Tumgik
#strange incidents and a human
Text
Aboard an alien ship, a captive Human sits in the cell with the captain of the aliens interrogating them. Not long after, the Human gets antsy. The captain demands why.
"Why do I hear boss music?" The Human asked.
The aliens didn't understand what they meant by that, so they smacked the Human before scoffing and turning around, only to come face to face with another Human armed with a cadaver and a hunting knife.
"Why'd you bring a knife to a gun fight?" The captive Human was mildly miffed.
Though that didn't matter, the other Human dominated the captain and forced him to return them to their colony.
3K notes · View notes
Strange Incidents and a Human [Chapter 25]
Good evening from my end, here to upload more of my stories while I continue to seek alternative ways to prewrite this series. I've explained most of this back in Chapter 23. Enjoy!
Winnie the Human had never felt more taxed in keeping "his" unusual strength a secret. "He" had been keeping it a secret for years, even to the point where their boyfriend didn't know where they had gotten the boxer-level strength. Winnie the Human didn't want to think about where they had gotten it. It was a horrifying memory, and they wondered if it was ever real, it having happened when they were barely in college when they nearly tossed their former teen brother Paul from the rooftops. They could never forget how incredibly light their younger brother was in that moment, when "he" finally snapped back into reality.
Their parents were concerned, and the only one who truly knew where they had gotten the sudden strength was their Aunt Sally. Though she looked like she knew, she so badly wanted to tell them, but it was for all safety reasons that they wish they knew more about.
For the time being, however, all they could say was that they had lived an extreme Northerner life that "he" didn't notice how strong "he" was until they were in civilization for "his" paratrooper training. What "he" couldn't explain, however, was how bulky "he" was in comparison to "his" early college days.
Winnie the Human couldn't wait to retire or see what did render them unable to work. They just couldn't handle the taxing dysphoria and homophobia any longer. "He" was glad to have helped save so many people while someone else was taking all the glory, as glory wasn't what they were looking for.
"His" job was even more important after the devastating explosion that had happened in California that had felt like yesterday to them. They were glad that their boyfriend had barely gotten out, swerving into a car crash from the ripples that had followed the devastating blow. Winnie paused mid-rep in "his" pull-up. "He" remained in the lost state as "he" was scared of what would have happened if the car crash was deadly or had he been in the explosion.
They trembled as they let out an audible sob that had been hiding in the back of their throat for years, finally dropping as they curled up with their head in their hands, attempting to hold in the tears but it fell through their fingers. "He" breathed heavily as "he" tried wiping away the tears and recollecting "himself" to get back into "his" free time training, but the tears refused to stop. How glad "he" was to be alone in the gym. "He" picked up "his" gear and stormed out of the gym in a flurry as "he" ignored "his" colleagues as "he" made "his" way to their room.
Edwin slammed the door as soon as someone was about to ask how he was holding up, though ignored it. The mess that was the presumed man stared into the mirror after sloshing cold water on their face. They just stared, both the "man" and Winnie. Getting discharged honorably or otherwise was within reach, though they couldn't believe how much time they had wasted just because of their suspicious super strength. They should have left as soon as possible the moment he suspiciously healed better than good after his femur had broken. They should have just left.
But they didn't. Ever since Vancouver, they had been set ablaze to help bring support to the survivors. They stood up from leaning on the sink counter, recalling the opportunity to go into space the other day. He had deeply considered it, but dismissed it before he had learned that his family was suddenly off world. He wondered why. They had no answer for it despite being the stranger thing than the assumed man.
Winnie stared back at Edwin in the mirror, scowling finally as they made their decision to quit and figure out how to contact their Aunt Sally for a place to stay. Where they were going to find her, they didn't know. They had heard that their homes burned down, as well as Aunt Sally's party business.
It was suspicious, but they knew better than to assume they were all dead. They knew well of Sally's history, but not as much. They used the fires as a cover to move out without a word. All the valuables were taken, so they knew that their own valuables he left with their parents would have been taken. He stared back at Winnie in the mirror, then decided to track down whomever worked with and knew his twin siblings.
He had to get the information before he left and quit, however. Because as far as he knew, he didn't know jack about how to obtain information aside from the technology he worked with. Of course he would rebuild the materials, but that would be illegal and suspicious. A person rebuilding a tracking system after quitting his day job in the paratrooper business? Yeah, that wasn't going to fly too well even if he was figuring out how to get them off-world.
Winnie widened his eyes, forgetting that the story of his Aunt Sally being in space despite little to no space shuttle training didn't make sense to him. And that they were in space in his youth! Winnie and Edwin couldn't help but to laugh together, having finally decided to admit what had happened to them that whatever warranted him suddenly gained superior strength. He shook his head as he stared back into the mirror at Winnie. Things finally started to add up for him. What he was going to do with it, however, they didn't know.
Either way, he prepared what was needed after a good shower. They also had to find their boyfriend afterwards to check in on him. It was about time to invest their life in something other than saving people in his line of work. He waved to Winnie in the mirror as he started packing their things to prepare to leave and quit.
Sally
"Alright, everyone!" Sally claps her hands to get their attention. "Try not to destroy my space station while Director Try'fad and I bring Meekoo to her home world, Gao!"
The family acknowledged her concern, before going back to what they were doing with the crew who were off the clock. They've heard rumors that Gao had a Human with them, so it won't be much of a concern for a disguised Sally to be walking with a Gaoian. How they were going to communicate with the Gaoians, they didn't know, since their data systems were still out of date and were still in the process of retrieving updated information.
"Mama Sally, how am I going to talk to the people who are supposed to be my people?" Meekoo scratched her head in concern, shaking in fear of what her acting Mamas would be accused of.
"I don't know, we're hoping that we have a translator so we don't have to implant the last minute to talk to them." Sally gently hugged her, which probably felt like a tight hug, in assurance. "We just have to hope that you still remember some remnants of your home language so you can tell them you didn't learn more of your language."
"I also look like what my first Mama looked like…" Meekoo's ears pushed far back, wondering of the implications of her fur patterns. "What are they going to think? Am I supposed to be a Mama?"
Sally didn't know the answer as much as she did. They did get information at the last minute and were going to meet one of the associates, as their leader was busy managing other things.
"What is expected of me?" Meekoo continued, "Is the system anything like Human systems?"
Sally just stared a moment longer at the Gaoian she had helped raise. She still didn't have the answers.
Sally looked to where her husband was coming from, wondering where he was as she expected him to follow to explore the stars with her. She also wondered where Amandaline was, as this was her chance to visit Meekoo's home world.
"Hold those questions for your home world." Sally mended, looking back to the Gaoian. "As much as I know, I don't know much."
"Alright." Meekoo snorted out in dismay.
Amandaline could be heard dragging the lankier man as she was excited to visit her best friend's home world, the taller man barely fixing his tie as it was held in one hand mid-twist before he could actually tie it. The Human child excitedly bounced in place as she waited with Meekoo while the older man fixed his tie with the shake of his head and slight laughter. He faces Sally afterwards, wondering what they're going to do.
"My sweet, we are going to wear these nifty cloaks that hide our faces completely." Sally briefly explained. "Meekoo and our pilot will be the only ones without their faces hidden. Also considering how small Amandaline is, I think they're going to think she's a Corti."
"Do you think they will know we are Humans?" Slink asked as he took the cloak given to him.
"It will take them a while." Sally nodded, slipping her cloak on in demonstration. "Here's how you turn it on."
Meanwhile, Amandaline already knew how to put on the cloak, so she and Meekoo went aboard the ship to meet the pilot escorting them. She was one of the Corti crew, but she was more reserved than her counterparts. They tried striking up conversation with her, but the pilot barely budged, even if they could tell she was interested in the pair and what they intend to do if they get around the adventuring age, and how they would fare among the stars.
"I appreciate your company, but I need to make sure my ship is ready to run." The Corti pilot bowed in respect, going back to running diagnostics before they departed. "Feel free to observe, it could be a good lesson on overseeing how spaceships are prepared for assurance."
Meekoo already knew how to pilot, her gaze observing an excited Amandaline as she watched and read the controls while the pilot simply explained in a comprehensive manner, being patient with the child.
"Like Flight Simulator but for the mobile phone!" Amandaline glimmered excitedly. She picked up the controls faster than they had both assumed.
They didn't know what Flight Simulator in her context as of yet, but they assumed it was fun but with a terrible title in her perspective.
"Yes, I think, except you actually die if the flight isn't perfect." The pilot puts on a smile, "These ships don't take very kindly to any impact outside of regular flight patterns."
"Oh, I know." Amandaline shrugs. "That's what makes it more fun!"
"You take so much after Corporal Sally." The pilot smiled tightly, unsure of what else to say about her.
"That's why she's my great Aunt." Amandaline flipped the control that didn't do anything while the ship was off, idling as she waited for Sally and Slink to board. "How soon does she need to head out?"
"The Corporal doesn't take this long." The pilot stared out the window with a concerned look. "Must be the good Director. In comparison to you Humanoids, the rest of us don't walk very fast. A jog to you is a sprint to us."
"Want me to see how Try'fad is doing?" Amandaline put the switch back into its original place before she started playing with it.
"To see if you Humanoids are too fast, if you please." The pilot nodded.
Amandaline eagerly dashed out of the room, confirming what the pilot had mentioned about them before. The pilot and Meekoo flinched from the apparent sudden speed Amandaline seemed to have hidden moments prior. They expected it, for certain, but it would never fail to surprise them, coughing slightly from the sudden shift in the air currents being disrupted, before it quickly stabilized.
"Meekoo, you have made one of the greatest friends." The pilot laughed.
"So did you." Meekoo chittered in delight. "You're an amazing pilot, imagine how Amandaline will be in your place when you need to rest."
"You believe so?" She perked up, "But you are going to be the next best pilot."
"Yeah, but Amandaline has the fastest reaction time I've ever seen. Even in your simulation play while teaching her how to activate this ship." Meekoo tilted her head. "Amandaline is the best candidate."
"Meekoo, we need as many pilot's as we can." She softly smiled, endearing. "You know that. Who knows, you might be separated from us on your own. Or other species might need a great pilot to assess the situation. I know it's very daunting, but it never hurts to be prepared. That is why we have flight classes for everyone in their free time."
Meekoo thought about it after a moment, before smiling again, which was what the pilot was looking for.
"Thank you, Godmother." Meekoo swayed in content. "Does this mean I finally get to know your real name?"
"Another time, Meekoo." The pilot laughed. "Calling me Godmother is good enough."
The pilot wondered why the Gaoian had taken such an extensive liking to an old woman like her. The pilot wondered if it was due to the lack of connection to the Gaoian's culture? She didn't know as of yet, going back to make one last look over the controls before a sprinting Vzk'tk director and a sudden following Rrrrtktktkp'ch boarded. She was taken aback, perking up as she ran her hands over her ears to calm her nerves. She watched them pass by her door, followed by the laughing only-son of Try'fad, and his friend, Amandaline. She wondered what in the void the young Human did to warrant such a terrifying event by small species standards. She didn't have time to ask as soon as Sally and Slink boarded, and prepared for takeoff.
"Amandaline!" Meekoo chittered slightly, wondering why her Rrrrtktktkp'ch godfather was following. "What is going on?"
The pilot listened intently, her ear perking up slightly as she wanted to know why a Rrrrtktktkp'ch was following all of the sudden.
"I made the scary sound that both older Vizk-teks and Rick-a-tchick-chicks hate." Amandaline shrugged. "I didn't know he was with her."
"And what sound would that be?" Meekoo wondered, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.
The pilot gave her full attention to them as the ship was in autopilot after cloaking. She still wanted to know why there was suddenly a full crew when she expected just the Humans, Meekoo, and Director Try'fad and her son.
"The sound of a Hunter!" The Rrrrtktktkp'ch who was known to have a sudden interest in Director Try'fad interjected before Amandaline could explain.
"I thought Hunters don't make many sounds?" Meekoo asked, confused.
"I made the sound of a Lynx, a dangerously cute feline species on my planet." Amandaline swayed slightly, subtly proud of her imitation. "Director Try'fad and he were taking too long for their departure, so I decided to scare them. I didn't know he was going to run with her."
"Well, at least the Rrrrtktktkp'ch I never knew the name of could finally break the unrequited love streak." The pilot added to the conversation. "I've always been listening to how much he had admired Director Try'fad from afar."
"You-you were actually paying attention?" The Rrrrtktktkp'ch stiffened, the fur on his neck and back visibly standing on end.
Try'fad gave her equivalent to a smile to the admirer she had always known, then whinnied in laughter at his reaction. It was about time, after all. She assured him that she loved him just as much if not more by gently nudging him to not worry.
"You two seem to have everything covered from here." The pilot nodded. "Now, to make sure everyone knows, what is the plan when we reach Gao?"
"I get in my cloak!" Amandaline flapped the loose ends of the cloak she was wearing, twirling proudly. "Great Aunt Sally had been teaching me to speak Cortian!"
"Good." The pilot looks to Meekoo, "And you?"
"How will I talk to my people?" Meekoo was clearly worried, forgetting that she knows a few words to tell them that she doesn't understand her own people. "I just know they're going to be offended that I don't naturally know my own language."
"We can figure that out." Sally smiled softly. "Though before we reach your planet, we have to meet with Ruffell, he still knows a handful of Gao since he was old enough to remember to speak it. He's in a location where it seems very desolate, I think we have friends where he is. I didn't bring this up because I know you'd be in a slump if you asked again. Ruffell is also a lost child as much as you are, after all."
"We're going to find Ruffell!" Meekoo perked up, excited to see him again. "How soon?"
"In just about a day, it isn't that far away from the station you grew up in." Sally beamed.
"Now that we all know our roles, I assume we can move on." The pilot went to her quarters. "The ship is on autopilot, Corporal Sally, Meekoo, and Amandaline know how to fly if need be. I must take my rest."
"Goodnight!" Amandaline bounced as she studied the controls again, testing herself in memory while Meekoo and Sally observed.
Due to the fact that they've been taking many precautions, they had smooth flying in their positions. Amandaline took a nap after testing her memory with the controls in the meantime, while Meekoo and Sally were accompanying the others. A few small alerts only ever popped up when there was a cargo or pirate ship nearby, but otherwise nothing came of them.
The only other thing that they needed was to hail for Ruffell, and his acquaintances, so that they could pick him up with his ship. Sally knew her parents were on board, and that Kotake and Edward were with them. It didn't take long to find them with the short pings, as the Corti pilot was more than an expert at locating them, which made Dr. Carizen very suspicious of the pilot, if she knew of his ship long before.
The reunion wasn't anything they had expected of the Humanoids, Amandaline having made a full dart towards Kotake upon first glance. She became reclusive after setting her sights on her great grandfathers, however, hiding her face in the crook of Kotake's neck as expected of a child who didn't know her great grandfathers were still alive, having been told that they usually passed by the time they reached their age. She didn't know how to act after the Human fact.
"Ah, after knowing about Human things for so long, she doesn't understand our non-human origins." Patya placed a hand on a dejected Anton, whose open arms faltered from not having met the younger grandchildren. "She is old enough to know, however. Why wasn't she told, I will never know."
"Well, there was the fact that we thought you three died." Kotake shrugged as she held onto Amandaline, who was listening to the conversation closely. "And we thought your apparent immortality was never real."
"I thought it was some stab at Christianity." Zeke looked up, jealous that Amandaline got to hug Kotake first.
Sally gave the eye to Zeke as she didn't know the tiny boy followed, mad that he could have gotten hurt in some way. Zeke ignored her and talked to his Aunt Kotake.
"Now where'd you learn that?" Kotake fought back a smile.
"My atheist teacher always tells us that education and religion should stay separate." Zeke shrugged. "And anything Christians say should be met with no reaction since a reaction is what they want."
"Zeke, you're only– what, eight?"
"Five."
"Blessed be the void, since when did they teach anything but the basics in Kindergarten?" Kotake set Amandaline down after a moment of disbelief. "Anyway– yes, religion should definitely stay separate from education. Then you can decide whether or not you should hold on to it when you're learning more."
"Seems to me that the Corti genetics are getting active sooner." Patya noted with Dr. Carizen.
"We do learn plenty more by that age." Dr. Carizen nodded.
"How much do Humans usually learn?" Meekoo asked in a whisper to her Mama Sally.
"Not a lot, your younger brothers were the same as Amandaline and Zeke when they were growing up." Sally whispered back and shrugged. "We had to act dumb to make the other young Humans happy."
"Now, I know you missed me very much, but I have your dad to find." Kotake gently pushed the two not very eager kids to Anton. "I'm very close to finding him. And if you want him back sooner, you're going to have to wait with your great grandfathers!"
"Where is dad, anyway?" Amandaline hesitated to take Anton's hand, looking to her aunt as she asked.
"He was taken by pirates in the midst of a business deal." Kotake sighed, partly in relief that Amandaline didn't run away. "Now, I think I might know where he is, but… it's just a theory, the person who picked up an illegal item spoke through their pilot. And if this person was him, then he had a very important job to do. I don't know if he has an explosive collar or whatever, because he didn't show himself– but that pilot was very lenient…"
"All things to consider while you go on and find him." Anton gently pats her shoulder. "The first lead is to find the ship that had docked here first when you were active."
"Thanks, Grampop." Kotake grabbed his hand to put it on the side of her head. She noticed she did that a lot more often, even more than when she was visiting her own parents.
Neither of them complained about Kotake's gesture, which did help Amandaline and Zeke to trust Anton. Their calm was interrupted as both Edward and Mr. Arkwright made their presence known to follow Kotake on their quest to find Paul.
"Who are they?" Zeke asked, standing in front of Amandaline, as she tried to get him behind her.
"That's just your Uncle Eddie." Kotake cleared her throat a moment and took a step back as she laid her eyes on a curious Arkwright, who had a subtle blush. "And we have a new friend, his name is Mr. Arkwright. Do you kids remember how to respect a stranger when they're not going to do anything bad?"
"Hello Mr. Arkwright." Amandaline giggled, taking immediate notice as Kotake and him stared at each other for a moment too long.
"Hello, Mr. Arkwright." Zeke echoed as he was nonverbally informed to stand down, nudging Amandaline as a child would when annoyed of being constantly pat on the shoulder.
"Children." Mr. Arkwright couldn't help but to smile, bowing slightly in greeting.
"There isn't much to do up here except to draw or play with the ugly color cubes they have here." Edward informed them.
"Do you know Mr. Ar-eck-right?" Meekoo whispered to Sally.
"No, I've never even seen him around in space, and usually a Human that is bulky is hard to miss in the high traffic areas." Sally whispered back, then giving Kotake a smug smile as she immediately knew that they liked him.
"Well, we better get to tracking those pirates." Kotake snapped from her thoughts and gave Sally a playful glare, turning to Amandaline and Zeke and hugging them. "We won't be long. Two weeks, at most. I'm sorry to not be here when I haven't seen either of you in a long time."
"It's okay." Amandaline gave a pretty smile, "It's rare that you give people that stare, after all."
Kotake went beet red, "Now where did you learn to tease me with that?"
"It's not that hard to notice." Amandaline giggled.
"You're only ten–"
"Twelve." Amandaline corrected.
"Eleven." Zeke gave a strange look to Amandaline.
"Zeke is six, and you're three years older than he is." Kotake mended, thinking about it for a moment. "It's not good to lie about your age."
"I know, but I only do it for fun events, not anything else." Amandaline beamed.
Kotake gave a critical eye, before breaking into a smile. Not that far off from what she and Paul used to do growing up. She gave Amandaline a gentle pat on her head before she had to leave with Mr. Arkwright and Edward.
"Alright, you two." Kotake stood tall, "Like I said before, if you want to see your dad sooner, I better get back to tracking him down."
"We'll be okay." Amandaline puts on a smile.
Kotake nodded, smiling as she made her way to her partners in travel. They had a lead to follow, making their way to the lent ship from Tanon, or Anton as they knew, and prepared to depart.
It was yet another small family reunion as Ruffell returned to the main docking bay, finally hugging his sister in what felt like eternity. He hugged Sally as hard as he could, testing his strength before he was picked up by a slightly excited Sally. She was glad Ruffell was safe.
"Mama Sally!" Ruffell chittered in laughter, trying not to let his claws out instinctively as he was aware that it was play. "Claws! Claws! I'm glad to see you, too!"
"I just can't believe you grew up so fast!" Sally giggled, setting Ruffell down. "How are you?"
"Still alive!" Ruffell says proudly, "And I just got done upgrading my ship! And I just got started on trying to learn Locayl language with Sergeant Rook!"
"Wow!" Sally jumped in place excitedly, "You really are learning fast! How far along are you?"
"Good even, Mother Sally, how is Directory Try'fad? You leave stationary at in bubbles?" Ruffell says carefully, but as he was on par with a child, some words were said incorrectly. "Ah, some words might not be the words I was asking. I'm still learning!"
"And such impressive progress." Rook says proudly after smacking another Locayl, who was about to sneer at the Gaoian, before facing them. "We can pick up practice tomorrow. I can also compile multiple tests with Captain Nokam for when you are not here. Keep up the good work."
"Thank you absolutely a lot!" Ruffell says proudly, which didn't translate as he intended. It was a long stretch before the translators could have him speak Locayl language properly.
Meekoo stared at her brother in a natural competitive nature, jaw dropping as she wanted to start learning as well. Her ears perked up when she glanced at Rook.
"Can I learn your language, too?" Meekoo asked Rook. "My name is Meekoo!"
"Why, certainly." Rook felt happy to continue teaching, "I can compile your learning formats, as it seems you won't be staying here for long."
"Mama Sally, how soon do we leave for Gao?" Meekoo looked at Sally, wondering.
"We have a while before we depart, which should be enough time for you to receive your basics from him." Sally thought about it.
Anton was definitely going to tag along with Sally and her crew, but they were hardly ready to depart as they were trying to coax Marc into a different shirt, at least one that didn't smell of body odor, after his cleanup. It was still a work in progress to get Marc functional enough again.
22 notes · View notes
mossthebandit · 1 year
Text
At my college every Thursday is pasta day. Approximately half of the student body eats at the pasta station on Thursday. I'm pretty sure if pasta day was canceled, half the student body would go feral. We don't need that incident happening again.
4 notes · View notes
005mins · 10 months
Text
Tumblr media
/ sometimes I think about how d.aybit went through an eternity of 0.2 seconds in the blink of an eye; an incident that as soon as it occurred, it automatically made all records and background of him and his father to completely vanish from the world and from people’s memories; making it appear as if neither he nor his father have ever existed at all. All that was left were two shadows burned into the ground, his and his father’s; the only indication that ‘someone’ must have once stood in that place. Now who those shadows might belong to? no one would ever know, for the records of both of their existences completely vanished from the world and from people’s memories. Such was the intensity of the event that the shadows remained etched on the ground despite no one being there, and no methods have worked in getting rid of them either, thus making the headmaster of the department that later arrived to the scene to conclude that the shadows would continue to remain there even after the universe has completely cooled down 
A human would die were they to theoretically be disassembled entirely on an atomic level, yet in 0.2 seconds, D.aybit became a gap between time and space that somehow managed to ‘survive’ albeit something has definitely and fundamentally changed him, and I think thats s o metal-
1 note · View note
mariana-oconnor · 1 year
Text
Types of AO3 Summary
Option 1 - The Excerpt:
The quickest, the easiest! Find a section of your fic that contains the main premise of said fic and also showcases your writing. Copy paste that into the summary box. BOOM! Done.
Best used for any fic, unless it's so short the excerpt would be the whole fic.
Option 2 - The No Frills:
Just a description of the fic. No need for drama. No need to complicate matters. Keep it simple, keep it safe.
Example: "A short character exploration of Blorbo's thoughts after Daisy leaves."
Best used for short fics, poems and fics where the style/format is more important than the plot. Or fics that tie directly into a scene/episode from canon or another fanfic.
Option 3 - The Hook:
Draw the reader's interest by giving them a set up with no conclusion. Introduce the main character(s), introduce the status quo, describe an inciting incident, leave a question in the reader's mind.
Example: "Blorbo is a barista at a coffee shop, struggling to pay their bills, but after handsome rockstar Obrolb walks into their coffee shop they find that they have to decide whether a chance at love is worth the cost of fame."
Best used for mid to long fic where there's a strong premise and follow through. Especially good for AUs. Can be expanded for more complex plots or used multiple times in one summary for multiple characters or subplots.
Option 4 - The Sitcom One-Liner:
"The one in which [over simplified description of one of the main plotlines]" This is essentially 'boil your plot down to the very simplest statement you can, oversimplify if possible. The more bizarre or unhelpful the better.
Example: "The one in which Blorbo learns to like cake".
Best used for fics with at least a little humour in them.
Option 5 - The Rule of Three:
Three is a magic number. Find three key moments in your fic and just list them. That's it. Often ends with 'not necessarily in that order' if used for comic effect. If it's an AU, establish that quickly (i.e. 'Star NHL player Blorbo…').
Example: "Blorbo makes a friend, falls in love, and almost burns to death, not necessarily in that order."
Best used for anything, really. Three is a magic number. The human brain loves things that come in threes.
Option 6 - The Trope Lure:
Why bother describing the plot? We all know AO3 readers are here for the tropes. Similar to The Sitcom One-Liner just using tropes instead of plot. Often followed by the phrase 'that nobody asked for'.
Example: "The Space western / A/B/O / Mail Order Bride fic that nobody asked for."
Often tacked on to the end of The Hook or The Excerpt as a tl;dr.
Best used for fic that plays its tropes straight with no shame or second guessing.
Option 7 - The Pre-emptive Strike:
(Not recommended) You just wrote this fic, the self doubt is consuming you. You feel the need to apologise profusely for your existence for no apparently reason. You feel cringe, you think the fic is cringe, you want everyone to know that you think the fic is cringe in case they don't like it and judge you for it.
Example: "So I fell in love with this pairing and had to write this. It's weird and terrible. Lol! I suck at summaries! Sorry!"
Best used for no fics ever. I cannot stress this enough.
(Seriously, I am begging you, don't do this. If you're planning to use this option, rethink it and do one of the others. I guarantee you more people will want to read your fic.)
Sometimes added on to any other summary as a strange disclaimer. (srsly. don't.)
Option 8 - The Unapology:
Embrace the mayhem, embrace the deep dark depths of your soul. The opposite of The Pre-emptive Strike. A combination of The No Frills and The Trope Lure that truly gives no fucks.
You have committed crimes and you are proud of them. You know what your USP is and you're going to make sure your target market finds you. Look upon my works, ye readers, and despair!
Example: "There aren't enough tentacle fics in this pairing, so I had to write one myself!"
Best used for fics with controversial/polarising tropes with all relevant details already clearly stated in the tags.
Option 9 - The Interrogation:
What if you wrote a summary entirely in questions? What if your readers had to read the fic to discover the answers? Who knows what will happen if you do this?
Example: "What happens when Blorbo McBlorbo gets his wish and Daisy doesn't make it to the plane on time? What happens when Obrolb finds out? How will this change Daisy and Blorbo's friendship?"
Best used for... I honestly don't know. This style of summary does not vibe with me. Mystery fic maybe? Sorry guys.
Option 10 - The Multipack:
Got a bunch of shorter fics in one work? No way of summarising them all without a wall of text larger than the Great Wall of China? This one is similar to The No Frills in that you're not describing the plots themselves and similar to The Trope Lure in that often broader genres and tropes are mentioned. What links those fics? Are they all in the same fandom? The same pairing? The same challenge? Just slap that right in the summary. A chapter list with 1-2 word trope/pairing summaries can be included or not.
Example: "A collection of Blorbo/Daisy/Obrolb fics based on Tumblr prompts. Chapter 1: Regency AU Chapter 2: Werewolves vs vampires Chapter 3: Ghost!Daisy Chapter 4: Space pirates!"
Best used for (obviously) works that are compilations of fic.
Option ? - The Void:
I said The Excerpt was the quickest and easiest summary to do. I lied, well... I didn't exactly lie. What is quicker and easier than not having a summary at all? After all, that's what the tags are for.
Example:
Best used for... nothing? Write a summary, guys. Please?
9K notes · View notes
nerdpoe · 8 months
Text
When Tim Drake ran into Killer Croc while infiltrating Arkham, he didn't survive.
To those not familiar with Batman Lore; there was an incident where the Joker was using Joker gas on a bunch of other villains, and Tim went to investigate. Croc snagged his cape, but he got away.
Unfortunately, the cape landed on a chewed-up skeleton, and the batfamily was misinformed of his untimely demise, and Dick Lost His Shit.
This is what led to the infamous incident of Dick beating the Joker to death.
So, slight change.
Tim genuinely did not survive that Croc encounter. He got away, to be sure, but he succumbed to his injuries deep, deep in the sewers.
Very deep into them.
So deep they probably weren't actually sewers anymore and were just an underground cave system filled with gross water.
After managing to pull himself up from the water and onto a stone outcropping, with strange sigils carved into the floor, Timothy Jackson Drake falls into the arms of Death.
Danny, meanwhile, was minding his own business when he became aware of the tugging sensation of a summoning.
...And the distinct disgusting aftertaste that came with a human sacrifice.
By the time he arrived, the baby core was already humming discontentedly above a fresh corpse. A corpse that belonged to a kid that was far, far too young.
There was still a connection, albeit faint, from the baby core to the body.
So Danny, all of thirty and panicking something fierce, tries to force the baby core back into the body in front of him.
Nothing doing.
The body is willing to accept the core, to feed off of the ectoplasm Danny was willing to feed it and convert that energy into the life-saving healing that the kid needed, but the core was weak.
So Danny...improvised.
He reached into himself, and managed to painfully peel off a splinter of his own core, and fed it to the baby one. He'd be the equivalent of a swooning victorian maiden for a few years, but if the kid was able to survive it'd be worth it.
The baby core accepted it, ate the sliver of power it was given, and melted seamlessly back into the body.
Danny waited. And waited. And waited.
And waited.
And with a bright flash of light that seemingly changed absolutely nothing, the kid started breathing; his wounds started closing up.
Job done, Danny grabbed the kid and phased him through the earth and to the city above. He could already feel himself getting faint, so he just dumped the kid somewhere the kid's core recognized as a good spot and dipped back to the summoning circle, and back to the Infinite Realms.
Danny did not realize what he had just done.
Tim's body had, in that flash of light, had it's DNA changed much the same way Danny's had, if not more so.
Same in regards to Tim being a baby halfa, who has had no reason to believe he has any form other than his human one.
Different in that Tim's DNA now no longer reflects Jack as his biological father.
It reflects one Daniel Fenton.
4K notes · View notes
headspace-hotel · 1 month
Text
listen one of the major reasons i care so much about Arundinaria is that she's gotta be legit the most exciting rising star in the evolutionary world.
Flowering plants emerge like 100mil years ago, proceed to become the baddest bitches on planet earth with hundreds of thousands of species found in every environment.
from this lineage emerges the GRASS which, using the simple technologies of "Grow leafs from the bottom so the tops can get eaten and you can just keep a-goin'" and "Not die when stepped on" become the undisputed masters of the sunny and arid regions
From the lineage of the GRASSES. Emerges a grass that decides to step up its game and invent WOOD to become some sort of fucked up tree. This grass is known as WOODY BAMBOO and it kicks everybody's ass.
The woody bamboo is mostly thriving in Asia, but around 2mil years ago, a bamboo got LOST AS FUCK and accidentally went to NORTH AMERICA. It turns out the south-eastern part of North America is a downright luxurious climate for a bamboo and so the bamboo actually evolved into its own genus.
However, there was an ICE AGE that froze a bunch of North America and the bamboo was forced to a tiny edge of the Gulf Coast. Fortunately, the bamboo made a mutualistic symbiosis with HUMANS, which used controlled burning to create its ideal habitats in exchange for using the stems for a super-strong, versatile, flexible, water resistant material for literally everything. So basically it spread all throughout the Southeast of North America and formed its own habitat type, a bamboo forest environment known as a CANEBRAKE.
It's native North American bamboo, y'all. It's been reduced to 2% of its former extent and a lot of people don't even know it exists.
This plant is going places we can't let this shining streak of weird-ass plants with ideas just strange enough to work collapse because of a freak colonialism incident
Tumblr media
Arundinaria gigantea my absolute beloved
1K notes · View notes
angxlofvenus · 9 months
Note
hi, hi, hi! could I request the brothers + diavolo during a meeting together when their s/o (the mc) starts to doze off and then suddenly faint? Turns out, the MC forgot to drink water that day-
That happened to mr a few days ago, it wasn't fun - so here's a reminder for you to drink some water too :')
Thank you so much for the request!!! I am so so sorry to hear that happened, I hope you're doing better <3 If anything in this post seems insensitive please let me know! Have a wonderful rest of your day/night
Genre: Mostly fluff, Some Hurt/Comfort Ship: Demon Brother+Diavolo x reader (individual) TW: Minimal cussing, mentions of fainting, mass panic, yelling, second person pov for reader (If I missed anything please tell me!!)
When You Faint
You watched as the clock slowly ticked by the minutes as the Demons around you spoke amongst themselves, Your talking had slowly come to a stop as the room started to spin, Some of the men looked at you strangely but nobody expected you to fall out of your chair and onto the council room floor...
Tumblr media
Lucifer
He's immediately up out of his chair
Oh lord, he’s now fully in mother mode-
Barking orders at everyone, Yes this includes Dia
As soon as he gets over to you his wings are out, shielding you from everyone else
Once you come to, He isn’t letting you out of his sight
And once he finds out you fainted because of dehydration? 
He would so buy you one of those big ass waterbottles 
One of these mfs
Mammon
Freaking out pt. 1
Definitely hootin’ and hollering
He is indeed making a scene
Won’t really be on you until after you wake up because he knows Lucifer and Diavolo can do more for you then he can
After you have awoken though? He isn’t letting you out of his sight
You don’t have to worry about remembering to drink water, He’s there to remind you now!
Humans are such fragile creatures and now that he's seen that firsthand, He will barely let you do anything
He will make sure you are healthy whether you like it or not dammit
Levi
Freaks out pt. 2
Somehow freaking out even more then Mammon
He doesn’t know what to do! He leaves his room one time and this is what happens!
Will kind of just stand there in shock as everyone erupts into chaos
He isn’t the best example of someone who looks after their body lets be honest
But when ya’ll are gaming You’ll start to see some more healthy options popping up in the mix of chips and soda
He will beat himself up over not noticing, Please comfort this man before he decides you resent him
He won’t ever really bring it up but rest assured, It will never happen again
Satan
Would also run to your aid
He has read a lot of medical books in his time, He knows what to do
Would take you to a doctor afterwards, just in case
Kind of beats himself up for being unaware of your condition
I don’t think he’d freak out as badly after the incident, He knows it was probably a one time thing
Will bring up in conversation casually if you’ve eaten and drank water today, just to be sure
Tumblr media
Asmo
Screams
Freaks out pt. 3
Yelling at Lucifer/Satan to do something!
Will be all over you as soon as you’re awake
Don’t scare him like that! 
Will get extra pouty when he learns why you passed out
Has Ya’lls self-care sessions meant nothing to you?!
No more of that, not on his watch
He will offer you water at random times throughout the day
Studying? Water! Watching Tv? Water! Sleeping? Water! no, no, Beauty sleep is important
Beel
Doesn’t knows what's happening, Why are you on the floor?
Will stand on the sidelines concerningly as he watches Lucifer take over, He trusts his brother to help you
Will also feel immense guilt he didn’t see the signs, He just wants to keep everyone safe 🙁
When he thinks Ya’ll are doing something too straining for a human, He’ll stop to ask if you’re okay/ need a break
Will start carrying around a water bottle specifically for you 
Belphie
He totally wasn’t sleeping when it happened, nope
Woke up to his brothers and the Prince of the Devildom freaking out around you
I don’t think he’d really get too involved with helping since he doesn’t actually know wtf just happened
If you don’t immediately perk back up, He’s gonna cuss out Lucifer and maybe try to fight him
Gets a little snappy at everyone (except you ofc) after the incident
He even started to set alarms on your DDD as reminders to drink water
Will tease you just a teeny bit, But you can tell how worried the entire thing actually makes him
Diavolo
Was over to you in record time
Commands everyone to step back from you while he calls Barbatos and a royal doctor
You will be given the best treatment don't worry
He thinks he's being very sneaky about making you drink more water He is so obvious about it, it hurts
You will definitely notice how Barbatos now almost immediately refills your glass as soon as it’s half full
Another one to openly ask if you’ve drank enough water that day
Tumblr media Tumblr media
3K notes · View notes
indydonuts · 21 days
Text
Mean-Mugging
Summary: You always joke that Zoro is your "big and scary boyfriend," but after you and some of the crew are turned into children, your words become a bit literal.
Zoro x gn!reader, established relationship, silly fluff
A/N: I'm about to be head-down in requests for a bit, so enjoy this silly scene from my drafts. It was meant to be part of a longer story but didn't quite get there.
Tumblr media
Zoro is at his wit's end. 
For three days now, Robin, Usopp, Brook, and you have been stuck as children thanks to an incident with a cursed spring. As near as anyone could tell, you all were somewhere between 5 and 7 years old, with none of your adult memories. 
It goes without saying that convincing four kids to get on a boat with (in your minds) total strangers had been difficult, but Zoro and the others managed. 
The Marines charging in and firing at everyone had helped. 
After some sleep and food, you all seem to be adjusting. Luffy and Chopper quickly become the favorite playmates, with Nami and Franky landing the roles of adoptive parents. Sanji makes the food and keeps handing out sweets, so he also quickly found himself in your tiny good graces. 
Zoro, however, seems to terrify you. 
Any time he enters the room, takes a seat on the deck, or sits at the table, his presence sends the four of you scurrying as from him as possible. 
He doesn't know what he's done to deserve it. Sure, he’d snapped at Usopp and Brook when they tried to mess with his swords. And he could have been a bit more gentle when grabbing you and Robin to get you safely back on the Sunny. 
He knows he isn't the warmest person on the crew either, but still, he isn’t a monster. 
He could live with Brook, Usopp and Robin’s fear, but seeing the terror on your tiny face—he has to admit—stings a little. 
"Have you seen yourself?" Nami asks when he finally brings it up. "You've literally cleared street corners."
"Doesn't help you always look like you want to punch someone," Franky adds.
"And that your face is stuck in a permanent scowl," says Sanji.
"Don't forget your cool scar and missing eye!" Luffy cheers.
"Thank you for all your unwanted opinions about my appearance," Zoro says tightly.
"Um, Zoro? I have a suggestion," Chopper says shakily.
The swordsman raises an eyebrow. 
"What is it?"
"Well,” Chopper begins, “I remember being terrified of humans after I first changed. They were so big and strong and strange looking."
"I got it, I'm scary-looking," Zoro growls.
"W-what I mean is—try making yourself smaller. Sit on the ground. Find something they might like, maybe snacks or a toy. And don't approach them; let them come to you on their own terms."
The doctor clicks his hooves nervously. 
"It's what worked for me when Dr. Hiruluk first took me in." 
Zoro gives a half smile and pats the young doctor on the head, "Thanks, Chopper." 
"At least one of you is actually helpful," he calls back to the others, leaving the galley.
Later, Zoro makes his way to Sunny's lawn. You and the others are playing some kind of game on one end, so he quietly heads to the other side and takes up a spot. 
He's brought a book with him. It’s old, with a cracked spine and deep blue cover. The title has mostly worn off, and the pages are yellowed and dog-eared. 
Well-loved is how Robin once described it. 
"This had better work," he mumbles to himself, opening the book and flipping to a specific page.
He can hear the sounds of the game behind him—Usopp insisting he was allowed to do whatever he did while you, Robin and Brook argue with him. 
Finding the page he was looking for, Zoro quietly began to read aloud.
"Long ago, on an island far from any known sea, there was the small village of Aurelia..."
It was your favorite story. 
Years ago, when you were still fresh to the crew, you'd found the book at a small shop when resupplying. You'd said it was just like the one your grandmother read to you when you were little. 
"...the boy said to the Sea King, 'If I could have just one scale, my village would be saved.'"
Zoro hears a small noise to his right. From the corner of his eye, he can just see the beginnings of tiny feet.
He keeps going.
"The sea king roared a great laugh. 'Who are you to ask a king for a scale? What makes you so worthy of such a grand prize?'"
You’re right behind his shoulder now, craning your neck to get a peek at the book in his lap.
"Is that...your book?" you ask softly.
"Sort of, I'm borrowing it," Zoro replies, keeping his eye on the page. 
"That’s my favorite story," you tell him. 
He risks a look. You’re staring at the ground, fidgeting nervously.
"Can you read it to me?" you practically whisper.
Zoro fights to contain his enthusiasm and remain neutral. After clearing his throat a time or two, he manages a soft smile and says, "Sure."
He expects you to sit next to him. Instead, you wriggle under his arm and into his lap. 
"You can keep going now," you inform him once you’re settled.
Zoro resumes the tale and slowly, the other three drift over to listen. Anytime one of them tries to interrupt, you shush them harshly, like royalty overseeing their subjects. It’s a struggle for Zoro not to laugh.
After that, things are better. Chopper says the effects should wear off in a few more days. Until then, at least you’re running toward him instead of away from him.
Though he’s never going to live down the teasing from the rest of the crew. 
Of course, you made him do the voices.
1K notes · View notes
plaguedocboi · 1 year
Text
We all love the beach, right? I sure do. Where the sea meets the land is a magical place. It is the overlap of two very different worlds; our sunny, sandy, beautiful home and the alien waves that beckon you into the inhospitable wilderness of the ocean. When crossing that foam-fringed boundary, one must remember that you are no longer in your world. You are entering the sea, and the sea is vast and dark and dangerous. It is more untamed than the wildest jungle and full of creatures that can kill you in a hundred different gruesome ways. Every wave whispers to you that you do not belong here, you may only visit for a brief time if you want to leave with your life. Hold tight to the warm sunlit sand that fringes the barrier of this place, or you may never see it again. Welcome to the beach. Enter at your own risk.
1. Tamarama beach, Australia
Tumblr media
This is know as both the smallest and the most dangerous beach in NSW. There is a permanent rip current that runs along the rocky northern shore, but at any given time there could be more hidden in the surf. Large waves break just a little ways offshore, posing a hazard to swimmers but an attraction for surfers. Although there are rarely deaths here, lifeguards have to rescue multiple people a day. Interestingly, this beach is only around sometimes! Occasionally all the sand will wash away and all that’s left is a rocky outcrop. There’s no way to be certain when the beach will come back or how big it will be or what it might look like. I guess it never gets boring to visit.
2. Isle of Ré, France
Tumblr media
This island is not the only place you can go to see square waves, but it is one of the places most famous for this strange phenomenon. This is called a cross sea, and occurs when two opposing wave patterns intersect. Although this is certainly a tourist attraction, it is best to observe from a distance, as cross seas can be very dangerous to both ships and swimmers. Cross seas can cause powerful rip currents and walls of water up to 10 feet high, rolling ships and dragging people underwater. (As a side note, my mother thought I had made up cross seas as a freaky supernatural event in my book. Unfortunately, I did not.)
3. Dumas Beach, India
Tumblr media
This is supposedly one of the most haunted places in India. Although this beach is full of tourists during the daytime, no one remains after dark, for fear that they will become the next ghost to wander the sand. Apparently, this beach was once used as a burial ground, and said to be black due to the human ashes mixed in. At night, people report hearing voices and seeing apparitions, and even dogs behave strangely once the sun goes down. There have also been multiple unexplained disappearances and at least one recorded death. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there definitely seems to be something eerie happening on this beach.
4. Morecambe Bay, UK
Tumblr media
This is an interesting one, as it’s not technically the water that’s dangerous. The ground is. This estuary features extreme tides, with the water level dropping and rising up to 32 feet twice a day. This exposes an expanse of mud flats and channels which are composed of loose, wet material that can absolutely suck you in and trap you. If this happens when the tide is coming in, it can quickly turn deadly. This has happened many times going back through history, including one incident in 2004 where 23 people died. Yes, all at the same time. No, I don’t want to delve into that incident too deeply in this list as it’s extremely horrifying and tragic. Feel free to research it yourself.
5. Monastery Beach, Oregon
Tumblr media
This has earned its nickname “mortuary beach” by being extremely dangerous. Over 30 people have died here, including people who weren’t even in the water. In 2015, a woman walking along the beach was dragged in by a wave and drowned. The beach has multiple factors that make it so deadly, including a steep drop off, unpredictable waves, and strong undertows. This beach isn’t even safe to walk on. I um. Don’t like that.
6. Hanakapiai Beach, Hawaii
Tumblr media
Despite its beauty, this Hawaiian beach is not recommended for swimming except for expert surfers. During the summer, this beach is a popular place for hiking, sunbathing and sightseeing, but during the winter the sand is washed away and the waves crash against the cliffs directly. Even in the relatively safe summer months, this beach has no barrier reef to break up the strong waves and powerful currents, which leads to a dangerous situation where swimmers can quickly be swept out into the open ocean and drown. At least 30 people have died here, and 15 of the bodies have never been recovered.
7. Lake Michigan. Just, all of it.
Tumblr media
Despite all the Great Lakes being somewhat terrifying, Michigan takes the title of the most dangerous lake in the country. Yearly, Lake Michigan has more drownings than all four other Great Lakes combined. The reason that Michigan is especially hazardous is that, well, it’s kind of weirdly shaped. Thanks to its 300+ miles of uninterrupted parallel shorelines running north-south, it forms huge waves and strong riptides and long shore currents. It is also a question of numbers; Lake Michigan has more public beaches and large population centers than the other Great Lakes. All in all, a recipe for disaster.
8. Playa Zipolite, Mexico
Tumblr media
This is also called the “beach of the dead”, so it’s inclusion on this list seems pretty self-explanatory. These waters have strong undercurrents that rotate in a circular pattern, either pushing you into shore or pulling you out to sea. There is a pervasive rumor that 50 people drown at this beach a year, although this is… somewhat exaggerated. In fact, very few people drown at this beach these days, as it has actually gotten less dangerous over the years. There used to be a steep drop-off that would catch people by surprise, but due to several severe storms in the early 2000s, the beach has eroded back and now gently slopes down instead. Although very few people die at this beach nowadays, multiple rescues are performed every day due to the dangerous currents.
9. Cyclops, Australia
This is a particular type of wave that forms off the coast of Esperance, Australia, as the sea floor rapidly goes from deep, open water to a very very shallow reef. It is… unsettling. The longer I look at it, the weirder it gets. It’s like an ai generated image. I couldn’t even pick one picture of it so I made you a collage.
Tumblr media
It is considered one of the most dangerous surf spots in the world, and can only be accessed by boat. To quote pacific surf dot com, “the reason the wave is dangerous is because it does not act like any other wave in the world. It engulfs itself due to the massive change in the ocean floor when the wave rolls up.”
10. Nazare, Portugal
Tumblr media
This area of Portugal is home to some of the biggest waves in the world. Just offshore is an underwater canyon, plunging down to 16,000 ft deep. This allows large, fast deep-water waves to move into shore unimpeded, and when they hit the shallows close to shore all the water gets suddenly pushed up, resulting in waves up to 80 ft tall. I think the picture speaks for itself in this case. Probably best to not get in the water if you see that shit.
That was fun, wasn’t it? Before I go, let me end this on a different note than the rest of my lists; some actual advice for if you should you ever decide to visit these beaches (or any beach, really). Rip currents are incredibly strong (believe me, I know) but very narrow currents that run perpendicular to shore. To get out of a rip current, swim parallel to shore. Trying to fight the current will just tire you out and eventually leave you exhausted and way the fuck out in the ocean, which is typically when you die. Swimming parallel to shore will get you out of the current, and once you’re free you can swim back in at your leisure. And, just in general, never fight the sea. The sea will win.
7K notes · View notes
heritageposts · 12 days
Text
[...] More specifically, the cycle of violence in The Last of Us Part II appears to be largely modeled after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I suspect that some players, if they consciously clock the parallels at all, will think The Last of Us Part II is taking a balanced and fair perspective on that conflict, humanizing and exposing flaws in both sides of its in-game analogues. But as someone who grew up in Israel, I recognized a familiar, firmly Israeli way of seeing and explaining the conflict which tries to appear evenhanded and even enlightened, but in practice marginalizes Palestinian experience in a manner that perpetuates a horrific status quo. The game's co-director and co-writer Neil Druckmann, an Israeli who was born and raised in the [occupied] West Bank before his family moved to the U.S., told the Washington Post that the game's themes of revenge can be traced back to the 2000 killing of two Israeli soldiers by a mob in Ramallah. Some of the gruesome details of the incident were captured on video, which Druckmann viewed. In his interview, he recounted the anger and desire for vengeance he felt when he saw the video—and how he later reconsidered and regretted those impulses, saying they made him feel “gross and guilty.” But it gave him the kernel of a story. “I landed on this emotional idea of, can we, over the course of the game, make you feel this intense hate that is universal in the same way that unconditional love is universal?” Druckmann told the Post. “This hate that people feel has the same kind of universality. You hate someone so much that you want them to suffer in the way they’ve made someone you love suffer.” Druckmann drew parallels between The Last of Us and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict again on the official The Last of Us podcast. When discussing the first time Joel kills another man to protect his daughter and the extraordinary measures people will take to protect the ones they love, Druckmann said he follows "a lot of Israeli politics," and compared the incident to Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinians prisoners in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011. He said that his father thought that the exchange was overall bad for Israel, but that his father would release every prisoner in every prison to free his own son. "That's what this story is about, do the ends justify the means, and it's so much about perspective. If it was to save a strange kid maybe Joel would have made a very different decision, but when it was his tribe, his daughter, there was no question about what he was going to do," Druckmann said.
And continuing, on the security structures featured in the The Last of Us Part II:
Besides the familiar zombie fiction aesthetics of an overgrown and decomposing metropolis, The Last of Us Part II's main setting of Seattle is visually and functionally defined by a series of checkpoints, security walls, and barriers. There are many ways to build and depict structures that separate and keep people out. Just Google "U.S.-Mexico border wall" to see the variety of structures on the southern border of the United States alone. The Last of Us Part II's Seattle doesn't look like any of these. Instead, it looks almost exactly like the tall, precast concrete barriers and watch towers Israel started building through the West Bank in 2000.
Illustrations, from the article:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The first barrier Ellie and Dina encounter when arriving in Seattle / West Bank barrier.
. . . article continues on Vice (July 15 2020)
Backup -> archive.today link /archive.org link
835 notes · View notes
Text
My brain won't fixate on anything else
Tumblr media
70 notes · View notes
Strange Incidents and a Human [Chapter 23]
Hello everyone, I'm uploading every chapter today or within the next few days. I've heard a lot of things, which might be questionable but one can never be too sure to trust Google to hold your stories without a catch. So, what I plan on doing as of this moment, is to upload every chapter. The rest of the story proceeding forward will be written by hardly drafting it, other than keeping the updated chapters in drafts. Anyway, without further ado, the next long awaited chapter!
"By the stars, Lu'P'ann." The Allebenellin pilot was in a particularly hard match with the Turkish Draughts; Paul decided to play. "You weren't kidding about your skills in the zone for this."
"Aw, and I thought you were catching on very easily." Paul smiled genuinely. "This is the first I've ever encountered anyone in my direct vicinity willing to play, especially one to the degree even tougher than a computer program."
The pilot laughed. "Whatever you say, I call."
"Another tally for the deathworld!" Paul stretched with a prideful smile. "So, another round or do we not have the time?"
The pilot looked at the course. "We are just in range, and are preparing for landing procedures."
"I'll get into my disguise." Paul shot up quickly and went to find his cloak.
Meanwhile, the people on The Retribution prepared for the visitor's arrival, the grandfathers and Mr. Arkwright left for their quarters while Kotake got her disguise back on.
"Trading power back to Dr. Car." Kotake said as she tapped a few things on her own data pad, before hiding it under her sleeve. She slipped her hood back on. "Ship will dock in twenty Human minutes."
"Noted." Dr. Carizen said after he looked off to convert the time frame into the minutes he knew.
Kotake's fake Corti mask wasn't ready in time, so she couldn't stop thinking of the extra details she needed to do before it was actually ready.
"Guards, keep your distance, we can't assume that this Allebenellin doesn't know how to fight with his suit." Nokam advised as the other two came to her side. "And we do not know what this Lu'P'ann is."
"Probably another fake Corti?" Kotake wondered as she observed the ship outside the viewport. "Like me, but isn't related in some way to me."
"Most likely, so prepare to handle a Human." Nokam nodded.
They went quiet and professional as soon as the ship was ready to introduce the visitors to their mega ship. They closely observed the hooded figure approach with the Allebenellin behind her.
"Welcome, Lu'P'ann." Dr. Carizen bowed slightly as he observed the hodded figure approach. "And guest."
"She cannot talk as of this moment." The Allebenellin shook his head after Lu'P'ann didn't speak up. "So she will be talking through me."
Kotake could tell that they were already suspicious of each other. She observed the other apparent female across from them, while not breaking character.
"That is alright with me." Dr. Carizen then looked at Nokam, "The bacteria?"
"Contained." Nokam says pridefully.
Kotake whispered to Nokam, "She knows who we are. How well are you and Car known?"
"Not that well known, we are anonymous." Nokam whispered back after Dr. Carizen took the bacteria. "Assumed to be just pawns."
Kotake watched the other apparent female watch her talking to Nokam. Kotake quickly went back to idle as did Nokam. Kotake could tell that she was just as suspicious. Kotake watched the other talk to her pilot.
"She says, "nice to see my old crew as bitchy as ever?" When did you mention that this was your old crew?" The pilot eyed his companion in question.
The mysterious female just giggled. It was hard to tell the true gender as most Corti vocal tones and pitches were nearly hard to distinguish. Heck, Kotake on a few moments confused Dr. Car and Nokam. Which brought Kotake to an all time high in suspicion.
The two just left. Kotake tuned to the others as soon as they entered their ship, their airlock giving Kotake permission to talk to the others.
"How long ago did you have another female on your crew?" Kotake finally asked.
"We didn't, our last female was you, as crew." Nokam bit her knuckle in thought.
"Well, apparently you had another female aboard long before me." Kotake pulled off her hood as soon as the ship outside left in warp.
"We did not." Dr. Carizen scowled at the audacity of the other party. "We do not even know who that one is. She is too tall and bulky, just like you are."
Kotake huffed, too suspicious for any loose ends that would bring down the old gray man before her.
"I'm going to ask my grandfathers to make sure." Kotake made her way to the quarters. "Instinctively, I do not trust either of you."
Nokam and Dr. Carizen could understand. They observed the angered deathworlder storm off.
"Grampop!" Kotake called out, "Grampop! I need to ask you something!"
"Over here." Anton gladly approached, despite feeling that she was still mad at him. "What is it? What happened?"
"Did we have another female Corti on board?" Kotake asked, clearly worried about the consequences of their hospital coming under fire for any reason. "Dr. Car and Nokam said I was the only recent female in general, but you know the Human half doesn't trust them."
"We did not." Anton thought about it. "We only had a few female Corti pilots in recent history, but they were Divergents."
"The grays experience neurodivergence?" Kotake asked, confused after having heard that they had a strict program. "I thought they said their genes are perfect for their species."
"They are perfect for their species, but these Divergents are not neurodivergent." Anton gladly explained. "They are the reason our bloodline exists."
"If they're part of the people who want to wipe them out, how were they able to keep us a secret?" Kotake scowled in thought.
"Some Divergents don't know about us." Anton assured her. "This is strictly known as a conspiracy, but your bloodline is true."
"But that still doesn't answer my initial question."
"The same as our existence, the divergency is a conspiracy." Anton shrugged. "They are often seen as psychopaths or sociopaths."
Kotake thought about it for a moment, then nodded in understanding. "Thanks, Grampop. There was this buff Corti in a cloak like mine that set me off."
"Another Human?" Anton wondered.
"That's what we're wondering, too." Kotake nodded, "Unless we have proof, we don't know if it was actually Human or an actual Corti with gigantism. Or some leaner structure."
"I do recall meeting a few with a leaner structure in hiding." Anton understood. "Since their scarcity, most of them were unharmed."
"Well, either way…" Kotake looked back to where she left the two Corti, feeling bad for not trusting them. Though it could hardly be blamed since she had been taught to not like them from when she was just a toddler.
Anton just observed her, waiting for her to finish her thought process, before realizing she lost her train of thought.
"Well, Captain Akotek, I am going to spend the evening with Mr. Arkwright on how much he knows about space technology." Anton cleared his throat. "It is the least I could do for reprimanding him wrongfully. And it would be nice to find another old man from my era."
"Alright, but don't steal him from me." Kotake laughed, "Captain gets the lion's share."
"You will be assured that he is not my type." Anton rolled his eyes with a grin. "Have a good evening, Kota."
Kotake watched him leave, before turning to dread reapproaching the Corti. All that buildup of distrust really left lead in her shoes, making her feel awkward about earlier. She forced herself to approach them, however, despite her inner pride being destroyed.
After letting them know it was ingrained speciesm, and how much they looked like the gray she shouldn't trust, the situation had passed. The two forgave her, but Dr. Carizen still felt a bit sour since he had done so much to build the trust after initially trying to run illegal twin experiments on her.
"So, which one of you want to help me with my piloting skills in the event I have to fly to the problems?" Kotake looked at either of them, wondering.
"I will help you." Nokam eagerly said, lighting up at the prospect. "I used to be a pilot long before I met Dr. Carizen."
Dr. Carisen stared at her, nonplussed but surprised at the same time. He said, "One of these days you are going to explain to me of everything you were before you met me officially."
"The time isn't right, Dr. Carizen." Nokam pets him, "Have patience."
Dr. Craizen shrugged, dismissing the topic, "Well, I hope you two enjoy being off-ship for your practice."
Dr. Carizen then left. Kotake wondered if it was an insult, since she had learned so much of Corti sass and sarcasm from her family's ramblings about them. She dismissed it, seeing Nokam motioning her to follow towards the area that held the ships.
In the meantime, Dr. Carizen checked in on the Humans formerly harmed by their situations. He was learning and was informed about "play therapy" and the interesting psychology of how Humans express things in certain ways. He didn't interfere, as he was still the equivalent to a student as Captain Akotek was the one leading the investigations of what was still getting to Edward and Mr. Arkwright.
Dr. Carizen felt fortunate that he kept hidden instead of instinctively wanting to be at the top. He observed the two Humans interacting, as Edward had developed a special interest in the former straggler. Mr. Arkwright was patient with him, fortunately for everyone, though that could be due to his former job long before he was forced into space. Dr. Carizen looked for one of the male Humans for some assistance on how to assess the situation as the two peacefully interacted.
"Ah, Marcus." Dr. Carizen waved for the crazy-ish man's attention. "Do you know some Human psychology? I am studying it, and I need some assurance of some speculations."
"Yeah, what do you need?" Marc approached him. He patted down his newly tailored shirt in habit as he approached the small man.
"The way Edward interacts with Mr. Arkwright." Dr. Carizen nodded to the two Humans in question. "Is the younger one displaying a familial bond with him?"
Marc looked to where he was pointing. "Oh, yeah. Eddie didn't have a good dad when he was stuck with his mom. None of us knows who his dad was. And we always know who got with who."
"I see." Dr. Carizen nodded, glad for the confirmation. "Thank you."
"Mr. Arkwright is displaying that he's still in service." Marc continued.
"Elaborate?" Dr. Carizen observed the older man.
"Look at his posture, that's how people in service stand-- or in his case, sit." Marc scratched the side of his head in wonder. "Even if he isn't working anymore, he still holds his standard of profession."
"Interesting." Dr. Carizen noted. He knew some species who experienced being out of place in the same situation. "So, that means he still had not accepted that he is no longer required to do his old job."
"Exactly." Marc crossed his arms, concerned. "The good Captain who is my grandchild tried to get him out of his shell, which sometimes work, but Arkwright keeps going back."
"The same with Edward, I assume." Dr. Carizen observed.
"Yep." Marc went quiet. He went into thought about how Edward acted as soon as he was introduced to space. He was happy, but he couldn't understand why he couldn't go home.
"This had been very enlightening." Dr. Carizen broke the silence after further observations. "Thank you again, Marcus."
"Hm? Oh, no problem." Marc shot a glance at the good doctor before wondering what he was originally going to do before he hailed for his input. "What was I going to do-- oh, Patya."
Dr. Carizen observed as the crazy-ish man left to look for the other man in question. He went back to observing the two Humans of interest.
7 notes · View notes
introboy · 3 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
So so excited to share my @mcytblrholidayexchange gift for @follow-the-compass-home! My concept was to combine a bunch of prompts together into one AU.
The premise is a modern-fantasy roommate situation where Tango, Bdubs, and Etho live together in an apartment. The only issue is that none of them are human, but they're all trying desperately to blend in, even though they don't really understand humanity as a concept.
More information can be found below the cut, and an introductory fic snippet can be found here (x)!
Downstairs Neighbors AU
Prompts used as inspiration:
Focus on Tango, Etho, and Bdubs
Include Boatem
Story told from Grian's perspective
Hybrid/inhuman AU
Angst with a happy ending
Emphasis on character dynamics
Here's a summary!!!
Tango, Etho, and Bdubs found each other by looking for roommates on Craigslist. They live in a 4-bedroom apartment together.
Tango is a spirit who wanted to interact with the world in a physical sense, so he built himself a body. He's basically just a ghost possessing an android (but unlike ghosts, he was never alive; he came into being as a fully-formed spirit). He doesn't adhere to normal bodily necessities like food, water, or sleep, which is convenient but also heavily concerning from an outsider's perspective.
Etho is a specific kind of shapeshifter called a mimic. He doesn't have a true form, but can copy the shape and mannerisms of most living creatures. The only constant across all of his appearances is a scarred left eye and white hair. Unfortunately, it takes practice to nail specific species characteristics, so he often forgets what he's supposed to look like and falls into uncanny valley. He wears a mask to cover his more noticable facial slipups.
Bdubs is some sort of plant creature (he doesn't really understand it himself). He has a perfect internal clock and sleeps, without fail, for 12 hours every night. He spends a lot of time in the unoccupied bedroom-- he uses it as a makeshift greenhouse, and it's filled with grow lights and humidifiers. He loves taking care of houseplants, but it's also a cover for him to spend time under the grow lights. Without enough light & water he gets lethargic.
Bdubs, Etho, and Tango, henceforth referred to as BET, all assume that the others are human. But since none of them know how to act human, they continuously pick up stranger and stranger habits from each other.
BET are close friends with Impulse & Skizzleman, who live together across the hall. Their upstairs neighbors are Grian, Pearl, Mumbo, and Scar, who are also besties with Imp & Skizz. BET and Boatem don't know each other well, but Grian especially thinks his neighbors are really odd.
Like BET, Grian is not human, and neither are the rest of his roommates. But they all know about each other, and Grian especially is really good at knowing how to act natural in public places. He's an avian shapeshifter, who can take the form of either a scarlet macaw or a human. Unlike Etho, both forms come equally naturally to Grian, and the shapeshifting process is a lot easier for him.
(Imp & Skizz are not human either-- they are a demon and an angel respectively. But, like Grian, they're really good at blending in when in public.)
One day, Grian gets injured on a flight and accidentally ends up on BET's balcony instead of his own. He's too disoriented to shift back into his human form or fly away, so Bdubs and Etho find him outside their door. Tango calls Impulse over in the hopes that he knows how to fix the random-injured-parrot crisis, but the only result is that Grian and Impulse start to truly take note of how strange their neighbors' living situation is. Incidents like the one pictured above arise (i.e. everyone finding out that there is not a singular scrap of food to be found in the entire apartment).
Ok that's all the rambling I'll do in this post, but I hope you enjoyed! Happy holidays!!
1K notes · View notes
diggykit-kat · 1 month
Text
𝑫𝒐𝒈𝑫𝒂𝒚 x Reader Pt.3
Tumblr media
Although it was out of character for him to do such a thing, you wrote it off...he's still a good person...right? There was nothing wrong with it, you just forgot about it. You needed it in order to survive, right?
It was late and you've been doing well. DogDay made sure to feed you a large amount of the strange meat. Its taste grew on you, despite it coming from a possibly dead fucking body.
You lay in the den, your back up against DogDay's leg. He plays with your hair and makes sure to keep you safe from the entities outside of this ‘safe zone’
"Little Angel...I have a question. Do you have family that's looking for you right now?" he asks while brushing his hand through your hair. It felt nice. He continued to stroke your hair, letting you rest in his grip.
You looked up at him and said “No, I just came out of thin air, and pop I’m here! Matter of fact I am not even excited” You snickered
DogDay gave you a quick smirk. "Smart-aleck, hm? You know well that's a lie. You never talk about your past. Your past that involves family...friends...I don't know, it's like you just want to pretend it never happened."
“Oh, I don’t want to hear you talk after the whole ass MEAT incident. I don't hear you going around and saying, ‘Well I just gave a human another human!”
Your words stung DogDay. The dog growled "Don't you even dare say that. I'm only doing this for your safety. Do you know what would've happened if I let you starve out there? You'd have died like the rest. You would've been torn to literal SHREDS by the Mini Smiling Critters...you'd have died horribly. I'm trying to keep YOU alive, doll, and that's the truth."
…you open your mouth to say something before dropping it and shrug “damn- well I can’t say anything to that. Fuck.”
DogDay nodded and kept petting your hair. “I know what i do looks horrible, but I'm the only one that wants to keep you safe. Everyone else just wants you dead. I’m doing all of this because I care. I’ve never really cared or liked anything else in my life, but with you…it's different. I…I care about you. So much, and I can't let you go.”
Your jaw drops “YOU CANT SAY THAT TO A FUCKING CHILD! You know how wrong that is. Never tell I child that, Jesus Christ!”
"I don't care." DogDay spoke softly again, his tone was full of remorse. "I don't care what anyone else thinks. Because at the end of the day, I'm the only person that you're stuck with. I don't care if it's wrong. Don't you see that I care for you more than anyone else? I'm all you've got...that's a fact."
“Damn you can’t gaslight anyone these days” you muttered “I had a whole thing going” You sighed and crossed your arms
He laughs and keeps stroking your hair. "I know, aren't I cruel? So awful, right?" he chuckled, seemingly enjoying that you were getting annoyed. He sighed. "But...you have to realize, you are stuck here. I've kept you from danger and kept you from dying. And I mean...you do like my cooking...right?"
“I mean I tasted better in the school cafeteria” you whisper
DogDay's head snapped towards you suddenly like a predator. "You...what did you say?"
Before you could even open your mouth there was an ungodly sound, like bones rubbing together…CatNap.
DogDay froze, his ears and tail dropping. You could see him shaking like a leaf. CatNap was here. "...stay as quiet as you can..." he whispered
You nodded and followed along with DogDay
You hid in the closet...hiding behind the coats in it. In just a few seconds, the door flew off its hinges. CatNap appeared in the opening of the doorway. His body was covered in blood...some fresh, others dried, and some...rotting. "There you are, DogDay...I see you're hiding." CatNap's voice was warped and twisted into an evil mockery of a normal person's voice...like a psychopath.
CatNap raised his hands and laughed evilly. "I heard you two talking...don't you dare think I wouldn't stop by. You're such a predictable creature DogDay...and you...little child"
You scoffed “Hey I'm pretty tall for my age you Pussy!”
"Pussy? Oh...oh how sweet. That's cute. Do you really believe that I'll take offense to that? You have a lot of balls, little child."
You gasp and cover your mouth “Ooo he cussed”
DogDay yells “NOW IS NOT THE TIME ANGEL”
CatNap sniggered and looked down at DogDay. "Oh, you're actually protecting her? Now that's a first for you. I wonder how she'd taste...just a taste would probably do..."
DogDay snarled “Don't you go near her you baste-”
CatNap's arm shot out, wrapping around DogDay's throat. He tightened his grip. "You're protecting a human...after I told you to take her out into that warzone and let her fend for herself...you've always been weak. Always following orders blindly, like a puppet, never thinking for yourself."
“DOGDAY!!!” You screamed
CatNap laugh as DogDay gasped for air. "Ah, yes...you're quite loud..too bad your screams won't reach anyone. But oh. I forgot"
You grabbed a broken pipe nearby, swatting his head forcefully as you could with it, cutting your hands in the proces, DogDay gets dropped to the ground as catnap roars, scrambling away “NOW THAT'S A PUSSY!” You yelled
as CatNap ran off you ran over to DogDay who was coughing like he just smoked ten pounds of weed
“DogDay…are you okay? Are you hurt”
DogDay took several deep breaths as he looked up at you. "I should be asking that to you, doll. Are you okay?" then he gave you a small smirk. "You know...I didn't know how you were capable of swinging that thing with such ease...you remind me of someone. You're a fierce little warrior, aren't you?"
493 notes · View notes
maybeimmalachi · 2 months
Note
Ok so here's a random fluff scenario I was thinking of, picture this: MC accidentally wanders into the basement where they keep Cerberus. And MC being both fearless and a bit clueless thinks he's just some big hell puppy so they treat him as such (petting him and talking in a baby voice to him) and while Cerberus is a bit confused that the human isn't scared of him he's excited to have a new playmate.
from then on MC sneaks down there every night to play with him and bring him table scraps and now anytime he hears MC coming down the stairs he gets all excite like a little puppy.
So now the brothers are curious why does MC always disappear right after dinner so they follow them to see where they're going and then they see them approach Cerberus. The brothers think MC is in danger so they rush down the stairs to save them, but quickly notice that Cerberus is acting all cute and even doing tricks for MC, how do you think the brothers would react in this situation
(P.S. sorry for a long explanation)
You’re okay!! Also this is so cute and silly😭 I decided to twist it up a bit since we do go to the basement multiple times in the storyline and I took my own narrative with the whole thing in general. Oh yeah, and I know very little additional info about Cerberus so I made some stuff up💀 hopefully I’m not wrong about anything
MC sneaks down to the basement nightly to play with Cerberus
2nd person PoV, gn MC, can be read as romantic or platonic
Masterlist
Tumblr media
No matter how many times you wonder through the House of Lamentations, you always seem to discover something new. Usually, it’s different aspects of painting or strange looking objects, but today it was entirely new habit.
Whenever you had gone into the basement in the past, you had seen Cerberus—the massive, three-headed hound which Lucifer kept as both a pet and a guard dog. While you never truly got the chance to interact with the animal, you still found yourself curious about him.
You hadn’t even known they had a basement up until the grimoire incidents, but you weren’t necessarily surprised. Still, the only times you went down there was for urgent means related to it.
And, humans being humans, of course you wanted to pet the dog.
It was a stupid plan, but you were on a mission. Doing some research online, you bought a type of treat from Akuzon that hellhounds are supposed to enjoy. Then, after dinner, when everyone had gone their separate ways, you silently snuck down to the basement.
To say that Cerberus seemed surprised to see a human be so friendly wasn’t much of an understatement, but he did catch you off guard with just how well behaved he was. Besides having to calm him down and prevent him from barking too much, it seemed like Lucifer trained him well.
In fact, the dog was acting so good that you didn’t even want to leave. Sure, it was a bit scary seeing him go down into a pouncing potion while wanting to play, but you’ve surprisingly dealt with scarier things before. It’s almost like your time in the Devildom has washed all form of fear out of you.
If you stayed down in the basement for too long, then surely some type of search party would’ve been started, you knew. So, with a heavy heart, you petted one of his three heads for the last time and promised to be back tomorrow at around the same time.
That promise you kept, and day after day you became Cerberus’s number one playmate. Petting and playing with such a large dog took adjustments, but it was surprisingly easier than you had anticipated. It seemed like he got more and more excited to see you after each day, but that also could’ve been due to the treats you were giving him during each visit.
However, the more often you seemingly disappeared after dinner, the more the brothers seemed to worry. You hadn’t even realised how often they scoured the house separately in search of you.
“Okay. We seriously need’a get something done ‘bout this. Yer telling me that, for the past two weeks, none of us have been able to find MC after dinner?!”
Mammon had taken the gracious liberty to gather everyone except you in the common room to discuss your obscure disappearances. One by one, the brothers shared their own personal stories of you being nowhere to be found; no one had been hanging out with you after dinner for all the days you had gone missing, so it made no sense as to where you could have gone.
“Not until it’s too late to do anything.”
“Could it be Solomon?” Asmo proposed with a tone of expecting doubt, but multiple brothers seemed to nod their heads in agreement to the concern.
“Why would it be Solomon? Actually, now that I-“
“Of course it’s him! If he’s done anything to MC, I’ll—“
“Enough. Destroying Solomon, as tempting as it sounds, won’t give us the answers that we need. Levi, what time is it right now?” Lucifer, being the responsible one he is, was quick cut Mammon off.
“Umm..it’s almost noon.”
“Perfect. After dinner, we shall all follow MC discreetly to see exactly where they’re heading to. Then, we can solve a problem if there is one.”
Everyone turned to face each other before nodding in agreement; it was decided.
For you, dinner was decently normal that night; Beel was devouring everything he could and there was common bickering among the brothers. However, you couldn’t shake the feeling that they were all waiting for you to do something. Even Belphie, who typically spends every meal napping, was awake; not only that, but you caught all of them staring at you at least once.
You couldn’t help but look around nervously as you took another bite of your food portion, wondering if you should even bother visiting Cerberus tonight. It was always after dinner you went; maybe they finally caught on?
But then you remember the fact that you and Cerberus had become extremely acquainted for the past weeks you had been going down; at this point, he certainly anticipated each visit with eager joy. You’d feel too bad not going down simply because of some odd looks.
“..I’m done eating. Im gonna excuse myself.”
With that being said, you stood up, slid your chair carefully to its set position, and left without turning back once. You could practically feel the glares in your back as silence overtook the room; the air felt heavy from how unfitting the lack of noise consumed everyone. Occasionally, they would go silent when someone left, but everything about today just felt different.
Your walk to the basement was slower than usual; despite leaving the dining room, the air was still as thick as it was there, and a lump in your throat formed as you wandered the halls.
Demons and angels never understood the instincts humans have; whenever you or Solomon told them you felt as though something bad will happen, and it does, they’re often caught off guard by the accurate predicament.
If you had told them you had an off-feeling right about now, would they believe you? If you told them you had that feeling someone was right behind you, would they—
An unidentifiable sound emerges from behind you, and you quickly turn around in surprise. However, no one was there, and the root of the sound was nowhere in sight.
That was the movement that led you to believe it was paranoia overtaking you instead of an actual intuition feeling; your mind was creating hallucinations and scaring you simply because of a few weird looks. You turn back, sighing and shaking you head as you finally continued making your way down to the basement.
Whenever you had left dinner, the silence continued as the brothers look at one another. Although they had all agreed to following you, it was easier said than done.
Eventually, Lucifer got up and slowly begun following your trail. One by one, each brother up and pursued the both of you.
It felt as though the halls had become foreign grounds to the brothers as they followed multiple meters behind your trail.
“See the way they’re walking? That’s totally different than the usual walk! They look..nervous almost,” Levi leaned in close to the group and whispered.
“Didn’t they mention before how humans can get a feeling or sorts when something is..’off’ as they put it? Perhaps they’re suspicious of the fact they can feel our presence.”
“Awww, that’s so cute!! It’s like—“
Asmo, not watching where he was going, and perhaps raising his voice too high, slammed his body into the corner of the wall while trying to turn. Everyone’s breath stopped with a sharp inhale in shock.
Fortunately, due to their inhuman speed, all of them were able to hide behind the same corner the fifth-born had bumped into before you turned around to reassess the situation. What were actually seconds going by felt like minutes, but your continued footsteps were eventually audible.
“Do you wish to accompany us, or shall I tape you to the wall, since you wish to stick to it so much?!” Lucifer berated. “We’re not here to gawk. We’re here to assess and possibly confirm an issue.”
The group remained silent and simply stared with guilt at the firstborn.
He sighed, shaking his head with disappointment as he casually continued to walk.
Similar to the events in the kitchen, one by one, demons followed. It wasn’t until Lucifer held his arm out at a certain point did they all stop. Not just any point, however; it seemed you came to a stop as well, and their position aided them by making sure you couldn’t see them while also leaving you in their vision.
“They’re going to the basement,” Beel commented. All of a sudden, the tension grew thicker than it ever had—as if not even a knife could cut it.
“Hey, isn’t that where Cerberus it?” Belphie asked with plenty more emotion in his voice than usual, but everyone knew the answer.
“We can’t let ‘em go in there!!” Mammon proclaimed, trying his best to whisper while keeping emphasis in his tone.
“Stop,” Lucifer said, but everyone could feel the panic that was too in himself; his eyes were slightly widened, and his movements were quicker than usual. “We will continue to follow them down to the basement silently. Whatever it is that inquired MC to head down here everyday, they have made it out alive for the past two weeks. We only need to scan for any authentic, potential danger. Do I make myself clear?”
Not waiting for an answer, he stepped foot into the basement, which you had already made your way into during his reprimanding.
Concerned for your safety, everyone quickly followed behind, but by the same they had made it down, they were too late.
Making your way down the basement floor, the heavy tension seemed to fade as the atmosphere changed. Taking a sigh of relief, you were additionally overjoyed to see Cerberus was equally as relieved to see you.
“Hiiii Cerberus!!” you say in a high-pitched tone filled with glee. The hound, behaving as any typical dog does, grew even more excited at your voice. The pouncing stance that once made you slightly paranoid had now made you feel at ease; all previous feelings of worry had come and gone just like that.
However, the sound of a blood-curdling scream immediately threw both you and Cerberus off. You turn around to realise exactly why you had felt paranoid for so long.
Of course it was Asmo that had screamed. That big, three-headed hound?? It’s going to rip you to shreds! See? It’s already in a pouncing pose, ready to strike its prey! Why would you even want to play with that wretched thing in the first place?!
Mammon wasn’t much better than Asmo; it almost felt like his heart stopped beating for way longer than it should. In fact, he was just about ready to die at that very moment. He’s your protector, and you’re over here, practically shoving yourself into trouble by trying to communicate with this dog??
Belphie was already wide awake from the previous tension of the situation. However, Asmo’s scream had done its magic by making him snap into all-time serious territory. But he couldn’t help but be dumbfounded as well. Seriously, humans really are crazy, aren’t they? Constantly shoving themselves into unwanted trouble simply out of curiosity.
Levi was ready to pass out and never wake up. In fact, he screamed seconds after Asmo did. A dog, seriously MC?! You knew what would’ve happened if you went down here! Why would you even want this?! Unlike some of his brothers, who were taking this as though you hadn’t been down here for the past two weeks, he knew better, but he still couldn’t help but be worried that the dog was gonna tear you to bits.
Beel is on a similar boat as Levi, but isn’t freaking out nearly as much. But you do know Cerberus could easily rip you to shreds, don’t you? What if the dog is just trying to play with his food before devouring it? He was just about ready to fight off the hound before it could even lunge.
Satan is trying his best to think logically about the entire situation, but it’s rather challenging with his brothers having a commotion around him. However, he’s more concerned as to why you would keep going into the basement, or why you wouldn’t want to immediately run off at just the sight of the horrendous dog.
Lucifer, the one who knew Cerberus the best, was more concerned with his brothers and trying to further assess the situation. Of course, he knew his dog better than anyone, but he couldn’t help but wonder why exactly Cerberus was acting this way. And why would you decide to even go down in the first place? He let out a groan and pinched his nose.
“Cerberus, sit!!” The dog obeyed without hesitation. Your jaw was hung open loosely as all you could do was stand still in shock. All of a sudden, his brothers rushed towards you. You threw your arms up as they all surrounded you.
“Ohh, MC!! Are you okay?? Why would you even do this??” Asmo asked as he hurriedly grabbed your shoulder and began patting you down as though searching for wounds of sorts.
“Yeah, what gives?? C’mon, let’s getcha outta here,” Mammon adds, grabbing your arm and giving it a protective tug.
“You could’ve hung out with anyone of us, but you decide to spend the past two weeks down here!? Betrayal!” Levi states in his typical monologue tone.
“It’s a miracle Cerberus didn’t tear you to shreds first thing.”
“We wouldn’t have been there to protect you.”
“But we can’t let this happen again, right?”
“Enough!” The oldest’s thunderous, commanding voice immediately drew everyone’s attention away from you—much to your delight.
“Our pacts with MC must have made Cerberus view them differently. That, or it was sheer luck. Perhaps your human scent threw him off guard as well. It bothers me not. With the few seconds I was able to see him behave, it doesn’t seem he has any ill intent now, so I doubt there will be any later.”
An audible sigh of relief fills the room.
“However, that doesn’t mean you’re getting off scott free, MC. Did you really think it would be a smart plan to incorporate sneaking off into the basement a strict part of your daily routine? Think again. There will be consequences for all of this. Seriously, do you have anything to say for yourself after giving us the scare of our life?”
Everyone was silent after that. The entire time, Cerberus had been peacefully staring down at the entire situation without a single worry in the world, but it seemed even he could feel the stress off of you all.
“Um..whoops?”
520 notes · View notes