#there's probably gonna be a notable Difference!

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

if you have some, do you have any headcannons for barnaby?

honestly! not really! i don't have hcs for any of the neighbors!

[odetolovers]

question mark

[jamestaylorswift]

as someone who is only mildly interested in speak now I’m still enjoying all the clowning

[exopelagic]

I wiped out so hard tonight my KNEES

[troublesh00terfaery]

BELOW 18 PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT. THIS WORK IS NSFW! KEEP OUT!

[THIS WORK IS PURELY FICTION]

[One Shot] (or not, thinking of making a part two for this)

[Alhaitham x AFAB! Reader]

Words: 6.8k

Synopsis: ah well, experiments can quite lead to either expected results or something unexpected. don't you agree?

Tags: AFAB! Reader, teasing, breeding (we doing it raw for him), voyeurism, just kinky sex with this man what else? anal, creampie, a looooottt of sex, making a movie with him, well guess it's valentines for you this night with him :D

A/N: I'm gonna have to be honest with y'all, this smut made me realize I still have my unholiness within me and it's HOLY WEEK! anyway, starting to question if I should make a part 2 (seriously thinking this is okay as a one shot). Let me know in the comments. I'm also thinking of making a playlist while you guys read this, will probably open a yt account very soon as I have already have the list of songs! did not thoroughly proofread so my bad.

FOLLOWING, REBLOGGING, INTERACTIONS, AND FEEDBACKS ARE APPRECIATED

Being a student under the Amurta Darshan wasn't a joke, and the other Darshans can say as well with their respective schools. Before graduating under their respective house, one must comply a special research in order to finish. Of course, being an Amurta student, research isn’t new to you nor to them as well considering the demands of research in the biological and medical field is rising.

Recently, a type of fungi has emerged in the rainforests of Sumeru. It was a great variable for research, yes, however with little to no information with regards to the new species of fungi, one must analyze and observe the organism intricately. Some of the Amurta students felt overwhelmed of studying something unknown and new however the new biological specie sparked interest in you that gathering and studying it wasn't of a big deal considering the Sage has given the graduating students time with their research.

You took the interest of how this mushroom might affect an individual if consumed. Very cliche however if taken into a researcher's perspective, it isn't. Considering of the possible harm this specie might cause if ingested. Nah, it didn't scare you. You just happen to be that curious considering of the hearsays you often hear among the localities. Peculiar, most of them saying.

It would appear that it does somehow look like a sea ganoderma that is abundant in Inazuma that bloomed near the beaches and shores however these fungi have bloomed in damped areas in the deep forests of Sumeru. The color of this fungi might be different from the usual ganoderma as it was the color of light purple. It did somehow secrete a transparent and mucilaginous fluid with a sweet odor.

Quite a strange description that even at times you smile whilst gathering its viscous fluid for examination.

"Are you even sure about this one? You're genuinely scaring me." Kaveh, who happens to be your closest friend and a student from Akademiya under the Darshan of Kshahrewar, was one of the test subjects for your research. He is a year ahead of you, making him your senior.  "Am I your lab rat again?"

"Not just you, I'm also going to drink it myself to test it out and see if there are any notable changes or changes in an individual if one drinks this concoction."

You watched your boiling flask create boiling bubbles and watched it disperse as you used a stirring rod. "Don't use the word 'lab rat' that just sounds so unethical."

Kaveh's scared and nervous demeanor was obvious that he took a deep breath before he went off ranting.

"What am I supposed to call myself? What am I supposed to do if this weird witchy-like potion of yours kill me? Kill you? KILL US?! goodness research is inevitable among us students but this is jeopardizing us, my dear Y/N!"

"It won't!" You snickered and tried to comfort him by keeping a straight face. "Besides I did try to use it as an alternative fertilizer and spray it on my Sumeru roses."

You pinpointed a pot just below your study table. "It quite bloomed quickly and as you see. It did sprout new buds in almost 2 weeks only so I can write in my observations that it can be a great fertilizer if used."

"It's a plant, Archons sake! It looks lewd too!"

"It is, I will not lie!"

He drew his nose closer to the fungi. "Strange but it does smell good, sweet and flowery. For a fungus, it is weird."

You spent your afternoon trying to convince Kaveh to say yes to your research. In the end he eventually said yes to you as you have persuaded him that it was safe. Both of you agreed to drink it after two days and another follow up take in of the concoction to see if there are any differences.

Two days have passed and it was the time to finally test out the mixture you have prepared. Along with you was a small briefcase that was filled with your apparatuses needed. Of course, like they say: it's better to be prepared. At exactly 7:00 in the evening, as agreed by you and your friend, you must meet him at his house.

Or his friend's house rather.

Of course, you were aware that he was indeed a freeloader inside nonother than Alhaitham's house but he assured you that during that time the Akademiya's scribe isn't present during those times considering that he's been busy the past few days.

To you, there's nothing special about Alhaitham. Rather than being the scribe and an introverted Haravatat student.

Well, he's quite good looking and somewhat that annoyed you. He somehow did radiate as someone with god complex and if ever the end of world happens, he's gotta be one of those people who will AND WILL survive.

You have arrived 10 minutes early of the said time but it seems that Kaveh is late for 10 minutes. Until it became 20 and 30 minutes late. At first it was bearable however you couldn't waste time anymore. You wanted to finish your research just like any other students.

"I can't believe he's pissing me off. He told me he'll be early." You stood up and knocked three times.

"Kaveh? It's me. It's already 7:30 in the evening and you're not opening the door. Open it!" The annoyance dripping from your tone like acid.

You knocked again. No response.

Another four more knocks and calling his name. No response.

Fuck, Kaveh what's the matter with you? Come out.

Another final succession of knocks and still no response.

You gave up attempting to knock and call his name. It was either: he was just hiding from you because it did genuinely scare him or he wasn't really there. But he couldn't lie to you, you both agreed to testing out the mixture.

"Alright, whatever. Loser."

Heaving a sigh, you stepped back from the door and murmured a few words before accepted defeat and just before you walk away, you happen to stumble something strong and tall from behind and you could immediately tell that it wasn't Kaveh. Your head against a chest.

You slowly lifted your head and greeted the face of nonother than Akademiya's scribe.

"If you knock like that, you'll surely destroy my door." He lowered his gaze to match yours with a rested expression.

Oh, it is indeed Alhaitham. It is indeed him. Him. Oh.

Oh...

Neither of you moved from that position for a while, both of you matching the gazes before you realized it was awkward and slowly lowered your head and made way for him and pretended to idle yourself by fixing your skirt. To be fair, he is really THAT attractive.

He ain't just gifted with intelligence but he knows he is THAT good looking and attractive.

"And what does this Amurta student doing in front of my house at this hour?" His arms slowly sliding to his pocket to get his keys. Tone monotone before skimming to the key for his door.

"I'm here for Kaveh." You took a grip on the handle of your case.

He opened the door and only answered 'hm.' Uninterested. He shifted his gaze at you leaned his toned body against the frame of the door.

"Did he somehow invite you here?"

You nodded and met his gaze before breaking it off.

"We both agreed to meet here."

"I assume it's for your research. Well, come inside. Don't want Kaveh to nag at me for not entertaining his visitor."

You came inside shortly following him. Upon entering, you couldn't help but to scan the house. There's nothing special to mention aside the paper works piled up in a table and scraps of paper under a desk and certain apparatuses that is used for measuring you assumed. It seemed to be Kaveh's side of table that it has be him, it was chaotic.

Closing the door, you immediately sat and primed yourself up in an not so familiar place. Alhaitham sat at the sofa just in front of you and observed you from head to toe before he inhaled. His back relaxed against the back rest of the sofa.

"So... out of all the possible participants you could've chose, you really picked him?"

"I don't see a problem a problem with him being my participant."

"And why is that?"

"It's my research, I get to choose who I want to be my participants."

He wasn't so sure if you were insulted by his questions but it did amuse him by the way you answered him directly with a soft tone.

"Sadly, he's not here."

"Seems so."

Both of your eyes now met and neither of you wanted to break it off. Seems like you already knew how bad your chemistry will be with him by just this interaction. Silence surrounded the room, not a single flinch from neither of you but the eye contact creating this tension between you and the scribe was barely tolerable that you wanted to break free from the contact.

But he didn't show any hesitancy to break off the connection of your gazes, in fact he would want admit he would see this as competition. It wasn't evident in his face but the way he cocked his head slightly to one side just showed how much of cunning asshole he is but it was attractive in a way, of course you couldn't deny it. Being cunning just adds to the list of attributes that just makes him attractive.

Uh well, yeah…

In return, you gave him a soft doe-look and a small smile. The scribe only gave you a small smile in return. Come to think of it, if waiting for Kaveh to return would be a waste of time for you and precious research then why not make him your first research?

"Say, considering that my friend is not here, how about you take his place instead?"

He raised his brow and crossed his arms. "Friend? and here I was thinking that you were dating. But he did mention a close friend." he scoffed.

"Hmm, people often think we’re dating but we’re not." you scoffed and let out a single giggle. “Kaveh’s good looking himself.”

"You're saying you're not good looking then?"

You gazed at him, smile wearing off before you pressed your lips together. "I didn't say anything."

You pressed your legs together as your hands clenched the hem line of your skirt. You lowered your gaze and tried to divert the topic. Your eyes went to look at your small briefcase.

With you little movements, he finds himself smiling at just how fragile yet collected at the same time you looked like. How you pressed those lips of yours that has the tiniest shine probably from your lip balm and the little tint of color pressed unto your plump lips.

'Cherry red? No probably that Tangerine wine... impossible. Peony red? Champagne pink? Too strong. Dewy peach? What else did I see from the market that sold those kinds of...balms'

"Ah, as I proposed a while ago, you can take Kaveh's spot." You paused.

He gave you a look to continue by giving you a small nod.

"It's about these fungi that out of nowhere grew at the rainforests of Sumeru. It was estimated to have grown two to four months ago where the weather condition was harsh yet perfect for cultivating these fungi to grow..." you got up to get your briefcase and showed him a glass box where the specimen of the fungi was stored.

You showed him the glass box before you slowly and carefully dragged one of the chairs to give the box a better and closer view to him and sat properly with an excited look. The expression you made just made him smile in the back of his head.

Just the way your breasts that hugged your white turtleneck sweater coordinated with every movement you made and how your thighs look plush as you sat at such...rather unconscious provocative manner. There's so much about you that keeps him wondering about you. What would such a girl, an Amurta student like you, keep this Scribe fixated at you. You were just, innocently charming that he couldn’t resist the thought of him doing--

‘What am I thinking, this is wrong’

"As you can see, it does look like a-"

"Sea Ganoderma, local from Inazuma. But the color is different, yes." He pulled the chair you were sitting just enough to be close to him, not breaking his gaze from you. Attentive.

 "I can't see if you move your hands much. Stay still."

Now again, both of your gazes have started its connection again only this time it was closer. The gazing and whatever the fuck it was with your eyes and his eyes, it gave pause and silenced the whole room. The sudden closeness has made you tense a bit that you were taken a back.

"Okay?" He looked at your surprised, lost, and doe eyed look that made you look innocent.

You responded with a small nod and a sheepish tone. “’Kay,” a tint blush forming in your cheeks.

He didn’t move to his usual position. He stayed like that exactly and gave you a signal to continue with your details by him giving you a small nod. At first, you were hesitant considering the space he ate up just to get a closer look to you and the box you had. But you didn’t have to waste time so you went on with your detailing.

You described to him its delicious scent despite having a peculiar anatomy. You showed him your paper works as to the recorded data of how it also affected the Sumeru roses you had in your room.

“You conduct laboratory observations in your room?”

“What? the biology laboratory is already packed with students with their specimens. It might affect mine as well.”

“And you think that your room couldn’t affect the variables then? Hm?”

Furrowing your brows, you scoffed. He was indeed correct. The location was indeed part of the variables to be considered that might affect the status of your fungus. That was one of matters that you missed out and it somehow annoyed as out of the person that could’ve corrected you, it would be him.

“Seems like you missed some points to be noted for your research then, Miss Y/N?”

You stood up, randomly gave him the box, and took your briefcase to get to concoction you prepared. You didn’t see any need of explaining the details to him, seems like he already knows your stuff. You showed two him two test tubes with the same length of the concoction. Alhaitham observed you.

Your back facing him as you tend your mixture into another separate glasses. His right-hand skimming through the edges of the box, fingers delicately feeling the edges and surface of the box and not taking his eyes off you. There again, his curiosity taking over with just the sight of you that it somehow intrigued and annoyed him. He slowly opened the box and there he smelled the pungent smell of something gourmand and flowery and yet something of earthy at the same time.

He couldn’t understand what smell it was but somehow it was lulling him.

The silence slowly rang your ears and the pressure between the time and how quiet the room is made you feel heavy. You felt yourself jittery that after a while of his presence and darting eyes from behind you. The night was windy and you can only hear the slow chimes of the door charm and the gentle tings and tacks of the glass. A few moments have passed, you can only hear him grunt and clearing his throat.

“Is something the matter?” You looked at him only to find him resting his left hand to the hand rest of the sofa, palms covering his face whilst his right hand toying the box and seems to play with the lid of the box.

“How’s the smell?” You took each test tubes and went over to him, sitting at the same seat you were just in front of him and took a deep breath. “Now all you have to do it drink this concoction with me if there are any notable changed it will happen to a person who ingested it. Don’t worry, like I said you’ll be drinking—”

“Are you serious? This already makes my head ache, the smell. You think I’ll drink that?”

“You’re drinking it with me. I only need the data.”

He looked at you, his brow raising. “What makes you think I’m going to drink that.”

You looked away, not knowing what are the possibilities too. If you ever come up with using the data of plants, he’ll find an argument just to cease your experiment. You held unto your test tubes and faced him. Doe eyes showing desperation and pleading.

“Please, Alhaitham. I’ll do whatever you want. I just need the data…” You didn’t care at this point, you’re never the type to agree to doing whatever the person wants but if it’s Alhaitham, well there would be no problem at all. “Please?”

Looking at your little parade of innocence and desperation, he couldn’t help but to hate himself by letting his inner thoughts run through his system. The way you held the test tubes on each hand of yours enthusiastically a while ago and how you lowered it down to rest to your thigh. How your thumb caressed the glass surface, how your lips pressed before biting your lower lips in frustration causing it to darken its color. Your eyes asking for an answer, and voice soft.  You looking so irresistibly delicious to pounce at.

Just you, being this little sweet lamb that he couldn’t just resist.

“Please, Alhaitham. Please?”

Fuck. Fuck is happening to me?

“Fuck this.” He cursed under his raspy breath, clearing his throat yet his brows furrowed. Before he adjusts himself in his seat by leaning back and bucking his hips up. “Look, at least if there is any possibility that we will die, at least I die with you and your silly little experiments for your silly little research. Got it, you silly girl?"

The enthusiasm back once again in your face. You smiled at him and nodded a couple of times. You instructed him for a few reminders to take note. The two lines that were labeled in each glass signified the amount of mixture was to be ingested.

In a count of 3 you both drank together. The smell of the concoction was lessened however its scent note was still there. Both of you didn’t move, your eyes focusing on the paper and your pen. Alhaitham on the other hand is busy with minding his books.

A few moments have passed a slow tingling heat started to surge in your body. The heat surging inside your body was slow yet everywhere. At first you thought it was just your sweater so did not pay no mind however as time passed, you realized that it starting to get warm and hot. It was making your head dizzy and sweat. You tried to cool yourself by fanning with your hands.

It was a cold evening, a reason why you wore your turtleneck to warm you up yet it seems that it's getting a little hotter. You started to fan yourself with your palms. From fanning yourself to using the loose cloth of your polo neck to fan your chest loosen up. Everything happening right now wasn't anything you expected to be.

Ways... ways... ways... ways to distract myself... what is this? I need to distract myself? Is it too hot here?

You suddenly remembered the paper you were supposed to fill with the initial observation of the first dose of the concoction. Upon looking at it, you felt lightheaded and almost felt like you were slowly floating.

While you were drafting random bullshit in your paper, Alhaitham on the other end felt the same sensation in your body. He was either thinking it was the effect of the pungent scent of the fungus or the mixture you just gave him. His head started to spin and a surge of heat in his body roamed his system. A storm inside him that just felt that it would never end nor calm down. He needed to compose himself, a simple concoction cannot just simply make him feel bizarre.

Alhaitham wanting to stop the chaos suddenly stood up to find his headphones. At times, he would resort to just playing music in his headphones to block noise or just randomly wear it to make it seem that he's does not want to interact.

He just wanted to have and wear it yet his body betrayed him the moment he stood up. His eyes slowly blurring and his legs felt no life made him weak. Just right after passing by after you, he fumbled. Tripping just the moment he passed at the table, falling. A few of your apparatuses falling included some of the unloaded test-tubes and a single tube with viscous and thick liquid inside spilled at his chest, left arm, and the crotch part of his pants.

"Archons…” he whispered, feeling a pang of defeat as he sat at the floor and tried to wipe the excess mixture.

The commotion startled you as you started to fill up the details of the paper. You quickly took action and assisted the young man. Taking a handkerchief from your pocket of your skirt you started to wipe the mess on his chest.

He was wearing his usual dark off-coat that hugged his chest. You couldn't help to get distracted at the little intricate gem that was in his sternum.

Slowly... slowly... you were being lulled again. Like an effective hypnosis it seemed like you were in a haze that you couldn't understand. You couldn't even control your body. The heat was all over your body.

The way you started to simply just mess up instead of cleaning it was a sign that the aphrodisiac took over your senses. You were so distracted and helpless. Everything about this man in front of you was like a need and a want of your body and soul.

Alhaitham felt the same.

The tension, the spark, the need, the hunger to just own you was evident yet he didn't want to be consumed by it. There was this resistance of him and the more he forced to neglect the feeling, the stronger the urge wave his body.

He felt weak and he didn't like that. It was too much yet you kept fueling the fire that he was suppressing. At this very moment, he wanted to breed and own you. A mixture of aggression and lust now surging.

"Haitham..." you dragged a fingertip to his intricate gem that was at his sternum and pressed your thighs as you dragged, fingertips feeling the shape of his gem. It made him hitch his breath, an irregular breath and a painful erection as he got indulged by your little play.

“Get up.”

No response.

“Y/N…”

“I should’ve known, this was an aphrodisiac. A strong one—Fuck, Y/N.” He threw his head as he saw you press your pretty lips against his gem, pecking it before looking at him with doe-fuck-me-till-i-break eyes.

“Haitham…”

“Get up, Y/N…” his voice croaked “Or else we’re going to have to fuck the whole night.” He cupped your cheek, feeling the heat of your skin.

“Haitham, too hot…” you lowered your jacket until it reached your elbow, exposing the tight turtleneck top you wore that happily hugged your mounds and figure. Innocently provoking him. "...hot" you murmured and held his hand that cupped your cheek. Now the back of his hand slimy with the mixture and looking back at him with lust-heart eyes.

"Yeah, you and I won't be going to class tomorrow."

And just like that?

Just like that. It was enough to push him to the edge.

Sloppy kisses, hitched and panting breathes, desperate rutting, and slapping of skins reverberated his whole room. There was only one thing on both of your minds: to fuck.

"H-Haitham~!"

To fuck until you couldn't do it anymore. Breed and fill you up to the brim until his seed spilled out your tired plush pussy.

Your moans were getting louder and louder as you felt another succession of orgasm reaching to you. A hollow feeling started to build up inside you and his cockhead adding up to the climatic feeling as he abused your soft spongy cervix, desperately wanting to push it further and deeper.

Alhaitham unconsciously made people feel small without doing nothing. It was probably his reputation and how cunning he is, he had his ways just to get what he wants.And now definitely, he made you feel small. His length overwhelming you and your insides. The way it made you feel stuffed and full inside and how he's just towering above you. Hands clasped on your ass and carried your weight was he pressed you against the wall and rutted violently.

He kept his mouth busy by marking your chest and neck and desperately sucked on your peaks. He felt the need to breed you and fill you up with his cum.

The constant hitting of your cervix and the rough ministration made you squirm and groan. Your walls pressuring and pressing tightly against his cock signaled him that you were close. Your legs now wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. He can feel how wet your spongy walls.

"Gonna cum... Ah~! Haitham! Gonna cum-"

"Yeah? Gonna cum again?" He chuckled. "Fuck-- you're getting too loud- Mhn~!" He pressed against yours as he maintained his pace, not changing it. He felt that he was getting near too and that excited him.

Your walls spasmed and legs trembled as you reached your climax, Alhaitham chucked as he changed his pace before he pulled out making you squirt from the intense punishing of your cunt.

"Haitham—" you hitched your breath, heart beating fast as you squirted again. Alhaitham looked down as he watched you make a mess and that just made him hard enough and drive him to make your squirt again. He violently pushed his cock again inside and started to rut and roughly pulling it out making you buck your hips up and squirt again.

"Haitham please~ oh~!"

 a slower one so you could have your moment before he continued his pursuit to seek his high. He changed his pace again, a faster one. A rough and fast one.

His tip now teasing your spot that made you tremble again. His cock made your pussy sing for a couple of times now. He had been breeding your pussy since and the both of you couldn't have enough, a never-ending high and feeling of wanting to release.

"Fuck, gonna fill you up-" he panted, rested his forehead against yours, making him watch the little show: your pussy eating him whole and forming a little bump as he entered. "Your pussy's the best!"

With one final thrust, he came inside you. Rutting and violently spasming as he filled your abused hole the 4th time tonight.

Time:10:30 PM

Recorded data (written): none

Recorded through Kamera data: none, battery level at 90 percent.

It was the fifth time tonight. Now he's fucking you from behind, your chest and the side of your face pressed against the wall as well as both of your palms. Alhaitham drilling his thick and veiny cock inside your spongy and abused walls. Your moans are getting louder again and he was fascinated the way you just came over and over because of his cock. You kept soaking and drenching his dick with your pussy juice. It started to make sloppy noises whenever he pushed in and out. You started to cream again, forming a ring on the base of his cock.

"You feel so good, Alhaitham~!" You moaned, feeling his tight grip against your beautiful hips and created crescent marks as he slammed his cock back and forth.

"Fuuuck this pussy is mine-- fuck fuck fuck--" he groaned, he took his left arm and wrapped his left palm to your neck and slowly pulled it making you arch your back and head hitting his shoulder. He slowly guided his palm that wrapped your neck to your jaw and continuously rutted. Now you can clearly hear his groans and panting.

He hammered his cockhead again and felt your spongy and plush cervix making him push his cock deeper as he came inside you again. He covered your cervix with his thick cum.

Time: 12:50 AM

Recorded data (written): none

Recorded data through kamera: Data recorded, battery level at 75 percent

"Didn't realize you had your kamera with you." He chuckled turning the camera on as he gazed at your body. Tired and a mess, cum dripping out from both of your pussy and ass hole. Saying that he liked it was an understatement, he loved it and seeing the mess you both made him harder. He realized that the slimy juice that it was a lubricant and the purpose of this fungi was an overall aphrodisiac with versatility.

"Haitham..." You called out his name, hoarse and small. You slowly opened your legs and revealed your aching and puffed cunt wanting for more. Alhaitham on the other hand set the kamera up just enough to get an angle of you and him in the frame together.

"Just for the data." He sighed, hoovering on top of you and pressing his lips against yours. Hands roaming around your waist before he positioned his cock again and decided teasing you. His cockhead teasing your puffy and abused entrance before he guided his length to your clit and gently pressed his head.

The pressure made you squirm and groan from his ministration. A few taps of his cockhead to your clit and a few pumping of his dick before he slowly reached out for your nape and raised it. Your weak body being supported by your wobbly elbows and your forehead against his.

"Put it in…" you hissed at him and brows furrowing.

"Not so polite are we?" Slowly inserted half his length making the excitement in your stomach rise up again and his hips buckle. "Say it, princess."

"Please put it in, please please please~" you plead with look of longing.

With a smirk, Alhaitham slowly pushed his cock inside you and guided his hand that held your nape and lowered it for you to watch him get inside you. He pushed until his head was greeted by your cervix but oh, he didn't stop there.

He slowly pushed further making you moan from the pressure of wanting to push further.

"Haitham--too deep~! Ahh~!"

Alhaitham couldn't resist to smirk while he looked at your eyes roll back and legs quivering. You just got this man hooked with your pussy and beauty.

"Cumming already?" he teased as he started to move his hips in a piston like pace.

Time: 3:33 AM

Recorded data(written): none

Recorded data through Kamera: Data recorded, battery level at 11%

"Too tired, Haitham…" you whined.

You took a pause for a moment as you felt your legs wobble and strain a pain from grinding him. Him buried deep in your ass wasn't on the menu but who would've thought that you both

would enjoy it. You rested your palms on both of his thighs and rested your back against his hard chest and took another deep breath as you started to bounce on his dick again. It was slow yet deep, something that made Alhaitham groan and hiss.

"I know, baby…" he chuckled as he saw you in action again. "…just can't get enough of you."

Talk about having three of your holes stretched out in a single night. You couldn't count how many times have he came inside your pussy and mouth and now he just discovered about the pleasure of having his cock buried deep inside your ass.

"So goood~ So deep~!" you whined, biting your lower lip and continued to bounce on his dick. It was sloppy and it was thanks to his cum and the lube combined together and oh, he loved to see the his cum and the lube together forming strings in your ass cheeks and asshole and making sloppy and erotic sounds each time you bounced on it.

He noticed your bouncing started to slow down until you stopped again, making him chuckle. He kissed your shoulder blade and whispered "Sofa."

Alhaitham helped you stand up and walked towards the sofa where you faced the arm of the sofa and rested your arms on it.

"Ass up," Alhaitham took his cock and slowly pushed it inside your ass again making you moan from stretching your whole with his size. "So b-big~" You rolled your eyes as he let a final push to burry it deep.

A sting left your right ass cheek when he slapped it and groping both cheeks, slowly making a move again. It started slow until it was fast and deep. Alhaitham took both of your arms and held it from behind, penetrating deeper and making you bend over forward.

Balls slapping against your clit making you moan louder. You were so lulled by his dick you didn't even realize that you have classes today. Same goes to Alhaitham and he could feel his climax reaching as well and with one final push deep, he came inside you.

Time: 6:30 AM

Recorded data(written): none

Recorded data through Kamera: none, kamera has shut down. battery at 0%.

"Thank the fucking Archons I have bought my keys-" Kaveh scanned his pocket to check if his keys were really in his pocket which of course is there. He hurriedly scanned the keys.

"Key key key- Archons where the fuck is that key!"

The little commotion just outside Alhaithams abode made the scribe awake. He was a light sleeper, it was enough to awake him since he knew this voice and tone so well it annoyed him early in the morning. Alhaitham was about to rise when he heard your small groans making him look at his chest.

The little commotion just outside Alhaitham's abode made the scribe awake. He was a light sleeper, it was enough to awake him since he knew this voice and tone so well it annoyed him early in the morning. Alhaitham was about to rise when he heard your small groans making him look at his chest.

There you were sleeping. Your once peaceful face grunted when Kaveh shouted another curse and that hit Alhaitham.'

'We fucked.' he said into himself. His brain was somewhat still foggy from last night and he could feel his worn out muscles. He heaved a sigh as to trying to figure what to do with you still sleeping while his roommate is already making his head hurt from his cursing and loud voice. Fragments of what happened last night made him groan especially when he saw the Kamera faced at them. Did it bother him? Well, he simply ignored it. He knew it was down but he knew it recorded some. Probably gonna check it out later.

"We're late for class," he whispered and gently stood up when you were awoken from his movements and the noise Kaveh made. Alhaitham didn't move another muscle and hoped you would just sleep but turns out you were trying to keep yourself awake by rubbing your eyes when you faced him.

"Alhai…" you then lowered your gaze and finally realized that you were in his bed NAKED. "…tham."

"It's okay, you should lie down and rest." he looked at your face before scanning your body. Bruises, marks, flushed face, and…

"my body hurts." you whispered, feeling a bit conscious when he started to scan your body. You covered it with his blanket and looked away.

…sore body. Alhaitham hid a somewhat victorious ghost smile and sat on the edge of the bed, the blanket barely covering his waist. His back was facing you and you noticed

The red marks on his back that somehow looked like a…

"Scratch?" you whispered again with your soft hoarse voice. Alhaitham heard, his right arm reaching his back before facing you. "I thought it was implied that Akademiya students shouldn't have long nails?" he looked at your fingers to see an opal-colored nail polish with your nails with just the right length and round shape which you quickly hid from him.

He looked at your figure again making him gaze at you intently, eyes piercing before he looked away and faced the wall. He palmed his face when he realized his morning wood is up and is in dire need of attention. Morning woods are normal to him every morning but this?

He shrugged off the want to feel your pussy walls in him again but Archons it did want him to feel that again. He stood up and got his brief and boxers and wore it. He took a new off coat from his cabinet and handed it over to you which you accepted. "Or would you like a sweatshirt instead?"

"This is already fine, thank you." you couldn't look at him, he was barely dressed and his body is too beautiful and distracting, stimulating you to think about irrational and unholy thoughts. Pray the archons none of them actually reads your mind.

You took the well folded and newly laundered cloth and looked at it. Your mind was still hazy and foggy making Alhaitham think you actually didn't know how to wear them. He took a sweatshirt from his cabinet and sat beside you.

"Seems like you forgot how to wear clothes I suppose."

"No…"

He didn't listen, he took his sweatshirt. "Get dressed, we're eating breakfast."

As much as you wanted to, you just felt that your body was that tired and just gave him a helpless look. "Haitham… need help. I feel sore."

Another sigh, Alhaitham took the blanket and revealed your body again. Plush thighs with marks, beautiful mounds with marks on your under boobs and some on your waist. Your neck and color bones decorated with his marks. Seems like he enjoyed his self quite too much last night he admitted. He gulped and helped you get clothed.

He then gazed at you.

"Don't look at me like that. Those eyes of yours" clenching his jaw, he looked at you again with piercing gaze.

"Look at you like?"

He came closer to you, gently wrapping his one arm all over your waist and pulling you close to him while he rested his back on the bed frame. He left kisses again on each mark he left on your neck and gently raised his sweatshirt you wore.

You softly whimpered from his actions, eyes closed and hands wrapped on his neck. Just as about he was about to leave another mark…

"Alhaitham open the fucking door, I have something to get!" Kaveh's frustrated voice and loud knocks made you hitch your breath. "Alhaitham! Damn it you Scribe! open!"

"Haitham…" You looked at him but he doesn't seem to mind Kaveh's wanting to break the door. He nibbled on your left nipple and gropped on your right breast while he looked at you. He started to suck on in it slowly and closed his eyes, alternating his sucking from your left nipple to your right.

Kaveh's knocks were getting loud and you were already telling Alhaitham that you should hide but oh, Alhaitham has better plans.

"Dude open the door, Archons!"

Alhaitham stood up and wore his shorts before he gently carried you like a bride as he went to the door. Truth is, you didn't know what Alhaitham's plan was. All he did was give you his stoic look before smiling devilishly while he draped you with his coat. You wrapped your arms around his neck to hold onto him.

Alhaitham finally opened the door.

"Thank Archons you actually opened-"

Kaveh's voice dropped as what he saw. Alhaitham gave him his usual stoic face as he gave you a nudge. You slowly looked at Kaveh with a flushed and embarrassed look.

"Come in." Alhaitham spoke. "Best not to leave your keys behind again." The sarcastic remark from Alhaitham dripping all over his tone.

[jester089]

I absolutely loved Locked Away! If you’re doing requests may I request an alternate ending to Locked Away with the same characters where they get to actually help reader recover from their mind breaking instead of them just being sent back to the cellar? I’d imagine it’d take a while for reader to fully recover but reader’s s/o would probably be really happy to see reader slowly get back to their normal self :)

Stuck with you

Thanks for request you lovely reader. Were so polite too. I'll do my best! Most likely gonna be super fluffy. And for anyone else who felt like it requests are open. So feel free.

Caine

In this string of events he doesn't put you back into the cellar. Despite being an AI he just cares to much about you to throw you away like that. The only real notable differences from before is Caine's softer with you and is often looking through your code to see how you were able to overcome abstraction. In a situation like that no less. And with constant attention from him your start improving! After a month or two pass you start reacting to things again, you even spoke a few times! Sure your voice is much quieter and shakier then before and you jump at a lot more, but you getting better. If Caine could cry he would have. And I am happy to announce that after around a half a year of time your back! Mostly... You different from before, but it's still you. And after enough time and assurance that your ok Caine lets you stay in your old room again everyone feeling a lot of relief seeing that giant X be taken off your door.

Gangle

Hope your ready to have a clingy piece of ribbon constantly touching you in one way or another. When you were taken out by Caine Gangle couldn't have been happier. You and her have gone through a lot though since the last time you saw each other so she'll be pretty overprotective for a while. And their will be a lot of breakdowns between the two of you, that and it' wi'll take a long time for either of you to feel like yourselves again. After a few months of Gangle constantly clinging to you, you start showing some improvement she starts to give you a little space. Emphasis on a little. She still isn't ok with not being in the same room as you but she is ok with not being in physical contact for over a minute now. Once you and Gangle are feeling more like yourselves again Gangle will even start using her comedy mask again! And once your feeling ok with actually talking and being around the others kick Jax in the D$&# for me. Cause even during all this he still constantly bullied Gangle and you. You were broken and she was on the verge of joining you. But with her there you felt, safe. And just having you to hold and talk to again is enough to make Gangle not at risk for abstraction. For now.

Zooble

She sadly didn't show up when you first got back. She didn't even believe you were alive until Ragatha and Pomni started spamming her doorbell and pounding on her door again. She got up and swung the door open full ready to berate the two over doing that so soon after she lost you. And so soon after they made the messed up joke of you being ok. She didn't even get a word out before she froze. Y-you were there... Standing in front of her! She reached out with a shaky hand not believing that it was really you. Once she realizes it is really you, you're quickly get tackled into a hug. She's crying so hard she can't even see, staining both of your faces with tears, peppering your face with kisses Don't ask me how if she doesn't have a mouth. But you didn't react. You didn't giggle, or blush, or push her away because you were overwhelmed. She felt a light tap on her shoulder to see Ragatha standing there rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. After Zooble got clued in on what happened she swore to stick with you, doesn't matter if you got messed up in the cellar. She isn't giving up on you. She can and will stick by your side until either you get better, or you two die of old age. She's gentle with you of course but I feel like she would force you to come out of your rooms. And with you there again she was ok with going on adventures again, even going out of her way to request more lighthearted and easy ones from Caine, just for you and her. You know that scene where she strangled Jax though her arm wasn't attached. Yeah, she's going to constantly have one of her hands holding yours. Even if she isn't there she isn't just going to leave you all alone. And if you ask her she'll leave you both her arms, maybe even a leg or two. Sure it's a pain in her a$& not having a limb or limbs, but in her mind you come first.

Ragatha

When she heard that you were back she believed it in an instant. Sprinting to where Caine said you were faster then you would except a ragdoll to be able to go. When she sees you she wants so bad to squeeze the life out of you but she holds off. You abstracted before, what if she did something wrong and it happened again!?! She can't... No, she wont let that happen. So she is very very gentle with you treating you like you would crumble to dust if she looked away or accidentally saying something not positive in your presence. After you and Ragatha are safe and in one of your rooms she is just going to awkwardly sit there staring at you. While you were gone she went over in her mind what she would do if you were back so many times. But now your here, sitting in front of her. And she can't even bring herself to move or speak a single word. You two sit there for who knows how long until you end up falling asleep and flopping over onto her, just like you did so many times before... you know. That snaps her out of it. This isn't some fragile item. It's you... It's YOU! YOUR ACTUALLY HERE! YOUR ALIVE! You falling asleep on her is when it finally sinks in that your back. This isn't some F"!@%# up trick. She lays her forehead against yours and just listens to you breath eventually falling asleep as well.

Jax

It's kind of messed up but Jax has the highest likely hood or breaking you again after your better, or making you worse when your mind is still fragile. It's just he has gone through a lot while you were gone, not once showing or acting on any of his emotions keeping them all inside bottled up. Then seeing you sitting on his bed staring at him with glazed over eyes pops the corks off all those bottles. All at once making poor you have to deal with just about every emotion all at once. Moving past that, much like Zooble he makes sure you get out more. And surprisingly he will let you talk to and be around others despite all the pent up fear he has based around you. But if someone says or does something that you at all negatively react to he is going to be ROYALLY PISSED. He keeps like that for a while but upon seeing you start to improve, he lightens up a lot. Just seeing you react and talk again is enough to help with a lot of his inner turmoil. And once your at least mostly back to being yourself he will be too. Back to being a prankster and kind of an A*#hole. But he will never once tease you about what you went though. He would sooner throw himself into that cellar before he even thought of teasing you with that.

Pomni

Since you've been gone Pomni's been, well a mess. She was unstable before you left. Seeing you again shifted something in her. She was there with Caine when you got out of the cellar. When she saw you in all your glory she just stared for who knows how long before passing out. The two of you were moved to one of your rooms probably by either Caine or Ragatha who were just trying to help. But every time she wakes up and comes face to face with you she gets overwhelmed and passes out again. It's just too much. So if you both want to come out the other side still together relationship and mind wise you'll have to take it slow. Really slow. Ragatha will more likely then not be in charge or slowly introducing you two to each other again. And Pomni makes good progress. You do too. But every time her mind wanders back to that day you abstracted she looses most of her progress. So sadly it's mostly up to you. With Ragatha's help your going to have to pull yourself out of that pit in your mind. And when your at least mostly yourself again Pomni will start actually improving. It'll feel wrong but the best way to get her ok with being around you without having a breakdown is exposure therapy. And a lot of it. Just spend time with you as well as with a little luck you two can pick up where you left off. Or at the very least close to it.

(If you ask me this didn't turn out good. If you the requester for this post agree with that feel free to ask me to repeat it. Sometimes my writing gets wonky cause I was in a weird mood. Still I hope you enjoyed it! That applies to the rest of you too!)

xoxo, Jester

[therabbitthatpostthings]

Okay let's talk about Reality in Welcome Home.

YES THIS IS JUST ME RAMBLING AGAIN BUT I SWEAR I HAVE A POINT TO MAKE. This is more of my collecting my thoughts and trying to make sense of what we have right now.

TLDR: The reality of Welcome Home is separated by the "fourth wall" that the characters are not aware of except for few.

So ever since the first update after the website launched I have been wondering about where the reality shift lies in Welcome Home. How can this be a haunted puppet show with no notable names for actors, production crew, puppeteers, etc. I was basically trying to figure out if this was Hello Puppets or My Friendly Neighbourhood kind of situation. Especially after Sally's Halloween Story, it came ever more clear that they are not fully aware of the fact that people are filming them.

This past update has somewhat solidified what I think is happening. The Welcome Home Puppet show exist in it's own version of reality literally separated by the fourth wall. The neighbours are completely unaware that they are puppets, being filmed, etc. The idea that a magic narrator can talk to them is normal (as it is in many children's cartoons, the Narrator from The Powerpuff Girls and The Storyteller from Into the Woods comes to mind). This really all comes together for me alongside the theory that some of the neighbours are self-aware. I'm not gonna argue who is and who isn't but I don believe the Neighbours featured in promotional material that directly speaks to the viewers or anything outside the show are aware.

(Note: It would be a big stretch to say the things like the TV and radio apprenticed were staged or faked by the Welcome Home Crew)

I think the ones most aware are Wally, Barnaby, Frank and Howdy. Everyone else is rather slowly becoming aware or going through the motions like Eddie. Wally and Barnaby are self-explanatory, they are closest to Home and the Narrator(s). Frank by the way of the Bug Theory and the fact that he "breaks script" to comfort Eddie. Howdy is because I cannot think of a way that he would participate in those commercials without knowing somehow. If Home really is antagonistic towards the Neighbours, I can believe they would act in line. Also during Eddie's panic attack, he doesn't move ever after expresses him desire to leave, because he can't move. He's a puppet. It's worth noting that everyone else has a puppeteer accept Wally and Home. Wally has a handler and Home's eyes are the only thing on it that can move via a crank on the side of it not showing to the camera.

I believe the cartoon reality is the one that the puppets see and why in all of Wally's answer videos we see it in IRL footage. He is not blind to what the show is doing. Eddie's panic attack shows up that what they see and we see are very different. This isn't like a foolproof way of thinking because it leaves a lot of holes but most of those holes have to do with things I believe will be answered later. Like:

What exactly is Home and the power Home has over the Neighbours?

Why did the show shut down?

The benefactor sending the packages

Why is Wally the one that remains? Where are the others?

Why were we able to see what Eddie and Wally sees outside of the reality they exist in?

etc.

Thats last point is still up in the air for me because that easier could of been a storyteller point but the fact that Welcome Home narrator and logo pops up at the end of the Homewarming Special alludes that everything Eddie went through we saw. Or at least it was filmed and probably cut out of the official broadcast.

I don't have any answers. What we do know now is that the show shut down, someone is still present and sending packages to the WHRP and Playfellow. This mysterious black goop has the power to influence those in contact with it, even causing loss of time. The WHRP went through an investigation internally and in the website. W is a part of the website and actively doing their own investigation after "supposedly" making contact with Wally in the post-halloween/pre-March 9th update (which you can see btw on the Wayback Machine). Wally, regardless if he is the one sending the packages, is using them to communicate. He wants someone to find him because he KNOWS we are watching and we are looking for him.

Personally I believe Home or whatever entity is controlling it, is sending the packages and trying to control others. I think Wally is a by product of all this and is trying to find his way out by any means necessary. I will never let my "Wally did nothing wrong" propaganda go.

This all btw does nothing to answer the mystery on the website. I have no idea how this reality breaking allowed Wally yo infiltrate the website. The fact that his eyes are no longer visible on the page means he's not here watching us (for now). Also the "You" character description is missing. As far as the Bug theory goes, I still believe that is Frank trying to give us more insight on what happened/happening. Same goes for W, who we know is human since they described the same events of the phone ringing and hearing Wally that the curator did. I don't believe this is Wally vs the Neighbours. I think this is the neighbours being physically or metaphorically trapped while not able to reach Wally they can reach this website and are doing the same as Wally, reaching out to us. I still believe Home/Entity has some control over them and is connected to who is sending the packages and infecting the WHRP and Playfellow. W is also apart of WHRP but has taken notice to everything going around and is choosing to document their findings since the WHRP is starting to run a tighter ship after the last slip up of W (probably) contacting Wally.

Hopefully this made sense to you guys...

[yeostars]

Howdy! I would love to see how ateez (separately) is with an older/noona! Reader (doesn't matter if they're an idol as well or not) just need some teasing fluff with someone a bit more mature than the boys but not a massive age gap you know?

🦝 anon

𓆩♡𓆪 dynamics study: ateez members dating someone older than them <3

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

{a/n: i have put two members together for this one, since I feel like they would have similar dynamics!}

ᯓ★ hongjoong, yunho

• I feel like hongjoong and yunho would still act like the older one because it naturally comes to them to take care of their s/o more than their s/o would care for them. but at times, he loves to be babied by you, because you're the older one, after all. they LOVE intertwining their hand with yours, so much that they could probably do it all day. it gives them a sense of security when they know that you're there with them, holding their hand <3

• the head pats !!!!! hongjoong goes so SO soft whenever you'd pat his head out of endearment, it's his most favourite thing in the world. And the way he gets so shy & his ears go all red when you add on "my boy" while patting his head, it's your most favourite thing in the world. As for yunho, he would be the one patting your head because although you're older than him by like 2 years, he's still the taller one ?? yunho finds you cute ALL THE TIME, actually the fact that you're older than him doesn't even exist. he's just a big soft bear wanting to protect and take care of his noona gf even though he's younger :)

ᯓ★ seonghwa, san

• treats you with so much respect. I mean, obviously all teezies would treat their older gfs with respect, but I feel like it's a notable point for sanhwa having an older s/o? Would definitely tease you sometimes, though. You actually love it when they tease you because it's rare for them to do so & you want them to feel as comfortable and friendly towards you as possible. You want them to view you as a best friend even though you're only 2 years older, and they love you even more than they already do for this. They LOVE resting their head against your shoulder while you gently stroke their hair :)

• Always comes to you for advice on all kinds of stuff. You know, how majority of ateez members go to seonghwa and san when they need some consoling? Just like that, sanhwa would depend on their noona gf in a way. These two love the fact that you're so welcoming and open and wise. And ofcourse, they are always there for you when you need a listening ear, too. You're like a ray of solace and comfort for them <3

ᯓ★ yeosang, jongho

• literally the sweetest towards you. and yes, I mean it, they try their best to take care of you as much as you care for them. although they get a little clueless here and there, you appreciate the fact that they want you to rely on them for mental support just like you do for them. although these two are not a big fan of physical affection, they love to do small gestures such as tenderly caressing your hand at times. They definitely give in when you're the one associating the physical affection, because ofcourse, they can't resist you :)

•yeosang and jongho get SOOO shy when you kiss their cheek. And you do it VERY often, just too see their reaction. And it's the same every time: them being all red and blushing and a small cute pout forming on their face while they mumble "I'm gonna get you back for that one" and you're like "I'm literally your girlfriend, can't I kiss your cheek?" and they're like "fine, whatever, but it catches me off guard.. don't do it out of the blue.." and you just pinch their cheeks and run away, while they come running behind you to catch you by your waist, back hugging you and not letting go ( and you LOVE that) <3

ᯓ★ mingi, wooyoung

• teases the HELL out of you. damn the age difference of barely 2 years, they actually take advantage of the fact that you're older only to tease you by those "eh, you're an oldie, you should do this work.." and when you do smth childish or act clumsy they're like "they say older people are wise but you're a different case, noona.." and when you get to the point of reaction when you don't react anymore (become silent and sulky) and the atmosphere becomes kinda awkward, they get super affectionate towards you, pull you closer to them and swing an arm around your shoulder, mumbling "I'm sorry" and then those little rascals are like "get over it" and you slap their palm hanging around your shoulder and they giggle, while you just accept the fact that the teasing is unending if you're mingi/wooyoung's older gf .....

• Cuddles with you at night are a MUST. they love to be the smaller spoon, tbh.

there would be some times when you're just doing your own work, attending conferences when you're working from home, clearly being the mature one not only in your relationship with them but also, you're professionally the leader type. and mingi and wooyoung would just be staring at you. Like, they're so lovesick, so in LOVE with you and your mature side. They never fail to mention how proud they are of you and the relentless teasing aside, they're the best boyfriend you could ever have.

[lakesbian]

i am actually kind of fascinated by the worm fanfiction environment because it’s like. worm is fucking massive. there are a lot of works that are hard to write fanfiction for because they kinda say everything there is to say about themselves already within the pre-existing plot, but worm is not like that. worm is fucking massive. there are so many interesting worldbuilding details & character arcs we see implied but not played out in full that would be fun to make shit up about. if you gave me twenty minutes w/ a piece of paper and pencil i could probably come up with fifty different character-driven worm fanfiction ideas. 

like here: aisha introspecting about how her big brother carried her away from one of the worst days of her life but now she can’t figure out how to do the same for him. recounting of how 13yo alec escaped from heartbreaker. what danny was thinking and doing while taylor was gone. day in the life of the travelers w/ one bit from each of their perspectives to demonstrate all the different plates they were spinning and how inevitably those plates were gonna fall. dragon & defiant character developing convo while they’re chasing after the nine. I Could Go On. i don’t even have to bring AUs into it until i get into the thirties, probably. fuck it, if you wanna get real creative, write about the day one of the civilizations the entities previously visited got kersploded. there are a million one-off lines you could develop.

and yet. 85% of the worm fanfiction out there is just like. “what if taylor. had a different power that is less cool and thematically fitting than bugs.” the tedious convoluted AUs that would be the bottom of the barrel in literally any other fandom somehow comprise The Vast Amount of worm fanfiction. people will be out there putting characters in situations you did not know it was possible to put them in. why are we making our amy and alec dolls kiss, and more importantly, why is that one of the most notable alec fanfictions. it’s like a fucking rollercoaster ride of people seeing a universe with one million billion interesting characters in it and a bunch of free compelling narratives to explore already attached and going “Hmm. No. I want to see everything that already happened except it’s written worse and Taylor has Wolverine knifehands and keeps stabbing people.”

[suzukiblu]

Ko-fi thank-you sentences for an anon; the Gotham Kid. Cut for length.

“Get out of the way, kid,” Pete says, stepping up behind Lily’s perch below the narrow barred window above the doors. She stares down at him warily, then flicks her eyes to Kid. He nods, because it’s a risk, but it’s a risk that needs taken right now. 

And more importantly, because it’ll get her to leave the door so she’ll be out of the splash zone if shit does go down. 

“Yer funeral, dumbass,” she says as she flashes Kid the sign for careful, then hops down and runs off. 

These kids are way too fucking good for this bullshit, Kid thinks, his chest squeezing painfully. 

Superman could do more for them than he can. Even Clark Kent could. 

Kid . . . Kid can just chase them away from where he thinks the splash zone’s gonna be and hope it works out. 

He feels all of the guys outside lift a hand at once, though only one of them actually knocks on the door. Doesn’t bode great for them not being Clayface, he thinks. Or Hatter victims. Or something equally fucking horrifying.

Could always be a total unknown, of course. Could always be that. 

“Who’s there?” Pete calls, sounding oddly . . . grim, almost. Or maybe . . . wry? 

Some part of Kid expected him to say it jokingly, for some reason. Like a knock-knock joke, or . . . like he was mocking or teasing the problem, showing off sly humor and casual confidence. Not . . . 

Why did he expect that, he wonders? 

No–why did Superman expect that? 

Because it was definitely Superman’s memories that expected that. 

“Open up,” the man who knocked drones, which is notably not a response to what Pete said. All their bodies still feel too dense, but the knocker’s built a little different from the others. 

Meaning, his body has enough in the way of lungs to actually speak. 

Fuck, Kid thinks, tightening his hands into fists. 

He knows ASL because Superman has an eidetic memory and has been slowly but surely making his way through learning the basics of as many languages as he can, for crisis situations and the like. Or at least, he knew enough ASL to get by, and he’s taught himself a little more since then. Except it’s only enough to “get by” when there’s someone else around who knows it, and he doesn’t know how to relay anything about how wrong all these fucks’ bodies feel to a bunch of strangers who probably don’t know any sign at all. 

Though even if he did, he’s not sure he wants to play that card either. 

But if it might get the others hurt . . . 

Kid hesitates, then reaches out for Pete’s sleeve. Pete jerks his arm out of the way without looking, the reaction an obvious reflex, then stares blankly back at him over his shoulder. 

“This really the time, kid?” he asks. 

Kid . . . hesitates, then points at the door. Then he fingerspells n-o b-r-e-a-t-h-e, hoping maybe the guy at least knows the alphabet. He doesn’t want to get into the whole total lack of lungs and other vital organs issue, for obvious reasons. Nobody in the neighborhood would question him saying something like that, at this point, but he doesn’t know if Pete’s gonna listen to even this much. Assuming he’s even understanding him right now, anyway.

Pete . . . tilts his head. 

“Boss?” one of his guys says, eyeing the door warily. 

“Hm,” Pete says, then looks up at the window above the door. “Wait here.” 

“Wait for–” another one of his guys starts to ask, and Pete jumps up, grabs Lily’s abandoned perch, and pulls himself up onto it all in one swift motion. The move looks smooth and effortless, and Kid might even believe it was if Superman didn’t know damn well exactly how much effort it takes a human to move like that.

At least the unenhanced ones, anyway. 

Kid remembers how green Pete’s eyes are again, and just . . . wonders, a little. 

Pete peers through the window above the door, then grins. It’s a mean, merciless one. Not the one Superman’s memories expect. 

Kid doesn’t know quite what those memories do expect, though. Just that it’s something else. Something . . . different.

[hyrule-in-a-pokeball]

A BIG OL' GANONDORF THEORY (TOTK)

This gonna be a long one, kids

I've just got a bunch of thoughts on Ganondorf. I'll categorize them or something

GANONDORF CAUSED HYRULE'S UNIFICATION A great war of some kind has been mentioned a few times in Zelda canon. most notably in OoT. 9 years before the events of OoT kick off, a great war comes to an end, but not before orphaning a baby who gets adopted by a tree. 9 years after this war, the leaders of the Gorons and Zoras consider the King of Hyrule to be a close friend, with the leader of the Gorons even considering him an honorary brother. With OoT being erased, why is this important? Because the legend that is OoT is based on the historical fact shown in TotK. Real events that were embellished and re contextualized over time. Well, here's what the legend tells us about history... At one point in time, Hyrule was divided. Each race seemed to be a different kingdom, but there didn't seem to be any tension among them. But then something happened that forced them to unite. Or rather...

Someone Ganondorf has always been bent on ruling Hyrule, but I think his invasions weren't targeted solely on the land of the Zonai/Hylians, but also the lands of the Gorons, Zora, and Rito. Basically all the lands that aren't a barren wasteland. He probably planned to take over each region and unite it all under one glorious Gerudo banner. Alone, they may have all had trouble fending off the Gerudo army. I believe that with a common and very powerful enemy in the form of the Ganondorf-lead Gerudo, King Rauru was able to convince the Gorons, Rito, and Zora to unite with him under a single Hyrulean banner, thus creating the unified kingdom of Hyrule and forming a solid, united opposition to the Gerudo invasion.

GANONDORF'S STONE ENHANCED FORM

We skip forward in time a little. The war has ended and Ganondorf is swearing fealty to King Rauru, but thats just so he can get in and move about freely without suspicion even though he's the world's most suspicious looking man. It works though. He kills Queen Sonia and steals her sacred stone, the power awakened from which causes him to transform

The sacred stones, as explained, do not give powers to their holders, but instead greatly amplify powers that were already present. But what they ALSO don't do, is cause a physical transformation in their users. None of the other stone holders were shown to change form when using the power of their stones. And its not like his stone was extra special. It was literally the same stone Sonia was using. So why did Ganondorf change form when he came into possession of one?

Because his power is not his own.

While Zelda inherited her powers from her ancestors through blood, Ganondorf inherited his as a result of being the product of Demise's cheeky curse. While Demise is dead and gone, his power lives on in Ganondorf, and so it was Demise's demonic powers that were amplified by the stone. As a result, Ganondorf's form changed to reflect those demonic powers.

But that might not be all that changed. You see, after his demonic powers awakened, his goal changed a bit. While he was still hell bent on ruling Hyrule, he now also wanted to wipe out every living person within the kingdom, supposedly to replace them with the monsters he summoned, and "Cast the world into eternal night" He even turned on his own people, the Gerudo, as in the scene in which Rauru grants the soon-to-be-sages their sacred stones, Ruto states "We just received word that the last free village in the Gerudo desert has fallen..." So the demon king's armies were attacking everyone indiscriminately on his command. I think he truly became a demon, and possibly something in his psyche changed as a result.

THE 8TH SAGE

Those who hold Sacred stones were deemed sages. Zelda and Sonia were the sages of time. Rauru, reflecting his roll in OoT, was the sage of light. Nabooru was changed from the sage of spirit to the sage of lightning. Darunia was the sage of fire, Ruto; the sage of water, and Mineru was the sage of spirit. Saria and "forest" being completely replaced by a nameless Rito and the element of Wind. Sonia dies, so the sage count is 7.

When the stone bonded to its holder, stylized Japanese kanji would appear on it. This is most visible with Nabooru/Riju's stone

Its up-side down and partially wrapped around the stone itself, but that is the Kanji "Kaminari" meaning "Lightning"

When Ganondorf steals Sonia's stone, the kanji for time "Toki" disappears and is replaced with this

Its side ways and partially obstructed by his hand, but when he uses his power, we see the symbol flash in its proper orientation

Yami. Darkness. (funnily enough it also means "Gloom")

If holding a secret stone makes one a sage, then Ganondorf is the sage of Darkness, a being in direct opposition to Rauru; the sage of light

[lizmindpalace]

So you know that we had an eclipse in North America today and I saw a post about the brothers never actually observing an eclipse before and I had to write this.

-

"I don't get what's the fuss with this moon thing, the damn thing is there all day and night long every day, every year".

Lucifer's fingers rubbed his closed eyes as a sigh left his body, it was always the same thing when it came to his young brothers.

"We do not have a sun, idiot, that's what makes the trick", the yawny voice of the youngest of the seven uttered with a notable tone of annoyance, his eyes were closed but had they been opened, a roll in them would show how much irritant he found his older brother's words. 

"I find it romantic". Asmodeus sighed, "Satan told me all about human beliefs in legends and books. It's like a kiss between two lovers separated in time and distance, so they can only see each other once in a lifetime and share a love kiss".

Another sigh and a giggle followed that statement, however, the effect those words had left in the group made them stay quiet ever since they had been informed about the assignment regarding the 2024 solar eclipse up in the human world. Lucifer had been mesmerized for a while, but it was the first one to notice the thoughts going through his brothers' minds.

"No..."

"It should be a great occasion to visit the human world and get to see MC!"

Lucifer sighed once more, as he would usually do when they were around. 

"Yes!" The other five shouted. 

"And there will be food!"

"Wait, wait... hold on, you're not actually thinking on kissing MC? Are ya? Cus I'm not gonna allow it, no way under my watch".

"You're so predictable as always, loool". Leviathen mocked.

"Im not! I mean if someone had to do it, then it'd have to be the great Mammon, for I was her first ". 

"Can you please stop talking about being the first as suggesting intercourse and clarify it's all about a pact and you were the first just because you're the most stupid of us?" Satan rolled his eyes.

"Hey whadayamean by that? Show some respect to your older brother, besides..."

"Stop all of you" the eldest nagged at them. "This is no time to avoid your responsibilities, and certainly it's no time for interrupting MC's daily occupations, furthermore..."

The buzz of a phone interrupted his course of thought, his sharp gaze led him to Mammon, and his body, as it was an automatic response, he took the phone from his grasp despite his complaints, however, he was surprised to see, it had not solved the issue and all his brothers had stopped paying attention to him, as their attention had been drawn by the device in their hands. 

Another buzz coming from his pocket finally made him look at the screen of his phone:

 >>> It's crazy, I remember that back in primary school my science book said this year there would be a solar eclipse, and I was like "I'll be more than 20!, That's a long time from here". And the time is here, guys. I'm so excited.

The message had started a discussion with replies from his six brothers, that didn't lack enthusiasm.

>>> I know you cannot be here, yet, I got something for you. 

Lucifer pulled up the attached picture and he smiled as in her hand, there were seven pairs of funny glasses that were probably made of cardboard, and each one was in a different colour. His smile grew wider as he saw every pair had a handwritten word in it: their names.

>>> It's some kind of silly souvenir. I'll give them to you once we get to see each other again. I wish you were here.

A feeling of dread and nostalgia struck the eldest and a sigh escaped his lips again, although immediately afterwards he felt a persistent gaze on him.

"Lucifer", his brothers harmonised, and he stopped himself from rolling his eyes at them, just because he knew he could use his pleads to get a double benefit. 

"Only if you guarantee that you'll improve your grades". 

The six of them nodded in agreement, a tiny accomplice smile bloomed in their faces. That was the first benefit he acknowledged their little trip would bring as consequence. 

Only a few seconds after the door had been knocked at, it opened. A shocked expression followed by the brightest of smiles they had ever known welcomed them; a warm embrace was the cherry on top. That was definitely the second benefit he had foreseen. 

An unexpected third arose when they were reunited in the local park, all of them surrounding a bench under a tree; the blue sky suddenly was losing brightness, it was as it was getting cloudy, but no clouds were around, it felt different, it was an odd kind of darkness. The birds started flying towards their homes, and they went quiet, the sunlight was soon hidden by the moon. The pretty spring day had turned into night for a moment. Lucifer looked at his brothers, impressed by the phenomena, he also stared at his human and her excited smile. 

It was a brief spectacle, but it felt magical; a shiver ran down his spine as the solar ring was drowned in darkness, it sort of reminded him to when he had fallen out of grace but in a better sense, despite being so old, he had never lived such a show of the immensity of nature... everyone, including his six demon brothers, was admiring in awe at the sun being swallowed by the moon, while wearing their black glasses, while a person with a speaker explained the science behind it. 

When the sun shone again over their heads, the girl opened up their arms to hug them, a hug which all of them returned.

For some reason they were grateful to be alive in that precise point of time where all they had got to know each other, to spend time with one another, they were all glad to witness the event of the century together. 

[ninjaneonleon]

(last seen at the tmnt au comp u _ u )

Mikey almost fell over backwards when the frantic looking Leo counterpart appeared in his vision. Casey, of course, was no help. She just laughed as he stumbled over his own feet and tried not to fall. In the end he just floated back to his feet properly with a small pout.

“Oh, sorry,” the Leo (Leon? Yeah, that worked for now) said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I just really need to find my Donnie, he’s, uh, not very stable with others.” He held up the photo he was brandishing a little more for emphasis.

The photo in question showed a version of Donnie that was very different to the brother Mikey knew and loved. Not only was he notably paler, his usual jade colouring going almost pastel, he was softer somehow. Rounder. He was also wearing a beautiful feathered tutu, had small white wings and was en pointe. That Donnie looked like he was all set to dance in Swan Lake, maybe even as Odette considering the feathered crown he had in place of a headpiece.

“No, I haven’t seen him. Hey, why do you say he’s unstable?” Casey asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement. Eugh boy, if Casey got it in her head that she wanted to try sparring with this unstable ballerina Donnie, there would be very little Mikey could do besides try to hold her back. Maybe if he got the Donnie back with his Leo, he’d be calm enough to not take Casey up on her obvious excitement.

“He’s, uh, well he’s very much got a swan brain?” Leon offered with a sheepish laugh. “Half the time he’s fine, the other half…”

“Oh, he gets violent and territorial?” Mikey had a few encounters with swans in the past. They were dangerous bastards who can and will mess you up. “Eugh boy, that’s definitely not someone who you want to leave alone. Leave it to me, I can help you find him.”

“Wait, you can?” Leon lit up with a relived grin. “How?”

“Like this.” Mikey held his hand out towards the photo and got a feel for Swanatello’s (heh, Swannie, that was a perfect name for him) energy. Once he as sure, Mikey plucked that very unique feeling chain from the air. He studied it curiously. “Huh. This is a very old feeling connected to him. Well, anyway, I can track him for you. Just follow me, we’ll get your Donnie back,” he promised, not letting go of the chain.

“Thank you so much,” Leon said enthusiastically. I’m worried he’s either gonna freak himself out or hurt someone.”

“Has he got memory problems or something?”Casey asked, following after Leon and Mikey. “Our Donnie can be violent but he’s very good at directing that away from people. Most of the time.” She shuddered, probably remembering the sago pudding incident. Mikey didn’t want to dwell on that.

“Yeah, he’s sort of been claimed by this mystic lake to be its guardian?” Leon offered with a shrug. “It means that he barely remembers anything before, and on his bad days, he doesn’t recognise us at all. He might look small but he’s just as strong as ever.” Based on the way Leon rubbed his arm, he clearly knew just how strong Swannie was.

“Claimed by a mystic lake? I might be able to help keep him calm for a while, if you wanted,” Mikey offered. If he could make sure Swannie could still sense the lake, he might stay calm enough to not hurt anyone during this whole thing.

“Anything would be helpful, thank you Mikey.”

They walked together for a little while, following the pale coloured chain, until Mikey spotted Swannie. He was looking around frantically, his feathers all puffed up from how worked up he was getting. Okay, Mikey totally had this.

“Casey, wait here. Leon, you too. Let me see if I can calm him down.” As he spoke, Mikey let a wave of magic wash over him. When it cleared, he was in his own tutu (orange, of course) and had his pointe shoes on. Oh yeah, that was awesome, he totally nailed the dramatics there. It might have been a while since Mikey had done any serious dancing but luckily, his body remembered exactly what to do.

He called for Swannie’s attention by putting a spotlight on himself and on Swannie, one only they (and Casey and Leon) could see. Then he let some music start to drift around, again, done so it didn’t bother anyone who was want involved.

Swannie looked over immediately, but when he heard the music, he seemed to relax. Perfect. Mikey made his way over, travelling in time to the music and throwing in some of his own choreography, warming himself up slowly. He and Swannie met in the middle and for a moment, they danced together.

It was simple enough to weave in some magic to their dance. A nudge to the mystic hold on Swannie’s soul, finding the link back to the lake, a touch of mental magic in the form of white smoke gathering around them to make sure he could feel the lake and feel it was safe, and tada! One fully conscious and aware Swannatello.

“Mikey?” He asked slowly as Mikey let the illusions die down.

“Not quite. I’m a different Mikey, buuut your Leo is right over there.” Mikey gestured over his shoulder to where Casey and Leon were waiting.

“Leo!” Like a bullet out a gun, Swannie shot over to Leo and clung to him, getting an awed hug in return. Oh yeah, Mikey was good.

“Nice going, Mikey,” Casey said with a grin. She clapped Mikey on the shoulder. “Wanna stick around with these two for a bit?”

“Yeah, if they’ll have us,” Mikey said, watching the twins get quite emotional as they hugged. “I think they could use some familiarity here, and besides, I wanna dance more with Swannie.”

————

@tmntaucompetition

[slightlyhopefulromantic]

a return to the monsters and mommies au designs, this time properly lined and in color! :D posted in the middle of the night just like last time though because i have problems <3 there are some small changes to these designs, but for the most part i was pretty happy with them so this was mostly just to give myself a color reference for them all lol

gonna ramble about small decisions i made below the cut, but its not necessary at all to understanding the designs! just wanna dump my thoughts somewhere :P

for the most part, the kids' designs are the same as i do them for normal canon, but there are some small differences. i've never really done a proper reference for their kid designs either though, so i guess no one would even notice LOL

freeman family: well, firstly - nick's last name is freeman in this au LOL but its easier to refer to him as nick close so people know who i mean as opposed to nicholas foster. usually, i draw nick close with blue hair (i think he goes through a range of colors, but blue is my default), but i do this because he does it to honor morgan. since she is alive here, instead, his default is pink because thats his favorite color to dye it! morgan and nick both have various bead jewelry because i like to have the headcanon that morgan is really into pony bead jewelry; this is also why all of my nick and nicholas designs have the same trans pride necklace, morgan made it for him :] both nick and morgan wear glenn's old clothes, both of them are wearing his shirts in this piece. aaand morgan has subtle heterochromia as a reference to the split timeline! she always has it, it doesnt just magically happen or anything, but its just a small nod to that.

wilson family: its real important to me that grant got his dad's exact coloration except for his gray eyes, which are all carol. why is this important? i dunno! its just interesting to me. also, carol doesnt usually leave her top buttons undone, but upon entering the forgotten realms, she unbuttons it because otherwise her shirt will pop open while she's doing things (to be honest, as a person with a larger chest myself, her shirt probably still pops open but it does help-!). usually i draw grant with a gay pride necklace, but since he doesnt come out pre-forgotten realms in this au, i tragically had to drop it. i miss my rainbow grant. please come home, baby.

oak-garcia family: i always forget to do mercedes's tattoos in my sketches because tbh i never know exactly what to give her. but! but. this time i just went for it. these tattoos arent necessarily set in stone, but i think theyre cute. the tattoo hidden by her skirt is an oak leaf for henry :] her gem necklace is also the same color as his eyes! her skirt is supposed to be, like, tie-dye or maybe more bleach washed, but i dunno how to draw that so whatever. the twins are, like, 100% the same as usual, i just gave sparrow a pink bead necklace instead of the multi-colored necklace i use for my default canon design lol. also, i think i drew the twins slightly too tall here, which is funny because theyre the only ones who are notably shorter than their mom HDFJKGHK

stampler family: i struggled a lot with what colors to give samantha, because i wanted her to have a bright color palette but not anything garish or patterned. originally she was gonna have a white shirt, but then i realized that would make it so all the moms had white shirts and i just couldn't have that LOL so i ended up landing on red for her! it matches with terry junior, so i thought that'd be cute :] terry's design is probably the most different from my default for him? which still isn't a lot but i swapped his dark blue flannel for a black undershirt instead. i cannot explain why i did this. it just felt right in the moment. i gave him a sweet revenge shirt instead of the usual black parade shirt i give him because... well. if you know, you know. and finally, terry gets a little concert admission bracelet!! i always do that, but i just wanted to point it out because i think continuing to wear an admission bracelet for ages after a concert is a very teen thing to do. i always felt so cool doing that in high school hehe

[laufire]

just finished watching "never fear", and episode of the new batman adventures clearly based on "fear for sale", a post-crisis!jason story. so of course, I have some thoughts!

both share the premise that scarecrow has invented a new toxin that removes fear. the episode then deviates from the issue in several ways, for example with the choice of the targets: comics!scarecrow offered his drug to athletes, tnba!scarecrow went through a middleman who offered it to scaredy cats who wanted a leg up in life (btas had a plot about scarecrow using his classic fear toxin on athelets while dick was robin though, so I get why they wanted to switch things up). another difference is in how early bruce is dosed with the anti-fear toxin AND the way it affected him. the biggest one is jason's role versus timmy todd's, though.

as a sidenote before I get into the meat of it: this episode does also showcase the little ways in which they differ in personality. timmy todd fits the *idea* your average middle-class person would have of a street kid lol. not necessarily in a bad way, always, but to me it's telling that jason's academic enthusiasm and artistic inclinations seem nowhere to be found in timmy todd.

but let's get into it. in the comic, jason and bruce are at the racetrack and they help rescue a driver whose car was catching on fire (bruce goes for him, ordering a nervous jason to dose it with water). later jason is dosed with classic fear toxin (and sees a burning bruce disappointed in him) and gets kidnapped by scarecrow and used as bait. scarecrow has also dosed batman with the anti-fear toxin, hoping to see him destroy himself out of fearlessness, but obviously bruce pulls through via some impressive feats. the comic ends with this image that just. yeah we're gonna forget about the unintentional foreshadowing for a moment because OUCH.

detective comics #571

in the show, bruce gets dosed early on, and it makes him dangerous. it, specifically, removes his fear of killing. timmy todd, the only other bat in the episode, has to task himself with stopping bruce. and he's very proactive about it, vis a vis comics!jason's more passive role. and very effective! he ties up bruce, he doesn't fall for his trick when bruce pretends he's seen the error of his ways, frees himself from some cuffs in the *very brief* time he's subdued, and gives batman the antidote, stopping him from killing the scarecrow. bruce validates his choices at the end of the episode, telling him he did the right thing.

this is the first time I've seen some comics!tim in timmy todd, though it's two-fold. I think one half of it could be and probably was intentional, while I suspect the other half is a matter of the show's creators developing similar goals as comics!tim's writers in an organical manner.

the first half is this: "fear for sale" was telling a story about bruce as a father and caretaker, and about jason as his child and charge; "never fear" was following the idea of comics!tim as a jiminy cricket figure, someone who stops bruce from "crossing the line". the context is different (inner conflict vs. external influence), and timmy todd does it in a timmy todd way and not a tim drake way, because their personalities are notably different. but the idea is there.

the other half is, timmy todd, just like dc comics when they created robin!tim drake, had writers that wanted him to be more proactive, to more *independence* as a HERO than the role of robin afforded post-crisis!jason.

this, as I said, I don't think it was tnba's writers "grabbing" a trait from comics!tim. mainly because it was not a trait only afforded to tim, although he is who perfected it. batman and robin are a duo but, although I'm not an expert on this era, dick already left gotham and had his own team and his own adventures as robin, separate from bruce. and pre-crisis!jason was also more proactive in his role, insisting on his role as partner, etc.

it's curious because bruce has that infamous scene where he tells gordon to basically treat jason as an adult because of how his difficult life experiences had made him "mature", the comics at this time very much do not treat jason as an adult, imo. even later, when starlin comes with his own agenda, I would maintain that: he doesn't see jason as an innocent kid, but neither, obviously, as Batman's Partner with everthing that comes with it.

and just... it's definitely something I've felt before, but this episode makes me feel more than a little mournful for what could have been, you know? mournful for what jason could have been, had he been allowed to really mature into the role, and enjoyed the perks that came with it.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Ok y’all it’s time for a grishaverse world-building rant (mainly linked to soc/ck) and there’s a good chance this is gonna turn into a long and rambling post but bare with me.

*CONSISTENT GRISHAVERSE SPOILERS AHEAD*

In the Netflix show, why did they replace Alby’s lion toy with a toy train? I wanna talk about the absence of the lion, but also of all things why did they choose a train?

The train really stuck out to me when watching season 2 and at first I wasn’t my sure why, and just struck it up to the fact that I was expecting a plush lion. I think it’s absolutely notable that they exchanged the lion for a different toy, because the TV show didn’t give us as much opportunity for the foreshadowing surrounding Alby Rollins’ existence as we had in the book, since Van Eck is the key to a lot of the passages that foreshadow Rollins having a child. The fact that Kaz was able to present the lion was what served as “proof” for his attack on Alby, and is one of the best scenes showcasing Kaz’s incredible intellect. Since Kaz had never seen Alby, in fact had no concrete evidence of his existence whatsoever, he based the entire presence of the toy lion on Pekka’s pride in his gang, the Dime Lions. But since the show doesn’t have the opportunity to explain the gang culture of Ketterdam in as much detail as the books, which is obviously understandable and it’s the kind of thing I would expect to be lost in the transition from source to adaptation, they can’t make the assumption that the audience will associate the lion with the Dime Lions, particularly since they haven’t explored the gang tattoos (as a side note the meanings behind the tattoos are just *chefs kiss* but anyway-) So unless they were making specific effort to try and include more references to the lions earlier on, it makes sense to change the toy. It also leaves open the option for later in the show (fingers crossed, I’m praying for good news right now) to bring the lion in for different schemes and to create more anticipation and build up for the absolutely iconic Inej move of replacing the lion with a crow in the last chapter of Crooked Kingdom. So I understand the choice to change the type of toy that Kaz takes from Alby, especially since we already know that it’s Alby being used as the threat in this scene and in the books we didn’t, but of all the options why would they choose a toy train? My best guess is that it’s a nod to the Conductor and the train across the fold in season one, but it kind of annoys me because, other than the train that was added for the show and the tank in ck that is explained as amongst the first of its kind, THERE ARE NO MECHANICAL VEHICLES IN THIS UNIVERSE YET. None!!

We have to remember that the development of a constructed world is based on its needs and it’s understanding of it’s resources, not on mimicking the development of our own world; so although some people are probably thinking ‘well they recently developed flying vehicles, it makes sense for trains to exist before that’ I would genuinely argue that in this world it makes no sense whatsoever. We know from explanations in soc and ck (in Retvenko’s chapter mostly, but also in Joost’s and a few other references) that there has been no need to develop engines for boats because the winds can be calmed or summoned by Squallers; they fill the sails or fend off storms to keep the ships moving, there is no need for development thus far because grisha possess the natural resources to maintain the power they need. But in Ravka the presence of the shadow fold meant it became necessary to develop other options, so progress came about and Nikolai developed the Hummingbird. But it’s very important to note that (to my understanding at least, if you happen to know I’m wrong please feel free to correct me) the Hummingbird is still entirely dependent on Squaller power to maintain its flight, because development is always based on the previous model. Similarly, the tanks being the first motorised vehicles we’re introduced to makes perfect sense in the world we’ve come to know and understand, especially since we’re learning from the perspective of mostly Kerch-born or Kerch-living characters. Jesper tells us that there are very few carriages on the streets of Ketterdam, that horses are a luxury because the space to keep them is a luxury, not because they open up further modes of transportation - this is also emphasised by the knowledge that one of the greatest signs of prosperity in Ketterdam is a house with its own dock. This is because canals are the main way of moving, and since the boats and their squallers are a time-proven method of travel there’s no current need to develop engine mechanisms for boats, and cars aren’t needed because no-one would use them to travel. I’d also like to add that I realise not everyone has access to Squaller power, but the rich of Ketterdam do and they live in an incredibly classist society. In the Barrel, most of the boats are moved by rowing and/or punting, as is made clear at the end of soc when the crew row to meet Van Eck and he is brought by Squallers, and the theme is continued throughout ck.

The most likely place for cars to crop up first, based on what we’ve seen of the different countries, is probably Ravka; the country is a hub of innovation and the fabrikators there are the most free to practice their craft. However, Ravka is also a country that has been at war since it was founded, there is no room for any type of development that does not further their chances of survival against Fjerda, Shu Han, or their own civil war. Other places we might have expected to see motorisation pop up faster could be the farming provinces of Kerch and Novyi Zem, since they could be utilised for tractors and ploughs. But most innovation in Kerch is centralised around Ketterdam, where the engines are currently unecessary, and although I don’t know enough about Novyi Zem to argue either way the auction in Crooked Kingdom may imply that their government’s budget is lower those of Kerch, Fjerda, and Shu Han. (But again, we don’t have bundles of information about the Zemeni government so I’m not super confident there). We do, however, know that Jesper was the only one other than Matthias who already knew what a tank was when they got to Fjerda, and so it’s fair to predict that there’s been at least some development in that area in Novyi Zem, or at least enough interest for news of them to reach the gunsmith Jesper worked with. But let’s assume that the invention did come from Fjerda itself, at least for the time being. This makes perfect sense!! It was mostly likely developed, unbeknownst to Matthias, by the parem-drugged fabrikators being held at the Ice Court. Now that they have access to this power, Fjerda achieves all of the same tickboxes to be the initial place of engine development as Ravka does. Of course, Fjerda is also at war or under threat of it, but I think it’s important to remember that the Fjerdan government doesn’t really see war with Ravka as a threat at all. They see it more as an opportunity to prove themselves, to properly cement their position in the world economy and as a global power, which we know Kerch - or at least the general population of the country, if not the government - does not currently see it as. So it makes sense that their developmental focus would not be on ease of travel for the majority of its people by developing cars or flight machines, but on engines that can be used for dominance: tanks.

I’m hoping I’ve kind of got my point across here even if in a slightly convoluted way, but I want to add Inej’s quote from the scene with the tank to really cement the idea that this was development on a scale they had never experienced before: “They were moving - and not a horse in sight!” Someone who has seen a train at any point in her life, or who has any understanding that trains exist and work, is not going to be absolutely blown away by the concept of moving without the aid of horses. So why pick a train??? I don’t know, I’m clearly thinking far too much into it but I just… I dunno, it bothered me, there were so many other things to choose. I didn’t really mind the train in season one because it was set up like a one-of-a-kind contraption, but the idea of there being toy replicas of steam trains implies a very different level of development in a world clearly implied to be pre- its industrial revolutions.

Anyway, thanks for reading my mad ramblings! I have SO MANY thoughts about world building and structure in the Grishaverse, and world building as a browser topic as well, so if you want to hear anything more please let me know!