#she really took the time to teach us valuable things

[angryborzois]

man my old school was weird and all but i miss it 😭

[sigyn-foxyposts]

(Personal) Ivaldi headcannons:

Ivaldi is like you would expect quite the handyman, who truly has a skill when it comes to being crafty with your hands.

He is a very well known smith in Svartalfheim and gained a lots of riches from his excellent and honest work.

He started off doing flavours for others and repairing things in his early days!

Because unlike most dwarfs, Ivaldi isn't greedy, he was genuinely friendly and even helpful.

Though he does have that infamous temper if something were to go wrong in his workshop!

Most dwarfs repreduce naturally, asexually or through magical means and while Ivaldi has done all of these, he had always wished for a permanent partner to stay by his side.

He would have his two sons through asexual reproduction! Later carrying on their fathers legacy by becoming just as skilled as him in smithing.

Then he'd create Idunn using these magical items: Elven blood, Ashwood and gold. He really wanted a daughter!

You could almost call him a hopeless romantic at times because he has found himself falling for both men and women.

But dating other dwarfs was never easy for him because he'd often get used for his kindness and or wealth.

When he met Freyja though, wandering through his realm one day things finally started looking brighter for him!

They had a shared love for pretty things, taking pride in their magical skills and feeling like they were serving a purpose and it formed into a genuine connection.

Eventually leading to them having three daughters named Sigyn, Sjofn and Lofn.

Ivaldi always admired Freyja for her abilities in caring for their daughters, even Idunn who she had taken under her wing while she stayed underground.

But things took a sudden downfall when Freyja left without a trace, leaving Ivaldi heart broken and a struggling father.

He understood that maybe their love wasn't meant to last, he is respectful for that! But wishes she would have at least said something before she disappeared.

Ever since Ivaldi struggled sleeping peacefully and developed Insomnia.

Ivaldi often found himself asking Idunn to aid him in his fatherly duties.

Which he felt guilty about, knowing Idunn deserved better than to be some caretaker for their family!

A family he was obligated to take care of in the first place.

To him his daughters were just as valuable as the shimmering gold.

Which is why he spent his remaining free time as his daughters grew, sending out messangers who were willing to get back in contact with Freyja.

In every letter he begged her endlessly for her to take Idunn and their daughters into Asgard and give them a better life.

Something he knew he wasn't able to fully provide for them.

Once Freyja actually took action and collected Ivaldi's daughters, he decided to focus his attention on his sons.

Teaching them everything he knew, so they could make a living and possibly continue his legacy through their work.

Which is why his sons took over for him, making him somewhat retired today!

He still keeps in contact with his daughters and will provide anything they need if they so ask!

He is also updated frequently about their lives and every letter he gets from them, he keeps somewhere safe!

Ivaldi unlike Freyja isn't too picky or pushy about who their daughters will marry either.

He is very laid back In that department and only wants them to be happy.

He has often made Freyja change her mind multiple times too, putting their daughters feelings first!

He also really likes his sons in law: Loki and Bragi. Because personally to him they're the most entertaining gods.

Ivaldi also loves to brag about all of his children and their achievements to the other dwarfs in Svartalfheim.

[moonyasnow]

Malleus and Irina's kids

I finished drawing them all quite a while ago but had to add some actual personality to them too

There are 8 of them

Buckle up

Malina - first born - daughter -> hatched from egg -> in dragon form

Black hair and purple eyes

A little bit mischevious. Also spoiled ROTTEN. As a child she could pout a little and always get her way. As she grows up she matures, but you can still tell she's used to being spoiled.

All her siblings definitely helped make sure she didn't grow up to be a brat— she loves them all, and helping to look after them helped teach her responsibility, which her parents told her is a very valuable trait for a ruler to have. She is going to be Queen of Briar Valley some day, after all.

She's named, not only after both of her parents, but also after the Bulgarian word for 'raspberry'

She's a 'sister bear' (like mama bear but sister) and is very protective of and doting on her siblings. Though she's also a little bit selfish— she'll take a bite of their slice of cake and call it 'oldest sibling privileges' She's also noted to look quite a bit like Malleus' late mother, Maleanor Oh— and she LOVES stuffed animals.

She has an entire room dedicated to her hoard of them even. Dragons are very protective of their hoards, and she is no exception, not allowing almost anyone to even SEE her collection.

But! When each of her siblings were born, she gave them all one animal from her collection, and she gets very upset if they don't still cherish them, no matter how old they are. They're from her hoard, after all! Her siblings are the only people who are ever going to get something from there.

She's very open with her affection to the people she likes. But this affection can be a bit intense sometime, and if it bothers one of her siblings, it can take her a while to understand that, and she can end up taking it too far and crossing a boundary without meaning to.

Malachi - second born - son -> hatched from egg -> in human form -> has a dragon form

Pink hair and green eyes

Very attached to both parents. As a child he clung to one or both (preferably both) of them all the time. Though Malina is also a pretty good substitute if neither of them are present

ANXIETY

He's also a scholar

He really likes stargazing, and the stars in general. His parents both liked stargazing together, so of course they also took their children with them when they were young. It affected Malachi more so than most of the others. He quickly became intrigued with the stars, especially after he noticed that they move!

He loves the quiet of stargazing.

He's very mindful of his status as 2nd-in-line to the throne, and it brings him so much stress. He just kinda wants to run away to live in a little cottage in the mountains and like write or something and never have to deal with other people again.

But instead he has to go with Malina to all these meetings where he ends up so worried he'll say something wrong and mess things up that by the end of them his head falls down on the table and he lets out a long, high-pitched groan like his spirit is leaving his body.

This soft-boi just wants a quiet academic cottagecore life and to sit in a cozy chair by the fireplace and read, or to live in a secluded room in the castle compiling histories, or camp out in fields for years just watching how the stars move, but instead he's forced to do politics.

Mallory - third born - child -> born the human way -> has a dragon form

Pink hair, green eyes

They're the one of the siblings who has the most knowledge about how the world outside of Briar Valley really works, because they ended up leaving Briar Valley, and his life as a royal, to join a traveling circus.

The best listener, and has the best people-skills. They're sometimes a bit surprised by just how bad most of his siblings are at communicating with other people. They actually ended up having to bail them and their siblings out of trouble now and then as kids. Though weirdly, almost always trouble he himself got them all into.

Mallory loves their job at the circus, and being able to use magic to bring joy to others. This leads to him sometimes clashing with their younger brother Malcolm because Malcolm thinks they don't take magic seriously enough.

Mallory is rarely ever serious in general— though they've said that's mostly because everyone else in the family is so serious! "Someone had to bring in some levity!"

They also have a flair for the dramatic (theatre kid), though they do also like trying to be the dependable older sibling you can always talk to— especially since 'they're the only one guaranteed not to snitch on you' (their own words).

Just because they don't think the royal life is for them and they've left home doesn't mean they don't love their family a lot. They have a habit of spontaneously appearing in a flurry of fireflies in the castle now and then unannounced. When they do, they'll often have gifts with them; little trinkets or books or other stuff like that which they think their siblings would find interesting.

And lots and lots of stories, of course! They'll sit the younger ones down and then act out a dramatic story that 100% happened to them dude trust them (no, they were not really 'attacked by a panther assassin set out to avenge their sister'— a cat somehow snuck into the trailer cart they sleep in and hissed at them)

Malek - fourth born - son -> hatched from egg -> in dragon form

Black hair and green eyes Looks EXACTLY LIKE MALLEUS

Was named after Sebek. Sebek cried so hard and yelled so loudly out of happiness he was not actually allowed anywhere near the room where Malek was born OR his nursery for the first week and a half.

He has a very strong sense of duty; if he's promised to do something, he WILL do it. And if it's something that's too difficult for him, he's going to train whatever quality he'd need to complete it until he can pull it off. So yeah, he always keeps his promises, even if it takes him literal years to fulfill them.

This can end up making people laugh when his promise is to attend his younger siblings Malindt and Malissa's tea party, but he doesn't see what's so funny about it. Tea parties are important social events with a lot of etiquette involved, and he will be nothing but the perfect guest.

Is a bit of a hardass who isn't good at things like 'humor' or 'levity'. One time he tried to make a joke and his siblings all stared at him like he'd just eaten a frog alive right in front of them. He's a very serious person in general, and a perfectionist with high expectations of both himself and others. He can't always recognize when those expectations for others end up hurting them, though.

He's a bit oblivious, and is thus the one who the others most often pull pranks on, since he probably won't even notice it.

There's a pretty big gap between the first three kids and the others— so Mallory left home when Malek was only 7. Mallory sometimes jokes that's why Malek grew up to be 'such a hardass'

Maleah - fifth born - daughter -> born the human way -> does NOT have a dragon form

Black hair, one green eye and one purple eye.

She was born very close after Malek— so close they're not even an entire year older than each other.

She's the only magicless one, and she's a bit insecure about it- especially because she looks so human. Her family all love her, of course, and she loves them too, but she's always felt a little out-of-place amongst them. It's a reason why she and Irina are particularly close, since that's something they can bond over.

She's a bit shy, a bit of a wallflower, and one of the ones Malina dotes the most on.

She really likes fairytales, and stories of knights and princesses and such. She wants to be something like one of the princesses in the stories, hopefully to meet her 'prince/princess charming' one day. She's a bit of a hopeless romantic in that way, also idealizing her own parents' story of how they fell in love. Though that may have ended up leading to her setting her standards a bit too high. Her siblings have lots of stories to tell about her 'crush of the month' throughout the years.

Malcolm - sixth born - son -> hatched from egg -> in human form -> has a dragon form

Pink hair and purple eyes

The one going through the 'THIS IS WHO I AM, MOM' phase the longest If you get his name mixed up with any of his siblings he WILL breathe green fire on you

He was born a while after Maleah— she was starting to become a teenager when he was born/- and his younger siblings Malindt and Malissa wouldn't be born until he was already in his teens, so in a way, he felt a little lonely, not having siblings very close in age to him.

The most interested in magic in the family Wants to forge his own path and be considered unique

Definitely has some chuunibyo delusions

Has a bit of a temper. Irina is scared he got that from her side— from her father.

Malcolm is very close with his father, who was better at getting through to him when he was angry than his mother was. Not at all due to lack of trying— she did try her very best. But it was difficult when, as a trauma-response, her instinct was wanting to placate him.

He had a small crush on uncle Silver as a young child

Thinks Malina can be a bit full of herself sometimes

Judgy

REALLY looks up to Leona and used to follow him around at any and all family gatherings (since, Tomoe and Irina are basically family, which would of course make 'family gatherings' include both their sides of the family)

Malindt - seventh born - child -> born the human way -> does NOT have a dragon form

Black hair and purple eyes

Malindt is very quiet and introverted, and they're selectively mute.

They really like playing the violin. They also really like blueberries! In food, and just the color.

They often give people they like small stones or acorns or leaves or flowers they found and thought were pretty.

They're very curious, and love being outside in nature, just running around forests exploring. They're definitely the most in-tune with nature out of their siblings. They love the quiet, the sounds of birdsongs…they wish they could live in the forest. Sometimes, they even think they were meant to be a tree instead of a person.

But they love their family a lot, and love it when their parents or siblings give them head pats. So instead of an actual tree, they'd prefer being something like an ent or dryad, so they could still move and be close to their family.

They've always been more an observer, not really trying to join in on conversations, instead just listening. They're fine with that, though.

Malissa - eight born - daughter -> hatched from egg -> in dragon form

Pink hair and green eyes

Literal ray of sunshine

When she grows up she wants to be 'a monster' She thinks having claws and a razor-sharp tail and sharp teeth would be so cool She sometimes plays at being a big monster who stomps through terrorizing a city

She stayed in her dragon form the longest, until she was about 4, refusing to change into human form for a while She still changes back pretty often to go flying She's STUBBORN Also Lucy, her bunny, was the plush Malina gave her :)

She often asks her siblings to play with her, but especially Malina, since Malina almost always agrees But she also really likes her older sibling Malindt They're the closest to her in age, after all

It's likely she has ADHD— she hates needing to sit still for longer than 10 minutes, and even then it's very difficult to her.

Tag list: @another-random-paradise @thehollowwriter @faefum @cactus13-rolloflammesimp @beneathsakurashade

@nyx-of-night @theolivetree123 @babyghoul138 @skibidibabygirl

[prismaticpichu]

If you’re someone out there who enjoys my writing—enjoys anything that I do with my words or prose or style—I feel there’s something you oughta know!

I would not be anywhere without the incredible authors I took inspiration from.

I’m admittedly still a wee lad trudging through high school, and I still gotta whole lot to learn! And I’m gonna have fun on that journey. But I legit think I’ve absorbed and learned more from reading all these gifted works more than the lessons we were taught over the years. Ofc, the fundamentals were taught there—teaching me the rules before I could break them. But it was these people that taught me how to break those rules and how to do them effectively. And when you’re a writer, I find, there is no better learning experience than reading words on a page!

My style really seems to be an amalgamation of so many different things and people—prolly a lot of subliminal stuff, too. Though I feel like there’s at least two I gotta give HUGE hugs to for being so influential <3

~

LuckyLadybug on FF.Net! ~ Literally the first ever FF7 fics I’ve ever read. Literally the sole reason I love Zack & Sephiroth’s friendship. Her fics are absolutely legendary, all written in a very consistently clean and swift style. It’s not an overload on sensory detail, but it also ain’t choppy in the slightest. It really does strike that perfect balance of rhythmic and simple that I always try to fall back on when I find myself getting too flowery! It’s a real life savor—for real! And speaking of For Reals, almost everything I craft about Zack & Sephiroth’s relationship stems from the bond she created. I learned so much about how to make emotional, powerful scenes that really can convey just how much people can platonically love each other. She’ll always be the true power of friendship queen! And the best Zack & Sephiroth author I’ve ever had the honor of reading.

@altocat! ~ Oh boy… there is SO much to say xD Where to even start? While Ladybug was the foundation of my little fanfic quest, I don’t think there’s a soul who helped me build and evolve more than Alto’s works. Because if you aren’t aware, this goddess is just an artist with words. We’re talking the most vivid and powerful imagery you can imagine! Imagery that was so powerful, in fact (and I don’t think she even knows this lol!), that at least a solid year of my works fall into this Altocat-emulating-esque era. Never with the intention to copy, of course, but to try my hand at creating prose that was rich in rhythm, language, and meaning. And while I think I did take this WAY too far sometimes (I can say that bc I’m the author- and I know what just sounds unreadable in retrospect xD), but it was part of the learning process. And one I’m still in the middle of today. For more context, Alto was also the one who taught me the value of fragments and isolating words for emphasis. That something concise could be powerful. Beautiful. Beatiful and valuable. Like words that mirror the characters’ quickened heart rates as their thoughts begin to splinter and spiral and how to wield syntax in a way that’s both enjoyably breathless and taut with anxiety at the same time. I learned how to imbue emotion to my work and peel it back so it’s pure and raw. Altocat is an absolute MASTER of angst, and while I used to write relatively “dark” things, I don’t think I really ever got them right until readings AMT’s (see this! for more details on that gem). In a similar vein, she also taught me the kind of impact that beginning and ending lines can have—how to not waste them and how they can circle back to each other in clever and gorgeous ways. I learned the importance of diction from her work; I learned the meaning of SO many new words lol; I learned how to make dialogue just a tad more interesting. Overall, really, I think Alto really did teach me how to write in a lot of ways. At least, in the sense of taking a step that I had no idea was in front of me. A step I didn’t know existed, because I really never saw more beautiful craft in my life.

Anywho! I think I’m rambling a bit x,D I hope I didn’t embarrass you, my friend. Or weird you out lol!!! I was just doing some reflecting, really, and I just needed you to know how impactful your fics have been to me. And you have no flipping idea how honored I am to know you as a mutual <3 Ty for everything ❤️ Ty for being you!!

(For reference, this is why I always say to NEVER underestimate the kind of impact your works may have on people. No matter how small or how insignificant you think they may be. Because who knows??? Maybe you’ll end up changing a life, too <33)

~

Thx for listening to this spiel, folks!!! Much love!! <33

[caitlynmeow]

Would you have any fantasy AU hcs about the Dimitrescu house ?

ohhhh i haven't really thought about a fantasy au but now i think about it i have some ideas!!

ok so! House Dimitrescu is one of the more established Houses in the kingdom. It's an ancient bloodline and continues to reign and grow in wealth and connections.

They have deep familial (thru marriage) with ruling families in their kingdom and outside of it. so in many royal family trees there is a Dimitrescu in there somewhere.

Alcina was married to a man from a noble house. she did it out of necessity, as they needed heirs to carry out the bloodline. it worked fine with her because she has always had a strong maternal instinct and KNEW that she will need to marry a man to fulfill this need. and she did. It wasn't a particularly happy marriage; not a fault on the man's side, she just didn't harbor any romantic feelings towards him. he was kind, however, and he cared a lot of her. she ended up having three daughters in the span of ten years. but after that, she decided that it's enough, as she doesn't feel like having more.

Alcina took great care of her daughters' education. Normally, children get sent to prestigious boarding school to get proper education. But the thought of not having any of her children around for most of the year was unbearable for her. Instead, she hired highly sought out after tutors and teachers, who taught her daughters about different sciences and etiquette.

A few years after Daniela was born, there was a road accident and her husband died. It was less thing on her plate, and she didn't have to play the role of the wife anymore. It gave her freedom, and she can finally go after what she truly desires.

As the three daughters grew, Alcina noticed their differences and thus assigned them different duties.

Bela is her right hand. Her eldest daughter is the one who will manage the family business and take care of things if she isn't there. Bela is very smart, and mostly does as her mother instructs, often craving her praise and approval.

Aside from handling the family business, Bela is very interested in alchemy. when she is free, she often reads about the science, as well as spend time around alchemists in the court. she tries to learn, in order to use that new skill for her family.

Bela is also the family representative. she travels to faraway lands, forming relations with other noble houses and making sure that House Dimitrescu is far spread out and well connected. Her natural wit and charm make her perfect for the job. She is Alcina's eldest daughter and she has a responsibility to uphold.

Aside from that, she spends time around her sisters. They are annoying, for the most part, and they are very troublesome. Because of that, whenever they get in trouble, they always seek her out because they KNOW she can get them out of any mess and her advice is valuable.

Cassandra, being the second born daughter, has different interests. From an early age, she learned how to sneak around and out of the castle. She isn't allowed to, but she often sneaks into forests and wild lands to indulge in her hobby: hunting.

Alcina knew that there is no stopping her daughter, nothing short of locking her up in a tiny cell is going to stop her. Left with no other option, the noblewoman hired an ex-hunter to teach her young daughter the skills she needs. Cassandra absorbed all that knowledge and was eager to apply it. In a short time, her daughter became an adept hunter.

Cassandra's adventures didn't stop there. The daring middle daughter delved deeper into the forest, meeting both fae and witches and venturing into forbidden lands. She saw and touched wyverns, going as far as flying on the back of one with a particular young witch that caught her interest (hence her often sneaking out and heading towards the forest)

Aside from that, Cassandra is the sister who accidentally ends up attracting a lot of attention when there are parties. She doesn't get why it happens, but she doesn't mind the attention she gets from both men and women who are attending these balls. She isn't against having some fun while she's at it, but it's all just-- her fooling around. It isn't just anyone who will weasel their way to her heart, which currently belongs to a certain witch deep in the forest.

Daniela feels that she isn't as good as her sisters. She has different interests, often dreaming of a mysterious lover who would sweep her off of her feet, but no such person exists.

She isn't as smart or dependable as Bela. And she isn't as fierce and strong as Cassandra. She just exists there in the shadow of her older sister not knowing what she can do to change this. Her mother often worries about her, that's why she doesn't tread into forbidden areas like Cassandra does.

She loves masquerades. The atmosphere and the people she meets always fills her excitement and it gives her the sense of doing what she can as she is protected by anonymity. Or so she thought. One night, after a heated moment with a mysterious fair haired young woman, she knew it was time to leave but the words "The night is still young, princess Dimitrescu. You're mother won't leave for a while," Not caring how her identity is identified, Daniela tossed her ornate mask and spent the rest of the night living moments better than those she read in books.

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Hello dear,

This is my first time actively engaging on Tumblr in... a very long time, so please bear with me while I teach myself how to Tumblr again.

Could I request a match-up for Harry Potter and Marvel from you per chance?

My pronouns are she/her and I have no preference when it comes to gender.

So I don't clog your ask box with my ceaseless ramblings (because I do not physically understand the concept of brevity), I have my bio pinned to the top of my blog. I hope that is okay. This way I can keep this relatively short and sweet.

Anyway, thank you for your time. It is greatly appreciated.

Hi! I apologize for your matchup requests being so late! I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! <333

---

(Romantic);

---

Harry Potter;

Draco Malfoy:

🐍 You met Draco after Hogwarts, a couple of years after in fact - though you remembered him in school; him being a Slytherin and you being a Ravenclaw (even though you knew deep in your heart that you could've been a Slytherin too)

🐍 Maybe that was why you and Draco seemed to get along so well... Though, you had known him to be a bully, he had seemed to grow out of that, maturing into a kind young gentleman - and though it took some time for the both of you to get used to each other, the time did come

🐍 You and Draco would have little dates, and the more time that you spent together, the more you slipped out of your aloof shell, and he did the same - finding out that the both of you had more in common than you both thought

🐍 When you and Draco were spending time together, you would both bake and bake - to name a few - you even help teach Draco how to horseback ride; and Draco loves to see your makeup process, amazed by how talented you are with a makeup brush or pen

🐍 You and Draco understand each other, and compliment each other perfectly - always there for each other - just you and Draco against the world

---

Marvel;

Natasha Romanoff:

🌹 You met Natasha when you joined the Avengers, having many valuable skills that make you a very good member of the team; you are very similar to Natasha in the way you fight, how you move, and how you are intimidating and very good at getting information out of people

🌹 You and Natasha were regular pinned together in training, the team liked to bet on who would win - but you and Natasha were too well matched, all training ended up in a tie; throughout the time that you and Natasha spent together training, on missions, and just down time in the tower, the both of you got pretty close (you and her were really both alike)

🌹 You would often playfully flirt with each other - and it was quite obvious to the rest of the team that you and Natasha were probably going to become more than friends; it was only a matter of time

🌹 When you and Nat are not busy doing hero things, you and her spend time together, just the two of you getting to better know each other in the quiet of your room or hers (at many points, you end up giving her many baked goods

🌹 Being an adrenaline junkie, you and Natasha sometimes go out to fairs, when they aren't too crowded and loud, to go on rollercoasters, on weekends you'd skydive, and on Wednesdays you and Nat would go scuba dive

---

[softquietsteadylove]

Hi! I have a request about Zombi au👀 how about when they settled into the new place they meet up with druig and Makkari and they we're just all getting along in the instant and one time they having lunch conversation Makkari suddenly tell how Ikaris roughly handled thena on the supply run when Gil is still pass out and then Gil is not happy about it that thena needed to calm him down before he could kill the guy and assure him she already handled it. Thankyou ❣️❣️❣️

"Hey, you."

"Hey," Thena looked up as Gil circled behind her, his hand drifting over her shoulder as he sat down with a tray of food. "How's cooking duty?"

"Getting there," Gil answered simply. "I don't have the best inventory yet, but there haven't been any complaints."

"I'll say, this shite is better 'an anythin' we've had yet!"

"Gil, this is Druig," Thena introduced, only after Druig had taken the liberty of complimenting the food and then loudly shovelling in another bite. "He also worked here under Ajak in the beginning of things. He worked in psychiatry apparently, but he also is quite good with agriculture."

Gil smiled at the man eating like he had been famished for days, and then at the woman who gave him a cheeky kind of wave and smirk. "Uh, hey."

"Makkari," Thena smiled, putting down her fork and raising her hands. "She's deaf, but she's their top runner. She can cross the entire city in two hours, apparently."

"Whoa, that seems," Gil furrowed his brows, but Makkari grinned, signing something back to Thena. He would have to ask her to teach him during their off hours.

"She was a track champion, she says," Thena smiled, translating in real time as Makkari's hands flew at lightning speed. "She could have gone national if she hadn't been disqualified."

"Disqualified," Gil looked at them both, but Makkari didn't seem particularly bitter about it. She lifted her arms and made bunny ears with her opposite hands, a few times even.

Thena laughed, shaking her head as well as she lifted her fork for another bite, "stealing."

Makkari practically rolled right out of the cafeteria seat in her laughter at Gil's face.

"Extra food," Druig clarified, relieving Thena of translation duty. "Don't worry, she won't nick any of your valuables."

Makkari gave him a wink and a shrug.

"She won't," Thena raised her eyes at the woman across from her (across from Druig, really, but in her eye line). "Because she likes you."

Gil smiled sheepishly, picking at the meal he himself had prepared. "That's what everyone says when they're hungry."

Thena nudged him gently, under the table and away from the eyes of their new comrades. "You know very well that's not true."

He finally took a bite of food, looking around at those whom Thena had befriended in her short time here and without him. She didn't usually end up talking to people, let alone liking them. "How was the run today?"

"It was okay," she smiled, eyes searching him for a deeper worry under his light tone. "Makkari and I went into some higher hotel rooms close by--I told them about the mini-fridge trick."

"I can't believe we never considered 'em," Druig said with only half a mouth full this time, "all this time."

"Thena's smart like that," Gil praised freely and openly, looking at the woman beside him instead of eating his bean salad. Not that she noticed.

It could have gone better.

Thena did look up at Makkari but didn't bother speaking up, resuming eating instead.

Gil frowned at her, "what?"

"It's nothing," she shrugged, reaching for her bottle of water.

Makkari looked at Gil, it did go well, until a certain someone started arguing with Thena over whether to take the stairwells or use a dumbwaiter system in the elevator shafts to get the supplies down.

Gil leaned behind Thena, asking Druig with his eyes to please translate for him.

Druig looked at Makkari, and then at Thena, who must have given him a hell of an expression. He swallowed his massive bite slowly. "Uh, well, it was mostly smooth sailin', apparently. Nothin' to worry about, big fella."

Gil frowned, though. He put his fork down and slid his tray away from him, only so he could slide Thena's tray away from her. She stared at the table, as if trying to figure out what had happened to her meal. She turned and looked at him the way she would look at the devil himself. "Thena?"

She just glared at him, lips pursed (cutely). "It was nothing."

He slid her tray even further away from her. He knew there wasn't much that could break the iron will of the Goddess of War. But withholding her food - so long as it was made by him, which was kind of sweet - was the one way. "Thena, what happened?"

She eyed the tray, knowing he would not make getting it back easy. A faint huff escaped her as she tossed her fork down, "Ikaris and I got into it, nothing worth dragging up again."

"What do you mean," Gil said quietly and evenly, his hands already tightening around the edges of her tray, "got into it?"

"Blondie here is cocky, that's what she means."

"Ikaris, not now," she turned in her seat, all too prepared to bark at him about minding his own business. "It's water under the bridge."

He glared her down, though, crossing his leanly muscled arms at her in his navy t-shirt. "I said we should use a dumbwaiter to get the food up and down. But GI Jane here said it would be better to carry the shit all 'emselves down seventeen fuckin' flights of stairs."

"You can't rely on the cables in elevator shafts anymore!"

"Okay, okay," Kingo patted Ikaris' shoulder beside him, "don't wanna go starting this again."

Gil stood. "What happened?"

"Uh," Kingo looked around, as if he would find a glowing door that would help him escape another scuffle.

"What," Gil repeated, having no problem standing nose to nose with the obstinate guard, "happened?"

Ikaris looked down at Thena, who was still seated, determined not to rise to his bait (as Gil was). He scoffed, "she's savvy out there, but she's got wee arms to be doin' heavy liftin', no? I got my hand around her whole bicep."

Gil tilted his head faintly, trying to absorb what Ikaris was saying. He had held Thena's arm? He had held her by the arm? He had gripped her by the arm? He had fit his entire hand around Thena's slim upper arm?

"If she bruises it's only 'cause she has as much meat on those bones as a pigeon."

Gil grabbed Ikaris by the front of his shirt, backing him up into the seats behind them. Ikaris' knees bent, making him grab the edge of the table behind him. Gil leaned over him heavier. "Don't you ever touch her!"

"Gil!" Thena rose, eager to intervene as others in the cafeteria started gasping and whispering.

"Don't ever put your hands on her!" Gil roared in the guy's face. He didn't care. He didn't care that he was making a scene or making a powerful enemy. He didn't care if he got kicked out for this. "If anything - anything - ever happens to her out there I will kill you!"

"Easy!" Kingo yelled, trying to pry the much larger, much stronger Gil away.

"Come on!" Druig growled, also trying to drag Gil away from Ikaris.

"I mean it!" Gil barked at him, "if anything ever happens to her it's your head!"

"Gilgamesh!" Thena moved between them, pushing against his chest as Kingo and Druig attempted to pull him by the arms. She pressed her fingers into the divet between his pectoral muscles. "Stop it!"

He was out of steam, anyway. But he was still glaring at Ikaris as he picked himself up, huffing and glaring, obviously ready to go on if he was let go. Gil was all but panting, light headed from the adrenaline rushing through him. He couldn't help it. All he felt was rage looking at this bastard.

"Gil," Thena attempted, raising her hand to his cheek and forcing him to look at her, "hey."

He blinked, the edges of his vision expanding again.

"Look at me," she whispered, her thumb against his cheek, "I'm right here."

She was right here, unharmed.

"I'm fine," she assured him, making him look at her instead of over her head at the man he was frankly ready to beat to death.

Gil carefully raised his hands. He knew everyone was watching him. They had seen him lose it twice now, if not more, considering how long he was out of it during his recovery. They probably thought he was some monster of a man.

But he ran his hands over Thena's arms gently, as if just touching her would make the bruising that asshole was talking about appear before his very eyes. Her skin was so soft. "Y-Yeah?"

She nodded, still holding him, grounding his senses in her instead of his rapid heartbeat and boiling blood. "Yeah."

Gil let go of a long breath, letting the rest of his energy leave him. He was exhausted, and he was still on dinner and cleanup duty for the night. "Okay."

Thena smiled, satisfied that he was feeling calmer about the whole thing. She let him pull her closer until she was tucked against his chest, which he would argue was the safest place in the world for her. She pressed her cheek against his clavicle and the collar of his t-shirt under his unbuttoned flannel. "It's okay, Gil."

Druig stepped away from him tentatively, hands still at the ready, "all right, then."

"Come on," Kingo patted Ikaris as he picked himself up. He looked at Thena and Gil, neither apologising nor condemning them. "Let's go."

Ikaris did give them one last glare before storming off.

Gil watched him go. He didn't like that guy, no matter how nice Sersi was. But once he was far away enough, he resumed burying his nose in Thena's hair. "Sorry."

She rubbed his back, as if soothing him after a nightmare, "you're okay."

"What is going on in here?!"

Thena pulled away, looking up at Gil with wide eyes. He was not to say a word.

"S-Sorry," Druig stood as Ajak made her way over. "Me'n Ikaris...y'know."

Ajak gave him a look, but the fact that she so readily believed him really spoke to how well the guard got along with most here in the hospital colony. "How many times, Druig?"

"Aye aye," he nodded, like a teenager getting scolded after curfew. He sat himself back down, "won't make a peep, mother dearest."

Ajak just rolled her eyes at him, despite what she claimed to be a very strict rule about in-fighting. She looked at Gil, leaning against Thena's shoulders. "Everything okay?"

She most definitely knew that it was Gilgamesh involved in the fight, not Druig.

Gil smiled, hiding his fists in his armpits, "great!"

"Hm," she pinched her lips together, at him and then at Thena, "I trust the matter was resolved?"

Thena just nodded, but Ajak seemed to accept the silent promise to her that the fighting was at least done for now.

"Right," the doctor sighed before rushing away to her next fire that needed squashing, her white coat flaring behind her.

Thena looked up at him. "That was too close for comfort, wouldn't you say?"

Speak for yourself, that was the most fun I've had all week!

Thena just glared at the petty thief and friend across from her.

He sighed, sitting down with her and trying to ignore the stares focused on them. He slide their trays over again, half pushing his into her space for her to take what she liked from him. "Sorry."

Thena nudged Druig's shoulder faintly as she picked up her fork again, neither looking at each other, "thanks."

"Nothin'," Druig shrugged, also not looking as he resumed eating his corn (while Makkari resumed stealing bites of his canned fruit).

"You sure I can't come with you?" Gil asked her gently, no longer having any appetite. He hovered closer to her than necessary, even running the back of his knuckles up and down her bare arm. "I'm no 'you', but I'd be better than that guy."

Makkari nodded eagerly.

"That's for Ajak to decide," Thena said gently to dissuade him from his overprotective argument. "And besides, who would make these delicious meals then?"

He sighed. She was appealing to the chef in him, but he would rather crawl through filth with her than serve a hundred strangers his best three course meal. "Come on."

"Not to pick sides, but T's right, big guy," Druig piped up, again with his mouth full. T? "I ain't eaten like this in a dog's age, and I bet the rest of 'em here'll get how invaluable you are right quick."

No one else here talked like that.

"I can handle myself," Thena assured him more quietly. She even let him pull her knee so her thigh could rest against his. "You don't think I would let him grab me and not nail him right in the nuts, do you?"

Gil chuckled. No, of course she had gotten in a shot directly to his biggest weakness. That was the Goddess of War he knew (and loved). Thena leaned in gently as he pressed a kiss to her hair, "of course not."

[orbeater]

HAI do you have any headcanons about specifically how vander views the other guards and students vs how they see him?

Ok so i think i wrote down a good amount time to ramble. Gonna talk about my hcs for the general worldbuilding and his upbringing a bit so it gives more context for his interactions with people i suppose. I'll highlight the part of your ask so you can skip to that 👍

Royale high plays a very major part on balancing the harmony between the different elemental groups. It was created as a sign of fraternity amongst the kingdoms and a vow of sort to never cause harm amongst each other, no matter how different they are, because the future generation is dear to them, and they wouldn't want them to suffer because of their actions. RH itself is set in a kind of a central city, a multicultural hub consisting of all sorts of people and creatures from different kingdoms, making it a very reputable institution due to its diversity and education quality available for everyone. Personally i would like to imagine it also goes beyond high school levels, mostly because its more convenient to imagine a place where kings and queens were made to also have college level education.

Now because of its stature, RH is in close connections with all sorts of kingdoms. Naturally, if you're training to become a knight the chances of you getting picked are high if you're from RH. RH also hires those that show valuable skills in the field as their guards. Some people use this as an experience of sort to later go for a Knight's position for their respective kingdoms.

Now moving onto Vander's upbringing:

He was raised by some of the most respected knights of the dark kingdom, which was how he was inspired to attend RH till graduation (I hc him to be of the dark element). He took up a position as a guard at the school to get more like credit for becoming a knight later on.

As a kid, his parents weren't around a lot because of their jobs. He never held it against them though, but he did grow up isolated because of his shy nature. He had a creative side to him too, his main hobby being writing. The time that he did get to spend with his parents, he cherished it a lot. They always taught him how even if the worst times were to fall on them, the people who loved him would always be there for him. What you give would be what you receive, things like that which he still holds as one of his main teachings. He's really just a shy guy who cares about his close group of people a lot, even if they're few. His main motivation to continue as a guard is the fact that he gets be of help to the students and people in general, because all throughout his younger days he was misunderstood and looked upon as some sort of like. A stone hearted person. Which was only because he isn't the best at expressing himself. He might look too serious and tough, but underneath it all he has a good heart.

Hes also kinda bad at social queues and stuff, sometimes saying things that might come across as strange, which gives people the wrong idea about him. I don't want to call him a nihilist, hes more of a uhhh, positive emo? If thats a thing anyways.

Also all the song lyrics he says, bro is just humming 👍. Hes a nerd who likes silent hill and fire emblem and quotes dracula (all canon).

The main part! His interactions with the other guards:

Philip:

Philip being Philip was always kind to Vander ever since he joined the guards. As his senior he would always engage in meaningful conversations with him, giving him advice and such even though Vander's responses would be short, he still saw him for how he was. It left a great impression on him, and he respects Philip a lot. They also engage in conversations about their favourite novels and poetry sometimes.

Zalia

Zalia would be wary of him at first, since shes not the one to trust others quickly. She also gets thrown off by the fact that he just sometimes appears out of nowhere (man has silent footsteps), and remains on edge a bit. I do think she'd slowly be able to trust him as more time passes by, because he does his job properly and doesn't give her a reason to doubt him. He also helps around with tasks like sorting the guard log which takes a long time just by herself, so she comes to appreciate his company even though he doesn't say a lot.

Hans

I feel like. He actually wouldn't mind him that much. All the times he gets assigned to work with him he's actually glad because the guard doesn't actively try to engage in conversations a lot, plus he doesn't annoy him unlike Edward. He just has to tell him to do some work or tell him his next patrolling area and he'd just go do it with no hesitation. The only time Hans was hesitant to tell him about his next guarding spot was when he was suppose to guard the dungeon, because of course he cares about others, and is aware of how unsettling the place is, even for him. Vander would be indifferent, but he would still think highly of his senior.

Edward

He'd be scared of him at first. Edward would be out patrolling the dormitory hallways at night, which already puts him on the edge. Vander being the guy with silent footsteps would see the guard walking alone and would ask him if "he perhaps required his assistance" which would scare the shit out of the other guy. After sometime though I can see them becoming good friends, especially once Edward would find out about his interests and realise that he's actually really chill. He would still not watch horror movies with him though, because he knows that a "not particularly frightening" for Vander would be a "keeps you awake at 4am" for him. Maybe he'd try to compliment him every once in a while but then he'd get flustered when Vander would say something really genuine because he obviously means it

Oliver

Theee nerd4nerd dynamic. I think Oliver would be a little scared of him at first, not because he thinks he looks scary or something, but because he has no idea how to interact with him. Over a course of time though, he'd realise how similar they are. They'd bond over his "Im a light fairy but my bestie is a dark fairy" anime that I have mentioned before. They both would enjoy the eveningfall season. They'd watch slasher films together. They'd talk about their lives with each other, maybe they would play dnd and bring Edward with them. They could sit in silence next to each other for hours and it wouldn't be awkward at all. I could enjoy a romantic dynamic between them two IF it isn't the weird alpha yandere Vander and soft bby Oliver bullshit because holy shit that makes me so unreasonably mad. The best dynamic is when Oliver is stronger than him in general because that is so funny. Man can clock an 8 ft plant monster but will panic over the idea of engaging in a conversation with a stranger. Imagine them bonding over their isolated childhood and how they were treated by people and that that didn't affect the fact they both still see people as something worth protecting. Can you see my vision. But also like I've said they'd never make it past the hand holding stage because together they're shy². Vander would be the closest to him amongst the guards.

Alexander

I feel like Alex would already sort of know that Vander is chill. He's quiet so they could just sleep and he wouldn't really say anything. Sometimes he'd quote something profound and Alex would just be like "Woahh....." and then he'd go back to snork mimiming. They would also look upto him because of how proper he is and because he is older than them. Vander wouldn't really mind his company, they'd both just stand next to each other while he guards and Alex just naps peacefully. Maybe he would buy them some snacks from the vending machine whenever he would run out of money, which Alex really appreciates.

Nathaniel

Honestly they'll have the most coworker type of relationship. It'd be a very one sided sort of conversation but they could still be work friends. Nathaniel would tell him random stories about his dreams, or the trading hub, some duck he saw, etc etc and Vander would just hum along. Nathan would appreciate his company because Vander is a good listener and lets him ramble about different things

Taj

For their first meeting Taj would be.... confused? by Vander's demeanor, but he wouldn't question it. Over time i think they both can become work friends because of their shared interest over reading I guess. Not much else to say really.

In short Vander is just a very normal emo guy who lives by the idea of

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Thoughts on everyone’s favourite Christmas/Yuletide/winter solstice gift? ( either cannon era or modern times)

(Headcanon Masterlist) (Full Masterlist)

This is interesting to think about... so let's think about it!!

Arthur's is definitely something sappy that Merlin got him one year, not that he'd EVER tell Merlin that. Either something that Merlin found in the castle that belonged to Arthur's mother (like at the end of Marksman!Merlin), or something really small; handmade but thoughtful. A ring or a chain for his neck or something; he either had Gwen teach him how to forge simple things and figured it out from there, using pieces of scrap metal that the forge can't really use (meaning whatever he makes is actually worth quite a bit, overall, not that Merlin intends that, or is even aware of it), OR he makes something with his magic post reveal. Arthur wears whatever it is practically everyday, and Merlin only points it out on days the two of them are being particularly... friendly.

Merlin's is probably something from his mother or Gwen. Arthur like... tries? And it's adorable?? But he normally just buys things because he's terrible at being creative/making things, and as much as Merlin treasure the new boots or jacket or whatever, the hand sewn, hand embroidered neckerchief from Gwen, or the little package of treats that you can only find in Ealdor that his mum sent, are treasured just a little bit more. Arthur is not bitter about this. Not at all.

Morgana's is probably also something from Gwen. It'll be a small trinket, a little hairpin or bracelet that she picked up from a travelling merchant and personalised herself. Morgana will wear it at every opportunity, and definitely finds herself buying/commissioning clothes in certain colours so that she can wear it more often.

Gwaine got a personalised water skin. Of course what he actually puts in it is booze, but that was intentional on the gifter's part (Elyan probably, or whoever in the group is least against his drinking lol). It has his name embroidered on it all nicely. Gwaine gets to have something that feels kind of nice and posh, without feeling like he's a noble again, because he fills it with ale or liquor.

Gwen’s is either something from one of her parents, likely her mother, from a long time ago that she cherishes, OR it’ll be something super sappy from Merlin. I reckon Merlin, in his hopeless romantic (even in his platonic relationships) way, collects a little group of all the types of flowers Gwen has given him over the years and dries and presses them to make something nice. Probably just something decorative that she can put on a wall or use as a bookmark, but it’s a symbol of their friendship that she hadn’t even considered that important, but Merlin evidently had, and she LOVES it.

Leon’s is something meaningful, or stupid. He’s technically a Lord, so no one bothers buying him anything valuable because it’s kind of pointless, so it’s either something really thoughtful and handmade, or a joke gift that he adores. I reckon from Gwaine. Yeah. Gwaine got him something absolutely ridiculously stupid one year—I’m thinking a handstitched (by Gwaine, so it’s legitimately terrible) handkerchief that says “To Mother, happy Yule (or Birthday/Christmas/whatever), love from the problem child” —and Leon carries it EVERYWHERE.

Elyan’s is something that used to belong to his father, given to him by Gwen a couple of years after he came home. He knows it took a little while for Gwen to forgive him for leaving, so the gift is important on multiple levels. Firstly, Gwen personally letting go of something that belonged to the father she lost is a pretty big sacrifice on her part, secondly, it’s like she’s forgiving him from going and finally just accepting that he’s back and part of the family again, and thirdly, it’s something from his father... who he misses terribly and has a lot of unsolved issues with.

Percival... maybe something from his family before they died? Something small and cheap and in bad shape, but whatever it is, it’s important on so many levels and he’ll never get rid of it. It’s kept very secret and safe and private, but he won’t lie if someone were to find it and ask what it is/why he keeps it.

Lancelot’s is probably something from Merlin? It’ll be something so silly and pointless, but with a lot of meaning behind it. Maybe something from Frankia? Lance hasn’t been home in so many years, and Merlin manages to do some trading with some, luckily clueless, travelling merchants who didn’t know that the herbs/candied fruits/wine/whatever only came from Frankia, and were worth quite a bit more than the dozen eggs and handful of coppers Merlin had given them as payment.

Gaius.... something from his sister maybe? Hunith sends him a sketch she did of them and their parents, or half of a blanket they used to share when they were kids, something super sentimental like that. No one knows he owns it, he keeps it in a crate under his bed and only ever takes it out when it’s been a tough week.

Mordred’s will definitely be something from his family. They’ve all gone now, all quite traumatically, but when back with Iseldir he gets given a memento as a gift the next Yule/birthday, to make him feel better, something small that had belonged to his parents before everything went to shit. A specific mortar bowl, a herb jar, a pocket knife, something mundane and boring that his parents never considered important, that would normally never be gift material.

~

This has been half finished in my drafts for MONTHS so I’m glad I finally forced myself to finish it lol, I hope you enjoyed it anon, if you stuck around long enough to read it😅!

[noodyl-blasstal]

29 with barry!

“I’m only a little dead. It’s not that big of a deal” from Monster Mash Prompts by @juicywritinghoard

Time is a construct (sorry for the delay! I was in deadline hell, and then I wanted it to be good, and then I forgot how to write for a while in there, but @ceilingfan5 reminded me.) Am I done with the vampire AU? Absolutely not (the one below comes first).

__________

Lup had always liked night shifts. They were wrapped in a softness that daylight hours weren’t. Everyone was a bit sleepier, a bit calmer, grateful that they had somewhere to go. When she and Taako blew into town and saw the near-ish all night diner was hiring, they snatched the jobs up. Taako cooked, Lup served, they studied through the lulls, and got at least one square meal per shift (plus whatever Taako could squirrel away into his layered coats and cardigans). It wasn’t like their other work paid well, or at all. Walking home in the early hours had its benefits too; they made sure to take the long way, the less safe way, the dark-alleys-and-unlit-streets way. Better them than someone else - they knew what they were doing, they knew why they were doing it.

Training was quick, Day-Shift-Carole was ‘impressed by their ingenuity’. Lup and Taako were grateful for mass production. Same coffee pot, same griddle, different city. She talked them through the till, the exact place to tap on the days it decided not to open, and the sticky keys that needed coaxing. She talked them through the regulars too, Lup’s favourite was Barry. He came in three nights a week, drank coffee, read books, and took a lot of notes. It turned out that he read about astrophysics, didn’t drink the coffee he ordered, and was definitely a vampire. Lup should have staked him by now. She was going to! That first night, she was going to, but then he’d noticed her looking at his hands (he must have been buffing his nails down every night to hide the points) and thought she was looking at his book instead. To be fair, The Disordered Cosmos was on her to-read list, and she couldn’t exactly kill a guy in the middle of her shift… not front-of-house anyway, so she went with it. May as well get some intel, find out why he was sitting here happy to debate theories and not trying to drink her like a capri sun.

A few hours later she knew about his job teaching astrophysics night classes (of course, could this guy be any more obvious?) at the local college, decided to hunt down his most recent publications to see if he actually knew his stuff, and had mostly forgotten about the whole ‘gonna have to kill him’ thing. She’d even been disappointed to hear the bell jingle across the door to announce another customer. By the time she had settled them and taken their order, Barry was gone, leaving a cold mug full of black coffee and a $20 bill behind.

That was three months ago. She hadn’t told Taako yet, wasn’t quite sure how. His new favourite sport was teasing her about her nerdy ‘boyfriend’ and she didn’t want to ruin that for him. It was important to let him feel joy, so obviously this was purely selfless. Plus, there was no world in which Taako decided that it was cool for her to hang out with a vampire because the dude was willing to spend an hour talking through what exactly here and now referred to and whether here was really the diner or earth or a tiny spec on a telescope some alien was using right now. Taako’d work it out eventually, but for now no one was in danger and Lup had lots to learn. 

Barry stopped in at least four nights a week. He brought her books, recommended articles, and never made her feel like her questions weren’t valuable. She baked him cookies sometimes, just to keep up the facade, it was pretty adorable that he thought he was hiding it well. Barry always took them gratefully and told her how much they’d been enjoyed the next time he was in. She pretended not to notice the careful phrasing. He was polite and courteous, didn’t even look at her ass when she dropped the sugar packets… an increasingly regular occurrence. Obviously it was always an accident, but it was important research to know what his motives were. In fact, in the name of science she should probably slip Barry her number, get a chance to speak to him alone and work out exactly what his deal was. He wasn’t like any of the vampires she’d met before, and okay, he could be playing the long game, but why? He knew her shift patterns, knew her scent by now, could easily track her home. He obviously hadn’t eaten any of the other staff here either - no one had mentioned any abrupt disappearances. He wasn’t a threat.

She and Taako handed over to the early shift staff, shrugged their layers back on, and began the longer-than-necessary walk home. Taako was in the middle of complaining about how much he smelled like the fryer when she heard the crunch of broken glass behind them. Lup kept her walk loose, but glanced to Taako, he gave the slightest nod without breaking stride.

“I’m telling you Lulu, this is not the perfume Taako deserves.” 

“I don’t know, I think it suits you, l’eau de frites. Tres chic!”

Taako gasped in horror at her teasing and replied in kind. Lup laughed casually, but tuned him out as she reached into her oversized coat pocket and eased her hand over the smooth wood of her stake. They were armed, they wouldn’t be harmed. She’d done this so many times, but the anticipation always made her nerves jangle, she fought against the urge to tense up, they had to appear unaware. This was the place she’d do it, the alley was dark and noise from busier streets barely filtered through. A slight crunch of gravel was all the warning she got, but it was enough. She and Taako snapped together like magnets, back to back, eyes cast over the alley. Nothing yet. Lup pressed her tongue against the back of her teeth, desperate to funnel the tension anywhere. She hated the waiting, craved the doing, or at least the satisfaction that came after. They stood stationary, no need to circle and search shadows. They were bait for their own trap, they had something it needed - it would come to them.

It wasn’t long before it showed itself. It burst forward and Lup surged to meet it. The punch glanced off its chin, barely connecting, but it was enough to piss it off. It hissed and snapped at her, stale breath from barely moving lungs ghosted across her face. She adjusted her stance and prepared to swing again, but it was smart enough to dart back before she could attempt a second blow. 

“Magnus!” Called a loud voice as a huge shape dropped from a rusted fire escape, landing heavily. Shit, this didn’t fit the usual mould. It was rare for vampires to work together - more so for them to do anything quite so indelicate. Lup and Taako were used to quiet taunts, violent descriptions of exactly how painful the draining would be, attempts to find some psychological weaknesses to exploit, but not this. What the fuck did ‘Magnus’ mean?

In the silent second of the aftermath, the vampire rushed Taako. Lup should have anticipated it, they both should have. This was gonna come up in training. She winced in sympathy as Taako’s back hit the ground, relieved that his head stopped short of the wall. An incapacitated meal was easier to chug than one that was fighting back, and unconscious under a hungry vampire wasn’t the place to be. Taako just had to keep himself un-chomped long enough for her to stake it properly, and he could manage that. He had to manage that.

Lup was about to lunge forward when a blur smashed into the vampire, knocking it clear of Taako. Shit. Surely food wasn’t scarce enough that vampires needed to fight over it? If they were hungry they’d be less careful, but they’d also be prepared to take more risks… At least the infighting had given Taako long enough to get back on his feet.

“Yet another fight over Taako. At least they have taste.”

“Shut up, Goofus.” Lup didn’t bother looking at him, because if her eyes weren’t tricking her the fire escape acrobat had just rushed into the middle of a vampire fight at distinctly human speed.

“Dude, get out of there!” She started forward, Taako moving with her. What did this idiot think he was doing?

“Lup, run, you need to get out of here! Go!” The second vampire yelled in a familiar voice. Far too familiar a voice. Shit. Maybe Taako wouldn’t notice…

“Hold the fuck on, is that space nerd?” Taako said, slowing to a stop and staring intently at Lup.

“No?” Nailed it. Perfect denial.

“Lulu, is Barold a vampire? A vampire whom you conveniently haven’t mentioned to me? Have you been putting off ashing this dude so you could talk science? Endangering your dear brother’s life, so you can chat comets, blather about Barlow’s Lens, gossip about the galaxy? All while I stood innocently by, pre-seasoned in the kitchen…”

“No!” Lup repeated. Trying and failing to inject more indignation. Okay, so maybe she did enjoy his company and Barry had seemed harmless. Why was it a problem for him to come to the cafe and chat a few nights a week? Taako wasn’t in any danger and it was educational. A cultural exchange! They hadn’t met such a lucid vampire before, it’d be a waste to jump to immediate murderation. Although right now harmless didn’t seem entirely accurate as he punched the other vampire hard in the face and knocked him back.

“Oh, you already know Barry? I’m Magnus.” Said the tall guy, waving quickly before he grabbed the stunned vampire and trapped his arms behind his back.“Are you both okay? This stuff is pretty scary.”

Taako turned slowly to Lup, eyebrow raised. Lup waved anyway. Magnus seemed nice, there was no need to be rude.

Magnus held the struggling vampire firmly in place. Unable to get free, the vampire eyed Barry and snarled out “Barry, you absolute fuck, what are you doing with them?”

“Oh shut up, Archibald. Stop trying to eat nice people.” Barry didn’t seem to take any pleasure in it, but slammed the stake home with an unpleasant squelch.

Magnus didn’t let go as the vampire’s form started to crack, fissures opening across pallid skin showing the curdled burgundy light within. He’d done this before then, they knew to wait. The cracks widened and the vampire thrashed again, hands scrabbling towards its chest, but Magnus didn’t let up. 

“Fuck you.” It hissed at Barry before the light sloshed free, dissipating as it hit the ground, leaving only charring chunks of flesh behind. Barry sighed and nudged them with his toe until they crumbled. 

Magnus grinned toothily, pure joy radiated from him despite the streaks of grime on his face and the ragged cut on his arm - who came hunting in a sleeveless shirt? “Another win for Team Bagnus! High five!”

Barry looked like there was a strong possibility he might be sick. “Magnus, bud, not right now. These two have just found out vampires are real…”

Taako made a loud buzzer noise to cut Barry off.

“0 points for you, space nerd. Lup, you said this guy was smart, I thought that was why you liked him. Was it actually just for his ass? I’m shocked. You were so obsessed with his body you didn’t even realise he was dead. I can’t believe my sister’s so shallow.”

Lup was going to murder him. Maybe she could think Taako got bit during the attack, if he was possibly a vampire she couldn’t be blamed for staking him a bit... She settled for elbowing him instead. “Shut up, Goofus! I knew he was a vampire.”

“Didn’t deny staring at his ass though. Interesting.” 

Lup exhaled hard and decided violence was definitely the only way to counter violence. It didn’t have to be true to hurt.

“It’s okay Taako, I’m sure Magnus already knows he’s very handsome, there’s no need to show off for him.” Taako’s strangled screech was enough to assure her that she had at least a few moments to try and talk to Barry.

“So… er, you, uhm, you knew about vampires?” 

“We hunt vampires, Barry.” Lup doesn’t mean for it to sound so gentle, so questioning, but the thought of staking Barry hasn’t been in her head for weeks now. Fuck, was this a ‘he’s not like other boys’ situation? He’s not like other vampires, he’s different! He might be undead and have finger claws and I just watched him kill someone, but I think he’s special… 

Magnus barreled into the introspection. 

“Cool! Us too! Fuck ‘em.”

“Kemosabe, half of you are vampires.” Taako was still flushed around the tips of his ears, but had recovered the power of speech.

“You worked that out, then?” Barry looked at the floor and shuffled his feet.

“Worked it out? Barold, my guy, my dude… you only come in at night, you teach night classes, you don’t ever drink anything, you’re pale as fuck, and you sometimes forget to breathe.” Lup couldn’t help it, did he think he was doing a good job of hiding it? She’d clocked him within minutes.

“I was always this colour!” Barry said indignantly.

“Of course you were.” Taako said, rolling his eyes.

“Look, I’m only a little dead, it’s not a big deal. I haven’t eaten either of you…”  Taako snorted. “...or anyone else for that matter!” Barry continued valiantly.

“He really hasn’t.” Magnus added. “Scout’s honour!” He threw up the three fingered salute.

“How’s that possible?” Lup asked.

“Has anyone explained grounding to you?” 

“If someone had would I be asking these questions, Barry?”

“Yeah… yeah, that makes sense. Sorry Lup. Okay. I have to get inside, but do you both want to come to the institute? We can give you breakfast and explain. Well, Magnus can, I’ll probably be out soon.”

“Just to clarify there, Barold, we…” Taako paused, glared hard at Lup, and continued. “...I, just found out you’re a vampire and you’d like us to come over for waffles and a chat, and definitely not getting eaten?”

“Yeah.” Magnus replied. “That’s basically it.”

“Alright, we’ll come.” Lup said. Fuck it. She’d been with Barry every day for over a month. If he wanted to eat her he’d have done it by now. 

“We’ll fucking what, sorry?” Taako asked.

“Great! Glad you’re both coming! I think we’re gonna be friends.” Said Magnus, grabbing Taako round the shoulders and walking towards the mouth of the alley. Taako ducked under his arm and spun on his heel to march back towards Lup.

“We’re not too far from home.” Said Barry mildly. He nodded encouragingly and jogged ahead to walk at Magnus’ side, crossing paths with Taako as he stormed towards Lup.

“Have you lost your entire mind?” Taako hissed as he grabbed Lup’s shoulder to stop her from following. “You wanna take his space class, so now you don’t think vampires are dangerous anymore?” He grabbed her right arm and pulled her sleeve back to gesture at the small white ridges on her forearm. “Do I have to fucking remind you?”

Lup pulled her arm back quickly. That was a low blow. She knew Taako was worried about her, that was the only reason he’d bring this up, but it didn’t stop the sting of old wounds - literal and metaphorical.

“Look, have you ever met one of them that behaved like him?” She gestured at Barry’s retreating back. “He teaches a class, has a job, sits in the diner all night, hasn’t hurt anyone. Hasn’t even looked likely to. So forgive me if I want to find out more about what the fuck is going on. I thought you believed in evidence based practice? We’ve got some new evidence, so now we’d better do some research so we can amend our practice if needed. Or are you going to be a shit scientist and just keep doing what you’ve always done?” 

Taako looked like he was going to fight, sucked in the breath to, then deflated. “Yeah. Fine. Academic rigour. Whatever. But if you get us killed I’ll haunt your ghost so hard.”

[crystalelemental]

As of today, I have finished Pokemon Platinum. Which means the remaining writeups will be...a while from now. Hopefully not too long. I am kind of in a state of just wanting to blitz through now. Platinum has been a long standing favorite that, in recent years, is lagging in the polls compared to Emerald. But having replayed it, how do I now feel about this delightful game?

Still generally positive. My team was super goofy this time. Beautifly (Naive), Pachirisu (Impish), Flareon (Bashful), Lopunny (Bold), Gardevoir (Sassy), and Octillery (Quirky). Almost entirely stinkers.

Now okay, given my team, it may be odd to say "Platinum thrives on its difficulty," but it's true. I think the takeaway, though, is how different it is from Emerald.

Boss battles follow a less guided structure. By which I mean, you can see the arc of Emerald, teaching skills and then giving counterplay. Platinum has counterplay but less teaching. It kind of expects you to know how to play, then does things like applies Leech Seed in the grass gym to overcome a possible Bronzor, Vespiquen, or Drifloon. Stuff like that. However, by the League, it becomes apparent what Platinum is about.

Platinum aims to make itself balanced by being restrictive with tools. Boosting TMs do not exist in this game. They're behind the BP paywall of the Battle Frontier, and I would never recommend that given how expensive they are and how little BP you acquire for hours of work. It also removes Thunder Wave, which is wild. Taking away these tools is a questionable decision, because it limits the player's access to options, which is generally not a favorite move.

But, consider how Emerald went. The most effective strategy is the one everyone likes using: four attacks. So Platinum leans into that by taking away other tools, and saying "just hit each other with sticks." This creates interesting situations, where lack of easy paralysis means my Pachirisu actually had value with high-paralysis moves, or Gardevoir and Alakazam's access to natural Calm Mind making them extremely valuable. It's restrictive, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't work for it.

Talking about challenge in Platinum is impossible without discussing what makes Cynthia the boss fight she is. There's a lot to go over, but I am surprised they don't take this approach more often.

Cynthia's fight has max IVs on all her Pokemon. Your Pokemon do not have this, guaranteed. What you do have in your favor is EVs, which are generally allocated evenly, about 80 per stat. Essentially, the numbers game to work out with Cynthia is whether your +20 at level 100 is enough combined with your EV rolls to match +31 at level 100 that she has. These numbers are absolute, because this is the first game to not have a form of Badge Boosting for your stats. Usually achievable, but not by much. Cynthia is interesting because she has her own tools working in her favor that offset the benefits the player has been reaping the entire game. She's the first one to really turn that toggle off, and even without tracking numbers, you can feel how ridiculous it is from how hard Garchomp hits, to how bulky Milotic and Spiritomb are.

But this is where the aforementioned restrictions come into play. Cynthia is staggeringly weak to setup. Spiritomb lacks for direct offensive pressure, so any setup sweeper has an incredibly easy time with her fight. Try running a Dragon Dance Altaria some time, you'll see what I mean. Even with Alakazam and Gardevoir, their higher speed and Calm Mind's Sp Def boosts means they can start to outpace it, if you're willing to use some healing items to stay in the game. My personal solution was Agility + Charge Beam Lopunny Baton Passing to Octillery who took out everything in one shot. It could've worked with Beautifly too, with a bit better luck.

On the one hand, by removing the tools she's weak to, the game forces you to play its way and ups the challenge of this particular boss fight. On the other, for Pokemon that do have access to tools she doesn't counter well? They're ridiculous. And Altaria and Lopunny are not exactly powerhouses, yet they contribute more to Cynthia's fight than a lot of pure offensive Pokemon. It's especially important to note that the usual solution in box legends doesn't work here. Cynthia's Garchomp is super-effective against all three major legends, and is naturally much faster, with perfect IVs. She's the only final boss so far to not get bopped by the major legends you can acquire. But she can be easily counterplayed by Altaria. Which is really funny.

Now of course, all this comes at a tradeoff. Specifically, when your advantage tools are turned off, it is more essential to keep at their approximate level. Which, in many situations, means grinding.

I will not front, Platinum's level scaling is not bad, but it can be felt painfully in some situations. The main game is generally fine, with the segments where a partner will heal your team after each battle being great spots to catch up Pokemon lagging in the level department. But no, it's postgame that really struggles.

Finally, I deliver on what I've been talking about all these posts: Pokemon postgames have a problem, and I think I've finally figured it out. The streamer I've been watching talking about Gen 2, saying that a feature he liked was that even into Kanto, you were often still working on building up your Pokemon. This is true! I didn't finalize my Togetic build until very late into Kanto. But it's the feeling about that which I can finally describe.

In main game Platinum, I am familiar with EV training spots. Taking time to train in these spots never feels like a chore to me, because in my mind, it's solving multiple problems. (1) I need to level up a bit. (2) If I reach X level, I can learn Y move, which is better damage/specific utility. (3) I can specifically work on improving my stats in a way I find beneficial toward this Pokemon's main function. It takes time, but I'm solving multiple problems, and thus it feels very purposeful.

By postgame, my movesets are built, and my EVs are capped. And yet, my level 57 ass now contends with a postgame that feels long but still doesn't have enough EXP to close the gap to Cynthia's new level 78 Garchomp. It took three tries to win when she was less than 10 levels above us. Now she's more than 20. That is untenable, and the only solution really is Gym Leader rematches, which are locked by the day, or bashing my face into the League. These are solutions! But they are not great ones. And when the only thing you're looking to do is make your level bigger, it's no longer building something, it's just meeting an arbitrary goalpost.

This is a problem for a lot of postgames in Pokemon. You're usually done by the time postgame gets rolling, and by then all you really seek out is an isolated challenge. Big areas to travel through with a ton of random battles is no longer appealing, because you don't need anything like that. But the isolated challenge of a bigger league is, in all likelihood, out of your range. So you do the long extra areas, and they now feel long. It's unpleasant.

Mechanically, I have to mention the Physical/Special split. By and large, this was a wild positive. This decision is what make Beautifly actually fun to use here; absolutely great improvements with access to Bug Buzz and Shadow Ball. There were a few losers to this adjustment, but by and large it's all upside. The only thing that bears mentioning is that now EVs can feel wasted, given that you can stack all your moves to one offensive type. But, because of HMs, you're likely still using both in most situations.

The most important thing to talk about though is the mythology. I love Sinnoh mythology, I think this is the best region solely for that. The concepts it presents are fascinating. And you get some really good characters out of this with Cynthia and Cyrus and Barry and Rowan. But it does feel like a shift. None of the gym leaders (barring Gardenia) really stand out as having any personality. Compared to Gens 2 and 3, this region's overall cast feels less interesting, in exchange for what feels like a lot of refinement of its big players. As an additional quick note, while I love the legends, the dex itself is by and large one of my less favorites. I don't really like many of the new Sinnoh additions. I could not tell you why.

At this point in time, I am willing to say, I prefer Emerald to Platinum now. Emerald just feels stronger overall, with no particularly weak areas to speak of, while Platinum has a few issues that are harder for me to look past now. I still adore Platinum, that's never going to change. But it's no longer my golden child.

Diamond and Pearl Corner I do not own Diamond or Pearl, and haven't since Platinum came out. I lent it to my cousin and never saw it again. Sometimes I lament its loss.

BDSP being such a one-to-one remake, I can at least identify a lot of the differences, and they're all kinda worse. I don't mind that Fantina's gym 5, but I feel like all the teams are worse, the lack of all the evolution Pokemon until postgame is worse, etc. I don't have much to say here, but I also have no interest in getting Diamond or Pearl. They just don't feel nearly as significant to me.

[novelmonger]

The Last of Us/Star Wars crossover I'm never going to write but am revolving in my brain anyway:

Joel was a Jedi Master with a young Padawan, Sarah, who died in Order 66. Joel survived, but went into hiding as the Empire steadily took over. He struggled with the temptation of the Dark Side for a while, filled with grief and guilt over his Padawan's death that he felt he should have been able to prevent, and hatred of the Empire for causing it. For several years, he lost his way, giving in to his anger and working as a smuggler/bounty hunter, killing indiscriminately and justifying it as what he had to do to survive.

Eventually, his friend/fellow smuggler(/pilot?) Tommy convinced him that if they kept going that way, they would end up dead--maybe partly because of a run-in with some Inquisitors who had noticed Joel's use of the Force? Tommy hated the Empire as much as Joel, so he decided he was going to join the Rebellion, which was in its early stages. Joel thought the Rebellion was doomed to failure, and there would be no point fighting a losing battle. So they parted ways, and Joel struck out on his own. But he cut himself off from the Force as completely as he could, not wanting to risk another confrontation with an Inquisitor, and tried to pass himself off as just a really, really skilled smuggler.

The story begins when Joel and Tess, his partner in crime, end up running into Marlene, who is with the Rebellion. She gets wounded, and makes a deal with them to take Ellie to some planet somewhere across the galaxy where there's a group of Rebels. I think Marlene knows that Joel used to be a Jedi, or at least has suspicions, so she has reason to trust that Joel can get the job done.

At first, Joel and Tess aren't sure what's so special about Ellie and why she so desperately needs to be kept out of Imperial clutches, but then when they're in some tight spot, Ellie uses the Force. Turns out she's Force-sensitive and has self-taught herself some basic things. Maybe it's just that the Rebellion are trying to protect Force-sensitive children, maybe they think that they'll be able to train her and she can give them an edge in their fight against the Empire, maybe she has a particularly high midichlorian count or something. But she's clearly more valuable and important than just being some Rebel leader's daughter or something.

For some reason, they can't just make the trip in a single jump. Maybe they don't have the exact coordinates to the hidden base or something? Maybe Joel's ship needs repairs? Anyway, along the way, they run into trouble with the Empire and Tess gets killed. So it's just Joel and Ellie now. As they make their way across the galaxy, running into the Empire here and getting into trouble with criminals there, the two grow closer and closer as a result of having to rely so much on each other. Ellie starts reminding Joel more and more of his old Padawan, Sarah--the same fire, the same drive, a similar spark of humor, a connection in the Force he never thought he'd feel with another being again. At some point, Ellie figures out that Joel used to be a Jedi, and she coaxes out bits and pieces of his story. For the first time in almost twenty years, he opens himself up little by little to the Force, and even begins to teach her a thing or two.

At one point they run into Tommy, who grew disillusioned with the Rebellion, saying they weren't actually getting anything done, and he's now become the mayor of some small settlement on a little planet in the Outer Rim. He offers to give Joel and Ellie a home there, but they choose to continue on to find the Rebellion.

At some point, Joel gets seriously wounded in a shootout, and Ellie has to take care of him and do all the flying and navigating. She runs across someone who seems at first like just an ordinary person trying to get by, but eventually it turns out that he's actually an informant for the Empire, and she gets captured. Joel comes to her rescue, despite his wounds, and they make it out by the skin of their teeth.

When they eventually find the Rebel base, they find out that they've located the plans for the Death Star on Scarif, and there's talk of sending Ellie with a team to retrieve them. The thought is that she can use the Force, so she'll have the best chance of getting them. But Joel doesn't like this plan, because he realizes that it's basically a suicide mission. I'm not sure when or how exactly Ellie gets knocked out, but she's not conscious when Jyn, Cassian, etc. set out to get the plans. Joel, meanwhile, takes Ellie to Tommy's settlement, telling her that they found someone else to do it.

Eventually, Ellie learns the truth that she could have helped the Rebellion take down the Death Star, and been an important part of the fight, but Joel chose to intervene to preserve her life instead. Ellie is really angry at first, and it takes a while, but they work out their differences eventually.

Aaaand that's where we're ending the AU, because the second game depresses me.

[sailorsplatoon]

Chapter 1 of a Dedf1sh/Acht fanfic I wrote

So, looking at my last post about sharing my writing, I figured I'd post a little something I've been working on recently in celebration of Dedf1sh being in Side Order. Consider this an AU because most of it will probably be proven wrong by Side Order lore. I am open to any feedback at all! (Also, I will be referring to Def1sh with they/them pronouns and calling them Ahato because of a few headcanons I have. And TarTar doesn't talk in contemporary speech mode for the first chapter because MORE HEADCANONS!!! If you have any questions feel free to ask!)

Next

Read it on ao3

Chapter 1 below!

(CW: Swearing)

The sky was blue. Ahato had never seen the sky before. It was so beautiful. 

Marina was right, the surface was amazing. Maybe they could find her and she could teach them about this astounding new world. So this was the Inkopolis Square she’d talked so much about. It wasn’t very big yet and most of the buildings were still under construction, the most eye catching of which was what looked like a giant tower. And the music! The inklings loved music, it was so different than what Ahato was used to. There were different songs playing everywhere, like a symphony of new. 

Maybe Ahato could make music like the inklings. They’d brought the portable turntables Marina had left to them when she ran away from the Octarian Army. Maybe finding her could wait if they got the chance to experiment with this new music. But they would need someplace quiet. Maybe an alleyway? Oh, perfect! A little alley sat in the corner of The Square. They could work there in peace.

It took. So. Long. To finish making the song. They just kept getting distracted by how interesting and strange this new world was. But all Ahato really wanted to do was finish this song. Just finish this one remix. Why couldn’t they focus!? If only there was a way to get rid of what was distracting them…

After working hard for what felt like forever, they’d finally made it. Their very own remix of Splattack, Splattack (Octo). Admittedly they could have come up with a more creative name, but the real joy was what they had made. 

Ahato wanted to keep making music. Maybe even something original? But how could they focus with all these distractions!? Maybe if they went further into the alley? There was a staircase leading down into what looked like a subway, but there was gate in front of it. They could easily hop over it if they wanted to… and they could always come back out later…

Ahato hopped the fence and ventured further into the depths.

***

It was dark and cold. Ahato already missed seeing the real sky. Here, there wasn’t even a fake one. But they desperately wanted to keep making music, so they trudged into the growing darkness. Their heavy duffel bag was beginning to hurt their shoulder, but there was not a chance they were going to leave it behind. It carried all that they owned.

It only took a few minutes before Ahato began to hear something in the distance. A telephone ringing? Why would there be a phone down here? After a little more exploring, they found the source of the ringing. An ancient looking phone that appeared to almost have a face. Out of curiosity, Ahato picked it up.

“[SEARCHING FOR USER ID…] [USER 283 CONFIRMED]” The phone screeched into their ear and they pulled away from the speaker, not expecting it to be so loud. “Greetings 283. Your current location is: Deepsea Metro Central Station.” What was this thing, and why was it calling them 283? Ahato did not like it at all, it reminded them of being in the Octarian Army. Most of the octolings born into the army were given numbers rather than names, Ahato was lucky enough to have been born outside the army and then be drafted in.

The memory hit them like a shot from a splatterscope. The day they were drafted. Scrambling to gather their most valuable possessions before being taken away from their home. Ruffling their little brother’s tentacles for the last time, and exchanging hats with him as a keepsake. They could never forget the scared looking face that had become somewhat of a symbol of how much they cared about eachother. How they would be there for eachother when the other was afraid. Or the last hug that their father gave them on that day. How his smell lingered on their clothing long after they left, and how they cried when they could no longer remember how his voice sounded. Or trying to hide their fear as they walked away from everything that they loved. 

Ahato froze from the sudden recollection. They hadn’t thought about their life before the army for so long. That was it. Whatever this place was, they did not like it at all. No amount of focus is worth-

“My primary function is to facilitate your journey to the promised land,” the telephone interrupted Ahato’s thoughts. Promised land? Could that be some place even better than living in Inkopolis? Their gut told them this was a bad idea, but their curiosity had been piqued. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.” 

“What do you mean by ‘promised land’?” Ahato asked. They had so many questions, but they still didn’t know what was going on and they weren’t sure if they fully trusted it.

“You’ve spent your entire life in the dark. Your eyes closed to the beauty that awaits. The promised land is a utopia of light beyond your wildest dreams.” The telephone continued. Whatever this promised land place was sounded great, but Ahato still didn’t have enough information. “You cannot go to the promised land.” Seriously!? This thing was just going to talk up a place that they couldn’t even go!?

“Then why the fuck did you tell me about it,” Ahato snapped. They were exhausted from their journey already and were starting to get annoyed with this rusty old phone and this dark subway.

“Let me finish,” its tone turned harsh and caused Ahato to tense up, “You cannot go to the promised land yet. You must prove yourself first. There have been 282 applicants so far, you are applicant 283.”

“I never applied for-”

“Do you octopuses ever shut your beaks!?” The phone snapped. There was a long heavy silence in the air. Then, making up their mind, Ahato turned around and began to leave, their boots thumping as they made their way to the exit.

“Wait!” The mechanical voice echoed through the large station. “If you leave you’ll be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. You won’t get another chance.”

“Fine by me. I was perfectly happy where I could actually see the sky.”

“I heard the music you were making earlier.” That caused Ahato to stop in her tracks. This thing could hear their music all the way down here? “Any loud noises echo through the entire subway. If you stay here, you could go to the promised land and make music for everyone here to hear.” The offer wasn’t bad. As much as they wanted to explore Inkopolis more, they desperately wanted to make more music and this certainly seemed like a good place. After all, they could leave at any time, right?

“Fine. Whatever. But I have a couple terms if I going to agree to whatever you have going on. Firstly my name is not some series of numbers, it’s Ahato Mizuta and that is what you’re going to call me. Second, don’t expect me to do anything you tell me to. I am done following orders from people and I especially won’t follow any from some rusty hunk of metal.”

“... Here is your CQ-80 and CQ card. Don’t lose them, they’re very important,” the phone printed out a little card with a blue and white pattern on it that seemed to resemble a sea cucumber. It dropped a large hunk of metal as well that Ahato guessed was meant to be the CQ-80. “The train will come to pick you up shortly.” With that, the phone went silent. Ahato assumed it had powered off. Despite its reassurance that the train would come soon, they had to wait there for nearly an hour and a half before it finally came rolling down the tracks. The doors opened and Ahato backed up, assuming people would walk out, but the entry way stood entirely empty. They climbed on and the large metal slates shut behind them.

The train was also nearly empty except for a few passengers. Ahato had never seen anyone that looked like the people they saw on this train. They were fascinated by just how many other living things existed that they didn’t even know about. Maybe being down here could teach them more than living in Inkopolis could. Ahato took a seat on the train as it lurched forward, beginning to move again.

After just a few seconds a small blue thing that looked similar to the design on their CQ card came inching through the door, “Hello and welcome to the Deepsea Metro, thank you for choosing us. I am C.Q. Cumber, your conductor.” A sea cucumber! Ahato had never seen a sea cucumber in real life before! “Judging by your awestruck facial expression, I can assume this is your first time riding with us. I can explain how our lines work and our partnership with Kamao Co. if you would like.”

“That would be great, thank you,” at the very least, maybe the conductor of this train could answer a few of Ahato’s questions.

“My pleasure. This underground facility is a series of chambers connected by the Deepsea Metro subway system. The facility itself is run and owned by Kamabo Co. Is that a CQ-80 you have?” C.Q. Cumber seemed to gesture to the large piece of metal that Ahato was holding. Though, being a sea slug he couldn’t gesture with much other than his head.

“You mean this old looking thing? Yeah, I’m not sure what it does.”

“You CQ-80 will allow you to navigate the tests within the stations at the Deepsea Metro. If you complete enough of these tests it will help you to reach the promised land.”

“What is this promised land place? That telephone wouldn't stop talking about it but I still have no clue what it is.”

“We denizens of the deep are not allowed to ender the promised land. However, I have been told that it is a paradise.”

“Why can’t you enter it? That seems unfair,” Ahato's suspicion rose again. Why was is restricted to only e few people? If it was so great then why not let everyone enjoy it?

“The tests are designed only for inkfish to be able to pass them. Those of us without ink sacks or aquatic forms stand no chance. But that is unimportant. I and many of the other denizens here are happy with our lives as they are now. But if you want to make it to the promised land, you will have to pass enough tests so that you can find and collect the four thangs. Once you gather all of them, you will be able to enter the promised land.”

“Four what? Okay… so I just have to pass a few tests and collect the thangs? Is that what they're called? The I can go to the promised land?”

“That is what I have been told. Allow me to show you how to access your first test. Please activate your CQ-80.” Ahato clicked a button on the device and a large glowing map projected out of it. “This is a map of the stations you can visit at the Deepsea Metro. The more tests you pass, the more you will unlock. Seeing as you only have one station unlocked currently, I can take you there now if you would like.”

“Would you mind if I started these tests in the morning? Or uh… when I can get some rest?” Not being able to see the sky, artificial or real, had caused Ahato to entirely lose their sense of time. “I’m really tired...”

“Of course. Unfortunately, we have no sleeping areas on the train, so unless you have a place to stay you will have to sleep on the seats.”

“That’s alright. I’m a heavy sleeper,” Ahato gave the little blue conductor a smile as he left the car. They lied down on the seat, clutching their large duffel bag tightly and wrapping the straps around their arms. They were not going to risk losing it. They placed their hat over their face to block out the florescent lights and let sleep fall over them.

That's the end of chapter 1! If you have any feedback or questions, I'd love to hear them. I'm always looking to improve my writing, so anything helps. And if you want to see the next chapter, let me know! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

[docholligay]

Doc, that art class sounds incredible! I took a class in college on choreography that had a strong focus on teaching us how to discuss and critique it as well as create it that sounds similar.

It was TRULY one of the most valuable classes I've ever taken, and I only took it because my advisor was actually helpful and useful and when i told her I wanted to make my generals, which were fairly extensive because I went to a true liberal arts school, serve my writing*. This was her suggestion for one of my arts credits instead of like, drawing or ceramics.

Anyway, without that I doubt I would have the vocabulary to even talk about what I like in art and architecture, and I really do think classes like this are helpful even if they aren't 'sexy'. I think that would be a GREAT thing to learn about if you want to talk about dance! In the same way, with people on here wanting to talk about media and narrative, I think a baseline course in vocabulary and some theoretical concepts** genuinely and actually would help people express what they mean when they talk about different ideas they see presented and also give them a wider scope of things to be looking FOR.

I mean, how the class was taught was great too because he would put paintings on the screen and we wouldn't even learn the name of the painting or the artist until we were done talking about the PAINTING, what words we could use to describe it, what hallmarks of time and technique there might be, etc. Same for buildings and costumes. It was fucking great. i learned so much.

I wish I could give the same. I truly do think people would benefit.

*This lead to me taking Anatomy and Physiology, a pre-med and nursing class, for one of my science credits. The teacher thought I was a batshit lunatic, but I said I was there to learn not make grades. I passed! WITH A C+ NO LESS (she ended up giving me a B- that I truly did not earn, she gave a few extra points and tipped me over. I was plenty happy with the C+)

**No one has to read a Derrida essay for this course because you only have to read Derrida if you want to win a medal (degree) in narrative and rhetoric. However, if you want to major in English, that is the study of the craft and its history, not the study of talking about things I like, and so, you will have to read Derrida, along with many other dead dudes who annoy you.

[piercethelenn]

💫The Occult Club.

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Chapter 24: The Lovers (Final!)

Warnings: None! || Word count: 1,46k.

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一And what does this one mean?一 Y/N asked, pointing at a card that showed a group of three women wearing fluffy-looking dresses and holding cups with rejoice, while they talked to each other 一They look happy一. She picked it up and gave it to her boyfriend, who was too busy admiring her face to pay attention to the tarot deck messily sprawled between them on his bed, where they both laid facing each other.

          Jungwon took a peek at the card and placed it with the rest 一It means it’s time to celebrate, the three of them are having a party一. The girl slowly nodded her head in understanding, fixing her gaze back on the cards to look for a different one that caught her eye. 一Just like you and me today一 He continued, reaching out to caress her cheek in an attempt to win back her attention.

          Y/N shyly leaned her head to the side as if following the warmth of his touch and smiled lovingly at him, Jungwon could not help but immediately mirror her expression, a light blush making its way to his face. The pair just stayed there, immersed in a comfortable silence that made both of them feel safe, as the sun started to set outside.

          Today was very meaningful for the happy, young couple, because three months ago, Jungwon and Y/N had become the moon and the stars of the same night sky. It might sound cliche for outsiders, and their friends could perceive the analogy as some cheesy reference to the magician’s respective birth cards; for them though, it meant so much more than that.

          Long before their paths had crossed, both the tarotist and the medium used to be immersed in an oppressive darkness, with seemingly no way out. However, after meeting each other, they both learned what is possibly the most valuable lesson anyone could have ever teached them: to never feel afraid of the night; It doesn’t matter if things get difficult for them, because as long as they have each other’s light to shine in the darkness, they don’t need the sun to arise.

          They were the solutions to the other’s biggest challenge all along, and whether they were meant to be, or if all this was just a lucky coincidence, Jungwon was sure that Y/N was made for him just as much as he was made to cherish her dearly, for as long as time would allow him.

          Many things had changed in the past three months, especially for the Occult Club members. Business was thriving and the magicians were busier than ever, and of course, many upgrades had been done to the cabin in the forest, thanks to the financial income shared by everyone. Most of the funds were used to make the basement more comfortable and less creepy, since Y/N kept rejecting the idea of moving out. 

          Speaking of the medium, it had become a thing for her to visit Jungwon’s grandma to help her with dinner and garden duties every Saturday. Both of them were really close now, and sometimes they would gang up on the poor boy to make him wash the dishes, which was only fair considering how he never stepped foot into the kitchen, not wanting to ruin the food. The senior tarotist was really fond of the girl and was thankful for her, for making her grandson happier than she had ever seen him be.

          Not everyone could reach a happy ending, though. Not even a week after Heeseung and Jay’s families had moved out of the city, plenty of articles started to spread in social media, mostly about the atrocities caused by the duo. Some could have thought that it was well deserved, but to Jungwon it felt like karma was being a little too unfair with them. Some of the articles he saw went a bit overboard, exaggerating the issue and accusing the duo of magicians of things they never did. Reading the comments of random people on the internet about the matter just made the tarotist feel worse, since he saw many people that accused Occultism of being evil, satanic even, and a bad influence. Luckily for him and his friends, those comments did not have a direct effect on the club, since their clients always made sure to spread the voice of how good their services were, giving a significant boost to their reputation.

          Sunghoon liked to joke about how everything was thanks to him and his infamous poster that was now hanging on the wall, with a cute frame and everything, as some kind of a good-luck token. Still, even if the geomancer had assured that his alleged “work of art” could attract great fortune to the cabin, his life outside the club was not doing so great; as time passed, his grades kept dropping lower and lower, to a point where no rune nor tarot card could save his agonizing GPA. Sunghoon couldn't care less though, as he had found a new purpose in life: to teach geomancy. It all started when a kid got fascinated by the divination tecniche and asked the magician to teach him, which later led to the beginning of a geomancy course imparted by none other than the notorious Master of Soil, Park Sunghoon, who really liked the idea of a younger generation of divinators looking up to him. The feeling of this newfound responsibility was way more gratifying to him than getting a good grade on a physics test.

          Unlike some members who now spent extra hours at the cabin, the resident alchemist, Riki, had opted to take a short break from his club activities to spend more time with his mother, at least until they had catched up on everything she missed while she was still in the hospital. Of course the rest of the members were super understanding of his decision and promised him that he was welcome to come back as soon as he felt like doing so. Jungwon was once invited to the Nishimura residence, since Riki’s mother had felt something familiar about him and wanted to have a casual chat, which ended up in her admitting how much the young tarotist resembled Ms. Yang, from the cute dimple to how committed he was to all the people important to him. Jungwon decided to treasure her words deep in his heart, as he somehow felt healed and comforted by them.

          The second member that had acquired a brand-new role in the club was Sunoo, who now implemented numerology in a new matchmaking project. Everyone thought that playing Cupid was very fitting for him, as he had already demonstrated his abilities long ago when he explained how compatible Jungwon and Y/N were; The numerologist considered the pair to be the first success in his new career. Adding to that, Sunoo was very popular among students, and he knew every single rumor or gossip that circulated through the school hallways, so he made use of his vast knowledge to supplement the final product.

          Of course Jake could not be left out when it came to updating on the club’s status; him getting into a relationship had everyone shocked, since the crystalogist had never told anyone, not even Sunghoon (As you can guess, the geomancer was quite offended by the whole thing), that he spent about half a year trying to win the heart of one of his classmates, and could finally do it barely two days before Jungwon and Y/N’s one month anniversary. The girl had no interest in magic, but she showed up at the cabin from time to time to help Jake organize his monstrous collection of shiny, colorful rocks.

          Jungwon could not be happier about the fact that all his friends had now found a new purpose in life and were doing great in their own thing, even if they were still a team. Getting Y/N, the girl of his dreams, to finally be her girlfriend had been one wild ride, but just by looking at her, lying on his bed while scanning yet another tarot card, made him feel like it was all worth it as long as she was the final stop.

          一“The Lovers”一 She read the description at the base of the card out loud, analyzing the tiny drawing of a man and a woman holding hands under the shade of an oak tree. Her gleaming eyes then shifted to gaze into his 一Like you and me!一.

          He chuckled at her cute reaction, reaching once more to peck each one of her cheeks; he couldn’t help it, she was just too pretty 一Yeah, like you and me一.

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Previous 💫 Masterlist

Taglist: @boowoowho @sxndmemes @cloudcutter @lilactangerine

[toloveawarlord]

♥ Pairing: Elysia Vos x Dean Tweedle

♥ Event: Kinktober

♥ Day 4: Punishment

♥ Warnings: Smut; deep throating a popsicle;

♥ wc: 1.4K

“Miss Vos, we brought you this as a thank you!”

It was a thoughtful gesture, perhaps a little too thoughtful. The trio of boys lingered in the hallway, watching her with lust filled expressions. Elysia pretended not to notice as she slowly licked up the length of the popsicle, perched atop a desk in the front row of the classroom. It was cute how the attention was stuck on her

However, it wasn’t their attention that she was putting on a show for.

“If you’ve time to stand around the hallway, you’ve time to return all these books to the library,” Dean said, making the boys jump at his sudden statement. His hand hovered at the chalkboard, not pleased to be interrupted while planning out his next lecture.

A chorus of yes sirs was mumbled and the boys took the exorbitant number of books off the desk and scurried off with disappointed expressions.

“They were harmless,” Elysia said, sucking on the tip of the popsicle, and pulling off with a pop. She tucked a strand of her raven hair behind her ear, keeping her eyes on the strict professor.

Dean set the chalk down, turning his gaze to her. He was fully aware of her intentions. “Have you completed grading all the tests?” It wasn’t appropriate behavior in his opinion.

“I did, and filed all the paperwork in the office, and made an organized list of all the materials you asked for.” She’d finished hours ago, efficiently and timely. It was one of her many talents, and a lot of the reason Dean agreed to be her preceptor.

“Then our work in the classroom is complete. I’ve some tasks in my office to be done next.”

Ah yes. Even though he taught summer lectures, like today, Dean also began preparing for the new semester. Incoming students required a syllabus and a variety of other information like perquisite reading. It was all to be prepared and mailed before the beginning of the year. She’d heard that he was the only professor to do so.

Elysia swirled the popsicle around her tongue, humming an old Cradle tune. It was frustrating to get no reaction. Her instructor could hide his emotions better than any man she’d ever met. She was the exact opposite, or so she’d been told. “I found the reference book in the restricted area of the Cradle Library, with the original letter from the old monarch.”

Ah, that got his attention.

“The head librarian informed me that it had been misplaced,” Dean replied, frowning at the memory. He’d given quite the stern lecture over mishandling an ancient record. A valuable teaching tool for his history lesson.

Elysia grinned, slipping between him and the door to his private office, blocking him from unlocking it. “Misplaced? More like stuffed behind a bookshelf that required a lot of squeezing and stretching to reach. Some kid probably thought it’d be funny to leave it there. Aren’t you oh so pleased that I found it? I spent hours on my hands and knees searching for it.” She pushed the tip of the popsicle against her lips, violet irises peeking up from under dark lashes.

“Miss Vos.”

“We’re not with students.” The woman didn’t like being called miss by him. It was too formal. Her friends called her Ellie, since she wasn’t a fan of her full given name. Expect when he was the one saying it...

“Elysia.”

Dean reached out a gloved hand, cupping her cheek gently for a moment, then slipping his hand back into her silky hair. “I’d be more pleased if you’d cease acting like a desperate escort while on campus. Your behavior is the reason there are so many rumors about us.” He jerked her by her hair to move her away from the keyhole, swiftly unlocking the office and tugging her inside.

“Ouh!” He wasn’t gentle, but Elysia liked it. “Is it really a rumor if it’s true?” It was one of her favorite pastimes to rile him up. The two were secretly together. Things would become complicated if the school became aware, there would be paperwork, and she’d likely be reassigned a new instructor.

Neither of them wanted that. Dean didn’t dislike having her assisting him as she understood his teaching method and learned quickly. The girl could even predict what he needed and acted accordingly. However, she also managed to sneak into his heart. And she enjoyed finding ways to turn him on.

Securely in the private office, Dean released her, not bothered by her mumbling about how it hurt. “Take off your panties.”

“I’m not wearing any.”

The professor’s sharp gaze drilled down at her. Her cheeky grin and little shake of her hips to make the hem of her skirt brush over the tops of her soft thighs only made the bulge in his pants throb. He was absolutely furious that she’d been in his classroom, flouncing around the students, bending to pick up dropped items, standing at his side... in that summer skirt.

His silence only prompted her to taunt him. “Do you want to check?”

“Come here.” Dean settled on the couch, waiting for the woman to comply as he knew she would. This is what she truly wanted. Gloved fingers lifted her skirt enough to confirm that she had been truthful.

Elysia hummed with satisfaction, grinning while still enjoying her popsicle. “I wouldn’t lie about-”

A swift smack to her thigh cut her off. “Quiet. I don’t want another word out of you, understand? On your knees.” Dean almost hated the way her willingness to obey made his cock twitch. Mint irises full of trust.

He disliked messy things, but even so, he took the popsicle from her hand. “Tongue out. I’ll hear no complaints.”

A shiver swept over her body. Elysia opened her mouth as he asked, accepting the tip of the sweet, strawberry popsicle against her tongue. The first few strokes were gentle, the cool tip gliding over her taste buds.

Dean pushed it further into her mouth, causing her to elicit a sinful gag. “You’re getting low marks for that, Elysia. I’ve seen you take me much deeper than that.” He could barely sit still, watching her take it down her throat over and over. It took all his self-control to continue the punishment.

Her fingers dug into the material of his trousers at his knee, using him to keep herself steady. She didn’t dislike anything he did, so long as his attention was on her, but Elysia longed for more physical contact. Each thrust of the popsicle makes her pussy throb with need for Dean to touch her.

The professor could read her easily. “It’s unsurprising that you aren’t sorry at all for your actions.” He could think of quite a few ways to make her beg, but he decided to be lenient, out of his own need to feel her on his cock.

Elysia licked her lips when he disposed of the rest of the popsicle in the trash can. “I’m sorry.” There was no attempt to sound sincere. She liked to entice him this way, making him desperate for her body.

“I highly doubt that.” Dean rose from the couch, towing the woman along with him until he bent her over the desk. Was this rewarding bad behavior? He should make her wait, drag out the pleasure that she sought. It must be the heat of the summer that is fogging up his judgment.

Her pussy was prepared for him to push inside her, warm walls welcoming to his size. Dean shoved her skirt up around her waist, landing a smack on her bare ass. “Be a good girl, Elysia, and listen to my instructions from now on.”

“Yes, sir-”

Dean chuckled, knowing that she would do so only if it benefited her sexual desires. He didn’t mind having to teach her over and over. His fingers dug into her hips, holding her steady as he pounded into her. Thick walls were the saving grace of his brutal pace. Elysia moaned and cried out his name as she came around his cock within record time, a testament to how needy she’d been the whole day.

Work would be postponed for the remainder of the day. Dean would have to focus solely on his assistant and exploring her body to give them both a release that had been built up for a while.