#quote unquote extended

[revindicatedbyhistory]

when people fram the stalin/trotsky divide as a matter of anti authoritarianism vs authoritarianism idk exporting the revolution to other countries seems fairly "authoritarian" to me

[poliodeuces]

this is a drawing from 2021 that i still like. it looks off, it's wrong at a fundamental level ( i dont know anatomy...i dont know a lot abt drawing honestly. im like a child w a crayon and a tiny portion of the bedroom wall to mess around with), but i think it's charming that way. all i care abt are colours and mood anyway

[chronokepts]

If posting this jinxs it all I'll loathe my stupid life forever, but – hopefully! – I won't become entirely jobless next year, like I was shaping up to be, so that's real great actually

[artdcnaldson]

What if you meet someone at the nursing home and just fucking move on, and he knows it might be real because you're not rubbing it in his face all the time. He hears about it from Patrick, and he says your relationship is cute, like it's a given that you have someone now and Patrick likes him, says he looks like a good guy and Art thinks he might die if he won't talk to you because here you have someone that sees you as a girlfriend material, and he said all that shit to you, and he's so fucking sorry, and he might lose you for real this time. He should've let you get away with that slap. He knows that now. he wants you to know he knows it. He understands. He will fuck you if you want him to. He will do anything for you to at least look in his direction again 

GOD and this is going to play into the next quote unquote chapter of this.

You meet a good guy in your little community service org— another senior, just like Art. He’s a polisci major from Boston, so close to home. He’s nice, a family man. The exact type of guy Art said would never want you. And he did want you, the version of yourself you created from the ashes of what you were before Art.

He gets along with Patrick, and on summer break he flies you out to some of Patrick’s tournaments. You’re there when Patrick starts winning and winning. You and your boyfriend. Patrick loves the guy, thinks you’ve finally found someone who deserves you after that awful first semester.

And Art’s just on the outside now. He’s suffering, he misses you more than anything. He misses feeling important, and needed. He misses how you looked at him like he provided the very air you breathed.

Patrick brings Art out to dinner, and Art goes pale when you’re there. Your boyfriend stands, extends a hand. “I’m Charlie.”

Charlie. You won’t look at him, maybe you don’t even want to after everything. You hold Charlie’s hand beneath the table, laugh at his jokes with a pretty smile. Art leaves dinner early. He feels sick.

[anistarrose]

thinking about barry bluejeans and lup being demiromantic and experiencing the occasional romantic attraction that's intense when it does happen, but thinking also about it being incredibly rare and an exception from their default state of being — so rare, in fact, that they both thought they were aro for years, until after they'd been bonding with each other for well over a decade and the romantic feelings slipped in. and yet despite being quote-unquote "wrong" about themselves, that realization doesn't change their philosophy on love, or the perspective of all those years prior about the types of love they value that society writ large downplays or ignores. barry and lup who aren't lovequeer in the sense of rejecting romantic definitions of love, but who couldn't be more on board with the lovequeer philosophy of extending "love" as a concept to areas where it is not conventionally taken as seriously or to be as powerful as romantic love. they love each other but they also love taako and merle and magnus and davenport and lucretia and that is not lesser for not being romantic. it's love, one of the many ways it can be experienced queerly.

[dededaio]

The New Kirby Novel Announcement might hint at the future of the series?

...or as I also would like to call it, yet another installment in the "Klu puts on a tinfoil hat in desperate attempts to predict Kirby's future" series.

So you might've already heard about the announcement of the upcoming Kirby Light Novel in the March of 2024. It's title is "The Dream Onsen is a Good Hot Spring" and If you aren't familiar with it's plot yet, here's the full synopsis:

At first the story doesn't seem too remarkable, there are no promises for new high-stakes adventures on a different planet like in Dedede-focused novel "King Dedede's Great Escape Strategy" or shocking twists like in "Meta Knight and the Knight of Hades", but then it hits you. This novel will feature Elfilin and Daroach. A lot of people who learned of these news did instantly become excited, but not a lot of people seem to have realized just how bizarre this is.

If you aren't familiar too well with the novels in general, their utilization of the extended game cast is quite similar to the way mainline games handle them. As in, they rarely if ever appear if their names aren't "Kirby", "King Dedede", "Bandana Dee" or "Meta Knight". If novels could help it, they only use the main four and occasional recurring enemy/helper like Burning Leo or Chilly (and Chef Kawasaki as a bonus) as the supporting cast. And if the original story requires more important characters, instrumental in the narrative, Mie Takase, novels' author, tends to invent entirely new ones instead.

So far there were only 3 types of novels that primarily utilized game-exclusive characters. I myself sorted them out by type, this is not an official classification or anything. Here's a nifty chart:

Remixes, as I like to call them, are quote unquote "original stories" that feature game characters like Magolor, Taranza or Animal Buddies. But while most of the plot seems original, more often than not it seems as a re-imagining of the actual game plots. Kirby's Labyrinth Rescue is probably the most egregious example, as it's an unholy amalgamation of Return to Dream Land, Triple Deluxe, Rainbow Curse and Amazing Mirror. While a lot of the story might be original, they are "based" on something from the games instead of being wholly original narratives.

AUs are interesting, because they do tend to have entirely new stories that utilize game characters, but this is only with an asterisk that they take place in entirely different world from the main novels/game-adjacent canon.

Adaptations speak for themselves. They might have an original character or two (mostly early on in novels' existence) but they are mostly 1:1 faithful adaptations with some omissions and additions that don't significantly alter the narrative (with sole exception of Planet Robobot's novelization letting President Haltmann live for some reason). Notable thing is, that in case of certain game-adaptations, like Merry Magoland or Kirby Fighters 2, mentions/appearances of extended game cast are omitted or heavily limited (In KF2 novel Magolor and Gooey don't appear or get mentioned at all, in Merry Magoland only Gooey is mentioned among masks of the characters that don't appear in the story in flesh).

As you can see, this newly announced novel doesn't fall under ANY of these categories. It's a brand new, seemingly slice-of-life-esque story, that just so happens to randomly include Daroach and Elfilin. This is highly unusual because novels rarely if ever take risks or go out of their comfort zone. They kind of established the rules and formulas of how they work for years now and it's been working out for them. So why anything would change now?

Well. Heh... What if this sudden change in direction is actually reflective of franchise-wide changes? Shinya Kumazaki talked about how Forgotten Land is going to be the beginning for "the new phase of Kirby". So far it's hard to tell what he actually meant by this. But I would argue that one of the aspects that could be true in this new "phase" is more frequent utilization of the extended Kirby cast.

Novels, in terms of franchise-wide hierarchy, some of the closest things to the actual games in terms of importance, mainly thanks to how much of a juggernaut in terms of sales they are within Japan. Across 10 years of their existence they managed to sell over 3 million copies of all books, which might not sound that impressive, until you realize that these are books for children that until recently were purely Japanese-exclusive endeavor.

These books are the only adaptations, to our knowledge anyway, that get special privileges from HAL themselves in terms of telling some plot and lore details that even fans aren't aware of. Shinya Kumazaki even directly supervised and helped to write one of the books (Return to Dream Land's novelization that came out in 2022). It doesn't mean that novels are canon, but it does mean that they tend to reflect the current status-quo of the series better than most other aspects outside of the games.

So this sudden inclusion of ensemble cast in a random story might signify HAL's willingness to do more with these characters. Elfilin alone wouldn't have been perhaps that surprising, as he was hinted to have more importance past his debut in how he passionately expressed that he wants to stay by Kirby's side forever, but Daroach's inclusion is puzzling because while he did appear in multiple games, he didn't get any merch or notable appearances lately.

Of course, this might mean absolutely nothing! But I feel like this is more notable than most people give it credit for. At worst, this means nothing except that novels will utilize game cast more frequently, which would be cool, at best, it means that HAL is opening up to the idea of returning past characters more frequently, which would be awesome. Let's wait and see, I suppose.

[utilitycaster]

I do not mean to be (very) self-aggrandizing here and I'm mentioning this as an aside rather than directly engaging not out of disrespect but because I don't want to hijack someone else's post and make it about me. But it is both validating and frustrating that after I and many other people clocked that this campaign was largely driven by forces much larger than the characters, that we were spending a lot of time with past characters, that Bells Hells weren't checking in with each other nearly to the extent as past parties even when given the opportunity, and that the story surrounding Delilah in particular was underdeveloped and a little aimless at like. episode 40 at the latest, it's wild to see people come to this realization now.

Like it's not bad! I agree! I do like the campaign for what it is (and I do happen to really enjoy the current plot now that it's moving quickly and got political), and because I dropped my expectations of having a campaign that hit the same way C1 or C2 do long ago, but it is unmistakably ranked third in the CR campaigns for me for all of these reasons. But yeah man a lot of us arrived at this point literally years ago irl and we were told we were bitter haters and in fact we just were quicker on the uptake.

This does tie back a little to my posts about Otohan or Poska or even my early posts about not liking FCG, which is that it is good, healthy, and intelligent to say "this thing isn't working for me" at the time that it isn't working instead of extending boundless and limitless credit. Either it will get better (FCG) and you can change your mind and you won't be exhausted by holding in all your frustrations in the service of pointless positivity; or it will not (Otohan) and you were right. Let yourself express dislike instead of lecturing people for disliking things; it is good for you and you will feel better. Anyway I'm going to try to avoid smugness like this until the end of the campaign proper (no promises), but actually my main point really is that if you're being a quote unquote hater right, you are extending the precise correct amount of benefit of the doubt. You aren't writing things off prematurely, but neither are you hanging on forever only for your frustration to curdle and sour; you're saying 'it is what it is, and I'll deal with that, but I'd like to express some complaints.'

[sad-scarred-sassy]

https://www.tumblr.com/sad-scarred-sassy/759755499789074432/just-saw-a-not-tagged-post-say-we-are-wrong-to?source=share

God, people don't even realize Nesta stated to hate Eris because she—hated—herself. She's seeing him as a reflection of her own flaws and all that makes her, quote-unquote, despicable as a person. She does not even know Eris as individual just yet, neither of them do. They just see the mask Nesta can perfectly read, mind you, cuz is the same that she wears everyday, which is exactly what give us a much bigger picture of the possible what‐if's between the two of them (is really not that difficult, sweeties. You don't need that much effort to understand 😂).

Love your blog, by the way! I hope you're doing incredibly today, xoxo.

Hey anon! This is exactly it. First of all I find it very icky that people take the stance of once again trying to shame others for shipping a non canon ship. I know by now that this fandom isn’t very good at behaving like a normal fandom but alas.

The Eris/Nesta ship is honestly one of the most logical ships for Nesta. Eris had a lot of involvement in her story and just like you said, their interactions and the way they are written leads you to see how they mirror eachother. I may someday deep dive into their paralells as characters. But just as you said, Nesta knows merely the mask that Eris is so clearly implied of wearing, just like she also wears a tough exterior.

I do believe that Neris as a ship also tries to fix the injustices that many people see in Nesta’s story, so that’s why people have a stronger opinion on it. But I will say that even if I don’t like Nessian’s dynamic (post ACOWAR) and I do believe Nesta deserved better, I won’t ever shame nessian shippers because thats just insane. Calm down.

I hope people extend the same etiquette 🫰🏼 Love you too anon!! Thank you for your message❤️

[tangledinink]

Chapter Eleven of I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? is here!!! The gang's got a new lead, and the first step is to re-group and re-plan... which is a little difficult given their current, uh, whole situation. But they'll be fine, probably! Read it on ao3 or below the cut!

[ prev ]

After drafting and deleting seven different texts to the quote-unquote "Mad Dogz" group chat that did not even come close to summarizing the conversation she just had, April finally gave up, instead just texting, "where is everyone???? emergency huddle asap"

Not more than fifteen seconds after she sent that off, her phone started buzzing with a call from Raph. Y’know, she wasn't sure what she had expected.

 "Are you okay? What's goin' on?" Raph demanded the second she picked up the call, and she had to bite back a breathless, shaky little laugh. She knew it wasn't nice, and that he was just wound up and worried, but she was still just buzzing from the conversation she had just had with Sunita. It wasn't him, she was just-- overwhelmed. In a good way?

"I'm fine! I'm fine. It's-- it's a good emergency, I swear. Where are you?"

"I just ducked outta class. I'm on the third floor. Where we meetin'?"

"Okay. Uh. Head towards the south stairwell, and I'll figure out where the others are and we'll go from there." 

"Raph's got it! See ya soon."

April ended the call, heading off in the direction of their agreed rendezvous point with hurried steps, struggling to find an appropriate pace. She fought the urge to sprint through the halls, knowing that this was just going to bring unwanted attention her way... but every bit of her body was absolutely alight with energy. The exhaustion from earlier had melted away. Her entire circulatory system had all been replaced with adrenaline, and she was just shining, all lit up in every sense. 

Things were gonna be okay. Things were gonna be okay. Things were gonna be okay.

Raph beat her to the stairwell, and April was thrilled because there was no way she could stand to sit around and wait for anything right now. The second the door to the stairwell was closed behind her, and they were away from any prying eyes, her carefully measured steps turned into an ecstatic bounce-and-hop motion, closing the small gap between the two of them with an excited squeak as she threw her arms around her brother and squeezed him as tight as she possibly could.

"Whoa," Raph blinked in surprise, shifting slightly to correct his footing and prevent his older sister from straight-up tripping over him. "Did somethin' happen?"

"YES!" April exclaimed. "Yes, yes, yes! It's-- it's a really long story and I really really wanna tell you absolutely everything right now but it's gonna be so much easier to wait until we have everyone even though it is killing me but it's-- it's good! Raph, I think everything is gonna work out!!!"

Her cheeks ached from grinning.

"It's not simple or anything, but I just-- I really, really, really think things might actually end up being okay." 

His expression wasn't quite readable to her-- it was somewhere between excited and confused and hesitant, with stress and exhaustion coloring it all, but it was still the best expression she had seen on him in over two weeks and it made all the hair on her body stand up with goosebumps and just.

God.

She wanted her dumb extended family back together and happy again so so so bad.

"Wha--?! April, you can't just say that and then not explain nothin'--!" Raph protested, and April shook out her hands, flicking her wrists back and forth as if to shake away the excess energy.

"I know! I know, I promise I'll explain everything! We just gotta get the rest of the guys first! It's really complicated... did anyone else text back yet?"

"Uhhh..." Raph fished his phone out of his pocket, and his eyes immediately bugged out of his head. Oooh, that can't be good. April leaned over to see.

[ Mikey: principals office :p i can prbly sneak out tho

Donnie: I'm currently occupying Supply Closet 33C, located on the left side of the second floor of the East Wing. It is labeled as such on the school's blueprints.

Leo: lmao wtf y'all

Leo: im on the roof tho ]

"WHAT THE--!?"

"Oh my god," April groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"IT'S ONLY BEEN ONE DAY!!!"

"It's-- it's fine! We can go get 'em, it'll be fine!"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLAN?! AND TEXTING IF ANYTHING HAPPENED?! HOW DID HE GET ON THE FREAKIN' ROOF!?--"

"RAPH!" April grabbed the other's shoulders, shaking him briefly. "Chill! It's fine. Okay? We'll kick their asses later. Let's just go collect them first and get out of here, okay? Way bigger fish to fry, remember?"

He groaned loudly, tilting his head back, biting his lip, all but sulking with his arms crossed over his chest. "... Fine."

Thank god. Raph may be a dumbass sometimes, but he was way more reasonable than he let on... usually. April sighed softly, offering a fist to bump.

"Come on. Team Big Sibling?"

"Yeah... okay. Team Big Sibling. Let's go bail those knuckleheads out."

---

Raph watched the cup fall, but he still jumped and winced at the sound of ceramic shattering on the ground.

“Oops,” Leo said. Suddenly he didn’t want to be standing on the counter quite so bad anymore, and quickly scuttled his way back down.

“Leo!” Raph huffed in annoyance, immediately on his feet. “I told you you were gonna knock somethin’ over!”

“Yeah, but I wanted to--”

“Raph doesn’t wanna hear it! Go get a broom or somethin’ so we can clean it up before Dad sees!” Raphael insisted, all but shooing his brother away. Leo groaned loudly, rolling his eyes and scowling, but obeyed regardless, running off to go and retrieve the requested tool. Raph huffed, moving to begin cleaning up the evidence of the crime… this was one of Dad’s favorite mugs. Hopefully, he didn’t hear the shattering glass from the back garden with Mikey. Mikey was pretty loud. With any luck, this secret would die with them.

“... How do you do that?” April questioned after a moment, tilting her head to the side, leaning over the side of the couch as she observed the exchange from the living room.

Raph paused slightly, his brows furrowing. “Do what?”

“Get ‘em to listen to you like that.” 

“Oh,” Raph said. “Well, they don’t always listen to me.”

��Yeah, but they do when you really want ‘em to.”

Raph frowned a little, considering this for a moment before shrugging. “Because I’m the biggest, I guess.”

April laughed, “Like you’ll beat them up if they don’t do what you say?”

“No!” Raph protested. “... Well, I mean, yeah, kinda. But also ‘cause I’m the big brother! They have to.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause. Dad said I’m in charge when he’s not here. I’m responsible, and all that other junk,” he explained proudly.

“Well, like, yeah, but why? Why do you gotta be the responsible one just ‘cause you were born first?”

“Uh… I dunno. I guess just ‘cause they’re littler and they don’t know as much stuff yet,” he said. 

“But Donnie is really smart. He knows lots of stuff.”

“Well…”

“He wins at the trivia games every single time we play. And Scrabble!”

Raph hesitated a bit, shrugging a little as he picked up pieces of ceramic off the floor. “I guess there’s stuff that they know that I don’t. But I still gotta take care of ‘em and protect them and stuff. It’s just what big brothers do. It’s our job.” 

“You can’t have a job,” April said with a snort. “You’re eight.”

“Yeah, but I want to,” he said. “... I like taking care of ‘em and stuff. I dunno. Maybe you just do that when you’re born first. Automatically. Like, just ‘cause they’re littler. And so you wanna keep them safe and make sure no one hurts them and nothing bad happens or anything.”

April narrowed her eyes slightly behind her glasses, and Raph looked slightly to the side.

“And I kinda like getting to tell them what to do sometimes!”

April laughed, and this time Raph joined her. “Well, sometimes they deserve it!” He insisted, tossing the mug pieces in the trash, taking care to drop them in such a way that they would fall down to the bottom and not be visible from the top. As biggest brother, he knew by now how to destroy evidence. He flopped back over onto the couch with April once he was done, jostling her slightly, leaning into her on purpose as he did so. She squealed in response, pushing him back, and the two shoved and pushed in between giggles for a moment before they finally settled in a heap across the cushions, sort of splayed out across one another and staring up at the ceiling. 

April breathed in deep before giving a very soft sigh.

“I wish I was a big sister.”

Raph glanced over at the other, hesitating a moment before he spoke up again.

“You kinda are, though.”

She paused, moving to meet his eyes with a look of surprise.

“You think so?”

“Well. Yeah! I mean. We hang out all the time,” Raph said, shrugging. “And you come to our house after school. And we go to your house on the weekends. And you eat dinner with us sometimes, and we do sleepovers, and we have all our birthdays together… And they listen to you, too, when you want ‘em too. And you know how to talk with Donnie, and you keep an eye on Mikey, and you laugh at Leo’s jokes--”

“I’m not being nice! I really do think they’re funny!”

“-- so I think that basically counts, probably.”

April wrinkled her nose up with thought.

“Does that mean you’re not the biggest brother?”

“Wait, what!?” Raph floundered for a moment, rolling back over onto his stomach so he could face April properly. “No! Raph’s the biggest brother!” He couldn’t not be the biggest brother! He had always been the biggest brother! It was his job to look after his little brothers, to always protect them and take care of them and make sure they were safe. That was what Raph did! And he was good at it!

“But you can’t be the biggest if I’m your sister!” April argued. “I’m seven months older than you are!”

“Yeah but-- but that’s different!”

“Why? You just said I’m a big sister.”

“Yeah, but, I meant, like… like to everyone else!”

“So I’m not your sister?”

“No! I mean-- you are-- but--” Raph screwed up his face. “I still wanna be the big brother, April! You can’t just un-biggest me!”

April frowned, looking the other up and down, considering for a moment, before she finally sighed.

“Okay, fine. I guess we can probably both be the big siblings together, then. Deal?”

Raph sighed in relief, flopping down on the couch again and extending his hand.

“Deal.”

---

After assuring their little brothers that they were on their way, Raph and April had started on the journey towards the Principal's office to retrieve the littlest Hamato, taking care to dodge any hall monitors, faculty, or staff, and intensely plotting their rescue mission as they went.

"Alright, and you're sure that you can do a believable impression of Hugh Jackman?"

"Yeah, of course I can!" Raph blustered. "I mean... how hard can it be? It'll be over the phone anyway. You know stuff always sounds weird over the phone."

"Raph, come on! If we can't get the secretary to go look at her car's check engine light, this plan is never gonna get Mikey out of there!"

"Raph can do it! I swear! And if this doesn't work, we still have the backup plan--"

"No, we don't, remember? I only brought the strawberry chapstick today, my peach-flavored one is at home--"

"What are you guys talking about?" Mikey interrupted, poking his head from around the corner. April and Raph both jumped.

"MIKEY!" Raph yelped, struggling to keep his voice level. "We-- you-- what are you doin' here?! I thought you were in the principal's office!"

"Well yeah, I was, but then I left to come meet you guys!"

"How'd you get out!?" April questioned, and Mikey shrugged.

"Oh, it's easy. You just have to cry hard enough that the receptionist offers to go get you some water, and then you walk out," Mikey explained. "That's what I always do."

"What you always do?!" Raph spluttered. "What do you mean what you always-- what the heck happened, anyway?! Why were you in there in the first place? Are you okay? Did you-- what happened to your hand?!"

Raph wasn't meaning to, uhhh, spiral like this exactly, but they were all valid questions, he was pretty sure! He grabbed his little brother's wrist to examine his knuckles, which were somewhat bloodied, scabbed, and swollen. 

"I'm fine!" Mikey whined in protest, trying to wriggle his way out of his brother's grip. "It's not a big deal--"

"Did you get into a fight?!"

"Well--"

"Mikey!"

"Calling it a fight might be a little generous,” Mikey muttered, rolling his eyes. “Honestly, Raph, I'm fine! I can take care of myself!" He insisted, squirming away, darting behind April as if to shield himself. Raph was feeling that eye twitch coming back on. ‘Not a big deal!?’ What did he mean, ‘not a big deal!?’ They had talked about this before!!! What if he got hurt!? And this kind of thing went on his permanent record, you know, didn't he understand that they weren't little kids anymore!? He could get into real trouble--

"Can't we talk about this later?" Mikey insisted, holding his hands up to plead, batting his eyes. "Leo and Donnie are still waiting! Remember?"

"Okay, look," April interrupted. "Mikey has a point. Let's get Leo and Donnie first, and then you guys can do your whole... whatever this thing that you’re doing is. Okay?"

Raph groaned, grinding his teeth, scrubbing at his face with his hands. Right. He still had two other little brothers he had to round up... and one of them was on the roof. Aw, man. He swore he could feel himself going gray...

"Fine. But this conversation is not over," he hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Where next?"

"Let's go grab Leo," April sighed. "Since he's probably freezing his butt off, and then we'll snag Donnie on our way back down and skip out of here. Sound good?"

"How did Leo get onto the roof?" Mikey questioned, already making his way towards the staircase, the other two following after.

"I. Don't. Know." Raph grit out as they made their way back into the stairwell, heading on up. He had never been up to the roof before-- could they even get up there? Surely they must be able to, given that Leo had gotten up there in the first place, right? He could only assume that the door had locked behind him. He wondered dimly how long he had been up there, wrinkling up his nose with worry. Leo got cold pretty easily... all of them did, actually, it ran in the family, and it wasn't exactly nice outside. Certainly not freezing or anything, but brisk. The last thing they needed was for him to get sick or something...

He picked up the pace, taking two steps at a time. Mikey kept up with ease, and April complained from behind them, lagging somewhat. Sorry, Apes! Little brother to rescue. 

Like most buildings in NYC, their school was big and tall, so it was a little bit of a trek to get to the top of the staircase. Luckily, they had already started about halfway up, and, just as Raph had been hoping, the door did, in fact, open from the inside. Thank god. Raph made a mental note not to let that shut behind them and trap all of them up here.

"Leo!" He called, looking around frantically. He had to be up here, right? They only had one roof? He was almost certain-- wait, what if there was a second roof he didn't know about?! And they were on the wrong roof?!

"Hey, big brother." Leo's voice was a lazy drawl, and he peered from behind the door, where he had been posted up against the wall, just out of sight once the door had swung open. "Took you guys long enough."

Oh good. He was here. He was okay. 

This was ideal because this way Raph could throttle him.

"Leo!" He exclaimed, turning to face him properly. "What are you doin' on the roof?! How long have you been up here!?"

"Uhhh..." Leo had the audacity to check his watch. "I dunno. Like. Four hours?"

"FOUR HOURS?! Leo, it's freezin' up here!"

"It's n-not that b-bad," Leo insisted, giving a wave. "It's, like... peaceful or whatever. I took a n-nap."

"You took a--?! How did you even get up here!? Why didn't you text somebody!?"

"Uhhh..." Leo pursed his lips, tilting his head back, staring up at the sky. He rolled his shoulders, humming softly, shuffling his feet a bit. "... I dunno!"

"You don't--? How can you not--?!"

Raph caught his tongue. He took a long, deep breath, and then sighed in an exhale. He shucked off his flannel so that he could wrap it around his younger brother instead, adding it over top of his hoodie and pulling him inside before he could protest-- dragging him into the building where it was safe and warm, closing the door firmly behind them.

Leo could act and put on airs all he wanted, but it was obvious just from looking at him that he was cold. Raphael wasn't that dumb. He didn't consider himself to be smart, exactly, but he wasn't dumb, either. 'Least not about this stuff.

“Raph, I’m fine, I don’t need--”

"Raph doesn’t wanna hear it. Keep the flannel on, you’re freezing. Come on. Let's go get Donnie."

---

Raph held the dustpan while Leo swept, repeatedly shifting his position to catch any remnants of broken ceramics that were left behind. 

“Is that all of it?” Leo questioned, leaning over to see, and Raph gave an affirmative nod, getting to his feet and moving to dump the last of the evidence in the garbage can.

“Yep! All set!” Raph affirmed, giving his younger brother a thumbs up. “No one’ll suspect a thing!”

Leo didn’t look so sure. “Yeah, but won’t Dad notice that the mug is missing?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it!” Raph assured, slinging an arm around the other’s shoulder. “We’ll just come up with a cover story. Like. Uhhh. We’ll say someone broke in and stole it or something! Or… well. Raph’ll come up with a plan! Dad’ll never know,” he insisted. He’d have to work on that later. He really wasn’t very good at that kind of thing, and he had no idea what he’d say, but he’d figure it out. He always did! Leo laughed a little bit, wrinkling up his nose with amusement. 

“Are you sure?”

“Course I’m sure!” Raph declared, puffing out his chest a bit. “Don’t worry. Raph has got your back. Even when you’re bein’ stupid.”

---

It wasn't that Casey didn't understand that the grand mission that her Clan had in the wings demanded sacrifice. She was well aware, and furthermore, perfectly willing to make those sacrifices. She had already made many over the course of her life, and she didn't regret a thing. Her former life, her education, former hobbies... none of that mattered even half as much as the path she was on now. She understood sacrifice. She was willing to sacrifice. 

But dammit, did she always have to be on lookout duty!?

Casey grumbled softly to herself, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She could only sit in one position on this dumb rooftop for so long before her legs started to go to sleep. She had been tempted for over an hour now to take a quick lap around the block, but she didn't dare leave her post. She was tasked with watching the Hamato household-- so watch the Hamato household she would. 

She had been doing this for days now, though it felt like longer, sharing shifts with other recruits of the Foot Clan. Though, of course, now that Jocelyn had been promoted to a full member of the Foot Clan, she would no longer be subject to such menial tasks. Cassandra had nearly broken a tooth this morning when she took over the other’s post-- the last one Jocelyn would ever have to endure-- biting out a strained congratulations to the other through a clenched jaw. Spoiled, stupid, undeserving, bratty little--

Casey was just on the brink of a total temper tantrum when she paused, a sudden realization smacking her in the face. Wait. 

Where was the big red one?

She paused, glancing at her watch and back up at the apartment several times, straining to peer through the various windows. It was noon. Cassandra hadn't been doing this for that long, but when you sit and watch the same family for days and days on end, you pick up on their habits and routines pretty quickly. And every single day since she had started watching them, without fail, the biggest Hamato would emerge from his room, head to the kitchen, retrieve a protein shake from the fridge, and go up the stairs to the third floor. She couldn't see from the windows exactly where he was going, but it was like absolute clockwork. She suspected that he must have an alarm set with how consistent this was-- him fetching a drink and bringing it to, she could only assume, one of the other members of the household.

But it was twelve-oh-five. And there was no sign of him.

A sinking feeling thudded through her gut. Now that she was thinking about it, she hadn't seen any of them the entire watch. Not even once. The woman she had seen several times, working on her laptop in the living room and occasionally puttering around the apartment, but... No Hamatos.

None at all.

Spluttering a bit, Casey reeled, jumping up to her feet. They weren't here!? But she had watched the entire time! She hadn't taken her eyes off the building-- she had been so vigilant! Did they know the Foot was watching them!? Did they sneak out somehow--

She set her jaws, hackles rising as she reached yet another epiphany. A strangled shriek of frustration escaped her.

Jocelyn. 

Oh, she knew she wasn't taking this lookout thing seriously! Casey had wasted the past three hours of her life watching a building that didn't even have the targets in it--!!! Swearing loudly, she wrestled her phone from her bag, nearly dropping it in her haste. 

"Hello--? Sir Baron Draxum? This is the Hamato Lookout team reporting--"

---

Leo had asked Donnie what he was doing in a supply closet. Donnie had, in response, asked what Leo was doing on the roof, effectively eliminating any further questions, though April was certain that all three of her younger brothers would be answering to Raph later. But not right now. There were way bigger priorities right now. Luckily, the upside to attending an absolutely massive school in the middle of NYC was that there were a ton of kids, the building was huge, and it was actually quite easy to just walk off campus. Only three blocks away from their high school was a local skate park: a popular destination for the group, so much so that it sported multiple murals and tags from Mikey, and almost sure to be sparsely populated at this time of day. Meaning it was quiet enough for April to finally recount her recent conversation with Sunita, through excited, frenzied whispers, stumbling over her own words as she attempted to explain.

"So Sunita is a... slime monster?" Mikey questioned, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"Well-- kind of. She's a 'yokai,' I guess? But she has this magic thing called a Cloaking Brooch that lets her disguise herself as a human."

"Whoa!" Mikey gasped. "They have that?! So mystic people can just... look like humans?"

"Fascinating," Donnie remarked, tapping out a few notes on his phone. "Imagine how many citizens of New York could actually be yokai in disguise..."

"I wonder how many other kids at our school have secretly been, like, mystic creatures this whole time, and we don't even know it!" Mikey awed.

"Well, I guess cloaking-brooch-crystal-things are, like, really rare, or something? And, like, crazy valuable," April explained. "It's kind of hard to get a hold of them, Sunita said. I mean. She also said some yokai can just do it on their own without any crystal magic or whatever, but if you can't, then you need a crystal, and they're hard to get. Sunita said her’s is a family heirloom, but they've only got one, and she gets it right now so she can go to school."

"What, they don't have yokai schools in the Hidden City?" Raph questioned.

"Uh. Kinda," April said, leaning back against the skate ramp they were huddled behind. "I guess it's kind of... uh... a little chaotic over there. I mean. I dunno. I guess the police don't do a lot, and also the city is basically under the control of a super-powerful crime boss? And she basically runs everything. And also bloodsport is, like, super a thing that they just do, and that's fine, so like, there's not really a lot of 'law' or 'order' or whatever? So if you have a chance to send your kid to the surface instead, it's sorta a no-brainer."

"Okay, but, like, how is that that different from New York..."

"I'm serious, Leo!" April insisted. "And it's, like, super against the rules to tell anyone who's not in the know about the Hidden City or yokai or anything, so we can't tell anyone that Sunita told us or her whole family could be in danger! This is a take-it-to-your-grave kind of secret, okay!?"

"Okay, okay," Leo said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I get it. Seriously. No jokes or quips, even. It's a secret. We won't tell a soul, April. I promise."

April sighed in relief, tilting her head back slightly. She totally owed Sunita a pizza night or something after this... 

"Okay... so… that's where Dad is? How do you know?"

April took a long, deep breath. "Okay, so, you know how I said that there's a super powerful crime boss? And that bloodsport is a thing?"

---

Weirdly enough, the cool concrete floor below him felt really good on his back right now. But maybe that was just because he was sore. Or because he was exhausted. Probably both. And though his previous stint in the Battle Nexus involved him flip-flopping back and forth between Luxury Boxes and cell blocks, Yoshi had a sneaking suspicion that it would be in his best interest to get used to his current dungeon-esque accommodations, at least for the foreseeable future. He doubted he would be being invited to any red-carpet events or dinner parties by his employer any time soon. He wasn't sure if he was upset about this or not. He didn't think he had the energy to socialize, let alone with Big Mama or any of her various acquaintances or cohorts. 

But it was far too quiet down here, all by himself, with only the echoing rumbles and cries of the Battle Nexus in the distance for company. He relished what little time he had outside of the ring, certainly, but… Though his body was crying for it, he found it difficult to sleep. His mind was too often occupied, mostly with thoughts of his children. Wondering how they were doing. Wondering if they were still looking, or if the police had already closed the case and assumed him dead-- again. 

How long had it been now? It was somewhat difficult to keep track of the exact passage of time down here, and he had to think on it for a moment before he came to the conclusion.

Eleven days, he believed it had been. Eleven days since he had last seen his children. He sighed softly through his nose, allowing his eyes to slide shut, to give himself a break from staring at the stone ceiling and take some time examining the backs of his eyelids instead.

This was the longest he had ever been away from them in all their lives. 

"The next-door neighbor's daughter is very good friends with the boys, so you can call or text them if you have any questions and can't get in touch with me, but I will have my phone on me if anything happens..."

"Right--"

"Their child, April, comes over often, and they like to play in the basement with her. Just keep the door open so you can hear any screaming."

"Okay, got it--"

"And these are all the emergency numbers. This is their doctor, this is Donatello's counselor, this one is Mikey's… this is the school, this is the director's number, my agent, my lawyer, the hotel I will be staying at..."

"Right, I--"

"And this is their schedule. It is very important that you stick to it! Especially this week. Purple will get very upset if things change too much, so make sure they are able to get to all of their activities. Orange has ballet on Tuesdays and Thursdays and art classes on Mondays. He and the twins also have gymnastics on Fridays. They all do martial arts together during the weekends. Oh, and Red just started clarinet lessons, so make sure he is practicing!"

"Okay, I'll--"

"And do not let them convince you that they are allowed onto the roof! They are not! And do not let Donatello take the toaster into his room, under any circumstances! And--"

"Mr. Hamato!" 

Yoshi paused in his long-winded explanation, blinking widely at the flustered-looking babysitter, whose face was pink.

"Sorry! Sorry, I don't mean to, uh, interrupt, but..." She offered him a somewhat nervous smile. "I promise I've reviewed all the paperwork you sent. I've got their schedules saved, all the numbers are already in my phone, and I reached out to Adam to introduce myself and coordinate everything for the week already," she assured, referring to the young man Yoshi had hired years ago to help taxi his children about the city and get them to all their various after-school activities. Yoshi swore, every other month, one of them would try something new on a whim (usually a sport of some kind,) only to discover yet another innate aptitude and then beg to start taking classes. Adam was something of a cross between a chauffeur and a babysitter, helping to cart kids to and from various lessons and clubs when Yoshi couldn't do it himself. Yoshi would have happily hired him to babysit for the coming week, but unfortunately his college classes kept him too busy for such a commitment. Likewise, he would have liked to leave them in the O'Neil's care, but with both parents working full-time, they had concluded that the Hamato childrens’ demanding schedule would leave them a bit out of their depth. 

And so he had hired Emily.

It was not the first time he had hired Emily. Emily had babysat for him in the past whenever he needed someone to watch some or all of the boys. But never for more than a day. Never overnight. Certainly not for a full week.

"Right. Of course," Yoshi laughed nervously, pinching the bridge of his nose slightly. "My apologies. A week is just… a long time."

"I know. But we'll call every evening!"

"Yes, yes," he sighed a bit. "... Right. You are perfectly capable! I'm sure you will be fine!" He said, his voice a bit clipped. "And if you have any questions, you can call! I will have my cell phone on me!"

"Of course!" She assured with a gentle smile, beginning to gather up and organize all the various papers and forms Yoshi had provided her, making one last final review before he took his leave. Yoshi sighed deeply, glancing down at his watch. He could only afford to drag his feet for so much longer before he missed his flight. Emily politely kept herself busy and pretended not to notice him reorganizing his suitcase four different times before he finally zipped it up for good, leaving it by the front door.

"Boys!" He called. In a similar fashion to him pretending not to be stalling his inevitable exit, they pretended like they had not been hiding in just the next room, trying to eavesdrop on the two adults. They were all gathered up at his feet in a snap, with Mikey leading the charge and Donnie lagging behind, and Yoshi kneeled down to meet them.

"Alright, my sons. I will talk to you all on the phone later tonight. Be good for Emily while I am gone, understand? I have already told her she is allowed to sell you to the zoo if you are not good listeners, so best behavior!"

This got a giggle out of at least half of them, so he'd count that as a win. Mikey wrapped his arms around Yoshi's neck, tugging at him slightly and pulling himself up so he could climb on him, clinging to his neck. Yoshi thought to himself that he was starting to get too big to keep using him as a jungle gym, but… there was still time. He wasn’t too big yet. At least not today.

"Where are you going again, Daddy?"

"To California."

"How far away is that?"

"Hmmm," Yoshi pretended to think. "Well. It is farther than New Jersey. But it is closer than Japan." 

"Do we get to watch your new movie when you get home?" Leo demanded, leaning on his father's knee. "I wanna show everyone at school! Justin didn't believe me when I said you were gonna go make a movie!"

"It will take a little longer than that, Blue," he laughed. "But we can all watch together when they are finished making it. In the meantime, make them watch The Rabbit Bodyguard. I was very cool in that one." This new job wasn't actually a very large role-- there was no way he could film in only a week otherwise-- but he felt no need to explain that to Leonardo, who was absolutely beaming, giving a nod of affirmation.

"Are you sure it's gonna be a whole week?" Raph fret, his mouth curved into a frown.

"Yes, Red, I am sure. But you boys will be so busy with Emily you will not even notice I'm gone!"

"Yeah we will," Raph muttered, crossing his arms. 

"Oh, but you boys have so many activities!" He declared dramatically, before leaning into Raph, almost conspiring, to stage-whisper to him. "I did not want to say it in front of Emily, but I think she may need your help, Raphael. She is not used to how busy you boys all are. Or dealing with your little akuma-chan brothers! You may have to help make sure everything goes smoothly while I am gone."

"Hey!" Leo protested.

Raphael glanced over at Emily from across the living room, where she was still organizing papers in the kitchen, before turning back to Yoshi and giving a firm nod. Mission accepted. Phew. Yoshi knew he would be far less anxious over the coming week if he was instead focused on time management and keeping his brothers in line. 

"Why can't we come with you?" Leo questioned, sulking slightly. "I wanna go to Hollywood!"

"Akuma-chan children are not allowed in the state of California. It is against federal law," he replied easily.

"That's not true!" Leo protested.

"It is. Only the best-behaved children are allowed to go to California. You have to submit an application. With referrals from teachers and babysitters saying you should get to go in," he explained confidently. "Perhaps if you boys are very good, then we can take a trip there someday..."

"And see Hollywood?"

"Yes, and see Hollywood."

"And sea lions?!" Mikey squealed. 

"Yes, sea lions as well."

"Okay!" The two agreed, and Yoshi smiled a tiny bit to himself. They were getting older now, and he doubted that Leo actually believed the story he was weaving, though Mikey might. But Yoshi would be hard-pressed to find any joke, game, or bit that Leo wasn't willing to play along with.

He gave Raph a tight hug, assuring his oldest that he trusted him to keep an eye on the family in his absence, that Emily would take good care of them, and that he would be home soon. He scooped up Leo next, agreeing to all his demands for souvenirs, and promising that he would, in fact, call every day. He squeezed Mikey close, and confirmed that yes, Emily did know how to make all the foods they liked, and she would play with them and give hugs, and that Daddy would come back home as soon as he could, for sure, he promised. 

 Donatello was last, still lingering to the side even after his brothers had all turned their attention to Emily instead, staring down at his feet.

"Purple," Yoshi bade softly. Donnie grunted in response.

"I will be coming back home on the 11th. My flight is at 4:15 PM in California time. It's flight 983. And today's flight is 212. You and your brothers can track it on the computer if you want." 

Donnie nodded a tiny bit, not yet looking up.

"I will call you all every night at bedtime. And you can always ask Emily to call me if you need me. Even if I don't pick up right away, I will call you back." 

Donnie hummed quietly, shuffling his feet.

"And Emily is going to take very good care of you boys. You like Emily, don’t you? She has watched you before. And I know you like it when she performs the musical parts of movies with you. And she lets you ask her questions about her architecture degree. And she knows how to do you boys' hair better than I do," he smiled softly. "So you will even get to have special things this week."

Donnie wrinkled up his nose, swaying back and forth for a bit before he finally signed.

'Stay.'

Yoshi sighed.

"I can't stay, Donnie. I have to go to work. Just like April’s parents have to go to work. But I will come back. I promise. It will only be a week, and then I will be back, okay?" He hummed softly, leaning in close. "But I know you will be okay while I'm gone. You and your brothers are going to take care of each other. And April and her parents will help take care of you, too. You will still see her all this week and get to play with her. And you will still get to go to school, and to see Mossy, and to go to robotics club and gymnastics and all the other things you like. Even if I'm not here, you and your brothers will be okay. I am sure of it."

Donnie sniffled a bit, screwing up his face for a moment before he finally moved, all but bodily walking into his father, burying his face against his chest and curling up against him. Yoshi wrapped his arms around him tight, giving him a squeeze.

"Promise you'll come back?" He whispered.

"Of course I will," Yoshi whispered in reply. "I promise I will come back."

---

"I never get to use my algorithms..." Donnie sighed very softly, looking longingly at the spreadsheet on his phone as they trudged through the alleys of the city. And after Mikey had gotten all this data for him, too...

"Donnie. This is a good thing," Leo said, raising a brow and giving his brother a look. "Finding Dad was our goal, remember?"

"Yeah. I know," Donnie sighed, slumping a tiny bit. "But must science always be on the backburner?!"

"Aw, cheer up, Dee!" Mikey chirped, nudging his brother gently with an elbow as he trotted along. "I'm sure you can come up with some sort of mystic-scanning machine to put in your goggles or whatever after we get Dad back!"

"Yes, yes, I will add it to my itinerary," he sighed, rolling his shoulders slightly as they marched. "How much farther do we have to go to find this hidden doorway anyway, April? I thought you said it was close."

"Chill. We're almost there. Uh. I think," April said.

"You think?"

“Look, I've never located a secret mystic doorway before, okay?" She huffed, scowling at her younger brother. "Sunita’s directions were clear in theory, but in practice, it's a little more complicated! If you wanna take a turn leading, then be my guest...!"

"Don't worry! I'm sure we'll find it!" Mikey encouraged, bounding over to match April's pace and fall into stride next to her, a bright grin lighting up his face. He had practically been bouncing around like a kangaroo ever since they left the skatepark, overflowing with hopeful excitement. "There's no way anything can stop us now when we're this close to getting Pops back!"

"Right... and what's our plan again, when we do find this supposed secret doorway?" Donnie questioned, arching a brow.

"Ninja in, kick some yokai butt, rescue Dad, and ninja out," Leo supplied with a shrug. "Simple!"

"Exactly!" Raph agreed. "We know where Dad is-- so we go get him! He needs us! You guys just be careful and let Raph do all the smashing, and we'll be fine."

"Right..." Donnie mumbled, rolling his eyes a bit. Note to self: do not join any action squads with his brothers in the future. Risk of serious injury or untimely death: high. “In any case, we should still, at the very least, come up with some contingencies should we get separated or anything else go awry. We’re heading into unknown and supposedly magical territory, most likely populated with a bunch of yokai creatures, apparently half of which are criminals, so who knows what we may run into. So it may be wise to all be in agreement as to what we’re doing should anything happen--”

“That would be wise,” agreed a voice from behind the group-- far too deep and foreign to be any of his siblings. Donnie froze, a chill latching onto his spine, and he felt his family do the same before collectively turning to face the stranger.

“I knew you would have to come out of that apartment eventually,” the yokai observed, tilting their chin to look down at them through the glassy screen of their horned helmet-- eyes slitted, mouth fanged, their hair long and magenta, tall and familiar and terrifying. Donnie tensed.

“I’ve been hoping to get a chance to speak with you four.”

[ next ]

[imhereformysciencefriends]

Blow this popcicle stand

My gift for @missycolorful for the @technoblade-gift-exchange

Read on AO3 here!

I had a total blast writing this! I hope you enjoy as well. I admit I kinda smushed together a couple of your prompts, but I am very happy with the result. Enjoy! <3

**

Phil was, historically, better at the talking-to-people thing. Not necessarily the being-reasonable thing, Techno did often have to sit in on all of Phil’s meetings in order to prevent unnecessary bloodshed due to, quote, “it’d be funny, mate,” unquote. But talking to people, talking was something Phil could and did do. Techno? Not so much. He didn’t, he didn’t really care for it, you know. Wasn’t really his forte.

But Phil was busy in a month-long series of meetings negotiating a new peace agreement with a nation that wanted regular access to the moon portal (financially a very good move for the Empire, logistically a nightmare). And while Techno would really prefer to be in those, both to have a comprehensive set of expectations for what would be happening in the future and to keep an eye on his partner, it wasn’t the only nation that wanted the Empire’s attention.

And Techno was, if not suited, at the very least capable of trade negotiations with one of their friendlier allies.

Even if he hated the idea.

His thick, heavy, fur-necked cape moved with his arms as he pulled his long hair back into a ponytail, the sound of his hooves ringing out against the arctic stone rather slowly as he approached the meeting room. Almost like he was dragging his feet. But jokes on you, Chat, Techno didn’t have feet to drag! So clearly he was getting there at a very reasonable pace. And wasn’t stalling. No chance of that, not with him, haha, nope!

Despite it being his literal actual destination, Techno found himself surprised when he was suddenly in front of the meeting room door. Who authorized this? Ninja doors, sittin’ around jumpscaring good hardworking emperors. Probably Phil, the weeb. Actually, Techno should try to remember this bit for later, he was sure Phil would love the notion of a ninja door. Get a good laugh outta that one.

Focus. He did still have to, you know, open the door. Have the pre-scheduled and entirely-foreseen meeting that would take place behind it.

Was that the alarm bell he heard? Off in the distance? Wayyyyy far away in the distance? No? Just him then? Alright.

No, Chat, he wasn’t stalling. He was just securing the perimeter with his superior hearing before engaging with outside forces. Yes he had superior hearing, look at the pink shell of his ears, sticking out of his face like that. What, no, he was not a bishounen, Chat, under no circumstances was anyone allowed to call him that. Honestly, the ideas that Chat got in their heads, smh.

Okay! Okay! He wasn’t stalling! He was opening the door now!

Inside the meeting room was the Essempi convoy, its three main representatives seated on the couch that faced the massive armchair Techno took. Next to his was a significantly smaller armchair, specifically designed to accommodate a man’s wings.

Not for nothing, Techno wished Phil was here.

“Welcome to the Empire,” he started, because that sounded most appropriate. Already, the back of his neck felt hot and damp with sweat. That’s why he put his hair up, he supposed.

“Thank you for having us,” replied the woman in the middle, leaning forward across the low table to extend her hand. Shoot, handshakes, should he have done that before he sat down? Did Phil normally do that? Techno was suddenly blanking on any social interaction he’d ever had prior to this one in his life.

Her hand was firm, warm, and had shallow calluses. The strong grip of a woman who worked and wasn’t intimidated by Techno in the slightest. Would it be easier for him if she was intimidated? More importantly, had Techno met her before? Her voice seemed… familiar. Ish. Familiarish.

Niki! That’s Nihachu Her name is Nikki, you’ve met her before Niki! Nikki? I never know which it is

“Uh, Niki, is it?”

She laughed, and it wasn’t a mean sound. Techno felt his face heating up anyway. “You remembered!” The look on her face wasn’t pity, nor offense, but she gave off the impression of being very knowing of what was going on in Techno’s brain, “My hair was brown last time we met, with the blonde in the front.”

Oh! Okay, yes, Techno could place her now. She’d been invited to the same weird political shindig festival party thing that Phil had dragged him to.

“Nice to see you again,” he said, a little more sincerely. And a touch relieved.

“You as well,” she said warmly, then gestured to the woman to her right. Er, well, to her left, Techno’s right—didn’t matter. “This is Captain Puffy, she’s a state-sponsored merchant we’ve been working closely with. She’s interested to see if she’d be a good match for this route, depending on what we work out.”

“Yo!”

Captain Puffy was an extremely short woman (maybe even shorter than Phil), though far from petite. Her big curling hair and big curling ram horns and big sunglasses and big captain’s coat all spoke to a relatively large personality, and the big smile she flashed him did not actually help settle Techno’s nerves. Maybe he should’ve had some tea or something before all this. She was also slouching, leaned against the arm of the couch with all the debonair swagger of a woman entirely at ease around important people. As an emperor of one of the world’s fastest growing empires, Techno could probably stand to take a page from her book.

Whose idea had it been to put him in charge, again? Oh right, his.

Gesturing to her other side, Niki continued, “And this is Ranboo. He’s something between a pupil and a little brother, to me; he’s mostly just here for this to be a learning experience.”

As short as the captain was, Ranboo was tall. Wraith-thin with too-big eyes and an air about him that seemed even more nervous than Techno felt. Techno at least had his flat affect and “monotone” voice (he still didn’t get that, but enough people had told him that he had a monotone by now that he just accepted it) to act as buffer. This kid (and Techno got a very strong impression that he was young, despite not knowing much about Ender ages (well, maybe he knew more than most, given the Empire’s plot-relevant access to the moon)) wasn’t so much as wearing his heart on his sleeve as he was stringing it up on a chandelier.

“Nice to meet you both,” Techno said, the captain giving him a lazy salute and Ranboo nodding so stiffly it looked like his neck might snap.

“Shall we get straight to it, then?” Niki asked, and Techno nodded, so incredibly thankful that someone else was comfortable taking charge of a conversation.

And then they sank blissfully into the thing that was Techno’s strong suit: his stuff. Techno had a good head for what items were worth, and while he wasn’t the most organized person (he had goons for that) he absolutely knew how much he had of what, and what the Empire could afford to spare in trading efforts, provided they received what they were promised in return. Now, storms could sink even the most experienced ships, and fleets could get blown off course, so he had to factor in wiggle room and contingency plans as well.

Another strong suit. Techno was a beast at contingency plans. Nobody could plan a contingency plan like Techno planned his plans.

The deeper they got into the numbers game and talk of resources, the more Techno chilled out. This wasn’t socializing, not really. He was mostly just indulging in his inventory vices while other people were in the room.

Something Essempi had in plenty that the Empire desperately needed was food. More specifically: vegetation. They had their arctic, thick-furred cows, their fluffy chickens, their heavy-hided boars, their densely-wooled sheep, and their round the clock fisheries. Nothing would breed too close to the moon portal, but here at the castle their herds and flocks were thriving just fine. But plants? That took underground greenhouses with low ceilings and constant torchlight to do anything. And a growing empire was a hungry thing: greenhouses alone weren’t going to be sustainable. Not long term.

Techno had his reservations about putting too much faith in their allies. A resource as important as food needed more than one source.

But. Techno’s reservations wouldn’t spontaneously feed everybody, and Essempi had been friendly and amicable all through negotiations. All things considered, they were probably the closest and most trustworthy ally the Empire had.

And their representatives didn’t make Techno want to melt into a puddle or stab anybody! So. Points all around in their favor. Niki did most of the talking, her voice soft and cheery, clearly the most familiar with Essempi resources and used to political negotiations. The captain would chime in mostly around the actual act of trade itself, naval logs and star charts and detailed maps crowding her end of the low table. Ranboo, as Niki mentioned, didn’t say… anything at all, the whole meeting. He just sat, straight-spined enough to put the strictest governess to shame and making eye contact with nobody, scratching notes into a book he’d brought.

Essempi was offering them good deals. More than fair, if Techno was being entirely honest. And he knew he didn’t have any personal charm to thank for that. He filed that away for future reference. Either Essempi was even more well off than rumors suspected, or there would come a day when they asked the Empire to pay back their generosity (likely with swords and soldiers, if the history books held any credence).

But that was fine. In the now, they were offering lucrative details for necessary resources. (In the future, Phil would need enrichment anyway (Techno, too, he did love a good fight)). Techno would still probably want to set up a couple additional trade agreements with other nations, just in case, just to cover all his bases. And the greenhouses obviously weren’t going anywhere, Techno would not be sacrificing even an ounce of pre-established self-sufficiency.

But even Techno, of all people, had to admit that he was feeling pretty optimistic by the time they all stood and shook hands in parting. He remembered to shake Puffy’s and Ranboo’s this time, Puffy’s hand tiny and grip strong, Ranboo’s slender fingers still faintly trembling with nerves but his smile seeming at the very least half-genuine.

Woof. Ough. His back. The time! The sun set early here, but he was still surprised to see that it had sunk below the horizon while he was squirreled away looking at documents and maps and an antique abacus. His staff seemed to agree, yawning and musing over dinner plans as the two groups dispersed, the Essempi convoy headed towards the guest quarters and Techno and his officials wandering further inwards of the castle.

“Well done in there, Your Majesty!” praised one of Techno’s staff while he wasn’t looking, and he was too embarrassed to admit that he hadn’t quite managed to catch who was talking, so he just raised a hand and gave a vague “Ayup” before leaving quickly. Much quicker than he had arrived, as it happened. So interesting, that things worked out like that.

“Busy day?” Phil asked as the door to the royal quarters clicked shut. Techno sighed heavily and let his head thunk back against the heavy wood. Phil, the intolerable jerk, giggled at him.

“Why weren’t you the one handling that again?”

“Because the little stunt we pulled was just a biiiiiit too successful,” Phil reminded with another chuckle, and Techno groaned as he shoved off the door.

It had been a gambit, but as a fledgling nation the Antarctic Empire had needed to gain the attention of the rest of the world, and gain their attention they had. An extremely brief, brutal, there-then-gone conquest that had left the vast majority of the world temporarily under the Empire’s claim. It served two purposes, each a message:

Do not, under any circumstances, make enemies of the Empire.

Probably a good idea to play nice and make friends, though.

Most of the world had taken the first message very much to heart, and the testing nudges they’d been making abruptly vanished. Some nations, like Essempi, had quickly jumped to playing nice, eager to make powerful allies (and perhaps just as eager to make sure they didn’t have a powerful enemy).

A couple nations had taken message number one as a challenge, and readied warships with bloodied thirst.

Not that the Empire couldn’t handle a bit of… rough play, but it did mean that after squashing attempts at overthrowing or subjugating them, Phil got saddled with miles of paperwork establishing the enemy’s surrender and the Empire’s new normal.

“I thought you were meeting with the guys who wanted moon access today?” Techno asked as he approached. Phil’d had dinner brought to their rooms, as they did most nights when they weren’t expected to make an appearance, and Techno let into the meat and eggs with gusto.

“That’s tomorrow. Tonight was more surrender talk.”

“So that’s why you double booked us. You wanted ‘em alone in a room with you.”

Phil giggled, waggling his fingers so as to make a show of his talons.

Techno gave a very half-hearted kick to his shin. Quarter-hearted. Maybe even sixth-hearted. Phil cackled at him.

“Can’t let you outta my sight for ten minutes,” Techno groused around a mouthful of chicken. Phil popped a handful of red berries into his mouth (some of the only vegetation that could be grown outside of the greenhouses), and he looked altogether too smug.

“How’re things with Essempi going? Off to a running start?”

“Actually? Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“I like the representative they sent over, Niki, she’s got a good head on her shoulders, and so far they’ve been fair, if not generous.” Techno gave his partner a meaningful glance. “We should probably expect a request for military aid, sometime in the future.”

Phil shrugged, entirely unfazed. “We’ve always known that’s a possibility. And we’re not exactly hurting for it.”

“Figured as much.” Techno lifted his plate to slide the eggs into his open mouth, the fork method far too slow. “Honestly don’t think this deal is gonna take too long to finalize. Week, probably?”

“For you? That’s a goddamn miracle, mate.”

Techno snorted. “I know, right? She’s got a pupil along with her, skinny guy named Ranboo. Showin’ him the ropes.”

Phil spluttered a laugh. “And she chose you for a practice round!?”

“I know right? Like, c’mon, cut the guy some slack. He looked ready to shake out of his skin. Don’t just throw him off the deep end chanting ‘blood for the blood god’ like there’s gotta be less intimidatin’ guys than me out there.”

Phil giggled and Techno continued, “Brought a ship captain too, Puffy, shorter than you and louder. She’s been a good help settin’ realistic expectations, but I dunno how involved she’s gonna be in the rest of our meetings.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a pretty good handle on it, mate. Good for you, good for you.”

Techno snorted. “Never thought we’d see the day.”

“Aww, I knew you could do it.” Techno cast him yet another look. He giggled. “Eventually.”

Techno guffawed and set his plate down, dropping his head back. By the Blood God, he felt tired.

“Well,” Phil continued, stretching his arms above his head and his wings out to each side, “nobody got attacked and no emergencies happened, so I’ll call this day a win.”

“Ah, but I did get attacked,” Techno said with a raised finger, remembering his joke from earlier.

“Oh?” Phil asked, with all the sharp-eyed curiosity of a man who knew a punchline was coming, but was trying to tell where from.

Techno heaved his head back up. “In the halls of our own very castle. I was caught off-guard—very brutally, I should add—by a ninja door.”

Phil broke immediately into cackles.

“Snuck up on me while I was just innocently walkin’ down the hall, Phil. Never would’ve expected it. One of our own doors. The betrayal was immense.”

“whAT?” Phil giggle-shouted, his feathers poofing and his shoulders shaking.

“I was just mindin’ my own business when bam! Suddenly the door was right there. Scared the life out of me. Don’t worry, Phil, I showed it who was boss. I twisted that handle like I was born for it.”

Phil was now laughing so hard tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.

Techno grinned, warmth glowing in the center of his chest. Truthfully, it probably wasn’t that funny of a joke, but the combination of fatigue, the subject being unexpected, and Phil being an easy audience made it sound like ninja doors were the funniest thing in the whole world.

The night was still young, but Techno was utterly drained from the day of talking (and tomorrow would be much the same) so he called it an early night. Phil, equally tired from twisting arms into surrender (and maybe getting to play a little mean with his talons, who knew. Not Techno! Techno hadn’t been there to reel him in!) was more than happy to agree.

This far south, sleeping in your own bed was about as smart as wandering the town naked. Too much warmth leached out that way. It was only sensible that family members shared a bed together, with drapes around the edges to keep the air captive.

Techno had no family to speak of, except the one, so the two emperors dressed for the night and crawled in together, Phil’s top wing spread out over them like an added blanket and his icy little feet pressed up against Techno’s leg.

“Why are you always an ice cube?” Techno groused, gathering his friend in his arms.

“Shhhh, you’re just a friggin’ blast furnace, mate. Go to sleep.”

Techno huffed, breath stirring Phi’s hair and making him chuckle, then nuzzled down into the blankets and his companion, wishing he could hibernate the day off. Blood God himself, he was tired.

But wake the next morning he did, and the next, and the next after that. Essempi eventually embarked for their home, along with the first shipment of goods from the Empire. More countries entered peace treaties with them, or at the very least non-aggression pacts, particularly as more nations fell to the Antarctic Empire’s might. Trade was good, their people sleeping with full bellies and a more or less nutritionally balanced diet. The Empire produced plenty of coal, in its cavernous depths, and many nations of warmer climates had want for the ice they so easily chiseled up from around them.

Things were good.

Techno was getting… better, about the whole talking to people thing. After the first few days, Ranboo had started speaking, and Techno had found a kindred spirit in him. The two now exchanged regular correspondence. Mostly about books, but sometimes they’d share personal stories or gossip (apparently Captain Puffy was working very closely with a certain someone, indeed). Meetings were no longer torments summoned directly from hell (not that Techno liked them, but Techno was pretty sure he was never actually going to like meetings (honestly, he was pretty sure nobody did)). He and Phil were getting a pretty good handle on this whole, “being emperors” thing.

That said, politically motivated social functions were still the worst. But Essempi was, to date, still their closest and friendliest ally, and Techno knew enough about court niceties by now to know that regardless of how much he might’ve wanted to, he and Phil could not turn down their invitation to a ball.

“What even is the point of balls,” Techno groused as he examined the flimsy nothings the tailor had made for him to wear there. Too thin of a material, not nearly enough fur around his neck, he’d freeze to death in this in an instant. He… did like the gold bits, though. He’d conceded on that. And the jewelry. Those parts were nice. The rest of it was like walking around in wet paper, though.

“Maintaining positive social ties with political figures we’ve already established with and makin’ new friends with new people at a designated function for doing so—”

“I was bein’ sarcastic, Phil,” Techno cut off the overly-formal lecture, making Phil cackle. “It’s called a rhetorical question, Phil, ever heard of it?”

“Can’t say I have, mate,” Phil lied with a giggle.

“A rhetorical question is a—” Techno started, overly-formal lecture of his own primed and at the ready, and Phil swatted him with a big black wing, setting them both to laughing.

The boat ride to Essempi went about as well as anticipated. Phil flitted about, happily assisting with the crow’s nest and upper rigging, and Techno spent about half of it bent over the railing, the other half desperately attempting to coax water and ginger teas into his stomach that he didn’t immediately upend.

“We should build a land bridge,” Techno groused when his friend came over to both hydrate and mock him.

Phil, predictably, laughed, “Mate, I don’t know if even we mine up enough stone for that,” he said as he passed a water flask over. Techno swished it around his mouth and spit, trying to rid himself of the now everpresent taste of bile, then sipped slowly and delicately, his stomach groaning pathetically and churning at even that.

“Then we’re building flying machines and we’re taking those. Planes, blimps, hot air balloons, I don’t care, this is the last trip I sail anywhere.”

“Blimp’s not a bad idea,” Phil mused as Techno shut his eyes, bracing himself against the railing with renewed force and willing the nausea to pass him over without taking his water with it. “It’d be more regal and dignified than staggerin’ off a boat dehydrated and starved and swaying.”

“Gonna punch you for that.”

“Are you now?” he asked with a giggle.

“Ayup. Just give me three to five business days to get off this railing and then it’s over for you. It’s so over for you.”

More laughter. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Well, I’m off to go perch in the crow’s nest again, have fun pukin’ your guts out.”

“Death. Death and violence.”

His friend’s retreating laughter left him and he stewed in abject misery for the rest of the trip. By the time they hit land and Techno was able to collapse into a bed that wasn’t swaying every which way, he was even looking forward to the party, since it meant not being on the boat.

The flimsy cheesecloth the tailor had prepared for him made more sense in this warmer climate, and now that he wasn’t being a stubborn child about it he had to admit: he cleaned up good. Deep red and gold and black, Phil his match but green, they were striking, appearing wealthy and deadly and even, somehow, regal.

Despite, y’know, it being the two of them.

The party goers were respectful, nobody jumping at the chance to speak with the Antarctic emperors but no one intentionally snubbing them either, and Techno mostly just had to loom behind Phil with a ridiculously shatterable little wine flute pinched delicately between his fingers and listen. Answer the occasional polite question that was directed his way, make sure Phil didn’t get too excited at any perceived slight, it was almost even normal.

He was at the food table, piling high a plate he intended to share with his co-emperor, when he heard a familiar, boisterous voice.

“Emperor Technoblade!”

“Captain,” he greeted, turning to her. She extended her drinking glass, and he gently clinked his against it. “They’re lettin’ riffraff like you in here?”

Puffy barked a sharp laugh, loud and unabashed. “I’m a plus one.”

“Oh?” Techno raised an eyebrow. “You and Niki official, then?”

Puffy squinted. “And how exactly do you know about that?”

Techno smirked behind the rim of his glass. “I have informants everywhere.”

Puffy laughed, once again boisterous and booming, and landed a playful punch just barely above Techno’s elbow. Haha why are you so short.jpeg. Oh c’mon Chat that joke is not old that’s still peak comedy right there.

“Man, I can’t believe everyone’s so intimidated by you.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you saw me in a fight,” Techno countered, amused.

“And you wouldn’t say that if you saw me in one, blood boy!”

Techno arched an eyebrow. “Blood boy,” that was a new one. In their trade with Essempi, Techno and Phil had gotten to know the sea captain a little better each time she was in their port, and she’d taken to treating them with the same friendly irreverence she spoke to everyone with.

Techno set his plate down on the edge of the table, largely crowded out by the serving dishes but finding just enough space for it to not go falling over. Intentionally, he loomed over her, his impressive height casting her fully in shadow, and let himself grin.

“Careful, Captain. It’s not smart to threaten me with a good time.”

As tolerable as the party was thus far, Techno would be lying if he said he wouldn’t ditch in half a heartbeat to go screw around. And after the miserable journey here, a good friendly sparring match with a spunky lady sounded like even more fun than usual.

Puffy rocked up on her hooves, and even on the tips while Techno was stooping down she couldn’t really get “in” his face but he understood the gesture. His grin widened. It matched her own.

“What’s the matter, big boy, don’t think you could take me?”

“Miss Puffy, um, you promised Miss Niki you wouldn’t cause a scene,” came a timid voice from nearby, and both Techno and Captain Puffy perked.

“Ranboo,” Techno greeted, scooping up his plate of food and crossing the distance to his young friend.

“Hello, Emperor Technoblade, it’s nice to see you, please don’t encourage her.”

“Good to see you too,” Techno said warmly, meaning it. Through their letters, Techno had come to regard the young Enderian as a good friend.

Puffy gasped as she trotted over, and shoved right up into Ranboo’s space. “Are you the nark?”

“Um,” Ranboo said, backing slowly away only to be further crowded by a sheep woman half his height, clearly confused, “no?”

“Yeah, Captain, what’s with this baseless accusation you’re makin’ against my good pal Ranboo?”

“I can’t believe this. Betrayed by my own girlfriend’s tagalong.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about??”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Techno said, slinging an arm over Ranboo’s shoulders and nearly bowling the guy over with its weight. Techno had seen bamboo shoots with more structural integrity, smh.

“E-either way, please do not help Miss Puffy make a scene. Miss Niki specifically instructed her not to do that.”

“Guess we’ll just have to go somewhere there’s nobody else around,” Puffy said, still full of good cheer.

“True. Can’t make a scene if there’s no one to see it.”

“Oh, no. I. I’m going to go get Miss Niki.” Techno barked a laugh but released Ranboo to go do so, and Puffy waggled her fingers at his retreating backside.

“Kayyyy. We won’t be here when you get back!”

Techno glanced down at the plate in his hand. Hm. Well, he couldn’t just return it all to the serving dishes, he’d already touched it. Puffy nudged him with her elbow, and when he glanced her way he found her pulling at her wide neckline and winking at him. With her other hand, she lifted the neck of a bottle of what surely must be rum, and he caught on immediately. Using one of the overly-fancy napkins, he bundled his snacks and passed them to her, watching her disappear them into her clothes. That was so smart, he’d have to talk to his tailor about providing him that kind of opportunity in future outfits.

His loyalty to his co-emperor did him in, though. Puffy was already heading out one of the patio doors, sneaking off into a well-maintained garden, but Techno detoured to grab Phil, knowing if there was going to be any fighting, for fun or for murder, he’d be heartbroken if Techno left him out.

“Emperor Technoblade,” greeted Niki from behind him while he was trying to wait out the conversation Phil was currently engaged in. She sounded icier than when she’d been in his antarctic home, negotiating trade.

Busted.

“Hello, Niki,” he returned. Definitely not sounding guilty. Nothing going on over here officer, no suspicious activity whatsoever.

“It seems my partner for the evening has vacated the premises. Would you care to dance with me in her place?”

“Uhhhhh.” Techno wasn’t the best at court niceties, but he knew a request from a “request.” He took her outstretched hand.

“What uh—why the sudden interest?” Oh that sounded so suspicious he could stab himself.

“Can a lowly civic servant not ask an emperor for a dance?”

“Uhhhh no, no that’s fine. That’s uh, that’s fine, just, haven’t uh—how you been, Niki, haven’t seen you in a while!” he not-so-subtly changed the subject.

“I have been alright. Times have been better for us than in a long time, and I have been kept busy making sure it all stays in running order.”

“Not too busy, I hope?”

Niki laughed, but it wasn’t the most mirthful sound he’d ever heard.

In some of Ranboo’s letters, he’d voiced concern for his mentor/sister figure, writing of nightmares and insomnia that was only partially due to her high workload.

“Cause stressin’ yourself out can take a toll on the body, you know,” Techno pushed, not sure if it was his place to or not, but eh. He liked Niki. She was a good sensible woman who (normally) didn’t make him feel like dying or killing out of sheer mortification. And during negotiations, she’d been friendly. “It’s important to take breaks and have fun, every now and then.”

She pursed her lips in a frown, and it looked so much like she was pouting that he chuckled. “C’mon, take a load off.” He grinned at her, playful and a little teasing. “There’s a very pretty girl outside who I know would just love to have you come goof off with us.”

“Well now that’s not out of the ordinary. That very pretty girl is always trying to get me to goof off.”

“Maybe you should listen to her more often.”

Niki sighed and let Techno spin her, the dress she’d chosen for the party flaring nicely. “Maybe I should.”

“Yeahhhhhhhh that’s the spirit! Come join us! We’ll make, like, a bookclub or something.”

Niki let out a “pfft,” and then giggled quietly. “I should put that in my credentials somewhere. ‘In a bookclub with an emperor.’”

“Two emperors if I can get him away from those—what are they, petty nobles?”

“Ambassadors from Kpop.”

“Cringe. We gotta get outta here, Niki, I can feel my viewership dropping by the moment.”

“I don’t know what that means—Technoblade!”

In a grand sweeping movement that was definitely not typical but could still technically be considered dancing, Techno rushed the two of them towards the patio, catching Phil’s eye just briefly enough to give a jerk of his chin, watching his friend’s eyes light up with curiosity and mirth.

Okay, good, Phil was coming.

“Really,” Niki scolded, but she wasn’t resisting him at all as he dragged her along, out into the privacy of the manicured foliage and beyond.

“Ehhh, relaaax. Nobody saw us leave. Probably.”

“I am quite sure a great many people saw us leave.”

“Eh. Phil and I already talked to everybody important that would get, like, big mad if we didn’t. We can ditch.”

“I am part of the hosting party.”

“Aaaaaaaaand now you’re not. So it’s fine, it’s fiiiine.”

Niki giggled, and it sounded just a little more genuine. Good. He was getting a good grade in cheering Niki up, something reasonable to want and possible to achieve.

“Heyyyyyy, look what the pig dragged in!” Puffy cheered, bottle open in one hand and waving excitedly with the other.

“You are incorrigible. I cannot believe you dragged an emperor in on your shenanigans.”

“This is actually pretty consistent with my character honey, I don’t know what to tell you.”

Techno barked a laugh and snagged the bottle from her, taking a big gulp before extending it towards Niki.

“I am surrounded by ruffians,” she said, but he noted she took the bottle and a big drink of her own.

“Ehhh, I wouldn’t really call two people ‘surrounded,’ maybe sandwiched?” A familiar sound of wings had Techno’s elbow angling up on instinct, and soon he had a shoulder full of best friend. “Okay, Phil’s here, now you’re surrounded.”

“Who’re we surrounding?”

“We’re forcing Niki to take a load off and have a nice evening.”

“Pog.”

“Cheers to that, Emperor number two!”

Phil spluttered around laughter as he hopped from his perch. “I’m just the number two now, am I?” He took the bottle from Niki, who went and leaned on her laughing girlfriend and pressed a kiss atop one of her horns.

The sound of footsteps and not-so-subtle huffing and puffing had them all turning to look. It was far too loud to be any kind of assassin, so nobody was on guard, and Phil took another swig of rum as Ranboo rounded a hedge.

Realizing his late entry made all eyes fall on him, Ranboo flushed. Huh. He turned kinda greenish on one side and a more typical red on the other. Pogchamp, Techno supposed.

“Uh,” he said, still catching his breath a bit. “Um. Miss Niki, you, uh, left the party.”

“Sorry Ranboo,” she said, looking honestly chagrined. “I did not mean to leave you there on your own.”

Ah. Left alone by the extrovert that adopted you at a party that wasn’t your idea to attend in the first place. A fate worse than death, which Techno would not wish on his worst enemy, much less friend.

“Um. Why is, everyone here, and not, inside?” he asked, tail twitching and lashing with his agitation.

“We’re ditching,” Techno said, slinging an arm around the little beanpole once again. “You are too.”

“I’m—what?” Ranboo spluttered as Techno dragged him forward, starting the group into a slow amble further from the noises of the party, Niki looking at him with apology and Puffy cheering around a laugh.

“Yeah, mate, you’re a delinquent now!” Phil said brightly, pushing Ranboo from behind while Techno pulled. “Gotta play hookie with us.”

“I, um, I uh, well,” he stammered, twisting his fingers, looking about between them and finding absolutely no help.

“You’re bein’ peer pressured. We’re peer pressurin’ you. Just come goof off with us, Ranboo, join the dark side, we have cookies.”

“We do, actually,” Puffy said, taking the rum back and finishing off the bottle. “I’ve got enough snacks hidden in my various pockets to feed an army.”

“Absolute pogchamp.”

“Oh I knew you were up to something!”

“Always,” Puffy said with a wink, rising up onto her hooftips to kiss Niki’s cheek.

“I, uh…” Ranboo sighed. It was a great heaving thing, making him sound more and more like a dejected cat.

“Yeahhhh! One Ranboo, officially roped into our nonsense. Gang’s all here now, gang’s all here.”

“So what’re we doing?” Phil asked cheerfully, crossing his wrists behind his head in a strikingly anime fashion.

“Well, the captain and I were gonna fight—” Phil’s eyes lit up in an excited glint, drawn to the allure of playful violence, “—but since we’ve got Niki and Ranboo now I say we just goof around on the beach.”

“That… does actually sound kind of nice,” Niki admitted, and Ranboo’s whole body perked hopefully. Techno gave one noodle arm a nudge with an elbow and sent him a quick wink. They’d get that girl to take a load off and enjoy herself, even if it took all four of them to do it.

A rustling, too large to be a rabbit, came from a bush ahead of them, just on that seam of land where dirt shifted into sand. Not a moment later, out spilled a man, a man wearing a bright blue onesie.

“Connor?!?” asked all five of them, equally shocked.

“Hey heyyyyyyy, guyyyyys,” Connor said, one leg still trapped inside the bush, splayed out on his back and craning his neck back to look at them, lifting a hand in a peace sign. “How’s it going?”

“Connor, what are you doing here?” Niki asked, concerned.

“Wait, how do you know Connor?” Phil asked.

“How do you know Connor?” Ranboo countered, Niki helping pry the man loose from the bush’s terrible clutches and more or less right himself on his feet.

“Oh, I get around a lot,” Connor said blithely, “At this point I know most people.”

For a moment, they stood in a loose circle, staring silently at one another.

A bottle uncorked and attention turned to Puffy. “I mean, I also know Connor,” she said, taking a swig of something new. “Wanna come screw around on the beach with us? I brought snacks.”

“Oh fuck yeah.”

And screw around they did. Mostly just walking and talking under starlight, the ocean breeze cool but only as much to be pleasant. They found a nice flat rock to take a sit on and Puffy shared the many treats she’d secreted, everyone chowing down and laughing around jokes and conversation. Phil and Puffy got into a wrestling match in the sand at one point, Connor braided uneven sections of Puffy’s hair while Niki pleated nice, neat rows, Techno and Ranboo discussed the recent installment of a book series they’d both been following and that Ranboo had shipped a copy of, knowing Techno would want one and wouldn’t want to wait long enough to place the order all the way from Antarctica.

Phil perched on Techno’s shoulders for no reason other than to feel tall, Connor relayed a tale so wild no one was sure if Connor could actually have survived that sort of thing, or if he was just making up shit as he went along, and Niki was laughing with her whole chest, flush to her cheeks and a weight lifted from her.

It was a good evening. A good night, as the moon rose higher and the distant, far-off sounds of partying wound lower. Their group was winding down as well, conversation fading into companionable silence.

Niki’s weight slumped against Techno’s side, and he glanced down to find the woman asleep.

“Gotter,” he teased softly, nudging Ranboo on his other side.

“Oh, good,” he said fondly, peering around Techno and ending up leaning on him too, as a result. Phil chuckled from above, still perched on Techno’s shoulders. Connor munched away at the remaining snacks, seated on the sand in front of the flat stone, and Puffy leaned contentedly back on her hands on Niki’s other side, staring up at the starlight.

Techno still might not be the best at talking to people, but even he had to admit: if it meant getting him here, on a night that he would’ve otherwise slogged through in a stuffy party full of people he didn’t know, he was pretty glad he’d done so.

Ayup. Not a bad place for him to be.

[gothic-thoughts]

(Un)Trustworthy

(I've been obsessed with mythical creatures lately so imma write a few fics to get it out)

König x Black Fem Reader Angst

Mermaid!Reader, MeetUgly

CW: Racism to humans, standoffish/mean reader

TW: blood mention, kidnapping mention, human experiment, PTSD (elements ig)

Word Count: 1032 (give or take)

After his team returned to the base, the Colonel was informed that something strange had caught something strange in the enemy territory. He was intrigued but wasn’t fazed, assuming it was just another weapon or something. He followed the seemingly eager soldiers to the airplane hangar and once there, his eyes widened in shock at the sight of her; a dark blue-tailed mermaid on the floor.

“Heilige scheiße(holy shit)......”

She looks around at the humans around with panic, baring cat-like fangs as she hisses, causing all soldiers to jump at the sound. Most raise their guns at the mermaid, unsure and fearing what they’re facing. Colonel König, however, slowly approaches the creature. She narrows her eyes angrily, immediately recoiling from the masked man and causing him to stop in his tracks.

He reaches his hand out to her to show the creature he is not a threat but her eyes remain slit and full of distrust as she hisses at the large man before her. König remains still, his face is calm and there is no fear in his eyes as the soldiers continue to aim, unsure as to whether or not the creature is going to hurt their commanding officer. He slowly brings his hand closer to her to which she slaps his hand away.

“Do not touch me, landwalker.” She snaps, “This is your first and only warning.”

König is surprised as well but he does not show it, waving his hands to make the soldiers lower their weapons. He steps back and clears his throat.

“You can speak?”

“Do not be flattered, I have nothing nice to say to you. My silence is more than your kind deserves.”

“My kind?”

The mermaid squints, “Yes, your kind. The stories are true, you humans are nothing but barbaric and cruel.”

“Barbaric and cruel? Is this... your opinion of all humans?”

“When I meet an exception, I shall alert you. And unless you intend to kill me, landwalker, back away. I rather die than be tested on by two groups of humans in one lifetime.”

A murmur of chatter erupts among the soldiers. Colonel König holds up his hand to shut them up before turning his attention back to the creature.

“We have no intentions to harm or test you, mermaid.”

“I am not dense, human. I know what you want.”

“What is it that you think we want, mermaid?”

“The same thing the last group of humans did before you quote unquote ‘rescued’ me; my scales, my hair, my tears, and my blood.”

“You were tortured?”

She winces in pain as she pulls her tail to her scale-covered chest to show the small exposed patch of flesh where shiny blue scales used to be.

“For your kind's cruel, violent experiments, yes I was.” She scowled, “My scales are the equivalent of fingernails, besides the fact that they grow and shed from my tail, like hair. And these landwalkers manhandling me here only made it worse.”

He steps a little closer, kneeling, “May I?” He asked, reaching out for her tail.

“What game is this?

“May I... examine? Your tail that is, I swear I’ll be gentle.”

While eyeing him intensely, she slowly extends her tail with a pained groan allowing the Kortac Colonel to cautiously grab it, holding it up in both large hands. He begins to examine the exposed bloody patch of skin in front of him, grimacing under his mask at the 10 small spots where the scales were plucked from.

“When did this happen?”

“A few days ago but they haven't had the time to grow back yet. Especially since they were ripped off.”

Colonel König nods his head, “Let me take you to our infirmary. Our medics will bandage it and you can rest it while it heals properly."

“You... how can I trust this isn't some land-walker trick?”

“We are not all like the other humans you have encountered before. Some of us have morals and values, so please...”

“...who are you, giant?”

He chuckles at her observation. “My name is König.” He kneels to her and holds out a gloved hand, wanting to solidify her trust, “Will you trust me? At least enough to carry you to our medical bay?"

“You intrigue me, König.” She rests her hand in his, “I will... I am trusting you.”

König smiles behind his sniper hood and lifts her in his arms, holding her against him. As he stood up, she quickly wrapped her arms behind his neck with a gasp as she was lifted from the ground.

“I've got you.”

He starts heading for the exit of the hangar with the mermaid in his arms. As they head for the medical bay, the mermaid sees that the halls in the base are filled with humans; some of them are working, some of them are relaxing, and some of the are just doing their own thing. What the mermaid doesn’t realize, is that all those eyes are on her. 

She hugs herself closer to his body, afraid and on guard as he walks past the people dressed like him. Colonel König senses her fear and immediately holds her even closer to him, wanting to make her feel protected against anything.

"They're not going to touch you."

"You're sure...?”

"It's a promise, mermaid, I’m not letting anyone close to you.”

“It's... I’m (Y/n)...”

He can’t help but chuckle again. "(Y/n), ja? That’s a beautiful name.”

“And I also wanted to apologize for insulting you.”

He chuckles, "It's okay, alright. If anything, I understand. We, uh, humans, aren’t the friendliest bunch most times."

“Oh, I'm painfully aware. But I'm apologizing to you.”

"Me? Me specifically?"

“Yes, just you... You’re the only human I’ve met to not view me for profit.”

He clears his throat as his cheeks warm up, "I can assure you that I do not see you for just profit. Of course, I can’t speak for everyone else but I see you as something more."

“More? More than profit?”

König nods. "More."

“Why?”

"I think... that might be a secret I'll hold for myself for now.” He winks, “Until we get to know each other better.”

[artbyblastweave]

Ask Game: Mall Cluster

To be honest I've forgotten enormous quantities of Ward. Antimemetic-ass webnovel. I can only talk about those guys in really broad strokes. But I do remember that one of my big takeaways was that Rain's clustermates are first of all aesthetically fantastic and furthermore have a really interesting moral spread between the three of them. I do think Rain could have stood to be genuinely worse as a person prior to cluster bleedthrough- I think it was @triviallytrue who observed years back that Rain was kind of as unagentic as you possibly can be while still being in any way meaningfully responsible for the Mall disaster, in a way that makes a quote-unquote redemption arc more palatable for the audience but also undermines it's actual necessity.

On a general note, I think that Clusters in general are an interesting alternative to budding when it comes to modelling "X-family" style extended casts (Bat-family, Spider-Family, Flash-Family, etc.) or possibly Bizarro/Venom/Reverse-Flash style mirror-darkly antagonists. Ward didn't go as hard as Worm in trying to model Big-Two cape dynamics, at least in part because Worm already covered so much ground, but it did fill a few holes like this, alongside comic-book resurrection dynamics and capes like The Wonder Twins.

[420technoblazeit]

So what do you think of Vriska after her little convo with John?

im gonna keep it a buck fifty with u im gonna need to process hte five hundred other horrific things that happened this stream before i even BEGIN to touch the shit between vriska and john with a ten foot pole but um. i do like the direction we're goign in for her character

truth be told i think the. ig worldbuilding??? for alternia and troll society hasnt 100% landed for me but it's understandable given the pace the webcomic's going at. we havent had time to really explore the dynamics she's describing with quote unquote 'justified killing' and i think as a reader the level of sympathy you feel obligated to extend to her suffers as a result. this is kind of the first time we're hearing about how it's considered culturally acceptable for highbloods to just straight up murder lowbloods like this. and in the context that adult trolls quickly become murderous and violent her obsession with helping tavros become stronger by any means necessary makes sense. but it's also not something that was talked about in detail before so im struggling now to accept that into my worldview and my view of vriska

idk. i guess the other problem is that up until this point the highbloods have been relatively well behaved too. before gamzee and eridan both snapped they were pretty civilized and content to play along with the others. and despite all his talk about the hemospectrum equius is like. pretty nice actually i like him a lot. and a lot of that is bc of his partnership with nepeta but yk. my point is most of the trolls dont really act like vriska and none of them are nearly as coldblooded as she is. we were also told that she had to murder thousands to feed her lusus but we never saw it directly which is maybe contributing to it. it's an unfortunate consequence to the way the comic's structured that we dont get to explore it further but i do think vriska's a decently compelling character so far

[m3loria]

❛ the pursuit of the better.. ❜

MELIORA﹙멜리오라﹚often stylized in all lowercase is a fictional south korean boy group formed and managed by l♡uvix audio & sonata media. they are the third ever boy group to be formed by louvix audio, and the first ever group to come out of sonata media. they are the successors to formerly dubbed "ANGELS OF K-POP", or the 6-member boy group RIX, louvix's first ever boy group and their first ever kpop success. the group was formed through a duration of quote unquote "global auditions", and members would be chosen by not only judges, but the first ever chosen member himself.

the group is composed of thirteen fixed members, there have been no lineup changes ever since their original finalization in december of 2019. twelve of the thirteen members were chosen by the first member chosen himself, hwan, who put the group together based on not only their talents, but their variety and chemistry. over the course of 10 months, the members hwan, junmin, jian, taro, haneul, yohan, kyrie, kiro, chaiya, hajoon, z, byeol, and chrysa would go on to become members of the final lineup, and the group would eventually make their debut on may 1st, 2020, releasing their first extended play ❛ BOREALIS ❜.

meliora is a latin word which means "better", "better things", "always better", or "for the pursuit of the better". the idea of the group is that they are supposed to a fresh start, a better project compared to the previous mess of a group which was RIX, who, frankly, ended horribly. though they are often referred to as a "shameless cash grab" and "an attempt to milk RIX's former fame", meliora have since established themselves as a group full of variety and versatility, known for their obscure reality shows and for their excellent dance performances, meliora have become one of the most influential groups in the 2020s, not only in korea, but overseas as well.

 . ࣪ ˖ basic information !

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ group name : meliora ( 멜리오라 )

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ fandom name : aponia ( 아포니아 )

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ label(s) : louvix audio, sonata media

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ members : yohan, chaiya, junmin, hajoon, kyrie, hwan, haneul, kiro, z, byeol, chrysa, jian, taro

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ debut date : may 1st, 2020

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ debut album : borealis

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ genre(s) : k-pop, dreampop, krnb

 . ࣪ ˖ lineup !

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ yohan ( 2000 ) : leader, main vocalist, main dancer.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ chaiya ( 1999 ) : lead vocalist, sub-rapper, visual.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ junmin ( 2000 ) : main dancer, lead vocalist.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ hajoon ( 2000 ) : main rapper, lead dancer.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ kyrie ( 2001 ) : lead vocalist, lead dancer, lead rapper, visual, face of the group.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ hwan ( 2001 ) : main vocalist, lead dancer, visual, center.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ haneul ( 2001 ) : lead dancer, lead rapper, sub-vocalist.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ kiro ( 2002 ) : main rapper, lead dancer, sub-vocalist.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ z ( 2002 ) : main dancer, main rapper.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ byeol ( 2002 ) : main dancer, lead vocalist.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ chrysa ( 2003 ) : main rapper, lead dancer.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ jian ( 2004 ) : lead vocalist, lead dancer, visual.

 ̟ ˖ ⁺ taro ( 2004 ) : main dancer, lead rapper, maknae.

[mad-hunts]

AHH, alright, so i am now delivering on my promise to make a meta about what makes barton uncomfortable and/or what gives him goosebumps in a bad way. so let me just start out by saying that some of these might be a little more general than others and/or something everyone is kind of put off by, while others might not be. one thing that makes barton uncomfortable that he tends to experience more than he thinks is not being able to see everyone in a room or having a clear path to an exit. and this one is honestly... kind of sad to me, because it was borne partially out of this strong sense of hypervigilance that he has; and also partially because, over the years that he spent with wesley, barton tended to subconsciously catalogue where the nearest exit was a lot because he felt like it was necessary to survive.

this next one is more specific and honestly might be kind of an 'intrusive thought' sort of situation, so it doesn't happen very often, but whenever people talk about their mom or any motherly figure they had in their lives and ask barton about his mom... he usually has no idea what to say. like, he's liable to just kind of clamming up and ending up saying something like 'uhh, she's not around' which is pretty much to the full extent that barton will talk about her.

one more common thing that kind of makes barton uncomfy is someone standing behind him while trying to have a conversation with him while he's sitting down. ESPECIALLY if they put a hand on the back of the chair he's on, and this is another way in which barton's trauma manifests. he really doesn't like people towering over him like that and barton not being able to see them also takes a role in this. another perhaps common for some is going to social gatherings. he doesn't like going to these because it means that barton will have to put on an act for an extended period of time.

he, in reality, does find it very hard to relate to other people and small talk is something that he still hasn't quite quote unquote 'mastered.' if there's any form of liquor at this hypothetical party, though, barton may book it for that as it tends to make things easier / more tolerable for him at these events. though that isn't exactly a good habit to form of course JSJSJ and lastly, strangers unsolicitedly touching him on like the small of the back and/or grazing his back? this man is NOT a fan of that at all + is a good way to get barton to feel like elbowing someone right in the spleen ahahhh 🫠 (okay this might be a little extreme of a reaction to that, i know, but SKSKS i technically never said that all of his squicks or things that makes him uncomfy would be entirely reasonable LOL)

[fictionkinfessions]

I'm not even saying who I am. But that ask about the ec kin I cut off.

First off. I didn't cut you off. I politely left the server because you kin Adam and while he did bad things in canon and you may not have personally, you have no idea what he did to ME personally. I said in the server that you were free to stay my friend, message me on tumblr, and continue following my blog. I left for my own comfort and safety. I did not have to extend that kindness to you. I could've left and immediately blocked you. But I didn't because I cared. I only unfollowed and blocked you after you started vague posting on main about me being there still. So I left.

Don't act like I did wrong by leaving when it's for my own comfort and safety. Like it or not, if you read the actual novels, Adam Moonlit is a justified reason for someone to leave a discord server. Not to mention, just like your canons affect you, my canons affect me. Had you not posted on your main blog vaguing me/others I would have stayed following you and perhaps we could have had a conversation later about things.

Please leave me/the others who left alone, we didn't do anything wrong by leaving a damn discord server civilly. Sending an ask like that to a public blog is really awful, especially singling people out like that and not giving full context to the situation.

-one of many ec kinnies

(sorry for sending this, I just needed to address that awful ask. I will not send anything further. )

Because of this ask, any confession vagueing irl people who are or aren't canon mates that have allegedly abandoned the confessor or cut ties or just dropped off the face of the earth are banned. I'm sorry you are hurt but this is the kind of venting that needs to go in your hello kitty diary, not a public forum.

I am sick of people not being able to take No For An Answer and drag this personal shit out into public on my blog.

One grow up and Two you're shitty person if you do this. I'm not saying abusive or manipulative, that's a specific scenario and a one off isn't necessarily a concrete habit so to speak. Also I know nothing of either of you so of course I'm not jumping to conclusions. Everyone needs a place to process their feelings and reactions. But this is not an appropriate place for it.

This is the second time and really it's embarrassing for you and ridiculous for everyone reading this blog.

OP I genuinely apologize and I'm sorry you had to be the quote unquote Learning Moment for me to put a stop to this in the first place. I'm sorry you have to explain personal shit in public like it's a really lousy version of Judge Judy Kin Edition.

Connie / mod party cat

ps if anyone is familiar with the situation, please keep it to yourself. There's enough personal stuff being aired out, nobody needs to know blog urls and IDing info. Thank you.