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:14] there's no old-and-fat-kings

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:14] if you get your ass beaten, you either graciously step down and advise them, or demand that they kill you and release your soul to the metallics

Gray, [07.05.17 21:15] NICE

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:15] there's probably some empires that're like "yeah no we all advise the new kings, he's got an honor "guard" of like 15 prior kings"

Gray, [07.05.17 21:16] tbqh thats p badass thoh

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:16] and then some that have a bloody line of single kings

Gray, [07.05.17 21:16] like. conceptually i REALLY enjoy that

Gray, [07.05.17 21:16] and tru

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:16] plus

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:17] then you get the advice of all of those who were beaten - and you probably had to fuck up at least a couple of them yourself

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:17] and they're gonna respect one another, likely have some kind of balance/order of their own

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:17] very little infighting

Gray, [07.05.17 21:19] tru!

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:21] but also, consider:

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:23] you enter the throne room of your leader, your king, the monarch of monarchs. there is some kind of a throne, it varies to every one, but across the floor - a wonderful, polished, well maintained surface - there are shapes.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:24] dark, at first, hard to make out, until you realize what they are, until you step next to one on your way into the true space of the throne room, flanked by two guards that look so fierce you would not want to glance at either to see any closer.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:25] there's a name, written out in a deep russet color. The next is blue. The third, a vibrant and yet dark green. All of them lie next to pools in various shapes; some are tagged with scrapes and scratches, some are huge and circular, and some have written poetry, sayings, or pawprints.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:25] They are all that remains of the former kings, their last moments and last words immortalized, carefully kept under a thin layer of sheen, to preserve them for all eternity.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:26] And although his claws are no longer stained, the brilliant blue that resides just to the left of his throne room has a haunting message written in the freshly-laquered blood: Good luck.

Gray, [07.05.17 21:26] LORD

Gray, [07.05.17 21:26] thats gonna be interesting when they run outta floor space

Gray, [07.05.17 21:26] or if someone wants to redecorate

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:27] probably make a new throne room, tbh

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:27] just bc fighter chose to sit in that one, that lineage, doesn't mean they all do

Gray, [07.05.17 21:27] fair enough

Gray, [07.05.17 21:28] tho i feel like by that point making a new one would feel almost like desecration

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:28] How do you make that decision, huh?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:28] maybe when the bloodstains start to obscure one another

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:29] can you imagine walking that room, as king, picking where you want to die?

Gray, [07.05.17 21:29] places a reserved sign on the floor

Gray, [07.05.17 21:29] 'perfect'

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

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:24] Cakes trying to imitate humans in greeting and just sneering their lip up off of their DISGUSTING MESS OF JAGGED RASP TEETH

Gray, [02.08.17 23:28] DIYFSDKJHFSDIOFLSDFBSDFBDSK

Gray, [02.08.17 23:28] PLEASE

Gray, [02.08.17 23:28] FUCK THAST GREAT

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:28] Cakes, who greet one another with carefully sheathed claws, bc they do not want to point things at each other,

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:29] "oh, humans just. they just hurt one another as greetings. uh. okay."

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:29] half of cakes: fuck this i'm out

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:29] the warrior descent half of cakes: YES HELLO HOW DO WE ENGAGE

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:29] FLING OUR ENTIRE BODIES W sPIKES OUT?

Gray, [02.08.17 23:29] SDFJBJSDKJFBSDKBFSDJKBFDSKJFB

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:30] listen i love the "FIGHT TO FIGHT" cakes but theyre

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:30] stupid

Gray, [02.08.17 23:34] OKAY MOOD

Gray, [02.08.17 23:34] theyr ebeautifulf

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:38] i lvoe them

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:38] but they would absolutely say 'hi' by turning into a miniature tornado at someone else

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:38] "CATCH ME" and all 7 of my flailing limbs, with spikes attached

Gray, [02.08.17 23:39] I LOVE THIS

Gray, [02.08.17 23:39] I LOVE THIS WITH ALL MY HEART

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:40] these kind stil exist in s2

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:40] they never went away

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:40] fighter is probably one of them

Shin 🐐, [02.08.17 23:40] "finally home" he says, sighing with relief, bc he can at least catch these ones instead of being smushed

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

Shin 🐐, [14.05.17 20:36] S2 Cakes and storms

Shin 🐐, [14.05.17 20:36] Storms that come screaming in from the water and pull at their very homes

Shin 🐐, [14.05.17 20:37] Homes built for it, that sway and whip cakes around like it is a game

Shin 🐐, [14.05.17 20:37] Chasers who try and bottle storms, bottle eyes, bottle rain and wind and the anticipation of a break in the clouds

Shin 🐐, [14.05.17 20:38] Cakes who live where there are hurricanes, and build homes with iron in the wood to withstand the winds, who all gather outside in the eye of the hurricane to see if they can catch a glimpse of a constellation that will tell their future

Shin 🐐, [14.05.17 20:38] Magic cakes who make storms their focus, who summon or dismiss or gentle storms against their own, and make those against their enemies ferocious and deadly

Shin 🐐, [14.05.17 20:39] Cakes who call storms to channel lightening into their bones, thinking it will help their magic, and the madness that ensues when it actually hits them

Shin 🐐, [14.05.17 20:41] Cakes who try to reproduce the feeling, the image, the idea of storms in paintings and magic to bring to their inland Kings, hoping for something in return

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

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:02] mmmonster designs?

Gray, [08.05.17 00:03] theeee place fighter washes up

Gray, [08.05.17 00:03] they hunt water monsters rite?

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:03] yeee there's been some

Gray, [08.05.17 00:03] : 0!

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:03] weird speculations on monstershapes

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:03] /tagged/nova-23-6

Gray, [08.05.17 00:04] I WILL LOOk

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:05] they probably have some way of luring the things to hunt them more effectively

Gray, [08.05.17 00:05] -chucks a pal into the water w a rope tied 2 'em-

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:05] kjdhfgksjhfgskjdfhg

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:05] more like

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:06] 'steals the eggs, raises them, intentionally causes them harm in order to make them cry for help'

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:06] 'kills the help'

Gray, [08.05.17 00:06] how do they get the eggs?

Gray, [08.05.17 00:07] cake that owns a tea shop +v+ ANYWAY

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:07] LITERALLY THO THATS THEIR CURRENCY/HOW THEYD DO SHIT

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:08] their whole thing would love focus on this kind of consumption

Gray, [08.05.17 00:08] IM SYKED TBH

Gray, [08.05.17 00:08] i think i knoe what my first s2 cake will b,

Gray, [08.05.17 00:09] I KNOW IVE SAID THIS A LOT BUT THIS IS SO COOL

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:09] lmao what do u want u think

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:09] huh huh

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:10] rn all I can tell you is: longer, short 2L are rare, lots of SPikey, intricate patterns and markings, lots of scarring/weapons/armor/things that are just Attached like permanenetly, carrying bags etc

Gray, [08.05.17 00:11] OOOO NICE

Gray, [08.05.17 00:12] no idea what their design might b but Probably a tea cake

Gray, [08.05.17 00:12] pun actually unintended

Gray, [08.05.17 00:12] until now

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:12] tbh

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:12] i think drugs are big there

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:12] hasbrown cakes, tea cakes, liquor cakes

Gray, [08.05.17 00:13] 2nd cake character, ur local drug dealer,

Gray, [08.05.17 00:13] does s2 have sugar?

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:13] totally possible

Gray, [08.05.17 00:14] 'do u have The Stuff' '-opens trenchcoat to reveal cookies-'

Gray, [08.05.17 00:15] so a bakery is where ud get Ur Drugs

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:15] a Bakery is probably a place to chill drugged

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:15] find em buy em have em made

Gray, [08.05.17 00:16] tea shop right beside th bakery >get thirsty after consumin that sugar >pop over for some tea

Gray, [08.05.17 00:16] >realize u can put sugar in tea and have ur mind blown

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:17] those that make other edible goods probably have a good relationship with the Bakeries

Gray, [08.05.17 00:17] true!!

Gray, [08.05.17 00:17] are bakeries kind of like bars?

Gray, [08.05.17 00:17] bars but for Cake Weed?

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:17] like, a bar + hookah joint + smoke shop?

Gray, [08.05.17 00:18] makes sense!

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:18] literally go there to sleep lie down calm down meditate, maybe to sharkpen your magic some

Gray, [08.05.17 00:18] by bar i mean like not so much in terms of atmosphere so much as Socially Accepted

Gray, [08.05.17 00:18] bc ppl will sideye a hookah place but not a bar

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:19] gotcha, yes

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:19] way more like a bar

Gray, [08.05.17 00:19] so sugar in s2 has the effects of a drug but like the social acceptance of alcohol? :0

Gray, [08.05.17 00:19] tho i mean alcohol is a drug

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:20] there's different levels -

Gray, [08.05.17 00:21] theres munching on a brownie and then theres snorting powdered sugar,

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:21] alcohol for us is like yeah whatever, and for them, liquor cake-stuff and then hashbrowning and then sugar

Gray, [08.05.17 00:21] ok explain hashbrowning bc im thinking of like

Gray, [08.05.17 00:21] the potatoe

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:30] i

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:30] did not actually have a fucking way that it worked lmao

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:30] all i have is fuckin

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:30] a doodle of a hasbrown'd out cake holding something smoke-making, and what they look like, and a hashbrowned Ryker

Gray, [08.05.17 00:31] hasbrowned?

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:35] but I'd love to have drugs be a large part of this, bc if they have rec' drugs, they've got medicine and science

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:35] but I'd like for Ryker to bring Runners to them

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:38] alcohol is mostly a breath-thing, although it could also show up as a drink-thing

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:38] but idk about weed/smoke/MJ

Gray, [08.05.17 00:38] Brownie joke here

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:39] that means it must be grown, somewhere

Gray, [08.05.17 00:39] Is there a special kind of fruit they extract it from?

Gray, [08.05.17 00:40] Or r u doin sugarcane

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:40] most of my sugar stuff has been fruit

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:40] distilled fruit has gone to the alcohol thing

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:40] rather than baked sugar, which is somehow more dangerous

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:40] so a soda, while a FUCKING DRINK, would not be as bad as a sugar cookie

Gray, [08.05.17 00:41] Could the smoke/steam from burning/caramelizing sugar get a cake high?

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:49] ssshrugs?

Gray, [08.05.17 00:49] I'll Google like. How much sugar goes up

Gray, [08.05.17 00:50] Tomorrow

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:50] but also: i want to keep it all sugar? or not?

Gray, [08.05.17 00:50] Sugar the most accepted but there are probably other drugs

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:50] cause like

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:51] slightly less accepted, but still Okay, drugs like weed for us

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:51] just, rooms where there's smoke

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:51] and they go and chill and breathe and focus

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:51] meditation style

Gray, [08.05.17 00:51] Sauna,but a High sauna

Shin 🐐, [08.05.17 00:51] yeeeeeee

Gray, [08.05.17 00:57] NIce,

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

Gray, [07.05.17 16:48] also: the hollowness of ganache chests are there like how is it structured would u be able to cut it open and like store things there

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:49] I mean, it'd be like cutting another hold into ur lungs or ur womb

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:49] and while Runners do cut holes into their lungs, successfully, somehow

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:49] idk that u could Put anything in there?

Gray, [07.05.17 16:50] i mean you technically could if u tried hard enough its jus not

Gray, [07.05.17 16:50] advisable

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:50] u could totally cut holes in, like runners

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:50] but it wouldn't....... be worth anything?

Gray, [07.05.17 16:52] OK i think i was thinkin abt the ganache hollow chest area weirdly ive got a better idea now

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:53] it's like a womb/lungs but without an exit

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:53] there's possibly air, or fluid more likely? maybe? something in there, to make it hollow -

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:53] or their lungs are able to expand further because they lack the gestating stuff that ever happens

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:54] (msot Cake Cakes have a vertical line from heart patch to about belly where the skin can open, it's not Fun and doens't work Well but it works GOOD ENOUGH DAMNIT)

Gray, [07.05.17 16:54] S T O R E  S N A C K S  I N  Y O U R  L U N G S  F O R  M A X I M U M  S N A C K  C A P A C I T Y

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:54] lkdfgs;fgjhSDFLGJHSDLFJKGH

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:54] tbh, you could, insert a nutritious slurry in there, and it would work

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:54] idk WHY YOU WOULD But

Gray, [07.05.17 16:55] lbr theres probably somecake that just

Gray, [07.05.17 16:55] 'i wanted to see if i /could/'

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:55] kjdfhgskjdfhgkjsdfhgdjkshfg

Gray, [07.05.17 16:56] F E A S T  O N  M Y  N U T R I T I O U S  S L U R R Y,  F R I E N D S

Gray, [07.05.17 16:57] actually you know how theres like. play productions and stuff probably? i think we talked about that that would be a good way to have an actor Fake-die Oh No Theyre Bleeding, Look At Them Dying

Gray, [07.05.17 16:57] (its rly n u t r i t i o u s  s l u r r y)

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 16:58] kfjhskldjfhgskdjfg h uh

Gray, [07.05.17 17:00] also the reason i asked in the first place is like. idk extra storage space when travelling  thru somwhere (if it worked like i thought it worked but it doesnt work like i thought it worked tbh- i was thinking more like w/ tissue or skin or something seperating it from other organs) ? load up the ganache or s/t & also store things in the hollow

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:24] [In reply to Gray] you could, in theory, just like stuffing something in the stomach of a human being - but whatever you put in there, it's gotta be in there

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:24] so unless it was, like, wet sacks of something, biologically okay with the GGod

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:24] it'd cause infections and problems

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:25] cause it isn't like a stomach, so no digestive food, it's more like a Womb, which still could be slightly acidic and will  be Wet

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:25] bc baby slime

Gray, [07.05.17 17:25] ooohhhh

Gray, [07.05.17 17:28] safe slurry lookin like blood for theatrical purposes

Gray, [07.05.17 17:28] or a /really dedicated prank/

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:29] like, as long as they were pretty safe for eating/fucking/etc, you could mush up fruitshit and use that

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:29] in a normal cake, at least -

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:29] in a GGod, the natural flap that Cakes have from their Heart Patch to their belly is missing

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:29] so they'd have to cut that open artifically

Gray, [07.05.17 17:29] a /really/ dedicated prank

Gray, [07.05.17 17:30] BUT YEAH THAT MAKES SENSE

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

Gray, [07.05.17 17:31] also how does the magic in s2 work? is it Within? is it Around, but cakes can be attuned to it? is magic associated w nature and does a resource drain (i.e. LP) affect it, or is it simply that the s1 just Forgot

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:35] ggestures at the last story I wrote, it's intrinsic to Cakes somehow, but something abotu concentration something about breeding something about the diseases that killed off so much of their people ruined it

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:35] broke it

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:35] the Ancient One remembers some, can stir it some, but concentration is big -

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 17:35] there's a mass to it, you can't start it with nothing, but make too much and it starts to implode

Gray, [07.05.17 17:35] ooooo :0

Gray, [07.05.17 18:00] what are the limitations of the magic? whats the #flavor like Make This Charm And You'll Influence Your Luck or more of a physical manifestation, i.e. LOOK MOM I CAN MAKE FIRE W/ MY HANDS

Gray, [07.05.17 18:00] are there curses?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:14] think physical; it's a lot like "believe this hard enough and it Works" the one good concrete example I have is the "summon a fire in your soul and you can Burn Out the metal poison"

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:14] it's focused on making the impossible and unreal, real and possible, bringing it into their life

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:14] so metallic trees grown from seeds carefully breathed on

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:14] growing things into homes together by belief and basically meditation

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:14] you could probably curse another cake. but they could undo it, or get a friend to undo it, and I have a feeling tracking it back is Really Fucking Easy

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:15] and if they find you

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:15] however there's "curses" and there's "*curses*"

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:15] and turning your friends' tongue into the shape of a fish for a day isn't goign to get you anything but literal jelly bean toes for a week

Gray, [07.05.17 18:16] NICE

Gray, [07.05.17 18:17] are there some curses hardedr to reverse than others?

Gray, [07.05.17 18:18] i.e. someone cursing some1 else w/ their dying breath in vengeance using everything theyve got left for it ?

Gray, [07.05.17 18:18] do moments of extreme emotion amplify magic?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:38] [In reply to Gray] probably; but it's likely based on the individual rather than the curse itself? whether they were strong enough to push the curse, or you are strong enough in belief to break the curse.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:39] [In reply to Gray] death is Big because they want to skip the steps and go straight to Metallics, so being a dick while they die is like, the biggest no, unles s they were SO BITTEr and then idk what happens to magic when the source is Done, death goodby gone

Gray, [07.05.17 18:39] theres always someone Bitter Enough

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:40] [In reply to Gray] PROBABLY? I feel like most magic is the calm kind, the growth kind, the living stuff is more for the calm strength working to gether but then there's WAR MAGIC , which is deffo big anger energy death kill war and probably, things like, funny magic, where u just REALLY wanna get ur friend SO BAD u know those moments where like u fuck up and say the wrong thing bc ur SO EXCITED TO PRANK UR FRIEND that probably makes for a pretty sticky "curse"

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:40] [In reply to Gray] bitter enough to try and expend their shit cursing someone instead of ascending to magic that u literally see, throughout your life, when your magic may or may not even exist after u die?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:41] like I feel like it would try, and then go away,and then come back when they reincarnated, which wouldn't matter unless the other one was also reincarnated at the same time and also not a metallic

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:41] so I mean u could get multiple friends like wanting to be together FOR GOOD and so they, as they die, fuckin shove their energy-magic at one another to do something Stupid like turn one ear white or something, and it ties them together through rebirths until the both die at once and Ascend

Gray, [07.05.17 18:42] i live for funny magic

Gray, [07.05.17 18:42] i need a prankster cake

Gray, [07.05.17 18:42] THIS IS REALLY COOL

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:43] this is what I Wanted 2 do with them like

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:43] these are the Cakes that Escaped and continued growing their culture

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:44] and I think, like, they're just warlike - disease of the body is uncommon, so one of the ways that they naturally regulate their population is to literally kill one another

Gray, [07.05.17 18:44] would gladiator-esque type matches exist?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:45] yesssssssss

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:45] there's big fucking fuck-off wars, probably mostly over territory, resources, and HONOR, but also:

Gray, [07.05.17 18:45] in lieu of th festival ganache battles

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:45] there are Cakes that get older and go "alright itme to fucking die" and when enough of those happen

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:45] they get together and tournament-style to the Last Living One who is expected to either die from their wounds or probably self-sacrifice

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:46] and the hope is that during the tournament each of the other cakes, the ones that die, turn Metallic and rise

Gray, [07.05.17 18:47] would this be similar to the old norse sort of concept of heroism/ideal death? i.e. highest honors 2 those who die in combat + the concept that true heroism is knowing the odds are impossible but fighting and dying anyway?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:48] sorta a little bit? rather than honor through valor, it's a little different, it isn't like

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:48] "kill the most and you win" it's like "live a good life and do well and Fight Good because you know how"

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:49] and sometimes that "fight good" is "literally beat the shit out of someone else" and sometimes that "fight good" is "meditate into a tree"

Gray, [07.05.17 18:49] Cake Valhalla

Gray, [07.05.17 18:49] i, for one, would love to meditate into a tree

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:50] bc part of how they Do is by growing tree-things into big ass tree-home-city-things, moving the natural world

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:50] and there's a infection thing, the thing that the Ancient One has, where you can turn into a fucking tree that just Happens

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

Gray, [07.05.17 18:52] in terms of holidays what would there be?

Gray, [07.05.17 18:52] are there holidays involving a mandatory truce?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:53] I don't think so, I think everything is really mobile and weird and your loyalty is mostly to the head head batch topper Cake, like Fighter, who rules your entire section of the continent(s)

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:53] you can Defect and such, and there are alliances and truces and stuff all over the place, but those are mobile too

Gray, [07.05.17 18:55] Oooo :00

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:55] but the only way that will stop is if the entire species is ruled by one individual

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:55] and that,,, probably will never happen

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:56] there's no real, rhyme or reason for it, there's no like "we have this difference", I think it's just encoded in them

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:56] Cakes just have a fire in them and some of them try to suppress it but many of them just Feel it roar and need to do something

Gray, [07.05.17 18:56] Gotta Punch

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:58] and they don't force anyone into the battles or the wars;

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:58] others will leave Cakes alone who wish it, and won't kill unless they're also being killed

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:58] but they have no hesitation for murder when murder is on the table

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 18:59] there have absolutely been times with warring parties entering cities and fucking things up and they run into caretakers, who are curled around their charges or the young or the weak and pass them by, times where cuppups come running at them with claws extended and they pick them up and put them out of the way

Gray, [07.05.17 19:00] so theres sort of a code of honor thing? (either unspoken or spoken)

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:00] yeah, you don't kill the young, you don't kill the nonfighters

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:00] it's also probably gross/dishonorable to kill someone who isn't as "good" as you

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:00] easy prey is not a worthy target

Gray, [07.05.17 19:02] how far does that extend? would they ransack a city of its resources? bc inadvertantly that'd probably impact the nonfighters negatively

Gray, [07.05.17 19:03] are all leaders exceptional at combat? if they aren't, are they still a valid target seeing as they hold command?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:04] Leaders, toppers, whatever, have to be the best - have to fight their way to the top - the Biggest Ones, like Fighter, are a bit different, but the smaller ones - ones that run warring parties and the like

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:04] they just have to be good at fighting; there's a strict lineage, uh uh uh words

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:05] smaller leaders, the ones that would invade a city, are absolutely gonna be some of the best - have an elite guard - and are going to be after the other leader

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:05] disorganization isn't gonna stop them, though, part of the whole 'fire in your soul' thing

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:06] and even noncombatant Cakes are expected to be able to survive without cushy resource-rich cities, if they're ransaked or taken over

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:06] warring parties are more likely to take control, establish victory, than to destory anything - they're not interested in harming or ruining what is built, only owning it

Gray, [07.05.17 19:08] what about cakes that are highly charismatic, but not necessarily a fighter, but ones that know the Right Things To Say to get someone rallied into action (like. a leader's aide or something, gives themm the words or s/t)? or is it more, you have to back everything up wiv battle prowess before anyone will rallly up?

Gray, [07.05.17 19:08] or strategists that, again, arent the most physically abled but definitely have a hand in coordination/setting up an attack?

Gray, [07.05.17 19:09] would they also cound as a noncombatant? or since their actions lead to a battle/fight/bloodshed, theyre accountable as well?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:10] They're accountable to a degree; someone like the first example is going to be heavy in the magic side, and so would be expected to be met with another magic-heavy fight. A "standard" "footsoldier" is goign to want to knock them the fuck out and let the high-er-ups deal with it. they don't wanan deal with what would happen if they killed the less-fighty, but still valuable cake, but they sure as fuck don't want them to be running the scenes, either

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:11] The best way to survive things would be to be REALLY BAD at fighitng, REALLY GOOD at something else, and afucking turncoat as shit

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:11] passed between two or more Big Groups like a pretty gem, never worse than harmed or knocked out, but no loyalty so no getting higher up in the ranks, never get close to a Big Boss

Gray, [07.05.17 19:12] :Ic sOUNDS LIKE A FUN CHARACTER TBQH, i want 2 make/buy/repurpose a cake 2 use as,

Gray, [07.05.17 19:15] are there groups that makes use of spies? or is that Too Frowned Upon

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:17] Spies probably come in two flavors, 1: I literally just walked into your town and walked the fuck back out and everyone knows but no body fucking CARES 2: we had a spy but they stopped coming back so, uh, guess they're on their side now

Gray, [07.05.17 19:17] KDFKJDFBGJKD

Gray, [07.05.17 19:18] how important is loyalty to s2?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:20] depends on the level -

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:20] small family groups, batches, are going to be intensely loyal, very well tied together, knit like a cloth

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:20] the bigger it gets, the looser the association, up to the point where some of it matters and some of it doesn't -

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:21] some warring parties will flip flop or be easy to grab, others will have a topper who was once part of the Big Boss's batch or family or something and will DIE FOR THEM before they let even one of their party defect

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:21] Fighter has this down to a science, all of his general=types (down to anyone who controls more than 3 other cakes) are either born of him or were raised with him

Gray, [07.05.17 19:22] NICE

Gray, [07.05.17 19:22] whats more important, societally? honor or survival?  how acceptable is survival as an excuse?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:31] honor, really, survival would be mostly considered cowardly - there's survival of noncombatants, which is an exception

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:31] but the base rules are: honor above all, duty to keeping the rules of combat above all, too

Gray, [07.05.17 19:31] nice!

Gray, [07.05.17 19:34] are there mercenary groups? or would it be more like small warring groups ud make a temp alliance with

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:38] definately groups that have lost allegiance to the current kings, i dunno where they would sit physically in the continent, maybe small forgotten or abandoned towns

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:38] and there's... not "neutral", but

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:39] towns that have a Function, like sea-monster-killing, which will be Taken Over (someone shows up and goes and puts a New Flag on the tall tree town hall) but not, no one does anything.

Gray, [07.05.17 19:40] oooohh :0

Gray, [07.05.17 19:40] if u ever wanna rp s2 cakes i would be interested btw i rEALLY LIKE THIS SOCIETY

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:41] eventually, once I have a little More,

Gray, [07.05.17 19:43] moving away from wartime stuff (though ill prob come up w more questions) whats s2 like in terms of like. making things. is it magic-reliant? tool-reliant? mix of both? whats the highest form of technology they could have?

Gray, [07.05.17 19:43] whats used as currency? is it trade-based?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:43] because I know they look somewhat physically different so I gotta figure That out before I go Doing them

Gray, [07.05.17 19:43] YEAH

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:44] the tech question is Cool bc I can do basically whatever the fuck I want

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:44] I don't think they do cars/planes/things/stuff, but beyond that it's fair fucking game

Gray, [07.05.17 19:45] /Nice/

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:45] currency is probably based on favor and a bit of 'credit', anything that can be immediately done in the moment is the best - you need rations? haul a buncha fucking things for me and I'll kit you out for a week

Gray, [07.05.17 19:47] not cum this time

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:47] nah, they got too big anyways -

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:47] there's gotta be something with inherent value, but i'm not sure what

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:48] and like

Gray, [07.05.17 19:48] that will always b me favorite injoke tho

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:48] the monster hunter town that Ryker washes up in probably deals in monster parts as currency, they all understand the inherent worth — but that becomes way way more valuable the furhter you go from their town

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:48] in-town, other shit will be more valuable, but go a bit out of town and you're gonna want those "useless" scales

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:49] you could load up you and your friends and drag a literla fucking life-making fortune to the capital city

Gray, [07.05.17 19:50] cake caravans?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:51] possibly, yes

Gray, [07.05.17 19:51] bc that sounds like a p good way to make a living, if you could get yourself started

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:52] mhm, youand a couple other noncombatant merchants, drag a big ol' carcass escorted by some good fightin friends, bring it to the big city and sell it for all you can get

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 19:52] come back home rich in everything else

Gray, [07.05.17 19:55] how big of a risk for bandits?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 20:04] reasonable; bandit isn't the right word - it's more likely that you'll get attacked by other King's units/groups/things, trying to harm your King, so there's lots of running without banners and trying to barter your way out

Gray, [07.05.17 20:05] makes sense!

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 20:05] and it depends on the locale; where you are in a kingdom(s) is gonna determine how likely a warparty is

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 20:05] the kind of, disrupting commerce and fucking up the small ones, gurellia warfare, is super frowned upon

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 20:05] you want to Take That Shit, not hurt it before you can claim it

Gray, [07.05.17 20:10] also makes sense

Gray, [07.05.17 20:10] are t here any big kingdoms that participare in guerilla warfare?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 20:11] I'm gonna vote that Fighter doesn't let that happen

Gray, [07.05.17 20:11] time 2 fite the Big Kingdom

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 20:12] he raised a miniature army of cannibalistic massive walking gods

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 20:12] he has this shit down so fucking pat

Gray, [07.05.17 20:15] trUE

Gray, [07.05.17 21:08] whats the benefit of being the monarch of  a city? do they make laws? how are they enforced if so? or it is more about money/prestige?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:09] You're the Best, and your prestige earns you a lot of leeway; laws are followed, if issued, so long as they are within the lines of belief already extant; great change would have to come from the ground up

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:10] But a monarch will live in comfort and something resembling excess

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:10] smaller batches or towns will flag to them if they can provide protection from others; stability is the greatest asset a King can provide

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:11] if you can make your lands, people, batches, warriors, relatively stable and encourage commerce trade and infrastructure

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:11] you're gonna last a looong time

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:11] (giving up your life to protect your monarch is one of those "sure fire" ways to get metallic)

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:12] (it's probably based on a lotta other things, too, but unlike many other attempts to get metallic, this one has a much higher turnover rate)

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:12] (so there's lots of data, and so much of it is positive, it's seen as a Good Thing a lot of the time)

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:12] but to do that, you have to earn their loyalty and fierce protectiveness - which can be done best by beating the shit out of them, usually, at least the warlike ones

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:13] anyone who survives your fights or duels becomes your subordinate, and while they too want to best you eventually, they'll get in to the line of "I can do it LEGIT" and anyone who tries to best you not-legit, like an assassin, will be punched in the nose and sent home

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:13] (or just murdered. it depends.)

Gray, [07.05.17 21:14] so u get ur loyal warriors with the knowledge one day they're prob going to try 2 best you? (but like u'll know its coming)

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:14] mhmm, exactly

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:14] there's no old-and-fat-kings

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:14] if you get your ass beaten, you either graciously step down and advise them, or demand that they kill you and release your soul to the metallics

Gray, [07.05.17 21:15] NICE

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:15] there's probably some empires that're like "yeah no we all advise the new kings, he's got an honor "guard" of like 15 prior kings"

Gray, [07.05.17 21:16] tbqh thats p badass thoh

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:16] and then some that have a bloody line of single kings

Gray, [07.05.17 21:16] like. conceptually i REALLY enjoy that

Gray, [07.05.17 21:16] and tru

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:16] plus

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:17] then you get the advice of all of those who were beaten - and you probably had to fuck up at least a couple of them yourself

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:17] and they're gonna respect one another, likely have some kind of balance/order of their own

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:17] very little infighting

Gray, [07.05.17 21:19] tru!

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:21] but also, consider:

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:23] you enter the throne room of your leader, your king, the monarch of monarchs. there is some kind of a throne, it varies to every one, but across the floor - a wonderful, polished, well maintained surface - there are shapes.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:24] dark, at first, hard to make out, until you realize what they are, until you step next to one on your way into the true space of the throne room, flanked by two guards that look so fierce you would not want to glance at either to see any closer.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:25] there's a name, written out in a deep russet color. The next is blue. The third, a vibrant and yet dark green. All of them lie next to pools in various shapes; some are tagged with scrapes and scratches, some are huge and circular, and some have written poetry, sayings, or pawprints.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:25] They are all that remains of the former kings, their last moments and last words immortalized, carefully kept under a thin layer of sheen, to preserve them for all eternity.

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:26] And although his claws are no longer stained, the brilliant blue that resides just to the left of his throne room has a haunting message written in the freshly-laquered blood: Good luck.

Gray, [07.05.17 21:26] LORD

Gray, [07.05.17 21:26] thats gonna be interesting when they run outta floor space

Gray, [07.05.17 21:26] or if someone wants to redecorate

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:27] probably make a new throne room, tbh

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:27] just bc fighter chose to sit in that one, that lineage, doesn't mean they all do

Gray, [07.05.17 21:27] fair enough

Gray, [07.05.17 21:28] tho i feel like by that point making a new one would feel almost like desecration

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:28] How do you make that decision, huh?

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:28] maybe when the bloodstains start to obscure one another

Shin 🐐, [07.05.17 21:29] can you imagine walking that room, as king, picking where you want to die?

Gray, [07.05.17 21:29] places a reserved sign on the floor

Gray, [07.05.17 21:29] 'perfect'

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