#so i can only imagine how absolutely wasted he would get from that much humanoid blood

[zwierzodudle]

proving elves (vampiric or not) can experience food coma too

don't worry about tav's blueish tint, he's a half-drow and that's just what he looks like- no shadowheart i SWEAR,

commissions \ ko-fi \ patreon

bonus:

[mochibrokenheart]

SVSSS: Guardian of the Museum

Mobei Jun x Shang Qinghua

Word Count: 2,756

Summary: Of course there's ominous growling and destruction to the building on Shang Qinghua's first night as a museum curator. Of course there is! Besides being desperate to keep the job, he's not sure what possesses him to actually walk toward the dangerous situation. His survival instincts were better trained that! Except...wait a minute...the terrifying creature causing all the ruckus is actually the hottest thing he's ever seen???

My first contribution for Moshang Monsterfucking Month (and my first fic for the fandom in general!) Heavy on the monster part as the nsfw is not explicit. Who knew that it would be hard to write something short. Inspired by the Day 2 prompt: horny.

Also posted on my Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34305571

A nearby bell tolled at midnight just as Shang Qinghua locked up the museum for the night, which meant that he was officially off for the weekend. Being a party of one, he celebrated with a groovy victory dance while turning the key over in the lock.

There was a little click and he rattled the knob, checking that the door was properly locked—if anything was stolen or vandalized during the night, he would most definitely be blamed as the recent hire!

The job was an important stepping stone in his career path plan to being a rare artifacts curator. He really needed the experience. It was hard enough to land the job, so he wasn’t above looking neurotic by double, and triple, and quadruple checking everything before he left.

A chilly breeze tussled his hair and raised goosebumps down his neck. It was October, he supposed while drawing up his hood to block the chill, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to complain.

He was much to delicate for cold temperatures and would exercise his right to curse out the changing seasons. Of course, he could move somewhere further south, so that he wouldn’t have to put up with it anymore, but still!

The only good thing about the loss of summer was the bugs, he decided.

Clearly, Shang Qinghua was irresistible because bugs treated his blood like an all-you-can buffet. If only hot men thought the same. But alas.

Sighing, he turned up to admire the full moon, who seemed to sympathize with the sad state of his romantic affairs, being the moon and all. Something about it’s pale gray-white color naturally emoted a sad, longing reflection.

It was as he was looking up that he heard a growl, loud not because of its pitch—it was actually quite low and gravelly—but because it vibrated the very air around him.

Shit. Shit. He wasn’t equipped to deal with some beast! He had no weapons and there was no way his body was going to get the job done either. He was a delicate flower, just ask the bugs who always feasted on him!

He rummaged through his bag frantically for his phone. That was what the authorities were for.

Opening his phone, his mind was racing. Who did you call when there was a potentially wild animal on the loose? The police? Animal control?

Gasp! What if it turned out to be a demon?

…!!!

He didn’t have any shamans or priests on speed dial. There had never been a reason to until then but if it would save him, he’d buy up every type of religious necklace he could and wear them around his neck daily. It was like insurance—it never hurt to cover all of his bases.

While he was wasting time on the sidewalk, what appeared to be small bits of gravel drifted down from what seemed like the roof. Scurrying to get closer to the streetlight, which casted a circular light on the steps of the museum, Shang Qinghua bent down to get a closer look.

It felt dusty when he rubbed his pointer finger against his thumb and did match the shade of stone the building was…The new evidence presented a bit of dilemma. Yes, he was still itching to call somebody have them do the dangerous work, but at the same time, his boss might fire him if something happened to the museum under his watch.

“Well, if there’s more damage, I guess I’ll take a look,” he muttered. He clasped his hands together. “But please, take mercy on me, moon! I promise that if you get me out of this that my next erotica will be dedicated solely to you, and in very large print, so that my readers know the reach of your mystical power!”

His hands remained clasped high above his head as he waited. So far so good.

There was still the scary growls, of course, but those didn’t count because he wasn’t going to investigate that. It was absolutely common knowledge that people who investigated weird sounds always ended up dead, at least in horror movies, and that was all the proof he needed to wash his hands of it.

No, the only thing that could sway him from his crouch on the front steps was…was…

Tears shimmered in his eyes as more rubble was knocked off from the roof, the fine particles irritating his nose and causing him to sneeze.

Thoroughly betrayed, he used his sleeve to wipe at his nose. Forget the moon. Clearly the bond he felt had only been one-sided, and now he was obligated to actually suck it up and put himself in harms way.

The Shang Qinghua of five minutes ago would’ve screamed and called himself a fool. Why ignore those highly honed flight instincts?! Even the Shang Qinghua of the present was screaming and calling himself a fool when he took the first hesitant step inside.

It was deceptively quiet in the stairwell but that wasn’t enough to calm him. As the saying went, it was the calm before the shit storm and he was about to be right in the middle of it. How careless of him.

Just in case this was the end, he started to draft an epitaph—it’s not like anyone else would put in the same amount of effort. 

His minor following would be too busy wailing about the permanent book hiatus; his boss would have their hands full dealing with insurance over the architectural damage; and that hot-and-cold cucumber bro of his would still be nagging him in the afterlife, criticizing him for his stupid plan when it ‘clearly would’ve been better to do such and such’. But back to him.

We are gathered here to mourn the passing of one Shang Qinghua, a bright hamster that was taken from Earth far too soon. His exhibit work was flawless, his knack for collections cataloging unrivaled. There was never a day without bountiful office supplies with him around. We thank him for his singular brave—foolish?—sacrifice in the name of historical value. Shang Qinghua is survived by several dying houseplants and the stray dog he usually fed on his way home from work.

There. That sounded as good as he was likely to get. Wait. No. He almost left out the most important part: the secret letter of last words meant only for cucumber bro’s eyes. Bro, if you’re reading this it’s because I died a terrible and scary death. Please take pity and wipe all of my search history. It was all for research, honest! It’s bad taste to judge a dead man.

The access door to the roof was large and imposing in front of him, even though there was still no noise coming from the other side. He was going to be mad and then relieved, in that exact order, if this turned out to be nothing.

He inhaled. Exhaled. Jumped around and shook his hands where they hung down beside the length of his body. He’d watched enough athletes—for research!—throughout his short life and getting loose always seemed to pump them up for competition. The same principle should apply here.

The door gave with a loud screech and he suspected that it wasn’t in regular use. Not that there was probably much to see up there anyway. Just roosting pigeons, stone slabs, and—

His mind went blank.

Crouching in the corner, so close to the edge that all it would take was a gust of wind to send him tumbling down, was some sort of winged creature. And the wings were massive things that arched up before curving downward completely over it’s back, the tips draped on the ground. Judging by how large they were, they had to be functional, which nearly caused him to wet himself. 

He didn’t want to imagine that thing taking flight after him. Not that he would be exciting prey. Gods, this probably how a mouse felt when a hawk was flying overhead.

But it was the horns that really caught his attention. They were hulking black spirals and the sharp points were pointed right at him. Even in the poor light, it was obvious that they were pure black. Any other time, he might comment on how cool they actually were, how they were a cosplayer’s dream, but it wasn’t cool when it was a matter of life and death. 

And he would most certainly die if those menacing horns and wings were any indication.

Trying to keep the element of surprise, he slowly let the door swing shut. Until a little bat started flew over squeaking, which caused him to squeak as well. The door hit the frame with a loud rattle. His body went heavy with fear and his eyes snapped shut, a natural prey response. He had never, ever been this scared.  

Not patient enough for Shang Qinghua to turn around on his own, the creature flung him around to face it with an aggressive growl. And he had thought it was loud when he was on the sidewalk. Which wasn’t true at all. It was much louder and more intimidating when it was right in his face.

“Trespasser!” it growled, teeth clicking.

…Okay, so it could talk. Maybe this was a good thing. Now could grovel with it to spare him!

Blinking rapidly, he opened his eyes and looked up, up, up. It didn’t look as horrific from the front as it did the back. In fact, it had a humanoid appearance and was distinctly male. He was the hottest thing he’d ever seen, a total fantasy come to life. How the hell was he real?

His was incredibly tall, his huge wings proportional to his size now that he was standing up. Now that he saw them up close, Shang Qinghua noticed that they were a beautiful shade of blue that started out dark but lightened to pale blue once it reached the tips, which also had sharp spikes—Nails? Claws? He wasn’t well versed in anatomy—attached.

The top of his ears were pointy, too, just like the tops of the wings. Oh, and the horns! There were two of them, both pure, glossy obsidian, that sprouted out on either side of his temple, the bases thick and ridged as they spiraled like a ram’s. The only difference was that his horns were much larger. He could maul someone with those along if he wasn’t careful.

But now that he considered it more—even in times of crisis, he could multi-task when it really counted—the horns only added more to his attractiveness. They were intimating, sure, but also sexy, in a monsterfucking type of way. He gasped as a clawed hand wrapped around his throat. Yep, he could definitely get into the horns and claws. Mark him down as scared and horny.

The growling died down but sharp teeth were still on display, and there was a stylized tattoo-looking mark on his forehead. Despite the snarl, Shang Qinghua instinctively knew that his face was insanely attractive; it had to be to match the rest of him. Speaking of the rest of him…

He dropped down in front of him, making sure to drag his hands down that ripped physique and gave his massive pectorals a quick squeeze before he landed on his knees in a kneeling position. 

His face was right in front of the creature’s impressive package, covered only by a flimsy loin cloth. It fluttered in the night breeze and he had to bite down on his finger to stop his depraved moaning. “Ff-forgive me, my good-demon-sir, but I swear I’m not trespassing. I’m a humble worker here at this museum.”

He quickly took out his employee badge to offer it up to the demon who barely gave it a glance. “Gargoyle,” it said in reply.

“Oh. I’m sorry but I don’t really know what you mean by that.” Wait, why did he say that? He didn’t want to get further in the demon’s bad side than he already was! “I mean no offense, of course. I’m sure gargoyles are absolutely lovely—”

“No,” he interrupted, his face smoothed out into blank slate. It made it harder to read him but Shang Qinghua quickly decided that it was alright. “I am a gargoyle, human. You may address me as Mobei Jun.”

Ohhh. Now that he mentioned it, his wings and horns could belong to a gargoyle. He knew that they were popular parts historical buildings that had a strong Western influence, which the museum did.

“And I am a king. Not a sir.”

Curse his authority kink. He was sure that any new fantasies he conjured up would be staring this particular king and Shang Qinghua as his servant.

“Of course, my king! You’re reeking of kingly handsomeness. As a lowly human, my apologies for the obvious mistake.” The gargoyle king didn’t make any move to acknowledge his words other than a slow blink, so he figured that it was all good. “Excuse me if this sounds rude, but what are you doing up here? And what was all the noise about?”

“Guardian. I was charged with the safety of this place by a war lord.” Jeez. So he’d been with the building for centuries at least, maybe even millennia.

There was a pause and he realized that he wasn’t going to answer the second question. It also seemed like the gargoyle king was waiting on him and a light bulb went off. “S-sorry again my king. I am Shang Qinghua. I am in charge of the rare artifacts inside of the building, so you may see me closing up most nights.”

The gargoyle king nodded sagely and he figured that the role must be acceptable to him. A loud sigh left him and his muscles relaxed just in the slightest way. He might survive this encounter yet. Ever better, survive and be able to go home and break out that new bottle of lube that he bought last week. There was plenty of new material to work with, that was for sure.

Then the gargoyle stepped back, giving him more space, which was actually the opposite of what he wanted. Feel free to punish him for earlier transgressions, king, especially if they were rough in a sexy way!

Unaware of his inner pleadings, he continued walking away to crouch back near the edge of the roof.

“Umm, be careful, king. It’s dangerous to be that close—”

“I am a king. Concerns such as that are not applicable,” he said, puffing up his chest. Those pecs! He might have to put in a request tomorrow to do more work on the roof. It was a crime that no one was admiring that body on a regular basis. “Leave. Return home. The circles under your eyes are hideous.”

He gasped, touching his bags. Rude! He had just finished a long shift and definitely wasn’t at his best. He was going to have to step up his game if he was going to tempt this gargoyle in the future. Trying his best not to show embarrassment, or disappointment, he agreed to leave.

“Whatever you want, my king. I’ll leave for now but if you need anything, I’ll be back tomorrow and the day after as well. In fact, every night, in case you need me.” Screw his weekend off. Who needed one of those when there was a hot gargoyle of legend serving as the guardian of the museum. Not him, that’s who.

He scrambled to his feet and bowed again for good measure. The door was open and he was across the threshold when his dream gargoyle muttered something. “Did you say something, my king?”

He cleared his throat and spoke gruffly. “The pigeons pooped in my hair.”

Suddenly, the growling from earlier made sense. No matter if you were human or gargoyle, having birds shit in your hair, especially hair as luscious as Mobei Jun’s, was bound to make anyone furious.

Determined to keep his laughs to himself if it was the last thing he did, he merely replied, “Yes, my king. I will make sure to chase them away from you next time.”

“See that you do.”

On cloud nine, Shang Qinghua grinned as he bounded down the stairwell. The gargoyle’s comment implied that there would be a next time. And he intended to romance the loincloth off (literally) of the serious gargoyle king.

Hope you all enjoyed! So happy to share this with everyone. Thanks for reading :)

[genuflectx]

Axiom’s End

This is a little review of an AMAZING book I just finished reading that exophilia lovers (and just sci-fi lovers in general) may enjoy to get in on, if not already! 

Parts of this review will have spoilers, but I will place the spoilery review under a cut (though some basic plot premises are discussed before the cut, they are not major spoilers)! So if you want a quick review read on, and for the more detailed spoilery review check under the cut. It includes a small snip of one page of the book to hopefully entice you.

When it comes to books my search for truly engaging alien novels has been... a waste of time at best. And this story here simply didn’t pop up under my searches for, er, alien human romance novels, so you likely won’t find it by searching that either. I only discovered it by seeing the sparse fanart of it on Tumblr, which made me read it’s synopsis on wikipedia and wonder how on EARTH I had not come across this yet, as a terato blog.

So, Axiom’s End is a first contact story, but it is character driven, and all the characters (especially the main cast) are emotional and well developed. However I have a warning some may want to heed; it is existential and is aware of it. If you can’t handle a heavy feeling of dread, which several chapters tend to exude, might not be the story for you.

Do you like creepy, deathly still dragon-insect-robots with questionable morals staring you down? Ohhh boy, I sure do. The main alien character, Ampersand, and his species, are not humanoid. They are in the sense of having two arms two legs two eyes, etc, but otherwise are distinctly different and alien and- did I mention Ampersand is 9 feet tall? And some of his species are even taller? Woof. There aren’t any re-colored humans with four arms and a six pack here.

Through the story the main human Cora plays as Ampersand’s interpreter, being the only one who has the means to understand him. That means they are required to be rather... close. The juxtaposition between her human inflections and idea of ethics greatly clashes with Ampersand’s own blunt way of speaking and concept of right or wrong. When you’ve lived so many hundreds of years and have advanced nearly beyond comprehension that’ll do it to ya. How she and the alien get along and what the talk about is something I’ll leave under the cut. All you need to know is I friggin’ loved it. Best thing yet, book 2 comes out this October and is open for preorder!!

NOW, SPOILER TIME:

^ Random page of the book of Cora and Ampersand speaking. ^

Ellis wanted to make this species nearly incomprehensible to human values, and god did she do it, and somehow even managed to do it while still making you love-hate them. Ampersand (and by extension his people) are so clinical and “logical” that they will lie by omission and not say sorry when found out, because if it benefited him why should he? Though we don’t dig into the other aliens’ personalities much, so I’ll focus on Amper.

Ampersand is hundreds and hundreds of years old, living through torture, surviving an alien planet, suffering the feeling of death when Cefo killed himself (and, later, when the 2nd one dies). He is, beneath a cold exterior, damaged and emotional, perhaps at first even attempting to pretend he wasn’t (through cold indifference) until Cora challenged him. He is manipulative, a walking contradiction, and at the end of it all, hiding his vulnerability. As an example, at one part closer to the end he lashes out when Cora is angry at him, and later expresses, to the best of his species abilities, a regret for his anger. So he KNOWS he has emotional flaws, but doesn’t start really admitting them till maybe ehh 75% into the book, roughly.

As we move through the story he goes from being so afraid of Cora that he keeps a ten foot distance and freezes when she looks at him, to not needing to be told twice before curling up beside her on a hospital bed. Even if he didn’t see humans as persons, he clearly did not want the planet to be destroyed by his people, and that does show a level of empathy for humans outside of Cora. Or... it could all be coldly logical to him (humans pose no real threat, thus, it would be illogical to warrant a genocide of the Earth- or is that just what he might tell himself?).

As you read you’ll begin to feel like Cora. The back and forth feeling of wanting to know more, of wanting to apply humanity to Ampersand and his people, but then getting ice water in your face when his actions remind you that he is in no way human. We may never fully understand the depth or shallowness of his empathy, and perhaps the closest thing comes in his immediate response to Cora of I do value you and his carefulness with petting her to comfort her. Though, even then, this statement does not express clear cut emotion. “Value” to Ampersand is not “value” to a human. Is she valued as a thing/asset or as a person? 

Also to make this clear since you came all this way for spoilers. Though I don’t know just how deeply it goes, or how synonymous it is to human romantic relationships, Cora and Ampersand become a thing by the end. The closest they could come to a romantic relationship, at least, with Ampersand bonding to Cora and snuggling up with her on a bed. 

I yap about Ampersand enough (he’s cool but not the only main character!!). Cora has her own traumas and issues outside of Ampersand. I imagine they will be expanded further in the second book, as in the first book her family trauma is mostly directed around she and her aunt. She had feelings and painful memories of her father, but in book 1 her father is a distant person, affecting the course of the story but she’s too far away (and busy) to have the means to confront him. And the rest of her family are in custody till the end, leaving them as a motivation for Cora, though nothing she can deal with immediately due to their distance. So while she has a LOT to go through book one is very alien-focused, with parts dedicated to Cora and her aunt, and her father as a far-off figure who changes the story but is never directly there in front of Cora. However, with the synopsis of book 2 already out, it’s clear her father may become even more of a plot point, with Cora being made to meet Nils’s informant.

Not only do I love this story as a terato fan, but it’s the only book I have devoured in three days. It kept me wanting to know what would happen next because I was so attached to everyone. Ellis is very thorough and this world is huge- a cumulation of a 10 year old story she’s had, only come to fruition in 2020. I CANNOT wait for book two! It comes out THIS OCTOBER and I will absolutely be pre-ording it!!

[chocolatequeennk]

Forever Timeless, 2/23

Summary: Two months after the Dalek Crucible, the Doctor and Rose are getting used to having the biggest family on Earth. As they visit Leadworth in 1996, Victorian England, a mysterious desert planet, and Elizabethan England, those family and friends often help in unexpected ways. But no matter where they go or who they’re with, it’s always the Doctor in the TARDIS with RoseTyler–just as it should be.

Ten x Rose, Donna x Lee

Betaed by @saecookie, @rudennotgingr, @pellaaearien, and @jabber-who-key

Tagging @doctorroseprompts for Doctor/Rose content

Part 7 of Being to Timelessness

AO3 | FF.NET | TSP 

Ch 1

Chapter Two: Another Year, Another Adventure

Rose glanced at the familiar faces standing around the console as she worked quickly to set the coordinates. She tugged at the bond to get the Doctor’s attention. He checked the destination and immediately nodded.

“Barcelona!” he enthused.

Rose smiled and sent them into motion while he started rambling about the planet.

“Gorgeous tropical resort. We’ve been twice. Beautiful beaches, gorgeous waterfalls to hike, and—”

“Dogs with no noses,” Rose said along with him.

Donna raised an eyebrow. “You’re both nutters,” she said, shaking her head. “Dogs with no noses? How do they smell?”

The Doctor giggled. “Exactly!”

Rose planted her feet and everyone quickly grabbed onto something before the TARDIS landed on Barcelona with a teeth-jarring thud. “Barcelona,” Rose said, waving at the door.

Donna and Jenny exchanged a grin, then ran up the ramp and pushed the door open. Brilliant sunlight streamed into the console room, and Rose could smell the salt tang of the ocean in the air.

“Oh, I have missed this!” Donna said.

“Missed travelling the galaxy, or not spending hours on a plane getting someplace?” the Doctor asked.

“Both!”

Jenny and Donna stepped back inside and picked up the bags they’d left by the door. Before they left, Donna turned around and pointed at Rose, then at the Doctor. “All right, we’re going to leave you to celebrate your anniversary on your own. But you’d better come for us on time.”

“Or you’ll do what?” the Doctor retorted.

Rose groaned and pressed her fist to her forehead. She could hear the scowl on Donna’s face when their friend answered the Doctor.

“Or I’ll tie you down and bleach your hair blond,” she snapped.

Rose’s hand dropped to her mouth to hold back a laugh at the horrified expression on the Doctor’s face.

Donna nodded once, sharply. “Excellent. We’ll see you in a week, then.” She left the TARDIS and swung the door shut behind her.

“But… That’s…” The Doctor ran his hands through his hair.

Rose walked over to him and pulled his hands down, then smoothed over the most sticky-up pieces. “Don’t worry, Doctor. I like your hair too much to let her do that to you.”

He straightened his tie and preened. “It is pretty great, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I love your hair.”  Rose waited a beat, then said, “So I’ll make sure I’m driving when we go pick them up.”

“Oi!”

The Doctor grabbed for her, but Rose laughed and twisted away from him, adjusting the navigation settings as she went. She felt him following her movements and knew the moment he had remembered they were actually on their way to their own holiday destination.

“So do I finally get to find out what your secret holiday plans are?”

“Well…” she said, stretching it out the way he did. “I’m not sure if it’s check-in time yet.”

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. “This is a time machine,” he reminded her. “Which I’m fairly certain you are aware of.”

“Yeah, you might have mentioned it.”

He raised his eyebrows and gestured at the console. Rose laughed, but she finally obliged him. “Prepare yourself for the holiday of a lifetime,” she said dramatically as she threw the dematerialisation lever.

The ship spun into the Vortex, and Rose twirled the opposite direction, dancing around the console until she was next to the Doctor.

“Do you know what?” she asked.

He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before finishing the familiar line. “Travelling with you—I love it.”

The TARDIS landed, and the lights in the console room flashed. He looked up at the time rotor. “It seems I’m not the only one excited for this trip.”

Rose slung her deceptively small bag over her shoulder. “We’ve been working on this together. She says you’ve never been anywhere like this before.”

“Welllll, I’m not sure about that. Not this exact place, maybe, but—” The Doctor pulled the door open and stopped talking immediately.

Rose stepped up beside him and took his hand. “Welcome to Critias.”

The idea that had come to her while reading to Tony had taken a firm hold of her mind. As soon as they’d gotten home that night, she’d asked the TARDIS if it was even possible.

Is there a planet like Atlantis? Once they found the answer, they’d jumped at the chance.

The Doctor walked down the narrow alley as if in a trance and pressed his hand to the glass, fingers splayed out. A curious puffer fish swam forward to sniff at his fingers, but when he realised he couldn’t actually reach them, he swam away.

“This is…” The Doctor paused, then shook his head. “This is incredible, love. Thank you.”

“We explore the stars, but we never really touch this frontier,” Rose said.

“Another adventure with you.”

“Another year with you,” Rose corrected. “Happy anniversary, Doctor.”

Really, the Doctor reasoned, there was only one proper response when your bond mate wished you a happy anniversary. And so he wrapped an arm around Rose’s waist and pulled her close for a kiss.

“Thank you,” he murmured against her lips. “I love it.”

Rose pulled back and looked up at him, her nose wrinkled up a little. “Enough that it makes up for not getting a present? I didn’t get a chance to get you anything.”

The Doctor rested his hands on her hips and smiled down at her. “Absolutely. Although…” He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. “I don’t have a gift for you, either.”

Rose laughed. “You helped my mum and Pete set up their furniture last weekend, and you didn’t start one fight with Mum. That covers you for at least our anniversary.”

The Doctor chuckled. “All right. Now, where is this hotel?”

Rose pointed over his shoulder and he turned around to look at the building. It was positioned against the outer wall of the city, and he could easily imagine the kind of views the rooms would have.

He took a few steps down the alley, but Rose grabbed his hand and pulled him back. “I know I was joking when I said it wasn’t check-in time yet, but it really isn’t. I didn’t want to waste half the day by not getting here until mid afternoon.”

The Doctor nodded quickly. “Excellent decision. So, what should we do first?”

“Walk?” Rose suggested. “I can’t get enough of the view from the edge of the city.”

They moved from the alleyway to the path that snaked around the edge of the dome. “No, neither can I,” the Doctor agreed.

A giant piece of brilliant red seaweed floated by, the current picking up little tendrils and tugging them in different directions. A few more metres down the path, they watched a family of seahorses swim by.

“Why did they build a city under the ocean?” the Doctor wondered as they walked.

“I looked into that actually,” Rose said. “The planet was really struggling with overpopulation.”

He snorted. “So they decided to spread into the ocean? They’d squeezed out everyone on the surface and now they’d move into the fishes’ place too?”

Rose pinched him in the side. “Thought you were enjoying the trip,” she said pointedly.

“Oh, I am!” he said quickly. “Just… You know what, never mind. You’re right. So, there were too many humans on the surface—they are humans, it seems?”

Rose shook her head. “Nope. Critians are humanoid—I suppose you could say they look Time Lord—but they aren’t human. I dunno how they’re different exactly, but they are.”

The Doctor bit his tongue before he could launch into a rant on Rassilon spreading the Gallifreyan body type around the galaxy. There was a time and a place, and this was not it.

oOoOo

Their suite was an incredible underwater oasis. The hotel was situated against the main exterior bubble of the city, and each room actually bulged out into the open sea.

The Doctor watched the fish swim by while Rose slept on their first night there. He finally fell asleep as a jellyfish lazily drifted past.

The view when he woke up was not so tranquil. Several long tentacles were wrapped around their domed ceiling, and a giant eye peered in through the glass.

His quick indrawn breath and suddenly tense muscles were enough to wake Rose up. “Wha’s wrong?” she asked groggily.

The Doctor had processed what he was looking at, and he was a little embarrassed to have been so easily startled. “Just found a Peeping Tom,” he said, trying to deflect from his own reaction.

Rose rolled slightly and looked up at the ceiling. The Doctor could feel her trying to grasp what she was seeing, and then finally she giggled. “Look, he’s stuck on you, Doctor.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes and huffed. “Really, Rose?”

Rose shifted closer to him, sliding her leg over his and wrapping an arm over his chest. “I dunno,” she whispered against his neck. “Stuck on you’s not so bad.”

The Doctor hissed and tilted his head back when she kissed the sensitive spot on his jaw, just below his ear. Rose smiled and scraped her teeth over the spot before sucking gently.

“Yeah, I like being stuck on you.”

The Doctor’s eyes blinked open, his gaze still met by the steady curiosity of the squid. He arched an eyebrow, then rolled over so he was looking down at Rose. “I’d rather watch you than our friendly cephalopod,” he murmured.

Rose laughed again, just as he pressed his lips to hers.

oOoOo

The squid was long gone by the time the Doctor and Rose were enjoying breakfast in bed. “What do you want to do today?” the Doctor asked in between bites of a fluffy pastry.

She shrugged. “Whatever you want. It’s a new planet to both of us—it might be fun to just hit all the main tourist spots.”

She bit into a pinkish fruit, and her eyes widened. “Try this,” she insisted, holding a bite out for him.

The Doctor wrapped his fingers around her wrist to hold her hand steady, then he bent to pull the fruit off her fork with his teeth. As soon as the flavour hit his tongue, he knew why Rose had been so insistent.

“Mmmm, banana.” He smacked his lips and immediately selected another slice from the tray. “A sea banana,” he added gleefully.

“Did you know there were other fruits in the galaxy that tasted like banana?”

He scoffed. “If I knew there were other perfect foods in the world, we would have them at home.”

Rose shook her head and laughed. “Of course, why did I even ask? I guess finding some sea bananas to take home is going on the list of must-see attractions.”

“Oh yes!”

They shared bites back and forth, enjoying all the unique flavours of Critian food. Once the platter was mostly picked clean, Rose kissed him on the cheek and slid out of bed. “Why don’t you look up things to do while I take a shower? I bet you can find out what that fruit is and where we can get some.”

The Doctor took the tour guide tablet from the nightstand and made quick work of his research. He learned that kaju, the sea banana, was a favourite food of the Critians. There were several speciality food shops selling it, but only one farm you could tour. He’d just booked two tickets for the morning tour when Rose exited the en suite, wrapped in a fluffy white robe.

“Your turn.”

He handed her the tablet. “Why don’t you find something for us to do this afternoon?” he suggested.

Rose waited until she heard the shower running, then she pulled out the outfit she’d hidden at the bottom of their suitcase. The soft denim of her favourite dark jeans fit her perfectly, moulded by countless wears.

But her top… She sighed when the soft wool jumper brushed against her cheek as she pulled it over her head. The TARDIS had put it in her closet yesterday when she’d been packing, and Rose hadn’t needed help connecting the dots.

She’d just laced up her black boots when someone knocked on the door. “Concierge service!”

Rose walked to the door, leaving her leather jacket draped over the chair. A uniformed employee stood on the other side of the door, a tray in hand.

“Hi!”

The concierge held out the tray and Rose took the envelope. “Your tickets to the underwater garden just arrived,” they said.

Rose blinked, then she shook her head. “I don’t suppose that’s where those delicious sea bananas are grown.”

As she asked, she heard the shower turn off. She started a mental countdown to when the Doctor would appear.

The Critian tilted their head, a hint of confusion crossing their face. “If by sea bananas, you mean kaju… then yes, this the one public farm where it is grown. After the tour, you will be able to buy some of the fruit to take home.”

Rose laughed. “I bet we will. Thank you,” she told the alien. The employee bowed and exited the room.

“Who was that?” the Doctor called from their bedroom.

“Concierge services with our tour tickets,” Rose replied.

“Oooh, excellent! I hope they have a little shop. A little shop to buy all the kaju we want! Can you imagine, Rose?”

“I’m pretty sure I won’t need to use my imagination by the end of the day,” Rose said under her breath.

“I heard that!” The Doctor’s voice was coming closer, and Rose rubbed her palms on her jeans. “I’ll have you know…”

His mouth fell open when he saw what she was wearing. From a man as verbose as him, his silence was extremely gratifying. “Doctor?”

The Doctor slowly lowered his hands from his tie and walked towards her. His eyes were dark, and anticipation buzzed through Rose as she waited for his response. “That jumper is mine,” he said, his voice raspy.

Rose bit back a smirk. “The TARDIS put it in my closet,” she told him. “Think that means it’s mine now—possession is nine-tenths of the law, after all.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

The sleeves hung past her wrists, and Rose pressed her wool-covered hand to her cheek. “‘Sides, I like it. It’s soft.”

His fingers twitched, and Rose waited just a second longer before smiling brightly at him. “Come on, we need to get going if we’re going to make our tour.”

The Doctor gaped at her—at Rose, standing just six feet away from him, wearing clothes that used to be his. Rose, who was now giving him a cheeky smile as she waved the tickets in front of his face.

“Don’t you want to go see the kaju farm?” she asked, almost managing to sound innocent.

He growled and moved quickly to pull Rose into his arms. He could hear her heartbeat speed up and his two hearts held tempo with hers.

“Rose Tyler…”

Her pulse was racing now. “Yes Doctor?” She smiled, teasing him with the tip of her tongue.

The Doctor dipped his head down and pressed his lips to hers, following her tongue back into her mouth. Rose slid her hands over his shoulders and a moment later, he felt them in his hair.

He shivered, and before he could lose himself in the kiss, he slowly pulled back. Rose’s eyes fluttered open, and her passion-glazed expression tempted him again.

Instead, he slowly removed his hands from her waist, tugging on the hem of the jumper as he pulled away. “We’ll come back to this later,” he promised.

She blinked a few times, then smiled up at him. “Oh, yes,” she agreed.

The Doctor took her hand. “But for now, kaju!” Rose laughed as he pulled her out of their suite, and he giggled along with her.

Rose hip checked the Doctor as they left the hotel. He glanced down at her, his eyebrow raised in question. She smiled and shifted closer to him, putting her free hand on his arm.

Nothing. Just love you, that’s all.

Yeah? I love you too.

The Critias streets were busier than they had been the day before, and they arrived at the garden entrance just as the tour was starting. “Wait wait!” The Doctor waved their tickets over his head. “Two more!”

A teenager waved at them from behind the counter. “I can take your tickets!” she said, her high ponytail bobbing with each word. She smiled brightly when the Doctor handed them over. “Have fun! Corin will show you all around the farm.”

They joined the queue, and a young man with a shock of black hair draped over one eye scowled at them. “We all ready then?” he asked.

“Oh yes!” The Doctor bounced on his toes. “This is going to be the highlight of our trip.”

The guide rolled his eyes and turned around. “Come on. The entrance to the tunnels is this way.”

“Tunnels?” Rose asked as he led them along a boring hallway.

He shot her a look over his shoulder. “Well yeah. Kaju grows under the sea. How did you think we were going to get there?”

Rose had half a mind to call him out for his surly attitude, but the Doctor started talking before she could. “I bet you love your job,” he enthused. “You probably get all the kaju you want, for free.”

The kid huffed. “Why would I want any of that nasty stuff?”

They reached a glass door in the exterior bubble of the city, and he turned around and held his hand up. “All right, listen up everyone!” he called out, raising his voice to be heard over the hum of machinery coming from the next room over. “We have built glass tunnels in a path around the kaju beds. Along the tour, you will see kaju in various stages of growth. At the end, you will have a chance to taste fresh kaju, and to buy any of the products we make in the factory you hear behind you.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows. “Please stay with the group at all times. If you do not, you will be escorted out of the tunnels and asked to leave the premises.”

The whole group murmured their assent, and he grunted and opened the doors.

The light in the tunnel was dim. Rose squinted, trying to get a glimpse of the garden before stepping out under the sea. She and the Doctor were at the back of the line, and she gasped when she finally realised why the light was so eerie.

The glass tunnel had formed an arbor for a network of tangled vines. The artificial lights used by the farm filtered through the greenery, like sunlight through the leaves of a thick forest. Rose pressed her hand to the glass and watched the way the leaves drifted in the current.

“Why don’t you like kaju?”

Rose blinked; that was the Doctor’s voice, but it was coming from the other side of the tour group. She looked around and spotted him standing next to their guide, his eyebrow arched in surprise.

Corin was a good six inches shorter than the Doctor, and he scowled up at him. “Because it’s a disgusting fruit and I don’t know why anyone would eat it.”

Determination pulsed over the bond, and Rose groaned. “Excuse me,” she said as she made her way through the tour group to join the Doctor.

“Have you ever had kaju pancakes?” the Doctor asked. “Or kaju toffee pie?”

The kid sneered. “No, thank you.”

He spun on his heel and addressed the whole group. “What you see above you is an arbor of fully grown kaju. As you can see, the plant is a vine that needs some sort of support to grow on. If you’ll follow me, our next stop is a bed of kaju seedlings.”

The group moved slowly through the tunnel. The light changed as the vines overhead thinned. Finally they entered a large, round room, big enough for everyone to look out at the ocean floor.

“Like most vines, kaju can be grown from starts. However, one of the things we sell as a commercial garden are seedlings. Ambitious gardeners buy kaju plants from us to start their own garden.”

“Oh!”

Corin levelled a glare at the Doctor. “They do have to be grown under the ocean, so unless you have a proper growing environment, don’t even bother.”

The Doctor pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. “Right. Yeah,” he said slowly.

Rose narrowed her eyes. We’ve got regular bananas, remember? She wasn’t sure the TARDIS could make an underwater room, and even if she could, Rose had no desire to start a kaju farm.

The Doctor pouted, but she shook her head firmly. Bananas are perfectly good.

Bananas are brilliant! he corrected. Rose raised an eyebrow and the Doctor rolled his eyes. All right, you win.

They were given five minutes to watch the gardeners carefully tend to the young plants, then Corin led them down another tunnel into a different open room.

Row after row of vines draped over arbors spread out around them. “These kaju plants are at the height of their production cycle. Much of the kaju you eat comes from plants just like these.”

The group murmured and spread out to watch the workers carefully trimming the vines and harvesting ripe fruit. Rose blinked when she realised the whole fruit was small and round. It looked much more like an orange than a banana.

“What about fried kaju? Or kaju served with ice cream and chocolate?”

Rose debated pulling the Doctor back, but Corin really deserved to be pestered. He had been rude from the moment the tour started. So instead, she rocked back on her heels and watched.

“I can’t stand the smell, or the taste, or the texture,” the kid spat out. “The seeds get stuck in your teeth and if you eat too much, it stains your tongue bright pink.”

The Doctor backed away half a step and blinked several times. Corin nodded sharply and spun around to walk away.

Rose joined the Doctor then and tugged on his sleeve before he could chase after the kid. You can suggest other preparations later, she told him, feeling slightly mischievous. Maybe he should try kaju bread, or chocolate dipped kaju.

The Doctor nodded, then stuck his tongue out for her to examine. “Ish ma tongue bwight pink?” he asked.

Rose laughed. “Nope, just regular pink. Apparently you haven’t had enough kaju yet.”

It was mesmerising to look at the evenly laid out rows of kaju and the careful way the attendants cared for the vines. But after ten minutes, they were directed down another tunnel, back to a door.

“The garden part of our tour is over,” Corin declared dramatically. “Behind this door, you’ll find the factory where we produce kaju jam and other items for sale. Please take a pair of noise cancelling headphones when you step inside. The machines are incredibly loud.”

Rose winced when he opened the door. The entire group pressed their hands to their ears until they passed through the door and could take a pair of the headphones.

How are we supposed to hear the dulcet tones of our tour guide like this?

She needn’t have worried. His grumpy voice came through the headphones, and when she looked at him, she realised his headset had a microphone as well.

“Today we’re manufacturing kaju pie filling,” he said, gesturing at the conveyor belt where empty glass jars were filled with a creamy, kaju coloured filling. “The filling is produced in that large vat over there.” He pointed up at a vat near the top of the production line. “Raw kaju is cooked down and blended, then sugar and spices are added.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw the Doctor nodding. She shook her head; she had a feeling there was a kaju pie in their future.

They watched the assembly line for a few minutes longer. After the jars were filled with pie filling, lids were tightly sealed on and labels wrapped on the jar. Then they shot down to the end of the line where they were packed in boxes by workers.

“If you’ll follow me.”

The tour group slowly filtered out of the factory back into the blessedly quiet hallway. Two employees were waiting, one ready to take the headphones from them and another with a tray of sliced kaju.

Corin opened the door to the sales room and gestured through it. “That concludes our tour. You are now free to buy as much kaju merchandise as you would like.”

The Doctor sidled up to him. “Have you ever tried kaju bread?” he asked.

The young man’s face turned red, but the Doctor ignored it.

“What about chocolate dipped kaju? Dip slices in chocolate and then freeze them. Fantastic treat for a hot day.” He paused and scratched his sideburn. “Er, is it ever hot here?”

“Listen,” Corin growled. “I do not like kaju. I will never like kaju. It doesn’t matter how it’s prepared, it’s a vile fruit and I refuse to eat it.” He smirked suddenly. “But if you like it so much…”

He ran off quickly before the Doctor could say anything. A moment later he was back with a jar in his hand. “Kaju jam.” He ran off again and returned with two large tubs. “Kaju butter and kaju yogurt.” He left and came back with bags in hand. “Kaju fruit leather, chocolate covered kaju, and dried kaju.”

The Doctor’s arms were full. He stared down at the bounty then up at the guide. “Thank you!”

The uncharacteristic smile melted away into the familiar scowl. “You are an absolute nutter,” the kid growled. Then he spun around and stalked off.

The Doctor heard something rolling on the floor and turned around to see Rose with a trolley. She took a few items out of his hands and they filled the cart with everything the guide had brought.

“What was that about?” the Doctor asked, still wondering what had gotten into the guide.

Rose laughed. “I think he thought that if he brought you enough kaju products, you would realise it was disgusting. Then you’d have to find a way to put it all back.”

“Huh.” The Doctor scratched at his sideburn. “Well, let’s see what other kaju products we can find.”

Thirty minutes later, they left the farm with several bags full of kaju products. By mutual agreement, they detoured to the TARDIS to put it all away.

The ship sang to Rose as they walked through the door, and she started laughing. “Someone’s glad I talked you out of growing our own kaju,” she told the Doctor.

oOoOo

The street lights had shifted from their bright daytime mode to a nighttime setting when the Doctor and Rose finally made their way back to the hotel. Street musicians played beneath the street lights, and stray cats darted into the shadowy corners to hide.

The Doctor swiped their keycard over the pad and the door slid open. It closed silently behind them after they entered the room. Rose tapped the lamp and soft light filled the room.

“So was that a good way to spend our fourth anniversary?”she asked him.

He chuckled. “It was a brilliant way to spend our anniversary,” he agreed as he shrugged out of his coat.

He had just tossed it onto the coat rack when someone knocked sharply on the door. Rose raised an eyebrow, and he grinned at her. “Just a little late night snack I ordered for us,” he told her. “Why don’t you go get settled in the living room and I’ll bring it in.” He waited for her to move into the living room, then tapped the door control.

“Your dessert, sir,” the server said, presenting a covered tray with a flourish.

The Doctor lifted the silver cover just enough to make sure everything was as ordered. Chocolate, kaju, mellora berries, and a decanted bottle of Rigellian wine. Perfect.

“Thank you.” He took the tray and the server nodded once, then walked away.

Rose was curled up on the sofa under a blanket when the Doctor entered the living room. He set the tray down on the coffee table and crossed the room to the fireplace controls. “This will warm things up pretty quickly,” he said once the cheery gaslit flames started.

He stuck his tongue out at Rose as he walked back to her. “I suppose it’s a good thing you filched that jumper from me,” he teased. “They don’t exactly keep the ambient temperature of Critias very warm.”

He started to pour two glasses of the wine, while still watching Rose from the corner of his eye. She rubbed her cheek against the jumper again and shook her head.

“That’s not why I wore it,” she said quietly.

The Doctor set the decanter down and turned to face Rose. Her playful attitude had faded into something softer and warmer. “Then why did you wear it?” he asked, genuinely curious. “To turn me on?”

Her eyes twinkled. “A little. But mostly…” She reached for his hand. “This jumper is something from who you were when I met you. Today’s our anniversary and…” She brushed her thumb over his pulse points. “And I married that Doctor, too.”

The Doctor opened his mouth, but he couldn’t push words past the lump in his throat. Instead, he slid closer to Rose on the sofa and reached for her over the bond at the same time.

I love you. He brushed his fingers over her cheek, and when Rose tipped her face upwards, he took the invitation and pressed a kiss to her lips. I love you now and I loved you then. You are my forever, both past and future.

Rose sighed and scraped her fingernails over his scalp. I loved that you, with your leather jacket and jumpers. I love this you, with your suits and Chucks. You have always been my Doctor.

The Doctor moved his hand down to Rose’s waist so he could pull her closer. As she shifted into his lap, the feeling of soft skin under his hand pulled him out of the kiss. He looked down at the bare leg slung over his own and swallowed.

“Are you…” His voice squeaked and he cleared his throat. “Are you wearing anything under that jumper?”

Rose slid her hands over his shoulders and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Why don’t you find out?” she suggested.

The Doctor closed his eyes and took several shallow breaths. Then he shifted his weight and pushed himself to his feet, holding Rose close as he stood up. “I think it’s time for a change in venue.”

oOoOo

A visit to Critias was almost like a beach holiday, except in all the ways it wasn’t. Their ocean view room gave them a view into the underwater life instead of the surface. They didn’t see their squid friend again, but several other forms of sea life floated by to say hello.

They rented diving equipment and went out into the water, but they couldn’t feel the sun on their faces. The marine animals around the resort were so accustomed to visitors that they didn’t move as the Doctor and Rose slowly swam past.

But the strangest difference, and the one that helped Rose when it came time to leave, was that there were no sunsets. She loved watching the sun set over the ocean, but they couldn’t even see the sun from who knew how many leagues under the sea.

There were no stars, either, and after a week beneath the surface of the ocean, both she and the Doctor were ready to be out in the open air.

They packed up their belongings and paid their bill, then walked back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor slung his coat over a strut and circled the console, adjusting the navigation controls as he went. “Be careful,” Rose warned as he spun a dial wildly before stopping it and twisting it into place. “Remember what Donna threatened to do if we don’t pick them up on time.”

He clapped his hands to his head, protecting his hair. “That is not happening,” he declared adamantly. “Not in this lifetime. This body would not look good with platinum blond hair.”

Rose nodded. “Then watch what you’re doing while you’re setting the coordinates.”

The Doctor huffed, but he slowed down, being careful to notch each dial in exactly the right spot. Rose watched, and she nodded when he set the last one in place.

“All right, let’s go.” Being closer to the dematerialisation lever, she grabbed it and shoved it into place.

The TARDIS made a grinding sound as she moved into the Vortex, and Rose stroked the console. “Come on, old girl,” she muttered. “I know you’ll take us where we need to go.” The grinding didn’t stop, but a soft hum joined it. Both Rose and the Doctor let out a breath.

The landing rocked them a little, but they straightened up and walked to the door. The Doctor reached it first and reached for the handle. “Come on, Rose. Let’s enjoy the look on Donna’s face when she realises we’ve made a perfect landing.”

The first thing he registered when he opened the door was that it was night. Well, a few hours off, he reasoned, even as his hearts sank into his plimsolls. Maybe we’re early, even.

But not only was it not morning, they were nowhere near a city. He stared at the large house in front of them, trying to make sense of where they were.

Rose patted him on the arm. “I think you’ll look gorgeous as a blond.”

[mwolf0epsilon]

Can you write a short dark fic for the pairing Joey x Henry, where after Henry threatens to leave the studio, Joey snaps and kidnaps Henry and turns Henry into a perfect Boris or Bendy so that Henry would never leave his side, please?

Summary: Joey Drew couldn't ever take 'No' for an answer, much less when it came from the object of his ill-fated obcession.

---

[[MORE]]

When brought into the world children were never inherently cruel. They were curious and blunt, which often resulted in uncomfortable situations for those they interacted with, but overall younglings were empathetic at heart until reshaped and redefined into something otherwise.

The world was a terrible influence after all, and it could marr even the purest of things.

There were exceptions to this rule however…

Joey Drew had certainly been a curious kid. Unabashedly blunt too, with how often his innocent words cut deep into both his parents and peers.

But not once did he empathise enough with others to be considered a kind child.

If anything, most others his age had steered clear from his company, finding the mellow kid with the great big toothy smile to be unsettling on an instinctive level. Children were, after all, capable of sensing evil. Even in its stages of infancy.

So imagine everyone's surprise (Joey's included) when Henry Stein decided to befriend the town's most infamous little black sheep.

Kind bleeding heart that he was, Henry had thought it unfair that others would judge another as strongly as they judged Joey, so he'd taken it upon himself to make the kid next door's life a little less lonesome.

Give him what he surely needed: A good and caring friend.

Needless to say, he regretted that decision more than anything in the world...

It hadn't always been so bad. Once Joey had actually been a friend to him, and cared enough to look after Henry when he'd most needed.

Now however? Now Henry could barely recognize the monster behind that unnerving grin...

The burning selfish desires in those sapphire blues, hidden behind an half-lidded expression that was reserved to feign a serene and caring persona…

As charming and handsome as Joey looked (because he'd always been unnaturally pretty, even when going through the awkward stages of puberty), Henry couldn't help find his apathetic and selfish nature abominably hideous.

Especially now as he brought him the results of yet another failed experiment.

"I'm getting closer dear friend." He held the snapping, snarling little beast at arm's length, this failed mockery of Edgar barely looking like the adorable cartoon spider he was meant to be. "Soon I'll be able to make you perfect, and then we'll be back together as the dynamic duo we always were..."

Henry shuddered at the thought, tightly curling in on himself as he watched Joey end the poor creature's miserable existence. His bowl where his meals were served clattering loudly, as the inky heart of the slain critter was tossed onto it with precision. A mimicry of flesh thumping against the metal with a wet splat.

He fought back the urge to cry as he felt his mouth water.

"Eat up my loyal wolf… We can't be wasteful." Joey's cruel smile almost ruined his appetite. Almost. "Don't worry, this wasn't anyone you knew…"

With that said, Joey left him to greedily consume the offering.

Looking in the bowl's reflective surface once he'd licked it clean, Henry found that he could barely recognize himself anymore.

His stretched out face progressively becoming less and less humanoid as he was fed the experimental failures of Joey's horrid machine, and his pale hair having long since turned black and begun to spread.

He looked like what one would envision Boris the Wolf to look like in some lovecraftian fever dream. Dressed in ill-fitting ripped clothing, and barely able to balance a pair of cracked glasses on the bridge of his elongated nose.

An inhuman beast that fed off of the misfortune of others, losing his humanity as time passed on by.

He wondered if he'd forget himself eventually. If he'd forget that the devil in disguise that was Joey Drew was to blame for his malformations.

If one day he'd actually grow to love his captor in the same manner that Stolkholm syndrome victims tended to do, once brainwashed into submission by their abusers?

Another shudder forced a garbled whimper out of his deformed face.

To whatever god that could hear his broken pleas, he sure hoped not.

Henry didn't want to give Joey what he wanted.

Not when that monster of a man had taken him away from his family to keep as some sort of freak show pet.

Playing some sick version of house with the "puppy" he sustained on a cannibalistic diet. Disgusting.

Curling up, Henry cried himself to sleep. Thinking of his wife and children.

Missing them terribly while locked up in the bowels of Joey's demented studio.

-

The Ink Demon wasn't bad company, Henry had found. It seemed to understand his pain on a level no other creature did, offering him what little compassion it could whenever Joey dropped by with more "food".

It feared and loathed that devil of a man just as much as Henry did, and it knew to be kind despite never once being treated with the same sort of respect.

The one positive of this odd kinship between the two, was that Joey seemed pleased by them forming the sort of bond Bendy and Boris had. Thus never getting in between their interactions.

"One day soon, it'll all be just as I envisioned." He'd purr as he pinned the bound inky wolf to the ground, touching Henry in a way that made him want to gag, and rip the rat bastard's throat out with his horrific set of doggish teeth. "Just a little more and you'll be perfect."

He didn't want to be perfect.

All Henry wanted was to kill Joey Drew and go home.

"But first, I have a surprise for you." A surprise that came right after this twisted display of "affection". This gross invasion of the abominable wolf's personal bubble.

Joey presented him with an absolutely Perfect Boris.

Overalls, pie cut eyes, soft velvety fuzz and all… no signs of dripping or asymmetrical proportions.

The terror in those eyes however… it was all too human.

"I told you I'd find a way to reach perfection. Once I've finished tweaking the process you'll be just as perfect as him… Maybe more." Joey purred. "I miss your voice after all, dearest friend. Until then I give you this fearful pup to do with as you wish."

Upon his tormentor's departure, the cartoon wolf scrambled away from Henry. Shaking like a leaf and whining pitifully.

A child, Joey had converted a child…

Hell hath no fury like the righteous rage of a scorned father.

That bastard would pay for all he'd done!

But first, the large and deformed beast that was Henry Stein carefully scooted over to the shaking Boris clone and comforted him as best he could.

He'd protect this poor pup, no matter what.

The Ink Demon seemed to be in favour of extending that same grace, although it did still go for the kill when the less than agreeable ink monsters came around looking for trouble.

-

Buddy's transformation had certainly enraged him when Joey presented the poor boy to him. Sammy's and Norman's fates however were the last straw to break the camel's back.

Most of the people that worked at the studio were strangers to Henry, but the young musician and the oddball projectionist had been friends to him.

With every stranger's heart he consumed, the large beast of a wolf grew more and more restless. The revulsion he felt when looking upon Joey growing into an all consuming desire to violently murder his captor.

When a faceless ink creature wearing only suspenders and a Bendy mask came in one day to bring him his meal however…

"My lord wishes me to feed you, oh Great Lupine... Abyssal Hunger of the Ink's Abyss…" The body shape wasn't one he recognized. The slight arch to the creature's legs a bit strange to look at, and the four fingered hands an indication that something strange had definitely come to pass in this poor madman's transition into his current state. But that voice…

"Shhh...Shhaaammiieeee…?" His voice had returned as a dissonant mess, one that was not fit for a gross mockery of a muzzle like his own.

"Is… Is that my name, oh Hungry One?" There was both fear and hope in his voice. That in itself made something twinge painfully in Henry's chest. "I… Yes, yes that is my name isn't it? Sammy… I… oh thank you kindly, Benevolent Wolf. Please, feast upon your meal. I have worked hard to acquire it in the name of our Lord, your most wonderous companion."

What had Joey done to Sammy Lawrence, the proud music director that had more than half the mind this mindless drone had? Good heavens, what had he done that completely broke the poor kid?!

Rather than voice his horror, Henry did as he was told. After all the more he ate, the more his gluttonous appetite grew… as did this horrid body he was stuck with.

Abyssal hunger indeed…

He forgot what shame tasted like, but not mercy.

As selfish as it may be, he did request one thing.

"It is as you wish, oh Hungry One… I shall protect all pups that enter my lair." The Prophet bowed once, twice and then trice as he took Buddy by the hand. "Another horror skulks in the darkness, wearing an Angel's face. She hunts wolves, for fun. I shall show them your mercy."

He trusted that Sammy would keep his word. He was as stubborn as they could get, after all, and did not back off from a challenge very easily.

Henry would miss Buddy's company though.

That particular encounter was bad on a moral level, but it did turn out alright in the end. When the Projectionist was presented to him as a play thing however, Henry had begun to crack. No one deserves such a horrible fate as to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Norman had once carried a world of unimaginable knowledge on his back.

Now he only had the painful weight of a projector on his neck, and the volatile temper of a mindless beast.

The deformed wolf had done his best to gain the creature's trust, but it feared being attacked far too much to let a nearly 20 foot inky monstrosity near itself.

Self preservation hadn't completely left the Projectionist it seemed.

He'd let it go, hoping doing so would be a sign of good will on its own.

And then when he'd been once again left alone, Henry continued to stew in his anger. Talked himself into showing a rarer more violent side on Joey's next visit.

Even tried to fight back against him the next when he tried to touch him.

This was a losing battle however… After all, Joey Drew couldn't ever take 'No' for an answer, much less when it came from the object of his ill-fated obsessions.

Henry Stein just so happened to be his biggest obsession. Even as this horrifically imperfect monster that only an equally horrific demon could ever hope to understand.

[jaykay123456789p]

Iris through the looking glass

For the last two days, I've been reading the SCP light novel Iris through the looking Glass (kagami no kuni no Iris) and all I have to say is the thing is a waste of time, effort and ink. I won't go into detail, but the plot of the novel is completely nonexistent. The characters do absolutely nothing significant for the entirety of the story, Iris is misrepresented and Dr Bright is unbearably annoying. I get it, he's the mad scientist of the story, but the author focus way, Way, WAY too much on the "mad" part and not enough on the "scientists" of him. Also, good luck if you're looking forward to see any other characters from the SCP cannon. You know: Abel, Cain, Parthos, Dr. Right, Clef, Kondraki,... the list goes on. They make absolutely no mention of any of them, save for oe single word about Abel, as if they don't exist. Instead, we have the displeasure to suffer two stupid, incompetent, toxic researchers called Goldman and Selkie, whose entire plot revolves around their love hate relationship. Oh, you are reading this for interesting horror experiences, imaginative spins on popular concepts and memorable characters with interesting personalities? Too bad! You're stuck with a cardboard cut out of a main character, significantly dumbed down Iris and Bright along with, just to rub extra salt on the wound, those two bumbling idiots who managed to make 914 uninteresting.

Maybe, you think, with so many mind blowing objects and characters just lying around, even if they are misrepresented you can still enjoy the interactions between them, right? WRONG! The most interaction we have in the story is between the main character and Iris, which can be summarized into: guy sees thing, girl explains thing, guy marveled at thing then immediately forgets about it two pages later. Even the scenes with Bright in it couldn't escape this formula. Also, all the things they interacted with are either incredibly dull and boring, like the pizza box, the coffee machine or Josie, or bear no significant impact, like a picture of the carnival of horror. Reading the novel, I don't feel like it was written by a professional writer who spent his time researching the source material. I feel like I was reading a teenager's fanfiction about what SCP he wants to have and how he would use it in his life. And writing this makes me realized a whole new disturbing thing about how he portrayed Iris.

Finally, let's talk about inconsistencies. I know that the SCP foundation's cannon is very loose, so people can have more freedom in creating new stories. However, that doesn't mean you can just ignore simple logic. So, because the facility where the story takes place houses Iris and many other harmless low priority SCPs, we can assume that it is Site 15. So then, what the hell is 914 doing there? For all I know, other than 682, 914 is one of the most extensively tested SCP, so it would be WAY too important to be housed in a low priority facility like Site 15. Also, the fact that the eye pods appear in the same Site also makes no sense. Those two are supposed to be in the same facility as 173, and I can't imagine the foundation storing 173 in the same building as Iris. On that note, Iris and the main character are the ONLY humanoid SCPs we see in he novel. They are in Site 15, so where's Epon, Cain, Bes and the others? Even if you say that they are moved to another Site, say 19 because that's the most well-known, that makes even less sense because then we would have to see even more SCPs.

In conclusion, the novel is poorly written, boring and inaccurate. And the worst part: this is the only thing we have in tern of official releases. You would think that Japan, a country famous for creative and interesting story telling, would be able to turn all these wonderful characters and concepts into an official novel. But instead, they took the bare minimum, make no acknowledgement about the newer SCPs and churned out this lazy attempt. Read it if you want, but if you are a new SCP reader, I promise you that the real SCP foundation is much more interesting than this.

[serafaina]

Vulcans have slit pupils.

Bones was cursing vehemently this time as he patched up the cuts on Kirk’s chest, but he mostly just tuned it out nowadays. Until--

“That slit-eyed-sonufabitch needs to stop letting you put yourself in these stupid situations or--”

“Wait, what did you just say?”

Bones huffed, “That’s true, lady Amanda is a goddamn saint, my apologies.”

Kirk shook his head. “No, the other thing. Slit eyed?”

“Oh, yeah, didn’t you know? Vulcans have slit pupils. Lets ‘em contract farther, good for blocking out their bright sun but still see indoors and at night.”

“Wait, so like a kitty cat? Or ugh no, not like a sheep, please.”

“I don’t actually know, never cared enough to look it up. And all those pointy eared hobgoblins have dark eyes for the same reason--bright sunlight on the homeplanet, so it’s not like it’s easy to tell. You’d have to be really close and looking straight at ‘em.”

“Yeah, but Spock is only half vulcan. He could have round human pupils then?”

“Yeah he might. Never needed to examine his eyes so fuck if I know.”

Kirk nodded, and Bones went back to his work. Now it was bothering Kirk though. Cat eyes would be cool. Cooler than plain eyes. But oh god, what if it was sheep eyes? They’re so creepy. You can’t tell what direction they’re facing and they’re so... oblong.

And so Kirk resolved that he would solve this mystery. You know, because he couldn’t go around thinking of his first officer as a goat faced creeper. That’d be bad for team dynamics and morale.

It turned out a lot harder a mystery to solve than he expected. First, he tried just looking him directly in the eye whenever they talked. But the damn man tended to look at the floor when receiving orders, followed by a glance up only with the “yes, Captain.” When talking, Spock made brief eye contact and then his gaze roved about as he spoke, and he was so tall he was always looking down at everyone anyways, hooding his eyes with his long, thick lashes.

Kirk had to escalate. He tried standing closer, but without missing a beat Spock would just take a step back before engaging with him. So he started looking for places in the ship to corner him- the turbo lifts, the mess- and then went out of his way to accompany Spock in those places.  He thought the turbo lift was a good idea, but the man consistently focused a hard gaze at the door well above them both whenever they were in there, so it was a bust.  He even started eating lunch and dinner together, in the hopes that over some casual moment his first officer would let his guard down just a bit and look him in the eye from across the table, but alas, it didn’t happen.

And then a great chance came up. Spock, sitting in the rec room, staring thoughtfully at a chessboard. A chessboard! A one-and-a-half foot tiny table! Kirk immediately sat opposite.

“Do you play, Captain?”

“You can say that, yes. Would you like to try me?”

It may have been Kirk’s imaginating, but the vulcan positively lit up.

“It would be my pleasure, Captain.”

Kirk ended up needing to focus most of his attention on the game, since Spock was a very challenging opponent, but in the end he won. He smiled up at Spock when he said “checkmate” and only then realized he’d wasted the opportunity of sitting this near his first officer and hadn’t once remembered to try to look at his eyes. 

“A well played, though... erratic strategy. Would you care for a rematch?”

“Absolutely, Mr. Spock.”

When it finally happened, Kirk had mostly given up even trying. After all, it had been months, and after than long, curiosity faded and the lingering fondness for the man had grown till even sheepupils were probably handsome on the man. 

So when they were in the turbo lift, about to start the alpha shift, and Spock turned to him and inquired about their upcoming game and hanging out later that evening, Kirk didn’t even notice how much eye contact had happened till it was over. So he made a quick quip, nothing special, just about their current win rates, and was surprised when Spock faced him again, making direct eye contact and said, “Jim, I believe I am only two wins less than you in total. That hardly qualifies as ‘2 for oh’ considering the prodigious amount of matches we have engaged in.”

And thanks to the sadistic designers of this bright, white room he usually hated this early in the morning, because there they were, looking right at him, Spock’s big round pupils, half as large as his irises. 

It was almost a disappointment, since he’d half heartedly wanted to tease the man about being a kitty cat, but it still brought a warm feeling in his chest and a big smile on his face. Every once in a while after that, while playing chess or talking on the bridge, he’d get a moment looking into those big, round pupils in those black eyes and it always brought the same warm feeling and a bright smile to his face. 

It was supposed to be a routine survey away mission, on a mostly barren, rocky planet, but something exploded as Spock stepped on it, flinging him into the air and then smack back to the ground, where he lay unmoving.  Of course he had been off to the side by himself, as usual, engrossed in his tricorder readings.

“Bones, Get over here! Spock’s injured and unconscious!” Kirk barked across the crater they’d been scanning by hand, even though the man had already looked up at the noise and was now moving that way. Kirk reached Spock’s side only slightly after Bones, who had started scanning his head and neck.

“Nothing’s broken, but I need to get him back to sickbay for treatment.”

Kirk nodded and flipped out his communicator “Kirk to Enterprise, emergency beam up.”

Kirk stayed with him all the way to Sickbay, though Bones had him patched up and gave him a clean bill of health in short order.

“Mild concussion, and it’s done being treated. He should wake up momentarily, nothing for you to worry over.”

Kirk nodded, and sure enough, Spock was starting to flinch and blink awake. As he looked around him, ascertaining the situation, Bones repeated it to the patient, adding, “and you’re off duty for the next few days and on light activity restrictions just in case. Take it easy.”

“Thank you Doctor. I shall comply with your advisement.”

“No wait, Bones, what’s wrong with his eyes. They look weird.”

“They WHAT? I fixed the darned thing, it better not have started bleeding...” Bones grumbled, getting a pen light as Spock raised an eyebrow and looked between them. Bones waved the light over each eye, and Kirk watched in confusion as clearly cat-eyed slits closed to a thin vertical line in the center when the light was shined on them. 

“Scaring me for nothing, kid. They look fine, nothing’s wrong with them. I repeat, he’s got a clean bill of health, two days light activity only.”

“But, they’ve never looked like that before. He has round pupils, like, big round ones, not cat ones.”

Spock stiffly and quickly sat up, ramrod straight and spoke rather hurriedly, “Thank you Doctor for your medical care. Captain.” And practically fled the room, leaving Kirk to stare in confusion at Bones. 

“The word you looking for, kid, is ‘dilated.’ His pupils are usually dilated around you.”

“What does that mean?”

“Computer, list the most common reasons for dilated pupils in humanoids once injury, disease, and medicines are ruled out.”

“The most common reasons for dilated pupils in humanoids after injury, disease, and medicines are dim lighting conditions and sexual attraction,” the computer robotically listed, as Bones made an exaggerated MM-hhhmmmm GET IT NOW faces at Kirk. 

Kirk’s face burned and all he managed was a small “Oh.”

[vexingvexar]

Creation of the Seal

This story is part of Vexed Reflections, if you would like to support more, please check out our Patreon page.

Young Sisi longed for knowledge, as any sphinx would. They seek and protect knowledge as a more valuable prize than any material treasure. Every sphinx’s home had an archive, even the smallest of them. Tsete, the Platinum Champion was Sisi’s father, a proud sphinx warrior. Sihili, her mother, was a siren. How the two met is a story held in the very archives that Sisi happened to be sneaking into. The manor she called home had many such archives. Sisi had only just started to build her own. Today, she had decided to sneak into her father’s personal collection. Tsete was a warrior of legend, and Sisi’s wanderlust always lead her to stories and knowledge of adventure and battle.

Her light frame tiptoed down a dimly lit hallway. Blue orbs of light flitted in sconces against the walls. The hallway was far longer than she had imagined. It seemed only a dozen or so paces from end to end. No matter how long she walked, she could not reach the doors. She huffed in frustration, one of her mother's spells must have been used to safeguard the archives. Sisi wasn’t patient enough to master spells like her mother. She was more of a brute force kind of girl. She decided to outrun the magic, but It was to no avail. Only now, did she realize she hadn’t moved at all. She glanced back at the entrance of the hall, and she was no closer into the hallway than she had been when she first started walking.

A memory of her father walking down the hall came to her mind, almost as if called on. He had been talking to her mother somewhere else in the house. He chuckled at a comment she made as he backed down the hall.

“Ah!” Sisi turned around and began to walk backwards. Finally, her small wings brushed up against a pair of doors. “You are not he of the metallic flight, nor she of the waves. Who are you?” A soft voice whispered to Sisi. It took her by surprise. “I am S-” She paused, and thought before she spoke again. “I am she of the songs.” Sisi had worried about revealing herself, to what seems to be another protective spell. “He did not grant you access, nor did she. You of the songs, answer or be restrained.” ‘Crap’ Sisi thought. ‘Not a riddle, please, not a riddle.’ “Two are born of the same mother. They are born on the same day, the same year, the same time. The two are not twins. How can this be?”

‘WHAT?!’ Sisi thought in absolute frustration. ‘A riddle?’ She clenched her fist. Sisi knew not to answer incorrectly. The incorrect answer to anything a sphinx, or a sphinxes spell could lead to death; or worse. ‘Hnng, they are twins! They have the same mother, the same birthdate and time, two of them. They are twins! What else could they be?’ Sisi plopped herself down on the floor. The spell that protected the door gave no clues, not even another whisper. It simply waited for an answer, wrong or right. Sisi, brows furrowed, thought about her classes. She tried to remember anything that might help her understand. ‘Aha! The Rhyder brothers!’ “They are triplets!” Sisi spoke proudly, as if she had the answer all along. When the spell did not answer her, she began to worry. “They are triplets, all born at the same time, to the same mother, on the same day of the same year. Or quadruplets... Quintupl-” The door clicked, interrupting her other possible takes on the same answer. She reached a hand out, and pressed firmly. The cold stone of the heavy door gently swung open without much force. Magic seemed to hum to life as she entered. Gentle warm light filled the chamber. Books lined every wall, shelves seemed stacked in on themselves. A reading table sat at the center of the chamber. She was lost the moment she took a step. So many choices before her, her first adventure in this chamber was about to begin.

It had found her, or her it, a black and gold spined book. It was thick, old, and heavy enough to make her struggle with it back to the reading table.

The book was filled with hieroglyphs, diagrams, phrases and writings in languages she’d never heard of. Still it called to her. She saw something in the nonsensical writings. There were inventions, buildings, and mentions of spells in modern languages. It seemed like this book was both old and new, ancient and modern. She hadn’t realized the golden glow that began to brighten from the pages she turned.

Sisi seemed to float over a city of gold. The buildings tore at the clouds. Flying chariots delivered people to and from. An immense pyramid stood on its top at the very center of the city; much like the one in her own city. That is what drew her closer. Into the heart of the upside down prison. Who was imprisoned there? Why? Questions and answers began to flood her mind. It was looked at her before she looked at it, long before she looked at it, the book, long before she was, long before they were, and long after.

She wanted to look away, to scream, but there was no sound. Alone, in the archive, she sat frozen in place. Gold light shone from her eyes and the book. Her fingers clenched down on the desk.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway. “My child, you should not be in here!” Sihili rushed to her little girl. When she reached out, Sisi looked at her mother. The siren froze in her place. Tears of gold dripped down from the corners of Sisi’s eyes. “No, my child...” Sihili knew everything in that moment. She saw everything. The questions that all would ask, and the answers nothing could answer. That nothing had a voice, and that everything stared back.

‘How long have they been here?’ Tsete ground his teeth together. The pit in his stomach grew. He knew what awaited at the end of the hall. There were already several servants paralysed at the opened doors to the large room. His mind was racing with thoughts, the strongest of which was ‘How much longer was Thipa going to take?’

The sphinx seemed to arrive at the thought. A tall woman, covered in a bronze shimmer, strode toward Tsete. Thipa took a humanoid shape taller than most sphinx would. Her pride and stature was hard earned, even beyond the mighty Platinum Champion.

“She found it, of all those that were after it, she is the one who found it.” Tsete could not hold his anger back any further. “Your masters have done this to my family.”

“A risk we all agreed upon, Tsete. It was you who were given the task to protect it. Let us not waste time assigning blame. Your daughter may yet be salvageable.”

“SALVAGEABLE!?” He nearly roared.

Thipa let a glare fall upon him. Her bronze eyes swirled into an aquamarine color. “What is two halves together, but not whole?” Tsete felt weak in the knees. Thipa wielded the only weapon that could so easily wound him. He was bound to answer the sphinx. “My daughter.”

“What do you really think to get back from this? This is your price.” Thipa’s eyes shifted back to bronze. “This is what you pay to be allowed to let the two of them continue to exist.” She said no more as she walked down the hallway. The siren’s spell that enchanted the hallway was no more. Thipa cast a spell and a violet light formed a transparent shield in front of her face. Each servant she passed had long since been dead. They had suffocated in their paralyzation. “Rest in knowing all, your questions have been answered.” Thipa whispered as she passed Sihili, who had met the same demise. Sisi’s cheeks were covered in a stream of golden tears, down to her chin. “My poor child.” Thipa knelt in front of the young sphinx. She flicked her wrist and the large book closed itself. Sisi’s form did not change. “It is too late then, the first has taken hold.” Thipa began to chant, she held her hands out before her. “My child, may this day be forgotten. May he who hides be forever within, and for us forever without. My child, may your tears be cleansed, my child, may this day be forgotten.” Thipa cupped her hands under Sisi’s chin. Tears dripped slowly into Her hands. She began to chant again. Time passed as her hands filled with golden tears. The spell Thipa chanted would weave the golden tears into a sheet of metal. It flattened, and warped, working the metal into a visor. She called for Sisi “This punishment is not meant for you young one. This prison is not your own. You will not be alone. May your tears be forgotten. May this day be gone.” Thipa placed the now elegant, golden visor against the child sphinx’s face. For all of Thipa’s pride, her eyes watered. Though Sisi was not a full sphinx, no child deserved such tragedy. “If only we could all forget this day.” She whispered as she held Sisi. Thipa stood with the girl in her arms. She took a moment to regain a steady breath before heading to the hall. Tsete watched Thipa carry his daughter out of the chamber. Silent tears falling from his eyes from the sight, fearing the worst. Thipa nodded, “She sleeps for now, champion. When she wakes, she will not remember.” Thipa gently handed over the child to her father. “You would do well to make a believable story. Do not let today’s actions be a total loss. The power within that book is now within her. Should that be discovered, she will be sought after. Enjoy your remaining time with her, I will return within a week to begin her training. It will be hard for her to hide the power of a Khuul.”

Tsete could only nod. He refused to take his eyes off of his daughter. “Will I ever be able to see her eyes again?” “No.”

His broken breath gave way to his sobs. “And her mother?” “Was there.”

“Gods, why?”

His heartache touched Thipa far too unexpectedly. “I must take the book to the archives.” She struggled back her own tears. “You may go say your goodbyes. I will send help, for their removal... And further arrangements.”

The great champion dropped to his knees and cradled Sisi. Golden streams now stained her once rosy cheeks from under the ornate visor. His own tears fell to her face.“Thipa...” His voice broke. “This is too much.” He clenched Sisi close. “This price is too great.” He looked up at her. His face wet and flushed red. “I cannot pay this.. I cannot pay this!” Thipa turned away from him. She hoisted the book close to her chest and drew a long breath, and composed herself. “Life is a debt that cannot be paid, Tsete.” She slowly walked away from him. The sounds Tsete made next, the wails of a lover in grief, of a father in pain over his child echoed in her ears as she departed. She wanted to run from the sounds. “May we all forget this day.” She muttered with a broken breath.

[black-strike-otp]

AUs~

Heeyy here’s two things. The first one I daydreamed about late yesterevening and the other was a fever dream but I really liked it.

So you know Primus and Unicron and all the Thirteen~ No, this isn’t a Rudolph sing along. I came up with a another ‘god’ of sorts and it’s hecka stupid. But we all know there’s god(dess) of love and god(dess) of dreams well what about a Cybertronian ‘god’ who does both? Imagine a god that enters bots dreams and tells them all the bonds they’re going to make over their lifetime. (conjunx endura, emica endura, partner bonds, offspring bonds, etc). Sadly, 99.9% of bots never remember their dream in which this god visits them. The .1% chance that do recall waste their lives trying to chase down these SPECIFIC bots that they were shown, so in a way, it’s probably for the best most don’t remember. A very few 5-10% percent will get a vague sense of deja vu when meeting certain bots in their life that was shown to them in this dream, but they tend to think they just  crossed paths before. I got some srs shits n giggles imagining Blackout, during the height of his career in the Pits of Kaon, being visited by this god. And he’s like whoa what the heck why are you showing me this stuff? What is that? Is that a bug? I’m confused. What? Why are you showing me these things? Then he sees Novastrike. “No. No no no no no.” he says. The god is confused. “Something wrong? Not what you expected?” And Blackout’s like ya damn right who??? would want this?? vague gesture @ self. I’m not gonna settle ur crazy. Single Mech Life (TM). Also wow that femme is gorgeous af she must have some low standards. Like do you see her??? Damn. That is a fine lookin’ femme. Is she a goddess????? priMUS wow. For kicks, imagining Nova eventually being visited by this god and when she sees Blackout she’s like “he’s terrifying.” and then pauses and is like “but he’s handsome wow.” and then being nervous cuz he doesn’t look like the gentle type but wooOWWW look at that mech. How?? this gonna work?? When they do meet in the future they both end up with a strange deja vu experience. q;

~

The fever dream au that I ended up loving way too much for my own good~

There was a Goddess. She remains unnamed throughout the story except by her god-children, whom call her Mother. She is the creator; making the world, the humans, and Her children. The children we meet in this au are the Daughter of Fire (unnamed), the Daughter of Water (unnamed), the Son of the Underworld (unnamed). As well as a special Daughter of Persuasion.

I’ll cut out the beginning of the story since it’s unnecessary here (Fire and Water’s feud, eventually coming together, Persuasion’s birth during the war, etc). Basically after this continuous bickering between Fire & Water was finished, Mother went to sleep amongst the cosmos, giving humans the opportunity to grow on their own and her lesser-god children the ability to grow on their own.

Now being a very young new goddess, Persuasion (whose name we never get but well- ya’ll will recognize her quickly) starts spending her life persuading humans to do the right thing. They can’t see this goddess among them, save for sometimes glimpses out of the corner of their eyes. She is basically invisible among humans otherwise. She tells people not to cheat on their spouses, advises children not to steal, etc. Basically, she offers good to those who consider doing not-so-good things.

A man becomes absolutely obsessed with this goddess. From the glimpses of long flowing hair he’s seen out of the corner of his eyes, the stories of her grace and beauty, he must have her. So he goes on an adventure, and finds ‘wishing well’ per say. He casts a bounty of riches into this lake, and a humanoid merman of sorts emerges.

“What is your wish?”

“I wish for the Lady of Persuasion (name here) to become mortal,” he smugly demands.

“Your wish has been granted,” the merman echoes in a gurgly voice. “But be warned: your wish is temporary. No amount of magic can destroy a goddessof her true self forever.”

Pleased with himself, the man goes on his next adventure. Now mortal, the goddess has no ability to shield herself from humankind. Within a few days, the man somehow manages to hunt her down.

Taking pity on his sister, the God of the Underworld sends his leading and most trusted demi-god demon out to protect her.

This demonic being looks damn close to human, unless he is using his powers or grows furious. Then he becomes a frightening figure; foul, dark, frightening. Emerging from a portal into the human realm, the demi-god strikes down the human as he tries to steal away with Persuasion, saving her from the greedy human who tried to ensnare her.

Devastated that she was now human and unsure how, if it was even possible, for her to return to normal, Persuasion is reeling. She thanks the demon, who pities this poor youthful goddess. He goes to speak to his Lord, requesting that he stay and help the goddess. Although a bit upset to lose his best officer, the Underworld god agrees to his demi-god’s request.

While the demon is off speaking to his master, Persuasion gets a brief meeting with her Sister’s. Fire and Water temporarily use humanoid guises to greet their mortal sister. They offer her words of kindness; that she is brave and strong and will get through this. Unable to sustain their holoforms long however, they leave Persuasion shortly before the demon returns. She feels a little easier at heart, but still scared and worried.

This starts a grand adventure between the demon and the goddess as they try finding a ‘cure’ to fix her. They speak with human priests and priestess, shaman and monks. They pursue endlessly for months and hints on how to return her to her goddess form. At one point, Persuasion gets sick, and they visit a medicine woman of sorts. She blesses the goddess in the name of the Mother, using however a name the humans use. Persuasion at one point calls her ‘Mother’ in front of his older woman, who seems surprised. No one had referred to the great Goddess as ‘Mother’ in a long time. She seems to realize that this mortal woman is not in fact ‘mortal’ and wishes her luck on her journey when she leaves with the demon.

I could write literally a story based off their journey but the important notes throughout is their growth and understand towards each other. When the demon grows ‘ugly’ per say; his ghoulish form showing, the goddess is no less gentle and soft with him. She never shows fear; is willing to argue with him even like this and hold him. And he sees through her courage to her fear and confusion. Young, naive, willing to trust anyone she meets so easily; he tries his best encourage her to stay open to the world even when it tries to break her but to be cautious and accepting of herself. For although some thought of her as a trickster, she was really just a soft voice of reason, and she was filled with good.

They end up kissing and it’s sweet af and I died ;u; And there’s even a point when the demon is going all angry fueled asshole beast mode at one point and she still kisses him later like that and!! yes I’d kiss a monster too tbh.

Clearly THINGS were developing between them. Edgy protective buttwipe and soft but determined cute stuff.

Strangely enough, what ends up curing the goddess is that she is fatally stabbed by a jealous human man who desires her affections but she refuses to accept his advances because she’s grown feelings for her demon friend. After a swift murder of the human, the demon goes to remove the spear from the goddess only to find light pouring out of her wound. He stays away, admittedly worried the light would destroy him (he is a child of darkness  more or less).

As the wound heals, a white light cleanses over Persuasion and she’s ‘reborn’ back into her goddess self. :3 And instead of the demon going back to his master, he asks for freedom to stay with the goddess he loves. Deeply saddened to see him go, the Underworld God agrees. He has other exceptional warriors, it’s just disappointing to lose his best, but he understands.

Idk it was a cute au. I didn’t realize it was even going off track and becoming an otp au until we got the demon boi in on this and I was like “oh my god”. The amount of love and affection that peppers throughout this was hecka cute tho hng I’d put it all down but my will to type it all out is zero.

[glopratchet]

simo-beeing

Yeh, those were the days You miss it? Perks up at hearing your thoughts a slight bit I'd hate to die being remembered as some joke rather than a badass while I was alive I did at one point in time but always thought that would be a cowardly way out "Hey Kit, You OK?" Observer asks as you jump slightly since you weren't paying attention Sides YOU'RE a joke now too! Shut it! You think briefly at the voice before continuing out loud "Ah, sorry, I was lost in thought there for a moment Just thinking through all this you know?" He nods and understands completely while the other two continue to give you dirty looks They are definitely aware of what happened to their predecessors from your assassins and don't like you at all by now It's going to be sweet when they're dead too is not in the best of moods having to wait around for his father to make up his mind on what he wants to eat Just as you're about to ask him if he wants anything, the screen door opens up behind you and a small pack of teenagers enter Instinctively you turn slightly towards them while keeping half an eye on the pot and prepare to cut down the first person who enters your zone on credit, however he only gives it out to his friends If people don't pay him back he'll hurt them Either way is a lose-lose situation for you This isn't good he's recognized you as being one of the new couriers and is now getting the others to stop looking at the menu's and watching you He begins accusing you of taking a long time to choose what you want to eat and not ordering anything at all As a test directly tansformed into an alligator and had his species changed to reflect this, It zoologically possible for people to do this Too bad it tastes like absolute excrement But considering the other options are slugs and slimy things pulled out of the river you'll take your chances with the gators alligator meat, intestine lining, and skin cream Grease monsters! You've heard rumors about this type of creature before and some of the disgusting things people have said about them are true as the smell would imply "Hey so uh, I'll just have the special and um do you have anything to eat? Like fruit or " He starts to order for you while talking slowly in that patronizing fashion some adults tend to have look like a collection of poorly crafted yellow pearls that are primarily made out of tooth majorly from predators living in the swamps Legend states it is partially made from the fossilized jaw of a long extinct reptilian sea monster Meant to give children nightmares for generations You make a note to request a low dosage since most people don't like how slow and painful these kinds of chems are made from the ribs of an enormous extinct swamp creature called a skute It was a large lizard that could survive on land or in water and hunted in swarms, apparently they were very hard to kill back in the old days Blueish-gray is the primarily color along with some greenish parts Neck top from a bog beast, it is a creature unlike anything you've ever seen in your life though according to sales this is cooler factor that attracts buyers fairs Katar scale pattern silk headsheht from an exterminated breed of arachnid called a katar It is repelled by UV light so it tries to burrow under the folds of your clothes when exposed to the sun for prolonged periods of time Its hard shell classification is as an exoskeleton unlike normal insects shells which are endoskeletons though in theory it should still provide the same protection to it with the scales Not exactly attractive but people go for things that are good quality, not pretty You come out from inside the warehouse and hear a familiar voice call out your name You look around and see Allison's car pulling up alongside the warehouse Usually It does have some plusses he enjoys You've heard him mention due to the layering effect of the scales and unique membrane structure it is capable of repelling knives and shards of broken glass and the sleve's reach to his mid bicep "Looks good, Red " She smiles before telling the driver to go Thicker than a expected but breathable material clads his legs all the way to his hiking boots A small amount of pants are visible due to the tucked in look and they appear to be made of the same tough material as his jacket "Hello!" "Let's go Oh hold on " Robi says looking back and forth between you and your group a seriouesly miniaturized computer screen directly in front of his eyes "We're heading to a fabric district followed by a stop at the metal district, ocne we arrive you can pick out your desired outfit and then we can get to community business " The ride into town is done with in silence as you all are lost in your own thoughts Even Camid stays silent for once , symplified routing info for the limo's industronics, adjust climate control to 73 degrees Robi watches with mild interest as you fidget around trying to get comfortable in your naked state "What temperature the culture decided on?" He asks looking at one of the many screens that occupy the dashboard "73 degrees " "Ah yes, 22 C was too dry and 0 C to 2 C range was too frosty , smiling eyes, and ears His hands are placed gently on the kneeling shoulders of a full sized humanoid robot Robi modifies his to have long full hair like a classic rocker "Everything looks solid for now I'll have the chem butlers come in here tomorrow before our arrival to spritz you all down with an un-odorous scent We'll diffuse through your skin so in the unlikely scenario where you do ripe, you will smell fine as their treament plant for their disease is more important to them "Where are we going first?" Camid asks "The fabric district " He replies You spend about three hours weaving in and out of jumbled warehouses sized stores Large bolts of cloth line the walls, neon lights advertising sales and various material aisles You have fun ripping out tags and randomly grabbing textiles With Allison in the party you opt for a heavy blue, thick fabric with lighter blue dominant on the weft, with leafy designs woven into it dye, resembling that of Irish tatting patterns "The metal district, if you would " Robi says to his driver Behind it stands two equally sized intimidating Ork men Crowded stalls selling mechanical equipment and valuables covering the floor with no regard for personal property Laser turrets set on 5ft tall golden tripod platforms with endless ammunition ring the entire room Robi's limo comes to a halt by a large counter in the center of the building "Hello!! Brandolf's right?" You spend what feels like an entire planet circumference worth of time bargaining and arguing You finally agree on 8 bars of pure gold, a bag of some sort of strange parasites used for medication, and a belt made of neon green and yellow snake hides You exchange pleasantries with the orks as they bid you goodbye The limo door closes and the ride home goes by quickly "Thank you all so much, you've all been so helpful! When we get out of here I'll have my parent's company take you all out for an entire week " You say in joy Your one week comes up faster than you thought and your attendants have some trouble deciding what to wear "I look hideous " Camid says throwing a monstrosity of a coat made up of different animal furs over his formal suit He holds out his arm as if he was some sort of nobleman from medieval times Wouldn't be caught being out of character "Elaborate dotor coats always made you look like toxic waste had fallen on you, if anyone could pull it off it's you Camid " Allison snarkily remarks Still, she used to work as personal assistant to a very svelte Hollywood celebrity Cami has to try really hard to suppress a smirk She knows what form fitting clothes do He loves her, but man she is cold sometimes You stand by the entrance to 2nd street Allison walks down the stairs first with a green and black dress It would look ackward on anyone else, but somehow it fits her personality Daniyel exits right after, wearing knight armor made out of some sort of strong but light metal Camid walks briskly behind her with some sort of roman or greek orthodox robe that looks a bit too dark for his liking You all walk and talk on your way to the party Mostly you, Allison and Camid talk about some of the artist your parents supported that peaked but never truly made it big Daniyel contributes very little despite being 2 years older than you, he just goes on about the things he accomplished in the forge when he was working there 'We're here! You were so busy conversing with your friends that you didn't even notice you had reached your destination Your family mansion which is really more of a castle since your father is very flash appears before you This late at night the gates are closed and there are guards patrolling about in bright uniforms wearing obnoxious feather hats You walk up to the nearest one "We're here for the party, we're all invited " The guards read your names off a list and immediately open the gate "The Duke will see you soon" one says You take a good look at the mansion as the five of you walk down the long pathway from the gate to front door sculptures appear every few yards all of them only limited by the artist's imagination When you reach the steps leading up to the mansion's entryway, a very thick and tailed orange and black coatd wraps you up in his arms You didn't even notice Harvey behind you "Has anyone ever told you that you're an ugly crier?" Harvey asks while messing with your hair as if you were still six Behind him Brandolf approaches at a much more calmer pace "You son, this is the rest of you retinue They stare at the four of you You didn't know you had a retinue, these people were all supposed to be contracted to your family and work inside the mansion "This is Allison, she works in the stables " Harvey immediately starts Allison motions as if to shake their hands but instead throws her arms around them They look a bit confused but return the hugs "She takes care of all the horses except Nightfire The rest of the contractuals are introduced much in the same way, as their jobs dictate 'You're here just in time, a surprise birthday party just started Your parents come out from the large entrance with your other siblings following close behind You all embrace and head inside The interior of the mansion was luxurious and comfortable, if a bit large for a family of six to live in, let alone when guests come over You head through the main halls up to your old bedroom where the rest of the family is waiting The first thing you notice is that Naleen's eyes are open, they dart quickly from one place to another

[bensoloredemptiontrain]

The Rise of Skywalker Teaser Trailer & Defense of Bendemption / Reylo

I was emailing with a friend and fellow Reylo, and she was concerned that Reylo might not happen and Ben might not be redeemed, based on the new trailer.  I wrote a lengthy response, and am posting a slightly edited version here:

~

These are my thoughts, in outline format:

The title, "The Rise of Skywalker" - does this mean Rey is related to Luke, and therefore to Kylo?

There are various possible other meanings.  It could mean that Rey is a symbolic Skywalker.  It could mean that Ben carries on the Skywalker legacy.  It could mean that the "Skywalker" rises in Ben, that he returns to the light and carries on Luke's legacy.  It could mean that Rey and Ben get together and carry on the Skywalker legacy together by teaching a new generation and making Skywalker babies.  It could mean that Luke's influence increases after his death.

There is no way Rey is a Skywalker by blood.  They've said that she's never seen Han or Leia or Luke or Kylo in person before The Force Awakens (TFA).   That rules out her being Leia's kid.  They could still theoretically have her be Luke or Han's kid (with an "unknown" mother), but remember this is Disney we're talking about.  Sexual purity and sex only in the context of marriage is a big thing.  This is a movie marketed for twelve-year-olds, and sex outside of marriage is NOT a kid-friendly topic.  I can't imagine Disney going that route.  Also, you think people were upset because The Last Jedi (TLJ) wasn't what people expected?   Imagine the backlash if they make it canon that Han cheated on Leia.   No.  Just... no.

They're not going to go the incest route again, or else they risk being labeled as the franchise that promotes romantic attraction between relatives.  (Again.  This is Disney.)  The attraction between Luke and Leia was mostly an accident; George Lucas did not plan on having them be related when he wrote IV; then during V he wasn't sure if Harrison Ford would sign for another movie (so Leia needed to have another option besides Han), so he kept the Luke/Leia option open until VI, when he could go full steam ahead with Han/Leia.   The overall arc of this series (VII-IX) was planned beforehand; you'd think that if Rian wrote the "smut hut" scene and they were related, someone would have gone, "NO NO NO NO NO, THEY'RE RELATED YOU CAN'T DO THAT."

Many Star Wars movie titles really only make sense after the movie, in the context of the movie.

Regarding the title, Kathleen Kennedy said, "It could mean a lot of different things. And I think that’s what was important to us. We didn’t want to have a title that felt like it was telling you the story."  i.e. the interpretation is not meant to be obvious, and the title is not meant to imply that Rey is related to Luke.

Is there still hope for Reylo?  The teaser looks like JJ might be pandering to the antis/fanboys.

YOU BET THERE'S STILL HOPE FOR REYLO!

The trailer needs to bring the fandom back together.  TLJ was really divisive.  If they make a Reylo teaser trailer, the antis won't even think about watching the movie.  They've had the whole basic story arc planned out even before TFA was released, and I believe JJ started writing The Rise of Skywalker (TROS) before TLJ came out.  They are NOT going to change the whole direction of the series because a few people are stupid and loud.  But they likely WILL make a trailer that appeals to everyone, so everyone will want to see the move.

The trailer for Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) focuses on Luke, Leia, and Han, so it makes sense (from a "throwback" perspective) to make this trailer focus on Rey, Finn, and Poe.

JJ Abrams liked TLJ.

There ABSOLUTELY is a romantic/sexual subplot between Ben and Rey - the bridal carry, "I can take whatever I want," "I can show you the ways of the Force," "you're not alone" / "neither are you," the hand-holding scene, the elevator scene, THE ENTIRE THRONE ROOM SCENE WHICH WAS BASICALLY A SEX SCENE FROM THE MOMENT BEN SUMMONS ANAKIN'S LIGHTSABER AND MAYBE EVEN BEFORE THAT, "please," etc., etc.  Rian says that the two fingers touching is "the closest thing to a sex scene that Star Wars will ever have."  Mark Hamill refers to the "romantic tension" between Rey and Ben (he starts to say "sexual tension" and then stops himself) and adds, "they never let ME touch a finger!"

The principle of "Chekhov's gun" - you only put something in a story if it's relevant.  (The Luke/Leia subplot doesn't count, see discussion above.)  Therefore, from a narrative perspective, the romance between Rey and Ben must be relevant to the story in some way.  It's not imagined or made up by fans.

Rey's story arc - the thing Rey wants most is belonging and a family.  Doesn't she deserve to get this?  Therefore for her to get HER happy ending, she needs to have a family.  The Resistance is a symbolic family, but I'm talking about more than that.  You could pair her with Poe or Finn, but that doesn't work as well.  Poe doesn't have the emotional depth that Rey does, and Finn has Rose.  I have a theory that one of the main reasons Rose was introduced was so that Finn would have somebody to love, because he's not getting Rey.  What would happen to Rose if Finn and Rey got together?  (We're sure Poe will be fine if he doesn't get Rey, the guy has chemistry with anything that stands still long enough.)

Again, heroine's journey.  Cue Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, etc.  The heroine of the "heroine's journey" story line ALWAYS falls in love and lives happily ever after (after her lover nearly dies).  The heroine ALWAYS falls in love with someone that is different from her in some way and who helps her grow as a person.  You CANNOT say this about Finn or Poe; you can ONLY say it about Kylo.

JJ was the one who STARTED Reylo.  TFA looks so much like a fairy tale, it's not even funny.  Rey's dressed in white, Ben looks like a dark prince (and his lightsaber looks like a knight's sword), their first and last meetings in the movie take place in FORESTS, the scene where Rey runs out of Maz's castle looks like the scene where Cinderella runs out of the king's castle, the scene where Ben says "I can show you the ways of the Force" sounds like the scene where Aladdin sings to Jasmine "I can show you the world," and the whole idea of a beautiful girl meeting a guy who seems and looks inhuman at first sounds an awful lot like Beauty and the Beast.  JJ's not stupid.  He knows how this comes across; he knew EXACTLY what he was doing.  Also, who carries someone bridal-style across a battlefield?!   That's literally the most romantic but also dumbest way to carry someone - he can't reach his lightsaber!  (Contrast this with when he captured Poe, he just had the stormtroopers drag him onto the ship.)

Kylo is repairing his mask, is fighting together with stormtroopers, and may be the one who attacks her in the beginning.  /  Is this a waste of Adam Driver's talent?

Take a good look at the hands repairing the mask.  They do NOT look like Kylo's hands.  They look kind of furry or hairy, so either this is a humanoid alien, or it's a human wearing some really hairy coat.  Also, look at the bracelets on the wrists.  I am almost 100% positive that this isn't Adam Driver.

He's fighting with stormtroopers.   Yes, it appears that way.  This could either take place before his redemption, OR there is a theory that either Hux will try to overthrow Kylo and the First Order will split into factions (so this could be Kylo's men against Hux's) OR there is another theory that Finn will help the stormtroopers rebel (so this could be Kylo on the light side leading the stormtroopers who are in rebellion).

When he strikes down the guy in the forest, his fighting style looks more sexy and assured, as opposed to the vicious and unstable fighting style that we've come to expect from TFA and TLJ, which might imply that his "soul" is healing.

Adam Driver knew where this was going from the beginning.  They told him his character's whole arc before he signed, because he didn't just want to play the token bad guy.  He wanted to play someone with emotional depth and challenges, so we can expect to see that continued in TROS.  When Adam is asked about Kylo's story arc, he ALWAYS gets this little secret smile on his face, even though he's trying to keep his face neutral.   It's adorable.  When he was asked what he liked best about his character's story arc in TROS, Adam said that he couldn't say, but that "we're working toward something in particular with that character" (and he followed this with another one of those secret, adorable smiles).

NO ONE INVOLVED WITH STAR WARS CALLS KYLO THE VILLAIN.  NO ONE.  Contrast this with Vader (who was redeemed) who was blatantly called the villain in the teaser trailer for ROTJ.  And, the teaser trailer for ROTJ had NO hint whatsoever that Vader was redeemable.  No one guessed it.  There weren't really hints elsewhere in A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back that Vader was redeemable, either.  (Contrast this with Ben.)

Maybe Kylo is the one who attacks her in the beginning.  Sure, maybe.  It looks like his gloves (although you don't see his face, so it might not be him).  But if this is a fight between them, it could easily be at the beginning of the movie, before he gets redeemed and before they fall in love.  Also, what if the trailer makes it look like he's attacking her, but really this takes place after he's redeemed and she's jumping into the cockpit to JOIN him?  We don't know.

She's not being shot at.  She's being chased, but we don't see her being shot at, which is interesting.  You could make the argument that maybe the guns on the TIE Silencer have jammed, but that doesn't seem likely, given that the ship looks pretty sleek and new and intact.

You don't make a legitimate villain this sexy.  You just don't.  (JJ has even gone on record saying that Ben looks like a "dark prince" when he removes his helmet during TFA.)

Rey seems to hang around just with Finn, Poe, etc. / Kylo does not seem to play a major part in all this.

Kylo has NEVER played a big role in the TEASER trailers... they've always focused mainly on Rey (and Finn and Poe).  In TFA teaser, we just see him from the back igniting his lightsaber in the forest.  In TLJ teaser, we just see a close-up shot of Kylo holding his lightsaber.  Kylo has NEVER had more than a brief cameo in a teaser trailer, but he's always had a bigger part in the regular trailer.  Actually, his role in this teaser trailer is bigger than in the other teaser trailers!

They could intentionally be cutting down his screen time in the trailers if he doesn't really have any "villain" scenes in the movie, to keep that a surprise for when people actually see the movie.

Trailers are great at leaving out important details.  The teaser trailer for TFA leaves out the fact that Rey has the Force.  The teaser trailer for TLJ trailer leaves out the Force bond between Rey and Ben.  (etc.)

Trailers are great at being misleading.  The regular trailer for TFA trailer implies that Luke would actually have a role in the movie.  The regular trailer for TLJ implies that Rey was talking to Ben when she says, "I need someone to show me my place in all of this."

Also, check out this picture of Ben in TROS!  That look on his face totally screams tall-dark-and-broody-guy-redeemed-from-the-dark-and-reuniting-with-his-true-love ;)  I don't think I've ever actually seen him look this at peace.

AND check out Daisy's reaction when asked about Rey and Kylo this weekend - the secret smile / trying-not-to-smile expression and the "we'll have to wait and see."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0diw4fAisQ (3:30-4:00)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5E6EbcAMRE (0:00-0:10)